Megyn Kelly Reveals Vladimir Putin's 'Obvious Manipulation' During Interview

Russian President Vladimir Putin once attempted to subject Megyn Kelly to "obvious manipulation," the television journalist has claimed.

Kelly made the remarks Wednesday during an episode of her podcast, "The Megyn Kelly Show," which featured Russian chess champion and anti-Putin activist Garry Kasparov as a guest.

"When I interviewed Putin and I spent a fair amount of time with him, in three separate sit-downs … One of the first things he said to me, and he knew I was the mother of three children, was how much his mother meant to him," Kelly said.

Putin also highlighted the "close relationship he had" with his mother, which Kelly said was "an obvious manipulation."

Kelly's revelation came after Kasparov told her Putin had "managed to charm his Western counterparts."

"He used his KGB knowledge. I think the tricks were quite primitive, but it did work," said Kasparov, who was forced into exile after he attempted to run against known Putin ally Dmitry Medvedev in Russia's 2008 presidential election.

Kasparov also recalled a conversation that Putin had with former President George W. Bush where the Russian head of state noted his religious connections and attempted to use them to have a conversation with his American counterpart, a born-again Christian.

The allegedly "invented" story revolved around Putin being baptized in the Soviet Union and wearing the cross given by "the mother," Kasparov claimed.

"Bush, a devoted Christian - he bought the story. It created a bond and we should give Putin credit, you know, he knew how to work with people," the former world chess champion claimed.

Kelly was in Moscow in 2018 to speak to Putin as part of a primetime broadcast special on NBC.

She questioned Putin over claims made by American intelligence officials who accused the Russian government of waging a cyber campaign to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

While Putin denied the allegations, the U.S. Senate later concluded that Russia interfered in the election on former President Donald Trump's behalf, with Putin himself allegedly ordering the efforts to hack computer networks and accounts affiliated with the Democratic Party, the cohort of Trump's then-rival, Hillary Clinton.

"Moscow’s intent was to harm the Clinton Campaign, tarnish an expected Clinton presidential administration, help the Trump Campaign after Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee, and undermine the U.S. democratic process," the Senate report read.

Moreover, Putin also interfered in the most recent presidential elections by authorizing efforts to hurt the candidacy of incumbent President Joe Biden, the U.S. intelligence community claimed.