Political analysts and observers were stunned on Monday after a high-profile GOP media personality made an "incredibly gross" claim about the lethal strikes President Donald Trump's administration has conducted against alleged drug traffickers.
During a new episode of her show on SiriusXM, radio host Megyn Kelly claimed that she not only wanted to see the targets of the boat strikes killed, but she also wanted to see them "suffer." Kelly's comments come after new reporting from The Washington Post revealed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave verbal orders to kill survivors of one of the administration's boat strikes, a report that has renewed scrutiny of Hegseth's leadership of the Department of Defense.
"I would like Trump and Hegseth to make it last a long time, so that they lose a limb and bleed out," Kelly said, referring to the deaths of the alleged drug dealers stuck by the U.S. military. "Like, I am really having a hard time ginning up sympathy for them."
Political analysts and observers shared their thoughts on social media.
"People who think like this honestly have no place in civil society," author Seth Abramson posted on X. "I could see them living in swampland somewhere with a large collection of shotguns and several guinea pigs, but the idea that you can have the heart of a cold-blooded murderer and still have a career is bizarre."
"This is just incredibly gross and deranged stuff," Peter Bonilla, executive director of MIT Free Speech Alliance, posted on X.
"There is something seriously wrong with this woman," Randy Schulman, editor of Metro Weekly, posted on X.
"This is a weird thing to say," veteran GOP strategist Sarah Longwell posted on X.
"How sick do you have to be to have torture fantasies about random Venezuelans who may be drug dealers but also may be day laborers or humans being trafficked," Tim Miller, host of "The Bulwark Podcast," posted on X. "This is a disease."
"My god- who hurt this woman???" asked former tennis pro Martina Navratilova in a post on X. "She is a full on psychopath now!!!"
Megyn Kelly on alleged war crimes: "I really do kind of not only wanna see them killed in the water, whether they're on the boat or in the water, but I'd really like to see them suffer. I would like Trump and Hegseth to make it last a long time so they lose a limb and bleed out." pic.twitter.com/yvIWczKS5L
— Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) December 2, 2025
