NationalWatch

INDIAN LAND, S.C. — EXCLUSIVE — Former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley says her Republican White House campaign has had a “fantastic response” since last Wednesday’s first GOP presidential nomination debate.

“I think in the first 72 hours we raised a million dollars. We’ve had thousands of people volunteer. We’ve had a lot of people join the campaign. The phones are still ringing,” Haley said on Monday in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.

Haley spoke minutes before holding her first event since last week’s debate: a jam-packed town hall in Indian Lake, South Carolina. Haley’s campaign said that roughly 1,000 people filled the auditorium, balcony and overflow rooms at a community event space in this northern South Carolina town along the border with North Carolina.

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Former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, headlines a town hall in Indian Land, South Carolina on August 28, 2023 (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Pointing to the support, Haley said, “We’re grateful. We’re absolutely grateful. But it only keeps us more motivated because we have a country to save.”

Haley, the only woman among the major candidates running for the Republican nomination, was the first contender on the stage at last week’s Fox News-hosted debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to come out swinging, targeting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and former Vice President Mike Pence early in the debate for supporting legislation that raised the national debt.

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And Haley, who served as former President Donald Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, was the first to target Trump over his perceived electability liability, arguing the former president was the “most disliked” politician in the country.

Republican presidential candidate former former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks at Fiserv Forum during the first 2023 Republican presidential debate. (Mike De Sisti-USA TODAY NETWORK)

She also heavily criticized another rival, multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur and first-time candidate Vivek Ramaswamy over foreign policy. She repeated those comments at Wednesday’s town hall, charging Ramaswamy’s proposals were “completely naive”

Asked about the first showdown, Haley said in her interview, “You never know what you’re going to get when you get on a debate stage. You never know what questions you’re going to be asked. You don’t know who’s going to attack or not attack. You don’t know. So it’s all instinct and gut. And it’s about communicating as much as you can, and that’s what we tried to do.”

“I think we only had eight and a half minutes in two hours. I would have loved to say more, but you take the most of the time that you’re given to really get the substance, solutions and policy out there, and that’s what I tried to do,” she emphasized.

Former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, speaks to the crowd in an overflow room at her town hall in Indian Land, S.C., on August 28, 2023 (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Haley appeared to enjoy a small bounce in some of the initial public opinion surveys conducted following the debate, but she remains in the single digits, and along with the rest of the large field of contenders remains far behind Trump, who remains the commanding front-runner for the nomination.

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But Katon Dawson, a former chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party and Haley campaign adviser and surrogate, told Fox News that “what the Fox debate did for us as a campaign was made it all real and start coming together, and I think they [voters] understand the fact that Nikki’s different. … You saw that difference on the debate.”

Dawson emphasized that the first debate “put gasoline on the fire, and now we’ve got to continue to keep working.”

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire. 

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Presidential candidate Nikki Haley is hitting back at GOP contender Vivek Ramaswamy who called her “lying Namrata,” referencing her given Indian name, and originally misspelling it on the website. 

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Haley said she’s “not going to get into the childish name calling,” and that he should “know better than that.” 

On a new page on the newcomer’s campaign website called “TRUTH. Over myth,” Ramaswamy is attempting to set the record straight on recent attacks leveled by competition for the Oval Office in 2024 related. 

One such criticism is Ramaswamy’s position on U.S. support to Israel, an accusation leveled by former UN ambassador Haley last week during the first GOP primary debate. 

DESANTIS PAC TROLLS RAMASWAMY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY GAFFE IN GOP DEBATE: VIVEK ‘IS MISTAKEN’

Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy (Getty Images)

“WRONG. Keep lying, Namrata Randhawa. The desperation is showing,” Ramaswamy’s website read earlier today. It has since been updated with the correct spelling for Haley’s birth name.

“Nimarata Randhawa” appears to be a reference to Haley’s birth name of Indian origin, but it leaves out Nikki, her middle name which she goes by.

“I’m not going to get into the childish name calling or whatever, making fun of my name that he’s doing,” Haley told Fox News Digital. I mean he of all people should know better than that. But I’ve given up on him knowing better than anything at this point.

“I think we saw the childish demeaning side of him on stage. I think he’s carrying that out whether it’s on the website or otherwise, but I have no use for it,” she continued.  

Asked for comment, a spokesperson for the Ramaswamy campaign told Fox News Digital, “”How is he making fun of her name? His name is Vivek Ramaswamy.” 

Matt Whitlock, a former spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee posted on X that Ramaswamy’s fact-check website “feels like parody.”

“[N]ot sure why using Nikki Haley’s maiden name (spelled wrong) is a rebuttal. But makes clear her debate attacks got under his skin,” Whitlock said.

He went on to comment that this type of political attack “usually comes from lunatics (on the left or right) accusing her of whitewashing her identity and hiding her heritage. (Who are too stupid to google it and realize Nikki is her actual birth name).” 

Another X user pointed out that “what’s even crazier” is that Haley was the only candidate during the debate to properly pronounce “Vivek,” which he says rhymes with “cake.” 

Saat Alety of Fed Hall Policy Advisors stated on X that “The references to @NikkiHaley’s maiden name or first name as pejoratives are bewildering. She’s a married woman — her last name is Haley.” 

“Nikki is an extremely common name in Punjabi culture – and it’s her middle name. Sad to see this from an Indian-American, @VivekRamaswamy,” he stated. 

RAMASWAMY, PENCE CLASH AFTER FORMER VP CALLS GOP NEWCOMER A ‘ROOKIE’: ‘THIS ISN’T COMPLICATED’

Entrepreneur and 2024 Presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy raps after doing a Fair Side Chat with Governor Kim Reynolds, at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa, on August 12, 2023. (STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Haley went after Ramaswamy during the debate, saying he has no foreign policy experience and it “shows.” 

“He wants to hand Ukraine to Russia, he wants to let China eat Taiwan, he wants to go and stop funding Israel. You don’t do that to friends, what you do instead is you have the backs of your friends,” Haley said.

Ramaswamy responded, “Our relationship with Israel would never be stronger than by the end of my first term, but it’s not a client relationship, it’s a friendship, and you know what friends do? Friends help each other stand on their own two feet.”

WATCH: HALEY CLASHES WITH RAMASWAMY OVER U.S. AID TO UKRAINE

Republican presidential candidate and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley greets voters at a town hall event in New Hampshire on April 26, 2023, in Bedford, New Hampshire.  (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

“You know what I love about them? I love their border policies, I love their tough-on-crime policies, I love that they have a national identity and an Iron Dome to protect their homeland, so, yes, I want to learn from the friends that we’re supporting,” Ramaswamy added.

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“No, you want to cut the aid off, and let me tell you, it’s not that Israel needs America, it’s that America needs Israel. They’re on the front line of defense to Iran,” Haley retorted, drawing applause from the crowd. 

Ramaswamy’s website says that, “By the end of Vivek’s first term, the US-Israel relationship will be deeper and stronger than ever because it won’t be a client relationship, it will be a true friendship.” 

“The centerpiece of Vivek’s Middle East policy in Year 1 will be to lead “Abraham Accords 2.0” which will fully integrate Israel into the Middle East economy – by adding Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Indonesia to the pact which was one of President Trump’s crowning foreign policy achievements,” the website says. 

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

Brianna Herlihy is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

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EXCLUSIVE – Sen. Tim Scott will unveil a new plan on Monday that the Republican presidential candidate aims to “defend America’s children, empower parents, and protect kids online.”

Scott will announce his proposal, which was shared first with Fox News Digital, as he meets with parents, homeschool advocates and voters during a campaign swing through his home state of South Carolina, a crucial early voting state that holds the first southern primary in the GOP presidential nominating calendar.

“Teachers’ unions, Big Tech, and [President] Joe Biden are on a mission to make parents less important,” Scott charged in a statement.

And the conservative senator showcased that “I have a bold agenda to support and empower parents — from the classroom to the locker room to the smartphone. We must empower parents and give them a choice, so that every child has a chance.”

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Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, a Republican presidential candidate, holds a town hall in Charleston, S.C. on August 28, 2023. (Tim Scott campaign)

Scott’s proposal is the latest example of Republicans pushing to elevate the role of parental control of public schools in recent years.

The first component of Scott’s “Empower Parents Plan” is defending children with a “family first culture.”

Scott, a rising star in the GOP and the only Black Republican in the Senate, calls for restoring “American childhood and let girls and boys be girls and boys, not guinea pigs” and “Save Title IX and women’s sports — if God made you a man, you play sports against other men.”

WHAT SEN. TIM SCOTT SPOTLIGHTED IN HIS CLOSING ARGUMENT AT LAST WEEK’S DEBATE

He also spotlights that he will “stand with crisis pregnancy centers” and pledges to stop the Department of Justice, which he argues is “turning a blind eye to far-left threats and vandalism.”

Scott also vows to empower parents by defending their ability to know what their children are hearing and reading in school.

He also wants to “empower every family the right to opt out of propaganda that attacks their values and religious liberty,” and pledges to “break the back of the teachers’ unions and enact nationwide school choice,” which are staples of the conservative movement.

Republican presidential candidate Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., reacts before speaking at a Fair-Side Chat with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds at the Iowa State Fair, Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

The senator also wants to give parents a greater ability to decide whether to send their children to public, private, charter, or STEM schools, or homeschooling.

Scott argued that he will “replace indoctrination with education. ABC, not C.R.T.”

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Scott’s third component will also please conservatives, as he aims to “stop Big Tech from stealing kids’ attention spans, China from stealing their privacy, and predators from stealing their future.”

The senator calls for mandating country-of-origin labeling on every app so parents are fully informed and making big tech do more to keep kids safe online.

Republicans have been showcasing their efforts to defend parental rights in recent years, helping to turn public education into a political battleground. The push came in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which triggered school closures across the country, upending families and putting schools in the spotlight.

MOMS FOR LIBERTY CLOUT WITHIN THE GOP KEEPS RISING 

Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s victory over former Gov. Terry McAuliffe in Virginia’s high-profile 2021 gubernatorial election – in a contest where Youngkin made parental rights a centerpiece of his campaign – energized the GOP.

Fast-forward to this year and House Republicans – in one of their first major legislative pushes after taking over the chamber’s majority – passed mostly along party lines a “Parents Bill of Rights.” The legislation, which aims to boost the information parents’ receive regarding their children’s education, fulfilled a pledge they made in last year’s midterm elections.

Former President Trump gives remarks at Moms for Liberty’s annual summit in Philadelphia on June 30, 2023. (Fox News Photo/Joshua Comins)

On the presidential campaign trail, the GOP White House contenders this year have been trying to one up each other in highlighting their commitment to boosting parental rights.

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Additionally, five Republican presidential candidates – including GOP nomination commanding front-runner and former President Trump – spoke in-person in June in Philadelphia at the annual summit of Moms for Liberty, a conservative leaning parental rights organization that has quickly become very influential in Republican circles.

Democrats argue that the widespread push by Republicans is a mission by the GOP to take aim at what they consider an anti-woke agenda and weaken public education.

And the Democratic National Committee took aim at Scott in responding to his plan.

“Tim Scott has spent his career working to defund public education and gut programs that millions of students across the country rely on, all to divert taxpayer dollars to wealthy private schools,” DNC spokesperson Ammar Moussa charged in a statement.”

And Moussa argued that “our students, teachers, and parents deserve better than Scott and MAGA Republicans’ extreme agendas that would devastate public education and harm education across the country.”

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire. 

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Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., is planning to use the upcoming government spending fight to pump the brakes on the federal and state prosecutions targeting former President Trump.

“Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars have no place funding the radical Left’s nefarious election interference efforts,” Clyde told Fox News Digital. “Together, Jack Smith, Alvin Bragg, and Fani Willis intentionally brought four sham indictments against the sitting president’s top political opponent, President Donald J. Trump, as the upcoming 2024 presidential election ramps up.”

Clyde is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, which has been tasked with assembling 12 different spending bills for the next fiscal year, which begins on Oct. 1.

TRUMP CAMPAIGN RAISES $7.1 MILLION IN FUNDRAISING SINCE MUGSHOT WAS TAKEN THURSDAY, FOX NEWS CONFIRMS

Republican Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde, right, is unveiling the House GOPs latest push to defund the prosecutions against former President Trump.

He said on Monday that he intends to introduce two amendments to the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, which allocates funding to the Justice Department, among other offices. 

Both would prevent federal funds from going toward the prosecution of a major presidential candidate ahead of the 2024 White House race. The first is aimed at federal cases and the second at state prosecutions.

TRUMP LAWYER CALLS FOR SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH TO BE INVESTIGATED, SAYS CHARGES ARE ALL ‘THEATRICS’

Trump’s allies have rallied around him in the wake of his four criminal indictments, accusing prosecutors in each case of playing politics to kneecap his front-runner status in the 2024 GOP primary. The former president is facing 91 total charges, including two cases related to his alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 loss.

U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith speaks during a news conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Clyde on Monday dismissed the cases as “witch hunt” efforts and said he had “serious concerns” about how they were being handled.

It comes after a flurry of GOP proposals with the similar aim of defunding the cases against Trump. Many have specifically targeted Special Counsel Jack Smith, who brought two separate federal indictments against the former president – one for his handling of classified documents and another related to the 2020 election.

GEORGIA INDICTMENT: 2 TRUMP CO-DEFENDANTS BOOKED IN FULTON COUNTY JAIL

“The American people get to decide who wins the White House — not Deep State actors who have shamelessly attacked Donald Trump since he announced his first bid in 2015. It is imperative that Congress use its power of the purse to protect the integrity of our elections, restore Americans’ faith in our government, and dismantle our nation’s two-tiered system of justice,” Clyde said.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks in the Fulton County Government Center during a news conference, Monday, Aug. 14, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

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“I’m fully committed to helping lead this effort, and I call on my House Appropriations colleagues to join me in this righteous fight.”

If Clyde’s amendments make it through the legislative process and end up on the House floor for a vote, they face a decent prospect of passing under the GOP’s razor-thin majority. However, the measures are likely dead on arrival in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

Elizabeth Elkind is a reporter for Fox News Digital focused on Congress as well as the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and politics. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com

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The federal judge presiding over Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case against former President Trump, which alleges interference in the 2020 presidential election, set the trial date for March 4, 2024 – right in the middle of the GOP presidential primary calendar.

U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia Tanya Chutkan rejected a proposal by Trump’s defense team that the trial begin in April 2026 – long after the results of the 2024 presidential election.

Instead, she set the date far closer to one proposed by Smith and the government, who wanted the trial to begin on Jan. 2, 2024. They suggested it would last approximately four to six weeks. That date would have fallen just weeks before the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary.

Trump is the first former president in United States history to face criminal charges.

But a criminal trial against a former president, who is also a candidate with a commanding lead over the GOP presidential field, being set in the middle of the primary cycle is likely to cause a political firestorm.

TRUMP SAYS TAKING MUGSHOT WAS ‘NOT A COMFORTABLE FEELING, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU’VE DONE NOTHING WRONG’

Former President Donald Trump takes the stage during an organizing event at Fervent Calvary Chapel on July 8, 2023, in Las Vegas. (Ellen Schmidt / Las Vegas Review-Journal / Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The judge said neither date was acceptable.

TRUMP’S PLEADS ‘NOT GUILTY’ TO CHARGES STEMMING FROM SPECIAL COUNSEL’S JAN 6 PROBE

Once scheduled, defense attorney John Lauro told the judge that Trump’s defense team would abide by her ruling but that they would “not be able to provide adequate representation.”

“I feel the need to put that on the record,” Lauro said.  

Chutkan said she understood Lauro’s position but added that she would issue an order with a pre-trial schedule.

There was a brief discussion in the courtroom of whether the defense team planned on polling citizens of the District of Columbia in an effort to determine whether to submit a motion for a change of venue.

TRUMP TARGETED: A LOOK AT PROBES INVOLVING THE FORMER PRESIDENT; FROM STORMY DANIELS TO RUSSIA TO MAR-A-LAGO

Chutkan said she would be “watching very carefully for anything which might poison the jury pool.”

Lauro said the defense has not started such polling, but given the accelerated schedule for a trial, they may begin to do so, adding that he has never seen a judge restrict such action.

Chutkan replied that she had no intention to restrict anything of the sort but that she would be protective of the District of Columbia’s jury pool.

Jack Smith, U.S. special counsel, speaks during a news conference in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 1, 2023. (Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The trial date comes after Smith investigated whether Trump was involved in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, and any alleged interference in the 2020 election result.

On Aug. 1, Trump was indicted on four federal charges out of Smith’s Jan. 6 probe.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges, which included conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

Former President Donald Trump sits between attorneys Todd Blanche and John Lauro in federal court in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 3, 2023. At far left is Special Counsel Jack Smith. (Reuters / Jane Rosenberg)

Separately, Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges out of Smith’s classified records probe. The charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements.

On July 27, Trump was charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of Smith’s investigation – an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts.

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A federal judge in Florida has scheduled a trial date for May 20, 2024.

President Biden is also under special counsel investigation for his alleged improper retention of classified records. The status of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s probe is unclear.

Brooke Singman is a Fox News Digital politics reporter. You can reach her at Brooke.Singman@Fox.com or @BrookeSingman on Twitter.

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Democrat Rep. Ayanna Pressley fired back at GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy Sunday after he referred to her and social justice author Ibram Kendi as “modern grand wizards” of the “modern KKK.”

“The verbal assault lobbied against myself and Dr. Kendi is shameful. It is deeply offensive. And it is dangerous,” Pressley said on MSNBC’s “PoliticsNation” on Sunday with Rev. Al Sharpton. 

She added she is “squarely focused on the work of undoing the centuries of harm that has precisely been done to Black Americans and charting a path of true restorative justice and racial justice forward.”

“It is not that long ago that we were besieged by images of White supremacists carrying tiki torches in Charlottesville. It was not that long ago that a White supremacist mob seized the Capitol, waving Confederate flags and erecting nooses on the West Lawn of the Capitol,” she said.

MIKE PENCE DREDGES UP VIVEK RAMASWAMY’S PAST JAN 6 STATEMENTS: ‘A STAIN ON AMERICAN HISTORY’

Vivek Ramaswamy during the Republican primary presidential debate hosted by Fox News in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

But Ramaswamy upheld his position, initially expressed during an Iowa campaign event Friday. 

“I stand by what I said to provoke an open and honest discussion in this country,” Ramaswamy told CNN host Dana Bash on Sunday. “And there are many Americans today who are deeply frustrated by the new culture of anti-racism, how it’s really racism in new clothing.”

Ramaswamy said racism “comes from the modern left” and that it is part of “a dogma in this country.”

RAMASWAMY’S CLAIMS HE CAME FROM ‘NO MONEY’ CLASH WITH PREP SCHOOL UPBRINGING

Rep. Ayanna Pressley speaks during a “Get Out the Vote” rally at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center at Roxbury Community College in Boston, on Nov. 2, 2022. (Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)

The original comments were made during Friday’s campaign appearance in Iowa, when Ramaswamy responded to a voter’s question about whether he has experienced racism in recent years. 

“She’s a member of the squad,” Ramaswamy said of Pressley on Friday. “Her words not mine: ‘We don’t want any more Black faces that don’t want to be a Black voice. We don’t want any more Brown faces that don’t want to be a Brown voice.'” 

“These aren’t my words,” Ramaswamy said. “These are the words of the modern grand wizards of the modern KKK.”

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Ramaswamy’s Pressley quote was reportedly said during a 2019 campaign event.

DEM REP. AYANNA PRESSLEY PROMOTES ABORTION FUNDS THAT HELP MINORS GET PROCEDURE

Ibram X. Kendi at American University in Washington following a panel discussion on his book “How to Be an Antiracist” on Sept. 26, 2019. (Michael A. McCoy/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

During Friday’s rally, Ramaswamy went on to read Kendi’s opening lines in his book “How To Be Anti-Racist.”

“Here’s what it says,” Ramaswamy said on Friday, NBC reported. “Opening lines: ‘The remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.”

Kendi responded to Ramaswamy on MSNBC to host Ali Velshi on Sunday: “The modern Klan actually hates me. And you know who the modern Klan loves? The very candidate that Vivek praises every chance he gets, and that’s Donald Trump.”

Jamie Joseph is a writer who covers politics. She leads Fox News Digital coverage of the Senate. 

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Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy voiced support for “mandatory” voting and online ballots during the 2020 presidential election, despite telling “Meet the Press” on Sunday that “we need paper ballots.”

“We need single day voting on Election Day. We need paper ballots, and we need government issued ID matching the voter file,” Ramaswamy told NBC’s Chuck Todd.

However, on Nov. 4, 2020, one day after the election, Ramaswamy said he wanted “electronic at-home voting.”

Vivek Ramaswamy, chairman and co-founder of Strive Asset Management and 2024 Republican presidential candidate, speaks during the Republican primary presidential debate hosted by Fox News in Milwaukee on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

RAMASWAMY’S CLAIMS HE CAME FROM ‘NO MONEY’ CLASH WITH PREP SCHOOL UPBRINGING

“Electronic at-home voting. Make it universal; submit a blank ballot if you want,” he posted on X. “One per SSN for every adult citizen. No ballot fraud. No voter suppression. No wasted money on ‘get-out-the-vote.’ Most importantly: greater civic engagement. Thoughts?”

Ramaswamy also said at the time that he wanted to make voting mandatory.

“I’m suggesting making it mandatory,” he wrote.

Ramaswamy’s campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for clarity on his position.

Ramaswamy has previously voiced support for a constitutional amendment raising the voting age from 18 to 25, unless a person serves in the military or as a first responder or can pass the civics test immigrants take when becoming U.S. citizens.

GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy speaks at the Nixon Library on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023, in Yorba Linda, California. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

RAMASWAMY WAS ALREADY MILLIONAIRE WHEN HE ACCEPTED SOROS AWARD HE SAID HE NEEDED TO PAY FOR LAW SCHOOL

Ramaswamy made his comments Sunday while criticizing former Vice President Mike Pence for missing “a historic opportunity” to unite the country on Jan. 6, 2021.

He said he would have pushed through “reform” in the Senate to achieve “election integrity” before certifying the 2020 election.

“In my capacity as president of the Senate, I would have led through that level of reform, then on that condition certified the election results, served it up to the president, President Trump, then to sign that into law, and on January 7th, declared the re-election campaign pursuant to a free and fair election,” he said.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, left, and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy square off at the first Republican presidential nomination debate, on Aug. 23, 2023 in Milwaukee. (Fox News)

Critics, conservative and liberal, have pointed out that the vice president cannot introduce legislation into the Senate, as Ramaswamy appeared to have suggested. 

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The Pence campaign also fired back at Ramaswamy, accusing him of joining “radical progressives in wanting to nationalize our election system.”

“Vivek’s statement today on January 6th is both shocking and concerning in its lack of understanding of how our system of government works,” Pence campaign spokesman David James told NBC News. “In one breathe he joins Nancy Pelosi and radical progressives in wanting to nationalize our election system, and in another he claims that the Vice President has unilateral authority to decide when to certify elections.”

Jessica Chasmar is a digital writer on the politics team for Fox News and Fox Business. Story tips can be sent to Jessica.Chasmar@fox.com.

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Senate Intel Panel Vows to Get Access to Classified Docs (Newsmax)

By Charlie McCarthy | Thursday, 26 January 2023 09:01 AM EST

Frustrated members of the Senate Intelligence Committee are vowing to pursue all avenues to access the classified documents found at homes of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

After a Wednesday briefing with National Intelligence Director Avril Haines, committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., said "all things will be on the table" to ensure the committee conducts its constitutional oversight responsibility, CNN reported.

Warner added that "every member" of the committee is "unanimous" that the Justice Department's current position to withhold the documents "is not going to stand, and all things will be on the table to make sure that doesn't happen," CNN reported.

"I'm prepared to refuse consent or to fast track any nominee for any department or agency and take every step I can on every committee on which I serve to impose consequences on the administration until they provide these documents," said committee member Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a separate special counsel in the Biden case and the Trump case. The DOJ insists the committee will not be allowed to see the discovered classified documents until the special counsels approve.

"We don't want to get into a question of threats at this point," Warner said, CNN reported. "But we want to say this, though: We have a job to do. It is our job to make sure that the security of our country is protected and that the intelligence that our country depends upon is not compromised. The notion that we have to wait until a special prosecutor blesses the intelligence committee's oversight will not stand."

Committee Vice Chairman Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said the meeting with Haines was "very unsatisfying."

"We simply want to know is, what was this information?" Rubio said, CNN reported. "What was these materials that they had? So that we can make an honest assessment when they provide us a risk assessment, of whether or not they've taken the proper mitigation, if any was necessary."

The Senate committee initially requested "a damage assessment of any national security threat posed by the mishandling of this information" after the FBI's raid of Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in August.

Classified documents recently were discovered at Biden's former Washington office and home in Wilmington, Delaware, as well as at the Indiana home of former Vice President Mike Pence.

"[I'm disappointed] with the lack of detail and a timeline on when we're going to get a briefing," Warner said, according to CNN. "It is our responsibility to make sure that we, in as role of the intelligence oversight, know if there's been any intelligence compromised."

Original Article

President Trump Calls for Canceling AT&T DirecTV After Newsmax Dropped Former President Donald Trump (AP)

By Sandy Fitzgerald | Thursday, 26 January 2023 08:54 AM EST

Former President Donald Trump Wednesday night joined the outcry against AT&T DirecTV’s removal of Newsmax from its satellite and cable systems, calling it “disgusting” and saying that the move was a “big blow to the Republican Party and to America itself.”

In a post on his Truth Social, Trump wrote:

“WOW. AT&T DIRECTV REMOVES NEWSMAX FROM ITS CHANNEL LINEUP. This disgusting move comes after “deplatforming” OAN last year. The Radical Left seems to have taken over the mind and soul of AT&T. This is a big blow to the Republican Party, and to America itself.”

Trump continued: “For DIRECTV to drop very popular NEWSMAX, without explanation, will not be accepted. I, for one, will be dropping all association with AT&T and DIRECTV, and I have plenty. This is just one of many reasons why we must WIN IN 2024!!!”

Trump’s statement came after AT&T’s DirecTV cut Newsmax’s signal at midnight Tuesday, stopping its delivery to more than 13 million customers on the satellite service, DirecTV Stream, and U-Verse.

The move is the second time in the past year that AT&T has canceled a conservative channel. It deplatformed the One America News Network (OAN) last April.

AT&T’s decision to deplatform OAN came soon after House Democrats under Nancy Pelosi wrote to major cable and satellite companies, including DirecTV, demanding OAN, Newsmax and Fox News be removed for spreading “misinformation.”

This week DirecTV deplatformed Newsmax, the 4th highest-rated cable news channel in the nation, a top 16 channel for daytime among all cable channels and watched by 25 million Americans, according to Nielsen ratings.

Last year Trump also called for a boycott of AT&T and DirecTV after the satellite provider announced last January that it would not be renewing OAN’s contract.

“Conservatives/Republicans should boycott [AT&T] DirecTV . . . These are Radical Left Lunatics who are destroying our nation!” Trump said.

Also, at a rally last year Trump added, “If they shut down OAN, you should boycott AT&T and DirecTV,” he said. “People love it, and it’s got a big audience. It’s purely political.”

DirecTV says it removed OAN and Newsmax from its channel lineup as a “cost-cutting” measure.

Newsmax was seeking a small cable license fee, the primary way networks pay for their news coverage, of about $1 a year per cable subscriber. DirecTV pays CNN about $12 a year and MSNBC $8.

DirecTV pays cable license fees to all top 75 cable channels and to all 22 liberal news and information channels it carries, with rates that are significantly more than Newsmax was seeking. Most of these channels have much lower ratings than Newsmax. The company has told the press and Congress it would never pay a license fee to Newsmax.

Company CEO Christopher Ruddy called the cancellation a “blatant act of political discrimination and censorship against Newsmax.”

“The most extreme liberal channels, even with tiny ratings, get fees from AT&T’s DirecTV, but Newsmax and OAN need to be deplatformed,” Ruddy added.

The former president’s call for a renewed boycott was joined Wednesday by his son, Donald Trump Jr.

“Outrageous: ATT just dropped Newsmax!” former President Donald Trump’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr. tweeted Wednesday night. “It’s time for Americans to return the favor and drop ATT.”

Action You Can Take to Fight AT&T DirecTV’s Censorship:

1. If you are a DirecTV customer call them toll free at 877-763-9762 and demand they bring NEWSMAX back on air, or you can CANCEL!

• [When you speak to a live operator, let them know you are aware NEWSMAX’s livestream is ending soon on other platforms, so unless you get it on DirecTV you will have to cancel their service.]
• If you are an AT&T customer for any of their products or services, call them and demand they end their censorship of NEWSMAX or you will cancel. Call AT&T toll free at 888-855-2338.

2. Call your Member of Congress or senator at 202-224-3121 and demand they stop AT&T and DirecTV’s censorship of conservative media like NEWSMAX!

3. Go to our online petition and get more info at: iWantNewsmax.com.

Original Article

What Impact Will Mike Lindell Have on Race for RNC Chair? My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell is interviewed during a campaign rally at Sioux Gateway Airport in Sioux City, Iowa, on Nov. 3, 2022. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

By John Gizzi Thursday, 26 January 2023 05:59 AM EST Current | Bio | Archive

To the surprise of several participants and attendees at the Republican National Committee's Winter Meeting in Dana Point, California, Mike Lindell met the requirements to have his name placed in nomination in the election for the national chair Friday.

The MyPillow CEO had submitted signatures from RNC members in three states or territories and will therefore qualify to compete for the party helm against incumbent Ronna McDaniel and California National Committee member Harmeet Dhillon.

"And I will proudly deliver the nominating speech," Louisiana National Committee member and former state legislator Lenar Whitney told Newsmax on Tuesday night.

The impact Lindell will have on the race is uncertain. Some RNC members who spoke to Newsmax said he will have no impact at all, and that those who signed forms on his behalf cannot be counted on to vote for him in the race for the chair.

Others told Newsmax that there is a "hidden" Lindell vote and that he just might keep McDaniel and Dhillon from securing the majority of the 168-member RNC required to elect a chair.

Under such circumstances, the contest would go to an unanticipated second ballot.

Newsmax asked Lindell whether he would still be making his familiar argument that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump if elected party chair.

"I'm not talking about 2020," Lindell said. "I'm talking about getting rid of electronic voting machines. And some states and counties are finally listening to me."

Lindell specifically cited Cleburne County, Arkansas, which recently voted to end its use of ballot and become a "paper county." In Missouri, he noted, Republican Gov. Mike Parsons recently signed legislation that will end the use of electronic voting machines by Jan. 1, 2024.

"So Missouri will soon be machine free," Lindell told Newsmax, adding that "I have filed 50 lawsuits in all 50 states to get rid of the electronic machines that get so many people thinking elections are fraudulent. This has cost about $40 million so far and, yes, I am paying for it all myself."

Lindell's welcoming party for RNC members at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Dana Point attracted McDaniel supporters such as District of Columbia GOP chair Patrick Mara as well as Dhillon backers such as Louisiana National Committee member Roger Villere. Although few may end up voting for him, it was obvious that many on the RNC agreed with and liked the "MyPillow Guy."

John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.

Original Article

OAN Sophia Flores
UPDATED 3:03 PM PT – Wednesday, January 25, 2023

45th President Donald J. Trump is officially allowed back on Facebook and Instagram.

Meta, the company which owns both Facebook and Instagram, announced that Trump’s suspension on both of their platforms will be over “in the coming weeks.”

Nick Clegg, the president of global affairs at Meta, made the announcement via a blog post on Wednesday.

“To assess whether the serious risk to public safety that existed in January 2021 has sufficiently receded, we have evaluated the current environment according to our Crisis Policy Protocol, which included looking at the conduct of the US 2022 midterm elections, and expert assessments on the current security environment. Our determination is that the risk has sufficiently receded, and that we should therefore adhere to the two-year timeline we set out. As such, we will be reinstating Mr. Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts in the coming weeks. However, we are doing so with new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses,” Clegg wrote.

Trump’s personal accounts have been suspended for two years. His Facebook and Instagram accounts were suspended following the January 6th breech. He was officially locked out of his accounts on January 7th.

This reinstatement follows the recent reversal of his Twitter suspension. The Republican’s Twitter account was restored in November, 2022. He has yet to tweet from the account.

Original Article Oann

NYPD Officer Sues to Recover Lost Pay for Donning Trump Patch

(Newsmax/"Wake Up America Weekend")

By Luca Cacciatore | Wednesday, 25 January 2023 10:14 PM EST

New York Police Department Sgt. Dana Martillo, who was disciplined for wearing a patch in favor of former President Donald Trump, filed a lawsuit Tuesday to recover back pay.

The suit, obtained by the New York Post, came after the NYPD suspended Martillo for 10 days and docked an additional 30 days of vacation due to her wearing a "Trump Make Enforcement Great Again 2020" patch last year on duty.

In the administrative trial in which which she was found guilty, it was revealed that Martillo wore another patch featuring a Punisher skull logo with Trump's signature hairstyle, a symbol popular with the militia group Three Percenters.

Martillo has argued that the investigation against her, which led to 40 days of lost pay, was "very biased and politically motivated," with the charges and determination being "completely bogus and premised upon false facts."

Martillo was shocked by "the level of dishonesty, political bias, and bad faith that would so infect this entire administrative disciplinary process, due to the total control" New York City Mayor Eric Adams has over the NYPD, the filing read.

"The 'Kangaroo court' in which [she] was forced to mount her defense to these trumped-up charges" also was startling to Martillo.

The police officer said she wore the patch during Trump's time outside of office and as a civilian, noting his visit to the NYPD's 17th Precinct.

She said that no political expression was intended by the badges she wore Feb. 5, 2021.

The filing claims the judge who oversaw the trial is biased. Martillo further claims that the only witness against her lied and that she was barred unfairly from presenting favorable evidence by a polygraph expert.

NYPD Officer Sues to Recover Lost Pay for Donning Trump Patch

(Newsmax/"Wake Up America Weekend")

By Luca Cacciatore | Wednesday, 25 January 2023 10:14 PM EST

New York Police Department Sgt. Dana Martillo, who was disciplined for wearing a patch in favor of former President Donald Trump, filed a lawsuit Tuesday to recover back pay.

The suit, obtained by the New York Post, came after the NYPD suspended Martillo for 10 days and docked an additional 30 days of vacation due to her wearing a "Trump Make Enforcement Great Again 2020" patch last year on duty.

In the administrative trial in which which she was found guilty, it was revealed that Martillo wore another patch featuring a Punisher skull logo with Trump's signature hairstyle, a symbol popular with the militia group Three Percenters.

Martillo has argued that the investigation against her, which led to 40 days of lost pay, was "very biased and politically motivated," with the charges and determination being "completely bogus and premised upon false facts."

Martillo was shocked by "the level of dishonesty, political bias, and bad faith that would so infect this entire administrative disciplinary process, due to the total control" New York City Mayor Eric Adams has over the NYPD, the filing read.

"The 'Kangaroo court' in which [she] was forced to mount her defense to these trumped-up charges" also was startling to Martillo.

The police officer said she wore the patch during Trump's time outside of office and as a civilian, noting his visit to the NYPD's 17th Precinct.

She said that no political expression was intended by the badges she wore Feb. 5, 2021.

The filing claims the judge who oversaw the trial is biased. Martillo further claims that the only witness against her lied and that she was barred unfairly from presenting favorable evidence by a polygraph expert.

Original Article

W.Va. AG Morrisey Hails Win v. Biden's 'Blatant' Attack on State's Tax Cutting (Newsmax/"Spicer & Co.")

By Eric Mack | Thursday, 26 January 2023 07:43 AM EST

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, based in Georgia, delivered a victory to red states last week, rejecting a Biden administration attempt to block states from cutting taxes.

And, one of the winning plaintiffs, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey hailed the victory in a statement to Newsmax.

"As long as I am in office, I will oppose the federal government reaching into our state and telling us how and whether we can cut taxes," Morrisey wrote Wednesday to Newsmax. "West Virginia should be able to cut taxes as it sees fit.

"Very pleased that we stopped the Biden administration's blatant overreach and efforts to block states' ability to use their core constitutional function to cut taxes."

There were 13 GOP state AGs who sued the Biden Treasury Department for a tax offset provision in Biden's American Rescue Plan that tried to prohibit states from using rescue plan funds "to either directly or indirectly offset a reduction in net tax revenue" that results from a change in law that "reduces any tax."

"The Constitution does not give the federal government authority to require states to enact the laws or policies that Congress prefers," Judge Andrew Brasher, appointed by former President Donald Trump, wrote in the 42-page opinion of the court.

Morrisey hailed the victory on Twitter late last week, effectively telling the Biden administration and the former Democrat-led Congress to stay out of imposing their will on state tax authority.

"[Friday], the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the 11th Circuit gave WV and 12 other states a massive victory," Morrisey tweeted Saturday. "Our win ensures the federal government will not determine whether and how WV cuts taxes for its people.

"Federal overreach will not be tolerated on my watch."

W.Va. AG Morrisey Hails Win v. Biden's 'Blatant' Attack on State's Tax Cutting (Newsmax/"Spicer & Co.")

By Eric Mack | Thursday, 26 January 2023 07:43 AM EST

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, based in Georgia, delivered a victory to red states last week, rejecting a Biden administration attempt to block states from cutting taxes.

And, one of the winning plaintiffs, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey hailed the victory in a statement to Newsmax.

"As long as I am in office, I will oppose the federal government reaching into our state and telling us how and whether we can cut taxes," Morrisey wrote Wednesday to Newsmax. "West Virginia should be able to cut taxes as it sees fit.

"Very pleased that we stopped the Biden administration's blatant overreach and efforts to block states' ability to use their core constitutional function to cut taxes."

There were 13 GOP state AGs who sued the Biden Treasury Department for a tax offset provision in Biden's American Rescue Plan that tried to prohibit states from using rescue plan funds "to either directly or indirectly offset a reduction in net tax revenue" that results from a change in law that "reduces any tax."

"The Constitution does not give the federal government authority to require states to enact the laws or policies that Congress prefers," Judge Andrew Brasher, appointed by former President Donald Trump, wrote in the 42-page opinion of the court.

Morrisey hailed the victory on Twitter late last week, effectively telling the Biden administration and the former Democrat-led Congress to stay out of imposing their will on state tax authority.

"[Friday], the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the 11th Circuit gave WV and 12 other states a massive victory," Morrisey tweeted Saturday. "Our win ensures the federal government will not determine whether and how WV cuts taxes for its people.

"Federal overreach will not be tolerated on my watch."

Original Article

Huckabee: 'Why on Earth Would' DirecTV Drop Newsmax?

(Newsmax/"John Bachman Now")

By Jack Gournell | Wednesday, 25 January 2023 09:32 PM EST

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Wednesday joined a chorus of critics bashing DirecTV for dropping Newsmax.

"Why on earth would DirectTV do this?" Huckabee tweeted. "If they want to dump a channel, give CNN the heave-ho. Why is ATT/DirectTV targeting a conservative-leaning channel?"

On Tuesday at midnight, AT&T's DirecTV severed its connection to Newsmax, blocking a slew of DirecTV Stream and U-verse paying customers from watching such programs as "American Agenda," "The Record With Greta Van Susteren," and "Eric Bolling: The Balance."

In what some have construed as a cancellation that's politically motivated, Huckabee joins such critics as Donald Trump Jr. and Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who decried the matter as "a mistake."

Action You Can Take to Fight AT&T DirecTV's Censorship:

1. If you are a DirecTV customer call them toll free at 877-763-9762 and demand they bring NEWSMAX back on air, or you can CANCEL!

• [When you speak to a live operator, let them know you are aware NEWSMAX's livestream is ending soon on other platforms, so unless you get it on DirecTV you will have to cancel their service.]
• If you are an AT&T customer for any of their products or services, call them and demand they end their censorship of NEWSMAX or you will cancel. Call AT&T toll free at 888-855-2338.

2. Call your Member of Congress or senator at 202-224-3121 and demand they stop AT&T and DirecTV's censorship of conservative media like NEWSMAX!

3. Go to our online petition and get more info at: iWantNewsmax.com.

Original Article

Rep. Mary Miller: DirecTV Dropping Newsmax Shows 'Totalitarian Left in Action'

(Newsmax/"John Bachman Now")

By Jay Clemons | Wednesday, 25 January 2023 09:19 PM EST

Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., rushed to the defense of Newsmax on Wednesday, just hours after DirecTV canceled the news network from its channel lineup.

The Republican congresswoman, who supports the America First agenda, aired her grievance with DirecTV on social media, answering an open-ended conservative media question that asked, "You think it's just a coincidence that @ATT @DIRECTV cancelled the only cable news channel that broadcasts @realDonaldTrump's campaign rallies? @NEWSMAX"

Miller responded with a condemnation of DirecTV, via Twitter: "Exactly, AT&T and DirecTV are engaging in partisan politics by banning Newsmax for challenging the Biden Administration and broadcasting President Trump's rallies. This is the totalitarian Left in action!"

Action You Can Take to Fight AT&T DirecTV's Censorship:

1. If you are a DirecTV customer call them toll free at 877-763-9762 and demand they bring NEWSMAX back on air, or you can CANCEL!

• [When you speak to a live operator, let them know you are aware NEWSMAX's livestream is ending soon on other platforms, so unless you get it on DirecTV you will have to cancel their service.]
• If you are an AT&T customer for any of their products or services, call them and demand they end their censorship of NEWSMAX or you will cancel. Call AT&T toll free at 888-855-2338.

2. Call your Member of Congress or senator at 202-224-3121 and demand they stop AT&T and DirecTV's censorship of conservative media like NEWSMAX!

3. Go to our online petition and get more info at: iWantNewsmax.com.

Original Article