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Year: 2024

Harris tries to thread Israel, Gaza needle with anti-Israel agitators a constant presence at DNC

Harris tries to thread Israel, Gaza needle with anti-Israel agitators a constant presence at DNC

CHICAGO — As anti-Israel agitators have protested outside the Democratic National Convention (DNC) for the last four days, Vice President Kamala Harris finally addressed the Israel-Palestinian conflict during her speech on the convention’s final night. “With respect to the war in Gaza, President Biden and I are working around the clock because now is the time to get a hostage deal and a cease-fire deal done,” Harris said Thursday night in Chicago’s United Center. “And let me be clear – I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on Oct. 7.” At the same time, Harris said, “what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating,” referring to the war casualties of innocent Palestinian people. “So many innocent lives lost over and over again,” Harris said. “The scale of suffering is heartbreaking.” Harris stated that her and President Biden are striving to bring an end to the conflict while ensuring Israel’s security as well as that the “Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.” In July, Harris met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reiterate the administration’s support for Israel, while also expressing her “serious concern about the dire humanitarian situation there.” There was an apparent cease-fire deal also discussed at the time.  ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS PROTEST VP HARRIS NOMINATION NEAR DNC, HAND OUT FLYERS FOR GLOBAL ‘INTIFADA’ On Monday, speaking to reporters from Israel, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the proposal put forward last week by the Biden administration in coordination with leaders from Qatar and Egypt looked to “bridge the gaps” between the warring parties and has been “accepted” by Netanyahu.  “He supports it,” Blinken said. “It’s now incumbent on Hamas to do the same.” Blinken did not give specifics on what was included in the proposal and Netanyahu has not yet formally agreed to any cease-fire at this time.  HAMAS LEADER SINWAR REPORTEDLY WANTS GUARANTEE OF SURVIVAL AS GAZA CEASE-FIRE TALKS SAID TO BE FALTERING Meanwhile, anti-Israel demonstrators have expressed their discontent with Harris’ campaign this week during the DNC. Protesters on Thursday called the Democratic nominee, “Killer Kamala,” and some protesters spoke with Fox News Digital about where they stand with the presidential candidates.  Fox News Digital’s Caitlin McFall contributed to this report. 

Will Robert F Kennedy’s likely exit from 2024 race boost Trump over Harris?

Will Robert F Kennedy’s likely exit from 2024 race boost Trump over Harris?

The political spotlight will be on Democrat turned independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Friday, in what many expect will be an announcement that he is ending his White House bid. Kennedy’s campaign says their candidate “will address the nation live on Friday about the present historical moment and his path forward.” On the eve of his event in Arizona, Kennedy moved to withdraw his name from the state’s ballot – which appeared to be another signal of his intent to drop out of the race. However, the biggest question surrounding Kennedy’s anticipated exit from the 2024 race is whether it will give former President Donald Trump a small but potentially significant boost in his showdown against Vice President Kamala Harris. Pointing back to the previous two presidential elections, veteran Republican strategist and Fox News contributor Karl Rove spotlighted the influential role third party candidates played. RFK JR.’S RUNNING MATE CHARGES DEMOCRATS ‘OBSTRUCTED A FAIR ELECTION,’ ‘FULLY SUPPORTS’ WORKING WITH TRUMP  ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR. TO ADDRESS AMERICA ON FRIDAY ABOUT THE ‘PRESENT HISTORICAL MOMENT AND HIS PATH FORWARD’ “[Green Party candidate} Jill Stein got more votes in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania than Hillary Clinton lost those states by,” Rove noted as he pointed to Trump’s victory over the Democrats’ 2016 presidential nominee.  Rove added that “in 2020, Jo Jorgensen, the Libertarian candidate, got more votes in Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin than Donald Trump lost those states by. And in each instance, that was the difference between winning and losing.” Kennedy, the longtime environmental activist and high-profile vaccine skeptic, who is the scion of the nation’s most storied political dynasty, launched his long-shot campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in April of last year. However, last October, the 70-year-old candidate switched to an independent run for the White House. While Kennedy had long identified as a Democrat and repeatedly invoked his late father – Sen. Robert F. Kennedy – and his uncle – former President John F. Kennedy – who were both assassinated in the 1960s – Kennedy in recent years built relationships with far-right leaders. President Biden’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee for months repeatedly slammed Kennedy as a potential spoiler whose supporters could hand Trump a presidential election victory in November. However, Kennedy remained a thorn in Biden’s side from last year through the president’s announcement last month that he was ending his re-election bid and endorsing Harris. The Trump campaign also started taking aim at Kennedy after he switched to an independent run, labeling him a member of the “radical left,” and criticizing him for his environmental activism. However, the relationship between Kennedy and Trump started warming earlier this year, and the two spoke last month after the assassination attempt against Trump and met in person the following day.  Earlier this week, Kennedy running mate Nicole Shanahan sparked headlines by saying in a podcast interview that the campaign was considering whether to “join forces” with Trump to prevent the possibility of Harris winning the 2024 election. “If he endorsed me, I would be honored by it. I would be very honored by it. He really has his heart in the right place,” Trump said on Thursday in an interview on “Fox and Friends.” Kennedy’s event is being held in Phoenix a couple of hours before Trump holds a rally in nearby Glendale. “President Trump will be joined by a special guest as he delivers remarks about his America First policies and his vision to lower inflation and the cost of living, secure the border, and make our cities safe again,” a release from the former president’s campaign announced on Thursday, which sparked more speculation about a potential Kennedy endorsement. Trump called in to Fox News following Vice President Kamala Harris’ nominating acceptance speech on Thursday night. Noting that Trump and Kennedy would be in the same state, Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha McCallum asked Trump if Kennedy would endorse him on Friday, and the former President replied coyly, “It’s possible we will be meeting tomorrow, and we’ll be discussing it.” Kennedy’s campaign has been cratering in recent months. The last public event put on by Kennedy’s campaign came on July 9, in Freeport, Maine. However, even before that, his poll numbers – which once stood in the teens – had faded. The most recent Fox News national poll, conducted Aug. 9-12, indicated Kennedy at 6% support.  His fundraising was also sinking, with campaign finance reports indicating he had just $3.9 million cash on hand as of the start of July, with nearly $3.5 million in debt. Well-known non-partisan political handicapper Larry Sabato argued in a social media post that “Kennedy is barely relevant.” “He can’t transfer much support, esp. to Trump. His backers will splinter,” Sabato predicted. Rove, the mastermind behind former President George W. Bush’s two White House election victories, said that if Kennedy “does endorse Trump, my sense is the people who were supporting him because he was a Kennedy, and they didn’t like Biden, have dissipated over the last four to five weeks and his supporters are probably people more inclined to vote for Trump than Harris.” Alex Castellanos, the veteran Republican consultant who served in leading positions on the campaigns of four GOP presidential nominees, said that if Kennedy drops out and backs Trump, “it could help in two ways. “One is he’s an outsider and Trump’s an outsider. RFK got drop-kicked out of the Democratic establishment, so the anti-Washington message that Trump has is amplified,” Castellanos argued. He added that “more importantly, RFK is the K in Kennedy and that brand still has magic. That brand is Camelot. It’s what could have been and was interrupted. It’s a promise about the future, and you need know who needs optimism and someone to help him get to the future is Donald Trump. I think the brand is more important than the one or two percent he might bring to the Trump campaign.” Democratic strategist Marie Harf, a

27 states press SCOTUS to halt Biden ATF’s ‘blatant attack’ on gun owners, claiming end-run around Congress

27 states press SCOTUS to halt Biden ATF’s ‘blatant attack’ on gun owners, claiming end-run around Congress

West Virginia and Montana led 27 states Wednesday that filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court urging the court to “rein in” the Biden administration’s new frame or receiver rule. The states, through their attorneys general, alleged the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ new rule essentially broadening the definition of “firearm” to include gun parts (like frames and receivers) is an “overreach.” “[W]hen the Court encounters another ATF regulation offering a purportedly creative solution to a long-standing problem, it should be wary,” the filing states. The rule has also been characterized as a “ghost gun” crackdown. “And in this brief, Amici (party) States describe some of the specific machinations ATF has used in the past to get to its desired results — erasing ordinary meaning, stripping words from context, ignoring comments, short-circuiting APA requirements, and blinding itself to the real-world consequences of its own actions.” WATCH: LAWMAKERS INVOKE HUNTER BIDEN, SECOND AMENDMENT IN DEFENSE OF GUN LAWS After filing the brief, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said states must step up when the feds politicize regulations. “When the Biden administration continues deploying our federal agencies to further its political agenda, rest assured the states will spring into action to prevent this kind of abhorrent overreach,” he said. “Here again is an example of how the Biden administration uses bureaucratic agencies, this time the ATF, to act as legislators instead of enforcing the laws Congress passed.” In the brief, Morrisey, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and the other litigants admit that guns in the wrong hands can be dangerous, but Congress is the body that should decide policy and address risks from a particular product. “Neither the ATF nor this court can impose naked policy preferences, especially so on hot-button issues like these,” added Morrisey, who is also the GOP’s nominee for governor against Huntington Mayor Stephen Williams. OBAMA JUDGE’S RULING ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS OWNING GUNS HELPS THE LEFT BLUR THE LINES OF CITIZENSHIP: RUBIO For his part, Knudsen added separately that the ATF rule constitutes another “blatant attack on Americans’ right to keep and bear arms.” “The Biden-Harris administration is dead set on taking firearms from law-abiding citizens and unlawfully using the ATF to do so. As attorney general, I will continue to fight federal overreach and protect Montanans’ rights.” The new rule “exceeds the limits of what this agency could do, all to advance this administration’s anti-Second Amendment agenda,” Morrisey further added in a statement. Previously, George W. Bush-appointed federal Judge Reed O’Connor sided with plaintiff Jennifer VanDerStok in 2022, enacting a preliminary injunction against the rule. The Supreme Court ultimately issued a stay against the injunction, allowing the rule to remain in effect amid the litigation. VanDerStok is a magazine writer and a former law enforcement officer, according to the Mountain States Legal Foundation, who argued in a column that prior to the mass production of guns, guns were often manufactured by the user. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “The right to craft and customize firearms enables us to determine which arms we will ‘keep and bear,’” the column argued, citing Second Amendment text. “Technological changes don’t change our rights, and the American People still have a constitutionally protected natural right to craft and customize guns,” it added. Critics have also alleged the new ATF rule wrongly interprets the Gun Control Act of 1968. The Supreme Court previously announced its full bench will take up the case in the future. The Justice Department declined comment. The ATF did not respond to a separate inquiry.