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Year: 2024

Harris primed for first campaign interview as critics rail against alleged lack of substance, sit-downs

Harris primed for first campaign interview as critics rail against alleged lack of substance, sit-downs

Vice President Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are scheduled to sit for their first campaign interview on Thursday night with CNN anchor Dana Bash in Atlanta. For the prior 38 days, Harris has been lambasted for failing to take substantive questions from the press or take part in such an event. By contrast, former President Trump has held at least two press conferences and participated in interviews across the spectrum, including with Fox News Channel. Trump and Harris are scheduled to meet for a Sept. 10 televised debate. 38 DAYS: VP REFUSES TO REVEAL POLICY POSITIONS As the interview approaches, viewers have been reminded of prior appearances, including a 2021 discussion with NBC’s Lester Holt in which Harris was criticized for her response to a question about not visiting the Mexican border. “And I haven’t been to Europe, I don’t understand the point that you’re making. I’m not discounting the importance of the border,” Harris told Holt in a moment that went viral on the Republican side of the aisle. After Harris’ speech at the convention, the Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote that the presentation was “confident, optimistic, [but] mostly devoid of policy substance.” “Whether she can keep this up, unexplained and unexposed, for the next 12 weeks will determine whether she becomes America’s 47th President,” the editorial board wrote.  In recent days, however, Harris has garnered some high-profile surrogates on the campaign trail. KERRY KENNEDY HITS THE STUMP FOR HARRIS AFTER BROTHER RFK JR JOINS TEAM TRUMP After former independent candidate and Democrat scion Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped his bid for president and endorsed Trump, the Harris campaign announced a spate of joint appearances with Kerry Kennedy, who is Kennedy Jr.’s sister and a particularly vocal critic of her brother’s politicking. In Arizona, Kennedy appeared with labor activist Dolores Huerta, who spoke onstage with Robert F. Kennedy Sr. the night he was assassinated on the campaign trail in Los Angeles in 1968. On Aug. 7, Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, told reporters he was having a “bit of fun” when he found himself on the same tarmac as Air Force Two in Eau Claire, Wis. Vance approached Harris’ ride and told reporters, “I just wanted to check out my future plane,” adding that he wanted to see about greeting Harris and asking her why she “refuse[s] to answer questions from the media.” “I at least have enough respect for you all and for the American people to come and talk to you and answer questions.” While Thursday will mark her first interview, the inclusion of Walz led to the announcement being critiqued on X. “Kamala Harris is doing a joint interview with Tim Walz on Thursday. She legit can’t do an interview by herself,” said OutKick founder Clay Travis. Meanwhile, Minnesota Republican strategist Dustin Grage surmised that Walz is a “better communicator than Kamala Harris” and posted a clip of Walz sitting for an interview with a CBS affiliate. “This is why he will be her support animal in Thursday’s interview with CNN. But there is also a reason it will be pre-recorded, because even in softball interviews, it’s hard to remember all of those lies on the spot.” Ahead of her interview, Harris and Walz embarked on a South Georgia bus tour that begins and ends in Savannah. While Chatham County – where the city is located – is safely in Democrat hands, the campaign hopes the stops on the stump will bring more voters into the Harris-Walz fold. South Georgia writ large leans Republican. In southwest Georgia, longtime Democrat Rep. Sanford Bishop’s Warner Robins-Albany seat is seen as a potential but borderline pickup for Republicans if they have a good year at the polls. Reps. Buddy Carter and Austin Scott’s GOP seats in the region remain safely Republican, according to Cook PVI ratings. “[The bus tour offers the] opportunity to get to places we don’t usually go [and] make sure we’re competing in all communities,” said Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Tyler told the Associated Press that Harris retained President Biden’s custom of taking part in informal get-togethers but that the venues have changed, pointing to a recent pit stop in Aliquippa, Pa., where they visited a high school football practice. Walz is a former teacher and football coach. Georgia has also been a contentious state for both parties. Democrats flipped both U.S. Senate seats in recent years, while Trump has warred with otherwise popular GOP Gov. Brian Kemp. The Republican nominee’s tone reportedly changed in recent times, as the governor was lauded by his longtime critic for his “help and support” in the Peach State. “A win [here] is so important to the success of our party and most importantly our country,” Trump said on X. Fox News Digital’s Brian Flood contributed to this report.

NJ residents hit with doubled bills as lawmakers fume at Murphy’s ‘energy disaster plan,’ demand hearings

NJ residents hit with doubled bills as lawmakers fume at Murphy’s ‘energy disaster plan,’ demand hearings

After a surge in home energy bills that left many New Jersey residents with costs that have doubled, or more, there have been widespread calls for hearings to hold the state utility commission, the governor and supporters of green energy accountable. State Sen. Mike Testa, R-Salem, echoed those calls and said on Wednesday that much of the blame goes to Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy’s “Energy Master Plan,” launched in 2020. “New Jersey is already one of the most unaffordable states in the United States of America. Now people are being hit with energy bills that are essentially doubled. And look, I get it that it was a hot July, but it wasn’t that hot that your energy bills should have doubled,” Testa said. One constituent apparently told Testa they raised their thermostat four degrees on average this summer in the hopes of saving money but that the cost still somehow increased “significantly.” GOP LAWMAKER TORCHES OFFSHORE WIND PROJECTS AS MAYOR WARNS OF ‘STAR WARS’ BACKDROPS Homeowners in suburban Morris County vented about the news on a local social media group, according to the Morristown Daily Record, with a Parsippany resident questioning a $782 monthly bill. “Quite frankly, what I think happened is, via the Murphy Energy Master Plan that I’ve often called the energy disaster plan, it seemed that the BPU (New Jersey Board of Public Utilities) and the Murphy administration are working in tandem chasing this green energy dream. “It’s what I call the energy disaster plan. It’s a green energy nightmare,” he said, adding that BPU officials went so far as to wear windmill pins at public functions amid New Jersey’s kerfuffle over offshore turbines. In a lengthy statement, BPU acknowledged it had received correspondence from New Jerseyans and offered several potential reasons for the rate hikes. The board cited increases in generation costs and usage, and it asked customers to contact their utility or the board right away if they find an “anomaly and cannot determine an explanation” A one-time $175 bill credit program is also available, a board spokesperson said. IDAHO FARMER BLASTS BIDEN’S WINDMILL PROJECT: ‘IT WILL DESTROY THE DESERT’ PJM, the energy transmission company that covers much of the Mid-Atlantic, offered data to Fox News Digital on the matter as well. PJM research showed electricity demand is likely to increase in the region particularly due to “proliferation of high-demand data centers” and “thermal generators retiring at a rapid pace due to government and private sector policies as well as economics.” Meanwhile, at the federal level, Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., fumed at the BPU this week in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital, which cited “thousands” of constituents discovering unbearable bill increases. “Given these alarming reports, I demand that the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) hold a public hearing in South Jersey to allow residents to voice their concerns directly to the Board,” he wrote, adding the board must also determine whether there is a correlation between the rate hikes and the offshore wind turbine operations in his Cape May district. Van Drew said New Jersey officials must take the situation seriously, and he dismissed claims that the “unseasonably warm summer” was the only variable. “We need transparency and accountability from the NJBPU to ensure that the needs and concerns of South Jersey residents are being effectively addressed,” he said. Van Drew previously noted how Danish green power company Ørsted withdrew its windmill plans for the Jersey Shore despite Murphy’s full support and taxpayer funding: “They still couldn’t make it.” While Murphy’s office did not return a request for comment, the governor previously praised his Energy Master Plan’s goal of 100% clean energy by 2050 in the Garden State. “The Energy Master Plan comprehensively addresses New Jersey’s energy system, including electricity generation, transportation and buildings, and their associated greenhouse gas emissions and related air pollutants,” he said. In a statement Tuesday, the Murphy administration highlighted a “Residential Energy Assistance Payment (REAP) Initiative” to provide financial relief to thousands of households, of the same $175 figure cited by BPU. “Making our state more affordable for New Jersey families has been the top priority since day one,” Murphy said in the statement. State Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Perth Amboy, added it is “great to see this resource added to the growing list of support available to residents who need a little extra help in our state.” Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz, R-Summit, said price-per-kilowatt hour increases averaged 8.6% in Central Jersey. “It’s simple economics: When supply drops and demand surges, prices go up,” she told Fox News Digital. “I’m of the belief that Americans are innovative. … The government can’t be mandating deadlines at the same time that they’re … shutting down natural gas production.” Munoz, who serves on the Budget Committee, said there are likely Democrats who agree the rate hikes are a problem: “That’s kind of a silly concept for them to think, like, do they not care that their constituents are the ones that are having to absorb these massive increases in cost?” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fox News Digital reached out to state Senate President Nick Scutari, D-Clark, for such a perspective. Citing attempts to make New Jersey vehicle sales 60% electric by 2035, Munoz said there won’t be the proper infrastructure to fulfill the need, regardless of opinions on EVs themselves. When Testa was asked about other states’ similar green energy endeavors – such as then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo shuttering the Indian Point nuke plant on the Hudson River opposite Haverstraw in 2020 – he expressed relief that crackdowns hadn’t gotten that far at home. A similar nuclear plant in Lower Alloways Creek Township remains operational, he noted, adding that he is proud to have it and its jobs and generation ability in his district. Testa said the state’s energy portfolio is 50% natural gas, 40% nuclear and 10% other, which flies in the face of Murphy’s aversion to additional natural gas production. While

Report: USAID staff warned Gaza pier could sap Israel’s willingness to open ‘more efficient’ aid corridors

Report: USAID staff warned Gaza pier could sap Israel’s willingness to open ‘more efficient’ aid corridors

The Office of the Inspector General at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has released a report that indicates “multiple” agency officials were at odds with the Biden administration over its decision to build a humanitarian pier off the coast of Gaza. The office released the report on Tuesday, indicating that “multiple USAID staff” initially expressed concern that implementing the pier could potentially undercut broader efforts to persuade Israel to open “more efficient” land corridors that are “proven methods” for transporting aid. However, the report pointed out, “once the President issued the directive, the Agency’s focus was to use [the pier] as effectively as possible.” Construction of the $230 million pier came at a time when the U.S. was facing pressure from critics to send aid to those living in Gaza due to concerns that famine was setting in. Although aid was being delivered by air, President Biden aimed to enhance support by giving the green light to the pier project. It was a joint effort between Biden’s Department of Defense (DOD) and the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is tasked with distributing foreign aid for the federal government. But after just about a week of being up and running, the pier began facing issues. Heavy winds and rough sea waters repeatedly broke the pier apart, and officials working to distribute aid faced hostile actors seeking to loot incoming shipments. Ultimately, the pier operated for 20 days before it was shut down on July 17. BIDEN’S $230 MILLION GAZA PIER QUIETLY SHUTS DOWN; US SENATOR LABELS PROJECT ‘NATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT’ Even before the pier was operational, critics worried there were more efficient and cheaper alternatives to both air drops and the pier. Meanwhile, Republicans blasted the move to build the pier as an effort by Biden to win back support from his progressive base. “I think he’s worried about losing Michigan in November, so he wants to throw [something] … to Muslim-American voters, particularly in Michigan,” Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, told Fox News Digital in March, the same month Biden announced plans for the pier. Meanwhile, other Republican critics blasted the move for putting American troops in harm’s way. Fox News Digital reached out to USAID for comment but did not receive a response. A spokesperson for Biden’s National Security Council, Sean Savett, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that the temporary pier – despite all its shortcomings – “had a real impact” and was “part of a comprehensive response to the dire humanitarian situation in northern Gaza.” Savett noted that prior to being shut down, the pier delivered roughly 20 million pounds of food and water that otherwise would not have made it to the war-torn region, which he insisted was “the highest volume of humanitarian assistance that DOD has ever been able to deliver in the Middle East.” “From the beginning, we said this would not be easy,” Savett said. “We were honest and transparent about the challenges. But the bottom line is that, given how dire the humanitarian situation in Gaza is, the United States has left no stone unturned in our efforts to get more aid in, and the pier played a key role at a critical time in advancing that goal.”