WATCH: Former Dem ousted from party over ‘defund the police’ takes on Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg
EXCLUSIVE: After being ousted from the Democratic Party over a disagreement about the push to defund the police, Maud Maron, a former progressive turned conservative Republican, is running to unseat Alvin Bragg as Manhattan district attorney. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Maron, an attorney and mother of four, said that under Democratic rule, crime in New York City has spiraled out of control to the point that the city is facing a serious “public safety crisis.” She described a situation in which a criminal slashed police officers in the neck and face inside a Manhattan courthouse. In any other city, this occurrence would have been outrageous and unheard of, but Maron said that due to Democratic District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s policies, it is a familiar scene. According to Maron, after entering office in 2022, Bragg issued a day one memo in which he directed the assistant district attorneys in his office to simply not prosecute whole categories of crimes or “charge as low as possible and to seek as little jail time as possible.” “That’s a recipe for chaos, disorder, and violence in our streets, and that’s exactly what we’ve seen,” she said. BERNIE SANDERS, AOC-BACKED MAYORAL CANDIDATE PLANNING MASSIVE SPENDING INCREASES IN NYC In just the three years since Bragg took office, Maron said that the decline in New York City is palpable and can be experienced just walking in the streets or taking the subway. “If you’re going to commit a crime, best do it when Alvin Bragg is in office, because he will make sure you get the least amount of prosecution, the least amount of jail time, if jail time is in your future, the least amount of accountability,” she explained. “He is going to absolutely make sure that it’s the friendliest place for the people who break the law, which conversely makes it a very scary place for people who want to walk down the street or take the subways.” As a lifelong New Yorker, Maron said the change in the city is personal. “I’m a public school mom and I have four kids who have taken subways to school,” she said, adding that “over 300,000 New York City public school students take the subway by themselves as their commute to school.” BRAWL ERUPTS AT CONEY ISLAND BEACH AS NYC SIZZLES, MULTIPLE ARRESTED: NYPD “Our subways have gotten dirty, they’re now places where mentally ill people who can’t clean themselves are sleeping or doing worse things on the subways. And we’ve seen someone set on fire, we’ve seen people slashed and hurt,” she said. “I just don’t think it’s progressive to put children and tourists and workers and commuters through that kind of dangerous gauntlet on the subway. And it also just doesn’t help that mentally ill person who can’t clean themselves or restrain themselves. So, it’s not compassionate for me on any ground, in any way, to follow Alvin Bragg’s ideology,” she said. If elected, Maron said that she would issue a day-one memo of her own titled “The People’s Plan for Public Safety,” that would lay out “a clear, unapologetic commitment to law and order rooted in common sense, accountability, and community protection.” Maron said that she would restore the assistant district attorneys’ ability to charge and prosecute the crimes committed instead of downgrading charges. TRUMP FRONT-AND-CENTER AS NATION’S BIGGEST CITY HOLDS PRIMARY ELECTION FOR MAYOR “What we need to do is, first of all, rescind Alvin Bragg’s day one memo. We need to stop with the idea that there are categories of crime that the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office doesn’t prosecute,” she said. “The thinking behind Alvin Bragg’s day one memo is to keep the offenders out of jail as often as possible. But that doesn’t take into consideration the people who have been hurt and the people who need justice. And it certainly doesn’t take into consider future victims. If your whole goal is to keep people out of jails as much as possible, you’re setting up future victims to be hurt by those very people.” Though New York City is seen as a deeply blue city, Maron believes that between independents and moderates in both parties there is enough frustration with Bragg’s soft-on-crime policies to vote him out and flip the district red. “Everybody that I talk to is deeply unhappy with the public safety crisis in our city,” she explained, adding that in her estimation, “it’s a matter of convincing people to go out to vote.” Bragg’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment by the time of publication.
Louisiana mom warns ‘half of what we’re working for’ at risk if Trump’s budget bill fails
EXCLUSIVE: Toni McAllister is a prominent voice in Louisiana’s logging industry, but as she told Fox News Digital on Tuesday, she is also “a mom and a wife” from a middle-class family. She is one of four Americans from across the country invited by House GOP leaders to Capitol Hill to promote President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill.” It is a vast piece of legislation aimed at advancing Trump’s priorities on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt – which is taking Herculean political maneuvering to pass. On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and other leaders pivoted from promoting it themselves, instead inviting their four guests to talk about their support for the bill, and what is at stake if it does not pass by the end of this year. 148 DEMOCRATS BACK NONCITIZEN VOTING IN DC AS GOP RAISES ALARM ABOUT FOREIGN AGENTS “I believe that our tax rates in Louisiana for small businesses will jump up to around 43.4%. I mean, that’s literally half of what we’re working for. So what will we be working for to pay taxes?” McAllister told Fox News Digital. She is the executive director of the Louisiana Logger’s Association, a trade group representing loggers in the Bayou State. In addition to that, however, McAllister said she was concerned about a tax hike for her family if the bill is not passed. “I’m just a regular middle-class family. And in Louisiana, the average tax hike would be around $1,300. That’s a month of groceries. That’s anything extra that we can do with our kids. $1,300 is a lot of money,” she said. Projections released by the House GOP show that under the lower chamber’s version of the bill, an average family could see an additional $1,300 in tax relief, while a failure to pass it could lead to a $1,700 tax hike. Republicans are aiming to use the bill to extend Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, as well as implement a host of new policies like eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages. Retired Sheriff James Stuart said those latter measures, which Trump campaigned on in 2024, will be critical to law enforcement recruitment in Minnesota. “One of the most persistent struggles of agencies across the country is retention and recruitment. No tax on overtime will increase take-home pay for our peace offices, which will boost morale and ease burdens for them and their families,” Stuart, who is also executive director of the Minnesota Sheriff’s Association, told Fox News Digital. However, Paul Danos, the head of a family-owned offshore energy service company in Gray, Louisiana, told Fox News Digital that Republicans’ energy policies are also critical for his business. “If this bill doesn’t pass, then we find ourselves where we were in the last administration, with that lack of predictability around lease sales,” Danos said. “Those multibillion-dollar investments that are creating jobs, that are providing safe and affordable energy here in the US, are jeopardized. We start having to depend on other nations for our oil and gas.” That, he argued, would lead to higher prices for everyone. Sam Palmeter, who leads engineering at Laser Marking Technologies, one of the last two laser technology companies owned and operated in America, said he and others in Michigan were “tired of brain drain,” hoping Trump’s bill could reverse that and revitalize manufacturing in the region. “We won’t grow, and we won’t provide as many jobs in the industrial manufacturing and engineering space,” Palmeter said. “And that’s sad, because there’s nothing that makes me more proud than hiring a local kid…So he’s working 13 miles from home. He doesn’t have to leave his family and everything to exercise that degree.” REPUBLICANS CHALLENGE ‘IRRELEVANT’ BUDGET OFFICE AS IT CRITIQUES TRUMP’S ‘BEAUTIFUL BILL’ It is not yet clear if their arguments or others in favor of Trump’s bill will have any effect, however. The legislation has been met with Republican critics in the House and Senate, while GOP leaders have styled it as the best possible path forward for a conservative policy overhaul while they control Congress and the White House. While the dissent is coming from a relatively small number of Republicans, it could be enough to derail the legislation – both House and Senate GOP leaders are grappling with razor-thin margins of just a few votes. Trump recently ordered lawmakers to remain in Washington, D.C., until the bill is passed – despite a planned recess next week for the Fourth of July holiday. The bill passed the House by one vote last month, and a modified version is expected to get a Senate vote sometime this week. Both the House and Senate must pass identical products before they can be sent to Trump’s desk.
Dem rep to plead not guilty to federal charges for incident at Newark ICE facility
A New Jersey Congresswoman who was involved in a much-publicized altercation outside an immigration facility last month is expected to appear in court later today to face charges for allegedly obstructing Homeland Security agents. Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., is charged in a three-count indictment of forcibly impeding federal officers during the attempted arrest of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka at the Delaney Hall immigration facility on May 9. She says she will plead not guilty to the charges. McIver and two other members of Congress said they were conducting a congressional oversight visit that coincided with an immigration protest, when a clash ensued with federal agents. BLUE STATE ICE FACILITY RAMPS UP SECURITY WITH NEW BARRICADES AMID CLASHES WITH PROTESTERS According to a DOJ press release, Baraka was allowed into the facility’s secured area and then federal agents warned him to leave but he refused to do so. When officers tried to arrest Baraka, McIver allegedly blocked them, putting her arms around the mayor, and “slammed her forearm” into one officer while grabbing another and using both of her forearms to forcibly strike the second officer. Each of the first two counts carries a maximum eight-year prison sentence. The third carries up to one year. The charges are being brought be Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Alina Habba, who has represented President Donald Trump between his two presidencies. Habba previously said that McIver “assaulted, impeded, and interfered with law enforcement.” McIver denounced the charges earlier this month, likening them to previous attempts by the Trump administration to silence political opponents. DEM LAWMAKERS DEFEND ‘STORMING’ OF ICE FACILITY, SAY TRUMP ADMIN IS ‘LYING AT ALL LEVELS’ “The facts of this case will prove I was simply doing my job and will expose these proceedings for what they are: a brazen attempt at political intimidation,” McIver said in a statement. “This indictment is no more justified than the original charge and is an effort by Trump’s administration to dodge accountability for the chaos ICE caused and scare me out of doing the work I was elected to do,” she continued. “But it won’t work—I will not be intimidated. The facts are on our side, I will be entering a plea of not guilty, I’m grateful for the support of my community, and I look forward to my day in court.” Baraka was arrested but had a trespassing charge against him dismissed. Meanwhile, the Campaign for Accountability, a liberal watchdog group, filed an ethics complaint with the New Jersey Office of Attorney Ethics on Tuesday, accusing Habba of serious ethical misconduct related to her prosecution of McIver and the arrest of Baraka. The complaint alleges they were politically targeted in retaliation for participating in the protest and oversight visit because their policies conflict with those of the Trump administration. Fox News’ Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.
Acting Buffalo, NY mayor loses in Democratic primary
Acting Mayor Christopher Scanlon of Buffalo, N.Y., fell short in the city’s Democratic primary Tuesday night, losing the nomination to state Sen. Sean Ryan. Scanlon conceded the primary to Ryan, thanking his supporters and apologizing for “not getting it done for you tonight.” “It was a lot of work and the most humbling experience of my life to have the type of support that the campaign has had to this point,” Scanlon said. Ryan, who has the endorsement of the county Democratic Party, declared victory and pledged to unite the city. CUOMO CONCEDES IN NYC DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY FOR MAYOR, CONGRATULATES AOC-ENDORSED MAMDANI “I know we need to unite Buffalo, not just as Democrats, but as Buffalonians,” Ryan said. ALVIN BRAGG BLOWS OUT DEMOCRATIC CHALLENGER IN MANHATTAN DA PRIMARY Ryan told Buffalo Toronto Public Media that he was “so pleasantly surprised with the margin” of victory in the multi-candidate field. The Associated Press called the victory for Ryan, who had 46.5% of the vote. Scanlon fell short with 35.3% of the votes. Scanlon sought a full term after replacing Buffalo’s longest-serving mayor, Byron Brown, who resigned in October to head an off-track betting agency. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Alvin Bragg blows out Democratic challenger in Manhattan DA primary
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg defeated his moderate challenger to secure the Democratic nomination to serve another term in his post on Tuesday. Bragg, a noted legal adversary of President Donald Trump, defeated Patrick Timmins, who had run on a more moderate platform. Timmins had criticized Bragg for failing to prosecute certain crimes, and his campaign highlighted the case of a repeat offender making a targeted attack against two court officers. Bragg, who won Tuesday’s primary with over 70% of the vote, had secured a conviction against Trump prior to his re-election to the White House in November. Bragg’s office filed a legal brief calling on Justice Juan Merchan to put Trump’s conviction on ice until after his second term. “President-elect immunity does not exist. And even after the inauguration, defendant’s temporary immunity as the sitting President will still not justify the extreme remedy of discarding the jury’s unanimous guilty verdict and wiping out the already-completed phases of this criminal proceeding,” the Tuesday court filing from Bragg’s office states. PROSECUTORS REQUEST STAY IN TRUMP NY CASE UNTIL 2029 AS DEFENSE PLANS MOTION FOR DISMISSAL ‘ONCE AND FOR ALL’ Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the Manhattan case in May 2024. Bragg’s office worked to prove that Trump falsified business records to conceal a $130,000 payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election to quiet her claims of an alleged affair with Trump in 2006. BRAGG CASE ‘EFFECTIVELY OVER’ IN ‘MAJOR VICTORY,’ TRUMP OFFICIALS SAY Trump has maintained his innocence in the case and repeatedly railed against it as an example of lawfare promoted by Democrats in an effort to hurt his election efforts ahead of November. Bragg’s office acknowledged that Trump cannot be sentenced as president but argued Merchan has various options to keep the case on ice until 2029 and sentence Trump following his second presidential administration. “[N]o principle of immunity precludes further proceedings before defendant’s inauguration. And even if judgment has not been entered at the time of defendant’s inauguration, there is no legal barrier to deferring sentencing until after defendant’s term of office concludes,” the filing said. The DA’s office argued that a stay of proceedings in the case would exempt the former and upcoming president “from any immediate obligations in this case during his time in office, while at the same time respecting the public interest in upholding the rule of law and preserving the meaningful aspects of the criminal process that have already taken place.” The DA’s office had already called for a stay in the case following the election, with Tuesday’s filing doubling down on that argument. “To be sure, the People do not dispute that presidential immunity requires accommodation during a President’s time in office. But the extreme remedy of dismissing the indictment and vacating the jury verdict is not warranted in light of multiple alternative accommodations that would fully address the concerns raised by presidential immunity,” their filing said. Merchan ultimately sentenced Trump to an unconditional discharge, essentially imposing no punishment: no jail time, fines or probation. The sentence also preserves Trump’s ability to appeal the conviction. Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Russian official says Moscow has ‘no intention’ of supplying Iran with warheads, following Trump taunts
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that Moscow is not planning to supply Iran with nuclear warheads, after President Donald Trump mocked him for suggesting that other countries would step in and provide Iran with nuclear weapons after the U.S. strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities. Medvedev, now the deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, originally said Sunday that Iran would continue to advance its nuclear program and would receive assistance from other nations to do so. Although Medvedev did not specify any countries, he clarified later Monday that he was not talking about Russia. “I condemn the U.S. strike on Iran — it failed to achieve its objectives,” Medvedev said in a Monday post on X. “However, Russia has no intention of supplying nuclear weapons to Iran because, unlike Israel, we are parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.” TRUMP SLAMS RUSSIA’S CASUAL THREAT TO ARM IRAN WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS: ‘THAT’S WHY PUTIN’S THE BOSS’ “I know quite well what this would entail, having overseen our nuclear forces as president,” Medvedev said. “But other countries might — and that’s what was said.” Medvedev’s statement came after Trump called him out by name in a post on Truth Social following the Russian leader’s original Sunday remarks. “Did I hear Former President Medvedev, from Russia, casually throwing around the ‘N word’ (Nuclear!), and saying that he and other Countries would supply Nuclear Warheads to Iran? Did he really say that or, is it just a figment of my imagination? If he did say that, and, if confirmed, please let me know, IMMEDIATELY. The ‘N word’ should not be treated so casually. I guess that’s why Putin’s ‘THE BOSS,’” Trump said in a Monday Truth Social Post. Andrea Sticker, the deputy director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ nonproliferation and biodefense program, chalked up Medvedev’s initial statement as an attempt to brag and said it was unrealistic for any country to provide such assistance to Iran. “Medvedev’s original claim was likely bluster about Russia or another country supplying Iran with nuclear weapons,” Stricker said in a Monday email to Fox News Digital. “No country, including Pakistan or North Korea, would supply atomic devices to Tehran because they would be held accountable by the United States if Iran used the weapons. Moscow and Pyongyang, at least from available open-source information, appear to be standing mostly idle as their ally Iran takes a major beating.” RUSSIAN LEADER CLAIMS MULTIPLE COUNTRIES PREPPED TO PROVIDE IRAN NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOLLOWING US STRIKES The U.S. launched strikes late Saturday targeting key Iranian nuclear facilities, which involved more than 125 U.S. aircraft, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine told reporters Sunday. Trump announced early Tuesday that a ceasefire had gone into effect between Israel and Iran but scolded both countries hours later following accusations from both sides that the other had violated the agreement. ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT: LIVE UPDATES Trump told reporters both Israel and Iran failed to follow the terms of the agreement, which he said is still in effect. “I’m not happy with them. I’m not happy with Iran either but I’m really unhappy with Israel going out this morning,” Trump said at the White House Tuesday morning. “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f— they’re doing,” he said.
Top DOJ official faces test in Senate over nomination to become federal judge
Emil Bove will appear Wednesday before the Senate, where he is expected to face tough questions during a hearing about his controversial entrance into Justice Department leadership and former role as President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer. Trump nominated Bove, who fiercely defended the president during his criminal prosecutions, to serve in a lifetime role as a judge on the Pennsylvania-based Third Circuit Court of Appeals. Trump said Bove would “restore the Rule of Law,” a remark that came as sitting judges have drawn Trump’s ire for handing down dozens of orders blocking parts of his agenda. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who has worked closely with Bove for years, told Fox News Digital in a phone interview ahead of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing that Bove was a “freaking brilliant lawyer” and that his nomination to the appellate court was a “no-brainer.” Blanche described his colleague as the “most gentle, empathetic, great person that anybody could ever work with,” a characterization sharply at odds with some who have been in Bove’s crosshairs. Bove’s background In his early years, Bove was a high-achieving student, a division one athlete on his college lacrosse team and a Georgetown University law school graduate. He went on to clerk for two federal judges and worked for about a decade as federal prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, where he led high-profile terrorism and drug trafficking cases through 2019. TRUMP NOMINATES FORMER DEFENSE ATTORNEY EMIL BOVE FOR FEDERAL APPEALS COURT VACANCY Blanche brought Bove into his private practice, where they tag-teamed Trump’s prosecutions, including by appearing by the president’s side during his six-week hush money trial in Manhattan last year. At the end of it, Trump was convicted by a jury of 34 counts of falsifying business records, marking the lone case out of Trump’s four to lead to a conviction. ‘Superb’ legal writer Blanche said that behind the scenes, Bove was critical to their defense work and wrote the vast majority of their legal briefs. In letters to the Senate, a group of Republican state attorneys general said Bove was courageous for representing Trump “when few other attorneys would step up.” Attorney Gene Schaerr called Bove’s brief writing “superb.” One of Bove’s past law firms said he was “eminently qualified.” Nearly three dozen retired law enforcement officials praised Bove as a “trusted and respected partner,” saying he had a profound understanding of the Drug Enforcement Administration and was responsible for breaking apart transnational criminal networks. “His efforts have directly contributed to high-impact cases that have saved lives and protected vulnerable populations,” the retired officials wrote. Others heaped similar praise. Eric Adams debacle The rosy picture that Blanche and Bove’s supporters paint is drastically different from the one presented by a handful of DOJ officials who left the department because of Bove and defense lawyers who observed him in action during his time as a New York prosecutor. While Bove was serving as acting deputy attorney general ahead of Blanche’s confirmation in March, two top lawyers in the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office and five officials in the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section chose to abruptly leave their jobs instead of complying with Bove’s order to drop New York Mayor Eric Adams’s federal corruption charges. During the debacle, a judge dismissed the Democratic mayor’s charges with prejudice, instead of without prejudice as Bove had requested, meaning the Trump administration could not bring the case again. The judge’s decision came after the ousted lawyers blasted Bove for engaging in a dishonest quid pro quo with the mayor. The chain of events left some conservative legal analysts harshly questioning the wisdom of Bove’s actions, saying it undermined the DOJ’s work. Immigration whistleblower Trump’s mass deportation plan involved the unprecedented move of invoking a wartime law called the Alien Enemies Act. Bove indicated during an internal meeting in March that he anticipated judges would attempt to shut down the operation, according to attorney Erez Reuveni. Reuveni, a 15-year DOJ veteran who was fired after struggling to defend one of the Trump administration’s deportation during a Maryland court hearing, said in a whistleblower complaint published Tuesday that Bove shocked meeting attendees by telling them they would “need to consider telling the courts ‘f*** you’ and ignore any such court order.” TRUMP FACES JUDGE BOASBERG OVER MIGRANT DEPORTATION FLIGHTS DEFYING COURT ORDER Reuveni said Bove’s remarks were far afield of anything he had heard at DOJ during his tenure there and that court defiance and misleading judges were a hallmark of the department during some of the most controversial immigration cases that arose in March. DOJ attorneys have been admonished by judges for appearing to flout court orders, but they have, thus far, avoided being held in contempt of court and other sanctions. ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ Bove was known by some of his peers as a zealous prosecutor during his SDNY days, but defense lawyers were alarmed by his ruthlessness. Some viewed him as vicious, rude and power-hungry, according to interviews with attorneys and media reports. One longtime defense lawyer who crossed paths with Bove in New York told Fox News Digital the nominee was an arrogant “bully” and browbeat people. TRUMP SOUNDS OFF AFTER ‘HIGHLY CONFLICTED’ OBAMA-NOMINATED JUDGE ASSIGNED SIGNAL CHAT LAWSUIT: ‘DISGRACEFUL’ In 2018, a band of defense lawyers said in emails reported by the Associated Press that Bove needed “adult supervision” and could not “be bothered to treat lesser mortals with respect or empathy.” A retired New York City FBI agent told the Associated Press that Bove’s perceived turnabout on Jan. 6 riot cases was “almost like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” Bove showed no outward concerns while in New York when he helped with prosecuting the cases, the retired agent said. When Bove stepped into his role at Trump’s DOJ, he warned the FBI in a formidable memo that leadership would take “personnel action” against FBI agents who participated in Jan. 6 cases, which Trump “appropriately described as a ‘grave national injustice’ that has
Trump thanks Jeb Bush for strong praise of Iran strike: ‘Very much appreciated!’
President Donald Trump thanked former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush after he praised the president’s decision to order strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran. “Thank you to Jeb Bush — Very much appreciated!” Trump declared in a Tuesday Truth Social post. Bush, the chairman of the organization United Against Nuclear Iran, issued a statement with several others from the group hailing the president’s move. ISRAEL BACKS AWAY FROM HEAVIER STRIKES ON IRAN, MAINTAINING CEASEFIRE AFTER TRUMP PRESSURE “We applaud President Trump and the United States for this decision—one of the most important of the 21st century,” the statement declared, calling it “an act of courage, clarity, and historical necessity.” “President Trump’s decision to neutralize Iran’s regime’s nuclear program is a watershed moment—one that reasserts American strength, restores deterrence, and sends an unmistakable message to rogue regimes: the era of impunity is over. Where others delayed and wavered, President Trump acted,” the statement asserted, in part. TRUMP PRESSURES CONGRESS TO PASS ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,’ INSISTING ‘NO ONE GOES ON VACATION UNTIL IT’S DONE’ Bush is the son of the late President George H.W. Bush, and the brother of former President George W. Bush. The former Sunshine State governor was one of the Republicans who pursued the GOP presidential nomination during the 2016 election cycle, but he dropped out after failing to perform well in early GOP nominating contests. GEORGE BUSH REVEALS WHO HE VOTED FOR IN 2020 Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence are also among those who have expressed support for Trump’s move.
Former Trump Ambassador Scott Brown launches bid to flip key battleground Senate seat from blue to red
EXCLUSIVE — Saying he wants to help secure America’s future and deliver results for New Hampshire families, former ambassador and former Sen. Scott Brown on Wednesday launched a Republican Senate campaign in the key New England swing state. “My life has been the American story, but I worry about what America is going to look like for my four grandchildren — and all of yours,” Brown said in a campaign video announcement, which was shared first nationally with Fox News. Brown is a former senator from neighboring Massachusetts and the 2014 GOP Senate nominee in New Hampshire who later served as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand in President Donald Trump’s first administration. He becomes the first major Republican to jump into the 2026 battle to succeed retiring longtime Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. It’s expected to be a competitive and expensive race for a seat the GOP is working to flip from blue to red. New Hampshire, along with Georgia and Michigan, are the three top targets for Senate Republicans as they aim to expand their 53-47 majority in the chamber. FIRST ON FOX: REPUBLICAN LAUNCHES SECOND STRAIGHT BID TO FLIP DEMOCRAT-HELD SENATE SEAT IN KEY BATTLEGROUND While Republicans enjoy total control of New Hampshire’s state government, the Granite State, for nearly a decade, has had an all-Democratic congressional delegation. And Brown took aim at them in an interview with Fox News Digital, arguing that “they’re just really out of touch with the values of New Hampshire. … I think we can do better. “I’m looking to help save America and help protect our New Hampshire advantage,” Brown added, referring to the state’s economic and social characteristics, which have long made it attractive for businesses and residents. ONLY ON FOX NEWS: SENATE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN CHAIR REVEALS HOW MANY SEATS HE’S AIMING FOR IN 2026 In his campaign launch video, Brown criticized former President Joe Biden and Rep. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, who at this early date appears to have cleared the field in the race for the Democratic Party Senate nomination. Pointing to what he charged was “the soaring inflation, open borders, rising crime and extreme-left policies” of the Biden administration, Brown argued, “Chris Pappas has stood with Joe Biden every step of the way, from opening the border to driving up the cost of everything. It’s time for a change.” Brown has made a handful of trips to the nation’s capital to meet with GOP leaders and officials, including National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Tim Scott of South Carolina. And Brown told Fox News he’s been dealing with the Trump political team. “I support him. I would love his support,” Brown said of his former boss, whom he noted he voted for in the 2016, 2020 and 2024 presidential elections. In his announcement video, he added that “President Trump is fighting every day to right the ship.” TOP POLITICAL HANDICAPPER REVEALS DEMOCRATS CHANCES OF WINNING BACK THE SENATE MAJORITY Pointing to the military strike the president launched on Iran’s nuclear sites over the weekend weekend, Brown said Trump’s decision was “brilliant, and he should be commended.” And he criticized Pappas for saying in a statement, “I am monitoring the situation in Iran closely.” “There’s nothing to monitor. The president did the right thing,” Brown argued. On the eve of Brown’s campaign launch, the New Hampshire Democratic Party pilloried Brown as a “Trump loyalist” and charged that he “has a decade-long, extreme record on abortion.” While Brown is the first major Republican in the race, he may not have the GOP primary field to himself. Republican businessman and attorney Phil Taub, best known for his Swim with a Mission charity supporting veterans, is considering a run. Among the others mulling a bid are state Sen. Dan Innis and businessman Walter McFarlane. Brown made headlines in 2010 as a state senator in blue state Massachusetts when he won a special U.S. Senate election to serve the remainder of the term of the late longtime Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy. After losing re-election in 2012 to Elizabeth Warren, Brown eventually moved to New Hampshire, the state where he had spent the first years of his childhood and where his family had roots dating back to the colonial era. He launched a Senate campaign months later and narrowly lost to Shaheen in the 2014 election. After hosting nearly all the Republican presidential candidates in the 2016 cycle at speaking events he called “No BS backyard BBQs,” Brown eventually endorsed Trump in the weeks ahead of New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary. After Trump was elected president, he nominated Brown as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand, where the former senator served for four years. Returning to New Hampshire at the end of the first Trump administration, Brown supported his wife Gail, a former television news reporter and anchor, as she ran for Congress in 2022. And the Browns also stayed politically active in other ways, once again hosting many of the Republican presidential candidates at their “Backyard BBQs” during the 2024 presidential cycle. Asked in May 2023 if he’d consider another Senate run, Brown told Fox News Digital, “Of course.” Brown jumped in late in the 2014 campaign, just seven months before Election Day. This time around, the 65-year-old Brown, who competed in nine triathlons last year and who, on average, performs around 40–50 gigs a year as lead singer and guitarist with the rock band Scott Brown and the Diplomats, is giving himself plenty of political runway. Brown has been crisscrossing New Hampshire since late last year, meeting with Republican and conservative groups. “It’s different than when I ran before,,” Brown told Fox News. “I’ve now had the opportunity to go to places that, quite frankly, I didn’t have time to do [in his 2014 campaign]. I’ve been meeting with people, meeting with everybody.”
Trump slams Bibi over ceasefire violations, denounces cable channels over skepticism
It was a manic-depressive episode that unfolded in just half a day. President Trump was in a celebratory mood late Monday when he announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire within 24 hours–a development that, let’s face it, few thought was possible. “CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE!” he posted. This, he proclaimed, would mark “an Official END to THE 12 DAY WAR” and “will be saluted by the World. During each CEASEFIRE, the other side will remain PEACEFUL and RESPECTFUL.” He even closed with this: “God bless Israel, God bless Iran, God bless the Middle East, God bless the United States of America, and GOD BLESS THE WORLD!” TRUMP’S BIG ACHIEVEMENT IN BOMBING IRAN, STILL SLAMMED BY CRITICS – AS HE SUGGESTS ‘REGIME CHANGE’ Well, that was then. By early yesterday morning, Trump was furious. There were violations of the shaky ceasefire by both sides, with an Iranian missile killing at least four Israelis in an apartment building. But Trump was particularly angry with the bigger barrage by Israel, as if he had been betrayed, demanding that Bibi Netanyahu and his leaders “cool down.” Trump dropped an F-bomb on both countries, saying they “don’t know what the f— they’re doing.” They had spoiled his scenario. An achievement that would have put him on the path for a Nobel Prize, given the hostile relations between the terror state and the Jewish state, which has fought several wars against Iranian proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah, since its founding in 1948. Unless the Norwegian academy is too liberal to ever bestow such an honor on a Trump. (A GOP congressman has just nominated him.) If you’re feeling a little whiplash, you’re not alone. After all, it was just a few days ago that Trump said he’d decide “within two weeks” whether to launch an attack on Iran. That and other deceptions made it seem like nothing was imminent. Then there was the strange detour about “regime change” – why not call it that? – and saying the administration knew where Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was hiding. TRUMP HINTS AT REGIME CHANGE IN IRAN WHILE DECLARING ‘MAKE IRAN GREAT AGAIN’ AFTER US STRIKES But that went against the company line that we were only at war with Iran’s nuclear program, pushed by JD Vance and others. That in turn was superseded by Trump announcing he had secured a ceasefire with Israel and Iran – which was news to the vice president as he sat down with Fox’s Bret Baier. The undeniable success of the mission has muted the criticism of many Democrats and liberals, who are constitutionally incapable of praising Trump while accusing him of violating the Constitution. (The issue of congressional consultation is legit, but we can’t have 535 commanders-in-chief – and Joe Biden and Barack Obama took similar unilateral actions.) AOC, as a leading example, has called for Trump’s impeachment – and the president has unloaded on her. The posting: “Stupid AOC, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the ‘dumbest’ people in Congress, is now calling for my Impeachment, despite the fact that the Crooked and Corrupt Democrats have already done that twice before. The reason for her ‘rantings’ is all of the Victories that the U.S.A. has had under the Trump Administration. The Democrats aren’t used to WINNING, and she can’t stand the concept of our Country being successful again. When we examine her Test Scores, we will find out that she is NOT qualified for office.” Test scores? Not qualified? Ocasio-Cortez graduated from Boston University, where she double-majored in international relations and economics. And since when is there an educational standard for the presidency? There’s more: “What a disaster it was! AOC should be forced to take the Cognitive Test that I just completed at Walter Reed Medical Center… “Alexandria should go back home to Queens, where I was also brought up, and straighten out her filthy, disgusting, crime ridden streets, in the District she ‘represents,’ and which she never goes to anymore.” AOC responded on X: “Mr. President, don’t take your anger out on me – I’m just a silly girl… “Take it out on whoever convinced you to betray the American people and our Constitution by illegally bombing Iran and dragging us into war. It only took you 5 months to break almost every promise you made.” ‘I’M JUST A SILLY GIRL’: AOC FIRES BACK AFTER TRUMP CALLS HER ‘STUPID’ This is all symbolic, as Ocasio-Cortez well knows, but plays well with her left-wing base. Yesterday, in fact, the House voted to table an impeachment resolution, with 128 Democrats – more than half – joining all Republicans in deep-sixing it. In the end, POTUS appeared to get the ceasefire back on track. Trump called Netanyahu and said that “our U.S. military did what we needed to do,” a senior White House official told the Washington Post. “I wouldn’t say the prime minister enthusiastically agreed, but he understood that President Trump is no longer going to be militarily involved in this conflict.” Bibi soon announced that he would respect the ceasefire as long as the other side does, and Iran’s president made similar comments. Trump, before flying off to the NATO summit at The Hague, turned his anger on the press. He said of the underground nuclear enrichment site called Fordow: “I think it’s been completely demolished. I think the reason we’re here is because those pilots, those B-2 pilots, did an unbelievable job. “And, you know, the fake news, like CNN in particular, they’re trying to say, ‘Well, I agree that it was destroyed, but maybe not that destroyed.’ “You know what they’re doing? They’re really hurting great pilots that put their lives on the line! CNN is SCUM! And so is MSDNC. “And frankly, the networks aren’t much better. It’s all fake news, but they should not have done that. SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES “Those pilots hit their targets. Those targets were obliterated, and the pilots should be given credit.