Biden’s ‘insanely weird story’ about great-grandfather, violent secret society sparks debate
President Biden delivered an anecdote to union workers at a Harris-Walz campaign event in Pennsylvania, saying that his great-grandfather was accused of being a member of a violent Irish secret society, in what social media commenters called an “insanely weird story.” “I remember when my great-grandfather was only the second Catholic elected statewide in the state Senate here in Pennsylvania,” Biden told Harris-Walz supporters on Labor Day at a union hall in Pittsburgh. “And I remember they talked about — when they’d run against him in 1906 — they said, ‘Guess what? He’s a Molly Maguire.’” The Molly Maguires were an Irish secret society that operated in Ireland, parts of England and in Biden’s homestate of Pennsylvania. In the Keystone State, they were known as a band of Irish immigrants who would attack, and sometimes allegedly murder, anti-Irish Catholic mine owners. “A lot of the English owned the coal mines,” Biden said. “And what they did was they really beat the hell out of the mostly Catholic population in the mines. Not a joke.” COMER REVEALS WHITE HOUSE PHYSICIAN WAS INVOLVED IN BIDEN FAMILY BUSINESS DEALS, DEMANDS HE TESTIFY Biden went on to explain how the Molly Maguires would defend Catholic immigrants targeted by Protestant mine owners and foremen. “And Molly Maguires, if they found out the foreman was taking advantage of an individual, they would literally kill him. Not a joke. And they would bring his body up and put him on the doorstep of his family,” he said. IS PRESIDENT BIDEN TAKING TOO MANY VACATIONS? “Kind of crude, but I gotta admit they accused my great-grandfather of being a Molly Maguire — he wasn’t, but we were so damn disappointed,” Biden quipped, sparking laughter from the union workers. “That was a joke. That was a joke,” Biden then said to the crowd. The Molly Maguires have an infamous and debated history in Pennsylvania, which included the 1877 execution of six men allegedly involved with the secret society in Pennsylvania. Social media commenters said the anecdote was an “insanely weird story” on X, while others accused the president of repeating a “tall tale.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House regarding social media claims that it was unlikely the great-grandfather was suspected to be a member of the secret society as he would have been a teenager during the Molly Maguires’ hey-day in Pennsylvania. The White House directed Fox News Digital to an Irish America Magazine article that previously reported on Biden’s great-grandfather and his ties to Pennsylvania and the Molly Maguires. The publication Irish America reported in 2020 that Biden’s great-grandfather, Edward Francis Blewitt, had deep roots set in Biden’s hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, at the turn of the century. Blewitt served as chairman of the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade in 1897, was elected to the state senate in 1906 and co-founded the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick in Scranton in 1908. The article detailed that Biden’s great-great-grandfather James Finnegan moved to Scranton, home to the Molly Maguires, and that his son was rumored to be a member of the secret society. “Rumored to be a member of the Molly Maguires was Biden’s great-grandfather Edward Francis Blewitt, a native of Louisiana whose parents Patrick and Catherine (nee Scanlon) Blewitt were from Ballina, Co Mayo.” it continued. BIDEN CLAIMS NETANYAHU NOT DOING ENOUGH TO SECURE DEAL WITH TERRORISTS Biden has also previously cited his grand-grandfather while on the campaign trail, including in 2008 when he was running as then-Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential running mate. “I hope you won’t hold it against me, but I am a hard-coal miner, anthracite coal, Scranton, Pa.,” he said in 2008 in Virginia. “It’s nice to be back in coal country. … It’s a different accent [in Southwest Virginia] … but it’s the same deal. We were taught that our faith and our family was the only really important thing, and our faith and our family informed everything we did.” BIDEN TEAMS UP WITH HARRIS ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL FOR 1ST TIME SINCE DROPPING RE-ELECTION BID AGAINST TRUMP He added of his great-grandfather’s alleged connection to the Molly Maguires, “He went out of his way to prove that he wasn’t, and we were all praying that he was.” Biden dropped out of the presidential race in July, as concerns mounted around his mental acuity and traditional Democratic allies in Congress and in the media called on him to step aside for another candidate. Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris shortly after bowing out of the race, catapulting her to the top of the ticket. Harris became the Democratic Party’s official nominee last month in Chicago during the DNC. Biden’s appearance on Monday in Pittsburgh marked the first time he hit the campaign trail in support of Harris since dropping out. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
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California Dems kill GOP bid to exempt tips from taxes
California’s Democratic-controlled legislature axed a Republican proposal that would have exempted tipped-income from state income taxes, striking down a policy proposal similar to ones endorsed by Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. “It is deeply disappointing that the legislature chose not to consider a proposal that could have provided much-needed relief to California’s workers,” Republican State Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, who introduced the measure, said in a press release after it was defeated. Ochoa Bogh introduced the amendment in California’s Senate on Thursday that would have exempted service industry workers with a state tax exemption on tips, but the proposal was voted down on a mostly party line vote without discussion or debate by the Democratic majority. TRUMP PLEDGES TO ELIMINATE TAXES ON TIPS FOR SERVICE WORKERS DURING LAS VEGAS RALLY “With Californians facing one of the highest costs of living in the nation, our service and hospitality industry employees are particularly burdened by a tax system that leaves them struggling to make ends meet,” Ochoa Bogh said. “They deserve better, and today’s decision is a missed opportunity to support those who need it most.” The attempt to exempt tips from taxes in the state comes as both Trump and Harris have expressed support for federal tax legislation that would exempt tipped-income on the campaign trail. Trump was the first to champion the proposal during a June rally in Nevada, while Harris, who started her political career in California, echoed a similar sentiment during an August rally in Las Vegas. According to a press release by California Senate Republicans, the proposal in that state was aimed at helping service workers navigate California’s “unsustainable tax burden,” allowing workers who rely heavily on tipped-income to have more take-home pay. REPUBLICANS BLAST BIDEN ADMIN OVER PLAN TO CRACK DOWN ON WAITERS’ TIPS All nine Republican state senators supported the amendment, while almost all the state’s Democratic senators, except for Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire and State Sen. Nancy Skinner, voted in opposition. McGuire and Skinner voted to abstain. “The negligence involved in a refusal to even debate a policy issue of this magnitude cannot be overstated,” Republican Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones said in the release. “Legislative Democrats knew they were on the wrong side of this important issue, so they chose to sweep it under the rug rather than do the right thing for working Californians. The push to eliminate the federal tip tax has made its way to the campaign stage for both major party’s this year, yet California Democrat politicians don’t believe it be even worthy to discuss at the state level for residents here.” McGuire’s office did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment on the Democratic majority’s opposition to the amendment.
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Biden jokes about being disappointed his ancestor wasn’t part of group that killed oppressive mine foremen
President Biden joked he was once “disappointed” to find out his great-grandfather was not part of a violent group that killed bigoted mine foremen. The president spoke about his ancestor, Edward Francis Blewitt, during a rally in support of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris in Pittsburgh on Monday. “I remember when my great-grandfather was only the second Catholic elected statewide in the state Senate here in Pennsylvania,” Biden told the audience. “And I remember they talked about – when they’d run against him in 1906 – they said, ‘Guess what? He’s a Molly Maguire.’” BIDEN TEAMS UP WITH HARRIS ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL FOR 1ST TIME SINCE DROPPING RE-ELECTION BID AGAINST TRUMP “A lot of the English owned the coal mines and what they did was they really beat the hell out of the mostly Catholic population in the mines. Not a joke,” Biden continued. “But there was a group they called the Molly Maguires. And Molly Maguires, if they found out the foreman was taking advantage of an individual, they would literally kill him. Not a joke. And they would bring his body up and put him on the doorstep of his family.” Harris nodded along as the president told the story of his maternal ancestor, an anecdote he previously used while on the campaign trial with former President Barack Obama. “Kind of crude, but I gotta admit they accused my great-grandfather of being a Molly Maguire – he wasn’t, but we were so damn disappointed,” Biden told the audience before assuring them, “That was a joke. That was a joke.” MARGIN OF ERROR RACE BETWEEN HARRIS AND TRUMP AS 2024 ELECTION ENTERS FINAL STRETCH The Library of the Pennsylvania Senate confirms that Blewitt was the second Catholic person elected to the state assembly in 1907; he followed William McSherry, who served from 1813-1817. Biden’s appearance in Pittsburgh marks a return from approximately a week of low profile vacationing in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. That vacation immediately followed an entire separate six-day getaway to Democratic Party donor Joe Kiani’s California ranch estate. Biden cleared his work schedule ahead of the multi-week holiday. Biden’s disastrous performance against former President Donald Trump in their late June debate turned up the volume on existing concerns from Americans that the 81-year-old president would have the physical and mental stamina to handle another four years in the White House. It also sparked a rising chorus of calls from top Democratic Party allies and elected officials for Biden to drop out of the race, which he did on July 21 before almost immediately endorsing Harris. Most of the latest national surveys show Harris with a slight single-digit edge over Trump, but the presidential election is not a national popular vote contest. It is a battle for the individual states and their electoral votes. Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
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North Carolina elections board faces another lawsuit, as RNC sues swing state over noncitizen voting concerns
The North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCSBE) is facing another lawsuit, as the Republican National Committee (RNC) is suing the battleground state for allegedly opening the door for non-citizens to vote. The lawsuit brought by the RNC and the North Carolina Republican Party in Wake County last week accuses the NCSBE and members, Alan Hirsch, Jeff Carmon, Siobhan Millen, Stacy Eggers IV and Kevin Lewis of failing to require identification to prove citizenship. The lawsuit alleges that by violating the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and not checking the identification of approximately 225,000 voters, the agency “is opening the door for non-citizens to vote.” North Carolina is the first state in the nation to start voting. The battleground state starts mailing out ballots for eligible voters on Sept. 6. “The NCSBE has once again failed in its mandate to keep non-citizens off the voter rolls, fueling distrust and jeopardizing our elections,” RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement. “We are committed to the basic principle – and commonsense law – that only Americans decide American elections. Deliberately failing to follow the law, right before our country’s most important election, is inexcusable. We will fight every day to ensure that NCSBE follows the law, cleans the voter rolls, and protects the vote for North Carolinians.” RFK JR. SUES NORTH CAROLINA TO REMOVE NAME FROM BALLOT BEFORE ELECTION “This State Board continually has problems ensuring voter rolls only have verified citizens,” NCGOP Chairman Jason Simmons added. “This lawsuit will remedy their ongoing refusal to collect the required information from those who want to take part in North Carolina elections. Accountability and fidelity to following the rule of law is long overdue for the most partisan Elections Board in state history.” The state board formerly used a voter registration form that failed to require HAVA-required identification information, such as a driver’s license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number. Election officials admitted the form was non-compliant with HAVA and eventually fixed it, but in the meantime, approximately 225,000 people registered without supplying the HAVA-required information, the complaint says. Election officials allegedly refused to take remedial action and did not reach out to these voters to collect the required information. Instead, what the defendants “offer as a solution is a half-hearted promise that those who were ineligible to register but were allowed to anyway will naturally filter themselves out from the state’s voter rolls when they conduct other election-related activities,” the complaint says. “This inaction misses the mark,” the lawsuit says. “Not only does this ‘solution’ fail to remedy the ongoing violations of state and federal law or account for Defendants’ responsibilities under the same, but it leaves North Carolinians to wonder how they can trust in the security of their elections, especially when those tasked with protecting their rights cannot be bothered to do what is required by law.” TRUMP RALLIES IN NC BEHIND BULLETPROOF GLASS AT FIRST OUTDOOR EVENT SINCE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT “Even worse, this ‘solution’ sends the message to the millions of duly qualified and registered voters in North Carolina that their chief elections officials will shirk their responsibilities and refuse to verify whether those who vote in the state’s elections are entitled to do so in the first place,” it adds. Fox News Digital reached out to the NCSBE for comment, but they did not immediately respond. This is the second lawsuit filed by the RNC and the NCGOP against the North Carolina Board of Elections in a matter of weeks. Last month, Republicans sued the board for allegedly failing to check jury questionnaire responses to identify and remove non-citizens from the voter rolls, as required by law. Last year, the state legislature passed SB747, a major election integrity law that requires state elections officials to cross-check when an individual claims to be a non-citizen on a jury questionnaire, to make sure that same person is not on the voter rolls. The RNC and NCGOP alleges that despite the law going into effect July 1, election officials have not begun to enforce it. In February, North Carolina’s Office of State Budget and Management reported that approximately 325,000 “unauthorized” immigrants were residing in the state. That was out of the total of 501,000 foreign-born non-citizens in North Carolina, according to the complaint in that case. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Last week, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. also sued the North Carolina State Board for denying his request to be removed from the state’s ballot before the November election. Despite the candidate dropping out of the race and endorsing former President Trump, the board decided in a 3-2 vote to keep Kennedy’s name because nearly 2 million ballots had already been printed. Kennedy also was unable to remove himself from the ballot in the fellow battlegrounds of Michigan and Wisconsin.
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