Texas Weekly Online

Texas-trans-white
Menu
Menu

Year: 2024

Harris and Trump deadlocked in Pennsylvania as former president trails in other ‘blue wall’ states: poll

Harris and Trump deadlocked in Pennsylvania as former president trails in other ‘blue wall’ states: poll

With fewer than 47 days until the November election, Vice President Harris and former President Trump are tied with likely voters in Pennsylvania, which could be the state to decide the contest on Election Day.  Trump and Harris each garnered 49% of likely voters in the Keystone State, per a new Marist Poll.  Furthermore, 90% of likely voters who said they had a candidate preference also reported strongly supporting them.  GOP SENS CALL ON SCHUMER, DEMS TO TAKE UP BORDER BILLS AS THEY TOUT IMMIGRATION VIGILANCE “Pennsylvania is attracting the most attention of the Rust Belt states from the presidential candidates and with good reason,” said Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. “It’s the biggest prize in the region and the most competitive. Winning Pennsylvania doesn’t guarantee the White House, but it goes a long way.” In two other so-called “blue wall” states, Michigan and Wisconsin, Harris topped Trump in the survey.  The vice president is up five points in Michigan, 52% to Trump’s 47%. However, the margin is razor-thin in Wisconsin, where she only beat him by one point, 50% to 49%.  According to Miringoff, “of the three so-called blue wall states, Michigan is the one where there is a difference between Harris and Trump.” SECRET SERVICE TOLD LOCALS THEY WOULD ‘TAKE CARE OF’ BUILDING USED BY THOMAS CROOKS TO SHOOT TRUMP “The Michigan vote is being driven by Trump’s high negatives with Vance certainly providing no help for the GOP ticket,” Miringoff added, referencing the 53% of Michigan likely voters that view Trump unfavorably.  Inflation was the top issue for most Pennsylvanians by far, with one-third saying so. Despite it being a campaign priority for Democrats across the country, abortion was the fourth most likely to be a top issue for voters, at just 11%. It was beaten by immigration at 15%, and preserving democracy, which garnered 27%.  The top issue breakdown among Wisconsin voters was similar to that of Pennsylvania, but in Michigan, the issue of preserving Democracy proved to be the most important for the greatest number of voters.  ‘AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE’: SENATE REPUBLICANS CONDEMN PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY’S UN BID TO UNDERMINE ISRAEL At 30%, the most likely Michigan voters cited it as such. Inflation was close behind, at 29%. Immigration followed at 15%, while abortion received 10%.  In all three states, an at least 20-point gender gap exists between Harris and Trump, with men breaking more often for the former president and women tending to choose Harris.  GOP DEMANDS TRUMP HAVE ‘SAME LEVEL’ SECRET SERVICE PROTECTION AS BIDEN AFTER 2ND ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT While the gap exists for both of them, Trump’s woes with women seem to loom larger than Harris’ issue with men. Trump’s gap is particularly wide with women in Michigan, where Harris leads him by the most. In the state, the distance between Harris and Trump among likely women voters is 15 points.  The close polls come as Trump seems to be losing his edge in two critical states, according to the most recent Fox News Power Rankings. Both North Carolina and Georgia, which were once considered Republican strongholds, are now rated toss-ups in the presidential race.  With these presidential race shifts by Fox News Power Rankings, Harris has taken the overall lead in the forecast for the first time.  Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Trump makes a bold prediction about the 2024 presidential election

Trump makes a bold prediction about the 2024 presidential election

UNIONDALE, N.Y. – Standing in front of a packed arena on New York’s Long Island, former President Donald Trump predicted victory in November in the reliably blue state. “It hasn’t been done for a long time. But we are going to win New York. And that’s the first time in many, many years that a Republican can honestly say it. And we’re going to do it,” Trump vowed. “We have to do it. We do it, and the election nationwide is over,” Trump added as he spoke to what his campaign said was a capacity crowd of roughly 16,000 people packed into an arena in Nassau County, a suburban New York City Republican stronghold. Trump made a similar pledge four years ago before losing his native state to President Biden by over 23 points. And polling strongly suggests that Trump has no serious chance of carrying New York in his 2024 election showdown with Vice President Kamala Harris. TRUMP TOUTS ‘UNION SUPPORT’ AFTER TEAMSTERS SHOCKING ANNOUNCEMENT It’s been 40 years since a Republican nominee has carried New York state in a presidential election.  You have to go back to President Ronald Reagan, who won the state as part of his landslide re-election victory in 1984. Trump promised New Yorkers that if he wins back the White House, “I’m going to reduce your taxes, reduce your crime, and reduce your levels of stress.” WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLL SHOWS IN THE HARRIS-TRUMP SHOWDOWN And the former president pledged that during a second Trump term, “I will officially make the Ground Zero site at the World Trade Center a national monument protected and maintained by the United States government.” Wednesday’s rally was Trump’s second large campaign event this year in the Empire State, after drawing a big crowd in the New York City borough of the Bronx in May.  While there was some chatter of New York potentially being in play as President Biden’s poll numbers started cratering following his disastrous late-June debate performance against Trump, the conversation was fleeting and quickly dissipated when Harris replaced Biden atop the Democrats’ 2024 ticket two months ago. So why — with less than 50 days to go until Election Day and time becoming a very precious commodity — did Trump hold a campaign rally just outside of New York City? “Quite clearly, New York is the biggest media hub in the country,” Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh told Fox News on the eve of the rally. Murtaugh emphasized that “when [Trump] delivers a message there, it’s piped directly into homes in every market in every battleground state. The most valuable commodity we have is President Trump’s time. And that event is making efficient use of it.” DOES TRUMP OR HARRIS HAVE THE EDGE IN THESE KEY BATTLEGROUNDS? While Trump is extremely unlikely to carry New York in the White House race, the rally may help Republicans down-ballot, as they try to hold on to their House of Representatives majority in November’s elections. Several GOP-controlled House seats in New York state are considered vulnerable this year, including one held by Rep. Anthony D’Esposito of Long Island. A number of them were at the rally and spoke ahead of Trump. And the former president gave the House Republicans and congressional candidates shoutouts as he addressed the crowd. D’Esposito, in an interview with Fox News’ Bryan Ilenas, said “it is very clear – perhaps New York is not a battleground state, but what there is – is there’s a battleground right here on Long Island. And when Trump wins on Election Night, he is going to need a House majority and that House majority runs through the Empire State.” Trump’s rally was his first since this past weekend’s apparent second assassination attempt against the former president, and the 78-year-old GOP nominee insisted that the incidents had “hardened my resolve.” “These encounters with death have not broken my will,” he emphasized. “They have really given me a much bigger and stronger mission. They’ve only hardened my resolve to use my time on Earth to make America great again for all Americans, to put America first.” And Trump said that “God has now spared my life — it must have been God, thank you — not once but twice.” Fox News’ Jennifer Johnson contributed to this report Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub. 

John Kirby denies US involvement in Lebanon device attacks: ‘We want to see the war end’

John Kirby denies US involvement in Lebanon device attacks: ‘We want to see the war end’

National Security communications adviser John Kirby shot down multiple questions Wednesday about possible U.S. involvement in the explosion of hundreds of electronic devices used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon. “We were not involved in [Tuesday’s] incidents or [Wednesday’s] in any way. And I don’t have anything more to share,” Kirby said when asked to respond to the attacks.  Kirby’s comments came hours after several blasts were heard around Lebanon’s capital of Beirut and other parts of the country. Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV reported the explosions were the result of walkie-talkies detonating.  At least nine people were killed and another 300 were wounded in Wednesday’s attack, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.  The explosions came just a day after pagers used by hundreds of Hezbollah members exploded throughout Lebanon and parts of Syria, killing at least 12 people – including two children – and wounding thousands more.  HEZBOLLAH’S NEIGHBORS: ISRAELI BORDER COMMUNITY UNDER CONSTANT ATTACK FROM TERROR GROUP Both attacks are widely believed to have been the work of Israel, which has been fighting with Hezbollah almost daily since Oct. 8, the day after a deadly Hamas-led assault in southern Israel triggered the war in Gaza.  Since then, hundreds have been killed in strikes in Lebanon and dozens in Israel, while tens of thousands on each side of the border have been displaced. Hezbollah said its strikes are in support of its ally, Hamas. Reporters repeatedly pressed Kirby on Wednesday to say whether the U.S. was involved in the back-to-back attacks targeting members of Hezbollah or had been informed beforehand.   Kirby reiterated that he did not “have anything more to share today.”  “We want to see the war end. And everything we’ve been doing since the beginning has been designed to prevent the conflict from escalating,” Kirby said. “We still believe that there is a diplomatic path forward, particularly up near Lebanon.”  The attacks have heightened fears that what has been intermittent fighting between Israel and Hezbollah could escalate into an all-out war.  Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Israeli troops Wednesday: “We are at the start of a new phase in the war — it requires courage, determination and perseverance.”  Gallant made no mention of the exploding devices but praised the work of Israel’s army and security agencies, saying “the results are very impressive.”  Hezbollah announced three strikes on parts of northern Israel Wednesday, at least one of which took place after the latest round of explosions in Lebanon.

Sheriff calls the border wall ‘racist’ while seated next to mom of woman allegedly killed by illegal migrant

Sheriff calls the border wall ‘racist’ while seated next to mom of woman allegedly killed by illegal migrant

An Arizona sheriff told House lawmakers Wednesday a proposal for a wall on the southern border has a “racist component” to it unless a wall is built on the United States’ border with Canada as well.  Testifying before the House Committee on Homeland Security on the border crisis, Santa Cruz County Sheriff David Hathaway explained how immigrants have a positive economic effect during an inquiry from Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. “They actually reduce price inflation. You see help wanted signs all over the United States. If you add productivity to the economy, it makes the economy more productive,” Hathaway said.  Hathaway then addressed calls for a wall on the southern border with Mexico.  BIDEN-HARRIS BORDER CRISIS: VICTIMS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIME TESTIFY IN HOUSE HEARING “I hate to use the ‘R’ word, but it’s the 800-pound gorilla in the room,” he said. “There’s a xenophobic aspect to this. There was never a proposal to build a wall on the northern border, on the Canadian border. There was never any intent to aggressively enforce Title 42 on the Canadian border.” Title 42 is a Trump-era policy established during the COVID-19 pandemic that allowed U.S. officials to turn away migrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border because of health concerns. “So, you know there is this kind of racist component to it that we kind of all ignore, but it’s there smoldering in the background,” Hathaway said. His remarks came as he sat next to the mother of Rachel Morin, who was allegedly killed last year in Maryland by an illegal immigrant from El Salvador. TOP HOUSE COMMITTEE SHREDS BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN ON BORDER CRISIS IN NEW REPORT: ‘ASSAULT ON THE RULE OF LAW’  “An illegal immigrant that was a gotaway from El Salvador had waited for her on the trail. I was told that they grabbed her, dragged her through the woods, raped her, strangled her, murdered her,” Patty Morin told lawmakers.  “We were told that her body was blanketed in bruises. And I can tell you from looking at her when I went to the funeral home that it was probably the most graphic thing that I’ve ever seen.” The Biden administration has come under fire from Republicans over its border policies that have allowed record numbers of illegal migrants to enter the U.S.  Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., scalded Hathaway, questioning him about his knowledge of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. “And you’re a sheriff?” Gimenez asked. “That’s one of the most violent gangs that’s coming out of Venezuela. That’s coming through your town.” The congressman, an immigrant from Cuba, also took issue with Hathaway’s assertion that supporting a border wall is racist.  “I believe that immigration should be legal immigration. I disagree with illegal immigration. Am I a racist?” Gimenez asked before the sheriff doubled down on his border wall argument. 

Trump camp touts ‘union workers’ support’ after Teamsters’ shock announcement

Trump camp touts ‘union workers’ support’ after Teamsters’ shock announcement

UNIONDALE, N.Y. – The International Brotherhood of Teamsters announced on Wednesday that it won’t endorse either Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump in the 2024 White House election.  The powerful union decided to stay neutral in a presidential race for the first time in over a quarter-century – despite releasing internal polling of the union’s rank-and-file membership showing majority support for Trump.  And the populist former president and his campaign quickly spotlighted the strong support among union workers.  “It’s a great honor. They’re not going to endorse the Democrats. That’s a big thing,” Trump told reporters shortly after the Teamsters announcement, during a stop in New York City ahead of holding a rally on nearby Long Island. DAVID MARCUS: WHY TEAMSTERS MEMBERS THINK TRUMP, NOT HARRIS, IS THE REAL FRIEND OF THE WORKING MAN In a release titled “Union Workers Support President Donald Trump,” the campaign highlighted the former president’s more than 25-point margin over the vice president in both on-line and phone survey’s of Teamsters members.  Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt argued in a statement that “the hardworking members of the Teamsters have been loud and clear — they want President Trump back in the White House! These hardworking men and women are the backbone of America and President Trump will strongly stand up for them when he’s back in the White House.”  The powerful union, which has over one million members in the U.S. and is deeply connected to working-class voters in the key Midwestern general election battlegrounds and in other swing states across the country, until now had endorsed the Democratic candidate for president in every election since 1980.  And the Teamsters became the only one of the nation’s top ten not to back Harris in the 2024 presidential showdown.  Asked if the move by the Teamsters will impact the election, Trump said “I think it will. Yeah, I think so. The Teamsters carry a lot of weight.” Trump’s support among Teamsters has surged since Harris replaced President Biden at the top of the Democratic Party’s 2024 ticket two months ago, the union’s data indicated. The union’s polling prior to Biden dropping out showed the president was ahead of Trump among members, 44.3% to 36.3%.  DNC APPARENTLY SNUBS TEAMSTERS PRESIDENT FOLLOWING HIS HISTORIC RNC SPEECH Biden made history as the first president to walk the picket lines with striking workers.  In explaining the reasoning for declining to endorse a 2024 presidential candidate on Wednesday, the union said in a statement, “The union’s extensive member polling showed no majority support for Vice President Harris and no universal support among the membership for President Trump.”  Teamsters general president Sean O’Brien said that “neither major candidate was able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure the interests of working people are always put before Big Business.”  “We sought commitments from both Trump and Harris not to interfere in critical union campaigns or core Teamsters industries — and to honor our members’ right to strike — but were unable to secure those pledges,” O’Brien added.  O’Brien, speaking to reporters on Monday after the union’s executive board meeting with Harris [the board met earlier this year with Trump and separately with Biden], said that the polling of the rank and file members would be an important factor – but not the only factor in whether they would endorse – and if so – whom they would endorse. UNION LEADER’S PROVOCATIVE RNC SPEECH DRAWS IRE FROM SOME IN ORGANIZED LABOR O’Brien noted that any endorsement is “going to come down to the rank and file members, the polling and also the discussion and deliberation of the general executive board.”He also reiterated his criticism of Trump’s recent comments in an interview with billionaire business mogul Elon Musk – when the former president praised the tech CEO for retaliating against striking workers by firing them – which is illegal.  Asked if Trump’s comments would impact the Teamsters endorsement, O’Brien said “it plays into the decision.”  The Harris campaign, in a statement to Fox News after the move by the union not to back either major party presidential nominee, pointed to endorsements from “many Teamsters locals and rank-and-file.”  “While Donald Trump says striking workers should be fired, Vice President Harris has literally walked the picket line and stood strong with organized labor for her entire career,” Harris campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt said.  Hitt added that “the Vice President’s strong union record is why Teamsters locals across the country have already endorsed her – alongside the overwhelming majority of organized labor. As the Vice President told the Teamsters on Monday, when she is elected president, she will look out for the Teamsters rank-and-file no matter what – because they always have been and always will be the people she fights for.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.