Rubio’s major immigration move praised by conservative experts: ‘Long overdue’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio‘s announcement this week halting work visas for foreign commercial truck drivers drew praise from conservatives in the wake of a deadly accident in Florida. “Effective immediately, we are pausing all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers,” Rubio announced on X on Thursday. “The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers.” The move follows a deadly crash in Florida in which an illegal immigrant from India allegedly struck and killed three people while driving a truck. Questions still loom about how he obtained a commercial driver’s license, as federal investigators say the suspect, Harjinder Singh, failed English proficiency and road sign tests. OVER 55 MILLION VISA HOLDERS SUBJECTED TO CONTINUOUS VETTING AMID TRUMP ADMIN CRACKDOWN Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, stated the move is “long overdue” and that commercial truck drivers should not be brought in from other nations in the first place. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “There are legitimate questions about how qualified these foreign truck drivers are, following the horrible episode in Florida, where a non-English-speaking illegal alien who never should have been given any kind of driver’s license caused the death of three people as he botched an illegal U-turn in the middle of a divided highway,” Vaughan said. Americans can’t depend on trucking companies and state regulators to make sure foreign truck drivers are competent and safe, she added. The director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, Lora Ries, said it’s “about road safety and immigration integrity.” RUBIO PAUSES WORKER VISAS FOR TRUCK DRIVERS AFTER DEADLY FLORIDA CRASH INVOLVING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT KILLS 3 “DHS and the State Department should also analyze all current commercial truck drivers using a visa or an employment authorization document as the basis to obtain a commercial driver’s license and revoke such immigration benefits where appropriate. This is about road safety and immigration integrity,” Ries wrote in a statement to Fox News Digital. Republican attorney Mehek Cooke said it ultimately boils down to “sovereignty and safety.” Fox News Digital also reached out to left-leaning immigrant advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center. BLUE STATE INVESTIGATES HOW ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCKER GOT LICENSE BEFORE DEADLY FLORIDA CRASH “Massive truck driver shortage that is driving up the prices of everything we purchase and Rubio decides to make it worse based on an anecdote. Totally absurd decision-making process though I don’t know what visas he’s even talking about ‘pausing,’” David Bier, the CATO Institute’s director of immigration studies, posted to X in disagreement with the move from Rubio. The Trump administration has made a series of major immigration reforms, as mass deportation efforts are underway following the Biden-era border crisis. In addition, the administration announced that it is currently reviewing millions of people with U.S. visas. “The department’s continuous vetting includes all of the more than 55 million foreigners who currently hold valid U.S. visas,” a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Friday.
FBI raid of John Bolton’s home reportedly linked to classified documents probe
FBI agents raided the Bethesda, Md., home of former national security adviser John Bolton on Friday morning, marking a new tension point in his difficult relationship with President Donald Trump. Agents also raided Bolton’s D.C. office. The reason behind the raids was reportedly linked to a probe of allegations that Bolton sent classified documents to his family from a private email server while working at the White House, according to the New York Post. The Post cited a Trump administration official who said FBI Director Kash Patel ordered the raid. The outlet also reported that yet-to-be-unsealed search warrants reference a controversy over his memoir to establish a pattern of behavior. However, a senior U.S. official told the Post the probe was a “clean break” from the investigation regarding Bolton’s book. THE HISTORY OF HOW TRUMP AND BOLTON’S RELATIONSHIP FELL TO TATTERS Shortly after the raid began, Patel wrote on X that “no one is above the law… [FBI] agents on a mission.” FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino shared the post and wrote, “Public corruption will not be tolerated.” Bolton, who served in Trump’s first administration, has not been arrested or taken into custody. Trump revoked his security clearance and Secret Service detail in January 2025. Trump was asked about the raid on Friday and said he did not know about it ahead of time, claiming he saw it on television. The president then made clear his disdain for his former national security adviser. “I’m not a fan of John Bolton. He’s a real lowlife,” Trump told reporters. He went on to call Bolton “not a smart guy” and said “he could be very unpatriotic.” TRUMP–BOLTON FEUD BACK IN FOCUS AFTER FBI RAID: ‘NEVER HAD A CLUE … WHAT A DOPE!’ The president also said Bolton was “a very quiet person except on television if he can say something bad about Trump.” Vice President JD Vance told “Meet the Press” on Friday that “we’re in the very early stages of an ongoing investigation into John Bolton.” Vance denied Bolton was being targeted for criticizing Trump. A source familiar with the Bolton raid and the evidence used to justify it told Fox News Digital that “Bolton really had some nerve to attack Trump over his handling of classified information,” but would not give more details. JOHN BOLTON BLASTED BY TRUMP ALLY ROGER STONE, WHO FACED BIDEN FBI RAID: ‘KARMA IS A B—-‘ Bolton criticized Trump’s handling of classified documents after the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago in 2022. Trump was later indicted on 37 felony counts, which expanded to 40 before the case was dropped in July 2024. During Trump’s first administration, a probe into classified documents was launched but later shut down by the Biden administration. The Justice Department argued that Bolton’s 2020 memoir, “The Room Where it Happened,” contained classified material and attempted to block it from being published. The FBI and Bolton’s office declined to comment on the matter. Reporting contributed by Axios and Fox News’ Michael Dorgan, David Spunt, Breanne Deppisch, Emma Woodhead and Brooke Singman.
Conservative activist slams Cracker Barrel; company left reeling after logo redesign
Anti-woke crusader Robby Starbuck released a devastating video takedown of Cracker Barrel‘s leadership, making the case that the restaurant’s logo and decor change are the culmination of a years-long campaign to cater to the far Left and abandon the values of its middle-America customer base. Starbuck, who has brought major companies including John Deere, Target, and Harley-Davidson to heel by exposing their woke policies, described Cracker Barrel’s logo makeover as going from “old American nostalgia” to something “cold, dead, lifeless and modern” in a 15-minute video. He said that, while the Cracker Barrel brand is often associated with American tradition, the company is “infested with left-wing activists who are more interested in safe spaces, pronouns and virtue signaling than they are in their customers.” In his video, Starbuck highlights Cracker Barrel’s support for LGBTQ+ organizations and events, such as Nashville Pride, River City Pride and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). CRACKER BARREL CEO SERVES UP LEFTOVER CORPORATE BRANDING TO UNHAPPY CUSTOMERS He also noted that the company displayed rocking chairs with rainbow colors and LGBTQ+ insignia. The company even went so far as to place one in its Tennessee corporate office. Rocking chairs are practically synonymous with Cracker Barrel, with the restaurant’s long porches lined with them at locations nationwide. “The fact that it’s located there is important to this story because what’s happened here is a microcosm of the parasitic operating procedure of left-wing activists,” Starbuck said. “They don’t just wanna force their soulless, godless, hedonistic vision of the future onto blue hellscapes that their party controls. “No, it’s much more important to them that they shove it down into your towns, into your kids’ schools and into your way of life. So, sticking a pro-trans rocking chair into their headquarters in a predominantly conservative town is exactly the type of thing they revel in doing.” Starbuck then pointed to the company’s involvement with HRC and participation in the Out and Equal Workplace Summit. For the Out and Equal conference, Cracker Barrel made rocking chairs in every color of the rainbow, representing the LGBTQ+ flag. Out and Equal even gave Cracker Barrel an award for having 2018’s top LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group (ERG). CRACKER BARREL DISMISSES CRITICS AS ‘VOCAL MINORITY’ WHILE RIVAL RESTAURANT ADDS TO BACKLASH The restaurant chain previously participated in HRC’s Corporate Equality Index, which measures “corporate policies, practices, and benefits pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer employees,” according to the organization’s website. A company’s score on the index is determined by how inclusive HRC judged it to be toward LGBTQ+ employees. Cracker Barrel told Fox News Digital on Friday that it “has not participated in the Human Rights Campaign Index or had any affiliation with HRC in several years.” Two Cracker Barrel employees are called out by name in Starbuck’s video, Steve Smotherman and Rachel CampBell. Smotherman was the head of management training and development at Cracker Barrel for 15 years, Starbuck asserted, showing a screenshot that appeared to be from LinkedIn. Smotherman, who eventually left Cracker Barrel for Out and Equal, serves on HRC’s Business Advisory Council in Washington, D.C. DEMOCRATIC PARTY, GAVIN NEWSOM JOIN ONLINE ROASTING OF NEW CRACKER BARREL LOGO Starbuck describes Smotherman as “the archetype activist employee that fueled the rise of DEI in corporate America.” He also slammed CampBell, a manager of training and development at Cracker Barrel, for publicly expressing excitement over the company’s rainbow pride rocking chairs. “And it’s important to note all of this because these types of employees play a critical role in turning companies away from the values of their customers and moving the companies toward wokeness,” Starbuck said. CRACKER BARREL EXECUTIVE INSISTS RESTAURANT REMODELS ARE ‘WHAT THE GUESTS ASKED FOR’ Gilbert Dávila, a member of Cracker Barrel’s board of directors, was also referenced in Starbuck’s video. Dávila, who joined Cracker Barrel’s board in 2020, has worked at several major companies, including Disney, Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble. He’s also the co-CEO of DMI Consulting, which looks to “infuse cultural relevance and creativity into every solution.” Starbuck asserted that Dávila, and others like him are responsible for the “woke advertising push” seen over the last few years. In the end, Starbuck emphasizes that the controversy around Cracker Barrel’s logo change is about more than the removal of a man in his chair leaning on a barrel. “It’s very, very important to understand that the Cracker Barrel story is not about a logo. It’s not at all about a logo, it is about a country, it is our heritage, and it is a culture. It’s about a power structure built to tell us that we are somehow backwards, embarrassing or bigoted,” Starbuck said. “A conservative can’t give their money to Cracker Barrel. A Christian cannot give their money to Cracker Barrel, and so we won’t,” he added. As Starbuck sees it, the Cracker Barrel debacle is a win-win for conservatives, saying that the company will either have to double down and lose customers or revert back to its 1977 logo to retain its customer base. Fox News Digital’s Brian Flood and Nikolas Lanum contributed to this report. Cracker Barrel did not respond Fox News Digital’s request for comment in time for publication.
Gianno Caldwell mulls Senate bid as Chicagoans are ‘begging for change’ on crime woes
Republican public safety advocate Gianno Caldwell is mulling a bid for the open Illinois Senate seat in 2026 amid growing conversations about crime in America’s cities. Earlier this month, Caldwell was the keynote speaker at the Illinois Republican Party’s Republican Day event at the state fair, where he touted his record on law and order. Caldwell’s brother, Christian, was killed in 2022 in a Chicago drive-by shooting at the age of 18. “I’ve been about this fight for many years, public service. I’ve worked in every level of government that you can imagine, and certainly I think there’s time for a law-and-order U.S. Senate candidate to come to the forefront in Illinois,” said Caldwell, a Fox News contributor and founder of the Caldwell Institute for Public Safety. CHICAGO BRACES FOR DEADLY JULY 4 WEEKEND AS FOX NEWS ANALYST TAKES ACTION IN BROTHER’S UNSOLVED MURDER “My brother’s legacy has become my mission and to save lives,” Caldwell said. “And if that’s something that I can continue in a U.S. Senate seat, that’s worth considering for the many lives that have been lost and the legacies that need to be furthered in the state of Illinois and my home city of Chicago.” Caldwell’s hometown of Chicago is getting renewed attention as President Donald Trump wants to take National Guard and federal agent deployment to lower crime nationwide after the takeover of policing in Washington, D.C. Both cities have dealt with violent crime woes, which have led to teens and children dying in numerous tragic cases. TRUMP HINTS AT FEDERAL CRACKDOWN IN CHICAGO AMID ANTI-CRIME PUSH IN DC “My brother’s murder was something that I thought needed to have a conversation to address what has been going on in Chicago,” Caldwell said. “So, this impacted me in a very deep and personal way. And when I think about what President Trump is doing by saying, ‘Look, we’re doing this in D.C. already. We want to take this to other places around the country. I applaud him. Why? Because people have been begging for change in the City of Chicago.” Caldwell spoke even as a backlash has grown from Democrats who have said that the heavy law enforcement presence in the nation’s capital is over the top. “American soldiers and airmen policing American citizens on American soil is #UnAmerican,” Mayor Muriel Bowser posted to X last week. RAHM EMANUEL ON POTENTIAL 2028 WHITE HOUSE RUN: ‘I HAVE SOMETHING I THINK I CAN OFFER’ Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is retiring in 2026, busting the race wide open on both sides of the aisle. “The decision of whether to run for re-election has not been easy. I truly love the job of being a United States senator. But, in my heart, I know it’s time to pass the torch. So, I am announcing today that I will not be seeking re-election at the end of my term,” Durbin, 80, said in an April video.
Pro-Mamdani super PAC takes hefty check from ultra-wealthy donor despite saying billionaires shouldn’t exist
The heiress to the fortune of a billionaire hedge fund manager has made a substantial donation to a super PAC aligned with socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, a candidate who has said he does not believe billionaires should exist. In what amounts to the largest contribution received this cycle, the Mamdani-aligned New Yorkers for Lower Costs PAC recently received $250,000 from philanthropist Elizabeth Simons, New York Post reported. Simons is the daughter of Jamie Simons, the late billionaire hedge fund manager who founded the extremely successful hedge fund Renaissance Technologies, built up a personal fortune worth $31.4 billion over the course of his lifetime and used billions of that money for charity. “I don’t think that we should have billionaires because, frankly, it is so much money in a moment of such inequality, and ultimately, what we need more of is equality across our city and across our state and across our country,” Mamdani told NBC News in June. MEET MAMDANI’S RADICAL ADVISORY CIRCLE THAT INCLUDES COMMUNIST ACTIVIST, ANTI-ISRAEL ADVOCATES News of Mamdani’s billionaire support prompted criticism on social media, including from Mamdani’s opponent, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “Congrats to you, @ZohranKMamdani for completing the holy trinity of hypocrisy: Eat the rich → Cash their PAC checks,” Cuomo posted on X. “Freeze the rent → Rich guy in affordable housing you don’t need. Defund the police → Armed guards worldwide… from the campaign trail to Uganda. You are what you pretend to fight.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Mamdani campaign and New Yorkers for Lower Costs PAC, which operates independently of the campaign, asking if the funds would be returned or denounced but did not receive a response from either party. MEET THE FORMER SOROS FOUNDATION EXEC CONNECTING OBAMA WORLD WITH MAMDANI CAMPAIGN Railing against billionaires has been a common occurrence over the course of Mamdani’s campaign as he has attempted to position himself as a candidate who champions affordability and cost of living for New York City’s working class. “We’re reaching New Yorkers who’ve been ignored by establishment politicians and crushed by the billionaire class,” Mamdani posted on X in March. “Our grassroots momentum will carry us over the finish line in June.” Mamdani has also criticized Cuomo for taking money from billionaires, posting on X in June, “We live in the most expensive city in the United States. Cuomo’s billionaire donors want it that way. But we have an agenda to make life affordable.”
‘It’s really an invasion’: Protesters slam Trump’s DC police takeover as crime tumbles
Protesters continue to blast the Trump administration’s takeover of policing in Washington, DC, likening it to an “invasion” even as crime plummets. Demonstrators, who did not appear to be part of a specific organization, on a pedestrian bridge on the I-95 in Virginia near the city this week, said that “our systems are being assaulted.” “What the problem is, is that these are the National Guard are like my friends’ sons and daughters,” one woman told Fox News Digital. “It’s their time away from their family. The money being wasted to make a point is really sort of disgraceful and un-American because they’re sending them against actual Americans with weapons. And it’s really an invasion. And we’re not Russia, we’re the United States of freaking America.” TRUMP VOWED DC TAKEOVER MULTIPLE TIMES ON 2024 CAMPAIGN TRAIL: ‘HE’S KEEPING HIS PROMISE’ The DC Police Union says crime has taken a tumble in since the takeover was announced by President Donald Trump earlier this month. On Thursday, it was noted that there were no reported homicides in the city in the past week. In addition to the National Guard, numerous federal agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI, are on patrol in the capital city. Attorney General Pam Bondi signed an order that prompts local officers to comply with federal immigration authorities in a strong rebuke to the city’s own sanctuary policies. PROTESTERS CONFRONT OFFICERS PATROLLING DC STREETS AFTER TRUMP POLICING TAKEOVER “719 arrests and 91 illegal guns seized in Washington, DC Just yesterday we made 40 arrests, took 5 more illegal firearms off our streets, and had 36 ICE arrests—including a suspected MS-13 gang member. Thank you [President Trump] for your unwavering support to make DC safe again!” Bondi posted to X on Friday morning. Trump has threatened to take the takeover a step further in a Truth Social post on Friday. “Washington, D.C. is SAFE AGAIN! The crowds are coming back, the spirit is high, and our D.C. National Guard and Police are doing a fantastic job. They are out in force, and are NOT PLAYING GAMES!!!” he wrote. “As bad as it sounds to say, there were no murders this week for the first time in memory. Mayor Muriel Bowser must immediately stop giving false and highly inaccurate crime figures, or bad things will happen, including a complete and total Federal takeover of the City! Washington D.C. will soon be great again!!!” the president added. BLUE CITIES IN TRUMP’S CROSSHAIRS AFTER DC POLICE TAKEOVER Another protester noted that he is glad to see that crime has dropped in the city, but said declaring the crime issue in Washington D.C. was not necessary. “I really do believe that we are edging into an area where we are not following the law, where we’re not doing the things that we need to be doing in order to serve the people,” he said. “I’m very happy that crime’s down, and it doesn’t surprise me at all if you’re going to have troops and a lot of people having law enforcement on the streets,” he said. “The problem with this is that we are making an emergency out of something that wasn’t an emergency.”
The history of how Trump and Bolton’s relationship fell to tatters
Former National Security Advisor John Bolton, who served under President Donald Trump’s first administration, was the subject of FBI raids at his home and office Friday morning as federal authorities searched for classified documents. The raids follow a storied history between Trump and Bolton that has devolved into the pair trading repeated political blows on the public stage. News broke early Friday morning that FBI agents flocked around Bolton’s Maryland home and were seen carrying out boxes, which was followed hours later by the FBI raiding Bolton’s Washington, D.C., office. “I’m not a fan of John Bolton,” Trump told reporters on Friday morning after the raids began, adding he saw the reports but was not aware of details on the raid ahead of time. “He’s a real sort of a lowlife.” JOHN BOLTON BLASTED BY TRUMP ALLY ROGER STONE, WHO FACED BIDEN FBI RAID: ‘KARMA IS A B—-‘ “He’s a very quiet person, except on television, if he can say something bad about Trump,” Trump added. “He’s not a smart guy, but he could be a very unpatriotic guy. We’re going to find out.” The remarks echo years of past comments the pair have shared in public forums airing their dissatisfactions with one another, most notably after Trump tapped Bolton to serve as his national security advisor in 2018. Fox News Digital took a look back at the pair’s relationship since Trump’s mad dash to fill his first administration in 2017, through his ouster of Bolton as the national security advisor and the ongoing clashes the pair have shared since. TRUMP–BOLTON FEUD BACK IN FOCUS AFTER FBI RAID: ‘NEVER HAD A CLUE … WHAT A DOPE!’ “I like (Bolton),” Trump said in 2015 while appearing on “Meet the Press” just weeks after announcing his candidacy for the White House. “I think he’s, you know, a tough cookie, knows what he’s talking about.” Bolton was first speculated as a likely pick to serve as Trump’s secretary of state in December 2016, when Trump was preparing for his first inauguration after his upset victory over Hillary Clinton in the election that year. Pundits touted Bolton as an experienced foreign policy hawk who could bolster Trump’s diplomatic agenda, and conservative outlets such as the National Review’s editorial board implored the Trump transition team to choose Bolton, identifying him as a “hard-headed realist whose focus is always the national interest.” JAMES COMER PRAISES KASH PATEL FOR ‘HOLDING DEEP STATE ACCOUNTABLE’ AS FBI RAIDS JOHN BOLTON’S HOME Trump, however, ultimately tapped Rex Tillerson to serve as secretary of state. Bolton showered Trump with praise of his own ahead of his confirmation as national security advisor in 2018, calling the president “a terrific guy” who “knows a lot” when the administration kicked off in 2017. The warm relationship got cozier when Trump announced in 2018 on X that he called on Bolton to serve as his national security advisor “I am pleased to announce that, effective 4/9/18, @AmbJohnBolton will be my new National Security Advisor. I am very thankful for the service of General H.R. McMaster who has done an outstanding job & will always remain my friend. There will be an official contact handover on 4/9.” “I didn’t really expect that announcement this afternoon,” Bolton said on Fox News shortly after the announcement. “But it’s obviously a great honor and always an honor to serve our country.” The pair found common ground on issues such as withdrawing the U.S. from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, otherwise known as the Iran nuclear deal, which was an Obama-era agreement with other world powers to limit Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Trump ultimately pulled the U.S. out of the agreement in 2018, slamming it as a “horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made,” and was backed by his hawkish group of foreign policy advisors, such as Bolton and then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Bolton’s relationship with Trump began to sour as he advanced hard-line strategies toward U.S. adversaries, including Iran and North Korea. He had long advocated regime change in Tehran, though he later clarified in his role as national security advisor that American policy was “not regime change,” but rather a push for “massive change in the regime’s behavior.” Trump, by contrast, initially favored a more diplomatic path, urging that flaws he saw in the Iran nuclear deal be renegotiated before ultimately deciding to withdraw from the agreement altogether. BOLTON TWEET DURING RAID SHOWS FOCUS WAS ELSEWHERE AS FBI SEARCHED HIS HOUSE “John Bolton is absolutely a hawk. If it was up to him, he’d take on the whole world at one time, okay?” Trump said of Bolton in June 2019, underscoring the bubbling tensions between the two on foreign policy. In April 2018, Bolton suggested North Korea follow Libya’s example of denuclearization, which he called the “Libya model,” and included the country giving up its nuclear weapons in 2003 in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Bolton’s comments about such a model for North Korea set off condemnation in Pyongyang as they raised concerns this would lead to potential regime change. Trump cited the comment following Bolton’s abrupt exit from the White House in September 2019. “We were set back very badly when John Bolton talked about the Libyan model … what a disaster,” Trump told reporters at the time. Days ahead of Bolton’s ouster, Trump was slated to meet with Taliban leaders in an effort to negotiate peace in Afghanistan, but the meeting never took place and Bolton reportedly slammed such an effort in conversations with Trump, media outlets reported at the time. Bolton was ousted from his role as national security advisor Sept. 10, 2019, with Trump characterizing the departure as a firing, and Bolton saying he tendered his resignation and was not fired. JOHN BOLTON’S HOME RAIDED BY FEDERAL AGENTS, SOURCES SAY “I informed John Bolton last night that his services are no longer needed at the White House,” Trump tweeted in 2019. “I disagreed strongly with many of
Trump navigates ongoing Russia, Ukraine negotiations during 31st week in office
President Donald Trump kicked off the week meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other European leaders at the White House — just days after Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska — and said he has roughly two weeks to determine how the U.S. will proceed in the ongoing negotiations. A primary focus of the meetings was discussing various security measures to prevent Russian aggression against Ukraine again, after the Trump administration reported that Putin was on board with permitting the U.S. and its European allies to provide additional protection for Ukraine, akin to protections included in NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense clause. However, Trump said Tuesday that sending U.S. troops to Ukraine to bolster security in the region was off the table. RUSSIANS MADE CONCESSIONS ‘ALMOST IMMEDIATELY,’ TRUMP ENVOY SAYS OF PUTIN SUMMIT Meanwhile, Trump told reporters Friday that he’ll have a better sense of whether a deal that ends the conflict is feasible and what kind of actions the U.S. should take moving forward on negotiations in the coming weeks. “We’ll see what happens. I think over the next two weeks, we’re going to find out which way it’s going to go,” Trump told reporters Friday. “It’s going to be a very important decision,” Trump said. “And that’s whether or not it’s massive sanctions or massive tariffs, or both. Or do we do nothing and say, ‘It’s your fight?’” Here’s what also happened this week: Trump also joined law enforcement and National Guard troops in Washington Thursday evening amid his administration’s federal takeover of the city and efforts to crackdown on crime. “We’ve had some incredible results and results have come out and it’s like a different place,” Trump told the police and National Guard troops Thursday. “It’s like a different city.” Vice President JD Vance visited National Guard troops in Washington’s Union Station Wednesday. TRUMP JOINS POLICE AND MILITARY FORCES IN WASHINGTON STREETS “We are seeing really substantial effects because these guys are busting their a–,” Vance said Wednesday. “Right here in Union Station, you have vagrants, you have drug addicts, you have the chronically homeless, you have the mentally ill who harass, who threatened violence, who attacked families,” Vance said. “And they’ve done it for far too long. This should be a monument to American greatness.” Trump initially mobilized 800 D.C. National Guard troops as part of his effort to reduce crime in Washington on Aug. 11. Since then, National Guard troops from Ohio, West Virginia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee also have been tapped to support the Trump administration’s effort. Trump also unveiled plans with FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the Oval Office Friday to hold the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center Dec. 5. During the event, FIFA will divyy up all the teams into 12 different groups. TRUMP ANNOUNCES KENNEDY AS FIFA WORLD CUP DRAW VENUE “On Dec. 5 of this year, the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw will take place at the Kennedy Center. Some people refer to it as the Trump-Kennedy Center, but we’re not prepared to do that quite yet – maybe in a week or so,” Trump said. “But right here in Washington, D.C., it’s a tremendous honor to bring the global event and this incredible group of people and these unbelievable athletes — the best athletes in the world — to the cultural center of our nation’s capital,” Trump said.
DHS reveals illegal migrants convicted of child molestation, rape arrested in DC under Trump crime crackdown
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed a few of the convicted, violent criminals arrested in Washington D.C. as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital. DHS shared the arrests of five individuals caught in D.C. with Fox News Digital, which include illegal immigrants convicted of rape, child molestation, assault, and robbery with a deadly weapon. “Secretary Noem unleashed the U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) to target the worst of the worst—including gang members, murderers, pedophiles, terrorists, and rapists,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, DHS has arrested more than 359,000 illegal aliens and removed more than 332,000.” DOJ INVESTIGATING POSSIBLE DC CRIME DATA MANIPULATION AMID TRUMP’S CRACKDOWN ON VIOLENCE David Pineda-Medrano, an illegal migrant from Guatemala, was previously convicted of attempted first-degree child sexual abuse and sexual abuse of a minor and assault causing bodily injury. Junior Alexi Medina-Fuentes, an illegal migrant from Honduras, was previously convicted of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon in Texas. Ja Mi, an illegal migrant from Thailand, was previously convicted of second-degree forcible rape in North Carolina. DC HAS MURDER-FREE WEEK AS AG BONDI TOUTS 77 MORE ARRESTS IN FEDERAL TAKEOVER Jorge Andres Garcia-Celis, an illegal migrant from Mexico, was previously convicted of molestation of a minor in California. Leonardo Varela-Lopez, a criminal illegal migrant from Mexico, was previously convicted of assault and three counts of driving under the influence in Utah. The quintet of illegal migrants from various countries are just a few of the criminals that ICE and DHS have rounded up in D.C. as President Trump continues his push to crack down on crime in Washington. TRUMP ADMIN BANS HOMELESS CAMPS IN DC PARKS AMID CRIME CRACKDOWN “The facts are ICE is targeting the worst of the worst—including murderers, MS-13 gang members, pedophiles, and rapists. 70% of ICE arrests are of criminal illegal aliens who have been convicted or have pending charges in the U.S.—that doesn’t even include known or suspected terrorists, foreign gang members, convictions for violent crimes in foreign countries, or INTERPOL notices,” McLaughlin told Fox. Trump declared a crime emergency on August 11th following several incidents of violent crime in DC, including the beating of ex-Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) staffer Edward Coristine, nicknamed “Big Balls.” President Trump also implied that Chicago, Illinois, could be the next stop on his crime-tackling tour, telling reporters in the Oval Office Friday that “we’re going to make our cities very, very safe,” the president said. “Chicago’s a mess.”
Former NYC councilmember blasts Mamdani, says race for mayor ‘is not even close to over’
The former Republican leader of the New York City Council explained how Zohran Mamdani could lose the race for mayor, and that the frontrunner candidate “can’t do much of what he’s promising” even if elected. Joe Borelli, who served more than nine years as a councilman, sat down with Fox News Digital to discuss the standings of the race as sitting mayor Eric Adams, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa all linger in the field against Mamdani and his openly socialist agenda. “The race is not even close to over,” Borelli told Fox. “We’ll see the first set of polls after Labor Day, sometime around September 10th, September 11th, and that’s when you’ll really see the race take shape. MEET MAMDANI’S RADICAL ADVISORY CIRCLE THAT INCLUDES COMMUNIST ACTIVIST, ANTI-ISRAEL ADVOCATES “That’s when I do think there’ll be some pressure for perhaps one or two of the candidates to step aside and support the others,” Borelli added. Cuomo, who lost in the Democratic primary upset defeat to Mamdani in June, was reportedly “counting on” President Trump to push GOP voters in New York City to support the former governor. Cuomo’s campaign denied the rumors to Fox News Digital earlier this week. Borelli noted that President Donald Trump convincing Sliwa and Adams to drop out of the race could be beneficial for Cuomo, but that an official endorsement may do more harm than good. “Trump could help Cuomo by helping the other two non-Mamdani candidates get out of the race, and that would be impactful,” Borelli told Fox. “Unfortunately, though, even as a Trump supporter, I’d have to admit that the president is not particularly popular amongst the voting block of New Yorkers.” MAMDANI SIDESTEPS ‘COMMUNISM’ QUESTION, SAYS HIS CAMPAIGN IS ABOUT ‘DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH’ As for Mamdani’s agenda, the socialist has made lofty campaign promises, saying he wants New York City to provide free childcare, free bus transportation, city-owned grocery stores, and freeze rent prices. Borelli’s near-decade spent on the city council leads him to believe that many of these promises simply aren’t possible. “Mamdani can’t do much of what he’s promising unilaterally,” Borelli told Fox. “The MTA is not running in the black right now, it’s running significantly in the red. NYC VOTERS FLOCK TO SOCIALIST-STYLE FREEBIES AS MAMDANI PUSHES RENT FREEZES, CITY-RUN STORES “[The MTA] always needs more money, so it would be unclear how he could sell the entire MTA board on a program to make buses free when that would cost upwards of one, two, maybe three billion dollars.” As for Mamdani’s plan to open a city-run grocery store in each of the five boroughs of NYC, sitting New York governor Kathy Hochul pushed back at the idea at an event in the Hamptons over the weekend. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “I favor free enterprise,” Hochul, who is not running for mayor, told the crowd while referencing Mamdani’s vision for grocery stores in the city. As the remaining candidates continue to battle while Mamdani leads the pack, the stage is set for an eventful November mayoral election. Fox News Digital reached out to Zohran Mamdani’s campaign but did not receive a response.