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Year: 2024

Shop owner reveals heart-wrenching experience after BLM riots ‘destroyed’ his store on Gov Walz’s watch

Shop owner reveals heart-wrenching experience after BLM riots ‘destroyed’ his store on Gov Walz’s watch

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Minnesota business owner who watched helplessly as his St. Paul establishment was destroyed during the 2020 George Floyd riots spoke to Fox News Digital about how the state, led by Gov. Tim Walz, failed to protect business owners like him. “When the rioters first came here they went and destroyed the strip mall on the left-hand side here, I was in my shop,” Long Her, owner of New Fashion Tailoring and Alteration in St. Paul, Minnesota, told Fox News Digital. “I witnessed everything and videotaped. My friend and I stayed in our shop until nightfall, and I was going to go to sleep and watch over my shop, but my friends said, ‘it’s too dangerous, let’s go home’ so we ended up going home that night.” Her, a Hmong immigrant, recalled that he was “afraid” for his livelihood when he went home that night but hoped that the destruction would be contained to the other side of the street. When Her came back the next morning to check on the store that he had owned for decades, he discovered his worst fears had come true, and the location was ransacked. MINNESOTA RIOTS CONTINUED AFTER WALZ TOOK ‘RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE’ THERE WOULDN’T BE CHAOS “The next day when I came here to find that my shop was destroyed, as a man, I couldn’t do anything but cry,” Her told Fox News Digital through translator May Lor Xiong, a Republican running for Congress in Minnesota’s 4th Congressional District. Her said rioters broke down his reinforced door and stole all the inventory in his store, which represented a dollar amount of $200,000.  “They took down the front door with the metal bars, they had some pliers they used to destroy the metal bars. And they came in there and took everything, took all the clothing, all the merchandise and my store,” Her said. Her told Fox News Digital he tried to contact the police multiple times and received no response. When asked about Gov. Tim Walz’s role in the response taking several days to call in the National Guard, Her said that if Walz is to become vice president, he hopes he has learned from his mistakes in responding to the riot. MINNESOTA BUSINESS OWNER TEARS INTO WALZ FOR COVID, BLM RIOT LEADERSHIP: A ‘TOTAL AND COMPLETE FAILURE’ “If he gets to become the vice president, he needs to learn how to love the people here and especially Minnesota because of the destruction that happened during his watch,” Her said. “He could be a good person, but he also needs to understand the people, the sufferings that they’re going through.” Several people who spoke to Fox News Digital said that the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul still have not fully recovered from the devastating riots that caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, and Her said it took about two years for his business to financially recover. “It took me about a year and a half to two years to recover. During that time, a lot of people were scared to go out, and so I lost a lot of customers,” Her said. “People are not coming out to shop, and so I lost a lot of money and customers from that.” He went on to say that safety was “not a big concern” for business owners in the twin cities before 2020, but after the pandemic, “there’s a lot more people that would shoplift or steal stuff from the store.”  “There’s a lot of homeless people sleeping in this area. It’s making it very unsafe for business owners and even shoppers, and so we need to have more police force to help us in this area, to protect the businesses and the people here.” Minneapolis is widely considered the epicenter of the defund the police movement, and CBS News reported earlier this year that the city’s police department is understaffed by 200 officers and the police force has shrunk by 40% over the last four years. “I don’t care what party they’re from,” Her said. “It should be nonpartisan when it comes to the police force and putting more police on the street to help citizens.” Fox News Digital asked Her if he fears that a situation like the 2020 riots could happen again. “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Her said. “I hope it won’t with the lawlessness right here. The freedom that we have here, we love that. But also, a lot of things might happen, dangerous things that might happen to us and we have already witnessed devastation in 2020.” “We want to make sure that we’re prepared, that whoever is in office needs to make sure when something like that happens, they send the National Guard to protect the people, the citizens and the businesses. So that way we do not have to go through such destruction.”

Dems hitting Vance with debunked vulgar claim ‘undermine’ their anti-Trump credibility, strategist says

Dems hitting Vance with debunked vulgar claim ‘undermine’ their anti-Trump credibility, strategist says

Democrats have continued to push a vulgar falsehood about former President Trump’s running mate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, despite the claim being debunked weeks ago. “It undermines their moralizing about Trump’s falsehoods and gives Trump an opportunity to say it’s ‘the pot calling the kettle black,’” Democratic strategist Julian Epstein told Fox News Digital. Epstein’s comment comes as Democrats show no signs of ditching the Vance “couch meme,” a vulgar rumor that originated on social media last month that Trump’s running mate described a sex act he performed on a couch in his 2016 memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy.” Despite the claim being quickly debunked, its viral spread was picked up by Democrats and spawned jokes and memes across social media. WALZ ACCUSATIONS OF ‘STOLEN VALOR’ PROMPT BATTLE BETWEEN HOUSE VETERANS The falsehood even made its way to the top of the Democratic ticket, with Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, cracking a joke about the rumor during a speech in Philadelphia the same day Harris announced he was joining the ticket. “I got to tell you, I can’t wait to debate [Vance]. That is if — if he’s willing to get off the couch and show up,” Walz said during the remarks as Harris smirked behind him, according to a recounting of the event on NBC News. “You see what I did there?” The moment went viral on the Harris campaign’s TikTok account, named Kamala HQ, garnering 5.3 million views, NBC reported, noting that Democrats have continued to use the joke despite the release of fact-checks debunking the rumor by several media outlets. In one such example, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent a news release on July 26 targeting Trump’s decision to pick Vance, joking that Republicans are “couching their public praise of Trump’s vice presidential nominee with private criticism.” VP KAMALA HARRIS PICKING GOV. TIM WALZ AS RUNNING MATE MET WITH MEDIA SCORN: ‘SUCH A WEIRD CHOICE’ On July 27, the Kamala HQ X account shared a screenshot of Vance’s moments on “cat ladies” with the caption that the Ohio senator “does not couch his hatred for women.” A day later, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, long believed to be a potential candidate to join Harris on the ticket, joked on ABC News that while Trump “talks about all kinds of crazy stuff,” Vance is “getting known for his obsession with couches.” Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., has also leaned into the joke, responding to Vance’s post asking why Harris had not been taking questions from the media. “I’ve been on Air Force 2 JD, there is a great couch on it,” Moskowitz said in an August 7 post on X. The continued veiled jabs at Vance over a debunked rumor seemingly fly in the face of one of the main Democratic criticisms of Trump, who the party has long claimed peddled misinformation and false claims for political benefit. JD VANCE ACCUSES TIM WALZ OF ‘LYING’ ABOUT MILITARY SERVICE: ‘STOLEN VALOR GARBAGE’ That criticism of Trump took center stage during the 2016 Democratic National Convention, when then-first lady Michelle Obama famously declare “when they go low, we go high,” in reference to the attacks on her and her family. Obama doubled down on the theme during the 2020 convention in support of President Biden, declaring that “going high is the only thing that works.” Moskowitz has nevertheless defended his party’s apparent double standard, arguing on social media that continuing the spread of the rumor is just jokes and does not compare to the lies spread by Trump. “For 2 years we had to hear that Joe Biden was an international super criminal mastermind from Despicable Me 3. You will listen to couch story,” he said last month. Moskowitz’s office did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. However, Epstein believes Democrats are making a “mistake” by continuing to lean into the falsehood, though she argued getting into a “tit for tat campaign of insult comedy” would also be a “trap for the Republicans.” “More than anything else, Democrats want to memory-hole the Biden/Harris record of the last four years,” Epstein said. “They want to memory-hole Harris’ fringe left views from just five years ago.” The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Trump claims ‘nobody’ cheered Harris outside Air Force Two despite video, images of crowds

Trump claims ‘nobody’ cheered Harris outside Air Force Two despite video, images of crowds

Former President Trump is claiming that “nobody” was on the tarmac last week in Detroit to greet Vice President Harris for a campaign event in the Motor City despite unedited video and images from multiple news agencies showing otherwise.  Trump made the claim in a post on Truth Social on Sunday as he shared two images – one showing thousands of Harris supporters reacting to Air Force Two’s arrival at Detroit Metro Airport, and another showing a zoomed-in reflection of the plane’s engine in which it appears difficult to make out an audience.  “Has anyone noticed that Kamala CHEATED at the airport? There was nobody at the plane, and she ‘A.I.’d’ it, and showed a massive ‘crowd’ of so-called followers, BUT THEY DIDN’T EXIST!” Trump declared. “She was turned in by a maintenance worker at the airport when he noticed the fake crowd picture, but there was nobody there, later confirmed by the reflection of the mirror like finish on the Vice Presidential Plane.”  “She’s a CHEATER. She had NOBODY waiting, and the ‘crowd’ looked like 10,000 people!” Trump added. However, a review of media of the event by Fox News Digital clearly shows that there were plenty of supporters there on-scene to greet Harris and her new running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.  WASHINGTON POST PUSHES HARRIS TO ANSWER ‘LEGITIMATE QUESTIONS’ ABOUT HER FLIP-FLOPS, AGENDA  The Harris campaign had told Fox News an estimated 15,000 people showed up at the rally last Wednesday. TRUMP SHOOTING TASK FORCE DEMANDS DOCUMENTS FROM TOP BIDEN OFFICIALS IN PROBE KICKOFF  The Harris and Trump campaigns did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.  But an X account run by the Harris campaign shared one of Trump’s Truth Social posts regarding the crowd, saying that “This is an actual photo of a 15,000-person crowd for Harris-Walz in Michigan.”  “Trump has still not campaigned in a swing state in over a week… Low energy?” it added.  Fox News’ Kate Sprague contributed to this report.

Former leader of Walz’s battalion publishes scathing message aimed at governor’s military career: Report

Former leader of Walz’s battalion publishes scathing message aimed at governor’s military career: Report

The battalion commander of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s former Minnesota Army National Guard unit issued a scathing message to Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate amid mounting “stolen valor” accusations, according to media reports.  “I do not regret that Tim Walz retired early from the Minnesota National Guard, did not complete the Sergeants Major Academy, broke his enlistment contract or did not successfully complete any assignment as a Sergeant Major. Unwittingly, he got out of the way for better leadership,” John Kolb wrote on Facebook, the Daily Mail reported.  Kolb served as a lieutenant colonel of the 1st Battalion, 125th Field Artillery from 2005 to 2007, the Minnesota National Guard shows on its website. Walz served in the same battalion until 2005, when he retired ahead of the battalion deploying to Iraq that same year.  Kolb now works as an attorney in Minnesota. Fox News Digital contacted Kolb for confirmation on the Facebook post and additional comment on Walz’s military service but did not receive a reply prior to publication. WALZ ACCUSATIONS OF ‘STOLEN VALOR’ PROMPT BATTLE BETWEEN HOUSE VETERANS Walz has come under mounting criticism for “stolen valor,” including veterans slamming him for saying he is a “retired Command Sergeant Major.” Walz had earned the rank of command sergeant major before his retirement, but his rank was reduced months after retiring to master sergeant, as he did not complete the required coursework with the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy.  The “retired Command Sergeant Major” rank was promoted by the Harris campaign until last week, when it changed Walz’s biography to read that he “served as a command sergeant major.” Walz retired from the Minnestoa Army National Guard in 2005 after 24 years of service. He then launched a successful congressional campaign and was sworn in as a member of the U.S. House representing Minnesota in 2007.  Kolb continued in his social media post that he does not have a comment on Walz retiring early, as it was “his right to retire early,” but that he is fraudulently using the retired command sergeant major rank.  JD VANCE ACCUSES TIM WALZ OF ‘LYING’ ABOUT MILITARY SERVICE: ‘STOLEN VALOR GARBAGE’ “By all accounts and on the record, he was a competent Chief of Firing Battery/Gunnery Sergeant and First Sergeant. I cannot say the same of his service sitting, frocked, in the CSM [command sergeant major] chair. He did not earn the rank or successfully complete any assignment as an E9,” he said.  “He did not earn the rank or successfully complete any assignment as an E9,” Kolb wrote in the reported social media post. “It is an affront to the Noncommissioned Officer Corps that he continues to glom onto the title. I can sit in the cockpit of an airplane, it does not make me a pilot. Similarly, when the demands of service and leadership at the highest level got real, he chose another path.” “​’It is an affront to the Noncommissioned Officer Corps that he continues to glom onto the title,” Kolb continued. “I can sit in the cockpit of an airplane, it does not make me a pilot. Similarly, when the demands of service and leadership at the highest level got real, he chose another path.” VP KAMALA HARRIS PICKING GOV. TIM WALZ AS RUNNING MATE MET WITH MEDIA SCORN: ‘SUCH A WEIRD CHOICE’ Kolb tagged retired Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Behrends in the post, according to the Daily Mail, who replaced Walz in the battalion when he retired, and lauded the veteran as a “great leader.” “​​Thomas Behrends was the right leader at the right time. He sacrificed to answer the call, leaving his family, business and farming-partner brother to train, lead and care for soldiers. He earned the privilege of being called Command Sergeant Major,” he wrote.  “Like a great leader he ran toward and not away from the guns.”  DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS GROUP BOASTS IT HELPED MAKE WALZ HARRIS’ RUNNING MATE: ‘FORCE THAT CANNOT BE IGNORED’ Behrends has been sounding the alarm about Walz’s military career since last week, when Harris first announced the Minnesota governor as her 2024 running mate.  “He’s used the rank that he never achieved in order to advance his political career,” Behrends told Fox News host Laura Ingraham last week. “I mean, he still says he’s a retired command sergeant major to this day, and he’s not. He uses the rank of others to make it look like he’s a better person than he is.” Reports of Kolb’s Facebook post have since spread across social media, including Donald Trump Jr, former President Trump’s son, writing, “Tim Walz’s Battalion Commander absolutely destroys him over his Stolen Valor. How long is the leftwing media going to keep ignoring all of this?” HARRIS’ RUNNING MATE FACES RENEWED SCRUTINY AFTER HIS ‘WEIRD’ SOCIALISM COMPARISON RESURFACES The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Kolb’s post.  Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Democratic heavyweights to speak at party’s convention; preparing for large Palestinian protests

Democratic heavyweights to speak at party’s convention; preparing for large Palestinian protests

The biggest names in the Democratic Party will be center stage next week as the party’s national nominating convention kicks off in Chigago. President Biden, former Presidents Obama and Clinton and former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton have been confirmed as speakers at the Democratic National Convention, a source familiar with convention planning confirmed to Fox News. While a mostly unified and now energized Democratic Party will meet inside the United Center arena on Chicago’s West Side Aug. 19-22, outside of the security perimeter, there will likely be scenes of anger and dissent – as demonstrators protesting the Biden-Harris administration’s support for Israel in its nearly 11 month-long war with Hamas in Gaza are planning to take to the streets. HARRIS HAULS IN $12 MILLION DURING SAN FRANCISCO STOP AS PELOSI WELCOMES THE VICE PRESIDENT HOME The Democrats’ convention comes nearly a month after the president’s blockbuster July 21 announcement that he was suspending his re-election bid and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris following his disastrous performance against former President Trump, the GOP presidential nominee, in their late June debate. Biden’s rambling and uneven answers at the debate fueled questions over whether the 81-year-old president had the physical and mental abilities to handle another four years in the White House and sparked a chorus of calls from within his own party to end his 2024 campaign. WHAT THE LATEST POLLS IN THREE KEY BATTLEGROUND STATES SHOW IN THE HARRIS-TRUMP SHOWDOWN Democrats desperate to keep Trump from returning to the White House quickly coalesced around Harris, who last week was formally nominated by the party in a virtual roll call.  Harris has enjoyed a surge in fundraising after replacing Biden three weeks ago atop the Democrats’ 2024 ticket, and her July haul was more than double the funds raised last month by Trump. Additionally, Harris saw another spike in fundraising after naming Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate a week ago. The vice president and Walz quickly hit the campaign trail with a swing through the key battleground states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada that drew large crowds at every stop. Even though both Harris and Walz have been officially nominated, convention organizers say there will be ceremonial roll calls next week in Chicago. The vice president and the Minnesota governor will both address the convention in nationally televised speeches next Wednesday and Thursday. Party officials are hoping to avoid any type of repeat of their 1968 convention in Chicago, when scenes of fighting among delegates and clouds of tear gas and police batons used to smash protests as divided Democrats brawled over the Vietnam War. While Democrats are divided over the U.S. response to the soaring death toll among Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas war, political pundits say comparisons to the 1968 chaos are not justifiable. However, the Coalition to March on the D.N.C., an umbrella group of organizations on the left that is helping to organize the planned protests, said in a social media posting on Sunday that Democratic Party officials “underestimate our rage, our tenacity, and our steadfast commitment to the precious life of every Palestinian person enduring this horrific genocide. We’re fighting back.” Protesters are trading fire with Chicago officials over where they will be allowed to march during the convention. The activists are aiming for a longer route which they say would better accommodate the tens of thousands of people they hope will protest. A federal judge overseeing the dispute between the protesters and city officials has yet to make a decision. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.