NationalWatch

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley raised a few eyebrows this weekend from conservatives, after the former South Carolina governor made a comment about changing “personalities” while discussing the upcoming Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary. 

“The structure of it is really amazing,” Haley told an interviewer on a local Iowa PBS station last week of the GOP primary process. “Iowa starts it. You change personalities, you go into New Hampshire.”

The presidential candidate was discussing whether she would support changing the order in which states vote in the Republican primary as Democrats did for their presidential primary process. She often remarks on how each state has its own personality. 

At a recent event in Iowa, Haley called Iowans “patriotic,” “hardworking” and “very careful” while saying New Hampshire voters wear their “feelings on their sleeves,” and South Carolinians can “kick you with a smile.” 

NIKKI HALEY IS THE ONLY CANDIDATE WHO HAS SHOWN ANY PRIMARY MOMENTUM: MARK PENN

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has seen poll numbers tighten with Haley as her numbers rise, hit the 51-year-old on the remark while answering questions following an event in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday. 

DeSantis said it’s “just not going well” for Haley as she faces more scrutiny in the media. “I think she’s not showing an ability to be able to withstand that and to be able to answer the type of questions that you need. I mean you obviously saw she’s dealing with history, having trouble there, dissing Iowa with the things she said there … and now this saying that you change personalities once you leave Iowa and go to New Hampshire.”

Texas Rep. Chip Roy, who supports DeSantis, wrote in X, formerly Twitter, Saturday, “So – @NikkiHaley (allies) dump another $1.8 million against @RonDeSantis … so she can ‘changepersonalities’ to go to NH to ‘correct’ Iowans… & audition to be Trump’s VP ($0 against Trump)… to advance forever wars, open borders, & corporate interests. Got it. #DeSantis2024.”

Haley’s campaign hit back against the attacks, with spokeswoman AnneMarie Graham-Barnes telling Fox News Digital in a statement: “Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump are getting more and more desperate by the hour Nikki’s momentum is real and her vision is resonating, so they’re grasping at straws. Voters see right through it.” 

HALEY RESPONDS TO TRUMP, DESANTIS’ SWIPES: IT’S ‘SWEET’ THEY’RE SPENDING SO MUCH MONEY AGAINST ME

Iowa’s polls show former President Trump, who has also increased his attacks on Haley, including TV attack ads, with a double-digit lead over the other candidates (about 50%, according to a Real Clear Politics average), but Haley has closed the gap with DeSantis and the two are vying for second place with 15.7% and 18.4% respectively, with Vivek Ramaswamy in a distant fourth with 6%. 

“President Trump has long said he’d train his sights on whomever is number two in the race,” Jason Miller, a Trump adviser, told Politico recently. “Rob DeSanctimonious is approaching single digits everywhere and his campaign is on life support, which means it’s Nikki Haley’s turn in the barrel.”

Haley has struggled with other gaffes recently, most notably her answer in a New Hampshire town hall last month that failed to make any mention of slavery as the cause of the Civil War. She walked back the comments hours later, saying “of course” the war was about slavery, but her opponents continue to hound her about it. 

She also faced heat for telling New Hampshire voters recently, “You know Iowa starts it. You know that you correct it … you know that my sweet state of South Carolina brings it home,” which she later described as a joke. 

Haley noted the increased attacks she’s received from Trump and her other opponents during a town hall in Iowa Saturday, joking, “All these fellas are showing me way too much attention.” 

She also derided Trump for a recent attack ad against her, which claimed she and President Biden both opposed Trump border security measures such as a wall.

“Isn’t that sweet of him, spending so much time and money against me?” she quipped to Fox News. She told Iowa voters Saturday that in reality she had said the wall was a start but more needed to be done to secure the border. 

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“They’re taking little pieces and putting it together to make it look like what they want you to see,” Haley said of the other candidates’ attacks. “But you know what it all means if they’re lying, it’s because they know they’re losing. It’s that simple. And if they’re going to lie about me, I’m going to tell you the truth about them.” 

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy asserted that he and former President Donald Trump are the only two candidates with an American First agenda.

At a town hall in Marengo, Iowa on Saturday, the 38-year-old entrepreneur said that he and Trump are the only two “America First” candidates on the Republican ballot.

“I think there’s two America first candidates in this race,” Ramaswamy said. “That’s Donald Trump and me.” 

BILLIONAIRE JEFFREY EPSTEIN ASSOCIATE GAVE LARGE DONATIONS TO VIVEK RAMASWAMY, SEVERAL DEMS

The moment came after Ramaswamy told a crowd of supporters that it was time to speak “candidly,” asking the attendees to raise their hands if they were planning on casting their ballot for Ramaswamy or for Trump.

“How many of you are leaning towards supporting me right now?,” Ramaswamy asked. “A good number of you.”

Next, Ramaswamy asked audience members which of them were planning on voting for Trump in the Iowa presidential caucuses on Jan. 15.

“How many of you are considering Donald Trump for the caucus?,” Ramaswamy asked. “Okay. Well, thank you. I understand that because I think there are two ‘American First’ candidates in this race.”

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Ramaswamy, who has campaigned on an “America First 2.0” agenda, has aligned himself with Trump’s America First policy, which centers on reducing U.S. trade deficits and rebalancing the burden of America’s responsibilities to international trade organizations.

In just a week, the 2024 Iowa Caucuses will commence, where the first votes for the next potential president will be cast. 

Being the first state to cast votes for presidential nominees, Iowa’s caucuses set the stage for the entire primary season. Winning or performing strongly in Iowa can generate crucial momentum for candidates, influencing voter perceptions of their viability.

Ramaswamy received the endorsement of former Republican Iowa Rep. Steve King in a post on X last week. 

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Salem, New Hampshire, GOP Chairman Steve Goddu also endorsed Ramaswamy last year, along with former New Hampshire GOP Senate candidate Kevin Smith.

Fox News’ Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.

More than two dozen states have filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court, urging the nation’s highest court to keep former President Trump on the Colorado Republican presidential ballot and warning that failing to do so could throw the 2024 presidential election “into chaos.”

The attorneys general of Indiana, West Virginia and 25 other states, warn the court that the move by the Colorado Supreme Court to declare Trump an “insurrectionist” under the Fourteenth Amendment “has vast consequences that reach far beyond Colorado.”

The nation’s highest court will hear arguments on February 8 and set a January 18 deadline for similar briefs. The justices issued an administrative stay that orders the Colorado Secretary of State to put the former president’s name on the GOP primary ballot, at least until the case is decided.

SUPREME COURT TO DECIDE IF TRUMP BANNED FROM COLORADO BALLOT IN HISTORIC CASE 

The state court ruled that Trump had engaged in an insurrection for his role in January 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol. The Fourteenth Amendment, adopted in 1868 after the Civil War, bars people who “engaged in insurrection” from holding public office.

The states argue that state-imposed restrictions have a national consequence in this instance and the ruling “threatens to throw the 2024 election into chaos.”

“Voters who may wish to cast their ballots for former President Trump cannot know whether he ultimately will be excluded from the ballot in their State or others. They may wonder whether a little non-mutual offensive collateral estoppel is all it takes for former President Trump to be excluded from ballots across the Nation,” they say.

They also argue that the court’s decision on what constitutes an insurrection is “standardless and vague” and denied the former president an opportunity for due process, including calling witnesses and the discovery process.

“The Colorado Supreme Court has cast itself into a ‘political thicket,’ . . . and it is now up to this Court to pull it out,” they say.

The states warn that if the Colorado decision is allowed to stand, the confidence in the integrity of the electoral process will be harmed.

TRUMP ASKS SUPREME COURT TO KEEP NAME ON COLORADO BALLOT

“Many Americans will become convinced that a few partisan actors have contrived to take a political decision out of ordinary voters’ hands,” they warn.

The brief also argues for immediate action as the court “should not let the uncertainy persist” and warns that additional confusion could build if more states remove Trump from the ballot as the primaries and caucuses near.

“Any damage may already have been done by the time another case raising similar issues makes its way back to this Court. And the longer litigation over a national candidate’s eligibility persists, the more uncertainty and confusion will spread. Voters need an answer in time to judiciously weigh the merits of competing candidates before casting their ballots, not after voting has begun,” the states say.

BIDEN MARKS THREE YEARS SINCE JAN. 6 BLASTING TRUMP, SAYING HE IS ‘TRYING TO STEAL HISTORY’

The brief also argues that, if allowed to stand, other potential disqualifications could arise in the future, asking whether a president could be stopped from running for re-election due to a wartime mistake construed as giving “aid or comfort” to enemies.

“The Court should act now to stop all these ‘strange, far-reaching, and injurious results’ from spinning out of control,” the states say.

Finally, the brief argues that the decision for who is qualified to serve as president is up to the voters, not to the courts.

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“If the voters find former President Trump qualified, and Congress concurs, then the Constitution does not contemplate a time for the judiciary to second-guess that call. Rather, the Constitution gives Congress the sole and final authority to determine whether the President can continue to serve, as many courts have said.”

Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Bill Mears and Shannon Bream contributed to this report.

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft is threatening to remove President Biden from the election ballot as other states make efforts to disqualify former President Trump from securing a second term over his actions during the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. 

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide whether Trump can appear on Republican primary ballots in Colorado after the state Supreme Court ruled he couldn’t, citing the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause. 

The high court sided with a lower court that ruled Trump incited his supporters as Congress was certifying Biden’s 2020 election victory. The Colorado Supreme Court decision was the first time in history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment was used to bar a presidential contender from the ballot. 

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Maine’s secretary of state decided Trump should be removed from the ballot for the same reason. Trump is appealing that decision. 

On Friday, Ashcroft, a Republican, said the efforts in Colorado and Maine were “disgraceful” and “undermines our republic.”

“While I expect the Supreme Court to overturn this, if not, Secretaries of State will step in & ensure the new legal standard for @realDonaldTrump applies equally to @JoeBiden !,” Ashcroft wrote on X. 

“I’m not in favor of going down this path. But if we will go down this path, it’s inevitable, if the Supreme Court does not stop this,” Ashcroft told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “The rules will be applied equally. I just hope they will not be the rules of Colorado and Maine.”

Republicans have heavily criticized Democrats for attempting to remove Trump from 2024 presidential election ballots, saying it undermines the will of voters. 

Last month, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick suggested taking Biden off the ballot because of his handling of the southern border.

“Seeing what happened in Colorado tonight … makes me think — except we believe in democracy in Texas — maybe we should take Joe Biden off the ballot in Texas for allowing 8 million people to cross the border since he’s been president, disrupting our state far more than anything anyone else has done in recent history,” Patrick said in an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham on “The Ingraham Angle.”

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In a letter submitted to the high court, more than a dozen states signaled their support for Trump, including Missouri. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to Ashcroft’s office. A White House spokesperson responded with “No” when asked for comment. 

GOP presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he’s looking at ways to keep President Biden off the ballot due to the “invasion of 8 million” at the southern border — though he said he also believes efforts to bar former President Trump from the ballot are wrong.

“I do think the US Supreme Court is going to have to take the case,” DeSantis told reporters following a campaign event in Iowa Friday. “I do think they’re going to have to rein this in, because I just think if you look at it, it just becomes too different.”

But DeSantis said in the meantime that Florida is looking at whether it could block Biden from the ballot for policies he says have led to an “invasion” of immigrants into the U.S. over the southern border.

“You could make a case — we’re actually I’m actually looking at this in Florida now. Could we make a credible case that Biden, because of the invasion of eight million?” DeSantis said.

TRUMP BACKED BY 27 STATES IN SUPREME COURT FIGHT, WHO WARN OF 2024 ‘CHAOS’ IF HE’S REMOVED FROM BALLOT

DeSantis has frequently cited the eight million figure, referring to the number of immigrants who have allegedly entered the country illegally under Biden’s administration.

Despite disagreeing with the legality of barring candidates from primary ballots, DeSantis said it is important to fight by the same set of rules Democrats are using.

FOX NEWS TOWN HALL WITH GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS

“I think if this is going to happen for them . . . I don’t believe in fighting with one hand tied behind your back. Whatever the rules are applied to us, we’re going to fight back and play the rules the other way,” DeSantis said.

“You know, we’ve got a better way forward. We’re not going to have to worry about those issues. And then when I become president, I’m going to be able to address all the lawfare and all the weaponization, and we’ll be able to end this stuff once and for all,” he added.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case on whether Trump can be kept off of state primary ballots. A Colorado high court ruled in favor of a Republican effort to bar the former president from appearing on primary ballots.

FOX NEWS TOWN HALL WITH FMR. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump had engaged in an insurrection for his role in the January 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol. The Fourteenth Amendment, adopted in 1868 after the Civil War, bars people who have “engaged in insurrection” from holding public office.

Other states have also moved or is considering efforts to block Trump from the ballot. The Maine Secretary of State determined that Trump was ineligible to appear on the primary ballot, and the Illinois State Board of Elections (SBE) will hold a vote this month to decide whether to remove the former president’s name.

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

President Biden garnered the attention of some social media users on Friday after he delivered a speech in Pennsylvania and appeared “confused” landing in Delaware later that evening.

Shortly after Biden’s trip to Blue Bell, Pennsylvania — where he delivered a campaign speech marking three years since the January 6 Capitol riot — the 81-year-old president faced a flurry of criticism for his remarks and behavior both after the speech and upon his arrival in Delaware, where he is spending the weekend.

Biden spent a great deal of time attacking former President Donald Trump, who holds a massive lead over the GOP presidential primary field, and his “mob” of supporters during the Friday-evening speech near Valley Forge.

The president accused Trump of “trying to steal history the same way he tried to steal the election,” while saying that the results of the 2020 election proved that he was a “loser.”

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After delivering the address, first lady Jill Biden quickly approached the podium and hugged the president before taking him by the hand and leading him off the stage. The couple appeared to whisper something to one another, but what said wasn’t discernible based on the angles of the main camera.

After embracing his wife, Biden turned back to the mic and spoke over the loudspeakers that had already begun playing exit music.

“I understand power. Thank you all so very much,” he said before slowly leaving the stage.

Highlighting the instance in a post to social media, one user noted that Jill Biden helped the president “off the stage following his remarks lest he get confused, and/or lost, or falls.”

Following his speech, Biden flew on Marine One to Delaware to spend the weekend with his family. Upon landing and departing from the helicopter, several users noticed the president’s peculiar behavior.

“After two weeks of vacation and a 32-minute speech, Biden is back in Delaware for a weekend respite. He was VERY confused upon landing,” RNC Research, an account managed by the Republican National Committee, remarked on X.

Sharing the same clip, conservative commentator Benny Johnson wrote in a post to X, “Biden is lost again.”

Biden, who turned 78 shortly before taking office in January 2021, has faced repeated questions over his fitness for office and mental acuity.

A recent NBC poll indicated that 59% of registered voters have “major concerns” about his physical and mental health as he eyes a second term, with an additional 27% having either “moderate” or “minor” concerns.

NEW POLL REVEALS HUGE GAP IN BIDEN’S AGE VS. TRUMP’S IN HYPOTHETICAL 2024 MATCHUP

Brennan Gorman, an Independent voter, joined “FOX & Friends Weekend” in November and offered his perspective on why he finds Biden’s age a problem for not only his campaign, but the entire country.

“I’m absolutely concerned,” he said at the time. “He exhibits many issues when it comes to physical and cognitive abilities, but also it’s difficult for him to connect with the younger generation. Our electorate is getting younger and younger, and we’re electing people who are older and older.”

Seventy-six percent of voters agreed Biden is “too old” to serve a second term, compared to just 48% who said the same about Trump, according to the poll.

Last November, Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, the former White House physician for Presidents Obama and Trump, expressed concern about Biden’s health and mental acuity.

“I’ve been saying for quite some time now, when he was candidate Joe Biden, that I didn’t think that he had the cognitive ability to do the job,” Jackson said on “FOX & Friends.”

Jackson emphasized that Biden has “degenerated” over the last three years.

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“He’s got these people that surround him that are inappropriately encouraging him to continue to run, because it builds up who they are and what they do. But our border, our wars overseas, our economy, you know, it’s just a disaster right now. And he just can’t do the job. And it’s just on display every day that he’s not capable of doing this job anymore,” Jackson warned.

House Speaker Mike Johnson formally invited President Biden to deliver a State of the Union address before Congress in March, amid “a moment of great challenge for our country.”

The constitutionally mandated update to Congress would occur on March 7, according to Johnson’s invitation. 

“In this moment of great challenge for our country, it is my solemn duty to extend this invitation for you to address a Joint Session of Congress on Thursday, March 7, 2024, so that you may fulfill your obligation under the U.S. Constitution to report on the state of our union,” Johnson wrote in the letter sent Saturday.

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In a post on X, Biden accepted the invitation.

“Looking forward to it, Mr. Speaker,” the post on Biden’s official X account said.

This will be Biden’s first State of the Union address with Johnson as speaker of the House, and his second since Republicans won the House majority in 2022. 

In 2023, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy invited Biden to give the address to a joint session of Congress on February 7, 2023. 

“The American people sent us to Washington to deliver a new direction for the country, to find common ground, and to debate their priorities,” McCarthy wrote at the time. After being ousted as speaker of the House in October, McCarthy left Congress in December.

Johnson has recently floated the idea of meeting personally with the president to discuss the southern border, which Republicans and a growing number Democrats view as a crisis.

Fox News Digital reported Friday that Johnson suggested meeting with Biden during a private call with House lawmakers on Thursday evening.

FREEDOM CAUCUS WARNS GOP LEADERS AGAINST SPENDING ‘AGREEMENT’ WITH DEMS AS SHUTDOWN DEADLINE LOOMS

A group of senators are still negotiating a potential immigration and border security package that would address the situation, after House Republicans said they would not consider additional aid to Ukraine or Israel unless the southern border crisis were addressed.

The March 7 State of the Union address would come after Congress faces two major deadlines to fund the government for the remainder of the fiscal year. Under a continuing resolution (CR) passed late last year, the House and Senate must reach an agreement to fund certain agencies by January 19 and others by February 2. 

During his 2023 State of the Union address, Biden faced boos and criticism for claiming that Republicans wanted to hold the economy “hostage” and sunset Social Security and Medicare.

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Biden also touted the economic progress under his administration — after inflation hit record highs in 2022 — and highlighted the unemployment rate at a “50-year low,” as well as job creation under his presidency following the pandemic-era job losses.

FOX NEWS TOWN HALL WITH FMR. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP

The Department of Justice has spent more than three times the amount investigating alleged wrongdoings by former President Donald Trump than it has to probe President Biden’s classified documents case.

The two investigations conducted by Special Counsel Jack Smith into Trump have cost taxpayers upwards of $23 million, while the DOJ’s investigation into Biden’s handling of classified documents has cost taxpayers roughly $6.4 million – a combined total of nearly $30 million.

The figures were revealed Friday in expenditure reports by the DOJ and reflect spending totals by both special counsels from the beginning of April 2023 through the end of September 2023. The totals also included costs sustained by other DOJ agencies related to the investigations.

The expenditure report for Smith’s investigations into Trump revealed that the DOJ had spent approximately $7.3 million on things like compensation and benefits for certain personnel, travel, supplies, rent and additional services.

As for other DOJ agencies that incurred expenses while assisting Smith’s investigations into the former president, the total came out to around $7.2 million. That total stemmed from the use of additional investigative support analysts from other agencies and a security detail for the special counsel “when warranted,” according to the report.

FOX NEWS TOWN HALL WITH FMR. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP

Smith was appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022 to investigate Trump’s mishandling of classified documents and his alleged efforts to interfere with the 2020 election.

The initial expenditure report from the special counsel – which covered mid-November 2022 through the end of March 2023 – revealed that Smith and other agencies within the DOJ had used $9 million in taxpayer dollars to investigate Trump. That total, combined with the total shown in the Friday report, puts the total cost the DOJ has spent investigating the former president at more than $23 million.

Trump pleaded not guilty in federal court to all four federal charges stemming from Smith’s investigation into 2020 election interference and the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.

Smith also indicted Trump on charges relating to the mishandling of classified documents. Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges out of that probe.

In contrast to the DOJ’s extreme cost of the Trump investigations, another DOJ report released Friday showed that Special Counsel Robert Hur’s investigation into Biden’s classified documents case cost taxpayers $2.8 million from the beginning of April 2023 to the end of September 2023.

Other DOJ agencies that supported the Biden probe during the same time period incurred costs of $2.4 million – bringing the total spent on the Biden investigation from April 2023 to September 2023 to $5.2 million.

The initial report from Hur’s investigation showed that the Department of Justice spent roughly $1.2 million between mid-January 2023 and the end of March 2023. That total, combined with totals revealed Friday, brings the DOJ’s total cost for the Biden probe overall to $6.4 million.

FOX NEWS TOWN HALL WITH FMR. GOVERNOR NIKKI HALEY

Hur, a former U.S. attorney, was appointed last January by Garland to lead the investigation into President Biden’s handling of classified documents dating back to the Obama administration. Last fall, Biden took part in a voluntary interview with Hur about the matter.

FOX NEWS TOWN HALL WITH GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS

The probe stems from a batch of records from President Biden’s time as vice president, including a “small number of documents with classified markings,” that were discovered at the Penn Biden Center by the president’s personal attorneys on November 2, 2022.

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The documents were found in a locked closet while preparing to vacate office space at the center, which the president used from mid-2017 until he began the 2020 campaign.

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump is back in Iowa this weekend, picking up his pace on the campaign trail with just over a week to go until the state’s Jan. 15 caucuses kick off the Republican presidential nominating calendar.

His message to his supporters: “We don’t want to sit back and rely on the polls.”

The former president’s the frontrunner for the GOP nomination as he makes his third straight White House run.

Trump made history last year as the first former or current president to be indicted for a crime, but his four indictments, including charges he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss, have only fueled his support among Republican voters.

FIRST ON FOX: INFLUENTIAL CONSERVATIVE GROUP LAUNCHES MASSIVE AD BLITZ ON BEHALF OF HALEY

In the latest polls in Iowa, he stands at or above 50% support, miles ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former United Nations Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who are battling for a distant second place.

“We’re leading by 30 to 40 points,” Trump has told supporters.

But Trump, who skipped out on the first four GOP presidential primary debates and who until recently kept a light schedule on the campaign trail in Iowa and the early voting states, isn’t sitting back on his large lead.

“The poll numbers are scary because we’re leading by so much,” Trump told supporters at a rally in Waterloo, Iowa, just before Christmas.

“We can put this to bed after Iowa. We’ve got to be sure that we put this thing away. … You gotta show up. Even if you think we’re going to win by a lot. You gotta show up.”

The Trump campaign shifted into higher gear a few weeks ago, training close to 2,000 caucus captains in precincts across the state. 

“Their sole job is to run each individual caucus that takes place and making sure that the list of the targeted voters supporting President Trump show up,” Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita told Fox News last month.

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The Trump campaign’s ground game operation in Iowa is leagues ahead of his 2016 effort, when he narrowly lost the caucuses to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. 

“Ted Cruz won in 2016 because his ground game was fantastic,” Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann, who remains neutral in the Republican nomination race, told Fox News.

And pointing to the 2024 Trump campaign, Kaufmann emphasized “their ground game has increased immensely.”

Trump and his campaign team are aiming for an overwhelming victory in Iowa as part of their plan to wrap up the nomination race as quickly as possible and pivot to a general election rematch with President Biden.

Their major concern is complacency.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, a top Trump surrogate, told Fox News that she is a “caucus captain myself in Guthrie County. I will be there at the caucus helping rally votes for President Trump on caucus night. We have to stay focused, and our people have to show up. The support is strong, it’s there, but we have to show up.”

Another concern for Trump and his campaign is making sure they match or beat expectations, which may be inflated due to his commanding lead in the polls in Iowa and in national surveys.

Trump, aware of the expectations he faces, took aim at a familiar target — the media.

“If we win in a massive number, but if it’s a little bit less than that, they’ll say, ‘Oh, he didn’t beat expectations,'” Trump told his supporters.

Longtime Republican strategist David Kochel told Fox News last month Trump is “driving his own expectations up. … It’s all expectations, and Trump’s are sky-high.”

“If he’s under 50%, it’s a problem for him given his poll average now is well over 50,” argued Kochel, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns nationally and in Iowa.

WAR OF WORDS BETWEEN HALEY AND DESANTIS REACHES FEVER PITCH

Seasoned Iowa-based Republican strategist Jimmy Centers said if Trump “wins by more than 20 points, and he’s over 50%, my goodness, this thing is over before it even begun.”

“But if it’s under 15 points, then I think we have a race if the field consolidates,” added Centers, a veteran of multiple presidential campaigns and gubernatorial and congressional campaigns. He served as communications director for former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad and current Gov. Kim Reynolds.

Trump isn’t the only candidate battling expectations.

DeSantis, who’s staked his shot at the nomination on a strong showing in Iowa, has predicted a victory in the Hawkeye State.

“We’re going to win here in Iowa,” he told Fox News Digital on the campaign trail in the eastern part of the state the week before Christmas.

And he predicted the caucuses “will be very clarifying in terms of who is a real deal and who’s not. So, we look forward to that.”

Asked if he’ll move on to New Hampshire, which votes second in the GOP calendar, regardless of his finish in Iowa, DeSantis quickly said, “Of course. Yeah, absolutely. Of course.”

Centers told Fox News that “to march on to New Hampshire and make a strong case, Gov. DeSantis needs to finish in second place.”

Haley, who has enjoyed plenty of momentum in recent weeks, catching up to DeSantis in Iowa and in national polls and narrowing the gap with Trump in New Hampshire, has been careful to temper expectations.

Asked where she needs to finish in Iowa and New Hampshire, Haley reiterated in a Fox News Digital interview this week that “I need to be strong in Iowa, strong in New Hampshire, strong in South Carolina. That’s what I intend to do.”

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But Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, Haley’s top surrogate, the next day appeared to raise expectations.

“We know Trump is going to win the caucus in Iowa,” Sununu said at a Haley campaign event in Londonderry, New Hampshire. “But, again, Nikki coming in second place when nobody thought it could happen, that’s going to happen and give her even more momentum.”

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

A lawyer who previously represented the head of Burisma, the Ukrainian energy company that once employed Hunter Biden, registered retroactively as a foreign agent for the work he did for the natural gas company seven years ago.

The registration from John Buretta came in documents filed Thursday with the U.S. Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which requires lawfirms and lobbyists to disclose their work representing the interests of foreign clients.

The disclosure from Buretta for the 2016 work he did for Mykola Zlochevsky — who co-founded Burisma Holdings in 2002 — came more than seven years after the fact, raising questions and concerns about why Hunter Biden, who also performed work on behalf of Burisma and Zlochevsky at the time, did not register as a foreign agent under FARA.

Buretta previously worked as a defense lawyer for Zlochevsky amid corruption investigations into the Burisma chief by the Ukrainian government and, according to FARA documents, U.S. authorities.

BIDENS ALLEGEDLY ‘COERCED’ BURISMA CEO TO PAY THEM MILLIONS TO HELP GET UKRAINE PROSECUTOR FIRED: FBI FORM

In the forms filed this week, Buretta’s law firm, Cravath, Swaine & Moore, noted, “In January 2016, Mr. Buretta was retained to represent Mykola Zlochevsky in connection with possible investigations by governmental authorities in the United States. The representation thereafter broadened to include Burisma Holdings Limited, as well as governmental investigations in Ukraine, and continued until April 2017. The representation included both registrable and non-registrable activities. This registration and related materials cover all interactions with U.S. government officials in the course of the representation.”

As part of his representation of Zlochevsky, the law firm noted in the form that Buretta met with three Obama administration officials in March 2016 and sent another U.S. government official a letter in September 2016.

“In these interactions, Mr. Buretta identified his clients and presented facts relevant to potential U.S. and Ukrainian investigations, including information from a UK proceeding involving his clients,” the law firm noted.

Buretta’s law firm did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, but in a statement to the Washington Examiner explained that the filing came after a discussion with the DOJ.

“After discussions with the Department of Justice regarding FARA’s scope, Cravath has filed a retroactive registration covering legal services provided to two former clients in March and September 2016, and a supplemental statement terminating the registration as of September 2016,” a Cravath, Swaine & Moore spokesperson told the outlet.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS CONSIDER HOLDING HUNTER BIDEN IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS

In recent years, the DOJ has strengthened its enforcement of FARA violations. During former President Donald Trump’s administration, the DOJ prosecuted former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort for failing to register as a foreign agent for work he performed in Ukraine.

Unlike Buretta, however, Manafort, who was eventually sentenced to prison, was not allowed to retroactively file a FARA disclosure to avoid charges being levied against him.

Included in the Thursday FARA filing was a breakdown of how much money Cravath received from Burisma Holdings. From January 2016 to August 2017, the firm was paid nearly $350,000, according to the documents.

The filing from Buretta and his attorneys comes as House Republicans continue to investigate Hunter Biden, who has been accused of violating FARA, wire fraud, money laundering, and other alleged crimes.

Then-Vice President Biden and Hunter Biden allegedly “coerced” Burisma CEO Mykola Zlochevsky to pay them millions of dollars in exchange for their help in getting the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating the company fired, according to allegations contained in an unclassified FBI document released last July by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

Grassley said he released the document, which describes an alleged criminal bribery scheme involving Joe Biden and a Ukrainian business executive, so that the American people can “read this document for themselves without the filter of politicians or bureaucrats.”

The document in question was an FBI-generated FD-1023 form — a confidential human source (CHS) reporting document — that reflects the FBI’s interview with a “highly credible” confidential source who detailed multiple meetings and conversations he or she had with a top executive of Burisma Holdings over the course of several years starting in 2015. Hunter Biden, at the time, sat on the board of Burisma.

Biden has acknowledged that when he was vice president, he successfully pressured Ukraine to fire prosecutor Viktor Shokin. At the time, Shokin was investigating Burisma Holdings, and at the time, Hunter had a highly lucrative role on the board, receiving thousands of dollars per month. The then-vice president threatened to withhold $1 billion of critical U.S. aid if Shokin were not fired.

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Biden allies maintain the then-vice president pushed for Shokin’s firing due to concerns the Ukrainian prosecutor went easy on corruption, and say that his firing, at the time, was the policy position of the U.S. and international community.

The House Oversight Committee next week will hold a meeting to consider a resolution to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress after violating his congressional subpoenas.

The Oversight Committee and House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed Hunter Biden for a closed-door deposition last month as part of the House Republican-led impeachment inquiry against President Biden. He defied the subpoena and held a press conference outside the Capitol complex instead.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Illegal immigrants streamed through a smuggler-made gap in the border wall in Lukeville, Arizona, on Thursday evening, highlighting the continued challenges faced by Border Patrol agents, even in areas where there has been wall construction.

Fox News shot the video in Lukeville, Arizona, which showed illegal immigrants streaming through the breach, which had been cut by the cartels. People who are believed to be smugglers appear in the gap, clapping at the illegal immigrants to hurry up before they return to Mexico.

In another part of the video, smugglers can be seen recording the migrants with their phones, likely recording proof that their human cargo has been delivered into the U.S.

JOHNSON CALLS MIGRANT CRISIS ‘TRULY UNCONSCIONABLE’ DURING VISIT TO BESIEGED SOUTHERN BORDER

The video shows the coordination of smugglers to get illegal immigrants into the U.S., at which point they will either flee deeper into the U.S. or turn themselves in to Border Patrol, after which they are often released into the care of non-governmental organizations.

There were over 300,000 migrant encounters alone in December, including those who crossed illegally and those who appeared at ports of entry, in addition to the more than 2.4 million encounters in FY 23. 

Meanwhile, Fox has reported that during a period of December there were over 5,000 migrants releases each day. The number of illegal immigrants on Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s non-detained docket soared from 3.7 million in FY 2021 to nearly 4.8 million in FY 2022 to nearly 6.2 million in FY 2023. The non-detained docket includes illegal immigrants who have final orders of removal or are going through removal proceedings but are not detained in ICE custody.

The crisis has put increasing political pressure on the Biden administration. Republicans, as well as Democratic mayors who have seen massive migrant surges into their cities, have called on the administration to do more to solve the crisis.

Republicans have called on the Biden administration to limit the release of migrants into the U.S. interior, including by the use of humanitarian parole. Republicans in the House have also pushed legislation that would restore Trump-era programs and also restrict asylum claims.

BIDEN ADMIN EYES MORE DEPORTATION FLIGHTS TO VENEZUELA AS MIGRANT NUMBERS SHATTER RECORDS

The Biden administration has said it is facing a Hemisphere-wide crisis and is pursuing a policy of targeting smugglers, expanding “lawful pathways” and increasing consequences for illegal entry, arguing that it has removed over 460,000 people since May.

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But it says it is working within a broken system and needs funding and immigration reform from Congress. It has requested an additional $14 billion, but that request is being held up as Republicans demand more limits on asylum — something that many Democrats have rejected.

Seperately, the Biden administration announced a lawsuit this week against the state of Texas after Governor Greg Abbott signed legislation that would allow for state and local police to arrest illegal immigrants.

Fox News’ Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.

A former top aide to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y., funneled six figures in donor funds from his political action committee into his own pockets for reported consulting work, all while spending minimal amounts on the PAC’s actual mission.

Corbin Trent, who previously acted as a top aide to Ocasio-Cortez and helped propel her into office, formed the No Excuses PAC after his departure as her communications director in 2019 and exiting her campaign in 2020. 

Trent launched No Excuses in 2021 with the goal of nuking the Senate filibuster by targeting senators Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kirsten Sinema, I-Ariz. But a recent report shows that No Excuses barely spent money on its stated endeavors.

AOC’S PAC FUNNELED THOUSANDS TO ORG FINANCING DISRUPTIVE CLIMATE PROTEST GROUPS

Instead, Trent paid himself nearly $140,000 for reported communication and management consulting between February 2021 and September 2023, which is shown in Federal Election Commission filings. 

During this time, Trent’s group spent just $14,831 on radio ad buys targeting Manchin and Sinema, meaning his PAC had paid him ten times more for reported consulting services than it spent on its stated goals, the publication noted.

Trent, who did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment, told the Daily Beast he earned the money from television appearances, which he said furthered the PAC’s mission. However, the publication noted that he had made consistent payments to himself even when he did not appear on television. 

Before acting as an adviser to Ocasio-Cortez and later forming No Excuses, Trent co-founded Justice Democrats, which was instrumental in pushing her into power. 

AOC’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

FORMER AOC AIDE: ‘OLD AS S–T, INEFFECTIVE’ BIDEN COULD LEAD DEMS TOWARD 1992-STYLE ELECTION TURMOIL

No Excuses has pivoted away from the filibuster to what appears to be persuading President Biden not to run for a second term and is asking for donations to do so.

“President Biden, you’ve accomplished more in three years than most two-term presidents,” No Excuses says in the ad it posted to X. “But battleground state voters say they’ll vote for Trump if you’re the Democratic nominee.

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“If you attempt to cling to power, your legacy will be Donald Trump’s final destruction of our democracy,” the ad continues. “If you step aside, however, you’ll be remembered as one of the greatest presidents in history. Thank you, Joe. But now it’s time to go.”

No Excuses reported just over $1,500 in the bank in its most recent filings and would not tell the Daily Beast how much it has raised to this day. 

EXCLUSIVE: Ben Luna, a conservative Latino activist and Republican candidate running to flip New Mexico’s Democrat-held Senate seat, told Fox News Digital this week that Hispanic voters are being “blindsided” by Democrat policies that don’t align with their values as a community.

Luna, a political outsider who has never held elected office, has served for the past year as the state director for the New Mexico LEXIT movement, a faith-based organization aimed at educating and empowering Latino Americans with conservative values to leave the Democrat Party.

He believes Latinos are “being awakened” to just how contrasting their values are to the policies being pushed by Democrats, and that such a shift could lead New Mexico, a state with a population made up of nearly 50% Hispanics, to flip red in November.

BORDER STATE CANDIDATES ISSUE STARK WARNING TO FELLOW REPUBLICANS ABOUT CEDING TO DEMS ON UKRAINE: ‘BUCKLE UP’

“The big reason is forcing trans ideologies, and forcing it in schools. That is a deal-breaker for every parent, but especially for Latinos and Hispanics throughout the nation,” Luna said when asked why Latinos were abandoning Democrats, who have traditionally been able to depend on getting a large portion of the community’s support.

“Once you come in, and you have almost, in a sense, bridged the gap to violate the conscience of our children — once you do that, the only result we will ever live with is that you never have access to our children ever again,” he said.

Recent polling suggests Republicans are continuing to gain ground with Latinos, a trend that first gained widespread attention in 2021. One poll even showed President Biden, who won 59% of the Latino vote in 2020, trailing former President Donald Trump in a hypothetical 2024 rematch among the demographic.

POLL REVEALS ALARMING LEVEL OF FEAR OF WHETHER 2024 ELECTIONS WILL BE ‘FAIR,’ BALLOT COUNTING ACCURATE

According to Luna, Democrats have created what he called a “nonstop movement” that won’t end until those implementing such policies are voted out of office and the education system is fixed.

“That’s the dangerous part, and if you kind of look at the parallels of history, that’s what communists did, that’s what socialists did. They got access to the children and forced their ideologies and then produced a generation that they could use in the future. And that’s what we’re seeing in the streets of America,” he said.

Luna said one of the movement’s priorities was to reach Democrats in Albuquerque, a stronghold for the party, as well as in the northern parts of the state, and share information about what legislation Democrats are actually supporting, something he says often goes unseen and unheard of.

BIDEN CONTINUES BLEEDING SUPPORT FROM KEY VOTER GROUPS AS DEMS SOUND ALARM OVER 2024: POLL

“Once they hear about it, they’re like, ‘My party passed that?’ Then they start to distance themselves. We almost have instant volunteers,” he added.

Although elections analysts and party pollsters view New Mexico as a safe seat for Democrats, Luna argues results of recent elections in the state show victory well within reach for Republicans.

“Something very, very interesting that happened in 2022 is we lost a lot of state House seats by less than 100 votes, and that was because they shut down our economy. [Democrats] stopped everything here. We had some of the worst Draconian policies and mandates being forced on New Mexicans,” he said, referencing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Luna claimed such policies drove people to leave New Mexico, and that topping them now with transgender ideology and bypassing parental consent would drive those still in the state toward Republicans.

BATTLEGROUND STATE POSES BIDEN’S TOUGHEST 2024 CHALLENGE IN POTENTIAL TRUMP REMATCH

“I always say this about Republican states and blue states: We in blue states have a lot to fight for. Like we have a lot. And it’s nobody fighting for us. We have to stand for ourselves,” he said.

Luna told Fox that he intends to bring his knowledge of, and high esteem for, America’s founding principles to office if elected, and that he would focus heavily on securing the southern border amid the massive influx of migrants under the Biden administration.

“I think the biggest issue is really our border … With Texas fortifying their borders and then Arizona doing their best as well, it makes us wide open, like a funnel. And so we get a lot of the crime that comes along with the drug pushing,” he said. 

“If we don’t have borders, then we’re technically not a nation. And from seeing what happened to Israel by just only a thousand that came across their border, a lot of people are actually bracing themselves for something to happen in New Mexico and America,” he said. 

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Luna currently faces no other major candidates in the race for the Republican Senate nomination, and would likely face incumbent two-term Democrat Sen. Martin Heinrich in the general election.

The primary is scheduled for June 4, and the filing deadline for candidates to enter the race is Feb. 6.

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

Former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., urged New Hampshire voters on Friday to take a stand against the “cowardice” she claims is spreading within the Republican Party when they head to the polls to cast their votes in the 2024 presidential primary later this month.

Cheney, once a member of House Republican leadership when she was in Congress, made the comments in a speech at Dartmouth College as voters in New Hampshire prepare for the Jan. 23 primary.

“In a little over two weeks when you in New Hampshire go to the polls the world will be watching,” Cheney said.

“Speak for us all. Tell the world who we are with your vote. Tell them that we are a good and a great nation,” she added. “But make sure they know that we do not bend, we do not break and we do not yield in the defense of our freedom. Show the world that we will defeat the plague of cowardice sweeping through the Republican Party.”

HALEY SPARKS STRONG REACTIONS FROM CAUCUS-GOERS AFTER TELLING NH VOTERS TO ‘CORRECT’ IOWA CAUCUS

The former GOP congresswoman has clashed with many Republican lawmakers in the last couple of years over her criticism of former President Trump’s unsubstantiated claims the 2020 election was stolen from him, the former president’s handling of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack and her vote to impeach him. Cheney served as vice chair of the Congressional committee that investigated the Capitol riot.

“As a nation, we have arrived at a point where a group of elected Republicans cannot be counted on to defend the Constitution,” she said.

The Supreme Court said Friday it will decide whether Trump can be kept off state ballots over his role in the riot. This comes after two states – Colorado and Maine –  took steps last month to remove the former president from their respective ballots, citing a provision under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibiting some people who engaged in insurrection from holding public office.

“This is a process that will go through the courts and we’ll see how that unfolds. But there’s no question in my mind that his actions clearly constituted an offense that is within the language of the 14th Amendment,” Cheney said. “There’s not a requirement that you be convicted in the Senate or in a court of law, and so I believe in the plain language of the constitution.”

TRUMP TARGETS HALEY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE DURING FINAL WEEKS BEFORE PRIMARY

Cheney, who was easily defeated in her 2022 primary re-election bid by a Trump-backed candidate after standing up to the former president, said she disagrees with many of President Biden’s policies but urged conservative Republicans to recognize “the threat posed by Donald Trump and the threat posed by Joe Biden are not even remotely similar.”

“Our nation can survive and recover from policy mistakes. We cannot recover from a president willing to torch the Constitution,” she said.

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When asked about her future political ambitions and if they included a third-party run for president this year, Cheney echoed her past comments in which she said she would consider launching a White House bid to prevent Trump from being elected again.

“I’m going to do whatever the most effective thing is to ensure that Donald Trump is not elected,” she said on Friday. “I’ll make a decision about what that is in the coming months as we see what happens in the Republican primaries.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Supreme Court ruled Friday that Idaho may enforce its abortion ban, including in medical emergencies, as the fight over the law plays out in court.

The court said it would hear arguments in April and put on hold a lower court ruling that had blocked the law in medical emergencies. The lower court ruling came following a lawsuit filed by the Biden administration.

The challenge against the Idaho law gives the high court its second major abortion dispute since it overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, allowing states to make their own laws regarding abortion access. The court will also hear in the coming months a challenge to the Food and Drug Administration’s rules for obtaining the abortion pill mifepristone.

In the Idaho case over hospital emergencies, the administration has argued that hospitals who receive Medicare funds are required by federal law to provide emergency care, potentially including abortion, regardless of a state law prohibiting abortion.

TEXAS EMERGENCY ROOMS NOT BOUND BY BIDEN ADMIN’S GUIDANCE ON EMERGENCY ABORTION, FEDERAL COURT RULES

The administration issued guidance about the federal law – the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act – two weeks after Roe v. Wade was overturned. A month later, the administration sued Idaho.

U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill in Idaho sided with the administration. A judge in a separate case in Texas sided with the state.

President Biden released a statement Friday night objecting to the Supreme Court’s decision, saying his administration “will continue to defend a woman’s ability to access emergency care under federal law.”

Idaho’s law makes it a crime with a prison term of up to five years for anyone who performs or assists a woman in an abortion.

The administration claims that the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act mandates that health care providers must perform abortions for emergency room patients when needed to treat an emergency medical condition, including severe bleeding, preeclampsia and certain pregnancy-related infections, even if a state’s abortion restrictions prohibit such a response.

“For certain medical emergencies, abortion care is the necessary stabilizing treatment,” Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote in an administration filing at the Supreme Court.

FORMER TRUMP ADVISER KELLYANNE CONWAY LEADS CHARGE TO OVERHAUL GOP ABORTION STRATEGY, END DEMS’ 2024 ADVANTAGE

The state argued that the administration was misusing a law intended to prevent hospitals from ignoring patients and imposing “a federal abortion mandate” on states. The Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act “says nothing about abortion,” Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador told the court in a brief.

The federal appeals court in New Orleans came to the same conclusion as Labrador in a ruling Tuesday. A three-judge panel ruled that the administration cannot use the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act to require hospitals in Texas to provide abortions for women whose lives are at risk due to pregnancy.

The appeals court affirmed a ruling by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix, who wrote that adopting the administration’s view would force physicians to place the health of the pregnant person over that of the fetus or embryo even though the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act “is silent as to abortion.”

Following Winmill’s ruling, Idaho lawmakers won an order from a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowing the law to be fully enforced. However, a larger contingent of 9th Circuit judges threw out the panel’s ruling and set arguments for later this month.

The Supreme Court’s order on Friday moves the Idaho case away from the appeals court, and a decision is expected this summer.

Several other legal battles concerning abortion are also making their way through the courts in Idaho.

Four women and several physicians have filed a lawsuit asking an Idaho court to clarify the circumstances that qualify women to legally receive an abortion. That lawsuit was recently allowed to move forward despite attempts by the Attorney General’s office to dismiss the case.

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A federal judge in November temporarily blocked Idaho’s “abortion trafficking” law from being enforced while a legal fight challenging its constitutionality plays out. That law intended to prevent minors from receiving abortions in states where the procedure is legal if they do not have their parents’ permission.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Illinois State Board of Elections (SBE) will hold a vote this month to decide whether to remove former President Donald Trump from the state’s GOP primary ballot after a handful of voters filed a petition claiming he disqualified himself from holding public office.

The petition, similar to those filed in more than a dozen other states, cites the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits anyone from holding office who previously has taken an oath to defend the Constitution and then later “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the country or given “aid or comfort” to its enemies.

The 87-page document was signed by five people from across the state and claims that Trump encouraged and supported those who took part in the Capitol protests on January 6, 2021.

The SBE is now forced to decide whether Trump will remain an option for Republican voters during the March 19 primary.

TRUMP ASKS SUPREME COURT TO KEEP NAME ON COLORADO BALLOT

Matt Dietrich, a spokesperson for the Illinois SBE, told Fox News Digital that the case will be assigned to a hearing officer during a special board meeting on January 17. The hearing officer, Dietrich said, is usually an election lawyer, retired judge or a retired member of the Illinois SBE’s executive staff.

The hearing officer will be tasked with scheduling hearings on the objection with both parties and providing a recommendation to the SBE’s general counsel. Dietrich said the general counsel will then, in turn, make a recommendation on the matter to the full board, which will hear the case on January 30.

“Ultimately the eight appointed members of the Illinois State Board of Elections – four Democrats and four Republicans – sitting as the State Officers Electoral Board vote on objections,” Dietrich explained. “Five votes are required for a board order to take effect, so in the event of a 4-4 vote, no action is considered taken and the objection fails. However, both the objector and candidate have the right to seek judicial review of an unfavorable ruling, so it is possible that any objection may go before the courts.”

The primary ballots will be certified by the Illinois SBE at its next meeting on Jan. 11.

“Assuming nothing completely unexpected happens between today and then, Trump (and any other presidential candidate who has an objection filed against them) will be certified to the ballot with ‘objection pending’ next to their name,” Dietrich said.

That status, however, could change depending on the board’s Jan. 30 vote, Dietrich noted, adding that if it does, the board will issue an amended certification of the ballot.

Reacting to the attempt to bar Trump from appearing on the state’s GOP primary ballot, Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy told Fox News Digital, “We believe the people, not activist courts, should choose who represents them in the White House.”

COLORADO VOTERS SEEKING TRUMP BALLOT BAN FILE RESPONSE IN EFFORT TO SPEED UP SUPREME COURT DECISION

Noting that the Illinois GOP is “strictly neutral in the Republican presidential primary,” Tracy said the “attempt to remove President Trump from the ballot without due process is an anti-democracy attempt to limit the voting rights of Illinois citizens and should be dismissed outright.”

The Illinois Democratic Party did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the matter.

Dietrich said that objections to presidential candidates who filed for the state’s primary ballot can be filed until 5 p.m. on Jan. 12.

Several candidates had petitions filed this week to appear on the state’s Republican and Democrat presidential primary ballots, including incumbent President Biden, Trump, former South Carolina Republican Gov. Nikki Haley, and Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Candidates who filed first thing Thursday, as reported by the Chicago Tribune, earned a chance for the top ballot spot. Candidates who waited until 4 p.m. Friday to file earned a chance for the bottom spot.

Officials in Colorado and Maine have already banned Trump’s name from primary election ballots. Trump asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to overturn the Colorado Supreme Court ruling from December that stripped his name from the state’s ballot.

In a statement to Fox News, Trump’s team said that if he is prevented from being on the Colorado ballot, it would be the first time in history such a thing has happened.

“Over 74 million Americans voted for President Trump in the 2020 general election, including more than 1.3 million voters in the State of Colorado,” Trump’s team said.

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“Yet, on December 19, 2023, the Colorado Supreme Court ordered President Trump removed from the presidential primary ballot — a ruling that, if allowed to stand, will mark the first time in the history of the United States that the judiciary has prevented voters from casting ballots for the leading major-party presidential candidate.”

Following the filing of Trump’s appeal, it was revealed Friday evening that the high court would take up the case and set arguments for Feb. 8.

On Tuesday, Trump appealed the decision to remove him from Maine’s Republican primary ballot. That appeal now heads to the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.

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

Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Louis Casiano, Bill Mears, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

In just a week, the 2024 Iowa Caucus will commence, where the first votes for the next potential president will be cast. 

Being the first state to cast votes for presidential nominees, Iowa’s caucuses set the stage for the entire primary season. Winning or performing strongly in Iowa can generate crucial momentum for candidates, influencing voter perceptions of their viability.

More GOP lawmakers in both chambers are rallying behind former President Donald Trump. The endorsements come as there are only a few major GOP candidates left in the running — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Trump.

One hundred House Republicans, seven governors and 19 GOP senators have endorsed Trump as of Friday, including Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas; JD Vance of Ohio; Rick Scott of Florida; Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt of Missouri; Lindsey Graham of South Carolina; Ted Budd of North Carolina; Steve Daines of Montana; Roger Marshall of Kansas; Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma; Mike Braun of Indiana; Katie Britt of Alabama; Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee; John Hoeven of North Dakota; and more.

Additionally, the entire Minnesota GOP delegation threw in their support for Trump last week. Trump, who was the first major GOP leader to announce his candidacy for 2024, has also secured backing from every GOP member in Alabama’s congressional delegation.

Trump remains the commanding front-runner in the Iowa GOP presidential caucus, with his support at 50% or more in the latest surveys. A FOX Business poll indicated Trump at 52%, far ahead of his two closest rivals — DeSantis at 18% and Haley at 16%.

The Trump campaign’s ground operation in Iowa is leagues ahead of his 2016 effort, when he narrowly lost the caucuses that year to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. 

Meanwhile, some Senate Democrats already voiced their support for President Biden last year, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts; John Hickenlooper of Colorado; and Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., also endorsed Biden last April. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who is not running for re-election, is not endorsing Biden. 

Meanwhile, 72 Iowa public figures, including former political figures like David Oman, who held the position of chief of staff for former Govs. Robert Ray and Terry Branstad, have endorsed Hailey. 

Others who endorsed Haley include Christine Hensley, who held the longest tenure on the Des Moines City Council. Doug Gross, a lawyer and former chief of staff for Branstad, also endorsed her, as has Republican New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu.

Ramaswamy received the endorsement of controversial former Republican Iowa Rep. Steve King in a post on X last week. 

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Salem, New Hampshire, GOP Chairman Steve Goddu also endorsed Ramaswamy last year, along with former New Hampshire GOP Senate candidate Kevin Smith.

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Americans in Silicon Valley are predicting advanced artificial intelligence could significantly influence and manipulate voters in the 2024 elections, with a potential for “disturbingly false” political advertising to push agendas. 

“I’ve seen some hilarious videos and some concerning ones where it’s getting too realistic,” Travis, of San Jose, Cailfornia, said. “It’s a little creepy.”

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As advanced artificial intelligence applications proliferate across industries, the rapidly evolving technology has raised concerns about its ability to manipulate elections, with some 2024 presidential campaigns already utilizing the tool. Former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, for example, triggered an uproar on X after using artificial intelligence to recreate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2024 presidential announcement with fictional guests, including billionaire Democratic donor George Soros, World Economic Forum Chair Klaus Schwab, former Vice President Dick Cheney, Adolf Hitler, the devil and the FBI.

“I think it will worsen the circumstances with fake postings,” Richard said. “I think a lot of the political advertising has the potential to become disturbingly false using AI. It’s gradually improving significantly, and I think there’s a tremendous motivation for people trying to push a particular agenda.”

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

Claire said voters could have trouble differentiating real and AI-generated content. 

“People aren’t going to be able to distinguish between AI and real reporting,” Claire told Fox News. “What’s fake and what’s real was already kind of an issue with 2020, and I think it’s going to continue to get worse in 2024 because some of it is extremely convincing.”

‘FEAR AT 10’: SENATORS’ CONCERNS SPIKE ON IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE ‘TO CHANGE VOTES’ IN 2024

DeSantis’ campaign also used AI-generated audio and video to criticize Trump’s policies, including one portraying a fictional image of Trump hugging Anthony Fauci posted on social media in June. 

Another campaign ad, created by a PAC supporting DeSantis, used AI-generated audio to mimic Trump’s voice criticizing Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. The AI voice appears to have been based on comments Trump wrote on Truth Social but never said aloud.

“I think AI will be used to manipulate people into doing things that they’re not quite sure they wanted to do,” Steve said. “That’s going to be a big impact that goes under the radar. I think public opinion will be shaped in a large way.”

Ken said Americans will have to learn to distinguish between real and deceptively manipulated campaign ads when making important voting decisions. 

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“I think there’s going to be a period where we’re going to be influenced by what AI presents,” he said. “It’s going to take some time for people to kind of wise up and understand that we live in a different world.”

“You can’t really trust what you see and hear anymore,” Ken continued. “It’s going to be interesting how this shapes how this shapes us.”

Ramiro Vargas contributed to the accompanying video.

EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Claudia Tenney endorsed former President Trump on Friday, telling Fox News Digital that he is “the only candidate” who can restore the United States to “prosperity and security.”

Tenney, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital on Friday that during his first term, Trump’s “visionary and bold leadership secured the border, put our economy in overdrive by lowering taxes, cutting unnecessary regulations and unleashing American energy independence.”

TRUMP WINS ENDORSEMENT FROM HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER STEVE SCALISE

“President Trump provided us with safer communities and global stability,” Tenney said.

In contrast, Tenney described President Biden’s tenure as “pathetic and feckless.”

“Illegal migrants are flooding our communities, crime is rampant and unchecked, Bidenflation is crushing families and dangerous and costly wars are breaking out across the globe,” Tenney said.

HOUSE GOP LEADERS CLOSE RANKS AROUND TRUMP AS NO. 3 REPUBLICAN REVEALS 2024 SUPPORT

“President Trump is the only candidate who can make America great again by restoring our country to the prosperity and security we enjoyed under his strong leadership,” Tenney told Fox News Digital. “I am honored to once again endorse President Trump and support his campaign for President of the United States.”

Tenney added: “We must fight every day to ensure election integrity in order to secure a resounding win for President Trump and all Republicans in 2024.”

STEFANIK ENDORSES TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT IN 2024, AS SOME PUSH HIM TO DELAY ANNOUNCEMENT

Tenney joins nearly 100 House Republicans in endorsing Trump, who holds a commanding lead over the Republican primary field.

Tenney is the second member of Congress from New York to endorse Trump.

House Republican Conference chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., was the first member of congressional GOP leadership to endorse Trump’s campaign in November.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., endorsed Trump just a day later.

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This week, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., endorsed Trump as well.

On the other side of the Capitol, Trump has the support of nearly two dozen Republican senators. 

New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking over $370 million from former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants in his highly publicized civil fraud trial.

James demanded the financial penalty as repayment for profits she argues were illicitly gained, according to a document filed to the court on Friday.

The attorney general argues, “The conclusion that defendants intended to defraud when preparing and certifying Trump’s SFCs is inescapable.”

TRUMP VISITS MANHATTAN COURT TO BLAST NYAG CASE, PRAISES APPELLATE RULING IN HIS FAVOR

Back in September, Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that Trump and the Trump Organization had committed fraud while building his real estate empire, by deceiving banks, insurers and others, by overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.

“The myriad deceptive schemes they employed to inflate asset values and conceal facts were so outrageous that they belie innocent explanation,” James wrote in the Friday document.

Trump and his family have denied any wrongdoing and have claimed that the former president has repeatedly said his assets were actually undervalued.

TRUMP’S GAG ORDER CHALLENGE IN NEW YORK AG LETITIA JAMES’ CIVIL SUIT REJECTED

“He ruled against me without knowing anything about me,” Trump said on the stand. “He called me a fraud, and he didn’t know anything about me.”

Last month, the New York State Appellate Division First Department rejected Trump’s challenge to the gag orders imposed by Engoron. 

The non-jury civil trial stems from James’ lawsuit against Trump and his businesses in the state.

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Following the ruling, Engoron imposed a partial gag order to prevent all parties from engaging in any verbal attacks against court staff after Trump criticized a member of the judge’s office on social media.

Engoron added that “personal attacks on members of my court staff are unacceptable, not appropriate” and warned they would not be tolerated.

Without naming the former president, Engoron was referring to a now-deleted Trump post on his Truth Social account about Engoron’s law clerk, Allison Greenfield.

Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price and Maria Paronich contributed to this report.