Biden calls on world to condemn Hamas sexual violence, blames terror group for collapse of cease-fire
President Biden said Tuesday that Hamas had repeatedly raped women and mutilated their bodies during the Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel, citing accounts from survivors and witnesses to the attacks. While at a political fundraiser in Boston, the president called on the world to condemn the “unimaginable cruelty” of Hamas’ sexual violence “without exception.” “Reports of women raped — repeatedly raped — and their bodies being mutilated while still alive, of women’s corpses being desecrated, Hamas terrorists inflicting as much pain and suffering on women and girls as possible and then murdering them. It is appalling,” Biden said, according to Reuters. Israeli police are investigating possible sexual crimes by some of the few hundred Hamas members that they arrested after the Oct. 7 attack. Israel’s justice ministry said “victims were tortured, physically abused, raped, burned alive and dismembered.” WOMEN’S GROUPS FACE OUTRAGE FOR SILENCE ON HAMAS CRIMES: ‘IT’S TIME FOR PEOPLE TO SAY THIS IS WRONG’ In a statement on its Telegram channel, Hamas said it denounced Biden’s “attempt to falsely accuse” its fighters of committing sexual violence and rape on Oct. 7. The Palestinian terror group accused Biden and Israel of covering up war crimes in Gaza and spreading misinformation to sway public opinion. HAMAS HOSTAGES DRUGGED BEFORE RELEASE TO ISRAL TO LOOK HAPPY: REPORT Israel put on an event at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Monday to expose the sexual violence against women that took place during the Oct. 7 attack. U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres last week called for investigations into reports of rape and sexual assaults committed by Hamas after weeks of silence on the issue — which Israel harshly condemned. Israeli officers on Monday shared their experiences in recovering women’s bodies after the massacre on Oct. 7, showing girls with broken pelvises; women and girls without clothing and covered in blood; women and girls’ bodies with shooting wounds targeted at sexual organs; breast amputations; naked women and girls’ in showers with their hands tied behind their backs; additional amputation of genitalia and more. SHERYL SANDBERG DEMANDS CONDEMNATION OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE AGAINST JEWISH WOMEN BY HAMAS “As a global community we must respond to weaponized sexual violence, wherever it happens, with absolute condemnation. There can be no justification and no excuses. Rape as a weapon of war is a crime against humanity,” former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a pre-recorded video played at Israel’s event. More than 700 ambassadors and diplomats, representatives of UN agencies, Jewish organizations, and civil society organizations attended the event Monday. On Tuesday, Biden also blamed Hamas for breaking a cease-fire agreement with Israel, telling donors the terrorist group’s “refusal to release the remaining young women is what broke this deal.” Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman and Reuters contributed to this report.
Trump predicts Biden won’t be Democratic nominee: ‘Don’t think he makes it’
Former President Trump said Tuesday that he doesn’t believe President Biden will be the Democratic Party’s standard bearer in the 2024 presidential election contest. “I personally don’t think he makes it,” Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity during a town hall-style event in Davenport, Iowa, on Tuesday. Hannity had cited “strong Democratic voices,” like New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, CNN political commentator David Axelrod, CNN contributor Van Jones and others as being “so critical of Biden,” adding that he “is struggling cognitively.” “I can’t think of in the last couple of months any appearance that he’d had where he wasn’t either mumbling or bumbling or stumbling or having no clue where to go, where to exit. Now my question is: do you think in 11 months he will be their candidate?” Hannity asked Trump. BIDEN TO SUPPORTERS: ‘IF TRUMP WASN’T RUNNING, I’M NOT SURE I’D BE RUNNING’ “I think he’s in bad shape physically. Do you remember when he said, ‘I’d like to take him behind the barn’? If he took me behind the barn, and I went like this,” Trump said, puckering to blow air from his mouth, “I believe he’d fall over. I believe he’d fall over, who knows!” “And by the way, it was okay for him to say that,” Trump said of Biden’s comment. “He could say that and everybody thought it was so cute. If I ever said it, they’d say, ‘He’s a dictator, he’s a horrible human being.’ You know it’s a whole double standard we have, not only in the law but just about everything else, as you know very well. I personally don’t think he makes it physically. I watched him at the beach. He wasn’t able to lift a beach chair which is meant for children to lift … and mentally I would say he’s possibly equally as bad and maybe worse.” HERE ARE THE TOP MOMENTS FROM TRUMP’S ‘HANNITY’ TOWN HALL Trump continued: “I will say he’s got vicious people surrounding him around that beautiful Oval Office. There are people in that Oval Office that are evil people. Bad people. Smart people. Young, vicious, they are communists.” Trump specifically referred to Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who went up against GOP presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in a debate moderated by Hannity in Alpharetta, Ga. Trump said Newsom’s “slick but he’s got no facts.” “I thought he did well,” Trump said of Newsom, “Considering that he didn’t have the facts I thought he did well. He said ‘we have the lowest taxes in the country,’ ‘we have the cleanest streets in the country,’ and I’m saying wait a minute, is he talking about the same place?” “I guess they say that Kamala [Harris] would be the odds to beat,” Trump said, as the audience booed in response to Harris’ name. “Because they’d say if they didn’t give it to her, the African-American vote, the Black vote, would not go to them. And we just had a poll where I’m at 22 and 25% with the Black vote.”
In this East Texas town, a 45-foot tall oil pump is a holiday symbol and connection to the past
Rudolph the Red-Nose Pumping Unit has long been a holiday tradition in Lufkin. The machinery, now used worldwide to extract oil from the ground, was invented by a local businessman.
As offices sit empty and housing costs soar, some Texas developers are converting workspaces into apartments
Not every downtown high-rise is a good fit for an office-to-housing conversion, but some officials and developers see benefits in turning unused space into new residential units.
Internal Dem memo claims GOP bill outlawing EV mandates may lead to premature deaths
House Democratic leaders are circulating an internal memo outlining opposition to Republicans’ effort to prohibit federal electric vehicle (EV) mandates and reverse recent environmental regulations targeting gas-powered cars. The memo, obtained by Fox News Digital, states the so-called Choice in Automobile Retail Sales (CARS) Act would undermine the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ability to protect Americans from “dangerous air pollution” and adds such pollution causes thousands of premature deaths every year. The House Rules Committee green-lit the bill earlier this week, teeing up a floor vote Wednesday. “Democrats are fighting to protect Americans’ right to clean air and a safe climate, protect public health, and support EPA’s mandate to address dangerous pollution from the transportation sector,” the memo states. “Over 100 million Americans live in counties with unhealthy air pollution, with children, the elderly, low income communities, and communities of color being disproportionately at risk. Air pollution is associated with over 100,000 premature deaths in the United States every year.” “Republicans are employing scare tactics to deliberately mislead the American people about EVs in order to prop up Big Oil corporations,” it continues. “The reality is that EVs are already popular, cheaper to own, and ongoing technological advancements are translating to better options for consumers every year.” HOUSE SET TO HOLD VOTE ON BILL STRIKING DOWN BIDEN’S EV PUSH: ‘RADICAL AND UNATTAINABLE’ The memo is being circulated by Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee led by Ranking Member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., who has advocated for an aggressive green energy transition. The CARS Act — introduced over the summer by Reps. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., and Andrew Clyde, R-Ga. — would block regulations the EPA proposed in April that would significantly increase tailpipe emissions standards for gas-powered cars. The bill would also prohibit any rule mandating the use of a specific technology or regulations that limit the availability of new vehicles based on engine type. FORD DRAMATICALLY SCALES BACK EV PLANT AMID PLUMMETING SALES IN BLOW TO BIDEN’S GREEN ENERGY GOALS In addition to arguing that continued reliance on gas cars may lead to more premature deaths, the memo pushed back on Republicans’ arguments that the EPA actions amount to an “EV mandate.” It notes that automakers are announcing their own EV manufacturing goals independent of federal regulations. However, if the EPA rule is finalized, the White House projected that a staggering 67% of new sedan, crossover, SUV and light truck, and up to 50% of bus and garbage truck purchases could be electric by 2032. It also said the new standards would “accelerate the transition to electric vehicles,” likely because it would raise the price of gas-powered cars, making them cost-competitive with pricey EVs. “Auto Innovators does not believe [the proposed standards] can be met without substantially increasing the cost of vehicles, reducing consumer choice, and disadvantaging major portions of the United States population,” John Bozzella, the CEO of the large auto industry group Alliance for Automotive Innovation which supports EVs, said after the EPA published its proposal in April. “Taken together, the proposed GHG and criteria pollutant standards are so stringent as to set a de facto BEV mandate,” he added. Opponents of EPA’s actions — which are part of the Biden administration’s broader effort to increase EV ownership in the U.S. and fight global warming by curbing carbon emissions produced by the transportation sector — have argued the new standards would ultimately harm consumers through higher costs and by forcing them to buy certain vehicles. STUDY CASTS DOUBT ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES’ CLIMATE, COST BENEFITS: ‘WON’T ACHIEVE THE GOALS INTENDED’ They have also argued that a large EV push will benefit Chinese industry which currently dominates global EV battery supply chains. “Voting for the CARS Act and taking a stand against EPA’s de facto ban on most new gasoline, diesel, flex fuel and hybrid vehicles should not be a partisan issue for members of the House,” American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers Vice President of Government Relations Aaron Ringel told Fox News Digital. “Banning vehicle and fuel technologies based on just one category of emissions is unlawful, illogical and bad for consumers, families and our national security. It would trade our hard-earned energy security for dependence on China.” “The CARS Act will preserve consumer choice and allow individuals and families to continue selecting the cars and trucks that work best for them,” Ringel said. “Under this legislation, EPA would retain the ability to set ambitious, technology-neutral vehicle emission standards, but those standards may not be manipulated to force vehicle electrification or limit access to any vehicle powertrains.” He also cited polling data indicating 60% of Americans oppose the EPA’s proposal. And he took aim at messaging defending the proposal. “With regard to how some are messaging against the CARS Act, it’s silly to try and spin EPA’s proposal as anything other than a mandate and de facto ban,” he told Fox News Digital. “People across the political and news spectrums acknowledge that the point of EPA’s proposal is to force electrification.” “But if electric vehicles were really the more affordable, convenient option for consumers and the market, EPA’s proposal wouldn’t be necessary,” Ringel concluded. “The proposal — which will eliminate most vehicle models that run all or in part on American-made, American-grown liquid fuels — is meant to force consumers in a direction they’re not asking to go, toward prices they do not want to pay.” The White House said in a statement Monday that President Biden would veto the CARS Act if it were passed. If the House approves the bill Wednesday, it will move to the Senate where it has already received bipartisan support.
GOP lawmaker demands answers nearly a year after Chinese spy balloon was shot down near his hometown
FIRST ON FOX: The House lawmaker whose district the infamous Chinese spy balloon was shot down in is demanding information on the incident’s fallout nearly a year later. Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C., is introducing legislation to force the Defense Department to submit a report to Congress describing what kind of data was picked up about sensitive U.S. military sites and an analysis of the technology used to build the aircraft and where it came from. “The Biden administration sat on their hands and let this spy balloon freely fly across the country before shooting it down off the coast of my hometown of Surfside Beach, putting our country’s national security at risk and projecting weakness on the world stage,” Fry told Fox News Digital Tuesday. US NAVY RECOVERS ‘SIGNIFICANT’ PORTION OF CHINESE SPY BALLOON OFF SOUTH CAROLINA, DEFENSE OFFICIAL SAYS “Almost a year later, we still don’t know the consequences of this administration’s lack of action,” he added. The report would be due 90 days from the date the proposed Chinese Spy Balloon Assessment Act would become law. The surveillance balloon was shot down into the Atlantic near the coast of South Carolina’s Myrtle Beach. MAJORITY OF AMERICANS SAY CHINA IS GREATEST NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT, UP 30 POINTS IN FIVE YEARS The U.S. Air Force downed it Feb. 4, after roughly a week during which the balloon floated above parts of Alaska and the continental U.S. at an altitude low enough to be seen with the naked eye, alarming millions of Americans across the country. Beijing has insisted it was a civilian balloon and in no way related to China’s surveillance program. Information captured by the spy balloon is not believed to have been successfully sent back to Beijing, the Pentagon said in June. JOINT CHIEFS CHAIR RESPONDS TO CLAIM US IS UNPREPARED TO FACE CHINA THREAT, SAYS NATO ‘STRONGER’ THAN EVER Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters at a press conference that while the device had surveillance capabilities, “it has been our assessment now that [the balloon] did not collect while it was transiting the United States.” “As we said at the time, we also took steps to mitigate the potential efforts of that balloon,” Ryder said. But critics of the Biden administration have argued that allowing the low-altitude surveillance tool to freely float across the U.S. projects vulnerability and weakness on the world stage at the hands of one of the country’s biggest rivals. Administration officials have said that shooting down the balloon over land would have posed an undue risk to life and property. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
Republican senators threaten to challenge ‘alarming’ Biden rule on unaccompanied migrant children
Republican lawmakers and at least one state attorney general are calling for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to withdraw a rule they fear weakens vetting for sponsors of unaccompanied migrant children and would roll back protections for whistleblowers. Thirty-eight Senate Republicans led by Sen. Chuck Grassley want the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) to withdraw the Unaccompanied Children Program Foundational Rule, which was unveiled in September and purportedly codifies a framework for the care of child migrants who arrive at the border alone. They say it includes provisions that are “alarming, dangerous and potentially illegal.” “This Proposed Rule ignores nearly seven years of oversight conducted by Congress and the Office of Inspector General and reveals chronic foot-dragging — if not total reluctance — when it comes to protecting vulnerable children,” they say in a letter to the agency. UACs are transferred from Border Patrol custody to the care of HHS, who then move to unite the migrant with an adult sponsor, often a relative. However, the agency’s handling of the surge in UACs came under scrutiny this year after reports of children being trafficked into the labor force and the agency being unable to contact sponsors after giving them care of a minor. STUNNING IMAGES SHOW ARIZONA BORDER OVERRUN BY MASSIVE SURGE OF ADULT MALE MIGRANTS FROM ACROSS GLOBE HHS says the rule would “establish a comprehensive framework setting clear standards for the care and treatment of unaccompanied children in ORR’s custody.” It includes standards of placement and the release of children, operations, transport and monitoring. It also includes provisions for expanded legal services, post-release services, due process protections and the establishment of an office to handle concerns about government actions. “HHS is committed to the well-being and safety of unaccompanied children in our care,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement in September. “This proposed rule takes significant steps to ensure that these vulnerable children are protected and supported as they transition into new communities.” BIDEN ADMIN MAKES EXCEPTIONS TO SANCTIONS ON VENEZUELAN AIRLINE TO ALLOW DEPORTATION FLIGHTS Specifically, they argue that the rule would mean that vetting for sponsors is optional, including interviews, home visits, background checks and criminal history reviews. “In effect, ORR accepts a sponsor’s representations almost entirely on face value. ORR then delivers the child at taxpayer expense and free-of-cost to the un-vetted sponsor, opening up the possibility that a vulnerable child could fall into the hands of a potentially criminal or drug-addicted sponsor,” they say in the letter. They also criticize the rule for not ensuring any sponsor is in the country legally and for requiring whistleblowers to identify themselves to the agency before going to Congress. The lawmakers say that if the rule is not withdrawn, they will introduce a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act, which could potentially kill the rule if it gains enough support in the upper chamber. “ORR’s Proposed Rule abdicates the agency’s responsibility for protecting the vulnerable children in its custody from harmful behavior by poorly vetted, potential criminals,” the letter states. “The Proposed Rule is wholly unworkable and ORR should discard it and its current practices. If not, Congress will have no choice but to introduce a resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act.” Meanwhile, in Florida, Attorney General Ashley Moody submitted a comment saying that a state grand jury that has been investigating the child migrant crisis was “horrified” by the proposals. “It is an absolute travesty that tens of thousands of children are suffering due to the Biden administration’s terrible immigration policies — both that mass number of inadmissible immigrants are incentivized to enter the country illegally and that these unaccompanied alien children are subject to sexual abuse, human trafficking and other terrors at the hands of drug cartels,” Moody said in a statement. “And now, the administration is even seeking to WEAKEN their vetting policies for UAC sponsors. With the new discoveries by the statewide grand jury, we are fighting back and demanding ORR strengthen, not weaken, the vetting process for sponsors entrusted to care for these children.”
Trump campaign launching ‘extremely aggressive operation’ in final stretch to Iowa caucuses
Former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign says it’s shifting into a higher gear with less than six weeks to go until Iowa’s caucuses kick off the Republican presidential nominating calendar. “We have an extremely aggressive operation and an extremely aggressive schedule,” Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita told Fox News Digital, as he pointed towards the final stretch leading up to the Jan. 15 contest in Iowa. LaCivita spoke as he accompanied the former president to Davenport, Iowa on Tuesday, where Trump sat down with Fox News’ primetime host Sean Hannity for a town hall. “The last couple of weeks, we’ll be blitzing” Trump touted at the end of the town hall. “We’re up by like 30 or 40 points but we’re not taking any chances.” DESANTIS STOPS IN ALL OF IOWA’S 99 COUNTIES, BUT WILL IT HELP HIM CLOSE THE GAP WITH TRUMP? The former president — the commanding front-runner in the GOP nomination race as he makes his third straight White House run — has been picking up the frequency of his Iowa stops in recent weeks. Trump enjoys a very large double-digit lead in the most recent public opinion surveys in Iowa’s GOP caucuses over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley — the ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration — who are fighting for second place in the Republican race in the Hawkeye State. LaCivita previewed that the Trump campaign is planning a slew of Iowa visits not only from the former president but also from “dozens of surrogates that are going to be storming the state campaigning… in every venue that has people.” GAME ON IN IOWA WITH THE CAUCUSES CLOSING IN He said there were “close to 1500-1600 precinct captains throughout the state that, literally, their sole job is to run each individual caucus that takes place and making sure that the list of the targeted voters supporting President Trump show up.” LaCivita, a veteran Republican consultant with over three decades of campaign experience, highlighted “the sheer volume of information that we have on caucus voters who’ve voted in the past, potential caucus voters. It’s an enormous amount of data. And this is very much a data-driven operation.” Trump’s Tuesday town hall in Iowa came three days after he was last in the state, to headline caucus organizing events. DeSantis was also in the state on Saturday as he accomplished his goal of stopping in all of Iowa’s 99 counties. At his event Saturday in Jasper County, he was joined by popular Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds, who endorsed him in early November. THIS CANDIDATE REMAINS IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT AS THE FIRST VOTES IN THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL RACE NEAR Also teaming up with DeSantis was Bob Vander Plaats, president and CEO of The Family Leader, an influential social conservative organization in a state where evangelical voters play an outsized role in Republican politics. Vander Plaats endorsed DeSantis the weekend ahead of Thanksgiving. DeSantis has repeatedly vowed he’ll pull off an upset by winning Iowa. While Trump has hosted roughly 20 events in Iowa this year, the Florida governor has made around 130 stops, many of them hosted by the DeSantis-aligned super PAC Never Back Down. Additionally, the super PAC has spent millions to put together a formidable ground game in Iowa. However, what once appeared to be a two-candidate fight for the nomination is now a three-way battle. Haley, who has enjoyed momentum in the polls in recent months, thanks in part to well-received performances in the first three GOP presidential primary debates, has leapfrogged DeSantis for second place in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary and votes second in the Republican nominating schedule, and her home state, which holds the first southern contest. She aims to make a fight of it in Iowa, where she is pulling even with DeSantis in some of the latest polls. Last week, Haley landed the backing of Americans for Prosperity Action, the political wing of the influential and deep-pocketed fiscally conservative network founded by the billionaire Koch Brothers. AFP Action has pledged to spend tens of millions of dollars and mobilize its formidable grassroots operation to boost Haley and help push the Republican Party past Trump. Asked if the DeSantis and Haley get-out-the-vote efforts rival the Trump campaign’s operation, LaCivita argued “they don’t come close.” “All we have to do is turn out our vote. That’s it,” LaCivita said. “Our base is solid. The amount of extra people we have to convince is negligible.” Pointing to DeSantis and Haley, he said they “have to convince people to vote for them, vote against us, and then they have to turn them out… that’s not easy.” Trump made history earlier this year as the first former or current president to be indicted for a crime, but his four indictments — including in federal court in Washington, D.C., and in Fulton County court in Georgia on charges he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss — have only fueled his support among Republican voters. But Trump’s campaign says it’s not taking anything for granted. Looking ahead to the final stretch leading up to the caucuses, LaCivita said “our only concern is complacency.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Here are the top moments from Trump’s ‘Hannity’ town hall
Former President Trump joined Fox News’ “Hannity” on Tuesday night for a town hall discussion on the GOP presidential primary, President Biden, dictatorships, and more. Trump joined Hannity in Davenport, Iowa, for the town hall, one day before the fourth GOP presidential primary debate in Alabama on Wednesday. Here are the top moments from Trump’s “Hannity” town hall on Tuesday night. HANNITY KICKS OFF TRUMP TOWN HALL WITH TOPICS INCLUDING RUSSIA, BIDEN, ‘DICTATORSHIP’ AND MORE Trump predicted President Biden ultimately wouldn’t be the Democrats’ nominee for president in 2024. The topic arose when Sean Hannity asked Trump about the criticism facing Biden from his fellow Democrats, as well as noted that he seemed to be “struggling cognitively.” “I personally don’t think he makes it, okay? I haven’t said that. I’m saving it for this big town hall. I’ve never really said that. I personally don’t think he makes it,” Trump answered, to cheers from the audience. “I think he’s in bad shape physically,” he added before joking about a previous instance in which Biden said he’d like to take Trump to the “back of the barn.” Trump joked that Biden would “fall over” if he simply blew on him. “I personally don’t think he makes it physically. I watched him at the beach. He wasn’t able to lift a beach chair, which is meant for children to lift. And mentally I would say he is possibly equally as bad, and maybe even worse,” Trump added. The former president turned some heads with some of his comments during the town hall, most notably with his comments to Hannity’s question asking Trump to pledge to “never abuse power as retribution against anybody.” “Except for day one,” Trump said. “I want to close the border and I want to drill, drill, drill.” Hannity said “that’s not retribution,” with Trump quipping back, “I love this guy, he says, ‘you’re not going to be a dictator are you?’” “I said, ‘No, no, no, other than day one,” Trump said. “We’re closing the border and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling,” Trump said. “After that, I’m not a dictator.” Hannity said that it sounded like what Trump was saying was that he would go back to his first-term policies, to which the former president agreed. Trump’s comments come after multiple media outlets claimed a second term for the former president would result in a “dictatorship.” Biden’s campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez blasted Trump over the comments, saying in a release, “Donald Trump has been telling us exactly what he will do if he’s reelected and tonight he said he will be a dictator on day one.” “Americans should believe him,” she said. Trump mocked President Biden for his claim that he wouldn’t be running for re-election if Trump wasn’t in the race. “Well, I think somebody gave him a talking point. They thought that would sound good,” Trump said as the crowd laughed. “You know, I just found out that Democrats are funding Nikki Haley’s campaign. I hear that Democrats are contributing to Ron DeSanctus’, or Ron DeSanctimonious, to Ron DeSanctus’ campaign. And then you hear the talking points. That’s the only thing they’re good at, cheating on elections and great talking points,” Trump added. Biden made the statement earlier in the day to a group of supporters at a Boston fundraiser, saying, “If Trump wasn’t running, I’m not sure I’d be running. But we cannot let him win for the sake of the country.” Trump came out swinging in his town hall, but one of the biggest moments of the night was the former president calling his shot in the Hawkeye State. The former president declared to Fox News’ Sean Hannity that he would “win Iowa.” Trump touted the “hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes and tariffs” from China and “gave the farmers $28 billion.” “That’s why I say I’m going to win Iowa,” Trump said, eliciting cheers from the Hawkeye State crowd. “My people say, ‘Please sir, don’t keep saying you’re going to win Iowa, you sound so, really, horrible, crass’ — someone said ‘crass,’” Trump continued. “I said, ‘But it’s true. We’re going to win Iowa,’” the former president continued. Trump noted again that he “gave the farmers $28 billion” and that he “got it from China” during his administration. “Who else could do that? Who else would be able to do it, number one, who else would think about it?” Trump asked, adding that he told farmers to “buy more land” and “bigger tractors.” Trump’s town hall began with him torching Biden over his criticism of his MAGA movement. “You know, I see Biden talking about, ‘Oh, MAGA! MAGA!’ MAGA means Make America Great Again. That’s what it means. And that’s what people want,” Trump said to cheers from the crowd. “They want to see our country be great again. Right now we’re not a great country. We’re a country in decline. We are a declining country,” he added. The Biden campaign has ramped up its criticism of Trump as polls consistently show him trailing the former president. He has frequently blasted the the MAGA movement as “extremist,” and attempted to tie other conservative Republicans into that criticism.
Newsom cancels public capitol Christmas tree lighting, opting for virtual event amid planned protests
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has canceled the public capitol’s annual Christmas tree lighting, instead opting to host a virtual event amid planned pro-Palestinian protests, according to a report. According to KCRA, Wednesday’s 92nd Annual California State Capitol Tree Lighting was initially expected to be an in-person event in Sacramento, but a decision was made to make the event virtual because of planned protests. An announcement posted on Tuesday by the governor’s office states that a pre-recorded virtual ceremony will be released on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The California Highway Patrol barricaded most of the capitol building’s west side lawn, where the tree is located, according to the report. Several signs read “KEEP OUT, NO TRESPASSING.” ‘MR. GRINCHMAS’ CAUGHT ON CAMERA STEALING CHRISTMAS TREE OFF CALIFORNIA FAMILY’S SUV Originally, Newsom was planning to welcome people to the event, which was supposed to feature multiple business stands and concert performances. A spokesperson for Newsom told the outlet that nationwide protests were a factor in the decision to hold the event virtually. “As we continue to see protests across the country impacting the safety of events of all scales — and for the safety and security of all participating members and guests including children and families — the ceremony this year will be virtual,” the spokesperson said. “The program is unchanged and viewers can tune in Wednesday evening to watch this year’s festivities.” The Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Rights as well as several other organizations had planned to hold a protest at the event, telling the outlet they wanted to “out Gov. Gavin Newsom for hiding from the public because he doesn’t want to face their anger at his shameful stance in regard to the genocide in Gaza.” CALIFORNIA TEACHER STRUGGLING WITH DISCIPLINING STUDENTS DUE TO STATE LAW: ‘IT’S HARD’ “Governor Newsom decided to cancel the tree lighting ceremony rather than face the public that is enraged by his shameful silence on the genocide in Gaza. This certainly doesn’t add up with his past stance with Native Americans,” said Yassar Dahbour of Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Rights. California GOP Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson said in a statement to Fox News Digital that Newsom is a “modern-day Grinch.” “Gavin Newsom still won’t condemn the pro-Hamas and antisemitic protests that shut down his own party’s recent convention, so it’s no surprise he’d prefer to hide from a tree lighting where he risked being confronted by more protesters. Newsom is a modern-day Grinch whose cowardice is punishing the public and small businesses who’d planned on celebrating this joyous occasion,” said Patterson. James Gallagher, California Assembly Republican Leader, said in a statement to Fox News Digital that the decision is “pathetic.” “First Newsom was silent when terrorist sympathizers stormed his own party convention, and now he’s allowed pro-Hamas radicals to intimidate him into canceling an event that was supposed to spread a message of unity, joy and peace. It’s pathetic that he doesn’t have the spine to stand up to these extremists,” said Gallagher.