What Got CUT From CBS' Netanyahu Interview, Plus Spencer Pratt's Secret Ingredient, with Michael Knowles | Ep. 1314

Episode of The Megyn Kelly Show · May 11, 2026 · 1 h 41 min

Megyn Kelly dissects the unaired parts of CBS's Netanyahu interview, then discusses Iran, redistricting, Spencer Pratt's LA mayoral run and the JPMorgan lawsuit with Michael Knowles.

Summary

Megyn Kelly opened by comparing the broadcast version of Major Garrett's 60 Minutes interview with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the full 70-minute version released online. She highlighted unaired portions in which Netanyahu said the Iran war could take months, stressed he had warned Trump of uncertainty, and blamed declining American support for Israel on foreign bot farms and social media. Kelly argued CBS under Bari Weiss was protecting Netanyahu, cited reporting on Israel's paid influencer campaign Project Esther and Brad Parscale's foreign-agent registration, and said her own shift on Israel stemmed from Israel's conduct and attacks on her and Charlie Kirk, not social media.

Michael Knowles then joined to discuss Trump's remark that the Iran ceasefire was on "massive life support." Knowles argued the war failed just-war tests of reasonable probability of success and proportionality, and that winding it down was likely right since regime change was near impossible. Both warned that a prolonged Strait of Hormuz standoff threatened a recession in a midterm year.

The pair discussed the Virginia Supreme Court striking down a Democratic redistricting plan and reported Democratic ideas to reshape the court, with Knowles comparing it to FDR's court-packing plan and recounting Speaker Mike Johnson's prediction that Republicans would grow their House majority. They mocked Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's claim that the American Revolution was against billionaires, and praised Spencer Pratt's Los Angeles mayoral campaign while doubting he could beat Karen Bass; Kelly criticized a CBS segment on Pratt as a hit piece.

Finally, they discussed Wall Street Journal reporting on Chirayu Rana's lawsuit against JPMorgan executive Lorna Hajdini, both calling his allegations implausible, and criticized Jerry O'Connell's answer on transgender bathroom access.

Chapters

  1. 0:00

    Mother's Day and show preview

    Kelly reflected on Mother's Day and previewed redistricting, Spencer Pratt and the Iran war.

  2. 3:43

    Netanyahu's unaired 60 Minutes remarks on Iran

    Kelly played extended clips of Netanyahu on the war's unfinished goals, the Situation Room meeting, the Strait of Hormuz and the war's duration.

  3. 17:05

    Social media and declining support for Israel

    Kelly examined Netanyahu's claim that bot farms and social media drove Americans against Israel and questioned CBS's editing under Bari Weiss.

  4. 28:42

    Israel's influencer campaigns

    Kelly played Greenblatt and Netanyahu clips and detailed reporting on Project Esther and Brad Parscale's foreign-agent contract.

  5. 35:07

    Kelly on her own shift regarding Israel

    Kelly said Israel's conduct and attacks on her and Charlie Kirk, not TikTok, changed her views.

  6. 41:06

    Knowles on the Iran ceasefire

    Knowles joined to discuss Trump's 'life support' remark, just-war criteria and the Hormuz standoff's economic risks.

  7. 51:08

    AM Update outtakes and family names

    Kelly played her children's Mother's Day outtakes and she and Knowles discussed old-fashioned names.

  8. 56:18

    Virginia redistricting ruling

    They discussed the Virginia Supreme Court striking down the Democratic map and reported plans to remove the justices.

  9. 1:01:50

    Midterm outlook

    Kelly and Knowles weighed redistricting gains against Trump's poor polling and the Iran war's economic effects.

  10. 1:09:49

    AOC and the American Revolution

    They rebutted Ocasio-Cortez's claim that the Revolution was against billionaires by citing wealthy founders.

  11. 1:12:29

    Spencer Pratt's mayoral campaign

    They discussed Pratt's ads, the AFL-CIO attack ad, CBS's segment on him and his chances against Karen Bass.

  12. 1:28:22

    JPMorgan lawsuit update

    Kelly summarized Wall Street Journal reporting on Chirayu Rana and Lorna Hajdini, and both hosts called the claims implausible.

  13. 1:38:09

    Jerry O'Connell bathroom answer

    They criticized O'Connell's response to a hypothetical about a man entering a women's restroom.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

  • Megyn Kelly

    Kelly argued the war empowered Iran by giving it control of the Strait of Hormuz, a lever she considered more powerful than a nuclear weapon.

    “We've given them a new tool, even more powerful than a nuke. That's what this war has done to Iran”

    Listen from 10:13 · Strait of Hormuz

  • Benjamin Netanyahu

    Netanyahu said the Iran war would not take years and possibly not months, but declined to give a schedule.

    “I think a lot has been accomplished in a very short time. It's not going to take years. It may not take months”

    Listen from 16:37 · United States war with Iran

  • Benjamin Netanyahu

    Netanyahu claimed the decline in American support for Israel closely tracks the rise of social media, which he said foreign countries manipulated with bot farms.

    “We have seen the deterioration of the support for Israel in the United States almost, I would say it correlates almost 100% with the geometric rise of social media”

    Listen from 20:12 · Israel lobby in the United States

  • Megyn Kelly

    Kelly suggested CBS cut Netanyahu's unflattering remarks because Bari Weiss, whom she described as focused on Israel, runs the network.

    “Could it be the Ellisons and their hand-placed handmaiden, Barry Weiss, who runs CBS now, who's huge on Israel?”

    Listen from 21:12 · CBS News

  • Megyn Kelly

    Kelly cited Responsible Statecraft reporting that Israel paid social media influencers roughly $7,000 per post.

    “paid a bunch of social media influencers approximately $7,000 per post, pro-Israel or against its attackers, in an effort to, quote, fight anti-Semitism”

    Listen from 31:46 · Project Esther influencer campaign

  • Megyn Kelly

    Kelly said her views on Israel shifted after she was called antisemitic for speculating about Jeffrey Epstein and Israeli intelligence.

    “I literally made a speculative comment about whether Epstein might've been an asset for Israeli intelligence and immediately got called an anti-Semite, as did Charlie Kirk”

    Listen from 35:07 · Israel lobby in the United States

  • Linked moment · 43:00Skip to 43:00 using a listen link in the info box.

    Donald Trump

    Trump described the Iran ceasefire as nearly dead after rejecting Iran's response to the U.S. proposal.

    “I would say the ceasefire is on massive life support where the doctor walks in and says, sir, your loved one has approximately a 1% chance of living”

    Listen from 43:00 · United States war with Iran

  • Michael Knowles

    Knowles argued the Iran war lacked a clear objective and so failed the just-war requirement of a reasonable probability of success.

    “in order to establish a just war, you need to have a reasonable probability of success, which means you have to know exactly what your objective is”

    Listen from 45:40 · United States war with Iran

  • Michael Knowles

    Knowles said winding down the war is probably right because ousting the Iranian regime is basically impossible under current conditions.

    “So any way to wind this thing down, I think, is probably the right thing to do because the probability of ousting that regime under current political conditions, I think, is basically zero”

    Listen from 45:51 · United States war with Iran

  • Michael Knowles

    Knowles described the dueling blockades as a dangerous game of chicken between a global recession and Iran's oil infrastructure, especially in a midterm year.

    “What's gonna happen first, a global recession or the Iranian oil pipes bursting? And that's a very, very dangerous game, especially in a midterm year”

    Listen from 49:44 · Strait of Hormuz

  • Megyn Kelly

    Kelly argued that a reported Virginia Democratic plan to remove the state's supreme court justices would destroy the judiciary's legitimacy.

    “which would completely invalidate the state's judiciary forever. They will lose all legitimacy if they do this”

    Listen from 56:18 · Redistricting in the United States

  • Michael Knowles

    Knowles said court decisions and redistricting could net Republicans about 14 House seats.

    “we are looking at a potential gain of 14 congressional seats for Republicans”

    Listen from 59:57 · 2026 United States midterm elections

  • Michael Knowles

    Knowles acknowledged that historical precedent points to a Republican midterm rout, with court rulings an open question.

    “by all historical precedent, Republicans should be probably blown out of the water in the midterms”

    Listen from 1:03:45 · 2026 United States midterm elections

  • Michael Knowles

    Knowles argued Ocasio-Cortez's claim was the opposite of the truth, since many leading revolutionaries were among the wealthiest colonists.

    “a reconsideration of the American Revolution should really make us love billionaires even more”

    Listen from 1:10:57 · American Revolution

  • Michael Knowles

    Knowles said he supports Spencer Pratt but doubts he can win in Los Angeles.

    “there's just not a ton of evidence that Pratt's gonna be able to get the lift that is required”

    Listen from 1:15:08 · 2026 Los Angeles mayoral election

  • Spencer Pratt

    Pratt said his reality TV persona was a scripted character and that he does not regret it.

    “I was a professional villain. I was a TV character, a personality. And I don't regret one of those things because it was a show”

    Listen from 1:21:19 · 2026 Los Angeles mayoral election

  • Michael Knowles

    Knowles questioned why CBS, which had positioned itself as fairer to conservatives, ran a hostile segment on Pratt.

    “After CBS had been positioning itself as being the network most fair and favorable to conservatives, why would they go out and really smack down the most exciting local candidate?”

    Listen from 1:23:51 · CBS News

  • Megyn Kelly

    Kelly said Pratt may have a political future even if he loses, calling his fearless style Trump-like.

    “I think even if he loses this race, Michael, he may have a future in politics notwithstanding”

    Listen from 1:24:50 · 2026 Los Angeles mayoral election

  • Michael Knowles

    Knowles called Rana's allegations fantasy and predicted he would not win any money.

    “it comes from this guy's crazy fantasies and i suspect he will not be getting a single dollar”

    Listen from 1:34:04 · JPMorgan Chase sexual harassment lawsuit

  • Megyn Kelly

    Kelly said Rana's string of short job stints was a red flag suggesting he, not his employers, was the problem.

    “Because if it's little, short, less than one year stints, This person is the problem, not the job”

    Listen from 1:36:09 · JPMorgan Chase sexual harassment lawsuit

  • Megyn Kelly

    Kelly called Jerry O'Connell's answer on the bathroom hypothetical cowardly and dangerous for his daughters.

    “It's the wrong answer. It's a fail and it's cowardly and it's going to endanger his twin daughters”

    Listen from 1:39:59

People

In the conversation

  • Megyn KellyConservative broadcaster and podcaster
  • Michael KnowlesAmerican conservative commentator and host of The Michael Knowles Show at The Daily Wire
  • Benjamin NetanyahuPrime Minister of Israel
  • Donald TrumpPresident of the United States whose conduct of the Iran war is the episode's main subject
  • Spencer PrattReality TV personality running for mayor of Los Angeles

Discussed

  • Bari WeissEditor-in-chief of CBS News, criticized by Wagner over ratings
  • Charlie KirkAmerican conservative activist and podcast host assassinated in September 2025
  • Robert KaganForeign policy commentator who wrote an Atlantic piece calling the Iran war a loss
  • Brad ParscaleFormer Trump campaign manager who registered as a foreign agent for Israel
  • Karen BassMayor of Los Angeles, referenced regarding city-level policy conflicts
  • Mike JohnsonSpeaker of the House, blamed by the hosts for not bringing the Senate DHS bill to the floor
  • Lorna HajdiniJPMorgan Chase executive director accused in a sexual harassment lawsuit
  • Chirayu RanaFormer JPMorgan banker suing Hajdini and the bank
  • Mehdi HasanLeft-wing pundit whom Knowles debated at Dartmouth
  • Franklin D. RooseveltU.S. president cited for wartime internment and four election wins
  • George WashingtonFirst US president, whose non-hereditary succession bewildered Japanese envoys in 1860
  • John HancockWealthy founding father and signer of the Declaration of Independence
  • Nithya RamanLos Angeles city councilmember and democratic socialist mayoral candidate
  • Katie PorterDemocratic candidate for governor of California

Topics

More from The Megyn Kelly Show

From the publisher

Megyn Kelly breaks down the key parts of Bibi Netanyahu's interview with "60 Minutes" on CBS that never actually aired on the TV broadcast, Netanyahu talking about how much longer Israel believes the Iran War will last, Netanyahu blaming social media for the declining support of Israel in America, the truth about Israel's propaganda effort to combat what they claim is the propaganda against them, and more. Then Michael Knowles, host of "The Michael Knowles Show," joins to discuss President Trump saying the Iran ceasefire is on "life support" with "1% chance of living," what happens next in Iran, the key redistricting news out of Virginia that could help the GOP in the midterms, the possibility the GOP overperforms the doomer expectations, why Spencer Pratt is surging in the Los Angeles mayor race, why he still faces an uphill battle in the very liberal city, the latest on the JP Morgan female exec lawsuit saga, the new text messages revealed between the exec and the male accuser, and more. More from Knowles: https://www.dailywire.com/ Herald Group: Learn more at https://GuardYourCard.com SimpliSafe: Visit https://simplisafe.com/MEGYN to claim 50% off any new system! Pure Talk: Dial #250 and say keyword MEGYN KELLY to switch to Pure Talk and get unlimited data for just $34.99 a month! Birch Gold: Text MK to 989898 for a free info kit and to see if you qualify for up to $10,000 back through May 29.

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 28, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Politics·News Commentary