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FLASHBACK: Arizona Dem Senate candidate called Trump voters ‘dumb’: ‘Worst people in the world’

FLASHBACK: Arizona Dem Senate candidate called Trump voters ‘dumb’: ‘Worst people in the world’

A House Democrat running for Senate in a key swing state bashed voters who supported then-President-elect Donald Trump in a resurfaced interview. “I think Donald Trump ran a xenophobic campaign that drew out the worst people in the world that we are not going to appeal to and never will,” Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said in a 2016 interview directly after Trump won the presidential election. Gallego also said in the interview that he will try to “protect” Americans from the policies of Trump, including those who were “dumb enough” to vote for him. Fox News Digital reached out to the Gallego campaign for comment but did not receive a response.  ENIGMATIC VOTER GROUP COULD SPLIT TICKET FOR TRUMP, DEM SENATE CANDIDATE IN ARIZONA “Ruben Gallego thinks you are a bad person if you support President Trump,” NRSC spokesperson Tate Mitchell told Fox News Digital. “Gallego is running to be a Senator for the far-left, not all of Arizona.” The presidential race in Arizona is expected to be one of the closest in the country with the Real Clear Politics (RCP) average showing Trump with a tight lead, but the RCP average also shows that Gallego has a lead over his GOP opponent, Kari Lake. On the campaign trail, Gallego has been a fierce critic of Trump despite the former president’s popularity in the state. ARIZONA POLICE ORG ENDORSING TRUMP CROSSES AISLE TO BACK PROGRESSIVE DEM IN CLOSE SENATE RACE Gallego called Trump a “craven politician” in an interview with MSNBC earlier this year and has routinely gone after the former president on social media, including posts suggesting Trump and Lake are threats to democracy. Lake has made the case on the campaign trail that Gallego is a rubber stamp for a Biden-Harris administration. “President Trump’s consistently strong lead in Arizona proves that Arizonans are tired of and dissatisfied with the policies of Kamala Harris and Ruben Gallego that have caused record-high inflation and made our state less safe by opening the border to millions of unchecked illegal immigrants,” a Lake spokesperson told Fox News Digital earlier this year.  “As voters learn the truth about Gallego’s voting record and the fact that he has voted for Biden-Harris policies 100% of the time, they will reject Radical Ruben just as they reject Kamala Harris.” The Cook Political Report ranks the Arizona Senate race as “Lean Democrat.” Fox News Digital’s Julia Johnson contributed to this report

‘Not American’: Rural and urban voters in crucial battleground state alarmed by violent political rhetoric

‘Not American’: Rural and urban voters in crucial battleground state alarmed by violent political rhetoric

During a swing through Central Pennsylvania, Fox News Digital spoke with several voters in urban and rural areas, and got their take on the effects of charged political rhetoric among other topics. In Wakefield, the rural community just north of the Maryland line, Marsha Peterson co-owns Peterson’s Grocery Outlet with her husband. Asked about the level of political rhetoric, Peterson said the left has spent years on a drumbeat of telling Americans former President Trump “is a danger and he must be stopped.” “Then, you see people on social media laughing and saying they wouldn’t have missed [shooting] him,” she said. “They want words to matter – but only the right’s words.”  SHAPIRO BLASTED FOR SIGNING MISSILE ALONGSIDE ZELENSKYY IN BIDEN’S HOMETOWN Closer to home, Peterson said the affordability crisis has been a major issue for both her and her customers. “We run a little mom-and-pop little grocery store, and we absolutely see the difference in price increases from one administration to the next, even with COVID [considerations], things were not this high,” she said. Outside a large flea market off US-222, Eric Beezer said the issues at hand have driven him to run for state office in Lancaster City. The Republican said he originally was facing off with 34-year incumbent State Rep. Mike Sturla, but noted the senior Democrat suddenly withdrew from the race in August.  He said he hopes his top issues of affordability, housing and keeping taxes low will resonate with voters in the otherwise heavily-Democratic stronghold. “Lancaster’s issues are the same as most of the country,” Beezer said. Sam and Kate Mylin of Willow Street, Pa. offered their take while visiting Quarryville, saying the negativity in politics has to stop. “Especially people and politicians saying [Trump] is a threat and he needs to be taken out and stuff like that,” said Sam, a retired artist. “That’s is wrong. That’s just totally wrong. That’s not American.” Meanwhile, Kate Mylin questioned the veracity of claims inflation is going down. She noted disparities in costs as of late. CRISS-CROSSING PA TO REGISTER VOTERS, SCOTT PRESLER SAYS HE’S ‘MOVING THE NEEDLE’ TO FLIP COUNTIES RED “Gas goes down. But then your eggs are $5 for a dozen? Give me a break.” Sam Mylin added he wants to hear the truth from politicians as to whether our troops truly are not at war. “We have more wars right now than we ever had. And supposedly the troops aren’t in a combat zone, but I see that they are. And it’s all lies, man. It is. It’s all lies coming from the left. And it’s really dishonest itself,” he said. “The other thing is the affordability of housing for people is ridiculous. So something’s got to change,” he added, noting he and his wife are supporting Trump. Tim Gochenaur and Michelle Williams of rural Christiana traveled west into East Drumore Township to visit the Solanco fairgrounds. Both believed political rhetoric played a part in Trump being targeted twice for assassination. “They’re inciting these people,” Gochenaur said. “Somebody might be off a little bit to start with and that pushes them in that directions.”  Asked about electoral fairness, Williams said the tabulations will be “as fair as they allow it to be – the system should be fair.” “The way that the laws are put in place, it’s meant for integrity. And that’s a founding principle of our of our country — for there to be an appropriate and proper vote. But if that is not carried out, then it will not be a fair election.” On the other end of Harrisburg Pike, in the namesake capital city, a man who goes by “Minister Fifty” spoke out while waiting for a bus by the Hilton hotel downtown. “Is that a rhetorical question?” Minister Fifty responded when asked about political rhetoric inciting malign behavior. “Common sense tells us, of course, it’s having an effect – any type of unsavory communication is never going to be helpful,” he said. “So when we resort to things other than the issues and then we get animated in a dark way toward other people or non-issues, then things get clouded and things get deflected and then we lose sight of what the true goal is.” “We also have an opportunity to show the world and everyone else that America is built on decency…” Minister Fifty countered. He added he believes the election will indeed be fair, calling the national structure “too big to fail.” Lisa, of Harrisburg, said she is a proud “Black lady for Donald J. Trump,” in her words, said that when it comes to political rhetoric, it is important to “maintain a blessed attitude” and remember “the golden rule – do unto others as they would do unto you.” “Both sides can really use just more tolerance towards the other side,” said Lisa, who declined to appear on camera but agreed to have her comments recorded audially. “I’m rooting for the best candidate to win,” she said. Pam Hower, a former Republican who was out enjoying a twilight trip along the Susquehanna River trail, said she became disaffected with the GOP over its “crazy rhetoric” but added there may be something to be said on that front on both sides. She said Trump has “hurt a lot of people” with claims of migrants eating pets in Ohio, and – as a person with a disability – was horrified at a situation from Trump’s first bid wherein he was accused of mocking a New York Times reporter who suffered from a congenital skeletal condition. Trump, however, denied the claim, saying he didn’t know of Serge Kovaleski’s disability, and only effected his “groveling” manner in the situation he had been describing. Hower said disability issues as well as Medicare and Medicaid solvency are key to her vote. She added that while she has gone hunting with family members and grew up around legal firearms, she disagrees with the availability of semiautomatic rifles given the amount of

Harris-Trump cash dash: Former president looks to flip script with fundraising swing in oil country

Harris-Trump cash dash: Former president looks to flip script with fundraising swing in oil country

Trailing Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 cash dash, former President Trump heads next week to Texas, a state that’s long served as an ATM for Republican White House candidates. Aiming to narrow the fundraising gap with Harris, the former president will headline a luncheon Oct. 2 in Midland, Texas, as he courts donors in oil country. That luncheon will be followed by a cocktail reception in Houston, sources in Trump’s political orbit confirmed to Fox News Digital. Trump will also headline a fundraiser in Dallas during his Texas swing. According to the latest figures available from the Federal Election Commission, Harris hauled in nearly $190 million in fundraising for her 2024 campaign in August, more than quadrupling the $44.5 million that Trump’s team reported bringing into his principal campaign account last month. WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS SHOW IN THE 2024 ELECTION And the vice president’s campaign entered September with $235 million cash on hand, well ahead of the $135 million in Trump’s coffers, according to the FEC filings. The latest cash figures are another sign of the vice president’s surge in fundraising since replacing President Biden atop the Democrats’ 2024 ticket over two months ago. CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING IN THE HARRIS-TRUMP SHOWDOWN This isn’t the first time Trump’s faced a fundraising deficit. He raised less than 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in his White House victory and by President Biden four years ago in his re-election defeat. “The Democrats’ small-dollar fundraising machine is just better,” acknowledged Dan Eberhart, an oil drilling CEO and prominent Republican donor and bundler who raised big bucks for Trump in the 2020 and 2024 cycles. Eberhart pointed to Trump’s surge in grassroots fundraising earlier this year, after he made history as the first former or current president convicted in a criminal trial, and noted that “Trump is the best small-dollar fundraiser the Republicans have ever had. But I still think, just overall, the Democrats’ small-dollar fundraising machine is just better.” HARRIS-TRUMP SHOWDOWN: WHICH CANDIDATE HOLDS THE EDGE ON THIS CRUCIAL ISSUE The Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee enjoyed a fundraising lead over Trump and the Republican National Committee earlier this year. But Trump and the RNC topped Biden and the DNC by $331 million to $264 million during the second quarter of 2024 fundraising. Biden enjoyed a brief fundraising surge after his disastrous performance in his late June debate with Trump as donors briefly shelled out big bucks in a sign of support for the 81-year-old president. But Biden’s halting and shaky debate delivery also instantly fueled questions about his physical and mental ability to serve another four years in the White House and spurred a rising chorus of calls from within his own party for the president to end his bid for a second term. The brief surge in fundraising didn’t last and, by early July, began to significantly slow down.  Biden bowed out of the 2024 race July 21, and the party quickly consolidated around Harris, who instantly saw her fundraising soar, spurred by small-dollar donations. And the Harris campaign spotlighted that the vice president hauled in $47 million in the 24 hours after her first and likely only debate with Trump earlier this month. “We’ve been playing catch-up ever since Act Blue first started, figuring out an effective way to mine the low-dollar, small-dollar fundraising,” Republican Jewish Coalition CEO Matt Brooks told Fox News, pointing to the Democrats’ on-line fundraising platform. Brooks, who has close ties to the GOP’s donor class, said while “there’s no question that the Democrats have perfected” their small-dollar fundraising, “I think we’re doing better and better. I like the trajectory we’re on.” But a source in Trump’s political orbit said “the max-out donors have already given. There’s not a lot of juice left from that. Any juice left would be in the small-dollar on-line fundraising, and the moments for that are kind of passed in terms of debates, making the running mate pick, the conventions. All that stuff is past.” Fundraising, along with polling, is a key metric in campaign politics and a measure of a candidate’s popularity and a campaign’s strength. The money raised can be used — among other things — to hire staff, expand grassroots outreach and get-out-the-vote efforts, pay to produce and run ads on TV, radio, digital and mailers and for candidate travel. “We’re going to be outspent, and that’s going to lead to a better ground game for Harris,” a veteran Republican operative who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, told Fox News. But Brooks emphasized that “the saving grace is that we have strong support among major donors and big dollar donors going into the super PACs, which you have to take into consideration.” “I think you have to look at the totality of the pro-Trump money out there, and I think the super PACs help level the playing field significantly,” he added. When asked about the fundraising deficit, Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley told Fox News Digital earlier this month “the Democrats have a ton of money. The Democrats always have a ton of money.” However, he emphasized that “we absolutely have the resources that we need to get our message out to all the voters that we’re talking to and feel very comfortable that we’re going to be able to see this campaign through, and we’re going to win on Nov. 5.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

US to end anti-ISIL operation in Iraq but unclear if troops will remain

US to end anti-ISIL operation in Iraq but unclear if troops will remain

US officials offer little clarity on future of two-decade US military presence in Iraq amid ‘transition’. The United States and Iraq have said that a US-led coalition in the country to fight ISIL (ISIS) will wind down by the end of 2025, but they left the door open to a prolonged military presence. The joint announcement on Friday did not specify what the future of US troops in Iraq will be, with officials stressing that the move represents more of a “transition” than a “withdrawal”. A senior official from US President Joe Biden’s administration who briefed reporters said the wind-down would involve two phases. The first phase – expected to end in September 2025 – will include “ending the presence of coalition forces in certain locations in Iraq as mutually determined”, the official said. The second phase would see the US continue to operate in Iraq in some capacity “at least through” 2026 to support ongoing anti-ISIS coalition efforts in Syria. US-Iraq defence ties would then shift away from the coalition to “an expanded US-Iraqi bilateral security relationship”, the official said. They declined to say whether that shift would signal a full withdrawal of US troops. “We’re not in a position right now to begin to either speculate or discuss exactly where we’re going to end up on all of it,” the official said. The US initially invaded Iraq in 2003 as part of its so-called global “war on terror” in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks, with a peak of 170,000 troops deployed by 2007. Washington withdrew most US forces from Iraq by 2011. However, the administration of US President Barack Obama again redeployed forces to the country in 2014, as ISIL overran large swaths of Iraq and Syria. While ISIL continues to exist, the group lost control of its last pieces of territory in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019. Then, in 2021, the Biden administration ended what it described as a US “combat mission” in Iraq, with the about 2,500 US troops in the country shifting to an “advisory role”. Talks about further winding down troops began in January and included Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, as well as top-ranking officials from both the Iraqi armed forces and the US-led coalition. The continued presence of US troops in Iraq has been a political thorn for Sudani and has long been opposed by influential segments of the government. Bases housing US soldiers have for years come under attack by Iran-aligned militias. Those attacks increased in the early months of Israel’s war in Gaza, which began in October 2023 but have since reduced in frequency. Adblock test (Why?)

Israel ‘escalates to de-escalate’ with Hezbollah

Israel ‘escalates to de-escalate’ with Hezbollah

Israel reverts to its wartime playbook as it manufactures consent for all-out war on Lebanon. In the past couple of weeks, the low-intensity war that Israel and Hezbollah have been fighting across the Lebanon-Israel border for a year has metastasised. Thousands of Lebanese have been forced from their homes as Israeli bombardment has intensified. More than 600 have been killed. Alongside air raids and preparations for a land invasion, there is an element of psychological pressure Israel exerts too, designed to terrorise people and manufacture consent for war. Contributors:Habib Battah – Founder, Beirut ReportOri Goldberg  – Academic and political commentatorZahera Harb – Senior lecturer in journalism, City UniversityAssal Rad – Author, State of Resistance On our radar: A terrifying new plan to ethnically cleanse North Gaza has made its way onto Netanyahu’s desk. Tariq Nafi looks at the man behind the “The Generals’ Plan” and the support he has received across the Israeli political spectrum. Online Zionist Influencers “Hasbara” – the Hebrew word that translates to “explanation”, “persuasion” – has been a central strategy of the Zionist movement. It’s taken the form of media-trained government spokespeople delivering soundbites on TV, PR campaigns advertising the Israeli army not just as moral but also cool, and extensive messaging on social media. Nicholas Muirhead reports on the work of online hasbarists and how the genocide in Gaza has made their jobs a lot more challenging. Featuring:  Hen Mazzig – Israeli author, commentator and influencerSaree Makdisi – Professor of English and comparative literature, UCLATamara Nassar  – Associate editor, Electronic IntifadaMatt Lieb – Host, Bad Hasbara Adblock test (Why?)