Texas Weekly Online

Texas-trans-white
Menu
Menu

Year: 2024

Window to define Harris rapidly closing as favorability rating rises in new poll

Window to define Harris rapidly closing as favorability rating rises in new poll

Vice President Kamala Harris is enjoying a spike in favorability among U.S. adults as the Democratic Party prepares to formally nominate her as a presidential candidate in Chicago this week. The new poll from the Associated Press found that 48% of Americans have a very or somewhat favorable view of Harris, up from 39% earlier this year. Harris has benefited from a deluge of positive media coverage in the weeks since President Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race. The rise is also a marked improvement over Biden’s own favorability when he dropped out of the race. At the time, just 38% of Americans approved of him. Meanwhile, former President Trump sits at 41% approval, according to the Monday poll. HARRIS, TRUMP HOLD DUELING EVENTS IN FIGHT TO WIN BIGGEST BATTLEGROUND The race for the White House remains neck-and-neck between Trump and Harris, with most polls placing the candidates within the margin of error. In some polls, Harris leads by a few points; in others, Trump holds the advantage. FOX NEWS POLL: CLOSE RACES IN BATTLEGROUND STATES SHOW VOTERS LOCKED IN Harris has faced heavy criticism for her lack of media transparency since her nomination. She has gone 29 days without holding a press conference as of Monday. While she has been busy on the campaign trail, spoken at various events, and given informal remarks to reporters at various points, she hasn’t done a formal press conference or wide-ranging interview in the four weeks that have followed. Meanwhile, Trump held his second press conference in a week on Thursday at Bedminster, and since Aug. 6, he’s answered 81 questions in pressers and interviews, including a two-hour session with supporter Elon Musk last week. CNN HOST PRESSES HARRIS CAMPAIGN SPOX ON VP’S SCHEDULE AS SHE AVOIDS PRESS: ‘SHE HAS TIME’ FOR AN INTERVIEW Over that same period, Harris has done brief “gaggles” as well as off-the-record sessions with traveling reporters, but she still hasn’t done anything formal with the press. She spoke for a few minutes at a campaign stop with reporters in Pennsylvania on Sunday, telling the media she still considered herself an “underdog” as the Democratic National Convention gets set to kick off. The left-leaning Washington Post editorial board challenged Harris over dodging the media last week, saying of her opponent, “at least he has taken questions.” The Post said she should account for her numerous policy shifts, including on fracking, border security and private health insurance. Liberal columnist Perry Bacon also called on Harris to take questions in a new piece on Sunday. Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report

Fetterman spokeswoman reamed for reportedly contradicting boss on Israel: ‘Unparalleled hubris’

Fetterman spokeswoman reamed for reportedly contradicting boss on Israel: ‘Unparalleled hubris’

The spokeswoman for Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman dissented from her own boss’ position on the Israel-Gaza conflict after a reporter held an interview with the junior Democrat. The Free Press reported Sunday that Carrie Adams told him of her disagreement after the senator hung up the call. “I don’t agree with him,” Adams, the lawmaker’s communications director, reportedly said. Adams went on to claim that Fetterman, at 55, has “less nuanced” views on global policy than people her age. JOHN FETTERMAN RECEIVES TOP US JEWISH COLLEGE’S HIGHEST AWARD “[W]hen he was growing up, it was might-makes-right, and for my generation and younger who, of course, are the ones protesting this, they have a much more nuanced view of the region.” The Free Press report went on to express incredulity at the idea that a spokesperson for a “principal” would openly differ from that principal, whether the conversation was on-the-record or not. Fox News Digital reached out to Fetterman’s office for comment and to inquire whether Adams stood by her remarks. A woman who picked up the phone at Fetterman’s Capitol Hill office responded by offering a second telephone number and email for another representative. Efforts to reach another representative were unsuccessful at press time.  However, the reported exchange led to stunned responses from the political world. PENNSYLVANIA DEMOCRATS RALLY AROUND BIDEN AMID SHAPIRO SPECULATION Republican communications strategist Erin Perrine wrote that it is a “big deal” to have a staffer criticize the person they are working for. “But when the person whose job it is to speak for the boss, defend their decisions, and manage the press does it — That’s an unparalleled level of hubris,” Perrine said on X. “Always remember whose name is on the door.” On the left, Democratic strategist Symone Sanders-Townsend wrote that Adams “should be employed after this because WTF?” “Not saying I disagree with her viewpoint. Rather. Since when does the comms director call up reporters to say ‘I disagree’ with the principal?” said Sanders-Townsend, who previously served in a similar role with the 2016 campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Meanwhile, New York Post columnist John Podhoretz flagged that Adams’ X feed is currently private, following the fallout. “She’s a communications director. Whom you cannot reach. Or read,” Podhoretz said. For his part, Fetterman has notably bucked his party on the issue, saying in a statement on his official website that he “fully support[s] Israel neutralizing the terrorists responsible for this barbarism.” “We now know this was a wide-scale, premeditated, cowardly, terrorist campaign against Israeli civilians that also claimed the lives of American citizens. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “I unequivocally support any necessary military, intelligence, and humanitarian aid to Israel. The United States has a moral obligation to be in lockstep with our ally as they confront this threat.”  He also welcomed the idea of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking before Congress, as he did earlier this summer. While visiting Jerusalem in June, Fetterman said there is a “reckoning necessary in the political left with antisemitism…” In comments in June as well, Fetterman decried the “unending capitulation and sandbagging of Israel.” The senator’s home in the industrial Pittsburgh suburb of Braddock has been the site of protests, as well as his Philadelphia office, where pro-cease-fire demonstrators hold “Fridays at Fetterman’s.”

Bipartisan lawmakers put UN on notice over ‘rampant anti-Israel bias’

Bipartisan lawmakers put UN on notice over ‘rampant anti-Israel bias’

FIRST ON FOX: A bipartisan group of House lawmakers is moving to insulate Israel from any possible political turbulence at the United Nations. A bill led by Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., would block funding from U.N. agencies that try to restrict Israel’s participation in global affairs. “With anti-Israel bias running rampant at the UN, it is more crucial than ever that we stand up to this disgusting hypocrisy and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our closest ally,” Lawler told Fox News Digital. “We should not be giving a single cent to any UN agency that diminishes the status of Israel.” Moskowitz said, “The United Nations has been biased and almost useless after Hamas murdered over a thousand innocent Israelis, but has held Israel to a ridiculous, antisemitic double standard when it has exercised its right to defend itself.” MUSLIM CLERIC WHO PRAISED ADOLF HITLER, HAMAS SPOKE AT HARRIS RUNNING MATE TIM WALZ’S 2019 INAUGURATION The Florida Democrat, who is Jewish, urged the U.N. to use its influence to pressure Hamas into accepting a cease-fire deal. The new bill comes a month after the U.N.’s top court issued a non-binding opinion ordering Israel to immediately stop settlement construction in the West Bank. The U.N. has also been sounding an increasingly loud alarm about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza amid Israel’s military response to Hamas’ surprise attack on Oct. 7 last year. The U.S. has largely stood by Israel through the conflict. In April, the U.S. vetoed a draft resolution to recommend full U.N. membership status for a Palestinian state. BIDEN FOCUSED ON ‘LEGACY’ IN FINAL MONTHS, BUT SKELETON SCHEDULE ‘SIGNALS’ AN EMPTY HOUSE TO RIVALS: EXPERT Lawler and Moskowitz’s bill would stop funding to the U.N. or any related agency “that expels, downgrades or suspends membership, or otherwise restricts the participation of Israel such that it may not participate fully and equivalently with 15 other Member States of the United Nations or the respective fund, program, specialized ageney, or other related entity,” according to bill text obtained by Fox News Digital. The bill has support from two additional Democrats and 21 House Republicans. Both of those Democratic co-sponsors, Reps. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.Y., are Jewish. It was introduced just as Democrats kick off their presidential nominating convention in Chicago, which has already seen fierce anti-Israel protests. DEMOCRATIC HEAVYWEIGHTS TO SPEAK AT PARTY’S CONVENTION; PREPARING FOR LARGE PALESTINIAN PROTESTS CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Demonstrators walked the streets of Chicago calling Vice President Kamala Harris a “killer” and demanding policy changes on Gaza. Some on the left were outraged when the national party released a platform that did not call for an arms embargo on Israel. A group of delegates in Chicago, called “Delegates Against Genocide,” is planning to protest the decision, according to The Times of Israel.

SEE IT: Protests erupt, businesses board up outside the DNC in Chicago

SEE IT: Protests erupt, businesses board up outside the DNC in Chicago

Anti-Israel protesters are swarming outside the Democratic National Convention in Chicago as police gear up for a week of unrest in the city. The four-day convention kicks off Monday at the United Center near the West Side, where as many as 100,000 anti-Israel demonstrators are expected to protest throughout the week. At least seven large demonstrations took place on the eve of the convention on issues from abortion to voicing objections to U.S. support for Israel, the Chicago Tribune reported. The city prepared for discord by fencing off the convention center and recruiting a heavy police presence to the scene. DEMS PROJECT IMAGES ON TRUMP TOWER AHEAD OF DNC Gov. JB Pritzker, D-Ill., said around 150 Illinois National Guard members are on “standby” for the convention, Fox 32 reported.  ‘WALLS FOR WALL, BUT NOT FOR THEE’: DEMOCRATS CALLED OUT FOR HYPOCRISY ON SECURITY MEASURES AT DNC Businesses also boarded up their doors ahead of the anticipated protests. More than 300 police officers joined Police Superintendent Larry Snelling on Saturday for a police training session ahead of the convention, the Chicago Police Department shared in a post on X, formerly Twitter. President Biden is scheduled to deliver an opening night address Monday to pass the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris. The convention, where Harris will formally accept the Democratic nomination, will take place from Aug. 19 to 22.

Former President Bill Clinton’s second term as POTUS was entangled with scandal, ended with impeachment

Former President Bill Clinton’s second term as POTUS was entangled with scandal, ended with impeachment

Bill Clinton was the 42nd President of the United States.  He was born on Aug. 19, 1946, as William Jefferson Blythe III. His parents were, William Jefferson Blythe II, who died in a car accident before Clinton was born, and Virginia Cassidy Blythe. Clinton was raised by his grandparents until his mother returned from nursing school. Clinton, a Democrat, served two terms in the White House, but was impeached by the House of Representatives during his second term on Dec. 19, 1998, for committing perjury before a grand jury and obstructing justice. Before Clinton led the nation as a two-term president, he graduated from Georgetown University. He later received a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University and a law degree from Yale University in 1973.  His political venture started in Arkansas, where he was elected attorney general in 1976 after being defeated in his first run for Congress two years prior.  WHAT MAKES A PRESIDENT GREAT? In 1978, he became governor of Arkansas, but lost for a second term.  Four years later, he returned to his role as governor, and then started his presidential campaign against Republican George H.W. Bush.  In 1992, Clinton and his running mate, Albert Gore Jr., were successful in their campaign, defeating Bush and independent candidate Ross Perot for the White House.  In 1996, Clinton won a second term as president, this time defeating Republican Bob Dole and, again, independent candidate Perot.  His presidency became known for accomplishments such as high homeownership, 22 million jobs created and low unemployment rates, but scandal ensued during his terms, too.  CLINTONS ENDORSE KAMALA HARRIS HOURS AFTER BIDEN DROPS OUT During Clinton’s second term as president, he was impeached by the House of Representatives.  His impeachment partly stemmed from sexual harassment claims against Clinton by Paula Jones, that were said to have occurred before he was elected president, according to a research guide by the Library of Congress.  After Clinton was re-elected, evidence came to light of an extramarital affair between the president and Monica Lewinsky, a White House Intern.  Initially, Clinton denied the affair and Lewinsky corroborated the sworn testimony of Clinton. The investigation was led by the late Kenneth Starr. Before the grand jury, Lewinsky admitted to the sexual relationship with Clinton, and the president admitted to the affair.  In December 1998, the House voted in favor of two articles of impeachment against Clinton, finding that he had committed perjury and obstructed justice. He became the second president in American history to be impeached, the first being Andrew Johnson.  During the Senate trial of 1999, Clinton was acquitted.  After the trial was over, Clinton apologized to Congress and the American people for his behavior, and continued his term as president.  Following his presidency, he continued to be involved in politics. He has shown unwavering support for Democrats, including his wife, Hillary Clinton, who ran for the presidency herself in 2016, but was defeated by Donald Trump.  Clinton has also penned a number of books through the years, including after his presidency, such as “My Life,” “Back to Work” and “Citizen: My Life After the White House.”