A no bullshit FOX political commentator and news pundit. A mother and wife. A graduate of Syracuse University and University of Albany Law School. One of Time's 2014 100 most influential people. Throw "clap back" champion into the mix and you will have described 45-year-old former attorney Megyn Kelly. She's ambitious, confident and takes no mercy from the stupid and brash. Her most recent clashes with politicians like Jeb Bush and Donald Trump have only helped to back her profile up.
Career woman
She's on the cover of Vanity Fair, freckled shoulders and wedding ring displayed to render her icy gaze and near condescending smirk more relatable to the common man and woman. The featured article portrays her as a master of the interview, a needler of the truth, an iron wall in the face of crude uncalled for comments.
Battle with Blowhards
Her goal isn't to be liked. Her goal isn't to play with politicians to gain their favor. Kelly caters to her audience and she does so with unrelenting attention and force. While not everyone will agree with the stances she takes on things (she was rather antagonistic towards Ahmed Mohamed, the 14-year-old "bomb clock" maker), she makes efforts to treat issues with a level head and common sense.
I'm kind of a die-hard liberal and I while I vehemently oppose her left of center views, I can really appreciate how thoroughly read this woman is. She's always well informed and she always has the research to back her statements up. When radio host Mike Gallagher called her maternity leave a "racket" on his show, she bit back on her show, calling the comment moronic. Gallagher asked if men received maternity leave. Kelly didn't miss a beat and responded with a succinct, "Guess what, honey -- they do. It's called Family Medical Leave Act."
Not a feminist
She personally reviewed the FOX News amassed files on Trump and his past statements and constructed a question that many perceived as feminist and tentatively placed her near the forefront of those fighting for the social, political and economic equality of the sexes.
It was a great question that got her a lot of backlash from both Trump and his supporters. It was an awkward situation to be in because many of FOX's viewers are Trump supporters who would sooner see her go than have their idol beaten around a bit on TV. Her coworkers, who wanted to maintain their good relationship with Trump, were wary about coming to her defense.
She can take care of herself, though. She knew her priorities - do your job and move on. She maintains the same attitude when it comes to things like equal wages and the glass ceiling. She holds that it makes sense for women to be paid less than men because of maternity leave and the burdens that motherhood places on your career. Although she has two kids herself, she's pretty set in her views.
While she may not be the feminist icon that mainstream media and politics is aching for, she's a brilliant woman with an intelligence, level-headedness, viciousness and sense of humor that mark her as a real force to be reckoned with.
