NBC host Megyn Kelly took a shot at Donald Trump's privileged upbringing and the idea that he made her famous in an interview published Friday, saying the president "did not make me; I made me."
Bristling at the notion that Trump's clashes with her brought her fame, the former highly rated Fox News host reminded USA Today readers of Trump's large loan from his father to get his real estate career started.
"I was doing just fine, so I don't appreciate when people suggest I was some college co-ed prior to Donald Trump finding me in obscurity and plucking me out," she said. "Donald Trump did not make me; I made me. And for the record, unlike President Trump, I did not have a rich father who gave me a $1 million loan when I was a kid. My dad died when I was in high school, I paid my own way and lifted myself up."
Kelly left Fox News in January and is debuting her new show Monday on NBC called "Megyn Kelly Today." Insiders have confessed doubts about the show's prospects and Kelly's ability to transition from politics to the lighter nature of morning television. Her limited-run Sunday evening newsmagazine this summer was a critical and ratings disappointment.
Kelly said the show will be less about politics and more about inspiring and empowering people.
"We'll definitely be talking about major developments out of Washington, but it's not going to be the Trump channel. I just don't think that's what people are looking for," she said.
Kelly also revealed she spoke to Trump the week he was inaugurated.
"I congratulated him; he congratulated me on taking this job at his former shop," Kelly said. "He had all sorts of advice to me on the show, and it was very cordial, and we're fine."
NBC News chief Andy Lack admitted of Kelly's new morning show, "There is risk and it's unnerving and a little scary." NBC's "Today" franchise is, in Lack's estimation, worth $500 million to the network.
At Fox News, Kelly was known for her tough questioning and sharp commentary that at times did not fit with conservative orthodoxy. She and Bill O'Reilly proved to be a powerful 1-2 combination in the ratings.
Her clashes with Trump began in 2015 when she pressed him at a Republican debate about crude remarks he had made in the past about women. His subsequent comment that she was bleeding from her "wherever," and invective against her by his supporters, proved to be a major subplot of the campaign.
Kelly received threats from some Trump supporters over the next year which she said made that time a "torment."