Top Democratic super PAC launches massive $50M ad spend for Harris leading up to DNC
A top Democratic super PAC has launched a massive ad buy across several battleground states to boost Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential candidacy leading up to the Democratic Party’s convention in Chicago next month. Future Forward, the largest Democratic-leaning super PAC, announced this week it will spend $50 million supporting Harris in six states in the next three weeks ahead of the convention in Chicago, The Washington Post reported. Additionally, the outlet reported that the second-largest independent supporter of Democrats, American Bridge 21st Century, will start placing ads Friday in the key swing state of Michigan. On top of that, Women Vote, part of the Emily’s List network, announced Thursday it was spending $2 million to target younger women in four battleground states. HARRIS WON’T SAY IF SHE’S PUSHING HAMAS TO AGREE TO A CEASE-FIRE AFTER PUBLICLY PRESSURING NETANYAHU “We’re ready to hit the ground running to make sure voters know that Kamala Harris will be a president that fights for them,” Future Forward President Chauncey McLean told The Washington Post Thursday. “She is focused on improving the lives of all Americans, while Donald Trump is only focused on himself.” TAKE IT FROM ME, REPUBLICANS: KAMALA HARRIS IS A STRONG CANDIDATE. DON’T UNDERESTIMATE HER David Axelrod, a former top adviser to former President Obama, called the move a “big development.” “Pro-Harris SuperPAC to launch major buy in the battleground states, with an initial spot to highlight her battles as a DA, attorney general and VP,” Axelrod posted on X. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Essential air cover, especially as the Trump forces spend to define her negatively.” One of the ads will describe Harris as “the district attorney who protected children from sexual predators” and “the attorney general who stood up to the big banks to protect homeowners and won.” The Washington Post reported that MAGA Inc. is also planning to spend $32 million going after Harris before Labor Day, which will bring its total spending during that period to $72 million. Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump campaign for comment but did not immediately receive a response. A new survey compiled after Biden dropped out of the race reveals Trump and Harris are tied in the crucial swing state of Michigan despite the former president’s previous lead by nearly double digits. National polls have sent mixed signals, with some showing a tie and some showing a slight lead for either candidate. The New York Times/Siena College released a new survey this week that found Trump leads Harris by only one percentage point among likely voters, 48% to 47%. Among registered voters, Trump led Harris by two percentage points. Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady contributed to this report
Park Police union says officers ‘did everything they could’ during DC anti-Israel riot
Following the protests at Union Station by anti-Israel agitators defacing federal property in protest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress, a Park Police union is pushing back against criticism that only a few arrests were made. Thousands of Hamas-sympathizing agitators descended on Washington, D.C., Tuesday, at one point defacing federal monuments with phrases in support of the terrorist group responsible for the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, saying, “Hamas is coming.” Twenty-three people were arrested at the protests, but some have suggested that number should have been higher. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., posted on X, “How many more times are they going to allow leftist degenerates who support terrorism and hate America to vandalize property and attack police? There should have been hundreds of arrests today in D.C. not just 23.” HOUSE REPUBLICANS REPLACE AMERICAN FLAGS AT UNION STATION AFTER ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS But the U.S. Park Police Labor Committee is pushing back. “Our officers on the ground did everything they could to protect life and property. In fact, despite having only 29 officers available to mitigate damage — 29! — with no additional help from the Department of the Interior, we processed several arrests for charges ranging from assault on a police officer to destruction of government property,” Kenneth Spencer, chairman of the United States Park Police Fraternal Order of Police, said in a statement. “That’s why it’s so disheartening to hear some members of Congress and members of the media, many of whom describe themselves as ‘champions’ of law enforcement, suggesting that officers gave protesters a ‘pass’ or that insufficient arrests were made. “Nothing could be further from the truth. Anyone who truly cares to understand the problem would see that our officer staffing crisis is at the root of our agency’s mission readiness. A small unit of 29 officers arrested 10 individuals while being assaulted by a mob of thousands. We simply did not have the staffing or resources to accomplish a mass arrest operation.” SEE IT: THE MOST DRAMATIC PHOTOS FROM WEDNESDAY’S PRO-HAMAS WASHINGTON, D.C. PROTESTS At least one demonstrator, whose face was covered, was spotted by Fox News carrying what appeared to be the flag of the terrorist group Hamas while others were heard shouting “Allahu Akbar.” KAMALA HARRIS REACTS TO ANTI-ISRAEL RIOTS AT DC’S UNION STATION The White House condemned the protests Wednesday evening, calling the chaos “disgraceful.” “Identifying with evil terrorist organizations like Hamas, burning the American flag or forcibly removing the American flag and replacing it with another is disgraceful,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a comment to Fox News Digital Wednesday evening.
Ramaswamy warns GOP on several ‘hard realities’ to address before criticizing Harris: ‘Hurting our chances’
Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy issued a warning to Republicans this week that they need to be aware of some “hard realities” around the way they message their criticisms of Vice President Kamala Harris now that she is the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. “The bottom line is, I think what’s happened is a lot of Republicans were caught by surprise after the convention,” Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital on Friday. “That’s resulted in some reactive steps that I don’t think all make sense. And I think they’re actually hurting us.” Ramaswamy spoke to Fox News Digital about a viral comment he posted Thursday on X that was seen by over 3 million people that addressed issues and concerns he has seen with the way Republicans are talking about the matchup between Harris and former President Trump. Ramswamy’s first point and concern is that Republicans are calling for Biden to step down or be removed from office, using the argument that if he is not capable of running for president, he isn’t capable of serving as president. VIVEK RAMASWAMY ‘WOULD CONSIDER’ TAKING JD VANCE’S SENATE SEAT IF ASKED “I think this makes absolutely zero sense and here’s why,” Ramaswamy explained. “Kamala Harris is unproven as a political leader, let alone as the U.S. president. Why put her in a position as the U.S. president with all the benefits of incumbency? Oval Office addresses, God forbid, to even change policy or foreign policy, to be able to create circumstances that make her look better. That’s one of the advantages that many incumbent presidents, the sad truth is, have used throughout American history.” Ramaswamy said calling on Biden to step down is “another example” of Republicans being “reactive,” which ends up “hurting our chances rather than helping us.” “It’s not going to be good for America and it’s not going to be good for Republican electoral prospects if Kamala Harris is the President of the United States of America for even a short period of time, for even a minute,” Ramaswamy said. “I don’t think that’s something we should want, and it doesn’t make sense and that’s why I called it out.” Many Republicans have focused on Harris’ record as a prosecutor, which Ramaswamy warned could backfire if they focus too much on attacks that she “locked up” too many people for petty crimes. NEW POLL SHOWS TRUMP, HARRIS TIED IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE: ‘CLOSE AS CLOSE CAN BE’ “So look, this is the other category of criticisms I see coming, even from some conservatives, saying that she locked up too many people while she was a prosecutor,” he said. “This is the wrong line of attack. It doesn’t make sense.” Ramaswamy continued, “In fact, one of the images that Kamala Harris is trying to project is that she’s somehow going to be a law-and-order presidential candidate. I find that laughable. Look at under the Democratic regime, including policies that she has supported, clear the jails, defund the police. That’s resulted in a wave of rampant crime in this country. People in the United States of America, across the aisle and both camps, are dead set against this wave of crime. But if against that backdrop, Republicans are criticizing her for locking too many people up, it doesn’t make sense because it legitimizes the otherwise laughable claim that she’s a law-and-order candidate.” Republicans have also accused Harris of covering up Biden’s health issues while at the same time accusing the vice president of orchestrating a soft “coup” to remove him from the ticket. Ramswamy told Fox News Digital those two messages don’t mesh. “The main point is what voters really care about is the future,” he said. “What are we actually going to deliver? And the more we focus on bickering on that past political missteps or whatever from the Democratic side, the more small-minded we’re going to be seen as being. “On one hand, you have Republicans saying that Kamala Harris covered up for Joe Biden. She was covering for him and telling the public that he was actually a great president, when in fact he wasn’t cognitively capable. On the other hand, at the same time, we’re saying that Kamala staged this coup against Biden. It doesn’t make sense to many independent voters to say both of those things at the same time. They’re self-contradictory. And if we say things that don’t make sense, we’re more likely to lose votes, which is the thing that I care most about. So I come back to the basic point. That’s not how we’re going to win this election. We’re not going to win this election by picking at these nit-picking… ‘inside baseball’ political criticisms of Kamala. It doesn’t matter. The voters don’t care.” FLASHBACK: NEW HARRIS CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISER MADE SEVERAL INSENSITIVE COMMENTS ABOUT WOMEN, GAY PEOPLE Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital that Harris is not the “biggest risk” the Republican side faces, but rather the “shenanigans on the Democratic side.” “The voters don’t love Kamala Harris on her own terms,” Ramaswamy said. “We know that because even when she was running in the Democratic primary, she didn’t even make it to the Iowa caucus. I was an unknown 37-year-old businessman, ran for office for the first time as U.S. president last year. I have more delegates that have supported me for U.S. president than Kamala Harris ever has had. That’s because voters don’t find her compelling. So it’s not that Kamala Harris is our biggest risk.” When asked if some Republicans are underestimating Harris’ ability to win, Ramswamy said that “complacency” is always a concern. “You got to compete like you’re behind, or else you soon will be,” he said. “We’re not up against a candidate. It’s not Kamala. It’s not Joe. It’s not any other individual candidate. We are up against a machine and the more we understand that, we have formidable opponents. Let’s take stock of some sobering realities. Republicans have lost devastating defeats relative to expectations in
Buttigieg ripped for ‘extraordinarily brazen’ slam on Trump that critics say was accidental ‘dunk’ on Biden
Biden Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was ripped by conservatives on social media Friday after he mocked former President Trump for showing “weakness” by not agreeing to debate VP Harris in September. “Has a presidential nominee ever agreed to a debate, then pulled out? Remarkable show of weakness here,” Buttigieg posted on X before being mocked by conservatives who argued that former President Trump had an agreement with Biden, who dropped out of the race and effectively pulled out of the scheduled debate. “Yes. Biden. Literally this past weekend,” CNN’s Scott Jennings posted on X. “Joe Biden agreed to 2 debates, then pulled out of his entire campaign after the first one,” pollster Frank Luntz posted on X. TAKE IT FROM ME, REPUBLICANS: KAMALA HARRIS IS A STRONG CANDIDATE. DON’T UNDERESTIMATE HER “The only one I can think of is Joe Biden, right?” The Federalist’s Mollie Hemingway posted on X. “I’m actually surprised Pete would dunk this hard on his boss, Joe Biden,” Fox News contributor Guy Benson posted on X. “The man *just* pulled out of the race (and therefore the second debate), clearly against his will. Undeniable weakness aside, give him a moment of peace.” FLASHBACK: NEW HARRIS CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISER MADE SEVERAL INSENSITIVE COMMENTS ABOUT WOMEN, GAY PEOPLE “This is the sort of extraordinarily brazen tack you take only when you know that the media is in full campaign mode in your favor,” National Review’s Charles C. Cooke posted on X. Fox News Digital reached out to Buttigieg’s office and the Harris campaign but did not receive a response. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump said earlier this week he’s open to debating Vice President Harris more than once as the two face off in the 2024 presidential election. “Absolutely. I’d want to. I think it’s important,” Trump said Tuesday when asked by Fox News’ Bill Melugin on a conference call with reporters if he would commit to debating Harris at least once. “I would be willing to do more than one debate, actually,” Trump said. Minutes later, Trump noted, “I haven’t agreed to anything. I agreed to a debate with Joe Biden.” The Trump campaign said Thursday he will not participate in a debate until Democrats finalize their nominee because it “would be inappropriate to schedule things with Harris because Democrats very well could still change their minds.” Harris criticized that position from the Trump campaign as “backpedaling.”
Fox News Poll: Dead heat between Harris and Trump in Michigan
The presidential contest between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump is tied in Michigan, a state widely seen as a “must have” for Democrats. Harris exceeds President Joe Biden’s performance among some key voting blocs, and that makes it a dead-even race for the first time this year, according to a Fox News survey of Michigan voters conducted after Biden dropped out and endorsed Harris. In a hypothetical head-to-head matchup, Harris and Trump each garner 49% support. Trump was ahead of Biden by 3 points in April and by 2 points in February. In the wake of being unofficially embraced as the party’s nominee, Harris received higher support than Biden did in April, while Trump’s number held steady despite the survey being conducted soon after the Republican National Convention and a failed assassination attempt. Here’s why the race is a tossup: Men favor Trump by 13 points, while women back Harris by 12. Voters ages 45 and over prefer Trump by 2 points, but Harris is the choice among voters under 35 by 5 points. Whites without a college degree pick Trump by 15 points, while Whites with a degree go for Harris by 3 points and voters of color back her by 39 points. Harris also receives support from union households (+6 points), and she trails by only 9 points among those who “somewhat” disapprove of Biden’s job performance. NETANYAHU REPORTEDLY UPSET WITH HARRIS OVER VP’S ISRAEL REMARKS AS WHITE HOUSE PUSHES BACK Other groups backing Trump include Independents (+8 points), rural voters (+20), and White evangelical Christians (+48). Compared to Biden in April, Harris performs better with Democrats (by 3 points), men (+5), Whites without a college degree (+6), Black voters (+7), voters under age 35 (+ 12), and those with negative views of both Biden and Trump (double haters +23). She does worse than Biden among voters ages 65 and over (-3 points) and suburban women (-2). “Harris does slightly better with some key Democratic constituencies and heightened enthusiasm on the left is real,” says Daron Shaw, a Republican who conducts Fox News surveys with Democrat Chris Anderson. “However, Democrats were completely depressed over Biden, and he was hemorrhaging support among young people and nonwhites, so it’s a pretty low bar.” Overall, 7 in 10 say they are extremely motivated to vote this year, and they back Trump over Harris by 1 point. DOOCY GRILLS WHITE HOUSE ON CLAIMS THAT HARRIS WAS NEVER ‘BORDER CZAR’ About 5 in 10 Michigan voters say they are falling behind financially, while almost 4 in 10 are holding steady, and 1 in 10 are getting ahead. Those numbers are mostly unchanged since April. The economy dominates for Michigan voters, as more than twice as many (35%) say it will be the most important issue to their vote as say the same about immigration (17%) and abortion (16%). All other issues rank in the single digits. Trump is favored among those voting on immigration (+79) and the economy (+31), while those prioritizing abortion prefer Harris (+68). In a potential expanded ballot, Harris trails Trump by 2 points (43-45%), with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. getting 7%, and Jill Stein and Cornel West at 1% each. In April, Trump also topped Biden by 2 points, with Kennedy at 9%. Kennedy gets a touch more backing from those who support Trump (8%) than Harris (6%). Biden won Michigan in 2020 by 2.78 percentage points and received 50.62 percent of the vote. The new survey finds 43% of voters approve of the job he is doing, while 56% disapprove — including 14% of those who voted for him in 2020. Most, 79%, approve of Biden’s decision to abandon his re-election bid and nearly two-thirds want him to finish his term. Those numbers are even higher among Democrats, as nearly 9 in 10 both approve of him leaving the race and want him to stay in office. Seven in 10 Michigan Democrats want Harris as the Democratic Party’s nominee, while 2 in 10 favor their governor, Gretchen Whitmer, for the role. However, Whitmer outperforms Harris in a potential 2-way matchup against Trump, besting him by a 6-point margin (52-46%). She receives more support than Harris among White voters (by 3 points), women (+3), non-college Whites (+4), and Independents (+6). Whitmer is also the only one in the survey with a positive personal rating. A 56% majority of Michigan voters has a favorable opinion of her, while 42% view her negatively for a net +14 points. All others are underwater, including Harris (-4 points), Trump (-5), and GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance (-10). One in five Michigan voters are unable to rate Vance. Since April, Biden’s favorable rating has slipped, going from negative by 16 points to negative by 20 today. Trump’s rating, on the other hand, has improved by 3 points over the same period. Four years ago this month, Biden’s favorability was +11 and Trump’s was -10 (July 2020). “While the race might not look much different based on the horserace, Democrats are clearly in a better position with Harris at the top of the ticket,” says Anderson. “Biden had become deeply unpopular in Michigan, but now Democrats can hit the reset button with a candidate with the exact same favorability as Trump and who is capable of campaigning vigorously.” Poll-pourri In the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, Democrat Elissa Slotkin is ahead of Republican Mike Rogers by a 5-point margin, 51-46%. The Michigan primary is Aug. 6. Some 9% of Trump supporters defect to Slotkin, while 5% of those backing Harris switch parties to support Rogers. CLICK HERE FOR TOPLINE AND CROSSTABS Conducted July 22-24, 2024 under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with a sample of 1,012 Michigan registered voters randomly selected from a statewide voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (117) and cellphones (647) or
‘Huge win for the world’: US celebrates as Sinaloa cartel leaders are arrested
Biden administration officials and U.S. lawmakers reacted with delight Friday after the arrest of two Sinaloa cartel leaders, and one Republican lawmaker told Fox News Digital it was a “win for the world.” Authorities announced Thursday that Ismael Zambada Garcia, also known as “El Mayo,” who co-founded the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel, was taken into custody in El Paso, Texas. Also taken into custody was Joaquín Guzmán López, the son of the cartel’s other co-founder, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. SINALOA CARTEL CO-FOUNDER ‘EL MAYO’ TAKEN INTO US CUSTODY “The Justice Department has taken into custody two additional alleged leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the most violent and powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said. “Ismael Zambada Garcia, or ‘El Mayo,’ cofounder of the Cartel, and Joaquín Guzmán López, a son of its other cofounder, were arrested today in El Paso, Texas.” Zambada Garcia and now-jailed drug lord “El Chapo” founded the Sinaloa cartel. A federal law enforcement source told Fox News Joaquín Guzmán López surrendered to U.S. authorities, but El Mayo was captured. Guzmán López cut a deal with U.S. authorities and turned on El Mayo, the source explained. Guzmán López got on a private airplane with El Mayo and instead of heading south to Mexico like El Mayo thought, the plane went north to El Paso, where the two were taken into custody. The Department of Justice was offering a $15 million reward for information leading to El Mayo’s arrest and conviction. He now faces a litany of indictments for crimes related to drug trafficking and organized crime in the United States. President Biden hailed the capture of the two men and noted how it was a victory for the fight against illicit fentanyl, which is primarily created in Mexico and then smuggled across the southern land border. “I commend the work of our law enforcement officials who made this arrest for their ongoing work to bring Sinaloa cartel leaders to justice,” Biden said. “Too many of our citizens have lost their lives to the scourge of fentanyl. Too many families have been broken and are suffering because of this destructive drug. My administration will continue doing everything we can to hold deadly drug traffickers to account and to save American lives.” ‘SYMBOLIC’ $4.6B PUNISHMENT AGAINST CARTEL THAT MURDERED AMERICANS TAKES CREATIVE LEGAL TURN TO BECOME REALITY Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, who represents a district along the southern border, told Fox News Digital it was a “huge win for the world, certainly for America.” “I cannot thank the agents of FBI, DEA and HSI enough, you know. And I’d also say this wasn’t because of the bureaucrats in Washington. This was just good old-fashioned field work,” he said. “And I think this is what’s something that gets lost in all the political conversations right now, is we’ve got men and women from these agencies that just go to work every day. And I’m just grateful.” However, Gonzales also warned about the possibility of a power vacuum opening up after their capture. MEXICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE PROMISES TO TAKE ON THE CARTELS WHO ARE ALREADY FIGHTING BACK “The reality is every time this happens, sometimes the organization fractures into more tiny little pieces, and they’re even more ruthless than before. And, so, we have to look at it through that lens of going, ‘This is a positive thing, but also how do we prepare?’” Gonzales said. He said he had been on a call with DOJ officials about whether additional resources or movements are needed. “It’s not all rainbows and unicorns, if you will, and it’s a very positive thing. But we’ve got to be prepared for the realities of a void in leadership in these criminal organizations,” he said. Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report
Bernie Sanders says Trump’s ‘lying’ when he claims Kamala Harris is more liberal than the Vermont senator
EXCLUSIVE: WEST LEBANON, N.H. — When it comes to Sen. Bernie Sanders, former President Trump is no laughing matter. The longtime independent senator from Vermont, progressive champion and two-time runner-up in the Democratic presidential primaries is on a two-day swing this weekend in neighboring New Hampshire as well as Maine to campaign on behalf of Vice President Kamala Harris to make sure the GOP presidential nominee doesn’t return to the White House. “Trump cannot get elected. We’ve got to do everything we can to make sure that does not happen,” Sanders told a crowd of supporters during his first stop Friday in New Hampshire, a key swing state in presidential elections. TRUMP MOVES TO DEFINE HARRIS AS ULTRA-LIBERAL But minutes earlier, Sanders briefly broke out in laughter when asked in a national exclusive interview with Fox News about comments from Trump this week arguing that Harris — who has replaced President Biden at the top of the Democrats’ 2024 national ticket — is more liberal than the Vermont senator. Trump over the past week has worked to define Harris, a former San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general, as an ultra-liberal, pointing to her record in the U.S. Senate and as vice president. WHITMER CHARGES VANCE HAS ‘ABSOLUTELY BETRAYED’ HIS WORKING CLASS ROOTS Speaking to a packed arena in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday, Trump charged that Harris was the “most incompetent and far-left vice president in American history… She is a radical left lunatic who will destroy our country if she ever gets the chance to get into office.” And mentioning Sanders, Trump argued that Harris is “more liberal than Bernie Sanders. Can you believe it?” Sanders, responding, said, “I would hope that when he said, ‘Can you believe that?,’ people said no.” “It’’s not true. Once again, Trump is lying,” Sanders emphasized. “Let me just simply say that for better or for worse, Kamala Harris is not more progressive than I am.” During his Fox News interview and later at his event, Sanders took aim at Trump, who two months ago was convicted of 34 felony counts in the first criminal trial of a former or current president in the nation’s history. “This is the most important election, I think, in our lifetimes. I will do everything that I can to see that Donald Trump is defeated,” the senator stressed. REPUBLICANS ARGUE HARRIS REPLACING BIDEN AT TOP OF DEMOCRATS’ TICKET ‘UNDEMOCRATIC’ Sanders argued that “the American people will not and cannot accept a president who is a pathological liar, somebody who believes that women should not be able to control their own bodies, somebody who in the midst of massive heatwaves thinks climate change is a hoax and somebody who actually does not believe in democracy, has not said that he will accept those election results if he loses. So, for all of those reasons, Trump must be defeated.” Sanders is campaigning on behalf of Harris, but he hasn’t formally endorsed the vice president. “I think if the vice president is to win this election, and obviously I want her to win, I think she has to start talking about issues of relevance to the working class of this country, because there are tens of millions of people who are really hurting,” Sanders explained. “They want to know what the next president is going to do for them, and I hope very much that Vice President Harris will make that clear.” “The path towards victory is to talk about issues that are relevant,” he reiterated. Asked what Harris specifically needs to detail, Sanders said, “I hope that the vice president will be talking about the need to substantially lower prescription drug costs… the need to have tax reform so the wealthiest in this country start paying their fair share of taxes, so we can greatly expand child care and affordable housing in this country, and I think we’ve got to be very strong on the issue of climate change and make it clear that we’re going to transform our energy system away from fossil fuel if we’re going to save this planet for future generations.” Sanders said that Harris’ choice of a running mate — which is expected to come in the next two weeks — will be a signal of whether she will project a progressive agenda as she runs for the White House. “I think it will, and I hope very much she looks at one of the many progressive people who are out there who I think would do a good job as vice president,” the senator said. Sanders was making his swing through New Hampshire and Maine less than a week after President Biden suspended his 2024 re-election rematch with Trump. Biden made his move amid mounting pressure from within the Democratic Party for him to drop out after a disastrous performance in last month’s first presidential debate with Trump. The embattled president’s immediate backing of Harris ignited a surge of endorsements of Harris by Democratic governors, senators, House members and other party leaders. By Monday night, the vice president announced that she had locked up her party’s nomination by landing the backing of a majority of the nearly 4,000 delegates to next month’s Democratic National Convention. On Friday morning, former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama were among the final major party leaders to endorse the vice president. Harris has also hauled in a staggering $129 million in fundraising since Biden’s announcement, her campaign touted on Thursday morning. Republicans charge that the process has been anything but democratic — and they point to Biden’s own words. Before dropping out, the president had repeatedly cited the 14 million votes he won in this year’s Democratic presidential primaries as a reason he should stay in the 2024 race. “The voters — and the voters alone — decide the nominee of the Democratic Party,” he emphasized in a letter on July 8. “Not the press, not the pundits, not the big donors, not any
Kamala Harris and the southern border crisis: A timeline
Vice President Kamala Harris is the presumptive 2024 Democratic nominee for president, and one of the issues that has come up in the days since she was endorsed by President Biden is her leadership dealing with the migrant crisis at the southern border. But what is her role, and what is her record? Migrant crossings at the southern border, which had been increasing in the last months of the Trump administration, skyrocketed after Biden entered office. Biden also rolled back a number of Trump-era initiatives and attempted to place a moratorium on deportations. With numbers rising quickly, Biden told reporters that Harris would be put in charge of tackling root causes, issues like climate change, poverty and violence the administration believes was driving migrants north. “There’s about five other major things she’s handling, but I’ve asked her, the VP, today — because she’s the most qualified person to do it — to lead our efforts with Mexico and the Northern Triangle and the countries that help — are going to need help in stemming the movement of so many folks, stemming the migration to our southern border,” he said. It quickly led to Harris being dubbed by media outlets and Republicans as the “border czar.” The White House rejected that title, but it has stuck with her ever since and made her a figurehead along with DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for the crisis. WHY NOW? MEDIA OUTLETS LARGELY QUIET ON TIMING OF SUDDEN CRACKDOWN OF KAMALA HARRIS ‘BORDER CZAR’ LABEL After the assignment by Biden, and with numbers skyrocketing through subsequent months to record highs, Harris immediately came under pressure to visit the border as the White House said her role was more diplomatic than related to the border directly. She instead went to Mexico and Guatemala and had a stern message for migrants that upset immigrant activists. “Do not come. Do not come. The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our borders,” she said. “If you come to our border, you will be turned back.” Yet the migrants did continue to arrive, and the crisis only grew in the months ahead. An awkward moment took place during her trip to Mexico, when she asked a reporter named Maria Fernanda to ask a question during a press conference. But it was actually an activist. “I voted for you,” she said. “My question is, what would you say to these women, those mothers and also women of color on both sides of the border, farmers, many of them who I see every day as a message of hope but also as — what will you do for them in the next coming years?” As the pressure rose for her to go to the U.S. southern border, Harris pushed back. “You haven’t been to the border,” NBC’s Lester Holt told her, after she claimed she had been to the border. “And I haven’t been to Europe,” Harris quipped. Later that month, she went to the border in El Paso, Texas, where she received a briefing and toured a processing center while meeting with advocates and providers. Amid the ongoing crisis, reports emerged that Harris was dissatisfied with her role in general, including the border assignment. Politico reported that the border visit was a “chaotic moment” in an office dealing with diminished trust and low morale. In a book released in 2023, an author reported she let the assignment slide. “She let the criticism guide her,” Franklin Foer wrote in “The Last Politician.” “Instead of diligently sticking to the Central America assignment, she seemed to accept the conventional wisdom about it. It was a futile gig, so she let it fall to the side, missing an opportunity to grind her way to a meaningful achievement.” Harris was one of the members of the administration who fueled a since-debunked narrative about migrants being whipped by Border Patrol agents in the Del Rio Sector. “What I saw depicted about those individuals on horseback treating human beings the way they were was horrible,” Harris told reporters. “And I fully support what is happening right now, which is a thorough investigation into exactly what is going on there. But human beings should never be treated that way. And I’m deeply troubled about it. And I’ll also be talking to Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas about it today.” A subsequent investigation faulted the agents for minor infractions but found the underlying claims migrants were whipped were not true. Harris would largely be unseen through the rest of 2021 and 2022 on the root causes strategy, although a private sector initiative to draw investment to tackle those root causes would continue. But she would not visit the border again. Amid continually high numbers that outpaced 2021, Harris warned that her strategy could not be expected to bring results right away. “None of this is going to be just turning on a switch. It requires focus. It requires intention. It requires an investment over a period of time, which means, in the short point, is that you’re not going to see the benefit of it overnight because the problems didn’t occur overnight,” she said in an interview. AXIOS HIT WITH COMMUNITY NOTE AFTER CLAIMING HARRIS WAS NEVER ‘BORDER CZAR’ In June 2022, she traveled to the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles and met with other leaders on how to handle the crisis. During that summit, she announced that $3.2 billion in commitments from private sector companies had been secured. She also doubled down on the root causes explanation for the crisis. “First, I do believe most people don’t want to leave home. They don’t want to leave their grandmother. They don’t want to leave the place where they worship and the community that they’ve always known,” she said. “And so, when they do, it is usually for one of two reasons: They are fleeing harm or to stay means they simply cannot satisfy their basic needs or the needs of their family.” But 2022’s summer
Trump announces plan to hold rally in Pennsylvania town of failed assassination attempt
Former President Trump said he plans to hold a campaign rally in the same Pennsylvania town where he was shot earlier this month in a failed assassination attempt. Trump was shot near the ear in Butler while speaking to supporters. The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper. “I WILL BE GOING BACK TO BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA, FOR A BIG AND BEAUTIFUL RALLY, HONORING THE SOUL OF OUR BELOVED FIREFIGHTING HERO, COREY, AND THOSE BRAVE PATRIOTS INJURED TWO WEEKS AGO,” Trump wrote Friday on Truth Social. “WHAT A DAY IT WILL BE — FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT! STAY TUNED FOR DETAILS.” This story is breaking. Please check back for updates.
Trump impeachment Dem pushes back on GOP concerns over possible role in assassination attempt probe
The office of a House Democrat who played a prominent role in former President Trump’s first impeachment is now pushing back against GOP-fueled criticism that he should not be on the task force investigating the attempted assassination of the former president. Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., who came under fire last year for saying that Trump “has to be eliminated,” is among the Democrats being considered for a place on the bipartisan commission to study the July 13 shooting at Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania, rally, a source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital. “As someone with a lifelong commitment to democracy and the rule of law, Congressman Goldman immediately clarified a misstatement from last November to emphasize his strong condemnation of all political violence. The Congressman demonstrated with pointed questioning during congressional hearings last week that the Secret Service must be held accountable for its unacceptable security lapse, and he is determined to ensure such a failure never happens again,” Goldman’s spokesperson Madison Andrus told Fox News Digital. FBI WANTS TO INTERVIEW TRUMP AFTER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: SOURCE Goldman first came to national prominence as Democrats’ lead counsel during Trump’s first impeachment trial. He has remained a vocal Trump critic since coming to Congress in January 2023. His potential placement on the commission has already invoked the ire of Trump allies since first being reported in Punchbowl News on Friday morning. Among those leading the criticism is Donald Trump Jr., who recalled that Goldman had said that Trump needed to be “eliminated,” in a November 2023 MSNBC interview, which Goldman has since apologized for. “Democrats are trying to put Dan Goldman on the committee to investigate the assassination attempt. Just weeks ago he called for DJT to be ‘eliminated.’ Probably not the best person to have on this task force,” Trump Jr. wrote on X. TRUMP RALLY BULLET TRAJECTORY ANALYSIS CONTRADICTS FBI ‘SHRAPNEL’ TESTIMONY ON CAPITOL HILL: REPORT Goldman wrote on X in November 2023, “Yesterday on TV, I mistakenly used the wrong word to express the importance for America that Donald Trump doesn’t become President again. While he must be defeated, I certainly wish no harm to him and do not condone political violence. I apologize for the poor choice of words.” Philip Letsou, deputy communications director for the Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, wrote on the site, “Democrats are evidently planning on stacking the task force to investigate the assassination attempt on Trump with conspiracy theorists like Dan Goldman.” The House voted to establish the commission in a unanimous 416-0 vote last week. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said the panel will have seven Republicans and six Democrats, chosen by himself and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., respectively. As of Friday morning, Jeffries’ office told Fox News Digital that no final decisions had been made. But a second source who spoke with Fox News Digital said that another possible contender is Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., who served as State’s Attorney for Prince George’s County for nearly a decade from 2003 until 2011, before coming to Congress in 2023. On the GOP side, a senior Republican lawmaker told Fox News Digital that “it seems like half our members want to be on the task force.” A third source who spoke with Fox News Digital said that Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., was in strong consideration to play a prominent role on the panel. Kelly, whose district the shooting took place in, was present when the shooting occurred. Kelly was also the leader of the resolution establishing the task force that passed the House this week.