NationalWatch

As conservatives reflect on the legacy of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk ahead of his celebration of life in Arizona on Sunday, some Republicans credit him with helping President Donald Trump win over young voters in 2024. 

Former TPUSA staffer Anthony DeWitt explained that the grassroots element of Kirk’s work likely played a “monumental” role in “energizing the youth to get out and vote in 2024.”

RED HATS AND CHANTS OF ‘USA’ MARK VIGIL HONORING SLAIN CONSERVATIVE LEADER CHARLIE KIRK: ‘ACT’

“Charlie created something that finally lifted the voices and work of not only grassroots, but young people, people like myself who were just entering politics and gave us something that traditionally was only achieved by those who have had a lifetime in politics,” DeWitt stated.

“Getting young people knocking doors, chasing ballots, getting signatures, signing up new voters, attending conferences — that was the key to winning the 2024 election.”

A Fox News voter analysis had Trump wooing 47% of voters aged 18-29, with former Vice President Kamala Harris narrowly winning the demographic with 51%.

FROM GRIEF TO GROWTH: TURNING POINT USA BECOMES A RALLYING FORCE FOR GEN Z IN BATTLEGROUND ARIZONA

In the battleground state of Michigan, the analysis found that Trump won the age group with 50%, compared to 48% for Harris. He also came close with 48% in Arizona, where TPUSA is headquartered, with 51% of those surveyed backing Harris.

Trump ultimately ended up sweeping the battleground states, including Michigan and Arizona, winning 312 electoral votes and the popular vote.

However, it is an 11% increase from the 36% of voters in the same age range in 2020, with former President Joe Biden carrying the demographic with 61%.

‘SLEEPING GIANT’ LIKELY WOKE UP FOR TURNING POINT USA AFTER CHARLIE KIRK’S ASSASSINATION

Colin Reed, a Washington, D.C.-based Republican strategist, noted how Kirk plays a unique role in “expanding the tent” for the party.

“A generation ago, it would have been unthinkable for a Republican candidate to run nearly equal among younger voters against a Democratic standard-bearer who had every Hollywood and celebrity endorser under the sun, but that’s precisely what happened in 2024,” Reed wrote to Fox News Digital, alluding to Harris’s star-studded, but short campaign after Biden dropped out in July.

“Charlie opened the doors for younger people to not only consider the conservative movement but embrace it and champion its principles as a ticket to prosperity and happiness.”

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Those close to Kirk, including Turning Point Action’s leader Tyler Bowyer, dubbed 2026 the “Charlie Kirk election” at a vigil at Arizona State University Monday.

“2028 will be the Kirk-Vance election,” he said, and the organization is expected to rally around Vice President JD Vance to be Trump’s successor.  

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., began shouting at Florida GOP Rep. Byron Donalds during a Thursday hearing, after he chastised the “Squad” lawmaker for referring to GOP efforts to crack down on crime in Washington, D.C., as ‘fascist.’

Tlaib’s clash with Donalds came after she slammed Republicans for their “rhetoric” targeting the District of Columbia, where President Donald Trump has deployed the National Guard to help local law enforcement address crime in the capitol city. 

“We can’t be passive right now,” Tlaib said during the House Oversight hearing. “So don’t nobody over there should take anything we say serious – you know, like, so personally – as if we’re attacking them. No, we’re attacking a process. We’re not attacking people here. And I think it’s really important we need to stand up against this fascist takeover – that’s not a bad word, it’s a fact.” 

TRUMP’S DC CRIME CRACKDOWN OVERWHELMINGLY BENEFITS BLACK AMERICANS AS HOMICIDES HIT ZERO

“Here in DC and across the country it is so incredibly important, Mr. Chair, that this committee does not allow rhetoric that defames, or paints Washington, D.C., in a way that you all really haven’t truly seen. You’re just reading it, or something off of some –,” Tlaib continued before Donalds stepped in, asking Tlaib if he could pose a question.

Even though Tlaib did not pause to let Donalds speak, he eventually interjected anyways.

“I think it’s insane that the gentlelady doesn’t have an argument, but she is going to refer to me and some of my colleagues like we’re from the Third Reich. This is insane. It’s insane,” Donalds said.

TRUMP’S SECURITY UNDER SCRUTINY AS SECRET SERVICE BRACES FOR KIRK MEMORIAL

The pair began raising their voices and eventually got into a shouting match, with Donalds asking Tlaib, “Do I look like a member of the Third Reich to you, Ms. Tlaib? Is that what I look like to you? Is that what you think?”

Donalds called Tlaib’s “fascist” label “out of line,” in a gaggle with reporters after the event. The GOP lawmaker from Florida is currently attempting to usher two bills through Congress to help tamp down on crime, including one that he said would lower the age for juvenile sentencing from 25 to 18-years-old.

“I think it was important to set the record straight,” Donalds told reporters. “Congresswoman Tlaib tried to call me and my colleagues fascists. Obviously, in light of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, that’s even more of a sore subject now than it ever has been, and I just find it to be reprehensible. I don’t look like somebody who is in the Third Reich. None of my colleagues do. And I think if people want to start talking about people being responsible with their rhetoric, it should start with Congresswoman Tlaib.”

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In 2023, enough Democrats in Congress joined Republicans to formally censure Tlaib over her rhetoric about the Israel-Hamas war that erupted on Oct. 7. 2023. Tlaib defended her rhetoric and positions, saying she “will not be silenced and I will not let you distort my words,” according to the Associated Press.

Tlaib has also faced additional censure threats this month over recent comments she made at a pro-Palestinian conference in August.

Fox News Digital reached out to Tlaib’s office for comment but did not immediately hear back. 

Former Vice President Kamala Harris‘ highly anticipated book recapping the 2024 election cycle gives a nod to former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg that could open doors to a potential 2028 presidential run, DNC Vice Chair Shasti Conrad told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. 

“I think that Pete Buttigieg is one of our absolute best communicators, and you know, we’re seeing that now. … I think her saying that, hopefully opens up a door for Pete to run again for president, and you know, we’ll see where all that lands, and whether the country, you know, is ready to have him lead us,” Conrad told Fox News Digital in a Thursday interview. 

Conrad, who underscored the book also sets up Harris for potentially launching another presidential run of her own, spoke to Fox News Digital ahead of the memoir’s official Tuesday release. Only a handful of excerpts of the book, “107 Days,” so far have been released to the public, including The Atlantic most recently reporting that Harris initially wanted Buttigieg as her running mate before ultimately choosing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. 

Buttigieg “would have been an ideal partner—if I were a straight white man,” Harris wrote in the upcoming book, according to The Atlantic. 

KAMALA HARRIS COMPLAINS ABOUT ‘IMPOSSIBLE’ LACK OF SUPPORT FROM BIDEN’S COMMS TEAM, INNER CIRCLE

“But we were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man. Part of me wanted to say, Screw it, let’s just do it. But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk,” the excerpt of the book continued, referring to tapping a gay man for the ticket as risky. 

“And I think Pete also knew that—to our mutual sadness.”

HARRIS TAPS DEM EMAILS LISTS TO MARKET NEW BOOK, SPARKING PARTY NEUTRALITY CONCERNS

Media pundits and D.C. insiders took issue with Walz serving as her running mate following the November 2024 election loss to President Donald Trump, as they argued popular Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro or Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly or others could have better served the campaign against Trump. 

For Conrad, the excerpt gives a nod to Buttigieg as a “national leader” who could throw his hat in the presidential contender ring in the next cycle. Buttigieg previously ran for president in 2020 before dropping out and endorsing President Joe Biden to succeed Trump in the Oval Office. 

“We won’t know whether if she had added Pete as her running mate, if that would have changed anything,” Conrad said. “I don’t think it would have. But I think that it’s a, you know, a good sort of nod towards Pete that he is a national leader that we should be looking towards as potentially being someone that could … that could win the nomination in 2028.” 

The DNC vice chair, who is also chair of the Washington State Democratic Party, defended Walz as a “happy warrior” who “could speak the language of the working class.”

KAMALA HARRIS TO PUBLISH BEHIND-THE-SCENES ACCOUNT OF FAILED 2024 CAMPAIGN

“There’s a lot of calculations and amount of time about what we would need for a winning ticket,” she said. “Personally, I thought that, you know, Gov. Walz was a fantastic running mate for her. And when I met him last year, I told him, I jokingly said that we’d grown him in a lab, because he really felt to me like perfect for the moment.” 

In response to the excerpts, Buttigieg told the media Thursday that he believes in “giving Americans more credit” than basing their votes on “categories.” 

NEW BOOK SHEDS LIGHT ON HARRIS DECISION TO PICK WALZ AS HER RUNNING MATE OVER SHAPIRO: ‘WENT WITH HER GUT’

“My experience in politics has been that the way that you earn trust with voters is based mostly on what they think you’re going to do for their lives, not on categories,” Buttigieg told Politico during a ribbon cutting ceremony at a Democratic Party office in Indiana. 

The book allows Harris to “speak her truth” on the wild 2024 election cycle, Conrad added, which includes excerpts acknowledging Biden “got tired” while on the campaign trail but denied any “big conspiracy at the White House to hide Joe Biden’s infirmity.”

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It’s “good that she’s sort of getting an opportunity to tell her version of events and be able to be more fully herself,” Conrad said. “That’s what I’ve been seeing from these excerpts. Is, you know, a real sense that she, I think, felt very managed and very kind of controlled for much of her time, both as VP and as a candidate. And this is sort of her opportunity to just … speak her truth.” 

Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Buttigieg and Harris, but did not immediately receive replies. 

President Donald Trump on Friday said he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea next month following a “very productive” phone call.

The meeting will take place during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. The face-to-face meeting will be the first between the two leaders during Trump’s second term in the White House.

Trump said he also agreed to travel to China in early 2026 and that Xi agreed to come to the United States “at an appropriate time.”

The president said Friday that he spoke with Xi about a range of issues, including trade, the war in Ukraine and a deal to approve the sale of TikTok.

HEGSETH DELIVERS STERN WARNING TO CHINA IN FIRST CALL AFTER XI’S MILITARY PARADE

“I also agreed with President Xi that we would meet at the APEC Summit in South Korea, that I would go to China in the early part of next year, and that President Xi would likewise come to the United States at an appropriate time,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “The call was a very good one, we will be speaking again by phone, and we appreciate the TikTok approval. Both [sides] look forward to meeting at APEC!”

Separately, Chinese state media said the two leaders held “pragmatic, positive, and constructive phone talks.”

On the Chinese side, Xi told Trump that he should avoid imposing “unilateral trade restrictions” on China, according to a statement from the country’s foreign ministry.

TRUMP TOUTS KIM JONG UN RELATIONSHIP AMID SOUTH KOREA SUMMIT

China has been a major target for Trump’s tariffs, resulting in back-and-forth trade restrictions over the flow of fentanyl into the United States.

Xi also expressed hope that the Trump administration would provide an “open, fair, and non-discriminatory business environment” for Chinese companies in the U.S.

Regarding TikTok, the ministry said: “The Chinese government respects the wishes of the company in question and would be happy to see productive commercial negotiations in keeping with market rules lead to a solution that complies with China’s laws and regulations and takes into account the interests of both sides.”

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Friday’s call was the second between Trump and Xi since Trump returned to the White House.

Senate Republicans’ bid to pass a short-term government funding extension was foiled by Senate Democrats as the deadline to fund the government fast approaches.

While the proposal easily glided through the House with little drama, it hit a brick wall in the Senate and failed 44-48. Only one lawmaker, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., crossed the aisle to support the Republican plan. Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, also voted against the bill.

Their failure to send the House GOP’s continuing resolution (CR) to President Donald Trump’s desk came on the heels of Democrats’ failed attempt to advance their own counter-proposal to the Republicans’ plan.

HOUSE PASSES TRUMP-BACKED PLAN TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

It also comes as lawmakers gear up to leave Washington, D.C., for a week to observe the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. They’re expected to return with just two working days left before the deadline to fund the government on Sept. 30.

“The House has acted,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. “The president’s ready to sign the bill. We’ve got the appropriations committee and a lot of senators who are ready to go to work to pass bipartisan appropriations bills to fund the government by allowing these additional weeks into November. In order to do that, Democrats have to take ‘yes’ for an answer.”

The CR would have kept the government open until Nov. 21, and it included tens of millions for increased security for lawmakers and the judicial and executive branches.

Senate Democrats have dug in against the GOP’s proposal, not so much because of what’s in the bill, but what’s not in it. They have also hung the possibility of a government shutdown on Trump, who demanded that Republicans cut Democrats out of the process.

Thune charged that if Democrats were “serious” about funding the government, they wouldn’t have “put out the most partisan piece of legislation you possibly could.”

“I mean, it’s kind of mind-boggling,” he said.

THUNE PANS DEMOCRATS’ SHUTDOWN STANCE AS ‘BORDERLINE PATHOLOGICAL,’ ‘LIKE A DISEASE’

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has also accused Thune of not negotiating with him — a point Thune has pushed back against and noted throughout the week that his office is less than 25 yards from Schumer’s.  

“We have two weeks. They should sit down and talk to us, and we maybe can get a good proposal,” Schumer said. “Let’s see. But when they don’t talk to us, there’s no hope of getting a good proposal. And that makes no sense.”

“And again, when Donald Trump says don’t negotiate with Democrats, because he doesn’t know what the Senate is like, or he doesn’t know how to count, because without Democrats, they’re going to end up shutting down the government,” he continued.

However, the demands Schumer and Democrats laid out in their counter are a bridge too far for Republicans.

Included in the bill were a permanent extension to COVID-19 pandemic-era Obamacare subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the year, efforts to repeal the Medicaid cuts in Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” and a clawback of canceled NPR and PBS funding.

TRUMP’S FOREIGN AID CLAWBACK RATTLES SENATE AHEAD OF FUNDING FIGHT

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., told Fox News Digital that the legislation was a “Trojan horse by the Democrats.”

“It’s to me, it’s a preview of what they’re going to want to do,” he said.

“Schumer has to play to the far-left fringe that is actually running the Democrat Party right now,” Barrasso continued.

Senate Democrats are adamant that the Obamacare credits, in particular, need to be dealt with now rather than near the deadline. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., told Fox News Digital that lawmakers “have to do it now.”

“All the [insurance rate] notices go out Oct. 1, so you have to have it now,” Peters said.

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However, Republicans argue that including an extension to the tax credits to a short-term extension isn’t germane to the bill, especially one geared toward trying to give Congress time to fund the government with spending bills. And Thune has said that the credits would be “addressed” after a shutdown was averted.

But for now, the issue at hand still boils down to communication between Thune and Schumer.

“I mean, these are the leaders of the U.S. Senate,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said. “I expect them to step up. And if one’s not actually reaching out, the other one should at least demonstrate that they are — they’re trying to negotiate in good faith. If they don’t, then they get what they get.” 

President Donald Trump’s security is under the spotlight in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination — just a year after two assassination attempts against the president. 

While the Secret Service has initiated a host of changes to the agency to prevent another assassination attempt on the president in the past year, the president is constantly under threat. And he’s poised to visit a huge stadium Sunday for Kirk’s memorial service, which is fertile ground for more threats. 

Trump is slated to attend Kirk’s memorial service at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The venue has the capacity to host 63,400 people and can accommodate up to 73,000 for “mega-events,” according to its website.

A senior administration official confirmed to Fox News Digital Friday that federal law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, distributed a report Thursday warning that they are monitoring “several threats of unknown credibility” against Trump, Vice President JD Vance and others planning to attend Kirk’s memorial service. 

The assessment claims that the memorial may be an attractive target for violent extremists or lone wolf actors due to the significant media coverage it’s expected to attract. 

Tim Miller, who served as a Secret Service agent during Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton’s administrations, said that Secret Service knows that the “threat picture” has likely never been higher for any other president and will be providing the highest level of protection possible during the memorial event. 

“The Secret Service is never going to underestimate the potential threats of these events,” Miller, who now heads up Lionheart International Services Group that provides security support and training, told Fox News Digital Tuesday. “They are going to provide exactly the amount of security required to ensure the highest level of safety, especially given that the event where Charlie Kirk died was an outdoor event.” 

In addition to attending the memorial, Trump is expected to share some remarks. 

“It’s going to be big,” Trump told reporters Monday. “I’m going to be at the stadium, and I guess I’ll say a few words. I don’t know, but I guess I will, but I knew him very well. He was an amazing guy. He was all about young people and getting them started.”

WHITE HOUSE PUSHES FOR $58M SECURITY INCREASE IN WAKE OF KIRK ASSASSINATION

Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck during a stop on his American Comeback Tour Wednesday at Utah Valley University. While Kirk did not receive a Secret Service security detail for the large event like Trump does at every outing, his death, along with the assassination attempts on Trump in 2024, amplify pressure on the agency to hone its skills. 

“After yesterday, I am sure every Secret Service agent recognizes that every day that they go to work could be the day,” Miller said Thursday. 

Meanwhile, the assassination has prompted the White House to pursue more security funding to protect the president. The White House has put in a request for an additional $58 million in security funding for the executive and judicial branches from Congress, a spokesperson for the White House’s Office of Management and Budget confirmed Monday to Fox News Digital.

The added funds would be tacked onto a continuing resolution, the spokesperson said. Lawmakers must pass a stopgap spending measure to keep the government open, or else a government shutdown could occur when funds expire on Sept. 30. 

No additional details were provided, and the office did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Efforts also are underway on Capitol Hill to enhance security for lawmakers, and the Senate approved a new rule change Thursday that would permit lawmakers to foot the bill for personal security measures using official office funds. 

‘GRADUALLY AND THEN SUDDENLY’: REAGAN SPEECHWRITER TALKS POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN AFTERMATH OF KIRK’S DEATH

Meanwhile, the White House has implemented venue changes that would provide Trump greater security, directly after Kirk’s death. 

A White House official confirmed to Fox News Digital that Trump’s speech at the Pentagon to commemorate the 9/11 terrorist attacks was moved inside due to an “abundance of caution.” 

Meanwhile, the Secret Service has been operating at the most heightened levels following the two assassination attempts against Trump last year. 

“The Secret Service now has to play at a level of enhanced security that they’ve never dreamed of before,” Miller told Fox News Digital Thursday. “I think (Secret Service Director Sean Curran) is doing a good job in leading that effort.”  

“But here’s the bad news for the Secret Service: They don’t have time,” Miller said. “This threat is now. Can you imagine — they already shot our president once. Can you imagine if they’re able to kill him?”

SECRET SERVICE UNDER PRESSURE: WHAT KIRK’S ASSASSINATION MEANS FOR TRUMP’S SECURITY

The White House did not provide comment to Fox News Digital on whether bolstered security would be in place during Kirk’s funeral. 

The Secret Service did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital about security at the memorial service. The agency previously extended its sympathies to the Kirk family, but did not comment on any specific alterations to Trump’s security detail in response to Kirk’s death.

“The safety and security of our protectees is the U.S. Secret Service’s top priority,” a Secret Service spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “President Trump receives the highest levels of U.S. Secret Service protection and the agency adjusts our protective posture as needed to mitigate evolving threats.  Out of concern for operational security, we cannot discuss the means and methods used for our protective operations.”

After conservative activist Charlie Kirk was murdered in Utah last week, leftist and contrarian figures across the country reacted with open celebration, prompting widespread public condemnation.

Fox News Digital spoke this week to several experts who analyzed whether the trend remains a fringe occurrence or if celebrations of political opponents’ deaths and injuries are becoming mainstream.

Paul Sracic is a former politics professor at Youngstown State University and is currently an adjunct fellow at the domestic policy-focused Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C. He said the answer depends on one’s definition of “fringe.”

CHARLIE KIRK’S MURDER THE LATEST IN INCREASING POLITICAL VIOLENCE NATIONWIDE, FROM PA GOVERNOR TO SCOTUS

Sracic said recent surveys showed as many as one-fifth of self-identified liberals agreed that political violence is sometimes justified.

“Presumably, most of these very liberal and liberal voters support Democrats. This should horrify Democratic leaders, but it’s arguably the inevitable outcome of Democrats either adopting or at most failing to push back against notions that words themselves can be a form of violence and therefore can make people feel “unsafe” if they are exposed to a political argument with which they disagree,” Sracic said.

Democratic leaders, however they might personally think, also know that these more-energized voters must be attracted to the polls in the midterms, no matter the political environment, in order for the party to have a shot at winning back part of the federal government, he said. 

Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., who is also running for Sen. Mitch McConnell’s to-be-open Senate seat, offered another perspective – focusing on the increasing trend of political violence from the left against the right.

He cited Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., nearly being assassinated at a Virginia ballfield, two attempts on President Donald Trump’s life, and Kirk’s murder.

“Make no mistake—whether you stand with President Trump, support Israel, or believe in free-market capitalism, you are being targeted,” Barr said.

“I will work with the Trump administration and provide every resource necessary to prevent these acts of domestic terrorism before they happen.”

Democratic strategist and former congressional staff advisor Julian Epstein argued that multiple factors are driving the reaction to Kirk’s killing.

RESEARCHERS WARN OF RISING ‘ASSASSINATION CULTURE’ AFTER MURDERS OF CHARLIE KIRK, BRIAN THOMPSON

“The celebration of Kirk’s death on the far left, both on and offline, is far too common, and not sufficiently denounced,” he said. “The minimization of assassination by Democrat elites in arguing the both side-ism — and in the case of an ABC reporter, the moral relativism — is also too common.”

Epstein warned that the indiscriminate use of historically charged terms like “fascism” is radicalizing political bases, and argued the left is failing to uphold Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Civil Rights-era call to reject violence as a path to political change.

“That failure occurred not only with the Kirk assassination, but also during the L.A. riots and the scourge of antisemitic violence on college campuses and elsewhere in the past few years,” he said.

Link Lauren, former advisor to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and host of the podcast “Spot On,” said the trend is no longer fringe but increasingly mainstream:

“They call us Nazis, fascists, and threats to democracy. In the wake of George Floyd, the left burned down cities and businesses,” Lauren said.

“Since Charlie’s assassination, conservatives have gathered in churches and peaceful prayer. [That] tells you all you need to know.”

At the Manhattan Institute, legal policy fellow Tal Fortgang added that political violence is “capacious.”

“There is an increasingly mainstream view among progressives, gaining ground within the Democratic Party as its democratic socialist influence grows, that terrorism is justified if it evens out power disparities,” he said. “So you see prominent Democrats downplaying the atrocities of Oct. 7, 2023, on the grounds that Israel was the more powerful party in that fight.”

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Fortgang said New York Assemb. Zohran Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists of America have risen in prominence since the Hamas terror attacks.

“And, as Mamdani’s star has risen, so has the premise that violence is justified if it’s someone “powerless” attacking someone ‘powerful.’”

Fortgang also pointed to comments from Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts after the murder of a health care executive – a case in which the prime suspect has been treated like a celebrity outside his ongoing court hearings.

Warren originally said that violence is “never the answer,” with the caveat that “people can only be pushed so far… if you push people hard enough, they lose faith in the ability of their government to make change.” She later clarified her remarks, stating: “Violence is never the answer. Period. I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder.”

Fortgang said suspect Luigi Mangione “struck a blow against capitalism,” and posited that Kirk’s suspected murderer Tyler Robinson may have been motivated by a desire to avenge transphobia.

“Hamas fights settler-colonialism when they burn families alive. Systemic thinking is dehumanizing, but it became basically orthodoxy on the American left,” he said.

“Even if it is not solely responsible for the uptick in political violence, or its widespread celebration, it helps sustain it. That’s what the Democratic Party needs to confront.”

President Donald Trump’s declaration that antifa is a “major terrorist organization” has spurred questions about who falls under that category and what repercussions they could face from law enforcement.

Trump’s announcement, made in a Truth Social post Wednesday, aims to punish antifa, described by the president as a dangerous “radical left disaster.” But some experts warn that antifa, shorthand for “antifascism,” is a catch-all term that ropes in law-abiding people and that, unlike foreign terrorist organizations, there is no legal designation for domestic terrorist organizations.

Alex Nowrasteh, a vice president at the thinktank Cato Institute, told Fox News Digital Trump’s announcement carries little weight but that the White House could craft an executive order that transforms the president’s words into action.

“It’s all social media vibes, until there is an order from the president of some kind, and that’s going to be the dividing line,” Nowrasteh said. “That’s going to be what we need to really take a look at.”

TRUMP TO DESIGNATE ANTIFA A ‘MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION’

A White House official told Fox News Digital the administration is examining ways to memorialize Trump’s call to action.

“The White House is exploring a wide variety of options to put pen to paper to address left-wing political violence and the network of organizations that fuel and fund it,” the official said. “Specifics on what that looks like continue to be discussed.”

Trump also said on Truth Social that those providing funds to antifa-affiliated groups should be investigated.

Trump’s announcement came less than a week after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated by a gunman who allegedly wrote gamer-inspired antifascist messaging on bullet casings and accused Kirk of spreading hate. Authorities are still working to develop a complete picture of suspect Tyler Robinson’s motive.

Former FBI Director Christopher Wray described antifa as a decentralized “ideology.” The Congressional Research Center emphasizes that it is a broad term and that its members have a variety of radical views closely aligned with anarchism, communism or socialism. The first group known to adopt the term antifa was Rose City Antifa in Portland, Oregon, in 2007. On occasion, violent criminals have been cited in court as affiliating with antifa.

TRUMP SIGNALING TO DOJ TO TAKE ANTIFA ‘SERIOUSLY,’ FORMER DHS OFFICIAL SAYS

Former acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf told Fox News Trump’s announcement could cause a shift in federal law enforcement priorities. Wolf said a crackdown on antifa, whose members often dress in all black and appear at political protests, was long overdue. The president first said antifa was a terrorist organization in 2020 amid protests and destructive riots related to George Floyd’s death.

“I’m glad to see this. This needed to happen,” Wolf said. “It needed to happen in 2020, when not only was I in the middle of it, but I think most Americans saw what was going down not only in Portland but around the country, and we saw antifa being very violent.”

Wolf noted that Trump’s social media announcement alone could spur the Department of Justice and the FBI to allocate resources toward investigating suspected antifa members and use their prosecutorial discretion to prioritize going after them. Domestic terrorism on both sides of the political aisle has long been a focus for federal law enforcement.

Any antifa targets who face criminal charges could see prosecutors recommend tougher sentences that include a terrorism enhancement. Additionally, federal law enforcement could conduct surveillance of suspected domestic terrorists or place them on the no-fly list.

DAVID MARCUS: DEMOCRATS MUST STOP THEIR DEADLY ANTI-FASCISM COSPLAY

Some have expressed concerns that Trump’s announcement, and any subsequent actions the president takes related to it, could lead to constitutional violations against nonviolent people or groups on the left.

“I hope he can first define what antifa is because there is no antifa organization. … He’s using the Charlie Kirk murder as a pretext to go after people that he disagrees with,” Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., said.

Nowrasteh said that peacefully adhering to some kind of antifascist ideology is “absolutely protected speech.”

“You can believe and say, ‘hey, this terrorist organization. … I believe in what they’re doing. Their goals are great. Their beliefs are awesome.’ You could say that. That’s not a legal violation, because of the First Amendment.”

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The American Civil Liberties Union’s response to Trump’s announcement echoed similar constitutional concerns.

“President Trump seems hellbent on targeting real or perceived political opponents based on their constitutionally protected beliefs and speech, and we should all be very clear that he is jeopardizing everyone’s First Amendment rights,” the ACLU’s Hina Shamsi said.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris noted that she was unaware that she had “pulled the pin on a hand grenade” with her response to a question while appearing on “The View” ahead of the 2024 presidential election, according to an Associated Press report about the unsuccessful candidate’s forthcoming book about her whirlwind 2024 White House campaign.

Asked whether she would have done anything differently than President Joe Biden, Harris replied by saying nothing “comes to mind” and adding that she had “been a part of … most of the decisions that have had impact.”

“I had no idea I’d just pulled the pin on a hand grenade,” Harris wrote in her book, “107 Days,” which is slated for release on Tuesday, according to the AP — “my staff were besides themselves” regarding how she had handed a “gift to the Trump campaign,” she noted, according to the outlet.

KAMALA HARRIS COMPLAINS ABOUT ‘IMPOSSIBLE’ LACK OF SUPPORT FROM BIDEN’S COMMS TEAM, INNER CIRCLE

Harris explained in the book that she did not want to criticize the president or litigate matters on which they did not agree, according to the AP, but she did not grasp the extent to which her connection with Biden was holding back her presidential bid.

President Donald Trump decisively defeated Harris in the 2024 election, winning both the Electoral College and the popular vote.

HARRIS ADMITS SILENCE ON BIDEN’S 2024 RE-ELECTION BID WAS ‘RECKLESSNESS’

“I could barely breathe,” Harris wrote regarding her experience of learning that she had lost the White House contest to her Republican rival, the outlet reported. She kept asking, “My God, my God, what will happen to our country?”

Earlier this year, Harris announced that she had decided against mounting a 2026 California gubernatorial bid.

HARRIS REVEALS ‘FIRST CHOICE’ FOR RUNNING MATE BUT SAYS AMERICA WASN’T READY FOR IT

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“In recent months, I have given serious thought to asking the people of California for the privilege to serve as their Governor,” she noted in a statement issued in late July. “But after deep reflection, I’ve decided that I will not run for Governor in this election.”

Prosecutors are expected to rest their case Friday in the federal trial of Ryan Routh, accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club in September 2024. 

Routh, representing himself with standby counsel, is expected to begin presenting his own witnesses once the government completes closing arguments.

On Thursday, jurors heard from Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Destructive Device Examiner Randy Walters, who testified that the gray storage box linked to Routh contained improvised firing mechanisms and parts designed to deliver a .50 caliber round. 

PROSECUTORS TO WRAP TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT CASE AS DEFENSE READIES WITNESSES

Walters said the homemade components, including rat traps, were spray-painted green. He testified that seven partially assembled devices were inside a bag in the box, saying the repetition showed “someone definitely attempting or tinkering with new ideas.” On cross-examination, Routh asked if the majority of the items were legal to own. Walters said they were not assembled, but that, “it is illegal for convicted felons to possess .50 caliber ammunition.”

Jurors also heard from FBI Special Agent Nicholas Schnelle, introduced as an expert in sniper tradecraft. Schnelle described Routh’s alleged hideout found near the sixth hole of Trump International Golf Club as a “final firing point” with “multiple shooting lanes.” He said the fence provided support for the rifle, which he compared to “loophole shooting in combat operations.” He demonstrated the safety on the SKS rifle for the jury and said, “the gun is similar to an AK-47.”

GUN SELLER TELLS RYAN ROUTH: ‘I HEARD OF YOU THREATENING PEOPLE’ IN TENSE COURTROOM EXCHANGE

Cross-examining Schnelle, Routh asked if the sniper hideout was well-concealed. Schnelle answered, “Yes, sir.” Routh followed up, pointing to the red and blue bungee cords, and asked again. Schnelle replied, “Yes, sir. Those colors are in the natural environment.”

Routh’s children, Sara and Adam, were in court watching closely.

FBI PHONE EXTRACTIONS, DNA TESTIMONY HEADLINE DAY 7 OF RYAN ROUTH TRIAL

Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, occasionally interrupted when Routh continued speaking after objections. She reminded the jury that Routh is only on trial for the listed charges.

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The court is scheduled to break on Friday afternoon for a charge conference with counsel. Jurors could begin hearing from Routh’s witnesses — including a firearms expert and potential character witnesses — once the defense begins.

EXCLUSIVE — It’s been nearly two decades since former Sen. John E. Sununu’s name has been on the ballot, but if the New Hampshire Republican decides to launch a 2026 campaign for the swing state’s open Senate seat, he’s confident he can win.

“I’m sure that if we put together a strong team, this is a race that can be won. This is a race I know I can win. And more importantly, it’s a role where I know I can make a difference for New Hampshire,” Sununu said in his strongest comments to date, in an exclusive national interview with Fox News Digital.

The former senator, who reiterated he’ll “make a decision in October” on whether to launch a Senate campaign in the expected competitive race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, said “it’s a winnable race for the right person who reflects our state’s values, not the values of Washington.”

And despite calling President Donald Trump a “loser” in a newspaper opinion piece early last year, Sununu may land the president’s support if he runs.

THUNE SPEAKS WITH SUNUNU ABOUT SENATE BID TO FLIP BLUE SEAT RED

“President Trump appreciates winners and understands that John E. Sununu puts this race on the map for Republicans,” a national Republican familiar with the Senate race in New Hampshire told Fox News Digital.

Sununu is a former three-term representative who defeated then-Gov. Shaheen in New Hampshire’s 2002 Senate election. But the senator lost to Shaheen in their 2008 rematch. 

RISING REPUBLICAN STAR ASHLEY HINSON LAUNCHES SENATE BID TO SUCCEED IOWA’S ERNST

Shaheen announced earlier this year that she wouldn’t seek re-election in next year’s midterms, and Republicans are hoping to flip the seat as they aim to not only defend but expand their Senate majority. Four-term Rep. Chris Pappas is the clear frontrunner for the Democratic nomination.

After nearly two decades in the private sector, Sununu sounds like someone ready to hit the campaign trail.

“This is an incredibly important race. It’s an incredibly important time for the country and I feel it might be the right time to step up,” Sununu told Fox News Digital.

He said that “over the last few weeks, people in New Hampshire have reached out. They’ve encouraged me to run for Senate, because they know how important it is that New Hampshire has the right kind of voice in Washington, someone who will stand up for our state, someone who won’t just be a rubber stamp for anyone else, but will represent New Hampshire every single day.”

But it’s not just New Hampshire voters who may be encouraging Sununu to run.

Top national Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, have held conversations with the former senator regarding a 2026 Senate campaign, a source told Fox News Digital two weeks ago.

TRUMP NOT ON BALLOT BUT FRONT-AND-CENTER IN 2025 ELECTIONS

Also speaking with Sununu was former Sen. Cory Gardner, chair of the Senate Leadership Fund, which is the top super PAC supporting Senate Republicans. The source added that Thune and Gardner were cautiously optimistic that Sununu would launch a campaign.

Sununu is a brand name in New Hampshire politics. The former senator’s father, John H. Sununu, is a former governor who later served as chief of staff in then-President George H.W. Bush’s White House. And one of his younger brothers is former Gov. Chris Sununu, who won election and re-election to four two-year terms steering the Granite State.

But the Republican Party has dramatically changed since the former senator last ran for office 17 years ago. The GOP, under the firm control of President Donald Trump and his America First agenda and MAGA movement, has been transformed from a business-orientated platform into a more populist party.

Asked if there’s still room for an old-school fiscal conservative in Trump’s GOP, Sununu said, “good decision-making, good leadership, never goes out of style. Standing up for your state, standing up for your neighbors and your friends, and the things that make New Hampshire strong never goes out of style. Being an effective voice never goes out of style.”

FOUR KEY SENATE SEATS THE GOP AIMS TO FLIP IN NEXT YEAR’S MIDTERM ELECTIONS

But some of Sununu’s past criticisms of Trump could come back to hurt him if he joins a Republican primary that already includes former Sen. Scott Brown and state Sen. Dan Innis, who are both showcasing their support for the president.

Sununu, along with then-Gov. Chris Sununu, endorsed former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the 2024 New Hampshire Republican presidential primary, as she battled Trump for the nomination.

And on the eve of the first-in-the-nation presidential primary, the former senator wrote an opinion piece titled “Donald Trump is a loser,” that ran in the New Hampshire Union Leader, the state’s largest daily newspaper.

“@JohnSununu was the original ‘Never Trumper,'” Brown charged in a social media post this month. “He’s going to have to explain that.”

Brown endorsed Trump ahead of his 2016 New Hampshire primary victory, which launched him toward the GOP presidential nomination and ultimately the White House. Brown later served as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand during Trump’s first term.

And Innis claims that he’s the most pro-Trump candidate in the race.

Asked if he could win a Republican primary race that could turn into a Trump loyalty test, Sununu said “the real question is, can you be effective? Can you work with other members of Congress? Can you work with this White House? Can you provide the kind of leadership it takes to get things done? And I know I can do that.”

“If there’s a primary, I’ve seen them before. I’ve been through them before,” he added. “I’m very comfortable with where we are today, and over the next few weeks, I’ll continue to get people’s perspective, put together a good team, make sure we have a winning message and make a decision in October.”

Trump, whose endorsement in Republican primaries is extremely influential, has remained neutral to date. 

And the president may be willing to overlook Sununu’s past jabs.

Earlier this year, when Chris Sununu flirted with a Senate bid after leaving office, Trump urged him to run.

The younger Sununu, who was Haley’s top supporter and surrogate in New Hampshire, repeatedly criticized Trump during the 2024 Republican presidential primaries.

Trump told reporters in April that he had met with the former governor in the Oval Office and that he’d “support him fully.”

“He’s been very nice to me over the last year or so,” Trump added. “I hope he runs. I think he’ll win that seat.” 

The national Republican strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, said that “aside from his famous last name, Sununu is a serious candidate with the ability to fundraise and appeal to New Hampshire’s unique politics. All other candidates — announced or considering — will have a very difficult time against Chris Pappas next November.”

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Asked about trying to earn Trump’s support, Sununu said, “I’d certainly love to have support from across the spectrum, that includes the president.”

But he added that “at the end of the day, this is about building support in New Hampshire, providing the right leadership for New Hampshire and the right message for New Hampshire.”

Turning Point USA announced Thursday it “unanimously elected” Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika Kirk as the new CEO and chair of the board of the organization.

“In prior discussions, Charlie expressed to multiple executives that this is what he wanted in the event of his death,” the organization said in a post on X.

Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on Sept. 10 while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University.

“It was the honor of our lives to serve as board members at Charlie’s side,” Turning Point USA’s current board said in a statement released Thursday. “Charlie prepared all of us for a moment like this one. He worked tirelessly to ensure Turning Point USA was built to survive even the greatest tests. And now, it’s our great pride to announce Erika Kirk as the new CEO and Chair of the Board for Turning Point USA.”

LIVE UPDATES: CHARLIE KIRK MURDER INVESTIGATION

“All of us at Turning Point USA have a special role in carrying Charlie Kirk’s mantle and completing his vision of bringing us all closer to our Lord and fostering a prosperous country for generations to come. As Charlie always said, ‘We have a country to save,'” the statement continued. “We will not surrender or kneel before evil. We will carry on. The attempt to destroy Charlie’s work will become our chance to make it more powerful and enduring than ever before.”

“May God Bless Erika, the Kirk family, and the entire team at Turning Point USA,” the organization added.

TRUMP, VANCE, OTHER PROMINENT POLITICAL FIGURES TO SPEAK AT SUNDAY STADIUM EVENT HONORING CHARLIE KIRK

Kirk is set to be remembered at a public memorial service scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 21, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.

President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other prominent figures are slated to speak at the event.

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“Charlie Kirk’s life was a testament to faith, courage, and conviction,” a website for the event said. “From his earliest days, he believed America was worth fighting for, and he dedicated every moment of his 31 years to that cause. He lived with eyes fixed on eternity, grounded in the truth of God’s Word, and driven by a calling bigger than himself.” 

Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump renewed his criticism against former President Joe Biden and his administration over the use of an autopen to sign off on important orders — including pardons — during Biden’s tenure in the White House. 

Trump has railed against Biden’s use of the autopen for months, claiming thousands of pardons Biden signed were void and that the former president did not know what documents he was signing through the automated device. 

“It was illegally used. He never gave the orders,” Trump told reporters Thursday during a trip to the U.K. “He never told them what to do. And I guess the only one he signed, or one of the few he signed, was the pardon for his son.”

TOP BIDEN OFFICIALS QUESTIONED AND CRITICIZED HOW HIS TEAM ISSUED PARDONS, USED AUTOPEN: REPORT

A spokesperson for Biden did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

A White House official previously told Fox News Digital that Trump uses his hand signature for every legally operational or binding document. Even so, Trump has admitted that he uses an autopen for letters. 

Meanwhile, Biden’s chief of staff issued final approval for multiple high-profile preemptive pardons during Biden’s final days in office, the New York Times reported in July. 

Although Biden reportedly made the decision about the pardons in a meeting, Biden’s chief of staff Jeff Zients is the one who gave final approval for the use of the autopen — at least in the case of former chief medical advisor to the president, Anthony Fauci, and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, the Times reported. 

‘SHOULD BE PROSECUTED’: HOUSE REPUBLICANS ZERO IN ON BIDEN AUTOPEN PARDONS AFTER BOMBSHELL REPORT

Even so, Biden told the Times that he made every clemency decision of his own accord. 

Meanwhile, Trump’s comments come as Zients is slated to appear before the House Oversight Committee Thursday for its probe into Biden’s mental acuity. Part of that investigation is also examining if the former president was fully cognizant of clemency orders and executive actions he signed using the autopen. 

Biden granted a total of 4,245 acts of clemency during his administration, 96% of which were granted during his final months in office between October 2024 and January 2025, according to the Pew Research Center. 

BIDEN CHIEF OF STAFF REPORTEDLY GAVE APPROVAL FOR AUTOPEN PARDONS ON FINAL DAY IN OFFICE

An autopen is a machine that physically holds a pen and follows programming to imitate a person’s signature.

Unlike a stamp or a digitized print of a signature, the autopen has the capability to hold various types of pens, from  a ballpoint to a permanent marker, according to descriptions of autopen machines for sale online. 

Fox News’ Liz Elkind contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump and the first lady had to transfer from Marine One to a support helicopter Thursday after a hydraulic issue forced an unscheduled landing at a local airfield on the way to Stansted Airport in England.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the switch was due to a “minor hydraulic issue.”

“Out of an abundance of caution, the pilots landed at a local airfield before reaching Stansted Airport,” Leavitt said. “The president and first lady safely boarded the support helicopter.”

PRESIDENT TRUMP BIDS FAREWELL TO KING CHARLES AS MELANIA TRUMP JOINS QUEEN CAMILLA FOR ROYAL TREASURES TOUR

TRUMP BELIEVES CHARLIE KIRK WOULD HAVE BEEN PRESIDENT

Though the Marine One flight was only scheduled to last 20 minutes, from the prime minister’s Chequers landing zone to Stansted Airport, the president and first lady spent nearly 40 minutes traveling to the airport due to the issue.

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King Charles II and Queen Camilla are hosting the Trumps for an unprecedented second state visit, discussing a large U.S. investment in the U.K.

FIRST ON FOX — Charlie Kirk’s shooting death last week that sent shockwaves through the nation has had an outsize impact on young conservative voters — among them, Brilyn Hollyhand, a 19-year-old college freshman who on Thursday announced a multi-state university tour designed to foster conversation, debate, and engage young voters to continue to build on Kirk’s legacy.

The “One Conversation at a Time” tour, previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital, is sponsored by the Kirk-founded nonprofit, Turning Point USA, which seeks to engage young people in conservative politics. Hollyhand’s tour will include stops at 10 big-name universities across the broader southeast, including in Florida, South Carolina, and Mississippi — whose undergraduate populations average between 30,000 and 40,000 people, according to data from the U.S. News & World Report. 

Hollyhand, who wields considerable influence in his own right — he’s both a podcast host and author who met Kirk in fourth grade, when Kirk appeared as a guest on his podcast — told Fox News Digital in an interview that Kirk’s death should inspire people to speak up and engage with others face-to-face.

That was something Kirk excelled at, Hollyhand said — and something that’s especially important to continue to diminish the power of violent political actions.  

FLORIDA COLLEGE ANNOUNCES CHARLIE KIRK STATUE: ‘A REMINDER OF WHAT AMERICA IS ALL ABOUT’

“If we’ve learned anything in the last week, it’s that you can kill a man, but you cannot kill a movement,” he said. “We’re not going to be silenced. And more than ever before, we have to make America talk again — and that starts on college campuses.”

Kirk, who died at 31, differentiated himself from other political “influencers” because of his authenticity, Hollyhand said. He established a presence in large part because of his college stops, where he’d sit for hours at a “Prove Me Wrong” table to debate young people face-to-face.

He leaped onto the national stage at a time when the Republican Party had been struggling to attract young voters, compared to then-President Barack Obama and the considerable star power wielded by the Democratic Party. And while Kirk’s views were unabashedly controversial, they were seen as a welcome breath of fresh air for many Republicans, who often felt out of place and unrepresented on college campuses.

“Charlie has really large shoes to fill, not just because he was a tall guy with a big shoe size,” he laughed, “but because he genuinely inspired a generation, and it wasn’t a simple task.” 

“He made young people aware of why politics was important, and he made conservatism cool again. And so we can’t attempt to replicate that, but we can carry the torch for him, and we can grab the microphone and continue the relay race.

PASTOR: CHARLIE KIRK’S GRAPHIC DEATH WAS ‘TRAUMATIC’ AS MANY AMERICANS RECONCILE WITH LOSS

Hollyhand, who first met Kirk when he was in fourth grade, acknowledged he is not embarking on the tour without fear. The threats against him had skyrocketed in the days since Kirk’s killing, necessitating a meeting with his security detail, who required they escort him to his classes.

The threats against him were also more detailed, “explicitly mentioning [my] walks to classes,” he said.

It’s the first time he said he considered leaving the political orbit altogether. “I paused for a second, and I stepped out of the room,” he said. “I thought, ‘What if I just stop, or if I just put down the microphone? What if I stepped away from politics?’”

“What if I went back to being a normal college student partying it up and going to classes? It would be a lot safer,” he said. “I wouldn’t have to have a detail walk with me to class.”

“And so, when Turning Point reached out about doing this tour for Charlie, [that] is why I’m doing this, not because it’s easy, but because it’s hard and because it is terrifying.”

“It’s really hard to stand on the stage and on a campus and on a microphone. But Charlie would not want us to cower, and he would want us to be louder than ever, and that’s what the movement as a whole has to understand.”

Hollyhand hopes he can engage and connect with his peers in the same way Kirk did.

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“There has never been a more impactful figure for Gen Z and or never will be,” he said. “And we can’t attempt to replicate that, but we can carry the torch for him, and we can grab the microphone and continue the relay race. 

“So to continue Charlie’s life and legacy, I am honored to announce that I’m partnering with Turning Point USA to launch the one conversation at a time tour where I will be speaking on 10 college campuses this semester, bolder and louder than ever before.”

The prosecution in the federal trial of Ryan Routh, accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club in 2024, called a series of law enforcement and forensic experts Thursday as prosecutors near the close of their case.

Jurors heard from Randy Walters, an ATF destructive device examiner, who testified that the gray box recovered at the home of one of Routh’s acquaintances contained homemade devices, including rat traps modified to trigger explosives, pipes and .50 caliber cartridges. 

“It’s limitless,” he said of how such traps can be improvised. Walters told jurors the components had no other purpose “other than being used as a weapon,” and that seven partially assembled firing mechanisms were found inside a bag in the box.

PROSECUTORS TO WRAP TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT CASE AS DEFENSE READIES WITNESSES

On cross-examination, Routh asked Walters about whether the pieces themselves were illegal to own. Walters agreed that most were not, but later noted when asked by prosecutors that it is unlawful for a convicted felon to possess ammunition.

Jurors also got their closest look yet of the Chinese-made semiautomatic rifle prosecutors say Routh carried onto Trump’s golf course during the testimony of FBI Special Agent Nicholas Schnelle. The jury leaned in to study the weapon and other exhibits as testimony ran through the afternoon.

Routh asked Schnelle: “So, you honestly don’t know it’s semiautomatic or fully?” after the agent admitted he had not test-fired the weapon.

GUN SELLER TELLS RYAN ROUTH: ‘I HEARD OF YOU THREATENING PEOPLE’ IN TENSE COURTROOM EXCHANGE

Routh, representing himself in court, highlighted documents, sighed audibly and often apologized to witnesses. Approaching one Miami-based agent during cross-examination, he said, “At least you didn’t have to drive far.” 

At other points, he told witnesses their answers should be “just common sense,” and continued speaking even after prosecutors’ objections, prompting Judge Aileen Cannon to cut him off.

FBI PHONE EXTRACTIONS, DNA TESTIMONY HEADLINE DAY 7 OF RYAN ROUTH TRIAL

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The court planned to adjourn at 4:30 p.m. ET Thursday before holding a charge conference with counsel. The prosecution is expected to rest its case Friday, with the defense told to have its witnesses ready.

Hunter Biden was involved in discussions about pardons toward the end of his father’s White House term, a source familiar with Jeff Zients’ interview with the House Oversight Committee told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

Zients met with House investigators behind closed doors for over six hours, the final former Biden administration official to appear in House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer’s probe into ex-President Joe Biden’s use of an autopen.

Comer, R-Ky., is also investigating whether Biden’s top aides covered up signs of mental decline in the former president and whether executive decisions signed via autopen, including myriad clemency orders Biden approved, were executed with his full awareness.

Zients told investigators Hunter was involved in some of those pardon discussions and attended a few meetings on the subject with White House aides, the source said.

BIDEN’S AUTO-PEN PARDONS DISTURBED DOJ BRASS, DOCS SHOW, RAISING QUESTIONS WHETHER THEY ARE LEGALLY BINDING 

It’s not clear how much say Hunter had in those meetings or if he was involved in discussions about his own controversial pardon.

The former president issued a “full and unconditional” pardon for his son in early December, just under two months before leaving office. 

That’s despite Biden and his staff denying the possibility of such a move on several occasions.

Biden approved nearly 2,500 commutations on Jan. 17, just days before leaving the White House, setting a record for most clemency orders ever granted by a U.S. president — more than 4,200 total — and the most ever in a single day.

Weeks earlier, he issued pardons for several family members, including Hunter.

‘SHOULD BE PROSECUTED’: HOUSE REPUBLICANS ZERO IN ON BIDEN AUTOPEN PARDONS AFTER BOMBSHELL REPORT 

It had been previously reported by NBC News and other outlets that Hunter sat in on White House meetings with Biden’s aides in the wake of the former president’s disastrous June 2024 debate against Donald Trump.

Zients is the final former Biden aide expected to appear before the House Oversight Committee in its autopen probe.

The source familiar with his sit-down told Fox News Digital that Zients “admitted that President Biden’s speech stumbles increased as he aged.”

“He also noted that the president’s difficulty remembering dates and names worsened over time, including during the administration,” the source said.

A second source familiar with Zients’ comments to the House Oversight Committee defended his comments. 

“As chief of staff, Jeff’s job was to ensure that the president met with a range of advisors to thoroughly consider issues so that the president could make the best decisions,” the second source told Fox News Digital.

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“Throughout Jeff’s time working with him, while President Biden valued input from a wide variety of advisors and experts, the final decisions were made by the president and the president alone,” the second source said.

“Jeff had full confidence in President Biden’s ability to serve as president and is proud of what President Biden accomplished during his four years in office.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Zients’ attorney and the law firm of Abbe Lowell, who was known to have defended Hunter previously, for comment but did not immediately hear back.

EXCLUSIVE — Nate Morris says last week’s assassination of his friend Charlie Kirk was a “gut punch.”

But the Republican businessman from Kentucky, who was the last Senate candidate Kirk endorsed and joined on the campaign trail before he was shot and killed, said in an exclusive national interview with Fox News Digital that “we’re picking up the mantle for Charlie.”

And Morris, one of three major candidates vying for the Republican nomination in the 2026 race to succeed retiring longtime former Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, emphasized, “We’re going to honor him by running an incredible campaign and winning this thing.”

Morris said that when he was considering a Senate run, “I got a chance to meet Charlie and get to know him. And, you know, he didn’t know me from Adam. He didn’t know really anything about me, other than I was a business guy, and I was looking at the race.

TRUMP NOT ON BALLOT BUT FRONT-AND-CENTER IN 2025 ELECTIONS

“I think Charlie’s superpower was his ability to listen and give people an opportunity to share what’s on their mind,” Morris said. “He certainly did that for me, and he came away motivated to help me, which, which was unbelievable to have that kind of support early on.”

RISING REPUBLICAN STAR ASHLEY HINSON LAUNCHES SENATE BID TO SUCCEED IOWA’S ERNST

Kirk, the conservative firebrand, activist, media superstar on the right, co-founder of the influential Turning Point USA organization and ally and outside advisor to President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Donald Trump Jr., invited Morris on his radio show.

And in June, he teamed up with Morris at a campaign kickoff event just south of Louisville, Kentucky.

“It was such a shot in the arm to our campaign. I mean, you couldn’t ask for anything greater,” Morris said. “When you’re launching something like a United States Senate campaign, an iconic leader like Charlie, who believes in you and believes in your vision, it changes everything. And it changes the way you look at the race. It gives you a confidence that I think very few candidates are lucky enough to get.”

FOUR KEY SENATE SEATS THE GOP AIMS TO FLIP IN NEXT YEAR’S MIDTERM ELECTIONS

Morris added that “Charlie was all in on this campaign from the very beginning, and I think it set the tone as well and showed conservatives what kind of campaign we’re going to run.

“But, also, he spoke for me, my beliefs and my character before a lot of people knew me,” Morris said. “I’m running as an outsider. I’m not a career politician. I’ve never run for office before, and having Charlie vouch for me in this campaign changed everything for us.”

Morris is facing off against fellow major contenders Rep. Andy Barr and former Kentucky Attorney General and 2023 gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron, in a growing field of candidates in a Republican race that’s turning combustible. 

“The assassination of Charlie Kirk is a national disgrace and a wake-up call for America. Enough is enough. I continue to pray for Charlie’s family during this unspeakable tragedy,” Barr wrote in the hours after Kirk’s murder.

And Cameron, this week, said that in Kirk’s “honor, we will continue to stand for truth and this Nation’s founding ideals.”

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In the wake of Kirk’s shooting death while speaking to college students at Utah Valley University, Morris said he’s more motivated than ever to win the Senate race.

“I had a burning desire from the moment I started thinking about this race that I felt like I had to get in. I felt that with every fiber of my being,” he said. “Let me tell you, since this has happened, this fire is like a fire I can’t describe. We have to win, and we have to honor Charlie and what he did for us. We have no choice.”

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening…

-Obama accuses Trump administration of taking ‘cancel culture’ to ‘dangerous level’ amid media threats

-Turning Point elects Erika Kirk as new CEO, chair of the board following Charlie Kirk’s assassination

-Trump renews attacks on Biden autopen pardons, claims he ‘never gave the orders’

Hillary Clinton sparks social media firestorm for promoting book warning about ‘fascists’: ‘Sick people’

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is getting blasted on social media after posting a picture supporting American Federation of Teachers (AFT) chief Randi Weingarten’s new book that suggests her political opponents are “fascists.”

“Congratulations to my friend [Weingarten] on ‘Why Fascists Fear Teachers.’ From banning books to controlling curriculum, authoritarians go after public education because it’s a cornerstone of democracy,” Clinton posted on Wednesday, along with a picture of Weingarten holding the book. 

“Randi’s new book is a critical read for this moment,” she wrote.

Clinton was criticized by conservatives for the post, which they argued continued the smear campaign against political opponents that many believe contributed to the assassination of Charlie Kirk…READ MORE.

White House

BORDER BATTLE: Federal judge blocks Trump administration from deporting hundreds of Guatemalan minors

CHOPPER ISSUE: Trump forced to transfer helicopters after Marine One suffers ‘minor hydraulic issue’ in UK

‘MODERN TUSKEGEE’: DC watchdog sues for docs on ‘modern-day Tuskegee Experiments’ giving transgender Rx to youth

WAR ON DRUGS: WATCH: Coast Guard seizes cocaine, suspected narco-terrorists in Pacific Viper raid

JOKE’S OVER: Trump says Jimmy Kimmel pulled off air due to ‘lack of talent’

GEN Z RISES: ‘We won’t cower’: Young conservatives build on Kirk legacy in nationwide speaking tour

World Stage

BAGRAM OR BUST: Trump just said he’s trying to get Bagram Airbase back in Afghanistan

NO PEACE IN SIGHT: Trump: Putin has ‘really let me down’ on Ukraine peace efforts

Capitol Hill

DOJ DILEMMA: Schiff: Patel’s FBI leadership replaced expertise with ‘rabid partisanship’

‘UN-AMERICAN’: Schumer accuses Trump of exploiting Charlie Kirk’s death to launch political ‘witch hunt’

‘MENTAL BREAKDOWN’: Omar celebrates censure vote failure, alleges ’emergency’ need to get Mace ‘help’ before she harms someone

‘CAN’T SEE STRAIGHT’: Thune pans Democrats’ shutdown stance as ‘borderline pathological,’ ‘like a disease’

SAFETY TALKS: SCOOP: Iryna Zarutska stabbing fuels transit safety overhaul talks in House

COMEDY POLICE: Eric Swalwell dons ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ hat in solidarity for CNN interview

Across America 

MURDER DEFENDER: Lawmaker who tied Kirk to ‘domestic terrorism’ facing expulsion calls amid politician blowback nationwide

RIGHTS FIGHT: Virginia boys notch court win after being labeled ‘sexual harassers’ over transgender locker room complaint

OFF TRACK: Blue city bus attack heightens commuters’ fears after Charlotte train stabbing

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New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and several other lawmakers and protesters staged a sit-in on the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza on September 18, 2025, sources confirmed to Fox News Digital.

The group reportedly attempted to force their way into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices and holding cells, demanding access to the facility. 

ICE sources claim officers had to secure doors with locks and zip ties after protesters pushed to enter, with additional security now posted on the floor.

According to ICE officials, several “egregious criminal aliens” are being held in the cells at the site. 

TRUMP DOJ SUES LOS ANGELES OVER SANCTUARY CITY POLICIES

Meanwhile, a separate protest unfolded outside the building, where activists blocked ICE vans from leaving the facility. 

Protesters have been surrounding the vans, while chants echoed across the plaza.

Brad Lander posted about the demonstration on social media, tagging the Democratic Socialists of America in a message of solidarity.

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This is a developing story.