NationalWatch

Deep blue New York is in play.

In a major throwdown to Democrats, former President Trump will host a campaign rally in the Bronx on Thursday as he sets his sights on flipping the Empire State Red this November, a situation that would have been unfathomable in 2021 when he departed the White House.

Trump’s campaign announced Friday night that Thursday’s rally will take place at 6 p.m. in Crotona Park, a 127 acre public park just blocks away from the boundary line of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s district. The New York Post reports that the campaign has a permit to fit 3,500 people into the space. 

The move comes on the heels of a record-breaking Trump rally which brought up to 100,000 supporters together in the Democratic stronghold of New Jersey last week. 

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It will mark Trump’s first rally in the state since an upstate Buffalo event in 2016. Biden topped Trump with 76% of the city’s vote in the 2020 election. Statewide, Biden took 60.87% of the vote.

In announcing the rally, Trump’s campaign took several swipes at President Biden’s record over the last three and a half years in relation to crime and inflation.

“Both New York City and the state at large have been ravaged by monumental surges in violent crime as a direct result of Biden’s and Democrats’ pro-criminal policies,” the campaign said in the announcement. “Murders in New York City are up 23.1 percent from 2019 levels, while felony assault is up 35.4 percent. These upticks are incomprehensible and devastating.”

The campaign highlighted Trump’s fondness of the state he once called home until he switched his permanent residence to his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida in 2019. Although he has been forced back to stand trial in his “hush money” case and his defamation case with E Jean Carroll.

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“The Empire State, a place near to President Trump’s heart, has been decimated by Biden,” the statement continues. “President Trump will ease the financial pressures placed on households and re-establish law and order in New York! We can Make America Great Again by tackling lawlessness head-on, ceasing the endless flow of illegal immigrants across our southern border, and reversing the detrimental effects of inflation by restoring people’s wealth.”

The rally announcement has been met with mixed responses. 

Rep. Ritchie John Torres, a Democrat who represents New York’s 15th congressional district where the rally is being held, blasted the former president in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“The South Bronx has no greater enemy than Donald Trump, who is on a mission to dismantle the social safety net on which Bronx families depend for their survival,” Torres said. “Trump is and has always been a fraud.  The South Bronx – the most Democratic area in the nation – will not buy the snake oil that he is selling.

Many business owners in the borough, however, didn’t know that the rally would be taking place when contacted by Fox News Digital this morning.

Liz Adreu, a manager at the Bronx restaurant Chocobar Cortes was one of those unaware but said she would “probably” vote for Trump. 

Reggie O, the owner of Aduanipa African & Caribbean Grill, said he supported Trump’s policies when he was in office, although he didn’t want to say who he would be voting for, adding that he thinks there’s a very real chance that the state could be flipped at some point in the future, adding that his eatery has just opened and hasn’t been on the receiving end of any crime.

Inflation is putting many businesses under financial strain, especially after they weathered the economic storms of pandemic-era lockdowns. Families too are suffering, Trump’s campaign said.

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“New Yorkers have suffered greatly thanks to Biden’s failed policies. With prices in the Empire State up by 17.5 percent since Biden took office, New York families continue to suffer from high inflation on everyday goods,” the statement reads.

Trump last month telegraphed he would be campaigning in the Big Apple when he visited Sanaa Convenience Store in Upper Manhattan. A former clerk, Jose Alba, was attacked by an ex-con there in a July 2022 incident before he infamously stabbed the perp to death in self-defense.

“We’re going to come into New York, we’re making a big play for New York,” Trump told reporters outside. “I love this city, and it’s gone so bad in the last three years, four years, and we’re going to straighten New York out.”

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes confirmed that Rudy Giuliani was indicted in connection to the 2020 election case centered around former President Trump.

“The final defendant was served moments ago. @RudyGiuliani nobody is above the law,” Mayes, a Democrat, wrote on X late Friday, confirming Giuliani is the 18th defendant charged in the state’s fake electors case.

Mayes responded to a since-deleted post by Giuliani that read, “If authorities can’t find me by tomorrow morning: 1. They must dismiss the indictment; 2. They must concede they can’t count votes,” FOX 10 Phoenix reported. The former New York City mayor was celebrating his 80th birthday over the weekend. 

Sharing photos of party-goers and 80th birthday balloons in another post Saturday, Giuliani wrote to his 1.7 million followers, “FAKE NEWS ALERT: Contrary to reports from journalists who weren’t there, our early 80th birthday celebration wasn’t ‘ruined’ or interrupted. It was an incredible night w/ friends, including Steve Bannon & Roger Stone. It felt like a strategy session on how to save America!”

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Giuliani political adviser Ted Goodman, however, confirmed in a statement reported by the Associated Press that Giuliani was served Friday night after his 80th birthday celebration as he was walking to the car.

“We look forward to full vindication soon,” Goodman said in a statement Saturday.

The attorney general’s spokesman Richie Taylor said in an email to the Associated Press on Saturday that Giuliani faces the same charges as the other defendants, including conspiracy, fraud and forgery charges.

The indictment alleges that Giuliani “pressured” Arizona legislators and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to change the outcome of Arizona’s election and that he was responsible for encouraging Republican electors in Arizona and six other contested states to vote for Trump.Taylor said an unredacted copy of the indictment will be released Monday. He said Giuliani is expected to appear in court Tuesday unless he is granted a delay by the court.

Mark Meadows, Trump’s former White House chief of staff, is among others who have been indicted in the case.

Neither Meadows nor Giuliani were named in the redacted grand jury indictment released earlier because they had not been served with it, but they were readily identifiable based on descriptions in the document. The Arizona attorney general’s office said Wednesday that Meadows had been served and confirmed that he was charged with the same counts as the other named defendants, including conspiracy, fraud and forgery charges.

With the indictments, Arizona becomes the fourth state where allies of the former president have been charged with using false or unproven claims about voter fraud related to the election.

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Among the defendants are 11 Arizona Republicans who submitted a document to Congress declaring that Trump won in Arizona in the 2020 presidential election — including a former state GOP chair, a 2022 U.S. Senate candidate and two sitting state lawmakers. The other defendants are Mike Roman, who was Trump’s director of Election Day operations, and four attorneys accused of organizing an attempt to use fake documents to persuade Congress not to certify Biden’s victory: John Eastman, Christina Bobb, Boris Epshteyn and Jenna Ellis.

Trump himself was not charged but was referred to as an unindicted co-conspirator.

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Giuliani faces other legal proceedings, and a bankruptcy judge this past week said he was “disturbed” about the status of the case and for missed deadlines to file financial disclosure reports. Giuliani filed for bankruptcy after being ordered to pay $148 million to two former election workers for spreading allegedly false information about their role in the 2020 election.

Giuliani was also indicted last year by a grand jury in Georgia. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Biden will deliver the commencement address at Morehouse College on Sunday as protests continue to disrupt graduation ceremonies across the country.

Biden’s speech at the historically Black college is an opportunity to shore up his flagging support among Black voters ahead of the 2024 election. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday that Biden had been working on his speech with senior advisors for several days.

The speech is “an opportunity to lift up and to give an important message to our future leaders,” Jean-Pierre said.

“He’s been working on these remarks for the past couple days, I can assure you, with his senior advisers. He’s taking this incredibly seriously,” Jean-Pierre added. “It will meet the moment. And I think you will hear directly from the president on how he sees obviously the future of this country, and also the community that they represent.”

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The commencement comes just days after Biden announced $16 billion in new funding for historically Black colleges and universities across the country. He mentioned Morehouse by name in remarks about the funding initiative last week.

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“Morehouse was founded after our nation’s Civil War to help prepare Black Americans who were formerly enslaved to enter the ministry, earn an education and usher them from slavery to freedom,” Biden said. “The founders of Morehouse understood something fundamental. Education is linked to freedom. Because to be free means to have something that no one can ever take away from you.”

Biden’s appearance comes as anti-Israel protests have overtaken campuses across the country. Morehouse itself has also seen its share of unrest. The student body is divided even about Biden’s appearance at graduation. Dissatisfied students are reportedly attempting to organize a silent protest during Biden’s speech that would see students turn their backs on the president, according to NPR.

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“I think it’s kind of insulting that our star alumnus is Dr. King, but Biden has been on a tirade in the Middle East,” one student, DeAngelo Fletcher, told the outlet. “Bringing him here — especially during an election year … to get the young Black vote especially, it’s kind of insulting.”

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Hundreds of Morehouse alumni also signed a letter calling on the college to rescind its invitation to Biden earlier this year. Students and faculty at the college have accused Biden of assisting Israeli “genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza during the war that was sparked by the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack.

Some of the most vulnerable Democratic Senate incumbents up for re-election in November have looked to highlight their disagreements with President Biden ahead of the pivotal matchups. 

“‘Distancing’ from a party brand is a time-honored tradition in Congress,” explained Jacob Neiheisel, associate professor of political science at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont.; Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.; and Bob Casey, D-Pa., are embroiled in the most competitive races of the 2024 cycle, with the Democrats up against one of the toughest re-election maps in years. 

“They’re going to sound like MAGA Republicans in their TV ads before it’s all over with,” said Republican strategist Scott Jennings. 

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Last week, Tester came out in favor of a largely Republican-supported illegal immigration measure named after slain Georgia college student Laken Riley. He previously voted against moving forward with the bill, which takes aim at illegal immigrants like the one charged with Riley’s murder, as a potential amendment to a larger bill package. However, Tester did signal at the time he would support it if it came to the floor as a stand-alone bill, despite the unlikelihood of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. allowing that to happen. 

Tester’s office vehemently pushed back on previous claims that he was against the bill. “Claims from Mitch McConnell-backed groups that Senator Tester changed his position on the Laken Riley Act are patently false and another desperate attempt to politicize the border instead of fixing it,” his office told Fox News Digital. 

The Montana senator isn’t the only one to make his differences with Biden clear in the lead-up to the election. 

Rosen, who represents the critical swing state of Nevada, also diverged with Biden publicly on multiple occasions. In particular, Rosen is partially credited with killing the Biden administration’s hopes of confirming the first Muslim federal appellate judge in Adeel Mangi. The Nevada senator came out against the controversial Biden nominee, citing his ties with an allegedly anti-law enforcement organization. 

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“This is what they do,” Jennings said. “They spend five and a half years supporting Democrats and Democratic policies that everyone in their state hates. And then they spend six months pretending it never happened.”

The Republican strategist added, though, that they may be hard-pressed to convince voters of their differences with the president, given that they vote in line with him nearly all the time. 

In 2023, Tester voted with Biden the second least among other Democratic senators. However, he still aligned with the president 94.6% of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight’s analysis. Brown voted with Biden 97.9% of the time, Rosen 98.6%, and Baldwin and Casey each 99.3%.

“Jon Tester does what’s right for Montana. President Trump signed more than 20 of his bills into law, and over the years Jon has stood up to President Biden on many issues — from securing the border to protecting Montana from burdensome energy regulations,” said Monica Robinson, a spokesperson for Montanans for Tester. 

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Matt Keyes, spokesperson for Friends of Sherrod Brown, argued similar motivations for the senator in Ohio. “He has stood up to presidents of both parties to oppose bad trade deals, worked with Republicans to make sure border patrol agents and law enforcement officers have the resources they need, and demanded that the Biden administration crack down on Chinese-made electric vehicles,” Keyes said. 

According to Paul Beck, a political science professor at the Ohio State University, “Biden is unpopular here in Ohio, and to win Brown will have to poll considerably better than Biden will.”

Further, he noted that any moves from Brown to support Republican efforts can only help him. “He will not pay a penalty for supporting a Republican bill, and it may allow him to demonstrate his independence,” Beck said.

“Tammy Baldwin has stood up to Presidents Trump and Biden on behalf of Wisconsin workers,” said Tammy Baldwin for Senate spokesman Andrew Mamo in a statement, echoing the same sentiment. “Wisconsinites trust her because no matter who is in the White House, she fights for them.”

Per Johanna Warshaw, Rosen for Nevada spokesperson, “Jacky Rosen has worked to get things done in a bipartisan way and has never been afraid to disagree with her party leaders to do what’s right for Nevada.”

“Bob Casey is consistently ranked among the most effective and bipartisan senators in Washington and has worked across the aisle to create jobs and lower costs,” Maddy McDaniel, spokesperson for Bob Casey for Senate, said in a statement. 

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National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Communications Director Mike Berg told Fox News Digital, “These Democrats are running against everything they voted for now that Joe Biden’s poll numbers have taken a hit,” calling it “very bizarre.” 

Jennings predicted the senators would continue to make efforts to demonstrate their differences with the president, especially with his historically low approval. 

Biden has maintained an average approval rating of 38.7%, Gallup revealed last month. This is historically low, with each of the last nine presidents going back to Dwight Eisenhower boasting higher averages at the same point. 

A Biden campaign spokesperson pointed to the president’s accomplishments, saying in a statement, “Joe Biden created 15 million jobs, capped the price of insulin at $35, and made health care more affordable than ever.”

The spokesperson emphasized that “Democrats across the country will be running on” Biden’s “record of historic results for the American people.”

“Republicans’ MAGA agenda is toxic with voters, as we saw with their failed red wave in 2022 and strong, Democratic overperformance wins in the NY special election and Kentucky gubernatorial,” they added. 

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While the senators are using a strategy that has been relied on historically, not everyone is sure it will continue to work. “As politics continues to nationalize in the U.S., I’m not sure if voters in those states are going to be able to separate the individual from the party,” said Neiheisel. 

Republican strategist Zack Roday, a partner at Ascent Media, claimed the vulnerable Democrats’ positioning ahead of the elections is “nonsense.” 

“These Senate Democrats are a safe vote for Biden every time,” he emphasized. 

Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of profiles of potential running mates for presidential candidate Donald Trump on the 2024 Republican Party ticket.

A possible frontrunner on former President Trump’s running mate shortlist has a major “downside” that could make his potential selection a bad bet, multiple campaign and election experts told Fox News Digital.

The horse race among those hoping to be named Trump’s running mate continued this week. Those widely believed to be on the shortlist made the rounds on various media outlets and at events alongside the former president, including North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who some say lacks a “wow factor.”

“He’s not a known commodity. He’s not somebody that, I think, instinctively would fire up the base or fire up Republicans,” GOP strategist Dave Polyansky said, citing concerns over Burgum’s lack of name recognition despite running in the Republican presidential primaries last year.

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He argued that, although firing up the base wasn’t the main purpose in a choice for running mate, there was no “overwhelming cry” from Republicans across the country for Burgum to be the pick. 

“Again, that shouldn’t necessarily be a decider, but there’s no wow factor to him,” Polyansky said.

Veteran Republican strategist Karl Rove agreed Burgum’s name recognition was also a problem and that he’s “from a small, heavily Republican state” when the battle for the presidency could come down to who wins over voters in the battlegrounds of Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Wisconsin.

Rove also predicted Burgum’s wealth could “make him a target for the left.”

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Republican strategist Erin Perrine told Fox “the downsides to Burgum’s selection are not deeply controversial given other possible selections the former president could make” but agreed with Rove that Burgum hailing from a reliably red state with a small population wouldn’t impact the electoral map.

“Some might argue that other potential candidates could bring more expertise, higher visibility or diversity to the ticket, leading to doubts about Burgum’s suitability as a VP nominee,” she said. She added Burgum declaring last year he wouldn’t serve as Trump’s running mate, as well as the possibility he might face intensified media scrutiny regarding his absence from North Dakota over the past year, would likely complicate his selection.

“It doesn’t take much for the media to pounce, and campaigning as a sitting governor has proven difficult for others running for other offices before,” she said.

Others were more blunt when it came to the possibility of Burgum’s selection, including a source close to the Trump campaign who said there was “more downside than upside there,” citing the concerns over his name recognition and being from North Dakota.

“If I had to rank him, I’d put him in the top five, maybe five or six, but not any higher,” the source said.

GOP pollster Scott Rasmussen simply told Fox, “I see no reason why Gov. Burgum should even be in the discussion other than media speculation. The fact that Trump featured him at the recent rally is interesting, but I suspect the governor will play some other role in the campaign.”

Burgum, despite those concerns, does have a number of strong qualities experts said could provide a boost to Trump, including his record as the chief executive of a state and as a business leader.

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“Burgum is a successful two-term governor of a major energy- and agricultural-producing state who’s championed education reform, tax cuts and government reform,” Rove said. “He’s also built a tech company — Great Plains Software — in the Midwest heartland, which he sold to Microsoft, becoming a top executive with the company before entering politics.”

Polyansky said one of the most “compelling” reasons to have Burgum’s name on the ticket was because of his television presence.

“He’s proven himself over the last month to be a great, very agile and pretty effective communicator,” he said. “Burgum’s shown that he can do some good in terms of his ability to communicate and drive a message.”

Perrine said Burgum’s “no-drama, no-nonsense demeanor has boosted the economy and safety of North Dakota,” and that being a “businessman-turned-governor” was “a mirror to Trump that the former president would appreciate.” 

The source close to Trump’s campaign praised the governor as “a vote getter.”

“He’s a decent man,” the source said.

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A number of other big names have also been floated to join Trump on the Republican ticket, including South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.

Trump, who spent most of his week sitting on trial in a New York City courtroom while President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are free to hit the campaign trail, is still weighing his running mate options. He suggested last week he might even wait until the July Republican National Convention in Milwaukee to name his pick.

Fox News Digital has reached out to representatives of Burgum for comment.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Former President Trump fired up supporters at the National Rifle Association’s Annual Meeting in Texas on Saturday, calling for President Biden to take a “drug test,” putting “radical” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on blast and encouraging gun enthusiasts to get out and vote.

The crowd at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas roared as Trump received the NRA’s endorsement before he took the stage.

Trump thanked the “great patriots” for the endorsements, but reprimanded the “rebellious bunch” for not voting.

“But one thing I’ll say, and I say it as friends, we’ve got to get gun owners to vote because you know what? I don’t know what it is. Perhaps it’s a form of rebellion because you’re a rebellious people, aren’t you?,” Trump said. “But gun owners don’t vote. What is that all about?”

“If gun owners would vote, we would swamp them at levels that nobody’s ever seen before,” he said. “So, I think you’re a rebellious bunch. So let’s be rebellious and vote this time.”

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‘Radical’ RFK Jr.

Trump turned his attention to Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., telling NRA-supporters to not “waste your vote” and that he is a part of the “radical left.”

“RFK, Jr. — I call him Junior by the way — he’s radical left. Don’t think about it. Don’t waste your vote,” Trump said. “We need a conservative person with common sense. This guy is radical left who destroyed New York.”

“Actually, he’s a disaster. He reminds you of this fly that’s driving me crazy up here,” said Trump, who swatted at a fly that flitted around the stage. “This fly is brutal. I don’t like flies!”

Trump said that RFK Jr. had “no policy for anything.”

“But RFK Jr. calls you a terrorist group. You know, he calls you a terrorist group,” Trump said. “[You] can’t vote for him. You can’t. You know, somebody said, well, they like his policy on vaccines the other day. He said, no, no, he’ll go for the vaccine. He’s nice. He’s got no policy or anything. He’s radical left. He always has been.”

“We can’t waste any votes,” he added. “We have to make sure we win.”

‘High as a kite’

The Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee set his sights on President Biden, beginning with the usual jabs at Biden’s cognitive ability, and saying that Biden was as “high as a kite” during his State of the Union address in March. 

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“Now, he did that State of the Union the other day. He was high as a kite,” Trump said. “So, I think we should go for drug tests on the debate. Yeah, we’re going to call for drug tests.”

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Earlier Saturday, Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee announced the creation of a new “Gun Owners for Trump” coalition that includes gun rights activists and individuals in the firearms’ industry.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., will blast President Biden as she seeks to reassure Israel during a speech at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, Sunday morning.

Her prepared remarks were obtained by Fox News Digital ahead of the address. Stefanik will be the highest-ranking House member to visit Israel since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. She will be introduced by the Israeli speaker, according to her office.

The New York Republican is also planning to meet with high-level government officials and pay her respects to locations attacked by Hamas in October. She plans to tout her decades-long support for the Jewish state as a senior member of the House Armed Services and House Intelligence committees.

In her speech, Stefanik calls herself “a lifelong admirer, supporter and friend of Israel and the Jewish people.”

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“I am lucky to have had the privilege of traveling here many times before, but I must confess that this time feels different,” Stefanik’s speech states. “The stakes feel higher. Our sense of moral, patriotic duty feels heightened, renewed.”

In the remarks, Stefanik praises former President Trump for his relationship with Israel during his administration, and she criticizes Biden for his administration’s controversial measures during the Israel-Hamas war. In November 2023, the Biden administration extended a waiver that allowed Iran to access $10 billion previously in escrow, prompting widespread criticism. 

The White House recently paused a weapons shipment to Israel out of concern about an invasion of Rafah, before deciding to move forward with the sale earlier this week.

“There is no excuse for an American president to block aid to Israel, aid that was duly passed by the Congress, or to ease sanctions on Iran, paying a $6 billion ransom to the world’s leading state sponsor of terror, or to dither and hide while our friends fight for their lives. No excuse,” the speech states. “Full stop.”

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The Republican leader’s address to the Knesset will express support for “every measure to aid Israel that has come before the U.S. Congress,” and tout her history as “a leading proponent and partner to President Trump in his historic support for Israeli independence and security.”

“If I leave you with one message today, it’s this: The majority of Americans support you, and we always will since President Truman’s recognition of Israel 11 minutes after David Ben-Gurion declared Israel’s independence 76 years and 5 days ago,” the address says. “America stands with Israel.”

Before concluding her speech, the politician will take aim at Ivy League universities for their responses to chaotic protests and anti-Israel encampments.

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“We must not let the extremism in ‘elite’ corners conceal the deep, abiding love for Israel among the American people,” the speech adds. “Most Americans feel a strong connection to your people. They have opened their hearts to you in this dark hour.”

The Republican Party of Minnesota tossed its support behind Royce White, a former NBA player and Black Lives Matter protest leader turned GOP Senate candidate, in his bid to oust Democrat Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

The state party’s decision to back White came at the Minnesota GOP convention in St. Paul’s RiverCentre on Saturday.

White, a former professional basketball player, was introduced on stage at the convention by former Trump adviser Steve Bannon.

White received 67% of the vote on the first ballot at Saturday’s convention to receive an endorsement from the party to challenge Klobuchar, who has represented Minnesota in the upper chamber for nearly two decades.

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“I’m a ‘We the People’ guy through and through,” White told Minnesota’s Star Tribune on Saturday.

White unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination to challenge “Squad” Rep. Ilhan Omar for Minnesota’s Fifth Congressional District during the 2022 election cycle, losing to fellow Republican Cicely Davis in the primary election by more than 1,000 votes.

Hundreds of Minnesota Republicans — several of whom held signs that read “The People Are Coming” — packed into the room where White delivered a speech after receiving the state party’s endorsement.

Prior to joining the Republican Party and running for Senate, White led Black Lives Matter protests in Minneapolis at the height of the controversy surrounding the death of George Floyd.

The GOP Senate hopeful also has made controversial remarks in the past, including one where he claimed to be a Christian and a “real Jew” while responding to a social media user.

“Shut up shill. I’m a Christian and Jew (Real Jew)… I can smell the [bulls–t] in this tweet from a mile away. It is weird to see a bunch of people deny that Black Jews exist and could theoretically be here in America. What in the rewritten history is this? Lol,” White wrote in a November 2022 tweet.

During the same month, White appeared to praise notorious antisemite Louis Farrakhan and rebuked Black people who had “sold out” in a social media post, writing, “The Minister Louis Farrakhan is very gracious in his age and wisdom. He lives and speaks with a certain love and empathy for all Black ppl, even when he knows they’ve sold out. I hold no such quarter for them. I’m not the judge, but I will speak the tough word. Stop Selling Out!”

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Amid Israel’s war with Hamas, White took to X in December and claimed, “Israel has a right to exist but not to be the lynchpin of New World Order.”

“I pray my Jewish brothers and sisters stop letting their identity be used to justify globalism. . . . The same way I pray Black people stop letting their identity be used to justify marxism. This unwavering support for Israel from MAGA, knowing full well that Israel and a World War II is used to call anybody who is a nationalist, a fascist or a Nazi, really has me stumped,” White wrote at the time. “Nationalism is not synonymous with Fascism or Nazism, I’m sick of hearing it. Especially from a country that takes our tax money to be ethno-national. Israel has a right to exist but not to be the lynchpin of New World Order.”

White’s campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the support he received from the Minnesota Republican Party on Saturday, or his past remarks.

On his campaign website, White lists four goals he hopes to achieve or build on if he’s elected, including “Term Limits,” “No Taxes (American jubilee),” “American Manufactering,” and “Energy.” No additional explanation for how White will accomplish those goals was shared on the website.

A Republican operative who attended the Minnesota GOP convention Saturday said she expected delegates to do a better job of selecting a candidate to take on Klobuchar and support former President Trump’s re-election bid.

“I truly believe at the end of the day that the Minnesota GOP handed Amy Klobuchar a win on a silver platter,” the Republican operative told Fox News Digital.

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The operative placed some of the blame on the state party’s nominating committee, which allowed White to be on the convention’s endorsement ballot as “qualified, with reservations.”

White is one of several Republicans who were seeking the GOP nomination. Minnesota holds an August 13 primary election, and the deadline to register for the primary is June 4. The winner of that election will go on to face off against Klobuchar, the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee, in the state’s general election on November 4.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan branded former President Trump a racist, a sexist and a homophobe as he urged his own Labour Party to do more to “call him out.”

Ahead of the presidential election in November, the U.K.’s Labour Party appears to be working to strengthen its relationship with Republicans should Trump take back the White House. However, Khan, a fierce Trump critic, insists the party “shouldn’t be literally rolling out a red carpet for a state visit.”

Khan’s remarks on the former president came after foreign affairs chief David Lammy appeared to extend an olive branch earlier this month while insisting Trump is “often misunderstood” when it comes to policy and “wants Europeans to do more to ensure a better defended Europe.”

LONDON MAYOR UNDER FIRE FOR REPORTEDLY SNUBBING QUEEN STATUE IN FAVOR OF ART CELEBRATING TRANS PROSTITUTES

Rejecting Lammy’s position, Khan told Politico, “I’m quite clear, I understand, on Trump. He’s a racist. He’s a sexist. He’s a homophobe. And it’s very important, particularly when you’ve got a special relationship, that you treat them as a best mate.

“If my best mate was a racist, or a sexist or a homophobe, I’d call him out, and I’d explain to him why those views are wrong,” the London mayor added.

MAYOR SADIQ KHAN RIDICULED FOR BLAMING CELL PHONES WHEN CHALLENGED ON KNIFE CRIMES IN LONDON

Khan, who was recently re-elected to a third term leading Great Britain’s most populous city, told the outlet he worries “about a Donald Trump presidency.”

“You know, I’ve been speaking to governors from America. I’ve been speaking to mayors from America. Of course, we’ll have a relationship, whoever the president is. But we shouldn’t be literally rolling out a red carpet for a state visit,” he said. 

“It’s really important that we, of course, have good relations with Democrats and Republicans. But I lost count of the amount of Republicans I’ve spoken to who are also worried about a Trump presidency.”

Khan and Trump have a history of feuding and not seeing eye to eye on a number of topics, including immigration.

In 2019, prior to his arrival in London for a state visit, Trump referred to Khan as a “stone cold loser” who is “very dumb.”

Responding to those comments in his interview with Politico, Khan said: “I’ve got more latitude as a mayor to just to say what I feel about Trump, and I make this point. He called me a ‘stone cold loser.’ I’ve won three. How many has he won?”

Khan’s remarks come as the Labour Party is expected to return to power after 14 years in a U.K. general election that will take place in the coming months.

Lammy, who has criticized Trump in the past as a “neo-Nazi-sympathizing sociopath,” recently traveled to Washington, D.C., where he met with a number of Democrats and several Trump allies, including Ohio GOP Sen. JD Vance and South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham.

“Were his words in office shocking? Yes, they were,” Lammy told Politico of the former president. “Would we have used them? No. But U.S. spending on European defense actually grew under President Trump, as did the defense spending of the wider alliance during his tenure.”

Lammy also argued Trump helped matters by pushing European nations to increase their own defense spending.

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“When he began his campaign, only four countries were spending their 2% of GDP. The number was 10 by the time he left office. And it is 18 today.” Lammy added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Recent polls of swing state voters showed former President Trump with an edge over President Biden in six key battleground states where he was narrowly defeated four years ago. 

Now, some of those voters who supported Biden in 2020 are explaining why, looking ahead to the 2024 election, they want Trump back in office.

Frederick Westbrook, a retired Las Vegas hotel worker, told The New York Times in an interview that voting for Biden to kick Trump out of office was “the biggest mistake of my life.” 

“As a Black man in America, I felt he was doing unjust things,” Westbrook said of Trump. “He’s got a big mouth, he’s not a nice person.” But while his view of Trump has not changed in the last four years, Westbrook told the Times his cost of living has risen too high under Biden’s watch.

TRUMP AHEAD OF BIDEN IN THESE KEY SWING STATES: POLL

“Everything is just about the economy,” said Westbrook, who now drives for Lyft to support his fixed retirement income. “I don’t really trust Donald Trump at all. I just think housing, food, my car, my insurance, every single piece of living has gone up.”

The view that Americans are not better off today than they were four years ago is shared by others who were among the 14% of survey respondents who said they won’t vote for Biden a second time, according to polls released Monday by The New York Times, Siena College and the Philadelphia Inquirer. 

The survey results and follow-up interviews reported in the Times on Friday suggest discontent over the economy and the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza, and a deterioration in support for Biden by younger, Black and Hispanic voters, “threaten to unravel the president’s Democratic coalition.” 

Jaredd Johnson, a 25-year-old voter who works in marketing in Atlanta, told the Times he had hoped Biden would restore the country to a pre-pandemic normal, but doesn’t think he has. Despite his reservations about Trump, he said he plans to vote for the presumptive Republican nominee in November.

‘WARNING SIGNS FLASHING’: BIDEN, TRUMP STRUGGLE TO LOCK UP BASE VOTERS AHEAD OF FIRST DEBATE

While Jonson said he understands the importance of supporting Ukraine and Israel, supplying Gaza with aid and helping immigrants, conversations with his friends and family “are suddenly less about what’s happening overseas and more about how we are struggling here, too.”

Christopher Sheffield, 61, a counselor for veterans in Thomasville, Georgia, told the Times that whatever concerns he may have about Trump’s attitude toward race are not as important as crises abroad that could lead to another world war.

“I’m an African American — of course I worry about racism,” he told the paper. “But guess what? I’ve been dealing with that my whole life.”

Biden is “a good guy,” Sheffield said. “But when I look at him, he looks weak. With North Korea, Putin, and all those boys ready to act, I think they will be a little bit more reluctant to challenge Trump than they would with Biden.” He said he would vote for Trump in November.

TRUMP PREDICTS ‘JACKED UP’ BIDEN AT UPCOMING DEBATES, BLASTS BIDENOMICS IN BATTLEGROUND SPEECH

Fox News political analyst Gianno Caldwell said it’s no surprise that Black voters like Westbrook and Sheffield are moving away from Biden and towards Trump.

“The pundits and analysts view the Black voters supporting Trump as an anomaly, and they are wrong,” Caldwell said. “Many Black voters were browbeaten into voting for Biden in 2020 by the media and celebrity cultural figures like Charlemagne the God with promises and predictions of a presidency that would serve the Black community well, and Black folks now realize they have been bamboozled by the left and media.” 

“Considering their economic conditions under the Biden administration are now far worse than under Trump, many feel they have no choice but to support the man who actually got the job done and made many feel more financially secure,” he added.

Other voters told the Times that persistent inflation — which clocked in at 3.4% in April, down from the 2022 high of 9% but still well above the Federal Reserve’s target 2% rate — illegal immigration and Biden’s decision to withhold an arms shipment to Israel demonstrate a need for big change in America.

“All of our core values are gone, gone, and I’m just not pleased at all,” said Amelia Earwood, 47, a safety trainer at the U.S. Postal Service in Georgia.

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She told the Times she thinks Trump is “a horrible human being,” but said, “I’m voting on his policies, and I think that he could straighten this country out, while Biden made a ginormous mess out of it.”

The Trump and Biden campaigns did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

EXCLUSIVE: A Republican considered to be among the frontrunners in the race to be former President Donald Trump’s running mate is making a major prediction about Black voters as President Biden continues to bleed support among the traditionally Democrat-supporting community.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the only Black Republican in the Senate and a staunch supporter of Trump’s third White House bid, told Fox News Digital on Friday that Biden’s planned weekend campaign swing aimed at shoring up support among the Black community in Georgia and Michigan is actually just about “pandering” to a community worse off under his leadership, and that they would instead show up for Trump in “historic” numbers.

“For 52 consecutive paychecks, Black folks, like the rest of Americans, lost spending power, because inflation was higher than wage increases. What does that mean? It means devastation to single moms like the one that raised me,” Scott said. 

POTENTIAL TRUMP RUNNING MATE RIPS BIDEN’S OUTREACH TO BLACK VOTERS: ‘ALWAYS PANDERING’

“The one thing that we can expect from the Biden administration is more of the same. More misery, more devastation, more catastrophes. That’s one of the reasons why you see so many Black voters shifting to the GOP under Trump. Why? Because Donald Trump delivered,” he said. 

The Biden campaign announced early Friday that the president would be attending an event in Atlanta on Saturday focused on engaging Black voters before delivering the commencement at Morehouse College, a renowned historically Black men’s liberal arts college, on Sunday.

The president will then meet with small-business owners in Detroit later on Sunday before delivering an address that evening in Michigan to the NAACP.

Biden’s re-election team highlighted in its announcement that “no administration has delivered for Black America like President Biden and Vice-President Harris.” 

“This campaign will not take a single voter for granted,” Biden campaign senior adviser Trey Baker wrote in the memo. “We are not, and will not, parachute into these communities at the last minute, expecting their vote.”

BIDEN CAMPAIGN HIGH ON DOJ’S MARIJUANA SHIFT, ‘SMOKES’ TRUMP FOR INACTION DURING HIS TERM

A slew of polls this spring — both nationally and in the key swing states — have indicated that Trump has gained support with Black voters at Biden’s expense, something Scott said is being driven by the positive economy for Black Americans under Trump’s administration.

“We had the strongest, most powerful and inclusive economy in the history of the country in my lifetime. Unemployment for Black folks [was] under 6% for the first time ever; the wages growing at the bottom faster than the top. He also supported my opportunity zones, bringing nearly $70 billion committed to the poorest communities,” Scott said, referencing his signature legislation that provided more investment opportunities in low-income areas.

“[Biden] sometimes says, ‘You can’t be Black if you don’t vote for me.’ Or he’ll say something as asinine as ‘Republicans want to put you back in chains.’ But last time I checked, the only person restraining Black economic growth is Joe Biden and Bidenomics. So please don’t pander to people smart enough to smell what you’re cooking, and it’s a rat,” he said.

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“Historic shifts towards President Trump are already happening. Here’s what we know: Without question, the pandering tour is because without the Black vote, there is no Democrat party,” Scott later added.

Scott also addressed Trump’s ongoing trial in New York City, arguing that it is politically driven, as well as the qualities his future running mate needed to possess.

Those traits included “someone who understands the House and Senate,” plus “someone who understands being a business owner in the private sector,” and “someone who understands the pain and the misery of rising from the bottom and going to the top” — all traits Scott himself possesses, considering his upbringing and business experience before his time in Congress.

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“There’s no doubt that it would be such an honor for anyone to even be in the conversation. But this should not be about me or any other potential VP, as they describe us. This should only be about America’s future and who gets us there the fastest. That’s Donald Trump,” Scott said when asked whether he was still open to being Trump’s running mate should he be approached about the role.

“Whatever I can do to make sure we have four more years of Donald Trump, count me in,” he added.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Biden campaign for comment.

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

EXCLUSIVE: The family of a little girl who died at the hands of an illegal immigrant in October is fighting to prevent similar tragedies in the future by making a change at the highest levels of government.

Three-year-old Maddie Hines was killed when Gabriel Arteaga, who was being sought by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and did not have a driver’s license, allegedly ran a stop sign and plowed into the side of the family’s SUV.

Maddie’s death is what’s driving her godfather, Republican state Rep. Stewart Jones, to run for Congress and take action to fix the border crisis, including deporting the millions of people residing in the U.S. illegally. His run is being backed by Maddie’s mother, Chelsey, who credits God for providing peace to her family in the aftermath of the tragedy.

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“The main reason I am running for the 3rd Congressional District, is because my goddaughter, Maddie Hines, died senselessly and needlessly due to the actions of an illegal alien,” Jones, who has served in the state legislature for five years, told Fox News Digital in an interview alongside Chelsey. “This is really a personal issue to me. I’m going to go to Washington and fix this problem and secure our border.”

Jones and his wife have a nearly two-decade-long relationship with the Hines family, who also serve as godparents to their children. He says that, although “Heaven forbid” anything happen to him and his wife, he knows his children will be taken care of.

Chelsey described to Fox what unfolded on the day of the crash, including how Maddie told her she loved her from the back seat right before their vehicle was struck, killing the child instantly. She said Stewart, who she calls “Stew,” was the first to arrive at the scene after the first responders, and that he rode in the ambulance with Maddie and prayed over her. 

“It’s been really hard, but very peaceful. I feel like God has been with us through it all,” she said. “I just felt like that day, time stood still. It literally stood still. People talk about that all the time, but I immediately felt God’s love, his peace. It was like an eerie — You just can’t explain it unless you go through it.”

BIDEN CAMPAIGN HIGH ON DOJ’S MARIJUANA SHIFT, ‘SMOKES’ TRUMP FOR INACTION DURING HIS TERM

“To go through something like that and to have someone like them by our side has been amazing. Stew has gone above and beyond, and I feel like that’s his type of personality. Stew, when he sets his mind and his heart on something, and he sees that it needs to change, or he sees that something needs to get done, he gets the job done,” she said. 

“And so to think that he is running for Congress, I’m like, of course you’re running for Congress, and of course you’re going to be amazing at it. I have no doubt in my mind,” she added.

Arteaga, 25, was charged with one count of reckless homicide and not having a driver’s license. The judge presiding over the case revoked his $50,000 bail after he was informed ICE was looking to take him, ensuring he would be available to stand trial, the Clinton Chronicle reported.

Both Chelsey and Stewart lamented the situation at the southern border that led to Maddie’s death, and said there were too many stories just like theirs going untold. They also blasted politicians and others who’ve dismissed any notion of there being a border crisis.

TRUMP’S POTENTIAL RUNNING MATES TO COMPETE FOR APPROVAL AT MAJOR CHRISTIAN CONFERENCE AS SPECULATION SWIRLS

“I’ve seen interviews where people are laughing, and they are saying the border is not an issue,” Chelsey said. “It’s not an issue because it doesn’t apply to you, and you have not become that statistic yet. And until your family goes through what we have gone through, the loss of a child — it’s something we deal with every single day.” 

Jones vowed that, if elected, he would work to deport all illegal immigrants in the U.S., as well as end the programs and benefits he says are driving many of them to come.

“We’ve got to go after any kind of nonprofit, any kind of program that’s supporting and encouraging this illegal activity,” he said. “Second and probably most importantly, we’ve got to complete the wall.” 

“The third piece to this puzzle is we’ve got to work with local law enforcement in order to identify and deport those who are here illegally,” he added. “I want to make sure that those who have committed crimes stand trial, and the ones that haven’t, that are here illegally, we need to get them out of here.”

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Jones faces a crowded GOP primary field, where the winner will likely become the next member of Congress representing the district considering its strong Republican leanings.

Chelsey says Jones’ integrity and character are what make him the best choice among the candidates, and that she gave the approval for him to take Maddie’s story and use it to make a difference.

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“I completely believe that God has blessed him and God has put him here … I feel God has orchestrated everything up to this moment, because he knew that Stew would be the only one that could carry this all the way, and he could get the job done,” she said. 

“Maddie, even though she’s not here, this legacy, and what we stand for, will continue to keep going. And I feel like Stew’s the one who can carry that,” she added.

The primary will be held Tuesday, June 11. If no candidate reaches a majority, the top two candidates will head to a runoff to be held on June 25.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

As they prepare for their face-off on the debate stage next month, warning signals are flashing for President Biden and former President Donald Trump in their 2024 election rematch – as they both appear to struggle to lock up their base voters.

More than two months after she dropped out of the Republican presidential nomination race, zombie candidate Nikki Haley is still grabbing sizable support in the GOP primaries at the expense of Trump.

And Biden is continuing to deal with a persistent “uncommitted” vote protesting the president’s support for Israel in its war with Hamas in Gaza.

“You going to see most Democrats and most Republicans come home. But there are so many warning signs flashing in these primaries,” David Kochel, a longtime Republican consultant and veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns, told Fox News Digital.

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One week after Haley won 22% of the vote in Indiana’s GOP presidential primary, where independents and Democrats could vote, it was supposed to be a different story on Tuesday as Maryland, Nebraska, and West Virginia held mostly closed Republican contests.

But according to unofficial results, Haley grabbed 21% support in Maryland and 18% in Nebraska.

TRUMP AHEAD OF BIDEN IN THESE CRUCIAL PRESIDENTIAL BATTLEGROUND STATES 

And Haley performed strongest in suburban areas in both states, as she also did in earlier primaries held after she suspended her presidential bid. It’s another potential general election problem for Trump, who is currently making history as the first former or current president to stand trial in a criminal case.

“It might just be that Republicans want one last chance to express their dissatisfaction with the nominee and they’ll come home,” Kochel, who remained neutral in the 2024 GOP nomination race, said. 

“But if I’m running the Trump campaign, particularly as I look towards the vice presidential nomination, I would be trying to figure out anyway I could to reassure the Haley voters that we’re going to listen to them and not just run a base only strategy,” he suggested.

Biden also saw a red flag in Tuesday’s primaries, as 10% of votes in the Democratic presidential contest in Maryland were “uncommitted,” according to unofficial and incomplete tabulations. It’s the latest example of far left voters expressing their dissatisfaction with the president’s Mideast policies.

TRUMP TRIES TO EXPAND THE MAP BY FLIPPING THESE BLUE STATES RED 

The primaries were held on the eve of a proposal by Biden and his re-election campaign to hold presidential debates with Trump in June and early September – with a vice presidential debate over the summer – to which Trump quickly agreed.

Mark Penn, the longtime Democratic pollster, former top political adviser to former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Fox News contributor, pointed to Biden’s anemic poll numbers in the key battleground states as he argued the president’s debate proposal came out of weakness.

“You don’t want to debate when you’re ahead. You want to avoid debates at all costs,” Penn said in an interview on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.” “Obviously it’s uphill for President Biden, or he wouldn’t be debating in the first place.”

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National surveys for months have indicated that many Americans are anything but thrilled with the rematch between the 81-year-old Democratic incumbent and his 77-year-old predecessor in the White House.

“You’re going to put the most unpopular politicians we’ve ever seen run against each other in front of 80 million people on a debate stage. One of them is famously bombastic and toxic and loose with the facts. The other one is barely able to get out a sentence. He had six jump cuts in a 13-second video they put out today,” Kochel said as he pointed to Trump and specifically to Biden’s video proposing the debates. 

And Kochel predicted that the debates may “reinforce to the country how dissatisfied they are with these choices.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Long-simmering tensions within the House GOP are poised to inflame as members of Congress find themselves in the throes of the election season.

Ideological, political and even personal differences that have seen Republicans’ razor-thin House majority wracked with chaos in the 118th Congress are now manifesting in lawmakers endorsing primary challengers against their incumbent colleagues.

“I think every member should worry about their own race and not get involved in other people’s races,” Rep. Will Timmons, R-S.C., whose own primary challenger is backed by several members of the House Freedom Caucus, told Fox News Digital. “But unfortunately, there’s a domino effect when, you know, he makes decisions to get involved in other people’s races. It’s only logical that there will be a countervailing force.”

Timmons, who is being backed by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was referring to Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good, R-Va., who has endorsed several Republican challengers running to the right of current members.

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Good himself is facing a GOP opponent who has seen support from his colleagues. A fundraiser invitation from late March, previously obtained by Fox News Digital, for Virginia state Sen. John McGuire’s campaign also included GOP lawmakers like House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., and Reps. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., and Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas.

He’s also being opposed by Defending Main Street, a super PAC affiliated with the pragmatic House GOP group known as the Main Street Caucus.

“I’ll just say we can’t change Washington with the people who are here in Washington that are part of the problem,” Good told Fox News Digital when asked about the situation with his endorsements and those against him. “And I will say that the endorsements of challengers to incumbents started on the other end of the party, started with the liberal moderate members, the establishment RINOs, endorsing against me.”

OHIO PURGES ‘NON-CITIZENS’ FROM STATE VOTER ROLLS, CALLS ON BIDEN ADMIN FOR DATA AHEAD OF 2024 ELECTION

Another notable race where Good and Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., have involved themselves is Texas’ 23rd congressional district, where Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, is facing a runoff primary against social media influencer and Second Amendment activist Brandon Herrera. Gaetz and Good have both backed Herrera, while Gonzales has the backing of the speaker and other fellow Texas Republican lawmakers.

“I won all 29 counties in the primary, and I’m gonna win all 29 counties in the runoff,” Gonzales told Fox News Digital. “Anyone who’s ever run against me has never served in public office. So bring it on.”

When pressed about members endorsing his opponent, he said, “If Matt Gaetz spent as much time trying to defeat the Democrats as he does on his eyebrows, we would be in a great position.”

Gaetz responded in a statement to Fox News Digital, “I would love to spend all of my time fighting only the Democrats, but if Republicans like Tony Gonzales are going to vote like Democrats and act like Democrats, I’ll fight them too. And anyone who gets close to me sees that my eyebrows are quite unkempt.”

FOX NEWS POLL: ABORTION, ECONOMY, AND BORDER SECURITY ARE TOP DEAL-BREAKERS IN 2024 ELECTIONS

Other GOP lawmakers who spoke with Fox News Digital expressed dismay at their colleagues’ infighting. 

“I find it outrageous. As somebody from the business world, you go out of business doing things that way,” Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., told Fox News Digital.

He said of Gonzales’ race, “That’s a difficult district for Republicans to win. I mean, Tony is like the perfect guy for it. So the idea that we’re trying to out-red him in a primary, I think is just foolish because you’re gonna lose Tony, and then you’re gonna get someone who doesn’t fit with the district, and we’re gonna lose that.”

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“And then, you know, going after Good, I mean, I don’t think that’s right, either,” Meuser added.

Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital of the infighting, “I think it’s very unfortunate.”

“I think it’s very, very sad that we have Republicans caring more about fighting against Republicans than the real true challenge we have because of what Democratic rule is,” he said.

WASHINGTON – Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Friday spoke to Fox News about the upside-down American flag seen flying outside his home in the days following the Jan. 6 Capitol protests, saying his wife displayed it in response to insults directed at her from a neighbor. 

Alito weighed in after The New York Times first reported on the story Thursday, in which it said the upside-down flag — a symbol adopted by some Trump supporters disputing the results of the 2020 presidential election — appeared outside Alito’s home in Alexandria, Virginia, on Jan. 17, 2021. 

Alito said the saga in his neighborhood began in the days around Jan. 6, 2021, when a neighbor living down the street put up a sign that read “F— Trump” about 50 feet away from a children’s bus stop. 

He said his wife, Martha-Ann, then spoke with those neighbors about the sign and the conversation was not well received. 

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Alito told Fox News those neighbors then put up a sign directly attacking his wife and personally blaming her for the events that transpired on Jan. 6 at the nation’s capital. 

He said that during a walk in the neighborhood with his wife, one person who lived at the property with the signage then got into an argument with her — at one point calling her derogatory language “including the C-word.” 

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Following that incident, Alito said Martha-Ann was distraught and decided to make some sort of statement by hanging the American flag upside down outside their home. 

Alito told Fox News he had no role in the flag decision, and it was flying outside their property only “for a short time.” 

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He added that he felt he had no right or ability to control or order around his wife and that some neighbors on his street have been “very political.” 

The story surrounding the flag outside Alito’s home comes as the Supreme Court is deciding on former President Trump’s immunity case. 

West Virginia high school track athlete Adaleia Cross is joining a national Title IX lawsuit after alleging a transgender 13-year-old teammate sexually harassed her during practices and in the school’s locker room.

B.P.J., which is how court documents refer to the transgender athlete at the center of the allegations and another West Virginia lawsuit, allegedly made “several offensive and inappropriate sexual comments” to Cross throughout the school shot put season. The interactions allegedly escalated to more “aggressive, vile, and disturbing” comments during Cross’s final year of middle school. B.P.J is a biological male who identifies as a female.

“During the end of that year, about two to three times per week, B.P.J. would look at me” and make a sexually explicit vulgar comment, Cross alleged in the lawsuit filed May 8. “There were usually other girls around who heard this. I heard B.P.J. say the same thing to my other teammates, too.”

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Cross alleged additional “vulgar comments” caused deep distress and affected her ability to continue to participate in track and field.

“B.P.J. made other more explicit sexual statements that felt threatening to me. At times, B.P.J.” would make remarks suggesting a desire to carry out sexual assault, according to the lawsuit.

“I felt confused and disgusted when I heard these vulgar and aggressive comments,” Cross alleged. “It was especially confusing because I was told that B.P.J. was on the girls’ team because B.P.J. identifies as a girl, but the girls on the team never talked like that.”

6 STATES SUE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OVER NEW TITLE IX PROTECTIONS FOR TRANS ATHLETES IN GIRLS’ SPORTS

Cross then alleged she would report the comments to her school’s administrators, but “B.P.J. got very little or no punishment for saying things that no other student would get away with.”

Even though Cross, who is 15 years old, started high school last fall, she still interacts with B.P.J. because the middle and high school share the same track and overlapping practice times. This fall, B.P.J. will enter high school, and Cross said she “dreads being on the same sports team again.”

“I am reluctant to keep competing on a team that exposes me to these inappropriate comments. I’m also reluctant to continue in track and field if I have to compete against boys. I’m unable to fully enjoy sports in this environment,” Cross said.

Cross noted that B.P.J.’s athletic performance steadily advanced throughout middle school. In 2023, B.P.J. outperformed Cross and secured a spot in the Mid Mountain 10 Middle School Championships, a track meet in which only the top three athletes from each team can compete. B.P.J. qualified for the meet, knocking Cross out of one of the top three positions. 

“If I complained, I would be unfairly labeled as ‘transphobic,’ even though that is not true. It felt unfair. I felt like I had to suck it up and live with it. I felt unheard and unseen,” Cross said in the lawsuit.

B.P.J. is now connected to the legal proceedings of State of Tennessee v. Cardona, filed in the Northern District of Kentucky. West Virginia was part of the original group of six states filing as plaintiffs in the case against Biden’s Title IX revisions.

In April, new regulations for Title IX were ushered in by President Biden’s Department of Education that would protect gender identity from discrimination, while rolling back Trump-era rules that bolstered the rights of those accused of sexual misconduct. 

Heritage Foundation legal fellow Sarah Marshall Perry told Fox News Digital in an interview Cross’s lawsuit expands the number of individuals, organizations and states challenging Title IX. 

“We know it hasn’t even been published officially in the Federal Register, and yet it’s already raised the ire of more than 17 school districts, one school board, seven organizations, two individual plaintiffs and 26 states, and is some of the most significant federal litigation in terms of depth and swiftness of filing that I have ever seen in my two and a half decades of legal practice,” Perry said.

BIDEN’S TITLE IX RULES ARE A VICTORY FOR POWERFUL TEACHERS UNIONS FUELING DEM CAMPAIGNS

“It is not only unconstitutional, it’s a violation of administrative law and the Civil Rights law that we are seeing claims based on everything from a violation of the First Amendment to sexual harassment, as is Cross’s claim, to violation of religious liberty to violation of the Administrative Procedure Act,” Perry continued.

“So, it is an encouraging development, and I don’t believe it will be the last two that we see here in the middle of May.”

Earlier this month, five West Virginia middle school girls were banned from participating in track and field meets after they protested against B.P.J. and the court’s refusal to enforce the state’s “Save Women’s Sports Act.” But they were given the ability to compete again after Judge Thomas A. Bedell issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the Harrison Board of Education and its schools from penalizing student-athletes for their speech. 

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The school board denied allegations of retaliation against the students and instead asserted the students were allowed to protest without hindrance and with full awareness and permission from coaches and the principal.

Fox News Digital’s Julia Johnson contributed to this report. 

EXCLUSIVE: As President Biden prepares for a weekend of Black voter outreach in the key battleground states of Georgia and Michigan, a high-profile Black Republican politician is accusing the president of election year “pandering.”

“It’s always pandering,” Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida argued in a national digital exclusive interview with Fox News. “This is what the Democrats do, especially in election years. You never see them in the Black community until it’s time to actually get votes, and they show up and want to give speeches.”

The president is scheduled to take part in an event Saturday in Georgia that his re-election campaign highlighted was “focused on engaging Black voters” before delivering the commencement address Sunday morning – in his official capacity as president – at Morehouse College, a renowned historically Black men’s liberal arts college in Atlanta.

Biden later Sunday will meet with small-business owners in Detroit before delivering an address that evening in Michigan to the NAACP.

The president’s re-election team, in an email release, highlighted that “no administration has delivered for Black America like President Biden and Vice-President Harris.”

WATCH: BLACK VOTERS WEIGH IN TO FOX NEWS ON THE PRESIDENT’S PERFORMANCE

“This campaign will not take a single voter for granted,” Biden campaign senior adviser Trey Baker wrote in the memo. “We are not, and will not, parachute into these communities at the last minute, expecting their vote.”

But a slew of polls this spring – both nationally and in the key swing states – have indicated that Trump has gained support with Black voters at Biden’s expense.

TRUMP AIMS TO TURN THESE BLUE STATES RED IN NOVEMBER

The Biden campaign memo spotlighted that “while the Black unemployment rate skyrocketed under Trump, the Biden-Harris administration helped to create over 2.5 million jobs for Black workers, resulting in record low Black unemployment – Black business ownership is also growing at the fastest pace in 30 years.” 

But Donalds, in his interview with Fox News Digital, pointed to persistent inflation.

“I think his problem with Black voters in particular, but with all voters, is that his agenda sucks. It’s awful. Inflation is crippling so many families. It’s destroyed purchasing power,” Donalds emphasized.

Donald also pointed to what he called the nation’s “wide open border, which is strangling every major city in America, squeezing their budgets, overwhelming resources.”

And he claimed that Biden is “trying to find ways to repair the damage. But speeches don’t repair damage. Actual policy and execution is what fixes things.”

Donalds was interviewed ahead of his trip to New Hampshire on Friday to headline the state GOP’s major fundraising dinner. 

RUNNING MATES DUELING FOR DOLLARS AS THEY SHOW OFF THEIR FUNDRAISING CLOUT FOR TRUMP

Former two-term South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who later served as Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, in January captured 40% of the vote in New Hampshire’s presidential primary. Haley, who was the last candidate standing against Trump in the race for the GOP presidential nomination, ended her campaign in early March.

But more than two months after she dropped out, zombie candidate Haley is still grabbing sizable support in the GOP primaries at the expense of Trump.

Donalds said his message to New Hampshire Republicans is “it’s time to come together. It’s time to be focused on being one party… I think every Republican in our country, regardless of what side of the party they’re on, does understand that Joe Biden is the master of disaster and has to be defeated if our country’s going to survive.”

“I’m fully confident that by the time we get to the November election, those voters are going to come home and vote Republican. They’re going to vote for Donald Trump,” Donalds predicted.

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Donalds, a Trump ally and supporter in the House, is considered to be on the former president’s short list for 2024 running mate.

The two-term congressman has long said he would serve as running mate if asked by Trump.

But because both Donalds and Trump call Florida home, residency could be an issue. 

A general interpretation of a clause in Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution is that if the presidential and vice presidential nominee come from the same state, the electors from that state cannot vote for both candidates. With 30 electoral votes at stake in Florida, this could be an issue.

Asked what would happen if he was named as the GOP’s vice presidential nominee, Donalds said “we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. It’s something we definitely have to think through. When you get there, you get there, and you make those decisions accordingly. There’s probably ways to work that out.”

Donalds was interviewed a few days after Trump, at a closed-door fundraiser in New York City, suggested that if Donalds ran for Florida governor in 2026 in the race to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, he’d have “many friends in the race.”

Donalds told Fox News “I’ve thought about it. I don’t really rule anything out simply,” 

“It’s really cool that people back home in Florida consider me to be able to be the state’s next governor. It’s really an honor. It’s honestly surreal thinking about it because I’m 45 and my journey through politics has been a really fruitful one,” Donalds said. “It’s really humbling and an honor, but I just focus on doing the job I have.”

Donalds’ trip to New Hampshire – which holds the first presidential primary in the race for the GOP nomination – is also sparking some speculation that he may have some national ambitions in four years.

“I think it’s pretty cool. You never know. Politics is a funny business. Things can change very, very fast,” he said when asked about a possible White House run in 2028. “People have asked me about the future all the time. So why not go to New Hampshire, especially if they ask you to come. You better show up.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. 

What’s happening:

– Trump heads to Minnesota GOP convention after son’s high school graduation

– State Department warns Americans traveling overseas

– House rep revives ‘end the Fed’ push

Fetterman vs the Mean Girls

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman called out spats between Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Marjorie Taylor Green, and his fellow Democrat is not happy about it.

“In the past, I’ve described the U.S. House as The Jerry Springer Show. Today, I’m apologizing to The Jerry Springer Show,” Fetterman posted on social media, along with a headline about a congressional hearing that devolved into sophomoric insults where AOC called MTG “baby girl” and MTG questioned AOC’s intelligence and criticized another Democrat’s fake eyelashes.

Ocasio-Cortez told Fetterman in a post that he seemed to be “confused about racism and misogyny being a ‘both sides’ issue,” and said she would “stand up to bullies, instead of becoming one.”

There have been plenty of fiery moments in the House chambers in recent years, but the Senate has seen its share of parliamentary bickering. 

Across America

‘LEGAL VICTORY’: SC’s abortion ban survives Planned Parenthood challenge …Read more

ALITO SPEAKS OUT: SCOTUS justice talks to Fox News on upside-down flag allegations …Read more

‘SHOULD BE ASHAMED’: Mayor Adam’s office accuses Washington Post of pushing ‘antisemitic trope’ …Read more

‘CULT-LIKE’ FAITH: ‘View’ hosts slam Catholic NFL star as ‘extremist’ …Read more

GLOBAL WARNING: State Department issues ‘worldwide caution’ alert for Americans overseas …Read more

Capitol Hill

PROGRESSIVE REBELS: 61 House progressives oppose resolution condemning violence against police …Read more

SENTENCED: Pelosi hammer attacker learns fate …Read more

‘HARD-EARNED TAXPAYER DOLLARS’: House Republicans demand full accounting of federal DEI programs …Read more

CHANGE OF HEART: Senate committee mulls reviving tool that could stymie Trump nominees in potential second term …Read more

END THE FED? Thomas Massie introduces bills to audit, abolish the Federal Reserve …Read more

BLASTING BIDEN: Mitt Romney defends Trump on border security, spars with MSNBC …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

‘CRUDE’ MOVE: Biden’s privilege claim to keep special counsel interview audio under wraps blasted as political cover …Read more

‘INEXCUSABLE’: Wife of wounded veteran in bitter Senate primary unleashes on GOP opponent’s ‘vile’ ads …Read more

‘DEVASTATING’: CNN anchor describes moment Cohen lost credibility during Trump trial …Read more

‘A REAL TRIUMPH’: MSNBC hails pivotal moment for Trump defense team against Michael Cohen …Read more

‘MEAN GIRL QUALITY’: MSNBC host comments on supposed petty behavior of Trump allies appearing at NYC courtroom …Read more

‘WONDERFUL BOY!’ Trumps attend son Barron’s high school graduation …Read more

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Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to deny Hunter Biden‘s request to delay his upcoming California tax trial in what is expected to be a busy summer for the president’s son, who also faces a separate criminal trial in Delaware. 

In his motion, Special Counsel David Weiss said Biden’s attorney, who is representing him in the California and Delaware cases, previously agreed to the trial dates last year. 

“No defendant would be afforded a continuance because he wrongly chose to lodge a jurisdictionless appeal, and this defendant should be treated no differently,” the motion states.” Defense counsel offers a handful of other reasons why he wants a trial delay of 77 days, but none of them warrant a continuance. The motion should be denied.”

HUNTER BIDEN INDICTMENT MUDDIES WEISS’ CREDIBILITY AS WHISTLEBLOWERS FEEL VINDICATED: ATTORNEY

Weiss said Biden’s attorney agreed in April 2023 to commence with the trial in Delaware, in which Biden is accused of federal gun charges, despite the tax trial being scheduled to begin on June 20. The Delaware proceeding is expected to begin June 3. 

“In his latest effort to delay trial (an application for a continuance), defendant’s lead counsel’s primary reason is the weeklong June 3, 2024, trial in Delaware at which he is one of the lawyers representing the defendant with respect to firearms charges,” the court document reads. “But on March 13, 2024, and again on April 11, 2024, lead counsel told the Delaware court he was able to try the gun case in Delaware on June 3, 2024, with full knowledge that this trial would begin on June 20, 2024.”

On Tuesday, a federal judge rejected a request to delay the gun case until September. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika said she believes “everyone can get done what needs to get done” by the trial’s start date of June 3.

SHAPLEY ATTORNEY: HUNTER BIDEN PROSECUTOR ‘ALL OVER THE MAP,’ SHOULD TESTIFY TO CONGRESS

Later that day, a three-judge panel of a federal appeals court said the tax case against Biden can also move forward.

In Delaware, Biden is accused of lying about his drug use in October 2018 while filling out a form to buy a gun that he kept for 11 days. He has pleaded not guilty. 

In California, he’s charged with three felonies and six misdemeanors over at least $1.4 million in taxes he owed between 2016 and 2019.

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A plea agreement reached between Biden and prosecutors was rejected by a judge who was supposed to sign off on it, forcing the case to go to trial. 

It’s been more than 50 years since a Republican won Minnesota in a presidential election, but former President Trump says he’s got “a really good shot” of breaking the losing streak this November in his 2024 rematch with President Biden.

The former president is in the reliably blue state Friday evening to headline the Minnesota GOP’s annual Lincoln Reagan fundraising dinner.

Trump lost Minnesota by just 1½ points in his 2016 presidential election victory over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Four years ago, he lost the state to President Biden by more than seven points in his unsuccessful re-election campaign.

Ahead of the 2020 election, Trump promised a victory in Minnesota, saying that if he lost, “I’m never coming back.”

FIRST ON FOX: TOP JEWISH GOP GROUP STEPS UP FUNDRAISING FOR TRUMP AMID ANTI-ISRAEL COLLEGE CAMPUS PROTESTS 

Fast-forward four years and Trump is back and once again predicting a victory.

“We think we have a really good shot at Minnesota,” Trump emphasized in an interview Wednesday with KSTP, a local TV station in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. “We have great friendships up there.”

Trump added that he’s “worked hard on Minnesota” and that “Tom Emmer is very much involved,” pointing to the House majority whip.

Emmer, who is joining Trump at the state GOP gala, is chairing the Trump campaign in Minnesota even though the former president and his allies helped sink Emmer’s bid last autumn to become House speaker.

As the Trump and Biden campaigns prepare for battle in seven crucial swing states that decided the 2020 election (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which were narrowly won by Biden, and North Carolina, which Trump carried by a razor-thin margin) and will likely once again in the 2024 rematch, both campaigns see opportunities to expand the map.

WARNING SIGNS FOR TRUMP, BIDEN, AS THEY CAREEN TOWARD DEBATES 

Two weekends ago at a closed-door Republican National Committee retreat for top-dollar donors  at a resort in Palm Beach, Florida, senior Trump campaign advisers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita and veteran pollster Tony Fabrizio spotlighted internal surveys that suggested both “Minnesota and Virginia are clearly in play.”

“In both states, Trump finds himself in positions to flip key electoral votes in his favor,” the survey, which was shared with Fox News, emphasizes. 

And both states have sizable populations of rural white voters without college degrees who disproportionately support the former president.

Biden’s campaign disagrees that either Minnesota or Virginia are up for grabs.

While noting they are “not taking any state or any vote for granted,” Biden campaign battleground states director Dan Kanninen told reporters last week “we don’t see polls that are six or seven months out from a general election, head-to-head numbers certainly, as any more predictive than a weather report is six or seven months out.”

Kanninen highlighted that the campaign has teams on the ground in both states engaging voters.

“We feel strongly the Biden-Harris coalition in both Minnesota and Virginia, which has been strong in the midterms and off-year elections, will continue to be strong for us in the fall of 2024,” he added.

And Biden campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt, pointing to the president’s current fundraising dominance and ground-game advantage in the key battlegrounds, argued “Trump’s team has so little campaign or infrastructure to speak of they’re resorting to leaking memos that say ‘the polls we paid for show us winning.'” 

But Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, who launched a long-shot and unsuccessful primary challenge against the president, insists “Minnesota’s in play.”

Phillips, in an interview this week on Fox News’ “Special Edition,” argued Minnesota’s “like a lot of states that I think a lot of my fellow Democrats don’t want to confess is the reality. … I’m telling my Democratic colleagues who are supporting President Biden, myself included, that there’s a lot of work to do.”

While Trump’s campaign looks for opportunities to expand the map in Minnesota and Virginia, Biden’s campaign appears to be eyeing swing state North Carolina and Florida. 

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Trump carried the Sunshine State by less than four points in 2020, but two years ago, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and GOP Sen. Marco Rubio each won re-election by nearly 20 points.

LaCivita argued the Biden campaign was playing “a faux game” in both states but insisted Trump has a “real opportunity in expanding the map in Virginia and Minnesota.”

Trump’s stop in Minnesota comes a week after he held a large rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, a red bastion in an overwhelming blue state where no Republican has carried the state in a presidential election in over three decades. Trump lost the state to Biden by 16 points four years ago.

“We’re going to win New Jersey,” Trump vowed at the rally.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.