Trump team dismisses reports he will discharge trans in military: ‘No decisions on this issue have been made’
As President-Elect Donald Trump prepares to assume office in January, his administration has reportedly indicated plans to implement certain policy changes that would affect transgender individuals across various sectors. But Trump’s campaign spokesperson and to-be White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said Wednesday “no decisions on this issue have been made,” when asked if Trump would discharge transgender military personnel after international reports this week claimed that he would. “These unnamed sources are speculating and have no idea what they are actually talking about. No policy should ever be deemed official unless it comes directly from President Trump or his authorized spokespeople,” Leavitt told Fox News Digital in a statement. SJSU TRANSGENDER VOLLEYBALL SCANDAL: TIMELINE OF ALLEGATIONS, POLITICAL IMPACT AND A RAGING CULTURE MOVEMENT SPARTA Pride, a nonprofit organization advocating for transgender military personnel, told Military.com this week there are approximately 15,000 transgender personnel stationed around the world, including in combat zones. During Trump’s first term, he announced via Twitter in July 2017 that the U.S. would no longer allow transgender individuals to serve “in any capacity.” Previously, the Obama administration allowed transgender individuals to serve openly in the military and get taxpayer-funded gender-affirming treatments while serving. Trump cited “tremendous medical costs and disruption” after announcing the roll back of the policy. After legal challenges, a revised policy was implemented in 2018 that only prohibited individuals diagnosed with gender dysphoria from serving, unless they had not undergone a sex change and were “stable in their biological sex.” In January 2019, as legal challenges mounted, the Supreme Court allowed the ban to stand. By the time President Joe Biden took office, he reversed the Trump-era restrictions. DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER RANTS ABOUT ‘THE WHITE MAN’ DURING HEARING ON THE DISMANTLE DEI ACT Throughout Trump’s presidential campaign this election cycle, he also indicated certain changes would be made to so-called gender-affirming care for minors, too. In a video posted to Truth Social in February 2023, Trump said his plan “to stop the chemical, physical and emotional mutilation of our youth” would involve issuing an executive order directing all federal agencies to halt any programs that support or promote sex changes at any age. “I will then ask Congress to permanently stop federal taxpayer dollars from being used to promote or pay for these procedures and pass a law prohibiting child sexual mutilation in all 50 states,” Trump said in the video. CALIFORNIA SCHOOL OFFICIAL COMPARED ‘SAVE GIRLS SPORTS’ SHIRT TO SWASTIKA, REBUKED GIRLS WEARING IT: LAWSUIT Trump’s stance on transgender issues also became front and center on the last leg of his campaign when his team aired an ad targeting biological males in womens’ sports. The ad focused on men in women’s sports and Vice President Kamala Harris’ track record of ushering in sex change procedures for incarcerated people in California. “Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you,” the narrator of Trump’s campaign ad said. Experts say the TV spot had a substantial influence on swing voters.
Political betting markets still have plenty of action despite end of election season
The end of the election season does not mean the end of political betting, with many platforms allowing users to place wagers on everything from the 2028 election to who will be confirmed to President-elect Donald Trump’s Cabinet. “Some people will be amazed by this, but people are already betting on 2026 and 2028,” Maxim Lott, the founder of ElectionBettingOdds.com, told Fox News Digital. “There’s been about a quarter million dollars bet already.” The comments come after the 2024 election produced plenty of betting action, with users across multiple platforms wagering over $2 billion on the outcome of the latest race. WHAT ARE ELECTION BETTING ODDS? EXPERT EXPLAINS WHY TRUMP IS CURRENT FAVORITE While mega sporting events, such as the Super Bowl and the recent Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight, gives gamblers plenty to wager on after the election, those looking for something political to bet on will still have plenty of options. One of the most popular topics is who will be the nominees for both major parties in 2028, with ElectionBettingOdds.com showing California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Vice President-elect JD Vance being the current leaders for Democrats and Republicans, respectively. Other names with a significant amount of attention for betters include Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for the Democratic nomination, while Vance is trailed by names like entrepreneur and future head of the new Department of Government Efficiency Vivek Ramaswamy and Donald Trump Jr. on the Republican side. “The big Democratic governors are favored to be the next nominee,” Lott said, noting that Vance currently holds a sizable lead over other options on the GOP side. TRUMP OPENS UP LARGEST BETTING LEAD SINCE DAYS AFTER BIDEN’S DROPOUT Vance is also the current betting leader on who will win the 2028 presidential election, ElectionBettingOdds.com shows, followed by Newson and Shapiro as the next two likely options. However, Lott warned it is still too early to tell what the future holds, noting that the markets will start to provide more clarity as more information becomes known over the next few years. “As the future becomes clearer… as we get closer to 2026, 2028, these odds will change,” Lott said. “So if the Trump administration is doing really well, the economy is booming, inflation is not out of control, wars are ending, Vance’s odds will certainly go up.” Bettors also are not limited to wagering on elections, with platforms such as Polymarket allowing users to place bets on Trump’s picks to serve in his Cabinet and whether they will be confirmed. Bettors can also place wagers on questions such as if they believe the war in Ukraine will end in Trump’s first 90 days or if there will be a cease-fire in Gaza in 2024. According to Lott, taking a look at the current betting odds for many scenarios can help inform you about what is going on in the world, even if you do not place bets yourself. “People often ask… is there any value to this… it’s just gambling. It’s silly,” Lott said. “But actually it’s very useful… if you want to know what’s going to happen in 2028 or if the Trump administration is going to be a success, you could read 100 news articles on it. Some will misinform you. Or, you can just go to the prediction markets and see… is Vance a 20% chance of becoming the next Republican nominee or is he a 90% chance? That tells you a lot.”
New Republican Governors chair, pointing to campaign battles ahead, touts ‘our policies are better’
FIRST ON FOX — Gov. Brian Kemp, the new chair of the Republican Governors Association, is aiming to build on the GOP momentum coming out of the 2024 elections as he looks ahead to the next gubernatorial showdowns. “We’ve had great successes,” the popular GOP governor of Georgia told Fox News Digital as he pointed to President-elect Trump’s 2024 victory as well as Republican gubernatorial, congressional and down-ballot triumphs this month. Republicans held onto their 27-23 gubernatorial advantage in the 2024 elections, thanks in part to the efforts of the RGA. HELPING TRUMP GET OFF TO A FAST START A KEY MISSION FOR REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS Looking ahead, New Jersey and Virginia are the only two states to hold gubernatorial elections next year, giving them outsized national attention and making them key barometers for the mood of Americans during the start of a new presidential term. A competitive GOP primary is underway in blue-state New Jersey, where Republicans hope to win a gubernatorial election for the first time in a dozen years. REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS SAY WITH TRUMP ELECTION, ‘WE’VE GOT A FRIEND IN THE WHITE HOUSE’ And in Virginia, the GOP is rallying around Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears as she aims to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin [Virginia governors can only serve one consecutive four-year term] and make history as the state’s first woman governor and the nation’s first Black female governor. “We’re ready to keep working as we move into what will be a tough cycle for us in Virginia, in New Jersey, and then having 36 races in 2026,” Kemp said last week in his first interview after being elected RGA chair at the group’s annual winter meeting, which was held this year at a waterfront resort in Marco Island, Florida. Kemp emphasized that “my goal is for us to continue to raise enough money to be competitive. The Democrats are outspending us because they have big check writers, but we have a lot of really dedicated donors. We’ll try to continue to build the tent, make sure that we have good candidates and win because our policies are better.” WHAT’S NEXT FOR THIS POPULAR GOP GOVERNOR AFTER HE LEAVES OFFICE Kemp said his own comfortable re-election in 2022 and Trump’s victory in battleground Georgia this month in the presidential election “gives us a lot of confidence, a lot of hope, but we also know that the ’26 midterm is going to be tough.” Kemp is term-limited and can’t seek another term in office in 2026. The contest to succeed him will be a top gubernatorial election in two years. “I’m going to be very engaged, you can rest assured, to making sure that my [successors] are Republican. I have a vested interest in doing that,” Kemp said. “We’ll be working with the Trump administration and a lot of other people to make sure that that’s happening not only in Georgia but in other states around the country, in places like Kansas, where we have a Democratic governor right now, in places like Arizona, where we have a really good shot at winning the governor’s races. So we’re going to be on offense.” Georgia will also have a high-profile Senate showdown as Republicans aim to defeat Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2026. Asked if he’ll be courted by national Republicans to take on Ossoff, Kemp responded, “Well, I may.” But he quickly pivoted, stressing that “my focus right now, being just elected the chairman of the Republican Governors Association, is on raising money for us to be competitive in 2025 and 2026. I’ve made the commitment to do that, and I’m going to fulfill that commitment. We’ll see what happens down the road with anything else.” Asked if he’s not ruling out a possible 2026 Senate bid or even a 2028 White House run, the governor said, “I try to keep all doors open in politics.”
Inside how podcasters moved the voting needle with young men ahead of Trump’s massive win
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – President-elect Trump turned to podcasts during the 2024 election cycle, rallying support particularly among young men who have trended to the right in recent years and helped deliver Trump’s massive victory. “I want to thank some people real quick,” UFC CEO Dana White declared from the election night podium following Trump’s win, thanking a list of podcasters who spoke with Trump on the campaign trail. “I want to thank the Nelk Boys, Aidan Ross, Theo Von, Boston, Bussin with the Boys, and last but not least, the mighty and powerful Joe Rogan.” Ahead of President Biden dropping out of the race, and before facing two assassination attempts and pouring hours of work into seven key battleground states and beyond, Trump joined the popular podcast “Full Send,” also known as the “Nelk Boys,” for an interview in March 2022. This interview marked his entrance into the podcast world while appealing to a voting bloc of young men. Trump discussed not only his policies and vision for the U.S., but his family and sports, and he allowed voters to take a peek into his life beyond politics. TRUMP SAYS MEDIA IS ‘VITAL’ TO MAKING AMERICA ‘GREAT AGAIN,’ VOWS TO WORK WITH ‘FREE, FAIR AND OPEN’ PRESS The Nelk Boys interview touched on Trump’s golf game, his favorite songs, such as “YMCA” and “Hold on I’m Coming,” to play on the campaign trail, as well as his thoughts on the Biden administration’s handling of COVID and Russia. “If you put up this whole interview, let’s see what happens when Instagram and Facebook and Twitter and all of them take it down,” Trump quipped during the podcast, only for the interview to later be pulled from YouTube, setting off a firestorm of condemnation from Trump. TRUMP VICTORY PROVES IMPORTANCE OF CANDID, LONGFORM PODCASTS AS PLATFORM SHOWED ‘HUMAN SIDE’ OF ONE CANDIDATE “Whatever happened to free speech in our Country? Incredibly, but not surprisingly, the Big Tech lunatics have taken down my interview with the very popular NELK Boys so that nobody can watch it or in any way listen to it,” the 45th president said in a statement released by his Save America PAC at the time. “In the 24 hours that it was up it set every record for them, by many times,” he continued. “Interestingly, on the show I told them this would happen because Big Tech and the Fake News Media fear the truth, they fear criticism about Biden, and above all, they don’t want to talk about the Rigged 2020 Presidential Election, all topics discussed.” Fast-forward to 2024, Trump again joined the Nelk Boys, and a bevy of other podcasts as he worked to rally support among young men, including joining Joe Rogan, who hosts the most popular podcast in the U.S. with 14.5 million followers on Spotify alone and endorsed Trump just a day ahead of the election. In August of this year, the Nelk Boys debuted Send the Vote on their podcast, which was a massive nonpartisan voter initiative aimed at youth, especially young men. “Making a post on Instagram or making a tweet, that’s cool,” Kyle Forgeard, one of the Nelk Boys, said in a promo video back in August, the Wall Street Journal reported. “But every single one of you guys needs to register to vote, and you need to make your voice heard. Don’t be f—ing lazy, get your ballot in the mail, do whatever you got to do, plan around it.” JOE ROGAN SAYS HARRIS SITDOWN WAS SCRAPPED AFTER CAMPAIGN TOLD HIM SHE ‘ONLY WANTED TO DO AN HOUR’ Armed with about a $20 million budget, Send the Vote placed ad buys targeting 1.1 million inactive, registered male voters between the ages of 18-34 to vote. The ads reached more than 35 million people, Fox News Digital learned, while countless others also saw the ads via the Nelk Boys’ social media accounts. SendTheVote.com saw more than 2 million visitors, while 210,000 first-time voters who saw the ads and subsequently voted, and 110,000 people who visited the site requested they be reminded to vote. TRUMP TALKS COCAINE, BIDEN AND HEALTH CARE IN INTERVIEW WITH COMEDIAN THEO VON Send the Vote reached more than 140 million people through influencers, nearly 1 million on streamed content, and nearly 7 million people through podcasts specifically, Fox Digital learned. Send the Vote ads were featured on other wildly popular podcasts, including on comedic shows KillTony, Theo Von, Tim Dillon, as well as the sports-oriented podcast “BS with Jake Paul,” as well as viral TikTok celebrity Hailey Welch’s “Talk Tuah” podcast. Send the Vote launched tailgate events during the Penn State vs. Wisconsin game in October, which appealed to young voters in two top battleground states. Volunteers knocked on frat house doors and held a voter registration concert in Atlanta with pro-Trump rapper Waka Flocka Flame. “Too many people in our country felt like their voice didn’t matter and that the barriers to making real change are too big to overcome. The goal of Send the Vote was to tear down those barriers and remind our audience that posting on social media does not count as a vote and they need to physically show up to vote. Sick of how much things cost? Go vote. Tired of unnecessary wars? Go vote – it’s not as difficult as they make it out to be.” – John Shahidi, co-founder of “Full Send” told Fox News Digital. Trump leaning into podcasts this election cycle, as opposed to traditional media interviews, paid off among Gen Z men and millennials. The Fox News Voter Survey published earlier this month found that men aged 18-44 supported Trump at 53% compared to Vice President Kamala Harris’ 45%. TRUMP APPEARED ON JOE ROGAN’S PODCAST FOR NEARLY THREE HOURS: HERE ARE THE TOP MOMENTS In addition to the Nelk Boys, and other podcasters who highlighted Trump, Rogan’s endorsement of the 45th president was viewed as a massive success. The former and upcoming president had joined
Texas could bus migrants to directly to ICE for deportation instead of sanctuary cities under proposed plan
Texas could implement a plan to bus migrants directly to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in an effort to get them processed for deportation, according to media reports. The move would be a departure from the state’s program, part of Operation Lone Star, that has bussed thousands of migrants to sanctuary cities, a source told the New York Post. It has yet to be approved by Gov. Greg Abbott. Fox News Digital has reached out to Abbott’s office. “We are always going to be involved in border security so long as we’re a border state,” a Texas government source told the newspaper. “We spent a lot of taxpayer money to have the level of deterrent that we have on the border, and we can’t just walk away.” TRUMP SAYS MEXICO WILL STOP FLOW OF MIGRANTS AFTER SPEAKING WITH MEXICAN PRESIDENT FOLLOWING TARIFF THREATS Abbott has been especially aggressive in combating illegal immigration, bussing migrants to blue cities in an effort to bring attention to the border crisis. Under the proposed plan, buses chartered by Texas from border cities will be taken to federal detention centers to help ICE agents process migrants quickly, the Post reported. Texas has been in a legal fight with the Biden administration over its efforts to curb illegal immigration. On Wednesday, an appeals court ruled that the state has the right to build a razor wire border wall to deter migrants. Officials have also offered land to the incoming Trump administration to build deportation centers to hold illegal immigrant criminals. LIBERAL NANTUCKET REELS FROM MIGRANT CRIME WAVE AS BIDEN SPENDS THANKSGIVING IN RICH FRIEND’S MANSION “My office has identified several of our properties and is standing by ready to make this happen on Day One of the Trump presidency,” Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said during a visit to the border Tuesday. Authorities have also warned of unaccompanied migrant children being caught near the border. On Thursday, a 10-year-old boy from El Salvador told state troopers in Maverick County, Texas, that he had been lost and left behind by a human smuggler. The boy was holding a cellphone and crying, Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Chris Olivarez posted on X. The child said his parents were in the U.S. APPEALS COURT RULES TEXAS HAS RIGHT TO BUILD RAZOR WIRE BORDER WALL TO DETER ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: ‘HUGE WIN’ On Sunday, troopers encountered an unaccompanied 2-year-old girl from El Salvador holding a piece of paper with a phone number and her name. She told authorities that her parents were also in the U.S. That morning, state troopers also encountered a group of 211 illegal immigrants in Maverick County. Among the group were 60 unaccompanied children, ages 2 to 17, and six special interest immigrants from Mali and Angola. “Regardless of political views, it is unacceptable for any child to be exposed to dangerous criminal trafficking networks,” Olivarez wrote at the time. “With a record number of unaccompanied children and hundreds of thousands missing, there is no one ensuring the safety & security of these children except for the men & women who are on the frontlines daily.” He noted that the “reality is that many children are exploited & trafficked, never to be heard from again.”
Biden thankful for smooth transition of power, urges Trump to ‘rethink’ tariffs on Canada and Mexico
President Biden on Thanksgiving said he was thankful that the transition of power to a second Trump administration has gone smoothly, while urging the incoming commander-in-chief to “rethink” threats to impose steep tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods. “I hope that [President-elect Trump] rethinks it. I think it’s a counterproductive thing to do,” Biden told reporters Thursday on the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts, where he was spending the holiday with family. “We’re surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Oceans and two allies — Mexico and Canada. The last thing we need to do is begin to screw up those relationships. I think that we got them in a good place.” Earlier this week, Trump vowed to impose 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada in an effort to get both nations to do more to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and illicit drugs into the U.S. Trump spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo on Wednesday, and both apparently came to an understanding, he said. CHINA FREES US PASTOR AFTER NEARLY 20 YEARS OF WRONGFUL DETAINMENT “She has agreed to stop Migration through Mexico, and into the United States, effectively closing our Southern Border,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We also talked about what can be done to stop the massive drug inflow into the United States, and also, U.S. consumption of these drugs. It was a very productive conversation!” Trump also threatened to impose an additional 10% tariff on China. Biden said Chinese President Xi Jinping “doesn’t want to make a mistake.” “I am not saying he is our best buddy, but he understands what’s at stake,” he said. DONALD TRUMP CALLS ON THE NEW YORK TIMES TO APOLOGIZE FOR ‘GETTING YEARS OF TRUMP COVERAGE WRONG’ President Biden also said Thursday that illegal border crossings have been “down considerably” since Trump’s first term in office. Trump heavily campaigned on the border crisis that exploded after Biden took office. The president also said he was pleased with the cease-fire deal between Israel and Lebanon and that he was “very, very happy” about China releasing three Americans who were “wrongfully detained” for several years. Regarding the transition from his presidency to a second Trump administration, Biden said he wants the process to occur without any hiccups. “I want to make sure it goes smoothly. And all the talk about what he is going to do and not do, I think that maybe it is a little bit of internal reckoning on his part,” he said.
Connecticut House Democrats report being targeted by bomb threats on Thanksgiving
Four Connecticut House Democrats say their homes have been targeted by bomb threats on Thanksgiving Day. Each of the threats against Reps. Jim Himes, Jahana Hayes, Joe Courtney, and John Larson were determined to be unfounded and come after nearly a dozen of President-elect Trump’s Cabinet nominees and other appointees were targeted with similar warnings on Tuesday night. “This morning, I was notified of a bomb threat targeting my home where I was celebrating Thanksgiving with my family,” Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement. “Thankfully, after a swift and thorough response from the United States Capitol Police, the Greenwich Police Department, and the Stamford Police Department, no evidence of a bomb was found.” “There is no place for political violence in this country, and I hope that we may all continue through the holiday season with peace and civility,” he added. TRUMP CABINET NOMINEES, APPOINTEES TARGETED WITH ‘VIOLENT, UNAMERICAN THREATS’ Hayes said she was notified by the chief of the Wolcott Police Department shortly before 8 a.m. this morning “that they received a threatening email stating a pipe bomb had been placed in the mailbox at my home.” That department and Connecticut State Police then responded to her home and cleared the scene without finding any bomb or explosive materials, according to Hayes. “I thank law enforcement for their swift attention to this matter, their actions demonstrate there is no place in our country for political violence,” Hayes also said. A spokesperson for Courtney told Fox61 that there was “no evidence found of a bomb” at his property in Vernon. “Joe and Audrey extend their utmost gratitude to the law enforcement officers, whose response should signal to perpetrators that these types of threats will not be tolerated,” the spokesperson added. MAN CONVICTED FOR DOZENS OF THREATS AGAINST FORMER SPEAKER MCCARTHY OVER CHINESE BALLOONS Larson said in his own statement, “Early this morning, East Hartford Police came to my home in response to a bomb threat. “The police determined no bomb was present at the property and the Larson family is safe,” he added. The warnings that the Trump Cabinet nominees and other appointees faced “ranged from bomb threats to ‘swatting,’” according to Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman and incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Sources told Fox News Digital that John Ratcliffe, the nominee to be CIA director; Pete Hegseth, the nominee for secretary of defense; and Rep. Elise Stefanik, the nominee for UN ambassador, were among those targeted. Brooke Rollins, who Trump has tapped to be secretary of agriculture, and Lee Zeldin, Trump’s nominee to be EPA administrator, separately revealed they were also targeted. Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
Trump delivers Thanksgiving message to ‘Radical Left Lunatics’
President-elect Trump on Thursday wished a happy Thanksgiving to all Americans, including those he called “Radical Left Lunatics,” as he vowed to “Make America Great Again” when he takes office on Jan. 20, 2025. In the message posted on Trump’s Truth Social account, the president also had some choice words for those on the “radical left.” “Happy Thanksgiving to all, including to the Radical Left Lunatics who have worked so hard to destroy our Country, but who have miserably failed, and will always fail, because their ideas and policies are so hopelessly bad that the great people of our Nation just gave a landslide victory to those who want to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote. “Don’t worry, our Country will soon be respected, productive, fair, and strong, and you will be, more than ever before, proud to be an American!” Trump later posted a photo of him posing with law enforcement and wished all a happy Thanksgiving. TRUMP SAYS MEXICO WILL STOP FLOW OF MIGRANTS AFTER SPEAKING WITH MEXICAN PRESIDENT FOLLOWING TARIFF THREATS While it was unclear where the president-elect would be spending Thanksgiving this year, he spent his previous Thanksgiving holidays at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, which was commonly referred to as the “Winter White House” during Trump’s first term. Trump, who declared Mar-a-Lago his primary residence in 2019, has been working with his transition team to select members of his administration’s cabinet since defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. MARK ZUCKERBERG VISITS TRUMP AT MAR-A-LAGO, REPORTEDLY ‘WANTS TO SUPPORT THE NATIONAL RENEWAL’ Fox News Digital learned Wednesday that nearly a dozen of Trump’s Cabinet nominees and other appointees tapped for the incoming administration were targeted Tuesday night with “violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” prompting a “swift” law enforcement response. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Sources told Fox News Digital that John Ratcliffe, the nominee to be CIA director; Pete Hegseth, the nominee for secretary of defense; and Rep. Elise Stefanik, the nominee for UN ambassador, were among those targeted. Brooke Rollins, who Trump has tapped to be secretary of agriculture, and Lee Zeldin, Trump’s nominee to be EPA administrator, separately revealed they were also targeted. Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
Top 5 biggest political turkeys ripped by conservatives in 2024
As the 2024 election season comes to a close, several prominent figures in the media and Democratic Party found themselves on the short end of the stick with disappointing performances at the ballot box. Chuck Schumer & Nancy Pelosi Sen. Chuck Schumer’s Democratic Party lost the majority in the U.S. Senate in the November election, where Republicans now control the chamber “As I’ve said time and again, in both the majority and the minority, the only way to get things done in the Senate is through bipartisan legislation while maintaining our principles — and the next two years will be no different,” Schumer said in a statement following the November election. HARRIS DISAPPEARS FROM SPOTLIGHT, VACATIONS IN HAWAII AFTER ELECTION LOSS Despite Vice President Harris’ decisive loss to President-elect Donald Trump, the New York Democrat praised her for her “historic candidacy” that “inspired millions.” Both Schumer and House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi vigorously campaigned for the Biden and Harris tickets, and Pelosi was reportedly instrumental in pushing Biden off the ticket in favor of Harris, which ultimately was not successful. Following the election, Pelosi has faced intense scrutiny from Democrats and liberal media outlets for her role in pushing Biden out at the last minute. Pelosi has pointed the finger at Biden, arguing after the election that he should have dropped out sooner. “And as I say, Kamala may have, I think she would have done well in [a primary] and been stronger going forward. But we don’t know that. That didn’t happen. We live with what happened,” Pelosi told the New York Times. “And because the president endorsed Kamala Harris immediately, that really made it almost impossible to have a primary at that time. If it had been much earlier, it would have been different.” Axios reported in a piece headlined “Scoop: House Dems sick of Pelosi,” that while she “still instills fear in the members she led for two decades,” some Democrats are “clearly frustrated Pelosi isn’t fading into the sunset like she promised when she lost the gavel two years ago.” CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR? ANOTHER WHITE HOUSE RUN? KAMALA HARRIS UNSURE OF NEXT STEPS AFTER LOSING ELECTION: REPORT George & Alex Soros The Soros money machine that has propped up progressive lawmakers and district attorneys across the country suffered significant losses in blue California on election night as voters overwhelmingly rejected progressives on the issue of crime. California voters overwhelmingly voted in favor of Prop 36, which rolled back key provisions of Proposition 47 that was advertised by Democrats in the state as progressive crime reforms that would make the state safer. When Proposition 47 passed in 2014, it downgraded most thefts from felonies to misdemeanors if the amount stolen was under $950, “unless the defendant had prior convictions of murder, rape, certain sex offenses, or certain gun crimes.” Progressives suffered another major loss in the city of Los Angeles, where District Attorney George Gascón, who co-authored Prop 47 and was backed by Soros, was defeated by former federal prosecutor Nathan Hochman as crime was seen as a top issue of the election cycle. ADAM SCHIFF SAYS ‘ENTIRE DEMOCRATIC PARTY’ BEARS THE BLAME FOR HARRIS LOSS: ‘MYSELF INCLUDED’ In another loss for Soros-backed prosecutors in the Golden State, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price was recalled, less than two years after taking office, following backlash for her alleged soft-on-crime approach. Oakland Democrat Mayor Sheng Thao, who faced heat from her constituents amid rising crime, was also ousted from office after her recall effort passed with 65% of the vote. In San Francisco, where crime has been a major concern with voters, Democrat Mayor London Breed lost her re-election campaign. “I think that this is broader than just a message from people who care about crime,” Cully Stimson, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation and co-author of the book “Rogue Prosecutors: How Radical Soros Lawyers Are Destroying America’s Communities,” told Fox News Digital. “This is a massive mandate and cry for help from the general population that we want our state back. We want our counties back, and we want our cities back and that our failed social experiments have had enough time, and they’re an absolute, abysmal failure.” Soros’ son, Alex, who has taken over as the main face of the Soros empire, faced heat from conservatives on the campaign trail when he publicly huddled with VP candidate Tim Walz in his New York City penthouse. Celebrities endorsing Harris Harris’ presidential campaign was perhaps the most star-studded in modern political history, with high profile names like Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi, Usher, Beyoncé and many others hitting the campaign trail promoting her candidacy in person or in ads, which ultimately failed to move the needle with swing state voters. The Harris campaign, which shelled out more than $1 billion in a three-month spending spree, has faced scrutiny for spending millions of dollars on high-profile events with celebrities, including from the Chicago Tribune, whose editorial board wrote, “Having someone with a large following simply stand next to a candidate at a podium and say a few words, solo, is one thing; doing a whole livestreamed event with, say, Oprah Winfrey, is another.” “Better yet, rather than do such events, the Harris campaign would have been better advised to let its candidate answer questions from independent journalists and give her more of a chance to explain herself and lay out her plans for America’s future,” the editorial board wrote. “Celebrity osmosis did not work; voters wanted to hear more about what Harris would do for them.” Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, who won re-election in a state Trump won by more than 10 points, ripped his party this month for trotting out high-profile celebrity endorsements during the 2024 election cycle. DEMOCRATIC LEADER JEFFRIES REBUFFS ‘VIEW’ CO-HOST’S SUGGESTION ‘RACISM,’ ‘MISOGYNY’ COST HARRIS ELECTION “Like, no one cares what some of these – we like their movies, we like their music. Who they’re voting for? Eh, not so important,” the lawmaker told CNN anchor Kasie Hunt.
What is Evacuation Day? The forgotten holiday that predates Thanksgiving
When President Abraham Lincoln first proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday, little did he know he was spelling the beginning of the end to the prominence of the original patriotic celebration held during the last week of November: Evacuation Day. In November 1863, Lincoln issued an order thanking God for harvest blessings, and by the 1940s, Congress had declared the 11th month of the calendar year’s fourth Thursday to be Thanksgiving Day. That commemoration, though, combined with the gradual move toward détente with what is now the U.S.’ strongest ally – Great Britain – displaced the day Americans celebrated the last of the Redcoats fleeing their land. Following the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in 1776, New York City, just 99 miles to the northeast, remained a British stronghold until the end of the Revolutionary War. Captured Continentals were held aboard prison ships in New York Harbor and British political activity in the West was anchored in the Big Apple, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. GEORGE WASHINGTON’S SACRED TRADITION However, that all came crashing down on the crown after the Treaty of Paris was signed, and new “Americans” eagerly saw the British out of their hard-won home on Nov. 25, 1783. In their haste to flee the U.S., the British took time to grease flagpoles that still flew the Union Jack. One prominent post was at Bennett Park – on present-day West 183 Street near the northern tip of Manhattan. Undeterred, Sgt. John van Arsdale, a Revolution veteran, cobbled together cleats that allowed him to climb the slick pole and tear down the then-enemy flag. Van Arsdale replaced it with the Stars and Stripes – and without today’s skyscrapers in the way, the change of colors at the island’s highest point could be seen farther downtown. In the harbor, a final blast from a British warship aimed for Staten Island, but missed a crowd that had assembled to watch the 6,000-man military begin its journey back across the Atlantic to King George III. SYLVESTER STALLONE CALLS TRUMP ‘THE SECOND GEORGE WASHINGTON’ Later that day, future President George Washington and New York Gov. George Clinton – who had negotiated “evacuation” with England’s Canadian Gov. Sir Guy Carleton – led a military march down Broadway through throngs of revelers to what would today be the Wall Street financial district at the other end of Manhattan. Clinton hosted Washington for dinner and a “Farewell Toast” at nearby Fraunces’ Tavern, which houses a museum dedicated to the original U.S. holiday. Samuel Fraunces, who owned the watering hole, provided food and reportedly intelligence to the Continental Army. Washington convened at Fraunces’ just over a week later to announce his leave from the Army, surrounded by Clinton and other top Revolutionary figures like German-born Gen. Friedrich von Steuben – whom New York’s Oktoberfest-styled parade officially honors. “With a heart full of love and gratitude, I now take leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy, as your former ones have been glorious and honorable,” Washington said. Before Lincoln – and later Congress – normalized Thanksgiving as the mass family affair it has become, Evacuation Day was more prominent than both its successor and Independence Day, according to several sources, including Untapped New York. Nov. 25 was a school holiday in the 19th century and people re-created van Arsdale’s climb up the Bennett Park flagpole. Formal dinners were held at the Plaza Hotel and other upscale institutions for many years, according to the outlet. An official parade reminiscent of today’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade was held every year in New York until the 1910s. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP As diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom warmed heading into the 20th century and the U.S. alliance with London during the World Wars proved crucial, celebrating Evacuation Day became less and less prominent. Into the 2010s, however, commemorative flag-raisings have been sporadically held at Bowling Green, the southern endpoint of Broadway. On the original Evacuation Day, Washington’s dinner at Fraunces Tavern was preceded by the new U.S. Army marching down the iconic avenue to formally take back New York. Thirteen toasts – marking the number of United States – were raised at Fraunces, each one spelling out the new government’s hope for the new nation or giving thanks to those who helped it come to be. An aide to Washington wrote them down for posterity, and the Sons of the American Revolution recite them at an annual dinner, according to the tavern’s museum site. “To the United States of America,” the first toast went. The second honored King Louis XVI, whose French Army was crucial in America’s victory. “To the vindicators of the rights of mankind in every quarter of the globe,” read another. “May a close union of the states guard the temple they have erected to liberty.” The 13th offered a warning to any other country that might ever seek to invade the new U.S.: “May the remembrance of this day be a lesson to princes.”