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RFK, Jr.’s past support for higher gas prices & electric cars surfaces, old interviews show

RFK, Jr.’s past support for higher gas prices & electric cars surfaces, old interviews show

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. previously expressed support for higher gas prices for consumers, which he argued would force a market shift toward electric vehicles.  Kennedy made the argument in a number of media appearances, as well as at least one speech, going back to 2003, claiming that ending subsidies to oil companies and forcing them to cover certain costs related to oil production, would lead to gasoline costing its “true price” of up to $22 per gallon. “The No. 1 thing we need to do as a nation, more important than the moonshot, more important than anything else, is to get off of foreign oil, whatever it takes, and I think if we had true markets, we’d spend $5.2 trillion a year on subsidies to the carbon industry, and that doesn’t include the $8 trillion that we spent on wars protecting essentially oil pipelines,” Kennedy said during an interview last year. INSIDERS PREDICT THIS POSSIBLE TRUMP VP PICK POSES ‘EXISTENTIAL THREAT’ TO KEY AREA OF BIDEN SUPPORT  “If those companies were forced to internalize those costs, gasoline would cost its true price, which is about $22 a gallon, and we would be figuring out using American initiative and our industrial genius other ways to get around,” he added. Kennedy made a similar argument during a 2016 speech at the University of California, Berkeley, telling the audience that if oil companies were “forced” to internalize costs related to the effects the industry had on nearby populations, such as healthcare costs, crop damage, acid rain damage and other pollution costs, it would, in turn, be reflected in the price of oil. “We’d be paying $12 at the pump, and we’d be sending the correct signals to the marketplace. And the market would be saying, we need an alternative to a gasoline car because every American would say, ‘Well, it costs about 0.30 cents a mile to drive an electric car, and it costs about $4 a mile once you get to buy a gasoline car,’” he said. “We’d very quickly transition, and you would incentivize all these people out there who are adding efficiencies to lithium-ion batteries and looking at different battery systems.” He went on to argue that the federal government should be creating an “ecosystem” that incentivizes the most efficient technologies available and “punishes the inefficiencies of oil and coal.” NIKKI HALEY SILENT ON TRUMP’S NYC CONVICTION AS OTHER PROMINENT REPUBLICANS SPRING TO HIS DEFENSE Kennedy similarly wrote in a 2014 article for the Huffington Post that “if the oil industry had to pay the true costs of bringing its product to market, gas prices would be upwards of $12 per gallon at the pump.” “Most Americans would be running to buy electric cars,” he wrote. “With low-cost disruptive technologies like cheap, fast and efficient electric vehicles, and solar and wind technologies poised to displace Big Oil, the industry is using its hold on the Republican Party to permanently embed itself in our economy while subverting science, American democracy, free market capitalism and our sacred belief in an ethical God.” Kennedy appeared on CNN in 2003 and also argued then that removing subsidies for oil companies to a point where consumers would pay more at the pump would force a market reaction. “There’s no stronger advocate for free market capitalism than myself, and I don’t think the government should be telling people what to buy or Detroit what to build. The problem is the free market has been distorted in this case,” he said. “We give $6 to $15 billion a year in direct subsidies to the oil industry. That allows big oil to artificially lower the price of gasoline to about $1.89 a gallon, as it is today.”  TRUMP GUILTY VERDICT REVEALS SPLIT AMONG FORMER GOP PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY OPPONENTS “If we were paying the true price of gasoline, we’d be paying what they pay in Europe and elsewhere, $5 a gallon. Americans then would be screaming at Detroit to give us cars that get 40 miles per gallon. And Detroit would be giving us SUVs that get 40 miles per gallon.” Kennedy was asked why automakers weren’t, at the time, already producing more electric vehicles if they could make billions by enticing consumers unhappy over gas prices, but Kennedy argued there was no demand for them at the time because the price of gas, then just under $2 on average, was “still relatively low.” “If we go up over $2.50 a gallon, they will be making within, two or three years, 40 mile per gallon SUVs, and we’ll be buying them. And the problem is that we have a distortion in the free market that’s caused by these giant subsidies to the oil industry,” he said. Kennedy’s campaign told Fox News Digital that “Mr. Kennedy believes the transition to clean energy must never come at the expense of those who can least afford it.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Trump verdict fires up the donor class leading to massive May fundraising haul

Trump verdict fires up the donor class leading to massive May fundraising haul

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign on Monday announced that they and the Republican National Committee, fueled in part by the former president’s guilty verdicts in his criminal trial, hauled in a stunning $141 million in fundraising in May. That’s up from the $76 million they raked in back in April when they topped President Biden and the Democratic National Committee for the first time in their 2024 election rematch.  The campaign pointed out that the average dollar donation was $70.27 with 25% of the donors in May being first time contributors to Trump. Besides the campaign’s fundraising efforts, the Trump team says organizations supporting the former president raised another $150 million in May.    In a statement, Trump Campaign senior advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said, “President Trump raised $141 million this month because Americans remember the roaring economy, secure border, and peace through strength at home and abroad under Donald J. Trump, and we will return to prosperity and success when he is re-elected in November.” TRUMP TURNS CONVICTIONS INTO CASH FOLLOWING GUILTY VERDICTS  Monday’s announcement comes in the wake of what the Trump campaign touted as “record-shattering” fundraising in the immediate aftermath of the former president’s conviction in his criminal trial in New York City. Trump was found guilty of all 34 felony counts in the first trial of a former or current president in the nation’s history. The former president’s campaign highlighted that in the first 24 hours following Thursday evening’s verdict, they and the Republican National Committee hauled in nearly $53 million in fundraising, which counted towards May’s total.  The campaign touted that the fundraising was “nearly double the biggest day ever recorded for the Trump campaign on the WinRed platform” and emphasized that the guilty verdicts “have awakened the MAGA movement like never before.” The RNC said on Sunday that the total topped $70 million in online fundraising by the 48-hour mark. Trump has been aiming to close his fundraising gap with Biden. In April, his campaign and the Republican National Committee for the first time out-raised the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Biden had regularly been outpacing Trump in monthly fundraising, but Trump’s April haul was boosted by a record-setting $50.5 million that the former president’s campaign raked in at a single event early in the month with top dollar GOP donors that was hosted at the Palm Beach, Florida home of billionaire investor John Paulson. While Trump has stepped up his fundraising, the Biden campaign still enjoyed an $84 million to $49 million cash-on-hand advantage at the end of April. Fundraising, along with public opinion polling, is a key metric used to measure the strength of a candidate and their campaign. Money raised can be used to build up grassroots outreach and get-out-the-vote operations, staffing, travel and ads, among other things. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

GOP lawmakers turn up pressure on Biden over Iran nuclear program: ‘Enough is enough’

GOP lawmakers turn up pressure on Biden over Iran nuclear program: ‘Enough is enough’

FIRST ON FOX: Republican lawmakers Sen. Tim Scott and Rep. Mike Lawler are pressing the Biden administration to censure Iran at the next International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meeting due to its heightened nuclear activities and guarantee that steps are taken to thwart Iran’s acquisition of nuclear weapons. On Monday afternoon, the pair will introduce a resolution that would also “refer the issue to the U.N. Security Council, and reaffirm that all measures will be taken to prevent the regime in Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.”  “In the 18 months since the IAEA last held Iran accountable, the regime’s destabilizing behavior has skyrocketed. Its terrorist proxies have attacked our troops, brought global commerce to a halt, and ignited the brutal conflict in Gaza,” Scott said. “Last month, Iran stepped out from the shadows to attack Israel directly, and all the while, the regime has steadily increased its nuclear buildup.”  The IAEA seeks to promote “the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons,” according to its website.  IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER THANKS US COLLEGE STUDENTS FOR ‘STANDING ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY’ The resolution, which was first shared with Fox News Digital, says the U.S. should commit to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and urges the Biden administration to pursue punitive measures for Iran’s violations of international non-proliferation agreements.  It condemns Iran’s obstruction of monitoring and verification activities by the IAEA and calls for sanctions on Iran’s nuclear and missile programs. “Iran is the greatest state sponsor of terror in the world and there is no greater national security threat than a nuclear Iran,” Lawler said in a statement. “Unfortunately, a foreign policy of weakness and appeasement has emboldened the Islamic Republic, which is now closer than ever to having nuclear weapons. Enough is enough.” The five-page resolution also “emphasizes the need for a coordinated international response to address the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program and calls on all nations to join the United States in taking decisive action to ensure Iran does not acquire nuclear weapons and to uphold nuclear non-proliferation standards in the Middle East and beyond.” Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., John Cornyn, R-Texas, Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., are cosponsoring the Senate’s version of the resolution.  In the House, the resolution is cosponsored by Reps. John James, R-Mich., Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., Young Kim, R-Calif., Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J. IRAN CAPABLE OF BUILDING NUCLEAR BOMB IN ONE WEEK, REPORT FINDS AS MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS FLARE In February, the head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog warned that Iran is “not entirely transparent” regarding its atomic program, particularly after an official who once led Tehran’s program announced the Islamic Republic has all the pieces for a weapon “in our hands.” Iran, after the collapse of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, has pursued nuclear enrichment just below weapons-grade levels. Tehran has accumulated enough enriched uranium to build several weapons if it chooses. US IGNORES IRAN’S ACTIVE NUCLEAR WEAPONS ACTIVITIES BY USING ‘DEFECTIVE’ DEFINITION: EXPERT Critics of the Biden administration’s Iran policy argue the White House strategy of de-escalation and containment targeting Iran’s atomic program has backfired. Iran’s regime — the world’s worst state-sponsor of international terrorism — is moving at an astonishingly fast pace to secure an operational nuclear weapon. In April, Fox News Digital obtained the intelligence agency report for Germany’s most populous state, Nordrhein-Westfalen, which highlighted ongoing intensive procurement efforts by Iran in Germany for its nuclear and missile programs, suggesting that Iran is engaged in proliferation-relevant activities to bypass existing sanctions. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment. The Associated Press and Fox News Digital’s Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report. 

Rep Jordan urges Congress to ‘defund lawfare activities’ of Trump prosecutors

Rep Jordan urges Congress to ‘defund lawfare activities’ of Trump prosecutors

EXCLUSIVE: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital he is proposing an appropriations package that would “defund the lawfare activities” of state and federal prosecutors leading “politically sensitive investigations,” pointing specifically to Special Counsel Jack Smith, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.  The proposal comes just days after former President Donald Trump was convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying business records, stemming from charges brought against him by Bragg. TRUMP GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS IN NEW YORK CRIMINAL TRIAL Trump is also currently awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on whether he is immune from charges brought against him by Smith in his Jan. 6 investigation; awaiting a trial date on charges brought from Smith’s classified records case; and awaiting a trial date on charges brought by Willis in Georgia. Jordan sent his proposal Monday to House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla. Fox News Digital obtained the letter and his proposal. “The Committee on the Judiciary and its Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government continue to conduct vigorous oversight over the Biden Administration in an effort to protect Americans’ fundamental freedoms,” Jordan wrote. Last year, Jordan helped to implement reforms through the appropriations process, including “proposals to prohibit the funding of politically sensitive investigations, protect whistleblowers against retaliation, prevent taxpayer funds from being used to implement radical regulations, prohibit the funding of disastrous Biden immigration policies, and stop the funding of government censorship – among other proposals – which were included in Subcommittee or Full Committee-passed bills.”  Jordan said he hopes to build on that work for fiscal year 2025.  Jordan said he has spent the year conducting oversight of “the troubling rise in politicized prosecutions and the use of abusive ‘lawfare’ tactics to target political opponents.”  WHAT’S NEXT FOR TRUMP LEGALLY? WHICH CASE MIGHT COME UP BEFORE ELECTION DAY? “We have seen rogue prosecutors abuse the rules of professional conduct and their duty to do justice in service of politicized ends,” he said.  Jordan recommended the 2025 fiscal year appropriations package include language “to eliminate federal funding for state prosecutors or state attorneys general involved in lawfare and to zero out federal funding for federal prosecutors engaged in such abuse.”  Jordan noted that the House Judiciary has already passed specific bills that would help to address politicized prosecutions – the “No More Political Prosecutions Act” and the “Forfeiture Funds Expenditure Transparency Act.”  “Never forget these key facts,” Jordan said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. “Alvin Bragg campaigned on how he’s going to ‘get Trump.’ Once he gets in and sees how ridiculous this case is, he says he cannot envision a world where he would indict President Trump and call Michael Cohen as a prosecution witness, but he does just that after – this is key – after President Trump announces he’s running for president.”  Jordan then pointed to Willis, who was investigating 2020 election interference in Fulton County, Georgia. NY V. TRUMP: HOUSE JUDICIARY INVESTIGATES BRAGG PROSECUTOR WHO HELD SENIOR ROLE IN BIDEN DOJ “Fani Willis starts her investigation in February of 2021 – she doesn’t do anything with it, doesn’t indict, until after President Trump announces he is running for president,” Jordan said.  “And maybe the biggest one is Jack Smith who, three days after President Trump announces he’s running for president, Merrick Garland appoints him as special counsel,” Jordan added.  Jordan told Fox News Digital that “all of these things are completely driven by politics.”  Jordan said the purpose of his proposal is to “defund the lawfare activities.”  Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges stemming from Bragg’s, Smith’s and Willis’ investigations.  Separately, Jordan proposed to Chairman Cole that Congress focus on “reining in abusive federal law enforcement agencies.”  Jordan said his committee has received testimony this year “about egregious abuses, misallocation of federal law-enforcement resources, and misconduct within the leadership ranks” of the FBI.  “We recommend that the Appropriations Committee include language to eliminate any funding for the FBI that is not essential for the agency to execute its mission, including rescinding prior appropriations and prohibiting new taxpayer funding for any new FBI headquarters facility,” he wrote. “We also recommend tying funding for the FBI to specific policy changes – such as requiring the FBI to record interviews – that will promote accountability and transparency at the FBI.”  On immigration, Jordan recommended prohibiting the use of taxpayer dollars from funding the Biden administration’s “open-border immigration policies.”  Jordan also proposed efforts to protect freedom of speech online by prohibiting taxpayer funds from being used “to censor Americans online or to classify speech as so-called ‘mis-, dis-, or mal-information.’”  Jordan also asked that the committee eliminate taxpayer dollars going toward the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CIA) Foreign Influence Operations and Disinformation office, the Global Engagement Center, and other governmental and non-governmental entities he said are “engaged in speech suppression.”  Jordan also proposed language to ensure federal grant dollars are not being awarded to jurisdictions across the nation that choose to defund their police – in an effort to address rising crime in urban American cities.  “On behalf of the Committee and the Select Subcommittee, enclosed please find an initial list of suggested priorities to be included in the fiscal year 2025 appropriations bills. Like last year, these proposals stem from our robust oversight and legislative efforts, which will continue throughout the remainder of the 118th Congress,” Jordan wrote. “By working together, we can ensure that the appropriations process will continue to be a powerful check against the weaponization of the federal government.”  Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Smith, Bragg and Willis.