Interviewing Donald Trump: A last-minute blitz and new closing message
When I left Donald Trump after our interview, I was somewhat startled to pass eight men in full riot gear, marching toward his Trump Tower office. It was a stark reminder of the two assassination attempts. Trump was about to fly to Pennsylvania, and these guys were locked and loaded. I’d been told that he would use the old Reagan line that Saturday night: Are you better off now than you were four years ago? How long, I wondered, before he goes off script? BRET BAIER REVEALS TRUMP WAS OFFERED SAME INTERVIEW STYLE AS KAMALA HARRIS ON ‘SPECIAL REPORT’ Trump had told me he was going to Arnold Palmer’s hometown in the Keystone State. What I didn’t know was that he would describe the late golfer as “all man” and marvel at the supposed size of his male endowment. He also used the S-word to describe Kamala Harris. So much for sticking to the script. Critics, including the vice president, have been describing Trump as exhausted, based on one second-hand quote, but he didn’t look tired to me at all. If he was speaking in a softer voice, that’s because we were practically knee to knee in the tower’s library room. AS A CAUTIOUS KAMALA LOSES MOMENTUM, DEMOCRATS ARE PANICKING OVER A TRUMP WIN This was my second sitdown with the former president in a few months, and I pushed him on a wide range of topics. How could he call Jan. 6 a “day of love” when police were being attacked? Why, despite the “60 Minutes” editing fiasco on the Kamala interview, would you try to yank CBS’s license? How can you call your political opponents “the enemy within”? Would you engage in retribution? Will you admit the falsehood of “they’re eating the dogs, they’re eating the cats?” He dug in, even on that last one. Whether you like or dislike Trump, “‘Morning Joe’ producers and other producers that watch us and all the producers that watch us – this is not just rhetoric,” Steve Bannon said. “You cannot have a constitutional republic and allow what these deep-staters have done to the country.” Kash Patel says “we will go out and find the conspirators, not just in government but in the media… We’re going to come after you, whether it’s criminal or civilly,” but only based on the facts and the law. Now here’s the sense I’ve gotten from my reporting. With just over two weeks to go, Trump has settled on his closing message. It’s immigration and the economy. He may digress by cooking fries at McDonald’s, as a way of doubting Kamala’s teenage stint there, he may use more profanity, but the final appeal is based on those two issues, period. TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON CALLING JAN 6 A ‘DAY OF LOVE’ The Trump camp believes that one ad that has moved the numbers is Harris’ past embrace of taxpayer funding for federal inmates to get gender-reassignment surgery. That seemed questionable even to Charlamagne Tha God in their interview. Harris says she simply followed the law in the same way Trump did. The former president is trying to rebrand his effort by promising a New Golden Age. That seems a clear response to Harris touting a New Way Forward. Both are claiming the mantle of the “change” candidate with most voters seeing the country as on the wrong track–the incumbent vs. the former incumbent. Trump did get off a funny line with me about Kamala moving to the center. “She’s become MAGA. I’ll send her a hat.” SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES But Trump and his strategists are mystified by what they see as the vice president’s lack of a closing message and failure to win over as many Black supporters as Joe Biden had. There’s an emphasis on abortion rights, of course, and loud warnings about Trump being unstable and unhinged. But is there anything that ties it all together? Trump has a longtime habit of asking everyone around him, including makeup artists, what they think, as a kind of focus group. “Are you confident?” he’s been asking lately. “Are you confident?” The answer he’s been hearing: Yes, but you’ll win narrowly.
Pro-Khalistan group linked to Delhi CRPF school blast? Here’s what we know so far
The police have reached out to Telegram, seeking information about a group that has claimed responsibility for the explosion in a social media post on the platform
Punjab farmers urge government for permanent solution to stubble burning amid strict penalties
Earlier on Sunday, farmer leader Suresh Koth in Ambala criticised the Haryana government’s stringent measures against stubble burning, warning that these policies could incite further unrest among farmers.
Afghanistan denies permission to Vistara’s Frankfurt-bound plane to use airspace after bomb threat
There was no immediate comment from the airline on the matter. Nearly 100 flights have received bomb threats this week but they turned out to be hoaxes.
Israel ‘demolished’ watchtower in latest attack on UN Lebanon peacekeepers
UNIFIL says Israeli forces ‘deliberately’ damaged one of its positions in southern Lebanon. United Nations peacekeepers in Lebanon have said the Israeli army “deliberately” damaged one of their positions in southern Lebanon, in the latest incident reported by the force that remains deployed in all of its positions. An Israeli “army bulldozer deliberately demolished an observation tower and perimeter fence of a UN position” in southern Lebanon, the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said in a statement, adding that its forces remain in all positions “despite the pressure being exerted”. “We remind the [Israeli forces] and all actors of their obligations to ensure the safety and security of UN personnel and property and to respect the inviolability of UN premises at all times,” the statement said. It called on Israel to stop breaching UN positions, which is considered “a flagrant violation of international law”. Israel had recently claimed that the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah was attacking Israel from positions located in close proximity to posts of the UN peacekeeping forces in southern Lebanon – an accusation that Hezbollah denies. On Wednesday, UNIFIL said that an Israeli tank had fired on one of its watchtowers in southern Lebanon. This came after UN peacekeepers in Lebanon had come under fire several times days before, with at least four soldiers injured. Last week UNIFIL said two Israeli tanks “destroyed” the main gate at one of its positions in southern Lebanon and “forcibly entered the position”. Israel has fired on several front-line UNIFIL positions since it launched a ground incursion into southern Lebanon in early October, claiming it aims to dismantle the infrastructure of Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Lebanese group that has been trading fire with the Israeli army in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Israel’s strikes have been widely condemned, including by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who said that attacks against UN peacekeepers were a violation of international law and “may constitute a war crime”. Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he demands Guterres get UNIFIL troops out of “combat zones”, alleging that their presence was providing a “human shield” for Hezbollah. But the UN maintains that the mission – with members from 50 countries – is not going anywhere. UNIFIL has monitored the border region between Israel and Lebanon since 1978. More than 10,000 troops from more than 50 countries have been deployed to the mission. Netanyahu has been pushing for the removal of UN peacekeepers as Israel escalates its attacks in southern Lebanon. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump visits McDonald’s as Harris speaks to churchgoers in swing state push
United States presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have spent the day rallying supporters in battleground states that will be critical in deciding who wins the White House, a little more than two weeks from Election Day. Former Republican President Trump made his push for voters in the state of Pennsylvania on Sunday while US Vice President Harris, a Democrat, spent the day in Georgia. At a McDonald’s in suburban Philadelphia, an employee showed Trump – a well-known fan of fast food – how to dunk baskets of fries in oil, salt them and put them into boxes using a scoop. “It requires great expertise, actually, to do it right and to do it fast,” Trump said, putting away his suit jacket and wearing an apron over his shirt and tie. “I like this job,” he added. The visit came as Trump has tried to counter Harris’s accounts of working at the fast-food chain while in college, an experience that Trump has claimed – without offering evidence – never happened. Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Phil Lavelle said the McDonald’s stop was a “photo op” that allowed him to “needle” Harris over the issue. “It really gave him a chance to just go after her in that way,” Lavelle said. Harris looks on as Stevie Wonder sings Happy Birthday to her during a service at a church in Jonesboro, Georgia, October 20 [Elijah Nouvelage/Reuters] For her part, Harris, who marked her 60th birthday on Sunday, participated in two worship services outside of Atlanta. At Divine Faith Ministries International in Jonesboro, Georgia, music icon Stevie Wonder performed, singing his hit Higher Ground and a version of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song. He also sang Happy Birthday to Harris. Earlier, the Democratic candidate spoke at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia, where she drew a sharp contrast to the harsh and divisive rhetoric of the current political climate. “At this point across our nation, what we do see are some trying to deepen division among us, spread hate, sow fear and cause chaos,” Harris said, without mentioning Trump by name. “At this moment, our country is at a crossroads and where we go is up to us.” Democrats have long sought to portray Trump as a threat to democracy, particularly after a mob of his supporters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an effort to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 election. Trump and his allies have falsely claimed that the 2020 contest, which the Republican lost to Democrat Joe Biden, was marred by widespread fraud. On Sunday, the ex-president told reporters in Pennsylvania that he would respect the results of next month’s vote “if it’s a fair election”. Experts have raised concerns that Trump is laying the groundwork to contest the November election results should he lose to Harris. Recent polls suggest the two presidential candidates are neck-and-neck as Election Day nears, with the race expected to come down to how they fare in key swing states such as Pennsylvania, Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona, among others. Later on Sunday, Trump held a town hall in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He was then expected to attend a Pittsburgh Steelers game. Harris said she would campaign on Monday with former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney – a staunch Trump critic – in the suburbs of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Adblock test (Why?)
Priest shot dead in southern Mexico after leaving Sunday service
Community remembers Marcelo Perez as outspoken champion of Indigenous, labour rights in Mexican state of Chiapas. A priest known for his activism in defence of Indigenous and labour rights in Mexico has been killed after leaving church services, local authorities said. Catholic priest Marcelo Perez was returning home from church on Sunday when two men on a motorcycle pulled alongside his vehicle and shot him, prosecutors in the southern state of Chiapas said. “Father Marcelo has been a symbol of resistance and has stood alongside the communities of Chiapas for decades, defending the dignity and rights of the people and working toward true peace,” the Jesuits, Perez’s religious order, said in a statement. The killing comes amid a period of heightened violence in the southern state, which recorded about 500 murders between January and August this year. Along with the rights of Indigenous people and farmworkers, the Jesuits said Perez was also a vocal critic of organised criminal groups. “This region doesn’t just suffer from murders, but also forced recruitment (into criminal groups), kidnappings, threats and ransacking of its natural resources,” the religious order said. Mexican human rights activists and environmental defenders have long condemned violent harassment and intimidation by criminal groups and state security forces. Perez was himself a member of the Tzotzil Indigenous peoples and had served the community in Chiapas for two decades, developing a reputation as someone who could help settle disputes, especially over land. “We will collaborate with all the authorities so his death doesn’t go unpunished and those guilty face the courts,” Chipas Governor Rutilio Escandon said in a social media post, calling the assassination “cowardly”. But in Mexico, accountability for murder is the exception rather than the rule, with about 95 percent of all homicides going unsolved. Rights activists and Indigenous land defenders face high levels of violence and intimidation in Mexico. A 2023 Amnesty International report found that those groups face high levels of criminalisation and persecution as part of a “broader strategy of disincentivizing and dismantling advocacy for land, territorial and environmental rights”. The rights group also said Mexico “ranks among the countries with the highest number of murders of environmental defenders”. On Sunday, the United Nations human rights office in Mexico said “several national and international organizations had publicly warned about the growing number of threats, attacks and acts of criminalization against” Perez, the priest. It said those threats “have intensified in recent years due to his tireless work in favor of justice and the rights of Indigenous peoples”. Adblock test (Why?)
J-K terror: Doctor, 5 labourers killed as terrorists open fire at construction site in Ganderbal
The terrorists had attacked a camp where workers of a private company were working on an under-construction tunnel in the Gund area, as per official reports.
Elon Musk to upgrade security after left-wing magazine labels him ‘Public Enemy No. 2’
Elon Musk said Sunday he planned to upgrade his security after a left-wing German magazine labeled him an enemy of the people. Musk held a town hall discussion in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Sunday in support of former President Donald Trump’s candidacy. While talking to the crowd, Musk commented on the heightened political atmosphere as the nation approached the November presidential election. He noted he was recently on the cover of Der Spiegel, which labeled him “Public Enemy No. 2” – the first being Trump. “I’m like, enemy number 2 of what? Uh, democracy? I mean I’m pro-democracy. I’m literally trying to uphold the Constitution and ensure we have a free and fair election,” Musk said, eliciting applause from the crowd. ELON GOES ON CAMPAIGN BLITZ AGAINST GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS, VOWS TO REVEAL BIZARRE ALLEGED SCHEMES “I’m definitely upgrading my security. Guess I better cancel that open-car parade,” Musk said, a seeming nod to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The SpaceX CEO said he was a “little shook” by the “level of vitriolic hatred on the left.” ELON MUSK KICKS OFF DAILY MILLION-DOLLAR GIVEAWAY FOR SIGNERS OF PRO-TRUMP PETITION “They claim they’re tolerant. And yet, they’re incredibly intolerant and spewing hate,” Musk said. “Whereas on the right I see people who tend to regard people on the left as, well, misguided. But they don’t hate them… but the amount of hate coming from the left is like, wow, next level.” Fox News Digital has reached out to Der Spiegel for a response. Former President Trump has survived two assassination attempts – one during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July, and another around two months later while he was playing a round of golf at his club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Musk officially endorsed Trump over the summer, when the 45th president survived the first assassination attempt, and has since joined the campaign trail in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania to rally support and encourage people to vote. Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Vance takes faith approach after Harris mocked pro-life protesters at rally: ‘Jesus is King’
An attendee at Sen. JD Vance’s Wisconsin rally shouted “Jesus is King!” during his speech on Sunday afternoon, with Vance echoing the attendee and repeating the same phrase – a different approach than Vice President Kamala Harris seemed to take last week. Vance shared that, while he doesn’t talk about his faith often, he returned to his faith as a young man and is a devout Christian. He said he was baptized in 2019. “I say this as a Christian, as a person who was baptized for the first time just a few years ago. There is something really bizarre with Kamala Harris’ anti-Christian rhetoric and anti-Christian approach to public policy,” Vance explained. This comes after Vice President Kamala Harris seemingly told two Christian students at her Wisconsin rally last week that they were “at the wrong rally” when they shouted “Jesus is Lord” and “Christ is King.” PRO-LIFE PROTESTERS SPEAK OUT AFTER ALLEGEDLY BEING MOCKED, PUSHED AT HARRIS RALLY: ‘WE DID GOD’S WORK’ As he continued speaking about faith and politics, he was interrupted by an attendee who shouted “Jesus is King.” “That’s right. Jesus is King,” Vance responds. Vance then addressed a viral video of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer wearing a Harris-Walz campaign hat while feeding Doritos to a kneeling podcast host in what some critics said made a mockery of a sacred Christian rite. “I don’t think that we’ve seen anything like this in modern American politics,” Vance said. “Gretchen Whitmer does this really bizarre thing where she acts like she’s given somebody communion, but it’s a Dorito. And of course, Gretchen Whitmer isn’t like a minister of anything except for, you know, a church I don’t necessarily want to talk about, but think about how sacrilegious that is and think about how offensive that is to every person.” “Frankly, whether you’re a person of Christian faith or not, Donald Trump and I are going to fight for your right to live your values, because that’s what the First Amendment protects. And I think whether you’re a Christian, a Catholic or any other faith or no faith at all, when you see an American leader, when you see a surrogate of Kamala Harris insulting people of the Christian faith, I think that we should say to every single one of those people, you’re fired. We’re not giving you any more power,” Vance continued. CATHOLICS HOLD ‘ROSARY RALLY’ OUTSIDE GRETCHEN WHITMER’S HOUSE AFTER DORITOS VIDEO SPARKS BACKLASH Whitmer has since apologized for the video and emphasized that the video was not meant to mock people of faith. Vance continued speaking about the support the Trump administration has for religious people, unlike the Harris campaign, he said. “There are a lot of Catholics. So I think rightfully feel abandoned by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s leadership. And they’re just looking for somebody to protect their rights and make this country an affordable and decent place to raise a family,” Vance said during his rally in Waukesha. “And that’s all I think that’s true of a lot of Catholics. It’s true of non-Catholics, too. But we cannot have an American government that is persecuting Christians for living their faith. We should be rewarding people and encouraging people to live their faith.” Vance’s comments come after two pro-life Wisconsin college students insisted that they were doing “God’s work” by attending Harris’ rally on their university’s campus and shouting pro-life, Christian messages last week. GRETCHEN WHITMER APOLOGIZES FOR DORITOS VIDEO CRITICS SAY MOCKED CHRISTIAN SACRAMENT In video footage of the rally, the student’s voices are heard shouting the phrases. Harris, pausing her speech, turned her attention to them, and said, “You guys are at the wrong rally.” She continued as the crowd roared, “I think you meant to go to the smaller one down the street” – referring to Trump’s rally. Luke Polaske, a University of Wisconsin-La Crosse junior, shared a vivid account of the incident from his perspective, stating that he and fellow UW-La Crosse junior Grant Beth were approximately 20 to 30 yards away from Harris in the small venue. In detailing the encounter, he described his perceived interaction with the vice president. “There’s a lot of controversy that says she wasn’t talking to us or [that] we left. We didn’t get kicked out. Well, I can speak on Grant and I’s behalf,” Polaske said. “On video, Grant’s getting pushed and shoved, and there’s about five seconds before she tells us to go to a small rally down the street. You can see on the video, she waves. She was actually waving to me. I took this cross off my neck that I wear and, as we were getting asked to leave, I held it up in the air and waved at her and pointed at her, and she looked directly in the eye, kind of gave me an evil smirk.” “I just want to clear that up and confirm that she 100% was talking to us.” Fox News Digital reached out to Kamala Harris’ campaign for comment and did not immediately receive a response. Fox News Digital’s Taylor Penley contributed to this report.