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GOP urges Democrat governor to deploy National Guard to Charlotte as crime surges

GOP urges Democrat governor to deploy National Guard to Charlotte as crime surges

FIRST ON FOX: Citing frustrations with persistent crime, a trio of North Carolina lawmakers is urging Democratic Gov. Josh Stein to deploy the National Guard in Charlotte, saying the state of the city has become “increasingly dire.” “Recently, the city faced eight homicides in seven days. The murder rate in uptown Charlotte is now 200% higher than it was a year ago,” the letter states. “According to the Fraternal Order of Police, aggravated assaults involving knives or guns have risen from 86 in 2024 to 111 in 2025, and personal strong-arm robberies have increased from 26 to 31 in the same period.” Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., one of the letter’s authors, said the request doesn’t just come from the state’s congressional delegation. “This is not just my idea. This is the Fraternal Order of Police that had come, saying that they believed this is important and asking the governor and mayor to step up and do it,” Harris said, alluding to a similar letter published by Charlotte-Mecklenburg law enforcement earlier this year.  MAJOR CITY POLICE UNIONS SUPPORT FEDERAL TROOP DEPLOYMENTS, BUT LOCAL LEADERS ARE PUSHING BACK The letter’s three signatories, Harris, Rep. Pat Harrigan and Rep. Chuck Edwards, all represent the Charlotte area. The North Carolina letter comes as President Donald Trump has used the National Guard to bring attention to crime in cities like Washington, D.C., Memphis, Chicago and others. So far, the administration has deployed the National Guard to six urban areas and floated deployments in another five — even as courts weigh the use of federal troops to address domestic crime. The letter from the North Carolina lawmakers pointed to those deployments as a template for success.  “Other cities have deployed the National Guard and seen positive results. In Washington, D.C., when President Trump deployed troops under his lawful authority, the city promptly saw a reduction in crime, including twelve consecutive days without a single homicide,” the letter states. That’s also the thinking of members of the House Republican Conference leadership. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., called it a continuation of the administration’s work. Scalise serves the conference as majority leader — the No. 2 Republican in the chamber. “Millions of Americans don’t feel safe in many once-great cities, and President Trump is working with House Republicans to change that. As we’ve seen in D.C. and Memphis, President Trump took decisive action, cleaned up our streets, and made those cities safer,” Scalise said.  “I commend my colleagues from North Carolina for calling out the violent crime in Charlotte and working to make the city safer for residents and visitors, and encourage more leaders to do the same,” he added. MEMPHIS RESIDENTS SPLIT OVER NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT TO FIGHT CITY’S CRIME According to the Charlotte Police Department’s quarterly statistics report, violent crimes, commercial burglaries and larcenies from automobiles have all gone up in Charlotte since last year. But other crimes like homicides, rapes, property crimes and arson have come down modestly from levels in 2024. In many categories, Charlotte’s current crime levels are meaningfully lower than rates in 2022 and 2023, with some exceptions.  Harris thinks they could go lower. He doesn’t envision the National Guard deployment as a long-term solution to fighting crime. Instead, Harris believes the increased law enforcement presence could create an opening for the local police force to find their footing. “What I hope comes out of it is that in that time, the police are able to go after whoever these bad guys are, that are threatening this environment of crime. And then, at the end of the day, it’s going to create a hope, an outcry from the public that says, ‘We’re not going to accept our crime-ridden city anymore.’”  When asked what needs to change to make Charlotte’s safety a constant, with or without the National Guard, Harris said the city needs to prioritize its policies and resources on keeping violent offenders off the streets. “After the murder of Iryna Zarutska, it brought to light a real issue with not keeping criminals behind bars,” Harris said, referring to the 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who was stabbed to death on a Charlotte train. CHARLOTTE CITY COUNCIL MEMBER CALLS OUT ‘PAPER-THIN’ CRIME STATISTICS AFTER UKRAINIAN REFUGEE’S KILLING “In her case, the guy had been arrested 14 times, been put out on the street. These are things that have a lot of issues to be addressed. That’s a judiciary issue.”  Although past efforts to deploy the National Guard have been met with protest from Democratic governors in other states, Harris hopes that Stein will work with the Trump administration as needed if it becomes clear a deployment is needed. Stein’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Trump compares Dems to kamikaze pilots: ‘They’ll take down the country if they have to’

Trump compares Dems to kamikaze pilots: ‘They’ll take down the country if they have to’

President Donald Trump compared Democrats to Japanese kamikaze pilots who conducted suicide missions during World War II, amid the ongoing government shutdown. Trump’s remarks come on the heels of his Asia trip, where he visited Japan, as the government shutdown has lasted for 36 days – marking the longest one in U.S. history. “I think they’re kamikaze pilots,” Trump told Republican senators at a breakfast at the White House on Wednesday. “I just got back from Japan and talked about the kamikaze pilots. I think these guys are kamikaze. They’ll take down the country if they have to.” Additionally, Trump said he didn’t think Democrats were taking enough of the blame for their role in the shutdown. DEMOCRATS AT A BIG DISADVANTAGE IN SHUTDOWN AS TRUMP STARTS SLASHING THEIR PROGRAMS “It is Democrat-created, but I don’t think they’re getting really the blame that they should,” Trump said, adding that the government must open soon. The government ran out of funding that prompted the partial shutdown on Oct. 1, due to gridlock between Senate Republicans and Democrats over a short-term funding bill to fund the government through Nov. 21. The stalemate between Republicans and Democrats stems from healthcare provisions in a potential funding measure. Trump and Republicans claim Democrats want to provide illegal immigrants healthcare, and have cited a provision that would repeal part of Trump’s tax and domestic policy bill known as the “big, beautiful bill” that reduced Medicaid eligibility for non-U.S. citizens. TRUMP FLIPS HIS SHUTDOWN APPROACH, LEAVING CONGRESS TO TAKE THE HEAT But Democrats say this isn’t the case and have said they want to permanently extend certain Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of 2025. Trump also stated that the shutdown was the reason that Republicans lost several key races – including the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial elections – on Tuesday. SENATE REPUBLICANS PLOT LONGER-TERM FUNDING BILL AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CONTINUES “Exactly one year ago, we had that big, beautiful victory,” Trump said. “But I thought we’d have a discussion after the press leaves about what last night represented and what we should do about it. And also about the shutdown and how that relates to last night.” “I think if you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor. Negative for the Republicans, and that was a big factor,” Trump said. Meanwhile, Senate Democrats refused to back Republican’s stopgap funding bill on Tuesday to reopen the government. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said that his party remains firm that it will not support a measure that doesn’t include extensions for the Affordable Care Act subsidies. “The only plan Republicans have for healthcare seems to be to eliminate it, and then to tell working people to go figure it out on their own,” Schumer said Tuesday. “That’s not a healthcare plan. That’s cruel.”

As NYC elects socialist Mamdani, neighboring county doubles down on Trump-style leadership with Blakeman’s win

As NYC elects socialist Mamdani, neighboring county doubles down on Trump-style leadership with Blakeman’s win

As New York City embraced the left-wing politics of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, voters just across the city line in Nassau County reaffirmed a starkly different vision and re-elected a President Donald Trump-backed leader. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman secured a second term Tuesday night, extending his tenure as the county’s first Jewish executive. Blakeman, a close ally of Trump who’s worked to combat antisemitism and other crime and bolster cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), won re-election as neighboring New York City turned to a self-described Democratic socialist. Mamdani, notably, has refused to denounce the slogan “globalize the intifada.” “I just got off the phone with President Trump, and he was delighted,” Blakeman told the crowd at his victory party. “And I said to the president, thank you for all you’ve done. We had faith in President Trump’s policies, and the people of Nassau County wanted us to cooperate with ICE. They wanted to get criminals out of our county. They wanted it to be the safest county in America. Lower taxes.” The mood in Nassau County was very different from the one across the East River. In New York City, voters embraced Mamdani’s left-leaning agenda focused on housing, affordability and “Trump-proofing NYC.” In the platforms listed on his campaign website, Mamdani vowed to freeze rent for all stabilized tenants, build more affordable housing, introduce city-owned grocery stores, make buses free and to raise the minimum wage to $30 by 2030. SOCIALIST SHOCKWAVE: ZOHRAN MAMDANI STUNS NYC AS VOTERS HAND POWER TO DEMOCRATS’ FAR-LEFT FLANK “Zohran Mamdani will fight Trump’s attempts to gouge the working class, and deliver a city where everyone can afford a dignified life. He’ll ensure our immigrant New Yorkers are protected by strengthening our sanctuary city apparatus: getting ICE out of all city facilities and ending any cooperation, increasing legal support, and protecting all personal data. He’ll make NYC an LGBTQIA+ sanctuary city and protect reproductive rights,” the “Trump-proofing NYC” portion of Mamdani’s website reads. While Blakeman had the president’s endorsement, Mamdani garnered the support of several major Democrats, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. He was also backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Blakeman earned high praise from Trump just days before the election. The president described the county executive as “100% MAGA” and said he was “doing a fantastic job” in the position. “He is working tirelessly with the brave heroes of law enforcement, ICE, and border patrol to safeguard our communities, ensure LAW AND ORDER, defend our always under siege Second Amendment, keep our now very secure border, SECURE, end migrant crime, and stop Communism from ruining our once great cities. Bruce is fighting hard to cut taxes and regulations, promote MADE IN THE USA, advance American energy DOMINANCE, and champion our nation’s golden age,” Trump wrote. In 2024, a little more than 52% of Nassau County voters cast their ballots for Trump over then-Vice President Kamala Harris. The county has since seen Trump-aligned policies in action. OPINION: THE HIDDEN REASON NEW YORKERS VOTED FOR A SOCIALIST — AND IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK Recently, Blakeman spearheaded legislation that banned transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports. While a New York appeals court has since put a freeze on the ban, the passage of the legislation stands in stark contrast to the policies of deep blue New York City. Blakeman vowed to push the law forward despite the freeze, telling the New York Post that “Nassau County will continue to protect the integrity and safety of women’s sports.” Additionally, last week, Blakeman spoke with Fox News Digital about his county’s cooperation with ICE, saying that under Trump, Nassau County had increased its relationship with the federal immigration enforcement agency. He said the partnership with ICE was a “great asset” in protecting Nassau County. In his victory speech, Blakeman highlighted the policies supported by Nassau County voters that distinguished their part of the Empire State from the Big Apple. “Four years ago, we made promises. We said that we wouldn’t be a sanctuary county. We said we would take the masks off the kids and stop oppressing our children here in Nassau County. We said wouldn’t raise taxes. We haven’t raised taxes one penny in four years. That’s a pretty good record. And we’ve gotten seven bond upgrades,” Blakeman said. NEW YORK LEADER PLEDGES MORE COPS, TOUGHER ICE PARTNERSHIP IF NYC ELECTS SOCIALIST MAYOR “We are the safest county in America! I want to thank the PBA, the SOA, the DAI, the corrections officers, all of our law enforcement professionals for keeping us safe each and every day. Thank you to each and every one of them,” he added. “We have the greatest police department in the world, led by our great Commissioner Pat Ryder. And we are also blessed to have so many volunteer firefighters and EMTs who keep us safe here in Nassau County. Thank you and God bless you for all you’re doing. Thank you to all the unions that backed us, the hardworking men and women of Nassau County. Thank you, to our building trades.” At the end of his victory speech, Blakeman echoed Trump and even used one of the president’s most iconic lines: “Fight, fight, fight!” “We are going to continue the work that was started to make us an even more prosperous county, to bring job creation, economic development, keep taxes down, support our law enforcement, and continue to make this the best place to live in all of New York State. Leadership counts, and we’ve got great leaders. So, to each and every one of you, again, my sincerest thanks, and may God bless you all, and may god bless this great United States of America. Fight, fight, fight!” Blakeman is a former commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He defeated then-Democratic incumbent Laura Curran in the 2021 election and took office in 2022. Fox News Digital’s Ryan Morik contributed to this report.

GOP lawmakers rally behind Trump’s Venezuela strikes as critics question legality

GOP lawmakers rally behind Trump’s Venezuela strikes as critics question legality

As U.S. warships strike suspected drug-smuggling boats off Venezuela, critics call the Trump administration’s campaign illegal under international law — a charge supporters dismiss as irrelevant to America’s security. While international law helps create legal, technical or even moral consensus, it is powerless to restrain President Donald Trump’s decision to attack vessels the administration sees as threats to the U.S. Since September, the Trump administration has destroyed several boats off the coast of Venezuela, eliminating what it described as narco-trafficking operations.  IS TRUMP’S ‘HEAT’ ON VENEZUELA THE START OF A WIDER CAMPAIGN FOR REGIME CHANGE? Last week, Volker Türk, the United Nations commissioner for human rights, blasted those strikes. “Based on the very sparse information provided publicly by the U.S. authorities, none of the individuals on the targeted boats appear to pose an imminent threat to the lives of others or otherwise justified the use of lethal armed force against them under international law,” Türk said. But even if the strikes do violate international law, some U.S. lawmakers don’t believe that should stop the president.  Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, argued the U.S. must prioritize its own security. “We’re not going to subject our sovereignty to international bodies. We’re going to make our decision — what’s in the best interest for the United States,” Cornyn said. “[International law] is more of a convention. Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures,” he added. TRUMP TOUTS ANOTHER US STRIKE NEAR VENEZUELA THAT KILLED SIX ALLEGED DRUG SMUGGLERS  Over in the House, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., echoed Cornyn’s thinking. “President Trump, as commander in chief, has an inherent constitutional authority under Article II to defend America’s national security interests and protect American lives. The cartels we are targeting have been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and hold real responsibility for the deadly fentanyl crisis that since 2021 has claimed more American lives than all our service members lost in combat since World War II,” Issa said.  Julian Ku, faculty director of international programs at Hofstra University, said international law helps build and maintain norms but has little enforcement power.  “International law governs the relations between nation states. And it takes the form of agreements, treaties and also customary agreements about how countries will handle certain problems,” Ku said. “For instance, how far off the coast does international waters begin? That’s actually been developed by custom to 12 nautical miles and later ratified in treaties.”  “If there are two governments, neither government is in charge of the other, so we need a set of rules for those governments to work together,” Ku said. “The United States is often trying to get other countries to follow certain rules. Usually it’s easier to do that if you’re seen as following the rules. The theory of international law is that it’s better for everyone if they cooperate more than constantly fight.”  Ku explained that extends to topics like human rights abuses.  Despite a lack of power from international law to meaningfully restrain the U.S., other lawmakers expressed concern that the Trump administration hasn’t provided more justification for its attacks. Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., and other Democrats have called Trump’s attacks “extrajudicial,” demanding more information from the administration on its justification for its strikes.  When asked about the strikes, a spokesperson for Meeks referred Fox News Digital to a statement he made following a closed-door briefing on Venezuela. Meeks serves as the ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “The briefing was incredible — incredible for how little information was shared, how little time the briefers stayed to answer questions, and how completely absent any credible legal rationale was for the administration’s unauthorized, ongoing expansion of these strikes,” Meeks wrote. “The American people deserve transparency and accountability and the truth about what their government is doing in their name,” he said. TRUMP UNLEASHES US MILITARY POWER ON CARTELS. IS A WIDER WAR LOOMING? The Trump administration earlier this year designated several drug cartels operating in and out of Venezuela as terrorist organizations. In the public-facing information about its most recent strike, U.S. War Secretary Pete Hegseth identified the targets as fitting under that designation.  “This vessel — like EVERY OTHER — was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics. Three male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the strike, which was conducted in international waters,” Hegseth said in a post to X. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The U.S. has launched at least 15 such strikes. In order to assist with the strikes, the president has repositioned one of the country’s aircraft carriers, the USS Gerald R. Ford, closer to Venezuela. Despite the mobilization, Trump told CBS’ “60 Minutes” he does not anticipate a war with Venezuela.