Megyn Kelly didn’t mince words when she called out Katie Couric for dismissing millions of Americans as jealous and anti-intellectual — a tone-deaf swipe from a media elite that thinks it gets to lecture the rest of us from its glass tower. Kelly’s rebuke was sharp and unmistakable: when the media treats working-class voters with contempt, they drive the very divide they pretend to solve.
Couric made those sweeping comments on Bill Maher’s Club Random podcast, arguing that socio-economic disparities, class resentment and “anti-intellectualism” are driving Trump’s base — language that reads as a stereotyped broad-brush dismissal of real people with real concerns. Her framing echoed the worst kind of elite condescension, the same attitude that produced the infamous “basket of deplorables” moment in 2016.
Kelly was right to point out that this isn’t insight so much as projection; Couric’s remarks reveal more about how out-of-touch the legacy press has become than they do about voters who are fed up with rising crime, open borders, and the indoctrination of children. Calling voters “anti-intellectual” while sipping artisanal lattes in a Manhattan studio does nothing to bridge the gap — it widens it.
Predictably, Couric’s comments drew fire from commentators across the spectrum who saw the snobbery for what it was, and conservatives smelled déjà vu from 2016. Piers Morgan and others publicly told her to “put a sock in it,” while outlets reported a swift backlash on social media and among pundits who called her out for being out of touch.
Even Bill Maher pushed back, reminding viewers that millions of Americans genuinely fear what they see happening in schools, at the border, and in their towns — fears the mainstream media refuses to portray faithfully. That pushback underscores a simple truth: when the press refuses to understand ordinary voters, it hands the political ground to those willing to listen.
This episode should be a wake-up call to any journalist who still believes smug lectures will win hearts and minds. Hardworking Americans won’t be condescended to into agreement — they want respect, honest reporting, and policies that secure their families and futures. The media can either sober up and start reporting or keep losing credibility to outlets and voices that actually talk to the country.
