Trump questions Harris’s intelligence, says three debates planned
NewsFeed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump took aim at Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate. He said he has agreed to three debates with her; ABC confirmed it would host one on Sept. 10. Published On 8 Aug 20248 Aug 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Is real change possible in Kenya?
Tens of thousands of protesters call for end to what they say is corruption and mismanagement. Kenya is on the edge again. Protests against a finance bill have become a nationwide movement, challenging the foundations of President William Ruto’s government. Young people are leading the charge – demanding lower taxes, an end to corruption and a government that listens. But as the demonstrations have intensified, so too has the response. Dozens of activists and protesters have been killed, and others simply disappeared. Can President Ruto quell this rising tide of dissent? Or is Kenya on the brink of major political change? Presenter: Laura Kyle Guests:Nanjala Nyabola – Political analyst and author of Digital Democracy, Analogue Politics: How the Internet Era is Transforming Politics in Kenya Hassan Khannenje – Director of the HORN International Institute of Strategic Studies, a research and policy think tank based in the Kenyan capital Aly-Khan Satchu – Emerging markets economist and author Adblock test (Why?)
Netanyahu apologizes for Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, warns Israel now faces ‘full-fledged Iranian axis’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a new interview with Time Magazine, apologized for the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas terrorists happening on his watch, and warned that the country now faces a “full-fledged Iranian axis.” Netanyahu had been prime minister for almost a year when Hamas terrorists launched the attack on southern Israel that left 1,200 people dead and hundreds more taken as hostages in Gaza. In an interview conducted on Aug. 4 at the prime minister’s office in Jerusalem, Time asked Netanyahu whether he would apologize for the Oct. 7 attack, noting his 17-year cumulative political career has been built on the argument that he is the best leader to ensure Israel’s safety. “Apologize?” Netanyahu asked. “Of course, of course. I am sorry, deeply, that something like this happened. And you always look back and you say, ‘Could we have done things that would have prevented it?’” ISRAEL ISSUES MESSAGE TO LEBANESE CITIZENS AMID REPORTS OF POTENTIAL PREEMPTIVE STRIKE ON HEZBOLLAH Ten months after what amounted to the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust, the Biden administration has increasingly grown frustrated with Netanyahu for failing to deliver a plan to end the war and get the more than 100 hostages still held by Hamas home. Israel now faces more fronts – in the north with Hezbollah in Lebanon, in the Gulf with the Houthis in Yemen – and now is bracing for an aerial assault from its main enemy, Iran. “We’re facing not merely Hamas,” Netanyahu told TIME. “We’re facing a full-fledged Iranian axis, and we understand that we have to organize ourselves for broader defense.” According to a July poll by Israel’s most watched television station, 72% of Israelis believe Netanyahu should resign now or after the conflict ends. Critics, including former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, have accused Netanyahu of prolonging the war to further his own political ambition. “Netanyahu is focused on his longevity in power more than the interests of the Israeli people or the State of Israel,” Barak told Time. “It will take half a generation to repair the damage that Netanyahu has caused in the last year.” Netanyahu argued that Israel must demolish every element of Iran’s “axis of resistance” in the region to ensure that Israel is never subjected to future massacres and that Hamas can no longer lay claim to Palestinian territories. “Being destroyed has bigger implications about Israel’s security,” Netanyahu told Time, describing the war as existential. “I’d rather have bad press than a good obituary.” Netanyahu delivered a speech to Congress in Washington, D.C., on July 25 to rally support from Israel’s closest ally, but nearly 130 Democrats and Vice President Harris declined to attend. “I don’t think that the much-reported erosion of support among some quarters of the American public is related to Israel,” Netanyahu told Time. “It’s more related to America,” he added, referencing a Harvard-Harris survey in January showing that 80% of respondents supported Israel, while 20% supported Hamas. EXPECT IRAN’S RESPONSE TO EXTEND BEYOND THE MIDDLE EAST: ROBERT GREENWAY “There’s a problem that America has,” Netanyahu said, noting a significant amount of support for a terrorist organization. “It’s not a problem that Israel has.” The Biden administration and former President Trump have both expressed a desire for the war to end. Netanyahu has noted in the past that Israel did not start the war, but must be able to end it for its future security. When U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken flew to Tel Aviv earlier this year, he reportedly told Netanyahu to bring the war to a close, because Israeli forces had already ensured that another Oct. 7 couldn’t happen again. Netanyahu reportedly replied that wasn’t his objective. Instead, he said, the goal was to “completely destroy Hamas’ military and governing capabilities.” “We’ve gone out of our way to enable humanitarian assistance since the beginning of the war,” Netanyahu told Time, responding to allegations brought by Columbia professor Rashid Khalidi that the Israeli operations amounted to “collective punishment” of civilians for Hamas’ actions. Time noted how Netanyahu embraced a policy over the past 10 years allowing Qatari funds to flow into Gaza after Hamas rose to power first through elections and later by force. It was meant as an incentive for Hamas to govern peacefully but instead financed miles of terror tunnels under civilian infrastructure. Also in January 2023, Netanyahu led government reforms that curbed judiciary powers, prompting large-scale protests. “You are weakening us, and our enemy is going to see it, and we’re going to pay the price,” former Minister of Defense Benny Gantz cautioned Netanyahu at the time. The prime minister placed blame on the protesters, many of whom said they would not serve in the Israeli military if the country’s democratic institutions were weakened. Netanyahu said his biggest mistake, however, was not going to war with Hamas in the past, listening to his security cabinet, which opposed such a move. For years, Israel’s strategy was to respond to Hamas’ attacks periodically by striking back and damaging them to the point of the terror group agreeing to a cease-fire that ultimately kept them in control of Gaza, with the ability to bolster their terror infrastructure that includes a complex network of underground tunnels. Time reported that when Israel did go to war against Hamas for less than two months in 2014, Israeli officials said the security cabinet brought Netanyahu a plan to end the terror organization. The plan was predicted to lead to the deaths of approximately 10,000 Gazan civilians and 500 Israeli soldiers. “There was no domestic support for such an action,” Netanyahu told Time regarding that plan. “There was certainly no international support for such an action – and you need both.”
Harris campaign walks back Walz bio amid ‘stolen valor’ controversy as questions swirl
The Harris campaign has altered its biography of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on its campaign website, making a change to a reference to his military service amid ongoing scrutiny of the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee’s military credentials. Walz’s biography initially said he was a “retired Command Sergeant Major.” It has since been updated to say that he “served as a command sergeant major.” Vice President Kamala Harris announced Walz as her running mate Tuesday, setting off a series of attacks over Walz’s background as Minnesota governor, a lawmaker and a member of the National Guard for nearly 25 years. VETERAN WHO SERVED IN TIM WALZ’S BATTALION ADDRESSES STOLEN VALOR ACCUSATIONS: ‘FAR DARKER THAN PEOPLE THINK’ When Walz left the Guard, he had achieved the rank of command sergeant major, but he was reduced in rank months after retiring, leaving him as a master sergeant. National Guard officials have said that he retired before fulfilling requirements for the position, including coursework at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy. The subsequent lower rank was due to benefit requirements and a technicality. However, Republicans have accused Walz of engaging in “stolen valor garbage.” “Do not pretend to be something that you’re not,” Sen. JD Vance, former President Trump’s running mate, said this week. Vance is a Marine Corps veteran. “I’d be ashamed if I was saying that I lied about my military service like you did,” he said. Vance accused Walz of having dropped out of the National Guard to avoid serving in the Iraq War. JD VANCE ACCUSES TIM WALZ OF ‘LYING’ ABOUT MILITARY SERVICE: ‘STOLEN VALOR GARBAGE’ “As a Marine who served his country in uniform when the United States Marine Corps, when the United States of America asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it. I did what they asked me to do, and I did it honorably,” he said. “When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did? He dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him, a fact that he’s been criticized for aggressively by a lot of the people that he served with.” However, the Minnesota National Guard told Fox News Walz’s unit was not given deployment orders to Iraq until July, and he had submitted retirement papers five to seven months prior to his retirement in May 2005. Army Lt. Col. Ryan Rossman, the Minnesota National Guard’s director of operations, also explained Walz’s rank at the time of his retirement in a statement to Fox News. “He was technically a command sergeant major when he deployed to Europe with his battalion but to retire as a CSM you have to go through a final course, which he had not completed. So, from a benefits perspective, the Army retired him as a master sergeant (lower enlisted rank.) But, according to National Guard records, he was a command seargeant major technically when deployed. The lower rank was as a result of benefit requirements and a technicality.” Vance noted comments from Walz on gun control, saying the governor had used his military history in an attempt to push gun restrictions. “He said, ‘We shouldn’t allow weapons that I used in war to be on America’s streets.’ Well, I wonder, Tim Walz, when were you ever in war? When was this? What was this weapon that you carried into war, given that you abandoned your unit right before they went to Iraq? And he has not spent a day in a combat zone? What bothers me about Tim Walz is the stolen valor garbage,” Vance said. The Harris campaign has defended Walz’s record. “After 24 years of military service, Governor Walz retired in 2005 and ran for Congress, where he chaired Veterans Affairs and was a tireless advocate for our men and women in uniform. And as vice president of the United States, he will continue to be a relentless champion for our veterans and military families,” the campaign said this week. Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin, Jeffrey Clark, Anders Hagstrom and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Trump says Biden had the ‘right to run,’ but Dem Party ‘took it away’
Former President Trump said President Biden had “the right to run” for re-election and the Democratic Party “took it away” from him, while blasting his new opponent Kamala Harris as the “least admired, least respected, and worst vice president in the history of our country.” Trump held a press conference at Mar-a-Lago Thursday afternoon after holding off-the-record meetings with major media outlets. The Trump campaign said the Republican presidential nominee wanted to address the media “while they were already in Palm Beach because he’s the most transparent candidate in history.” Trump said Thursday that the U.S. is in “the most dangerous period of time I’ve ever seen for our country.” “We have somebody that hasn’t received one vote for president, and she’s running, and that’s fine with me, but we were given Joe Biden, and now we’re given somebody else,” Trump said. “I think, frankly, I’d rather be running against somebody else, but that was their choice.” TRUMP STAGES MAR-A-LAGO PRESS CONFERENCE IN ‘STARK CONTRAST’ WITH HARRIS AS SHE AVOIDS MEDIA Trump said Harris is “a radical left person at a level that nobody’s seen,” and said her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, is a “radical left man that has positions that are not even possible to believe they exist.” “He’s heavy into the transgender world, heavy into lots of different worlds having to do with safety. He doesn’t want to have borders, he doesn’t want to have walls. He doesn’t want to have any form of safety for our country,” Trump said. “He doesn’t mind people coming in from prisons and neither does she — I guess because she couldn’t care less.” Harris formally became the nominee after Biden suspended his re-election campaign and endorsed her amid pressure from within the Democrat Party. The Democratic National Committee formally nominated Harris as their nominee this week. “The presidency was taken away from Joe Biden, and I’m no Biden fan,” Trump said. “From a constitutional standpoint, from any standpoint you look at, they took the presidency away, and people are saying he lost after the debate and he couldn’t win.” “Whether he could win or he couldn’t, when he had the right to run, and they took it away, and they said they would use the 25th amendment,” Trump continued. Trump said the pressure from within the Democrat Party and “what they’ve done” is “pretty incredible.” 18 DAYS: KAMALA HARRIS HAS NOT HELD A PRESS CONFERENCE SINCE EMERGING AS PRESUMPTIVE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE “Now I’m running against somebody else, and we’re leading. We’re leading — so I’m not complaining,” he said. “I’m saying, for a country with a Constitution that we cherish — we cherish this Constitution — to have done it this way is pretty severe, pretty horrible.” Trump said he thought Democrats “would have gone out to a vote” or “would have had a primary system.” “But just to take it away from him like he was a child?” Trump said, adding that Biden is “a very angry man right now.” “I can tell you that he’s not happy with Obama, and he’s not happy with Nancy Pelosi,” Trump said. “He’s not happy with any of the people that told him ‘you’ve got to leave.’ He’s very unhappy, very angry.” Trump said he thinks Biden “also blames” Harris. “He’s trying to put up a good face, but it is a very bad thing in terms of a country when you do that,” Trump said. “I’m not a fan of his, as you probably have noticed, and he had a rough debate, but that doesn’t mean that you just take it away like that.” Trump added: “You go out to a vote, you do something — he had 14 million votes. She had no votes.” “And she’s crashing,” Trump said. JD VANCE ROASTS HARRIS ON WISCONSIN TARMAC FOR AVOIDING PRESS, CALLS AIR FORCE 2 HIS ‘FUTURE PLANE’ “We have a vice president who is the least admired, least respected, and the worst vice president in the history of our country. The most unpopular vice president,” Trump said of Harris. Trump also slammed Harris for not engaging with the media. Harris has been the de facto Democrat nominee for 18 days, and she has not held a formal press conference or sat for a wide-ranging interview. “She’s not doing any news conference. You know why she’s not doing it? Because she can’t do a news conference. She doesn’t know how to do a news conference,” Trump said. “She’s not smart enough to do a news conference.” Trump said he is “very happy to run against” Harris, and said he “hates to be defending” Biden, but pointed to the Constitution again. “We have a Constitution. It’s a very important document, and we live by it. She has no votes, and I’m very happy to run against her. I’m not complaining from that standpoint. And I hate to be defending him, but he did not want to leave. He wanted to see if he could win,” Trump said. “They said, ‘you’re not going to win. After the debate, they said, ‘you’re not going to win. You can’t win. You’re out.’” Trump said Democrats, after successfully pressuring Biden to drop out of the race, “just picked a person.” Trump, pointing to Harris’ failed 2020 Democratic presidential primary campaign, said she was “the first out.” “She was the first loser. Okay. So we call her the first loser. She was the first loser when, during the primary system, during the Democrat primary system, she was the first one to quit, and she quit. She had no votes, no support, and she was a bad debater, by the way, a very bad debater,” Trump said. “And that’s not the thing I’m looking forward to. But she was a bad debater. She obviously did a bad job. She never made it to Iowa then for some reason.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump said he thinks Biden “regrets” tapping Harris as vice president.
UP: Serial killer fear grips Bareilly, 9 women murdered in similar manner in…
Police suspect they all have been perpetrated by the same person who strangled all his/her victims, at least one, by her own saree.
House GOP demands FEC probe ‘potentially illegal’ ActBlue fundraising as Dem platform hauls Harris millions
FIRST ON FOX — Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., demanded in a letter Thursday that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) investigate recent allegations “of fraudulent, deceptive, and potentially illegal behavior” on the part of ActBlue, the Democratic fundraising platform that’s hauled in millions of dollars in donations for Vice President Harris’ presidential campaign and its affiliated entities. Tenney, who co-chairs the House Election Integrity Caucus, cited in the letter addressed to FEC Chair Sean Cooksey and Vice Chair Ellen Weintraub “significant public reporting on anomalous transaction activity involving hundreds of thousands of dollars.” According to the agency’s publicly available data, Tenney wrote, “numerous individuals have allegedly donated to ActBlue thousands of times annually.” However, “it was reported many of these individuals were unaware their names and addresses were being used to make thousands of dollars in political donations.” The FEC declined to comment on the letter. Fox News Digital reached out to ActBlue regarding the allegations, but it did not immediately respond. The letter noted ActBlue did not require a card verification value (CVV) number to complete a transaction, unlike most online platforms engaged in e-commerce. Relative to campaign contributions, Tenney said using CVV numbers “is an effective antifraud measure that prevents unlawful transactions that violate the Federal Election Campaign Act, 52 U.S. Code 30101-30145, and various state election laws.” ‘SERIOUS LOOPHOLE’: GOP WIDENS PROBE INTO ACTBLUE, DEM FUNDRAISING PLATFORM HELPING HARRIS RAISE MILLIONS “Given the deliberate lack of security in their donation practices, it is unsurprising that ActBlue could be exploited for fraudulent activities,” Tenney wrote. “Recognizing that foreign actors use fake accounts to exploit donation systems lacking robust verification safeguards, most individual campaigns and political action committees (PACs) require CVV numbers to donate online. However, despite its widespread use among its online counterparts, ActBlue deliberately chooses not to require CVV numbers for donations, possibly facilitating fraudulent activities and foreign interference in our electoral system.” Tenney specifically urged the FEC to investigate “anomalous transaction activity as it relates to donations to ActBlue,” and answer whether the FEC had already examined anomalous transaction activity or ActBlue’s lax verification processes. If so, the congresswoman asked the FEC to provide “a detailed summary of the results of that investigation.” If not, Tenny asked if the FEC would “commit to investigating potential fraudulent donations to ActBlue, as well as the organization’s lack of verification guardrails” The letter also asked whether ActBlue is “in compliance with federal rules as it relates to accepting online donations” and whether the FEC will consider the Committee on House Administration’s Aug. 5 request for “emergency rulemaking” to force campaigns to verify online donors’ CVV numbers. TOP REPUBLICAN CALLS ON DEM FUNDRAISER ACTBLUE TO STOP PROCESSING DONATIONS FOR HAMAS-SYMPATHIZING GROUPS “As a founding member of the House Election Integrity Caucus, I take the safety, security, and integrity of our elections very seriously. Public trust in our elections has been eroded to historic lows, and Congress and our federal regulators must take meaningful action to restore this faith,” Tenney wrote. On Monday, Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., who chairs the Committee on House Administration, sent a letter to top FEC officials urging them to “immediately initiate an emergency rulemaking to require political campaigns to verify the card verification value (‘CVV’) of donors who contribute online using a credit or debit card, and to prohibit political campaigns from accepting online contributions from a gift card or other prepaid credit cards.” The Aug. 5 request came in response to accusations that ActBlue is skirting campaign donation laws that allow for rampant fraud on the site. According to his committee, whistleblowers who approached the panel in recent weeks have accused ActBlue of deliberately not using CVV numbers for donations to reduce the bar for verification. As of Monday morning, however, a CVV number was required on the page accepting credit card donations for the vice president. Whistleblowers have also reported the receipt of a significant number of donations from retirees living on a fixed income, and hundreds of donations of $2.50 from the same individual, according to the committee. The site has been used to raise millions of dollars for Harris as she takes on former President Trump in November. Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
Red state AGs sue Biden-Harris admin over plan to give free health insurance to DACA recipients
A group of Republican attorneys general on Thursday sued to block the Biden-Harris administration from granting free health care to illegal immigrants. President Biden’s administration is working to grant DACA recipients access to Obamacare, despite their lack of U.S. citizenship. Kansas AG Kris Kobach, who is leading the lawsuit, says the administration is illegally redefining DACA recipients as “lawfully present” in the U.S. in order to grant the coverage. DACA refers to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a policy that delays deportation for illegal immigrants who crossed into the U.S. when they were infants or young children. Kobach argues that defining DACA recipients as lawfully present is “laughable.” KAMALA HARRIS SHUTS DOWN ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS DURING CAMPAIGN SPEECH IN MICHIGAN: ‘I’M SPEAKING’ “You have to have entered the U.S. illegally to qualify for DACA status. The 2012 memo creating DACA affirms that it ‘confers no substantive right, immigration status or pathway to citizenship. Only the Congress, acting through its legislative authority, can confer these rights.’ And at least two federal courts have held DACA itself to be illegal,” Kobach wrote in an opinion article for the Wall Street Journal. BIDEN URGES RESPECT FOR LEGAL SYSTEM AFTER TRUMP CONVICTION WHILE PUBLICLY FLOUTING SCOTUS RULINGS “The new Biden-Harris rule will worsen the disaster at the border. When word about taxpayer-subsidized healthcare reaches the home countries of would-be illegal aliens, many more will make the journey. When you reward illegal behavior, you get more of it,” he added. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Earlier this year, Kobach sued the Biden administration over a student loan forgiveness program. Biden has sought for years to find a legal path forward for unilaterally forgiving student debt but has yet to succeed. The Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan announced by the administration last year would help millions of borrowers enrolled in a federal student loan program to lower their monthly debt payments and provide a path to debt forgiveness. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The lower payments were expected to kick in on July 1 for an estimated eight million borrowers enrolled in the SAVE program, but the administration has run into several legal hurdles.
Harris meeting with anti-Israel ‘Uncommitted’ movement opens speculation about arms embargo
Vice President Kamala Harris sparked concerns that she would consider an arms embargo of Israel by saying she was open to a meeting with leaders of the Uncommitted movement, who told the vice president about their demand for the policy. Harris spoke with co-founders of the National Uncommitted movement before a rally in Detroit Wednesday, hearing stories about people in Michigan who have had family members killed in Gaza, before expressing an openness to meet with the leaders over their calls for an arms embargo, according to a report from the New York Times. The movement, which was inspired by the Listen to Michigan campaign that sprung up in Dearborn, has been protesting the Democratic ticket over the Biden administration’s handling of the conflict in Gaza, with many vowing not to support Harris unless she meets demands such as negotiating an immediate ceasefire or halting weapons shipments to Israel. COMIC MICHAEL RAPAPORT SAYS HARRIS LOST HIS VOTE OVER ISRAEL: ‘CAN’T SUPPORT PARTY THAT IS FOR THIS BULLS—“ The reported exchange with the leaders of the movement drew immediate backlash from supporters of Israel, who blasted the Democratic nominee for even entertaining the demand. “Stating an openness to an arms embargo is wrong at any time, but saying it in the hours counting down to a massive Iranian attack on Israel, is completely outrageous. The only right answer was ‘No way,’ an answer I have to imagine she wouldn’t have hesitated to deliver on other issues like banning abortion,” Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital. Representatives for Harris later rushed to clarify the vice president’s position, arguing that the Democratic nominee “will always ensure Israel is able to defend itself.” “[Harris] has been clear: she will always ensure Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups,” Phil Gordon, Harris’ National Security Advisor, said in a post on X. “She does not support an arms embargo on Israel. She will continue to work to protect civilians in Gaza and to uphold international humanitarian law.” VP KAMALA HARRIS PICKING GOV. TIM WALZ AS RUNNING MATE MET WITH MEDIA SCORN: ‘SUCH A WEIRD CHOICE’ New York Times White House Correspondent Erica L. Green also clarified the outlet’s reporting, noting that the group’s leaders had asked to meet with Harris to discuss their demands. “They said she was open to meeting with them, not that she was open to an arms embargo,” Green said in a post on X. Harris’ campaign would later fire off another statement, arguing that the vice president “has prioritized engaging with Arab, Muslim, and Palestinian community members and others regarding the war in Gaza.” “In this brief engagement, she reaffirmed that her campaign will continue to engage with those communities. The Vice President has been clear: she will always work to ensure Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups,” the statement said. “The Vice President is focused on securing the ceasefire and hostage deal currently on the table. As she has said, it is time for this war to end in a way where: Israel is secure, hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinian civilians ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, freedom, and self-determination.” Harris’ campaign is forced to walk a fine line in Michigan, a critical swing state that has featured tight margins over the last few elections. Anger over the administration’s policy in Gaza that has bubbled up from Dearborn, a city with the highest per capita Muslim population in the U.S., threatening to complicate the picture further with simultaneous movements that could peel away thousands of votes that would typically go to Democrats in a crucial swing state. But Goldberg said the clarification was not enough, arguing that the campaign’s statement didn’t actually address whether Harris would consider an embargo. “She should be asked point blank, ‘Yes or no, would you ever consider an arms embargo on Israel?’” Goldberg said. “Her clarifying statement issued after the incident notably doesn’t answer that question directly.” 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.
Reporter’s Notebook: What a ‘yacht rock’ summer looks like on Capitol Hill
A summer breeze has swept across Capitol Hill over the past two weeks. Not the “Summer Breeze” Seals and Crofts sing about, but a political summer breeze which made lawmakers “Run Like the Wind” for the exits. To quote Gino Vannelli, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle declared “I Just Wanna Stop” – and vacated Washington for the summer. BEWARE THE IDES OF JULY: TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, BIDEN ENDS REELECTION CAMPAIGN IN WILD MONTH One is wise to embrace this miniature respite in governance. The fall and winter will be a challenge in Congress. So here’s the “Lowdown.” One can describe much of what unfolds on Capitol Hill in terms of “yacht rock.” Both bodies of Congress usually adjourn for a four- to six-week period between late July and early September. But this year’s congressional summer breeze has been more like a political gale. Lawmakers barely spent any time in session over the past few months. Both the House and Senate took off a week in the middle of July so Republicans could conduct their convention in Milwaukee. That was after an abbreviated week in Washington just after July 4th. Congress was out of session from late June until after the Fourth. The House ditched town early last month, lopping off one week of its schedule. In fact, the House has only convened for a handful of weeks since May 24. Yacht rock impresario Rupert Holmes would characterize this as an “Escape.” Do you really need more of a reason to blend a piña colada? Expect Congress to accomplish much the rest of the year? Well, that yacht – has sailed. We’re deep into the throes of what is going to be a brutal campaign season for the presidency, control of the House and the Senate. All lawmakers are required to do the rest of the year is figure out a way to avoid a government shutdown in late September. Is Congress capable of much else? Well, doubtful. But in the words of the Doobie Brothers, “What a Fool Believes.” A cryptocurrency bill? Maybe in the lame duck session, but doubtful. A tax bill – involving credits for parents? Same. How about legislation offered by GOP vice presidential nominee and Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, to bolster rail safety after the Norfolk Southern crash in East Palestine, Ohio, early last year? Few are on board with that. Democrats don’t want to award Vance a legislative victory just before the election. And Republicans aren’t willing to help Brown. He faces one of the most competitive Senate contests in the country against GOP challenger Bernie Moreno. A farm bill? Hey. Wrong genre. This is about yacht rock. Talk to John Cougar Mellencamp or Neil Young about that one. Lawmakers won’t necessarily don their captain hats and recline on the foredeck, catching rays and sipping a mai tai over the next few weeks. Democrats set their GPS for Chicago and their convention in two weeks. There are robust campaigns as Democrats try to cling to control in the Senate and stand a good chance of flipping the House. Democrats are especially enthused about their chances now that President Biden effectively ceded the Democratic nomination to Vice President Kamala Harris. Why did it take so long for Biden to defer to Harris – or anyone else? The Eagles would croon, “I Can’t Tell You Why.” But since it’s “Just the Two of Us,” Democrats were freaked out about bleeding seats down ballot. “You’re Out to Lose,” as Pablo Cruise might sing, had Democrats stuck with the incumbent. Republicans contend that 14 million voters cast ballots for Biden in the Democratic primaries earlier this year. They could even assert that Raydio was right when they penned, “You Can’t Change That.” Biden was “Still the One” for several weeks after the debate debacle in Atlanta in late June. But once Biden stepped aside, Democrats quickly courted voters who may have abandoned them. “Baby Come Back,” by Player may have been the Democrats’ theme song as they attempted to woo people who considered sitting things out this fall. But some pols will welcome the early respite from Capitol Hill. Most House and Senate incumbents lack competitive races this fall. They might not find themselves in “Margaritaville.” But who can blame them if they skip out of the 100-degree heat of Washington for a Caribbean destination? Former President Trump certainly has a contingent of ultra-loyalists who are happy to campaign on his behalf – or at least want to be seen as advocating for him. They may want to score a potential Cabinet post. Or at least duck the ire of the former president, so they attempt to appeal to his good graces. And many Democrats are now supercharged that Biden won’t be on the ballot. They will likely do all they can for Harris. So these lawmakers face a busy August and early September. But other lawmakers will coast. In fact, they may secretively “Steal Away” – in the words of Robbie Dupree. Perhaps you will find some of these politicians sipping chardonnay or a dry martini on a yacht somewhere as the sun sets across the water. You’d be lucky to catch them. Of course, you can always leave a message on their “Answering Machine.” Not that anyone uses an answering machine anymore. Yacht rock might not capture all that’s going on in politics right now. One can understand the need to just check out of the political environment this month, especially after the drama involving Biden and the attempted assassination of Trump. Yacht rock is for summer. But when it comes to elections and governing, that is the season of classic rock. “There must be some way out of here, said the joker to the thief,” declared both Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix in “All Along the Watchtower.” But Congress will be back in due time in early September. Tens of millions of people will cast their ballots. And