Trump to hold indoor rally with JD Vance one week after surviving assassination attempt
Former President Donald Trump will hold an indoor rally just one week after surviving an attempted assassination. Trump plans to hold the rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 20 with Ohio Sen. JD Vance, whom the former president chose as his running mate Monday, Fox News has confirmed, marking his first campaign appearance with Vance as his vice presidential candidate. The rally comes just one week after Trump was grazed in the ear by a gunman at an outdoor rally in Pennsylvania, a shooting that also resulted in the death of one rally goer and two additional injuries. TRUMP ANNOUNCES JD VANCE AS HIS 2024 RUNNING MATE The rally will be held inside the Van Andel Arena, with Secret Service officials recently warning the Trump campaign against holding outdoor rallies, the report notes. Trump made his first public appearance since the attempt on his life during the Republican National Convention Monday, deciding not to alter his schedule despite the shooting. The former president made a dramatic entrance to the deafening cheers of supporters in the audience before taking a seat and listening to speeches made by everyday Americans, at times appearing emotional as people on the stage outlined the case to send him back to the White House. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING FROM THE GOP CONVENTION The former president is expected to make a speech to cap off the convention Thursday, with reports indicating that Trump plans to send a message of unity in the aftermath of his near miss. Vance, meanwhile, will be making his first campaign appearance since learning Monday that he was chosen to run with Trump. Vance, who grew up in Ohio, is seen by the campaign as especially fit to appeal to working class voters in midwestern battleground states such as Michigan. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Could Bob Menendez run for re-election after being found guilty of corruption?
Embattled Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez was found guilty of all charges in his lengthy corruption trial Tuesday, but that may not be enough to stop him from remaining in office or continuing his campaign for re-election in November. A jury found Menendez guilty of several charges, including extortion, bribery, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, wire fraud and acting as a foreign agent. The jury deliberated for three days following a nine-week trial. Within moments of the news breaking, Menendez’s Democratic colleagues began to call for his resignation, with some even threatening to expel him from Congress. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., issued a prompt statement asking Menendez to step down following the verdict. SCHUMER CALLS FOR DEMOCRAT MENENDEZ’S RESIGNATION AFTER GUILTY VERDICT “In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign,” Schumer said in a statement. However, Menendez said he plans to appeal the conviction. “I am deeply disappointed in the decision,” Menendez said. Several other Democratic colleagues and fellow New Jersey officials have echoed Schumer’s call for Menendez’s resignation. Only some have mentioned the potential of expulsion, which could be the next mechanism used to remove him from his Senate seat. THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO EXPELLING BOB MENENDEZ FROM THE SENATE Unless Menendez chooses to resign, which seems improbable, there is nothing preventing him from remaining in Congress. There is similarly nothing that prevents him from continuing his campaign for re-election to the Senate in New Jersey as an independent, which he has filed to do. SEN. MENENDEZ FACES UP TO 200 YEARS IN PRISON AFTER GUILTY VERDICT IN FEDERAL CORRUPTION TRIAL There is also nothing to stop Menendez from serving as a senator while in prison, barring an election loss. The criteria to serve in Congress is laid out in the Constitution in Article I, Section 3, Clause 3. A candidate must be at least 30 years old, have held U.S. citizenship at least nine years and live in the state he is seeking to represent at the time of an election. TOP DEM REPORTEDLY DOESN’T THINK HIS PARTY WILL WIN WITH BIDEN AT THE HELM While Menendez is able to continue his re-election bid, he is unlikely to win, especially running as an independent. He faces a popular Democratic nominee for Senate in Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., as well as Republican nominee Curtis Bashaw. Additionally, he could face expulsion from the upper chamber before the November election if the body is united enough to begin the process and expedite it.
Elon Musk says he’ll move X and SpaceX to Texas
Musk said he decided to move his companies from California after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed several laws expanding protections for LGBTQ+ students.
Top House Republican pushes for Vivek Ramaswamy to replace JD Vance in Senate
EXCLUSIVE – Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., is throwing his support behind former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to replace Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, if he and former President Trump win the 2024 election. “I hope Vivek is Governor DeWine’s choice. I mean, he’d be a great senator if he wants it,” Banks said, though he pointed out that he is not involved in Ohio politics. Trump announced Monday that he would pick Vance as his running mate after weeks of speculation and furor over the GOP presidential ticket. RALLYGOERS DOUBLE DOWN ON TRUMP SUPPORT AFTER WITNESSING HARROWING ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: ‘WE FIGHT HARDER’ Banks, who is running for the open Senate seat in the deep red state of Indiana, praised the ex-president’s decision and argued Vance would be an appropriate standard-bearer for the movement Trump has created within the GOP. “Donald Trump is the leader, not just of the party, but of the America First movement. And I think Donald Trump picking JD Vance was not just picking his running mate, not just picking his vice president, but really putting someone forward who’s going to represent the future of our party and our movement,” Banks told Fox News Digital. “And JD Vance is the perfect person for that.” He also echoed Trump’s argument that Vance, who has established himself as a populist so far in his first Senate term, would be critical to winning swing state voters. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING FROM THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION “JD will go into these swing states like Michigan and Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and connect with regular working-class families, the voters that we need to win in November,” Banks said. His suggestion that Ramaswamy could replace Vance in the Senate comes as jockeying has already begun for the possible vacancy. The seat would become open if Trump beats President Biden in November, and it would be up to DeWine to appoint someone to fill out the rest of Vance’s term. SPLIT-SECOND TURN COULD HAVE SAVED TRUMP’S LIFE, EXPERTS SAYS: ‘GOD MUST HAVE BEEN WATCHING DOWN ON’ HIM Ramaswamy suggested he would be open to the nod in a statement to Fox News Digital on Monday, “I have rock-solid conviction that JD will be an outstanding VP for President Trump. The only negative is this leaves our side missing one of our best fighters in the Senate. If asked to serve, I would strongly consider the position and would discuss with President Trump which path makes the most sense for our country.” Others floated for the possible vacancy are Rep. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, who is close with both Trump and DeWine, and state Sen. Matt Dolan, who DeWine endorsed in the Republican primary against Vance.
Congressman Warren Davidson: JD Vance ‘a phenomenal VP … shows that Trump is a guy that won’t hold a grudge’
Fox News Digital sat down last weekend at FreedomFest in Las Vegas with U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, to discuss the 2024 presidential election, former President Trump’s VP pick, the Ohio Senate race and President Biden’s performance and relationship with Congress. Davidson represents Ohio’s 8th district, the seat held by former House Speaker John Boehner for a quarter of a century. The district stretches through Cincinnati’s northern suburbs along the Indiana border in the southwestern corner of the state. Davidson said he believes Ohio has turned into a reliable red state because the Democrats have moved too far to the left at the national level. JOCKEYING BEGINS OVER VANCE’S SENATE SEAT AFTER TRUMP NOMINATES RUNNING MATE “Well, you think about [former Ohio Democratic Rep.] Tim Ryan at one point tried to tell the Democrats and challenged Nancy Pelosi for the speakership, ‘You can’t keep going down this far left path in places like Youngstown, Ohio.’ And, you know, that’s proven accurate,” Davidson said. “Republicans in Ohio have picked up voters, and even though a lot of people are independents, they’re voting Republican because they’ve looked at Democrats and (are) saying, ‘Yeah, I’m not going to go along with this transgender movement, for example.’” Davidson also argues the energy policies enacted during the tenure of Obama and Biden jeopardized their electoral standing in Ohio. “Southeast Ohio is a big energy [producer]. Eastern Ohio has a lot of energy in it and coal … fracking, oil and natural gas. And the Obama administration’s kind of war on coal and war on energy shifted those voters, and coal in particular. … A lot of those folks in Ohio and West Virginia, western Pennsylvania, maybe historically voted Democrat but are not going to continue to vote Democrat because it’s essentially you go to war against my family if you try to take away my ability to earn a living,” Davidson said. Ohio is facing a close Senate race between Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown and Republican challenger Bernie Moreno. Davidson said Brown’s attempts to align himself with Trump and distance himself from the Biden agenda will be unsuccessful. “You know, Bernie’s built a great campaign, and Sherrod Brown has never really been on the ballot in a presidential cycle. And if you look at his ads right now, Sherrod Brown’s trying to convince everybody that somehow he’s some Trump loyalist that’s been good with the issues. But Bernie Moreno’s running the kind of campaign (that is) going to be very clear who’s aligned with President Trump. President Trump’s gonna win Ohio,” he said. “I think Bernie Moreno is gonna keep playing off of that momentum, but he’s also gonna make sure Brown has to defend his record. “I mean, Sherrod Brown is essentially 100% aligned with Joe Biden and [Massachusetts Democratic Sen.] Elizabeth Warren. He’s the chairman of Senate Banking, but Elizabeth Warren effectively runs it. Bernie Moreno’s gonna run the campaign that’s gonna expose that, and I think he’ll defeat Sherrod Brown.” REP. WARREN DAVIDSON SLAMS EXECUTIVE ORDER TO COMBAT BORDER CRISIS: ‘WE SHOULD JUST FIRE JOE BIDEN’ Despite Davidson’s bullishness on the Moreno campaign, Moreno continues to struggle in polls in his race with Brown. While Trump is generally leading Biden by 10 or more points in the Buckeye state, Moreno is losing to Brown in most polls by around 10 points. Davidson believes Brown’s voting record will ultimately be the decider for Ohioans. “I think a lot of people haven’t really paid attention to the Senate race yet, and they will, probably starting in September. And I think the other thing is Sherrod Brown’s been in politics since 1972. All Sherrod Brown has done is hold elected office. But when they start associating that name with his actual voting record, I think Bernie’s going to gain the ground,” he said. With control of both chambers hanging by a thread, Davidson said Trump’s strong polling numbers in close Senate races will flip control back to the GOP. “I think Donald Trump has built a platform that is more narrow that every Republican should be able to say, ‘I’m for everything that’s in the platform,’ and I think that’s going to unite us across the country. It’s going to deliver a majority in the House,” Davidson said. “And I think when you look at the Senate, Donald Trump is polling well ahead in West Virginia. He’s polling well ahead in Ohio. He’s polling well ahead in Montana, He’s pulling ahead in Nevada. And I think those are places that we have a good chance to win Senate seats that we need to flip to control the Senate.” Biden had the opportunity to govern as a moderate but ended up governing as a radical, according to Davidson. “His inaugural address was all about how he was going to try to govern [as a moderate] and be this reasonable person. And then he went straight down to Pennsylvania Avenue and started signing executive orders that were all radical. And everyone told them the consequences of these policies and the reality is therefore the policies, because of the consequences, not in spite of them. So, he hasn’t tried to moderate his views in any way, shape or form.” Davidson said he believes Biden erred by running for re-election, validating the underdog campaign of Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, Biden’s only challenger. “Well, I don’t think he should have run for re-election. I don’t think he was fit to do that. I think Dean Phillips is probably one of the most validated guys in American politics right now. He’s one of my colleagues in the House who basically wasn’t going to go along with the lie,” Davidson said. “He’s like there’s no way Joe Biden’s fit to do this job, and he felt like he would offer an alternative. And, of course, they canceled him. The Democrats didn’t have a real primary. He is their candidate, and I don’t know how they could say we are going to
Biden to announce support for major changes to Supreme Court amid outrage over recent decisions: report
President Biden is reportedly planning to endorse major changes to the U.S. Supreme Court, including proposals for legislation to establish term limits for the justices and an enforceable ethics code, as growing outage continues following a series of controversial decisions. The Washington Post first reported the changes, citing two people briefed on the plans. Biden has long resisted changes to the high court, but his supporters have continued to call for reform following ethics scandals surrounding Justice Clarence Thomas and decisions by the court majority on issues including abortion and federal regulatory powers. TRUMP IMMUNITY CASE: SUPREME COURT RULES EX-PRESIDENTS HAVE SUBSTANTIAL PROTECTION FROM PROSECUTION “I’m going to need your help on the Supreme Court, because I’m about to come out — I don’t want to prematurely announce it — but I’m about to come out with a major initiative on limiting the court … I’ve been working with constitutional scholars for the last three months, and I need some help,” Biden said, according to a transcript of a call obtained by The Washington Post. Many of the changes would need congressional approval. The Post also reported that Biden was weighing whether to call for a constitutional amendment to eliminate broad immunity for presidents and other constitutional officeholders. Days after Biden debated former President Trump last month, the high court ruled that Trump was immune from prosecution for official acts during his first term in office. “This decision today has continued the court’s attack in recent years on a wide range of long-established legal principles in our nation, from gutting voting rights and civil rights to taking away a woman’s right to choose, to today’s decision that undermines the rule of law of this nation,” Biden said in public remarks later that day.
Scalise to focus on Trump’s compassion in RNC speech, says assassination attempt brought back 2017 ’emotions’
EXCLUSIVE: MILWAUKEE — House Majority Leader Steve Scalise plans to use his Republican National Convention speech Tuesday night to talk about the “warm and compassionate person Donald Trump is” while reflecting on his own near-death experience at the hands of a would-be assassin in 2017, Fox News Digital has learned. The Louisiana Republican sat down for an interview with Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention on Tuesday, just hours before he is set to address the convention. Scalise recalled his immediate reaction to learning of the assassination attempt on former President Trump on Saturday night at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR: TRUMP RALLY SHOOTER IDENTIFIED AS ‘POTENTIAL PERSON OF SUSPICION’ “I didn’t know how badly President Trump was hit, you know, and you saw him go down, and even when he got up, you just don’t know,” Scalise said. “I know what I went through, and when you’re hit, your body just kind of shuts down, so you don’t even know how bad you are, and your body kind of tricks you to hold you together, so you can be in a lot worse shape.” “I was really worried about him until I heard later that he actually went to the hospital and got checked out and was OK,” Scalise said. But the assassination attempt brought back a lot of “emotions” for Scalise, who was shot at a congressional baseball practice in 2017. “You saw the raw video footage with the audio of the ‘pop, pop’ of the shots, and they sounded eerily similar to what I experienced, and the term ‘shooter down’ was the same thing they said on the ball field that day, so, you know, a lot of similarities,” Scalise told Fox News Digital. “But luckily for both of us, I think God was on the ball field – God had divine providence, Scalise said. “That tilt of the head is all it took to save President Trump’s life. But we all know how close he came.” Scalise added, “Thank God he is still with us because our country needs him and our country did not need something devastating like that.” Scalise said the shooting “reminds us how fragile life can be and how important it is that protections are in place.” “You can never let your guard down,” he said. After Scalise was shot by a gunman in 2017 at the congressional baseball practice, he spent three and a half months in the hospital. Scalise went into a coma and was “fighting for his life.” “That was a lot of introspection for me of what is important in life, and I think you’re already seeing that from President Trump,” Scalise said. “You’ve seen a different tone from him in the last couple of days. I think he realizes that he was within an inch of his life and realizes how precious life can be.” LAST WORDS OF ‘HERO’ FIREFIGHTER WHO DIED AT TRUMP RALLY SHOOTING REVEALED Scalise said he thinks Americans who “may have written him off look at him completely different now.” “And I hope they do, because I know President Trump personally. He came to the hospital the night I was shot and for weeks would call my wife just to check in on her and see how the kids were doing,” he said. “He is a caring, caring person, and the media does not portray him that way, yet he has so much compassion. He was wonderful to me and wonderful to my family at our lowest point.” Scalise said his story about Trump’s compassion is one that “is repeated.” “You hear that kind of story from other people who know President Trump and know the kind of person he is,” Scalise said. “I hope more people get to see that side of him, because too often the caricature that is played by the folks that hate him, it is just sad to see how evil some of the hatred against him is, and I’ve called for that to stop.” Scalise said comparisons to “Hitler” and dark rhetoric about the president is “foolishness and lies.” “It’s not just elected officials – late-night talk show hosts spend their whole monologue just trashing Donald Trump, and it just takes one unhinged person to act on it,” Scalise said. “Everybody who has said those kinds of things needs to look in the mirror. The personal attacks on him have been so relentless for years, unlike anything any other elected official has seen.” Scalise added, “And it needs to stop.” Scalise is set to address that in his RNC Convention speech Tuesday night. “You know, when I wrote the speech a few weeks ago, I wanted to focus on the contrast of policy – talk about border policy, energy security, the economic health of our country and how to get our country moving again and back on track; I’m still going to do that,” Scalise said. “But we are blessed that President Trump is OK, and I want to talk about the kind of person he is. I just want to add a little bit of color in there to give people the reminder of the kind of warm and compassionate person that Donald Trump is.” He added, “That story doesn’t get told enough.” Meanwhile, Scalise said President Biden’s words about the attempt on Trump’s life “ring hollow when they’re not followed by actions.” “If you want to be a leader, you know, and President Trump’s a leader. President Biden’s the leader of the free world, but you’ve got to lead by example,” Scalise said. “You can’t say you want to be a unifier and then go and say you want to put your opponent in the crosshairs.” Scalise said Biden should “own up to it,” referring to those comments and to rhetoric about Trump. LIVE UPDATES: REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION “At some point, just look in the mirror and say, ‘You know what, I shouldn’t have said that,
Vance, Harris discuss debate in ‘brief and respectful’ first phone conversation since VP nod
EXCLUSIVE: Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance spoke with Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday afternoon in what was the pair’s first conversation since Vance was named former President Donald Trump’s running mate, Fox News Digital has learned. A source with knowledge of the call told Fox News Digital that Vance and Harris had a “brief and respectful” conversation. The source said Vance and Harris both said they look forward to debating, but told Fox News Digital that no specifics were discussed. Harris left a voicemail for Vance after Trump announced him as his VP pick on Monday afternoon. TRUMP ANNOUNCES OHIO SEN JD VANCE AS HIS 2024 RUNNING MATE Vance called Harris back on Tuesday afternoon. Harris had committed to a debate hosted by CBS News against Trump’s running mate for either July 23 or August 13. It is unclear when Vance and Harris will debate. President Trump announced that Vance was his pick for vice president Monday afternoon, just before he was formally nominated as the 2024 Republican presidential nominee at the RNC Convention in Milwaukee. “After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” Trump announced on his Truth Social platform. Trump emphasized that Vance, on the campaign trail “will be strongly focused on the people he fought so brilliantly for, the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond….” “As Vice President, JD will continue to fight for our Constitution, stand with our troops, and will do everything he can to help me Make America Great Again,” Trump said. Vance grew up in a working-class family in a small city in southwestern Ohio. His parents divorced when he was young, and as his mother struggled for years with drug and alcohol abuse, Vance was raised in part by his maternal grandparents. LIVE UPDATES: REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION After high school graduation, Vance enlisted in the Marine Corps and served in the Iraq War. He later graduated from Ohio State University and earned a law degree at Yale University. Vance, who lives in Cincinnati, moved to San Francisco after law school and worked as a principal in a venture capital firm owned by billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel, who later became a major financial supporter of Vance’s successful 2020 campaign for the Senate. Before running for Senate, Vance grabbed national attention after “Hillbilly Elegy,” which tells his story of growing up in a struggling steel mill city and his roots in Appalachian Kentucky, became a New York Times bestseller and was made into a Netflix film. The story spotlighted the values of many working-class Americans who became supporters of Trump’s policies. Vance was a vocal critic of Trump when the former president first ran for the White House in the 2016 cycle. However, Vance eventually supported Trump, praising the former president’s tenure in the White House, and in a Fox News interview in 2021, he apologized for his earlier criticism of Trump. FORMER TRUMP RIVAL NIKKI HALEY TO SPEAK AT GOP CONVENTION AS PARTY RALLIES AROUND TRUMP Trump’s endorsement of Vance days before the 2022 GOP Senate primary boosted him to victory in a crowded, competitive and combustible nomination race. “Look, I was wrong about Donald Trump. I didn’t think he was going to be a good president,” Vance told Fox News’ Bret Baier in an interview last month. “He was a great president, and it’s one of the reasons why I’m working so hard to make sure he gets a second term.” In the Senate, Vance has been one of the most vocal supporters of Trump’s America First agenda and has been a vocal opponent of U.S. aid to Ukraine. Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser has contributed to this report.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to expelling Sen. Bob. Menendez (D-N.J.) from the Senate (Hint: It ain’t easy)
The Senate has only expelled 15 of its members in U.S. history. In fact the last was Sen. Jesse Bright (D-In.) in 1862. This is why a number of lawmakers are calling on Menendez to resign rather than be expelled. The reason? It ain’t easy. Here’s the process. It ain’t easy. DEMOCRATIC SEN. BOB MENENDEZ GUILTY ON ALL CHARGES IN FEDERAL CORRUPTION TRIAL A senator could draw up a resolution to expel Menendez. The Constitution requires a two-thirds vote to expel. But it does not hit the floor right away. Even if someone brought up a resolution, it could be referred immediately to the Ethics Committee. That could bottle things up for a while as the Ethics panel investigates. However, Menendez has already been convicted. So the Ethics Committee could just send out its “report” on the conduct of Menendez quickly and send the measure to the floor. However, if the resolution to expel gets locked up in committee, senators could try to pry it loose via a “motion to discharge.” That is more complicated. But it may work in this instance. MENENDEZ VERDICT A ‘MOMENTOUS’ MOMENT IN POLITICS: JONATHAN TURLEY Regardless, the Senate must vote to “proceed” to the expulsion resolution. That requires a simple majority. There is no filibuster/cloture on the front end. The Senate can then debate the expulsion question for as long as necessary. However, if requested, the Senate may need to stave off a filibuster. So the Senate may need to file “cloture” to overcome the filibuster on the expulsion of Menendez. That takes 60 yeas. If the Senate breaks the filibuster, it can then vote on the expulsion resolution itself. That requires a two-thirds vote. U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics Chairman Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.) and Vice Chairman James Lankford (R-Okla.) issued a statement after Menendez was convicted. “Immediately following the 2023 indictment of Senator Robert Menendez, the Committee initiated an investigation into the allegations of misconduct against him. In September 2023, the Committee issued a statement regarding the Committee’s policies in matters where there is an active and ongoing criminal investigation. Now that Senator Menendez’s trial has concluded, the Committee will complete its investigation promptly. The Committee will consider the full range of disciplinary actions available under the Rules of Procedure.” It’s notable that late Sen. Harrison Williams (D-N.J.) and former Sen. Bob Packwood (D-Or.) faced potential expulsion votes. But both resigned before the Senate could cobble together the votes to kick them out. It’s also possible that someone could just prep a resolution to expel – and conceivably try to bypass the Ethics Committee and put the issue on the floor right away. But that would require the blessing of all 100 senators. Menendez is still a senator. So it’s likely he and others might object or try to block it.
Before he was Donald Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance was U.S. Sen. John Cornyn’s staffer
Cornyn said Vance was “smart” and “well spoken,” praising former President Donald Trump for selecting him as a running mate.