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Trump talks cocaine, Biden and health care in interview with comedian Theo Von

Trump talks cocaine, Biden and health care in interview with comedian Theo Von

Former President Trump appeared on an episode of “This Past Weekend” with comedian Theo Von for an interview that at times veered far outside the normal campaign trail conversations. Trump told Von that his youngest son, Barron Trump, is a big fan of the stand-up comedian and encouraged him to accept the invitation. Ultimate Fighting Championship CEO Dana White reportedly arranged the interview. Among the longest segments of the hour-long conversation was their discussion of alcoholism, substance abuse and the over-prescription of pharmaceuticals. POPULAR COMEDIAN ADMITS TRUMP IS ‘VERY ENTICING’ COMPARED TO DEMS WHO HE SAYS ARE NOT INSPIRING “I tell people – no drugs, no drinking, no cigarettes,” Trump told the comedian. “I tell that to my kids all the time, I say, ‘No drugs, no drinking, no smoking.’” Von, who has made his history of addiction recovery a major part of his public persona, told the former president that he was previously a cocaine user. Trump – a known teetotaler – remarked that Von’s past drug use seemed “down and dirty,” asking if cocaine gives a greater high than alcohol. “Cocaine will turn you into a damn owl, homie – you know what I’m saying?” Von laughed. “You’ll be out on your own porch. You’ll be your own streetlamp.” The pair discussed the opioid crisis, pharmaceutical lobbyists’ influence in government, and how Trump’s administration would combat rampant drug abuse in the country. “You could say that if you’re an elected official or if you work in government, you can never be a lobbyist,” Trump suggested. “You have people that work in government and they give out contracts to the military – then they leave and they work for the people they gave those contracts to.” BILL MAHER CONDEMNS TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, CALLS FORMER PRESIDENT ‘LUCKIEST MOTHERF—ER’ EVER Von, who has been a vocal fan of independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., asked Trump if rumors that Kennedy was once under consideration as his running mate were true. “No,” Trump said, clarifying, “I like him, I always liked him.” “He’s a good man,” Trump continued. “He’s in there pitching his stuff. It’s a two-party system and he’s a third party. It’s a tough thing […] And the Democrats have really opposed him vehemently. I haven’t, but the Democrats have really opposed him.” Von asked Trump who he believed was responsible for President Biden’s resignation from the 2024 presidential election. “Well I would say Schumer, Pelosi, and numerous other people – the heads of the Democrat Party,” Trump speculated, mentioning Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. “And they did – they threatened him violently, I think. And he didn’t want to get out, remember he said, ‘Only God will get me out’?” Von told Trump that Biden’s sharp decline in approval among Democrats after his disastrous debate performance hit particularly close to home. “My dad was really old when I was born. My dad was 70 when I was born. So I don’t like seeing senior citizens get taken advantage of,” Von told the former president. “It made me really angry because I know [Biden’s] not well – it’s not fair to pretend that he’s well. It’s not fair to him because he doesn’t know you’re pretending. And it just seemed like the cruelest thing you could do.” Von interviewed Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on an episode of the podcast last week.

Trump zeroes in on national security at first outdoor rally since assassination attempt: ‘World is on fire’

Trump zeroes in on national security at first outdoor rally since assassination attempt: ‘World is on fire’

Former President Trump said he “stopped wars with phone calls” while commander in chief during his first outdoor rally since surviving an assassination attempt. Trump held a campaign event in Asheboro, North Carolina, on Wednesday, where he focused his remarks on national security and how “the entire world was safer when I sat behind that beautiful, Resolute desk in the Oval Office.”  “The world is on fire. And Kamala and Biden have marched us to the brink of World War III,” Trump said from a podium surrounded by bulletproof glass. The former president reflected on the state of national security under his administration, saying that “our allies admired us” and “our enemies feared us.” TRUMP CAMPAIGN TROLLS HARRIS, RELEASES POLICY WEBSITE FOR HER AFTER WEEKS OF SILENCE “We defeated ISIS. We killed the world’s top terrorists. We secured our borders. We achieved energy independence. We stood up to China. We protected Israel. We made peace in the Middle East with the Abraham Accords and more. We did things like nobody ever heard of it,” Trump said. “I talked this world out of a lot of wars with telephone calls. I don’t have to send in the troops,” he told the crowd. Trump pointed to President Biden’s erratic withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the devastating Oct. 7th attack on Israel – suggesting none of these things would have happened under his watch. ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR’S RUNNING MATE SUGGESTS TICKET MAY DROP OUT, JOIN FORCES WITH TRUMP TO STOP HARRIS “Since the Afghanistan catastrophe, it’s been open season on America and our allies,” he said of the withdrawal, which saw 13 U.S. service members killed. Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, also spoke at the event, saying Trump was “the person who prevented nuclear war.” “Mean tweets and world peace have a pretty nice ring to it. I think we ought to bring it right back,” Vance told a cheering crowd. “He’s too tough for the tyrants all over the world. He was too strong, even for an assassin’s bullet. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s return to a time when the bravest man led this nation with strength.” During the speech, Trump addressed the revised job numbers after new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed there were 818,000 fewer jobs created this year than previously reported.  “The Harris-Biden administration has been caught fraudulently manipulating job statistics to hide the true extent of the economic ruin that they’ve inflicted on America,” Trump said. The Trump-Vance event came ahead of the third day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

‘Missing’ signs at DNC call out Democrat in key Senate race who skipped convention with disputed excuse

‘Missing’ signs at DNC call out Democrat in key Senate race who skipped convention with disputed excuse

CHICAGO — “Missing person” posters are popping up around the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week mocking incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown, who is one of three Democrats in the Senate to skip the convention in what critics are calling a political move. “With all of his friends in Chicago this weekend, we were worried that he hadn’t made it to the United Center,” the Ohio Republican Party posted on X this week. “So we sent a rescue team to post some ‘Missing’ posters, just in case anyone has seen him!” Social media users have been posting photos of the signs, which say “radical Sherrod Brown” is “missing” and was “last seen: cutting your retirement benefits, hiding from Kamala Harris’ radical record, opening the southern border, destroying Ohio manufacturing jobs.” “Warning,” the poster says, “Sherrod has a tendency to play make believe. Despite voting with Kamala Harris 99% of the time, he thinks skipping a convention will make him a moderate.” ‘PREGNANT PERSONS’: OHIO SEN SHERROD BROWN SCRUBBED ‘WOMEN’ FROM BILL ON PREGNANCY Brown, who skipped the convention along with Sens. Jon Tester of Montana, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, told CNN, “I often skip conventions.” “I’ll go to conventions maybe a day sometimes. I don’t plan to go.” But multiple media outlets have reported that Brown has not missed a DNC since first being elected to Congress in 1994. Brown’s critics have slammed him over his rationale for not being present at the United Center in Chicago this week.  “Sherrod Brown votes with the Biden-Harris administration nearly 100% of the time,” Reagan McCarthy, spokesperson for Brown’s GOP challenger Bernie Moreno, told Fox News Digital. “Even while he skips the convention, he can’t hide from the most radical presidential ticket in history.” VULNERABLE DEM SENATOR HIT WITH IMMIGRATION AD TYING HIS POLICIES TO HIS ‘NEW FRIEND’ KAMALA HARRIS “Sherrod Brown can lie and try to hide from his voters, but he can’t hide his record of voting for the toxic Harris-Biden agenda almost 100% of the time, throwing the southern border wide open and sending inflation skyrocketing,” National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesperson Philip Letsou told Fox News Digital. “Brown is a career politician who has spent 50 years in politics pushing the Democrat agenda, he’s not fooling anyone.”  American Frontier Strategies CEO and Ohio political consultant Mehek Cooke told Fox News Digital that Brown is a “coward.” “Sherrod Brown has been in Washington the same amount of years as Joe Biden,” Cooke said. “If he’s too chicken to show his face to the American people at the DNC, that should tell you he’s running from something – his record.” “Sherrod is meeting with Ohioans across the state this week to discuss his record fighting for Ohio and Bernie Moreno’s record looking out for himself – from refusing to pay his employees the overtime they’d earned and shredding the evidence to get out of it to opposing the strongest bipartisan border security deal in decades,” a Brown campaign spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. The Brown campaign noted the senator was busy this week with a campaign event in Cleveland with Haircare Professionals for Sherrod as well as a campaign event in Niles, Ohio, with labor union members. The Ohio GOP told Fox News Digital there are about 50 posters around the United Center. “Sherrod still hasn’t made his way to the United Center, so we wanted to help his liberal friends find him,” the Ohio GOP told Fox News Digital in a statement. “We’re sure Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, and Joe Biden are very concerned that he isn’t there to celebrate their accomplishments together.” “After all, the crushing inflation, historic illegal immigration crisis, and rising crime have only been made possible with Sherrod’s support. Sherrod may be missing from the Democratic National Convention, but their dangerously liberal platform certainly isn’t missing in him.” The Ohio Senate race between Brown and Moreno will be one of the most closely watched in the country and the Cook Political Report ranks the race as a “toss up.”

Moderate who unseated ‘Squad’ member Jamaal Bowman says Dem voters want a pro-Israel party

Moderate who unseated ‘Squad’ member Jamaal Bowman says Dem voters want a pro-Israel party

EXCLUSIVE: The moderate Democrat who defeated “Squad” member Rep. Jamaal Bowman suggests the party’s voter base is largely pro-Israel. Westchester County Executive George Latimer’s victory in late June was a decisive rebuke of the Democrats’ left-most flank, ending what was the most expensive primary election in U.S. history. The fight was part of a wider fracture within the Democratic Party created by Israel’s war in Gaza.  “When I won the election in my area, they elected very strongly in favor of my position on a host of issues, Israel being one of them. And I do believe that reflects the broad base of the Democratic Party,” Latimer told Fox News Digital. ‘OUTSPOKEN BLACK MAN’: ‘SQUAD’ REP BOWMAN POINTS TO THIS REASON FOR PRO-ISRAEL LOBBY’S ATTACKS “There are different voices in the party. And I think support for a democracy is the bedrock of our support for Israel. Can we negotiate a peaceful settlement over there? Yes. But, by and large, it’s not going to come by more violence, and the violence that Hamas did on Oct. 7 is the single biggest impediment to peace in the Middle East.” Bowman, a far-left progressive, was one of Israel’s most vocal opponents in the House. He’s part of a growing faction of Democrats critical of the U.S. government’s longstanding ties with Israel, a fight that has been exacerbated since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack and Israel’s ensuing response. THIS HOUSE DEMOCRAT BECOMES THE FIRST SQUAD MEMBER DEFEATED IN A PRIMARY Latimer, by contrast, was propped up by pro-Israel groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), whose associated entities poured millions into the race. He also got the backing of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and even one of Bowman’s own colleagues in the House, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who is Jewish. Latimer was one of the hundreds of Democrats to descend on Chicago this week to see Vice President Kamala Harris accept the party’s 2024 nomination at the Democratic National Convention. ‘SQUAD’ REP. CORI BUSH LOSES HIGHLY CONTENTIOUS PRIMARY AGAINST PRO-ISRAEL DEMOCRAT Asked if he was concerned for his safety and the safety of other elected officials with thousands of anti-Israel protesters demonstrating in Chicago this week, Latimer said, “Well, I’m not concerned for mine, but I am concerned for those who are in higher office. … But I think, so far, Chicago has done a good job of protecting us.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP He also argued that the protests showed the Democratic Party was largely pro-Israel. “But protests don’t change policy. That policy will change when the [Israeli hostages held by Hamas] are released,” Latimer said.

Biden-Harris HHS secretary sidesteps backing any limit on late-term abortion

Biden-Harris HHS secretary sidesteps backing any limit on late-term abortion

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ secretary of Health and Human Services refused to say whether he would back any limits at all on late-term abortions, even with exceptions, instead deferring to Harris.  HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra was asked by Fox News Digital on Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago if he would support any limits on late-term abortion, with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother. “I think the president – the vice president may answer those questions really well,” he said.  NEWSOM DODGES QUESTION ON HARRIS PRICE CONTROLS: ‘SHE HASN’T PUT OUT THE DETAILS’ He further said he could not answer questions related to Health and Human Services, because,”I’m here not as secretary, so I really can’t answer Health and Human Services questions.”  As Democrats have pushed abortion as a top issue going into the 2024 elections, Republicans have tried to hit back at their opponents and highlight a lack of clarity on whether they support any limits on abortion with the popular exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother.  HARRIS DODGING FLIP-FLOP ATTACKS AS FACELESS SURROGATES FLIP KEY POSITIONS: ‘PLAYING POLITICS’ Democrats have done little to refute claims that they support abortion without any limitations, meaning throughout all nine months, even with exceptions. When confronted with accusations, the party’s lawmakers have suggested the procedure doesn’t take place in the late term, or take place incredibly rarely, insinuating limits may not be necessary.  The Harris campaign did not answer in time for publication whether she supports any limit on abortion throughout nine months, even with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother, when asked by Fox News Digital.  SEN. MARK KELLY RESPONDS TO QUESTION ON SERVING IN POTENTIAL HARRIS CABINET Prior to Harris’ candidacy, Biden avoided answering a question during his CNN debate against former President Trump on whether he believed in any limit on abortion.  Trump went on to slam Biden and Democrats for their position. “So that means he can take the life of the baby in the ninth month and even after birth?” he asked. “Because some states Democrat-run take it after birth. The former governor of Virginia: ‘put the baby down, then we decide what to do with it.’ So, he’s willing to, as we say, rip the baby out of the womb in the ninth month and kill the baby. Nobody wants that to happen – Democrat or Republican. Nobody wants that to happen.” GOP SENATORS KICK OFF TRUMP CAMPAIGN DNC COUNTER-PROGRAMMING: HARRIS ‘DOESN’T HAVE A CLUE’ But Biden pushed back, saying, “You’re lying, that is simply not true.… We are not for late-term abortion, period,” without providing a specific limit he supported.  Democrats have largely avoided supporting any specific limits, often redirecting attention to their claim that Republicans would ban abortion entirely. A majority of Republicans have said they believe the abortion issue should be navigated at the state level.  Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Michelle Obama wore nearly $3K pantsuit to DNC while touting her parents were ‘suspicious’ of the wealthy

Michelle Obama wore nearly K pantsuit to DNC while touting her parents were ‘suspicious’ of the wealthy

Michelle Obama wore a nearly $3,000 pantsuit to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago while touting to attendees that her parents were “suspicious” of the wealthy.  The former first lady began her DNC speech by saying the last time she was in her hometown of Chicago was to memorialize her mother, the woman “who showed me the meaning of hard work and humility and decency” and “who set my moral compass high and showed me the power of my own voice.”   “She and my father didn’t aspire to be wealthy. In fact, they were suspicious of folks who took more than they needed,” Michelle Obama said. “They understood that it wasn’t enough for their kids to thrive if everyone else around us was drowning. So my mother volunteered at the local school.”  All the while, she was wearing a black pantsuit jacket that is available for pre-order online by the New York fashion designer Monse for $1,690.  The online description invites customers to “pre-order our Resort 2025 Criss Cross Jacket as seen on Michelle Obama at the DNC.”  MICHELLE OBAMA TELLS DNC HER PARENTS WERE ‘SUSPICIOUS’ OF THE WEALTHY DESPITE OWN $70M NET WORTH, LUXURY HOMES Michelle Obama paired the jacket with the matching trousers listed for $890.  “Pre-order our Resort 2025 Tuxedo Cuff Trousers as seen on Michelle Obama at the DNC,” Monse wrote. The estimated ship date isn’t until Nov. 8, three days after the election.  The New York Times described Michelle Obama’s outfit, a sleeveless recreation of the traditional pantsuit, as thematically “forward,” in line with the former first lady’s message at the DNC.  The Times’ Critics Notebook described Monse as a “small, independent label founded by Fernando Garcia, a Dominican-raised New York designer, and Laura Kim, an Asian American (and one of the founders of the Slaysians, a group of fashion insiders formed to combat anti-Asian hate).”  Garcia and Kim are also the designers of Oscar de la Renta, “the brand that has dressed first ladies for decades and which Mrs. Obama wore when she was living on Pennsylvania Avenue and still does,” the Times said.  OBAMA SPEECH TO SECURE BORDER WITHOUT ‘TEARING’ KIDS FROM PARENTS OMITS SOMBER DHS REPORT ON MISSING MIGRANTS The newspaper gushed over the former first lady, and her stylist, Meredith Koop, for choosing Monse.  The Times said selecting “the smaller fashion house over the establishment name was fully in line with Mrs. Obama’s practice, developed as first lady, of using her platform to highlight lesser known businesses (especially fashion businesses) and designers who represent the stories she is telling: about entrepreneurship, the melting pot, the American dream. The election.”  Michelle Obama “wore a dark navy sleeveless jacket belted over cropped trousers. The lapels of the top were de- and reconstructed to cross over the throat in an almost militaristic way, and the shoulders jutted out to frame the biceps. It was both understated and edgy, kind of armorial,” the Times said. “This was going to be a fight, her tunic and her speech suggested, and everyone should gear themselves up to get out the vote.”  The Trump campaign and others criticized Michelle Obama for omitting that she and her husband, former President Obama, have an estimated net worth of $70 million, as well as luxury real estate holdings in Chicago, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C., when telling the DNC that her parents “were suspicious of folks who took more than they needed.”  “Getting really tired of multi-millionaires preaching about the evils of money and greed,” one X user wrote. 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to address America on Friday about the ‘present historical moment and his path forward’

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to address America on Friday about the ‘present historical moment and his path forward’

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to address the nation about his path forward in the presidential race Friday from Phoenix, Arizona. Kennedy’s press secretary, Stefanie Spear, posted the announcement about “the present historic moment and his path forward” on social media on Wednesday afternoon. The announcement comes after Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, blasted Democrats on Tuesday, saying she “fully supports” a role for Kennedy in a future Trump administration. Shanahan also hinted that they could end their campaign and back former President Trump. Coincidentally, Trump is holding an Arizona rally on Friday in Glendale, which is about 20 minutes from Phoenix.  RFK JR.’S RUNNING MATE SAYS DEMOCRATS ‘OBSTRUCTED A FAIR ELECTION,’ ‘FULLY SUPPORTS’ WORKING WITH TRUMP  Shortly before the announcement, Amaryllis Kennedy, Kennedy’s daughter-in-law and campaign manager, emailed campaign staff. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “For the last 19 months (22 months for the original core), this team — this family — has worked seven days a week, ten plus hours a day, in blizzards and blazing heat, sacrificing family time, personal commitments, and any hope of sleep, in service to our shared vision for this country,” she wrote. “Never, in all these months, has Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sidestepped his movement to communicate his heart through back-channel leaks. Nor would he ever, especially in this most consequential moment for us all. So please, hold tight until you hear directly from him.”

Newsom dodges question on Harris price controls: ‘She hasn’t put out the details’

Newsom dodges question on Harris price controls: ‘She hasn’t put out the details’

Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., declined to say outright whether he supported Vice President Kamala Harris’ recently rolled out price-control proposal in the food industry, which her campaign described as a first-ever ban on “price-gouging.”  “We haven’t seen the details of it yet. She hasn’t — she hasn’t put out the details,” the California governor and Democratic star player told Fox News Digital when asked if he was backing Harris’ economic plan, particularly the price-fixing aspect of it. Newsom did not answer the question upon the first two attempts, and the governor’s security guard at one point physically swatted away Fox News Digital’s microphone.  HARRIS DODGING FLIP-FLOP ATTACKS AS FACELESS SURROGATES FLIP KEY POSITIONS: ‘PLAYING POLITICS’ “When I have an opportunity to view those details — if ​it’s along the lines of what Elizabeth Warren’s done, I think it is meritorious and interesting,” he continued his answer on Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has introduced legislation that is aimed at cracking down on what she refers to as “price-gouging” by corporations. The Price Gouging Prevention Act of 2024 would give the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general authority to “enforce a federal ban against grossly excessive price increases, regardless of a seller’s position in a supply chain.” SEN. MARK KELLY RESPONDS TO QUESTION ON SERVING IN POTENTIAL HARRIS CABINET The progressive senator’s legislation was introduced alongside co-sponsors and vulnerable Democratic Sens. Bob Casey, D-Penn., and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis. The two are each seeking re-election in November in battleground states where Harris’ and their own policies are not always widely supported.  According to Newsom, “I’ve been pursuing price gouging in California as it relates to oil companies — as it relates to Big Pharma.” GOP SENATORS KICK OFF TRUMP CAMPAIGN DNC COUNTER-PROGRAMMING: HARRIS ‘DOESN’T HAVE A CLUE’ “I appreciate it more directionally,” he said of Harris’ proposal. “But I haven’t had the opportunity to review the details.” Newsom told Fox News Digital separately on Monday that Harris’ broader economic proposal was “very familiar.”  STRATEGISTS PIN GOP SENATE HOPES ON TRUMP BASE COMING ‘HOME’ AHEAD OF ELECTION “Child tax credits. Newborn tax credits. Focus on earned income tax credit. We don’t think those programs work — we know they work,” he said reacting to her rollout, which featured a drastic expansion of the child tax credit, allowing up to $6,000 during a child’s first year, as well as an extension of prescription drug price caps to everyone rather than just senior citizens.  It would additionally establish a $40 billion fund for assistance to local governments to build more housing units, and include a crackdown on landlords. Harris’ campaign did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication.  Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Trump accuses Biden admin of ‘MASSIVE SCANDAL’ after new jobs numbers dramatically revised downward

Trump accuses Biden admin of ‘MASSIVE SCANDAL’ after new jobs numbers dramatically revised downward

Former President Trump quickly jumped on a massive downward revision by the Labor Department on new job growth, charging in a social media post that the Biden-Harris administration “PADDED THE NUMBERS.” The Labor Department on Wednesday announced that the nation’s economy added far fewer jobs last year and earlier this year than previously reported.  According to the Labor Department, monthly payroll statistics overstated new jobs by roughly 818,000 during the 12-month period that ended in March of this year. That’s a downward revision of nearly 30%. Economists see the updated figures as further signs of a weakening labor market, which had remained strong the past couple of years as the nation’s economy soared following a massive recession during the coronavirus pandemic. The jobs surge had continued despite high interest rates and increased concerns of a pending recession. BIDEN ADMINISTRATION WALKS BACK ROSY JOBS FIGURES Trump, the Republican Party’s presidential nominee, has long slammed both President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris – who last month replaced her boss at the top of the Democrats’ 2024 ticket – over high inflation that Americans have been coping with during the three-year economic rebound. Now he’s arguing, without providing proof, that the Biden administration deliberately padded the jobs numbers. HARRIS FILLS THE ARENA WHERE THE GOP HELD THEIR CONVENTION A MONTH AGO “MASSIVE SCANDAL! The Harris-Biden Administration has been caught fraudulently manipulating Job Statistics to hide the true extent of the Economic Ruin they have inflicted upon America,” Trump charged in a statement on his Truth Social platform. And he argued, “New Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the Administration PADDED THE NUMBERS with an extra 818,000 Jobs that DO NOT EXIST, AND NEVER DID.” But economists say the revisions – which are preliminary – are part of an annual process where initial monthly estimates are reconciled with more accurate data that takes longer to acquire. Jared Bernstein, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, emphasized in a statement that “neither the preliminary nor final revision directly affect estimates of job growth in recent months – important to keep in mind when assessing today’s labor market.” The Harris campaign highlighted that “statistical revisions are normal and bump up and down and that there was a 500,000 revision in 2019 during the Trump administration. They also noted that the revision “doesn’t change the fact” that 15 million jobs were created since Biden and Harris entered office in January 2021. Public opinion surveys all indicate that the economy remains top of mind with American voters. According to the latest Fox News national polling, 38% of those questioned said the economy was their top issue in deciding their vote for president, far ahead of all other issues tested. And according to the survey, which was conducted Aug. 9-12, Trump had six-point edge over Harris when it came to doing a better job steering the economy. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.