You probably saw the photos. It was late October 2024, right in the heat of a presidential election, and Megyn Kelly—the woman who once moderated presidential debates for Fox News—was suddenly posing for a selfie wrapped in literal black plastic. Specifically, it was a Megyn Kelly garbage bag dress. She paired the makeshift outfit with a bright red "Make America Great Again" hat and a grin.
It wasn’t a fashion disaster. Honestly, it was a calculated political statement.
To understand why a millionaire media personality would drape herself in Hefty bags, you have to look back at a very specific week in American politics. It all started with a comment from President Joe Biden that set the internet on fire. While the White House tried to walk it back, the MAGA world did what they do best: they leaned in. They didn't just ignore the "garbage" label; they owned it.
The Biden Quote That Started the Trash Trend
Context is everything here. A few days before Halloween, Joe Biden was on a campaign call. He was responding to a comedian at a Donald Trump rally who had called Puerto Rico a "floating island of garbage." Biden’s response was clunky. He said, "The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters."
The backlash was instant.
The White House tried to argue he was referring to the rhetoric as garbage, not the people, but the damage was done. Trump supporters saw it as a "Deplorables 2.0" moment. Donald Trump himself even climbed into a white garbage truck while wearing a neon orange safety vest. Megyn Kelly, never one to miss a viral moment, decided to take the visual gag to the extreme for Halloween.
How the Megyn Kelly Garbage Bag Look Came Together
Megyn didn't just throw on a vest. She went full DIY. On her podcast and social media, she revealed she was going as "hot garbage."
- She used multiple black trash bags to create a strapless dress.
- She tied it off at the waist to give it a "silhouette."
- The final touch was the MAGA hat.
- She captioned the photo: "Happy Halloween Garbage People!"
It was satirical. It was "trolling" at a high level. But it also showed how much her brand has shifted since her days at NBC or her early career at Fox. She wasn’t trying to be the objective journalist anymore; she was firmly planted in the middle of the MAGA movement, using her platform to signal-boost the base's grievances.
Why This Specific Stunt Mattered
A lot of people on the left thought it was cringey. You’ll find plenty of Reddit threads and "The Mary Sue" articles calling it a "desperate" attempt to stay relevant. Critics pointed out the irony—a woman who was once a victim of Trump's "blood coming out of her wherever" comments was now dressing up to support his campaign.
But for her audience? It worked.
The Megyn Kelly garbage bag costume was a way of saying, "If you call us trash, we'll wear it as a badge of honor." It’s a common tactic in modern populist politics—taking an insult and turning it into a uniform. We saw it with the word "Deplorable" in 2016, and we saw it with the "garbage" tag in 2024.
The Evolution of Megyn's Halloween Choices
Megyn Kelly has a weird history with Halloween. Most people remember the 2018 scandal where she defended the use of blackface in costumes on her NBC show. That comment basically ended her career at the network and led to a $69 million payout.
Since then, her Halloween looks have been a barometer for her political standing.
- 2017: She dressed as Shania Twain on the Today Show. It was safe, mainstream, and a bit "cringey" according to viewers.
- 2024: The garbage bag. It was defiant, partisan, and tailor-made for X (formerly Twitter).
The difference is night and day. She’s no longer playing to the "morning show mom" crowd. She’s playing to the digital-first, conservative-heavy audience that listens to The Megyn Kelly Show on SiriusXM.
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The Reaction: From Viral Success to "Grifter" Labels
Social media was split, which is exactly what a content creator wants. Her supporters called it "legendary" and "the best costume of the year." They loved that she was willing to look "ugly" or "cheap" to make a point about how the ruling class views the working class.
On the flip side, the "news ghoul" labels came out in force.
Critics argued that she was "debasing herself" for clicks. Some pointed out that Donald Trump Jr. and Brett Cooper had similar ideas, suggesting it was a coordinated MAGA media push rather than a spontaneous DIY moment. Whether it was coordinated or not, the image of Megyn Kelly in a garbage bag became one of the most shared photos of that election cycle's final week.
Was it Actually Effective?
In the world of SEO and digital metrics, absolutely. The phrase "Megyn Kelly garbage bag" spiked in search trends. It kept her name in the headlines without her having to break a news story. In the 2026 media landscape, attention is the only currency that really matters. By embracing the "garbage" label, she ensured her podcast would be the center of the conversation for at least 48 hours.
Practical Lessons from the "Garbage" Moment
If you're looking at this from a media or branding perspective, there's a lot to learn about how Megyn operates today. She understands that nuance doesn't travel well on social media. Visuals do. A well-tailored dress doesn't get shared; a dress made of trash bags gets millions of impressions.
- Don't fear the "cringe": If your audience loves it, it doesn't matter if your critics hate it.
- Speed is key: She posted the look while the Biden comment was still fresh in the news cycle.
- Visual storytelling: You don't need a 20-minute monologue when a single photo of a trash bag says it all.
If you're interested in how political branding works, look at how the "garbage" narrative was handled across the board. From Trump's truck to Kelly's dress, it was a masterclass in reclaiming a narrative. You don't have to agree with the politics to recognize the effectiveness of the stunt.
To dig deeper into how these viral moments impact polling or public perception, you should look into the final "voter sentiment" reports from the 2024 election. It turns out that being called "garbage" was a major motivator for a specific segment of the electorate.