NationalWatch

President Biden’s administration will soon deploy an advanced missile defense battery to Israel along with roughly 100 U.S. troops to operate it, the Pentagon announced Sunday.

The move comes after Iran and its proxy terrorist groups launched massive waves of missiles against Israel earlier this year in April and again on Oct. 1. Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) has previously been deployed to Israel in 2019, but only for an exercise, Pentagon officials say.

“The THAAD Battery will augment Israel’s integrated air defense system. This action underscores the United States’ ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel, and to defend Americans in Israel, from any further ballistic missile attacks by Iran. It is part of the broader adjustments the U.S. military has made in recent months, to support the defense of Israel and protect Americans from attacks by Iran and Iranian-aligned militias,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

IDF MEETS LITTLE RESISTANCE FROM HEZBOLLAH AFTER WEEKS OF HITTING TERROR TARGETS, OFFICIALS SAY

President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu have had chilly relations in recent months.

Defense Department spokesman Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder announced the move to media on Sunday. It comes as the Biden’s administration has been wary of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the conflict, both in Gaza and with the growing tensions in Lebanon.

Biden was asked why he approved the deployment on Sunday, and he replied with a brusque “To defend Israel.”

AMERICAN FATHER OF HAMAS HOSTAGE ITAY CHEN PUSHES US, ISRAEL ON ‘PLAN B’ AS NEGOTIATIONS FALTER

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan reportedly told Israeli officials earlier this month that the U.S. expects “clarity and transparency” about Israel’s plans for future strikes, specifically regarding any retaliation against Iran.

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, element gives the Ballistic Missile Defense System a globally transportable, rapidly deployable ability to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles inside or outside the atmosphere during their final phase of flight. (Missile Defense Agency/ U.S. Department of Defense)

“Our trust of the Israelis is very low right now and for a good reason,” one U.S. official told Axios on Oct. 8.

The report comes after weeks of the Biden-Harris administration growing more and more willing to criticize Netanyahu’s regime. They have repeatedly stated that they support Israel’s right to defend itself, however.

The Pentagon will deploy U.S. troops inside Israel in an uncommon move amid war with Iran’s proxies. (DANIEL SLIM/AFP via Getty Images)

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Iran’s massive Oct. 1 missile barrage displayed the threat Iran poses to Israel as a regional power. While debris from hundreds of rockets and missiles rained down on Israeli territory, there were no Israeli fatalities reported.

The Trump campaign slammed Vice President Kamala Harris for allegedly wanting to “cancel American traditions,” citing her 2019 comments supporting efforts to rename Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day.

“Kamala Harris is your stereotypical leftist. Not only does she want to raise taxes and defund the police – she also wants to cancel American traditions like Columbus Day,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt exclusively told Fox News Digital.

“President Trump will make sure Christopher Columbus’ great legacy is honored and protect this holiday from radical leftists who want to erase our nation’s history like Kamala Harris.”

Leavitt was referring to Harris’ 2019 comments when she spoke to voters in New Hampshire about a month after launching her ultimately failed 2020 bid for the White House. 

DEFACED COLUMBUS STATUE THAT WAS THROWN INTO A VIRGINIA POND FINDS MORE WELCOMING HOME IN NYC SUBURB

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a church service at Koinonia Christian Center in Greenville, North Carolina, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

“Count me in on support,” Harris told a voter when asked if she supports renaming Columbus Day “Indigenous People’s Day,” footage of the event shows. 

Harris cited recent legislation she helped author that makes lynching a federal crime as she delivered her response to the New Hampshire voter.   

“People did not want to deal and accept and most importantly admit that we are the scene of a crime when it comes to what we did with slavery and Jim Crow and institutionalized racism in this country, and we have to be honest about that,” she said, the Washington Times reported in 2019. “If we are not honest, we are not going to deal with the vestiges of all of that harm, and we are not going to correct course, and we are not going to be true to our values and morals.”

“Similarly, when it comes to indigenous Americans, the indigenous people, there is a lot of work that we still have to do, and I appreciate and applaud your point and your effort, and count me in on support,” she said, marking her support of renaming the holiday. 

Columbus Day is a federal holiday that officially celebrates and recognizes Italian explorer Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Americas in 1492. The holiday will be celebrated on Monday this year. 

COLUMBUS REMAINS, VERIFIED AFTER 500 YEARS, SHOW HE WAS JEWISH: DOCUMENTARY

Portrait of Christopher Columbus, 1519. Found in the collection of Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Artist :  Piombo, Sebastiano, del (1485-1547). (Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images)

Activists in recent years have worked to disassociate the day from Columbus, claiming it celebrates colonialism and genocide of indigenous people, in favor of celebrating Native Americans. Activists have also worked to remove Columbus statues from cities, including toppling such statues during the riots of 2020. 

WILL JULY 4TH, LIKE COLUMBUS DAY, SOON SIMPLY DISAPPEAR?

President Biden was the first president to formally recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 2021, but states have taken different approaches to how to celebrate the day. 

In 2021, Harris’ first year as vice president, she said that the U.S. “must not shy away” from its “shameful past” of European explorers ushering “in a wave of devastation for tribal nations.” 

According to a recent New York Times/Siena College poll, former President Donald Trump has a sizable lead with male voters over Vice President Kamala Harris. (AP/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

“Since 1934, every October the United States has recognized the voyage of the European explorers who first landed on the shores of the Americas,” she said. “But that is not the whole story. That has never been the whole story.

“Those explorers ushered in a wave of devastation for tribal nations – perpetrating violence, stealing land, and spreading disease,” she said.

FOX NATION’S ‘UNCANCELLING COLUMBUS’ EXPLORES LEFT’S EFFORT TO WARP CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS’ LEGACY

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to the media before boarding Air Force Two after assessing the Hurricane Helene recovery response on Oct. 5, 2024, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

“We must not shy away from this shameful past, and we must shed light on it and do everything we can to address the impact of the past on native communities today.” 

A review of Harris’ X account for her vice presidency shows she has exclusively celebrated Indigenous Peoples’ Day over Columbus Day each year she has been in the office. 

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment on her previous statements and Leavitt’s comment, but did not immediately receive a response. 

Former President Trump said the immigration crisis at the southern border is likely a “bigger deal” this election cycle than inflation and economic woes that have rocked voters in recent years, according to his exclusive interview with Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.”

“We have tremendous support. They’re so tired of seeing what’s happened to this country. They’re so tired of seeing the incompetence, seeing the border. And I think the border is maybe a bigger deal than even inflation,” Trump said during his interview with Fox News Business anchor Maria Bartiromo when asked about his message to undecided voters. 

Trump joined Bartiromo in an interview that aired Sunday, just 22 days ahead of Election Day. Trump’s interview was expansive, touching on topics such as taxes, tariffs he would level on foreign nations, his abortion stance, and foreign affairs, such as the ongoing war in Israel. 

TRUMP TAKES DETOUR TO ULTRA-BLUE CALIFORNIA TO SPOTLIGHT HARRIS’ HOME TURF’S FAILED POLICIES: ‘PARADISE LOST’

Former President Trump sits down with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo for an exclusive interview. (Fox News)

Illegal immigration via the nation’s southern border grew to crisis levels under the Biden administration, with at least 7 million migrants coming into the nation in the last three and a half years.

JD VANCE WARNS OF CONSEQUENCES FOR AMERICA IF WE CONTINUE TO RELY ON ‘CHINESE SLAVE LABOR’

Border Patrol picks up a group of asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border near Sasabe, Arizona, on March 13, 2024. (Justin Hamel/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“And inflation is a massive word. And the bad economy is, is massive. The inflation made the economy bad. It made it impossible for people. But I almost think that when they see millions of people coming into our country, 13,099 murderers, many of them murdered more than one person. When they see that, I actually think that that’s, I think the border is a bigger issue than even the economy. Those are the two big issues,” Trump continued in his interview.  

Former President Trump speak with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo. (Fox News)

Trump said that in addition to the border and inflation, the hurricanes that have devastated states such as North Carolina, Georgia and Florida – and the White House’s response – will speak volumes to voters. 

TRUMP: IF KAMALA BECOMES PRESIDENT, THERE WILL BE NO AUTO INDUSTRY 

“The other issue that’s really big, I think, is how badly they’ve done with North Carolina, parts of Georgia. When you look at what’s happened, and Florida… You see what’s happening there. I think we got a little bit lucky in the sense that it was bad, but it wasn’t as bad as they thought,” Trump said. 

A drone view shows damage following the passing of Hurricane Helene, in Asheville, North Carolina, on Sept. 29. (Reuters/Marco Bello)

“The response from the White House has been absolutely terrible. Her response has been terrible, so bad that they didn’t even want, I see [Gov. Ron DeSantis] didn’t want her in Florida. They just don’t even come here. So I, I think we’re doing really well,” he added. 

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Fox News Power rankings shows the border, economy, abortion issues, uniting the nation, are top issues among voters. 

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

A new and viral political video featuring men declaring they are “man enough” to support Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign is stacked with Hollywood actors and comedians. 

A grassroots ad published last week by a former producer for Jimmy Kimmel has racked up millions of views on social media as critics lambaste the video supporting Harris as “the cringiest political ad ever created.” The director behind the video said it was made for a group called Creatives for Harris, adding that even while the video is tongue in cheek, the message of the video “is true.” 

The video was not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee, according to a disclaimer in the 90-second video, but is shot as if it’s an official campaign ad.

It features six alleged manly men who claim they are so masculine that they eat “carburetors for breakfast” and aren’t “afraid of bears,” while saying they also don’t fear women and will support Harris for the Oval Office.

‘MAN ENOUGH’ VIDEO SUPPORTING HARRIS MOCKED AS ‘THE CRINGIEST POLITICAL AD EVER CREATED’

Actors portraying Kamala Harris supporters in an ad attempting to appeal to men argue that voting for Vice President Kamala Harris is a great way to assert one’s masculinity. (Jacob Reed YouTube channel)

The video was slammed by conservatives and other critics on social media, who questioned last week if the video was a parody and claimed Democrats “have no idea how actual men speak.”

FOX Business senior correspondent Charles Gasparino, for example, remarked, “It’s so bizarre that those on the political left, who for years proselytized the hoi poi that men can be women and women can be men, that men can compete in women’s sports because we are all genderless creatures, now think they have credibility to say what a real man is all about. Sorry you blew it years ago.”

“Must-see Kamala ad,” Claremont Institute fellow David Reaboi quipped. “Not only do they have no idea how actual men speak, they couldn’t find any convincing male actors.”

The original YouTube page for the video details that the men who appear in the unofficial ad are cast members for the video, listing the actors’ names: Winston Carter, Chris Gibson, Lanre Idewu, Tony Ketcham, Mike Leffingwell and Wayland McQueen. 

Fox News Digital found IMDB pages for the actors, with most appearing in bit roles for Hollywood films or starring in low-budget films or short videos. 

Winston Carter, the actor who played a heavyset man in a cowboy hat, for example, has performed in a handful of low-budget movies and short videos going back to 2011, according to his IMDB page. Actor Tony Ketcham, who plays the elderly man who is unashamed of his love of “West Side Story” and support of Harris, also has an IMDB page showing credits for bit parts in movies such as “Ghost World,” where he played the role of “alcoholic customer” in the 2001 film, and an episode of the “X-Files” that same year. 

Lanre Idewu, in the video, plays the gym-going guy who is “man enough to deadlift 500, and then braid the s— out of” his daughter’s hair. He has an extensive IMDB page with credits from a 2006 episode of “Arrested Development” to working as a producer on a Christmas Hallmark movie. Idewu has also posted photos to his social media pages with Democratic elected officials, including President Biden and first lady Jill Biden.  

GOP GAINS VOTER ADVANTAGE IN KEY COUNTY NEAR BIDEN BIRTHPLACE

Two of the actors in the video are members of the Upright Citizens Brigade, an improvisational comedy group, in Los Angeles. Wayland McQueen played the role of a farming-type man surrounded by bales of hay and is listed as a current member of the comedy brigade, where he’s performed since 2008. Social media users who also investigated the actors in the ad found McQueen has reportedly tweeted about identifying and acknowledging “white privilege.“

An actor playing a man sharing his support for Vice President Kamala Harris. (Jacob Reed YouTube channel)

Mike Leffingwell, who declares in the unofficial campaign ad while standing next to a horse that he’s “sure as s— not afraid” of women, is another member of the Upright Citizens Brigade, according to the comedy group’s website. His bio on the page reads, in part, Leffingwell “has written cartoons for Dreamworks and Netflix, jokes for the Onion and The Late Late Show, and a series of Shorty Award-winning commercials for Tubi. On TV he has appeared on The Goldbergs, Conan, and commercials for many exciting products.”

MAHER SAYS ELECTION ‘NOT LOOKING THAT GREAT’ FOR HARRIS, MOCKS NEED TO HAVE OBAMA ‘SCOLD’ BLACK MEN ON VOTING

The sixth man listed as an actor for the video, Chris Gibson, also appears to be an actor, with Fox Digital finding a handful of IMDB pages touting actors with that name, but could not confirm which allegedly belongs to the man in the ad. 

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event on Thursday, Oct. 10, on the Gila River Indian Community reservation in Chandler, Ariz.  (AP/Ross D. Franklin)

GROWING NUMBER OF GEN Z MEN SUPPORTING TRUMP REPRESENTS ‘ONGOING CULTURE SHOCK’ IN US POLITICS, VOTER SAYS

Some social media users pointed out over the weekend that the video featured actors playing manly men who support Harris, sparking a new round of criticisms online. 

“The campaign is so fake, they even have to fake the fake enthusiasm. They’re so bad at this. Do they honestly not know that The Google exists? Wow,” one X account posted in response to a thread detailing the actors in the video. 

“This explains why Progressives don’t know what a real male is,” another posted. 

“Everything they do is fake,” another said. 

The ad was created by Jacob Reed, who has worked as director for “Funny or Die” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” He told Fast Company last week that the ad ​​was made for Creatives for Harris, which is a grassroots group of producers, writers and ad executives who support Harris. 

Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz ( Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Reed wrote on Substack that the video is “more sketch comedy than political ad,” before adding that “what these men are saying is true.”

“With the rise of role models like Tim Walz and Doug Emhoff on the national stage, I think the left is finally finding its footing on how to talk about masculinity — I think we’re overdue for a redefinition of what it means to be a man in America and I hope this campaign can start to shape that conversation. Because even though it’s more sketch comedy than political ad, what these men are saying is true – except being afraid of bears. A bear will straight-up kill you,” Reed posted, describing those who worked on the project as “volunteers.” 

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Fox News Digital attempted to contact the actors via their social media accounts or by email on Sunday, but did not immediately receive replies. Fox News Digital also reached out to Reed by email, but did not receive a response. 

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

Former President Trump ripped President Biden for going weeks without speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as war continues raging in the nation, offering that he last spoke to Netanyahu “two days ago.”

“I thought it was odd that today President Biden said that he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time in seven weeks or something,” “Sunday Morning Futures” host Maria Bartiromo asked Trump in an interview that aired Sunday. 

“It’s pathetic, it’s pathetic,” Trump responded.

“They’ve been at war for over a year. So he hasn’t spoken with him in seven weeks. When was the last time you’ve spoken with Netanyahu?” Bartrimo asked in a follow-up question.

IRAN’S NATIONAL AIRLINER ACCUSED OF FLYING WEAPONS TO BEIRUT AIRPORT FOR TERROR PROXY HEZBOLLAH: REPORT

Former President Trump talks about his trade plan in an exclusive interview with Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Mornings Futures.” (Fox News Channel)

“Like two days ago. And he came to my house in Florida – Mar-a-Lago, with his wife, who is lovely. But he came to my Mar-a-Lago,” Trump responded. 

Biden and Netanyahu held their first call in seven weeks on Wednesday, The Associated Press reported last week. Harris also joined the phone call. War has raged in Israel since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched attacks on the nation. 

“It was direct, it was productive,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said of the phone call, the AP reported. 

PATRICIA HEATON RIPS COLLEGE CAMPUSES FOR ALLOWING ANTISEMITISM, CALLS ON CHRISTIANS TO VISUALLY SUPPORT JEWS

Biden’s call with Netanyahu followed Iran launching ballistic missile attacks on Israel, escalating the war. Trump has called on Israel to “hit” Iran’s nuclear facilities to curb the attacks. 

Tensions between Biden and Netanyahu have apparently flared since the war broke out, which was detailed in journalist Bob Woordward’s upcoming book, “War.”

“That son of a b—-, Bibi Netanyahu, he’s a bad guy. He’s a bad f—ing guy!” Biden reportedly said in spring of this year of Netanyahu, according to the book. Reports also surfaced earlier this year that Biden had privately called Netanyahu an “a–hole” while continuing to pledge support to the nation. 

Former President Trump sits down with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo for an exclusive interview. (Fox News)

Trump joined Bartiromo for the exclusive interview just 22 days before Election Day, and spoke about a swath of issues affecting voters, including the economy, the border crisis, his son Barron Trump’s assistance with the campaign, and the White House’s response to the hurricanes that have devastated towns in North Carolina, Georgia and Florida. 

IRAN’S AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI IN HIDING WITH EXTRA SECURITY FOLLOWING HEZBOLLAH LEADER’S DEATH: REPORT

“I could tell you that Bibi has been very strong.… He is not listening to Biden,” Trump continued while speaking about the war in the Middle East. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives statements to the media in Tel Aviv on Oct. 12, 2023. (Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

TRUMP BLAMES BIDEN, HARRIS FOR IRAN’S ATTACK ON ISRAEL: ‘VERY CLOSE TO GLOBAL CATASTROPHE’

“Biden is the one that came up with the Afghanistan plan. Take the soldiers out first and leave all that weakness. Leave Bagram behind. Bagram is one of the biggest air bases in the world. We built it for billions and billions of dollars many years ago. It’s one hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons. And he gave it up. He’s a fool. And we can’t have another fool as a president. Biden is smarter than she is. We can’t have this for another four years. We’re not going to have a country left,” Trump continued. 

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Trump has repeatedly said while on the campaign trail that wars in both the Middle East and Ukraine would not have unfolded if he were in office, vowing to end the wars if re-elected. 

The Black Men for Trump advisory board took aim at former President Barack Obama for his appeal to Black men to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris.

“President Obama’s recent call for Black men to support Kamala Harris based solely on her skin color, rather than her policies, is deeply insulting,” the group said in a joint statement. “Black Americans are not a monolith, and we don’t owe our votes to any candidate just because they ‘look like us.’ It’s demeaning to suggest that we can’t evaluate a candidate’s track record – especially when Kamala Harris has done more harm than good to Black communities.”

The statement comes after Obama made a surprise stop in Pennsylvania last week and specifically called out Black men, arguing that they should have the same enthusiasm for Harris’ campaign that they did for his in 2008 and 2012.

‘AUTO WORKERS FOR TRUMP’ LEADER SAYS THOUSANDS POISED TO BREAK FROM DEMS OVER GREEN POLICIES, JOB KILLING REGS

Former President Barack Obama (Michelle Gustafson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“My understanding, based on reports I’m getting from campaigns and communities, is that we have not yet seen the same kinds of energy and turnout in all quarters of our neighborhoods and communities as we saw when I was running,” Obama said, according to reports on his remarks by NPR.

Obama said the lack of enthusiasm for Harris “seems to be more pronounced with the brothers,” who he said may not be getting behind the idea of a female president.

“And you are thinking about sitting out?” he said. “Part of it makes me think – and I’m speaking to men directly – part of it makes me think that, well, you just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president, and you’re coming up with other alternatives and other reasons for that.”

In the statement, the Black Men for Trump advisory board accused the former president of “reducing us to race-based voting blocs,” which “perpetuates the worst kind of identity politics.”

Former President Barack Obama speaks during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 20, 2024. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

TRUMP: IF KAMALA BECOMES PRESIDENT, THERE WILL BE NO AUTO INDUSTRY 

“For decades, the Democrat Party has promoted failed policies that disrupted generational wealth, undermined Black culture, and contributed to the breakdown of the Black household,” the group said. “These policies, instead of uplifting Black families, have held them back by promoting family instability, poor schooling, and lack of economic opportunity.”

Signing on to the letter were conservative activists Bruce LeVell and CJ Pearson, former Oklahoma State Rep. TW Shannon, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, political adviser Ja’Ron Smith, Black Conservative Federation founder Diante Johnson, and Republican Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida and Wesley Hunt of Texas.

The group closed by encouraging support for former President Trump, arguing that he delivered “real results for Black America.”

Former President Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Calhoun Ranch, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Coachella, California. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

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“He restored the American Dream by creating jobs, lowering Black unemployment, launching Opportunity Zones, and securing permanent funding for HBCUs. Under Trump, Black families had a shot at building wealth, breaking generational cycles, and thriving,” the group said.

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

Sen. JD Vance warned that America would face dire consequences in coming decades if the nation continues to rely on Chinese “slave labor” for manufacturing.

Vance made the statement during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” with host Shannon Bream. Bream pressed Vance to explain former President Trump’s support for extensive tariffs on foreign-manufactured products, questioning whether it could result in major price hikes for Americans.

“William McKinley and Teddy Roosevelt built the American industrial powerhouse we know today using tariffs to ensure that American workers got a fair deal and foreign competitors weren’t able to undercut the wages of our workers,” Vance said.

‘AUTO WORKERS FOR TRUMP’ LEADER SAYS THOUSANDS POISED TO BREAK FROM DEMS OVER GREEN POLICIES, JOB KILLING REGS

JD Vance defended Donald Trump’s tariff policies, saying the U.S. has for too long relied on Chinese “slave labor.” (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“If you’re a foreign competitor working in China, [you’re] using literal Chinese slave labor at $3 a day. An American middle class worker is never going to be able to compete on cost alone – we can compete on quality – with those foreign slave laborers in China,” he continued.

“So if you’re going to use slave labor in China, what a tariff says is that you are going to pay a fat penalty before bringing those products back into the United States. That’s really the only way to ensure that America has a viable industrial base,” he said.

TRUMP: IF KAMALA BECOMES PRESIDENT, THERE WILL BE NO AUTO INDUSTRY 

Vance went on to warn that current policies could lead to a future where the U.S. relies on foreign countries to manufacture virtually all of its goods.

Former President Trump has argued in favor of major tariffs against foreign competitors. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

He argued the U.S. must exert economic pressure on foreign competitors or else “we’re going to wake up in a country 20-30 years from now where everything that we need, the pharmaceuticals we put into the bodies of our children, the weapons of war that our troops use, are made by foreign countries that don’t like us very much.”

“We’ve tried the experiment of shipping our jobs to China and building our prosperity off that. It’s a failed experiment,” he said.

Vance warned that current policies could lead to American weapons of war being produced in other countries. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Earlier this year, Trump rolled out a plan to eliminate China’s most favored nation trade status and impose universal baseline 10% tariffs on imports. In private, Trump has even floated tariffs as high as 60% on Chinese goods, according to the Washington Post.

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Economists have warned that increasing tariffs would also cause an increase in prices for everyday goods due to American companies relying on cheap raw materials from China.

Fox New’s Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.

“Reagan” movie star Dennis Quaid rallied for former President Trump in Coachella, California, on Saturday, addressing a crowd in the deep blue state that was once Vice President Harris’ turf.

“God bless you. God bless America. I’m here today to tell you that it’s time to pick a side,” Quaid said on stage. “Are we going to be a nation that stands for the Constitution? Or for TikTok? Are we going to be a nation of law and order? Or wide open borders? Which is it? Because it’s time to pick a side.” 

Speaking in the desert city east of Los Angeles known for its namesake annual music festival, Quaid said he played President Ronald Reagan, his “favorite president of the 20th century,” in the 2024 biopic. The actor drew parallels between the political landscape when Reagan was first elected and the present.

“It’s amazing how the issues of the 1980 election are very similar to what they are today,” he said, recalling the record high inflation back then, as well as the Iran hostages. 

TRUMP TAKES DETOUR TO ULTRA-BLUE CALIFORNIA TO SPOTLIGHT HARRIS’ HOME TURF’S FAILED POLICIES: ‘PARADISE LOST’

Dennis Quaid speaks at a campaign rally for Donald Trump at the Calhoun Ranch, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Coachella, Calif.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“We were a nation in decline. That’s what they told us. Ronald Reagan came along and said, no, we’re not a nation in decline. We’re going there. And we followed him,” Quaid said, pointing upwards. “The same with Trump, with President Trump. My favorite president of the 21st century.” 

The actor said that when he voted for Reagan decades ago, he went home to his roommate in Los Angeles at the time, who asked him who he voted for and told Quaid, “You are kicked out of the hippies.” 

“I’m gonna ask you a question that Reagan asked America back then, and I think it’s the question that got him elected. Are you better off than you were four years ago?” Quaid said. 

Dennis Quaid departs after speaking at a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at the Calhoun Ranch, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Coachella, Calif.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“Four years ago, under President Trump, we had energy,” he said. “We were an energy independent nation. We had cheap gas. We were actually exporting oil to our allies and our friends. Today, Putin is making money hand over fist, selling oil that he uses to pay for his Soviet-style comeback war that he has with Ukraine, and while we’re shutting down our pipelines over here and capping our wells, and begging Saudi Arabia and Venezuela to ‘pretty please, will you please sell us some oil? We’re kind of short right now.'” 

WHY TRUMP IS HEADED INTO ‘THE BELLY OF THE BEAST’: THE STRATEGY BEHIND HIS BLUE STATE STOPS

When Trump left office, Quaid said, inflation was low and there was “peace in the Middle East,” crediting Trump as having been “right on the verge of accomplishing the Abraham Accords,” making peace between Israel and Arab nations. The actor also said Trump was negotiating a withdrawal from Afghanistan with “honor and order,” recalling how the former Republican president said he threatened a Taliban leader with a satellite image of his house. 

Dennis Quaid speaks at a campaign rally for former President Trump at the Calhoun Ranch, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Coachella, Calif.  (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

“Iran was bankrupt,” Quaid continued. “They weren’t able to give weapons to Hamas and Hezbollah. And look at where we are today. We basically funded that war. Four years ago, we had a secure border. We were on our way to even doing more and having a wall. That’s what a nation is. It has a wall.… But I guess it’s like voter I.D. you don’t need it in this country for some reason.” 

The actor concluded with a personal story about his housekeeper, Josie, who he said was in the United States illegally for more than a decade and used her sister’s identification. When Trump was elected in 2016, Quaid said the housekeeper from Mexico “was in fear that she was going to be sent back to her country.” 

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“I told her, I said, ‘Josie, no, you’re not. That’s not what he’s talking about. He wants people to come here the right way, I’m going to become your sponsor,'” he said. “And so we started it. Right now she has her green card today, and she so wants to get her citizenship before so she can vote for Donald Trump.” 

“So like I said, people, it’s time to pick a side. Who are you going to pick? God bless you,” Quaid added.

WISCONSIN — Voters who spoke with Fox News Digital in the battleground state of Wisconsin were not particularly fond of Vice President Harris’ running mate, Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., despite his proximity or Midwestern characteristics. 

“Who’s Tim Walz?” asked Waukesha County, Wisconsin resident Diana Altwies, who said she plans to vote for former President Donald Trump after supporting him in 2016 and 2020. 

Fox News Digital interviewed voters in Milwaukee, Kenosha and Waukesha counties, asking whether Walz’s status as a Midwesterner, hailing from neighboring state Minnesota, was relatable to them. 

LEAD COUNSEL HITS NEW DEM EFFORT TO ‘DELEGITIMIZE’ SUPREME COURT AMID SENATOR’S REPORT ON KAVANAUGH PROBE

Voters who spoke to Fox News Digital in Wisconsin were not supportive of Walz. (Reuters)

“I mean, if you like people that are completely stupid, he’s great,” said Brian Morawski of Milwaukee County.

“I mean, he’s relatable as somebody that I really dislike,” he said of Walz. 

According to Altwies, she had heard his last name before, but didn’t actually know who Harris’ running mate was. 

“I’ve never seen him on TV or anything,” she said.

Harris and Walz have notably done far fewer interviews than Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio.

ALSOBROOKS BACKS COURT-PACKING AS HOGAN FIGHTS GOP, MCCONNELL, TRUMP ASSOCIATIONS

Walz was selected as Harris’ running mate soon after she launched her campaign. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Kathy Przekwas of Kenosha County said she didn’t like Harris’ running mate “at all.” 

“I see right through him,” she said. 

She explained that Walz comes off as “fast-talking” and “throws in, like, a bunch of things that aren’t true but talks real fast.” 

“I don’t like any of the things he did in Minnesota, you know, because I’m up on all of that and how he handled the pandemic.”

‘OUT OF MONEY’: WHISTLEBLOWERS ALLEGE LACK OF SECRET SERVICE FUNDS, DELAYED PAYMENTS, TOP SENATOR REVEALS

Walz was criticized for creating a Hotline to report others during the pandemic.  (Getty Images)

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Walz instituted a Hotline for reporting people who weren’t abiding by the social distancing guidelines he put in place. “We’re seeing crowds that are a little too big, especially around the lakes,” he reportedly said in early 2020. 

“It is being used, and we simply want to let people be able to call and let folks know,” he said. “It’s for their own good. If we see people that may not be as informed on this, it’s an educational piece,” Walz reportedly said in defense of the Hotline during the same time period.

Walz’s stay-at-home executive order carried potential penalties of up to a $1,000 fine or 90 days of jail time, according to the Minnesota Reformer. 

Przekwas explained that Midwesterners are “natural and down to earth,” but she doesn’t think this description fits Walz. 

“I think he tries to portray that, but I don’t think he really is.”

FOR WISCONSIN DEMS, A 2024 WIN IN THE BATTLEGROUND STATE IS YEARS IN THE MAKING

Vance hails from Ohio.  (Reuters/Carlos Barria)

While Fox News Digital only found voters who did not like Walz, Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler claimed, “So many people have said to me, ‘He’s like my dad.'”

“Tim Walz has this extraordinary quality, for Wisconsin voters specifically,” he said. 

“He’s such a familiar type of person.”

According to the chairman, what Wisconsinites look for are good neighbors. “That stuff matters a lot,” he explained. 

“And you can sort of see in Tim Walz in the way he carries himself, the stories that he tells, that he is that kind of good neighbor that everyone aspires to be and wants to live next to.”

Asked about Walz, Wisconsin Republican Party Executive Director Andrew Iverson said, “Actually, I hear a lot of people who are really excited about JD Vance in Wisconsin.”

Sen. Vance, Trump’s running mate, is also from the Midwest, having grown up in Ohio. 

“A lot of folks are excited about him because he has such a great story to tell,” he said of the “Hillbilly Elegy” author. 

As for Walz, Iverson claimed voters are aware of “his failed record.”

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“They know a lot of Minnesotans actually crossed the border and moved to Wisconsin because of his failed policies as governor,” he added. 

According to him, “people are more excited about JD Vance than Tim Walz” in Wisconsin. 

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

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, apologized amid scrutiny for a social media video in which she wore a Harris-Walz campaign hat and fed Doritos to a kneeling podcast host to promote the CHIPS Act.

Whitmer was seen in the clip taking a Doritos chip out of a bag and placing it into the mouth of liberal podcaster Liz Plank, who was kneeling down on the floor, before the video panned to the governor wearing a camouflage Harris-Walz hat.

The use of Doritos chips appeared to be a clever way to put a spotlight on the CHIPS and Science Act that President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022 that allocated nearly $53 billion towards efforts to bring semiconductor supply chains back to the U.S., create jobs, support American innovation and protect U.S. national security.

MICHIGAN GOV FEEDS KNEELING FEMALE PODCAST HOST DORITOS WHILE WEARING A HARRIS-WALZ HAT

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer apologized for a social media video in which she fed Doritos to a kneeling podcast host to highlight the CHIPS Act. (YouTube screenshot)

“Chips aren’t just delicious, the CHIPS Act is a game-changer for U.S. tech and manufacturing, boosting domestic production of semiconductors to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers! Donald Trump would put that at risk,” Plank wrote in the caption of the video she posted on Instagram.

The video was made as part of a viral TikTok trend where one person feeds another person, who is acting sexually, with the song “Dilemma” by Nelly and Kelly Rowland playing in the background before the first person stares uncomfortably into the camera.

MICHIGAN CATHOLIC BISHOPS CONDEMN WHITMER’S DORITOS VIDEO STUNT AS OFFENSIVE

The use of Doritos chips appeared to be a clever way to put a spotlight on the CHIPS and Science Act. (AP Photo/Al Goldis, File)

Some critics mistakenly perceived the video as Whitmer pretending to participate in Holy Communion as a way to mock Christians who participate in the Eucharist. Following the backlash over these accusations, Whitmer apologized for the video and emphasized that the video was not meant to mock people of faith.

“Over 25 years in public service, I would never do something to denigrate someone’s faith,” the governor said in a statement to Fox 2. “I’ve used my platform to stand up for people’s right to hold and practice their personal religious beliefs.”

Whitmer apologized for the video and emphasized that the video was not meant to mock people of faith. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

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“My team has spoken to the Michigan Catholic Conference,” she continued. “What was supposed to be a video about the importance of the CHIPS Act to Michigan jobs, has been construed as something it was never intended to be, and I apologize for that.”

With Election Day closing in, former President Trump took a surprising detour to ultra-blue California to spotlight the state’s sky-high inflation, crime and illegal immigration.

Trump touched down in Coachella Valley on Saturday evening to take on Vice President Kamala Harris on her home turf.

Voters in the decidedly blue state came out in droves, with Trump remarking on the sheer size of the crowds as he took the stage at 5:30 p.m. PST.

“We have had a great reception here. Look at this crowd,” Trump said, marveling at the crowd. “This is like record stuff as far as the eye can see.”

WHY TRUMP IS HEADED INTO ‘THE BELLY OF THE BEAST’: THE STRATEGY BEHIND HIS BLUE STATE STOPS

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at the Calhoun Ranch, in Coachella, Calif., Saturday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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Trump highlighted California’s failed policies, saying that “we gotta make it better.”

“I stand before you today in the heart of the majestic Coachella Valley, to declare that the Republican Party will always put America first and lead us on to victories like you have never seen before,” he said. “Because we’ve become the party of common sense.”

The former president promised that he’d fight for “hard-working citizens of every race, religion, color and creed.”

WATCH:

During the Trump campaign’s announcement that the former president would make a rare visit to California, spokesperson Steven Cheung said that it was to “highlight Harris’ poor record and show that he has the right solutions for every state and every American.”

Trump highlighted Harris’ as well as Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s track record in the state, promising to “save it.”

The radical left Democrats have destroyed this state, but we are going to save it…

— Republican presidential nominee former President Trump

“The radical left Democrats have destroyed this state, but we are going to save it,” he said. “And we’re going to make it better than ever before.”

“I’ve come here today not only to talk about California, where you have one of the worst governors in the country, Gavin Newsom, but you definitely had somebody here that was horrible – Kamala,” he said. “And now she wants to destroy our country. 

“She wants to destroy our country like she did San Francisco,” he said.

Attendees cheer as Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at the Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, Calif., Saturday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump likened California to “paradise lost,” transitioning his spiel to a promise of a safe and secure southern border.

THE CLOSER: FORMER PRESIDENT OBAMA HITS THE TRAIL FOR HARRIS IN THE CLOSING STRETCH

California’s really is a paradise lost…

— Former President Trump

“California’s really is a paradise lost, but we’re going to bring it back,” he said. “Don’t worry about it. We’re bringing it back. It’ll happen fast.

“We’ll stop the murderers from coming in. The drug dealers, everybody coming into California,” he said.

Republican presidential nominee former President Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, Calif., Saturday. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

Trump reminisced of what California used to be, saying it was a ‘beacon of what our country aspired to become.”

“It had the weather, it had the water,” he said. “The state had the best schools, the safest communities, and a booming middle class, but all that was eradicated by decades of the very policies that Kamala Harris wants to now force upon America.”

The Republican nominee for president pointed to California’s sky-high cost of living, ongoing crime crisis and continuing illegal immigration crisis.

“Today, California has the highest inflation, the highest taxes, the highest gas prices, the highest cost of living, the most regulations, the most expensive utilities, the most homelessness, the most crime, the most decay, and the most illegal aliens,” he said.

“Other than that, I think you’re doing quite well, actually,” he quipped.

WATCH: 

While acknowledging the economy is top of mind in California and across the nation, Trump highlighted illegal immigration as a top issue for voters, saying that the U.S. is considered an “occupied country.”

“But we are known all throughout the world now as an occupied country,” he said. “We got people taking over parts of Colorado. We have people taking over other states, a lot of states.”

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Trump promised to “liberate our country from criminals” and “rescue California.”

“To everyone here in California and all across our nation, I make this pledge to you. November 5th, 2024 will be liberation day in America,” he said. 

“We’re going to liberate our country from criminals. I will rescue California in every town across America that’s been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail or kick them the hell out of the country,” he said.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at the Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, Calif., Saturday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump pointed to Eduardo Sarabia, an illegal immigrant, who was recently arrested in Los Angeles after he allegedly viciously raped two women in his windowless Ford Transit van.

“He was charged with sadistically raping two women in the back of a windowless van that police said was disgustingly outfitted as, quote, a rape dungeon on wheels,” Trump said. “Detective believes this monster had many more victims.”

Republican presidential nominee former President Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Calhoun Ranch in Coachella, Calif., Saturday. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

Trump also pointed to Victor Hernandez, an illegal migrant from El Salvador, who escaped his country of origin after committing a heinous crime and allegedly murdered Maryland mother, Rachel Morin.

“We had the strongest border in the history of our country. Now we have the worst border in the history of the world,” he said.

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“My message to the American people is very simple,” Trump said. “No person who has inflicted the violence and terror that our harass has unleashed on our country can never be allowed to become the President of the United States again.”

Trump promised that Harris’ “reign of terror” would end the first day he took office.

“Anyone who orchestrates an invasion of America cannot lead America,” he said. “Kamala Harris, her reign of terror ends the day I take office.”

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With time an extremely precious commodity for the presidential campaigns in the final stretch of a White House showdown in a margin-of-error race with Harris, many are wondering why Trump is stopping in blue states.

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The stop in Coachella may benefit Trump with Latino voters — who have been trending towards the GOP in recent years — not only in southeast California, but more importantly in neighboring Arizona and Nevada, two of the seven crucial battleground states that will likely determine if the former president or Harris wins the 2024 election.

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

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Meghan McCain, the daughter of late Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, called out Vice President Kamala Harris Friday after the Democratic presidential nominee shared an anecdote about an interaction she reportedly had with the six-term senator.

Harris was stumping at a Republicans for Harris event in Scottsdale, Arizona, Friday afternoon when she claimed John McCain, who represented the Grand Canyon State in the U.S. Senate until his death in 2018, once praised her.

Harris said the exchange happened after she and McCain were “going after each other” at a committee hearing. The Republican approached her later that day, she said.

“I step onto the floor of the well of the Senate later that day — we had votes — and I passed by John McCain, and he looks at me, and he says, ‘Kid, come over here. You’re going to make a great senator,’” Harris recalled. “True story. True story.”

TRUMP VISITS WISCONSIN TOWN SHAKEN BY MIGRANT CRIME: ‘CROSSED KAMALA’S WIDE-OPEN BORDER’

Meghan McCain called out Vice President Kamala Harris over an anecdote she shared at a campaign rally. (Getty Images)

While speaking to the crowd, Harris then commended the late Arizona senator and called him an “incredible American hero.” But Meghan McCain found the story dubious and publicly addressed it on X Friday night.

“Now, I know democrats want to reinvent history and turn my Dad into any illusion you guys need him to be depending on the political moment you need to bastardize his memory for… But please don’t make me start sharing what I remember him ACTUALLY saying about Kamala Harris,” McCain wrote.

“And consider this my final warning shot, I will start spilling tea.”

On Saturday, McCain called her critics “lunatics” in response to the backlash.

“A lot of really triggered democrats in my timeline who claim they know more about my dad than well…. his daughter,” she wrote. “Get a grip on reality, you lunatics.”

WALZ ROASTED AFTER DECLARING ‘WE CAN’T AFFORD FOUR MORE YEARS OF THIS’ AT RALLY

Meghan McCain and Cindy McCain attend the 2023 Time100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Time)

Democrats have been actively targeting moderate Republicans in Arizona this campaign season, and the swing state is predicted to have a significant impact on the presidential election in November. 

Some GOP officials in the state have evoked McCain’s name to signal their support for Harris because John McCain had an icy relationship with former President Trump.

Speaking at a Harris rally in August, Rep. Gregory Stanton, D-Ariz., called on “John McCain Republicans” to support the Harris-Walz ticket. Mesa’s Republican mayor echoed that sentiment.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, speaks at a Republicans for Harris event in Scottsdale, Ariz., Friday. (Rebecca Noble/AFP via Getty Images)

“In the spirit of the great Sen. John McCain, please join me in putting country over party and stopping Donald Trump and protecting the rule of law, protecting our Constitution and protecting the democracy of our great country,” Mesa Mayor John Giles said.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz contributed to this report.

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, set the record straight on how former President Donald Trump’s and Vice President Kamala Harris’ leadership styles for America’s veterans differ during a campaign stop in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.

The Republican vice presidential nominee’s rally was held at JWF Industries, which supplies “Department of Defense prime contractors with reliable, on-time fabrications and sub-assemblies,” according to its site.

Vance, himself a Marine veteran, asked the crowd, “When our own citizens suffer and our veterans are at the top of that list, [do] you know what a big difference between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris [is]?”

‘WE BELIEVE IN DONALD TRUMP’: MORE THAN A DOZEN MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS ENDORSE FORMER PRESIDENT

“Donald Trump wants to put American citizens and American veterans first. He thinks the government of this country exists to serve the people of this country, not people who shouldn’t be here in the first place,” said Vance. “That is one of the biggest differences between the leadership of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.”

Vance’s comments came on the heels of a question from a reporter asking how the Trump-Vance ticket would prioritize ending veteran homelessness in America, as Pennsylvania has the fourth-highest rate of veteran homelessness in the country.

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, arrives at a campaign event at JWF Industries, Saturday, in Johnstown, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

In late August, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced it would award over $800 million nationwide in grants through the Supportive Services for Veteran Families and Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem programs, with $17 million of the overall grant going to Pennsylvania. 

According to nonprofit Mission Roll Call, an average of 35,574 veterans experienced homelessness per diem in 2023. Veteran homelessness increased 7.4% from 2022 to 2023 during the Biden administration, according to the VA.

TRUMP CAMPAIGN SEEKS INCREASED SECURITY AS ELECTION DRAWS NEAR, INCLUDING MILITARY AIRCRAFT AMID IRAN THREATS

“Let’s be honest here, $17 million,” Vance said. “While it will help, it is not nearly enough to meet the challenge of the homeless veteran population in this country.

“These guys went off to war. Some of them came back with wounds, some of them with wounds you cannot see. But all of them came back with the pride that they served their country and did what our country asked them to do,” he added. “How disgraceful is it that millions of our veterans are getting left behind in some form or another, and thousands of them are homeless? When we’re housing illegal aliens in first-class hotels, it’s a disgrace.”

In New York City alone, 119 migrant shelters contracted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) are hotels and motels. An additional 38 hotels are contracted through different agencies.

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, arrives at a campaign event at JWF Industries in Johnstown, Pa., Saturday. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

Veterans 4 America First Institute (V4AF), a self-described grassroots policy organization and nonprofit, responded to Vance’s comments on Trump and Harris’ differing approaches toward veterans.

“Senator Vance is 100% correct, more needs to be done for our homeless veterans, especially at a time under VP Harris when the Department of Veterans Affairs dropped the ball as veteran homelessness went up over 7% last year,” Darin Selnick, V4AF founder and Air Force veteran, told Fox News Digital. 

“Meanwhile, the VA gives special treatment to illegal immigrants by processing and paying their ICE medical claims and to special interests over veterans, such as what is happening at the West L.A. campus where VA has turned its back on homeless veterans while giving illegal leases to UCLA, Brentwood School and an oil company,” continued Selnick.  

The VA was recently ruled against during a case in Los Angeles after it had been discovered that the organization had “quietly sold off” land deeded in 1888 as an Old Soldiers’ Home to private interests instead of building housing units for veterans.

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, gestures while speaking at a campaign event Saturday. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., introduced a bill last December that would block VA funding for illegal immigrants nationwide called the “No VA Resources for Illegal Aliens Act” after reports came out of the DHS using VA funding for illegal migrants in ICE detention.

Selnick added: “It is time for VP Harris to walk the walk instead of just talking, and to do what is right for veterans instead of using veterans as a political prop.”

The Republican National Committee’s official platform for 2024 includes a subsection titled “Take Care of Our Veterans,” saying, “Republicans will end luxury housing and Taxpayer benefits for Illegal Immigrants and use those savings to shelter and treat homeless Veterans.”

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“We will restore Trump Administration reforms to expand Veterans’ Healthcare Choices, protect Whistleblowers, and hold accountable poorly performing employees not giving our Veterans the care they deserve,” the document continued.

Representatives for Vance and the Trump campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Second Amendment activists scored another win against New York State’s expansive gun control regime on Thursday.

A federal judge said a newly enacted state law that bans licensed firearms owners from carrying concealed weapons on all private property, unless the owners permit weapons with a sign or by express consent, violates the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

“At least as to private property open to the public (the subject of this motion), New York’s restriction is unconstitutional,” wrote U.S. District Court John Sinatra, Jr., a Trump appointee. 

“Regulation in this area is permissible only if the government demonstrates that the new enactment is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of sufficiently analogous regulations,” the judge wrote, citing recent Supreme Court precedent. “New York fails that test here.” 

GOP LAWMAKER UNVEILS EFFORT TO BAN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS FROM USING IDS TO BUY GUNS

A man fires his pistol at an indoor shooting range during a qualification course to renew his Carry Concealed handgun permit at the Placer Sporting Club in Roseville, Calif.  (AP)

The judge also denied a motion from New York for a two-week stay in the ruling while the state Attorney General’s office filed an appeal, reasoning that the state is unlikely to succeed on the merits. 

Sinatra said that property owners have a right to exclude legal gun owners from carrying firearms on their property. “But the state may not unilaterally exercise that right and, thereby, interfere with the long-established Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens who seek to carry for self-defense on private property open to the public.” 

The Concealed Carry Improvement Act, signed by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul in July 2022, was passed in response to a Supreme Court ruling that declared the state’s previous concealed carry permitting requirements unconstitutional. Last December, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit blocked several provisions of the law from taking effect, though it upheld a controversial requirement that concealed carry permit applicants demonstrate good moral character and disclose household and family members on a permit application.

The appellate court also let stand a ban on concealed carry in so-called “sensitive places,” including theaters, bars, public parks and other spaces.

TRUMP TO HEADLINE NRA EVENT IN PIVOTAL SWING STATE TWO WEEKS BEFORE ELECTION DAY

Hochul signed the Concealed Carry Improvement Act, which restricted where licensed firearms owners may carry concealed weapons.  (Getty Images)

Gun rights activists praised Sinatra’s decision. “This is yet another important victory for Second Amendment rights and another major loss for New York, authoritarian governments, and radical anti-rights organizations like Everytown and Giffords,” said Brandon Combs, president of the Firearms Policy Coalition. 

“We will continue to fight forward as we work to restore the full scope of the right to keep and bear arms throughout the United States. Hopefully Kathy Hochul is ready to write another check for legal fees,” he added. 

The New York Attorney General’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Earlier this week, Hochul celebrated her administration’s gun control policies, announcing that gun violence in New York State has declined 47 percent since she took office in 2021. 

GUN RIGHTS GROUP APPLAUDS AFTER FEDERAL APPEALS COURT DEALS BLOW TO NY CONCEALED CARRY LAW

A federal judge ruled New York’s ban on licensed firearms owners carrying concealed weapons on all private property was unconstitutional.  (spxChrome)

“And you all know what happened when the Supreme Court overturned the laws against concealed carry weapons, stripping away the power of the governor of this state to make her citizens safe. When the Supreme Court did that, we didn’t throw up our hands and surrender. We fought back,” Hochul said. 

“We doubled down. We came up with legislation. And we have a prohibition on concealed carry weapons in sensitive places. I personally think every place is sensitive, don’t you? Alright, well, we drew the lines, okay? We decided what was sensitive, and so far we are good.”

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However, gun rights groups argue that Sinatra’s decision shows Hochul is wrong.

“As we’ve said all along, the ‘sensitive place’ carry restrictions imposed by New York post-Bruen are unconstitutional. Hard stop,” said Bill Sack, director of Legal Operations for the Second Amendment Foundation. “We are thrilled that once again, the courts have agreed, and sent this amoral and unlawful ban packing.”

LAS VEGAS – GOP Sen. John Kennedy hit the campaign trail for Nevada Senate candidate Sam Brown where the two spoke to Fox News Digital about why they believe Biden administration policies have hurt voters in the crucial swing state.

“The number one issue that folks have been worried about for the last couple of years has been the economy and how this Biden-Harris economy has put so much pressure on individuals, on families,” war veteran Capt. Sam Brown recently told Fox News Digital at an event with Sen. Kennedy in Las Vegas.

“For instance, the average Nevada families paying $1,200 more a month now than they were four years ago. When you’ve got seniors who are having to leave the dignity of retirement to go pick up a job because they can’t make ends meet. They can’t pay their rent. When you’ve got moms and dads who are skipping meals so that their kids can eat, that’s not right. It’s not fair to Nevadans.”

Brown explained that the number two issue that voters relay to him is immigration.

WAR VETERAN’S CAMPAIGN UNLEASHES ON DEM OPPONENT AFTER TOP AIDE’S ‘DISGUSTING’ SMEAR OF HIS MILITARY BOOK

Sam Brown and John Kennedy speak to Fox News Digital in Nevada (Fox News Digital)

“The number two issue is this border crisis,” Brown said. “Vice President Harris was the border czar, she allowed this crisis to happen, and Senator Rosen sits on the Homeland Security Committee. She should be providing accountability. Should be providing leadership and pushback against an administration that has allowed, we now know, over 400,000 convicted criminals into this country, and she has done nothing, in fact, only visited the border one time. And that’s unacceptable. As someone who comes out of the military. Leadership is about being in the front, representing your people, their concerns and accomplishing the mission.”

Brown, a war veteran who sustained serious injuries from an IED explosion during a 2008 deployment in Afghanistan, is running against incumbent Dem. Sen. Jacky Rosen in a race that could play a key role in deciding which party controls the Senate. The Cook Political Report ranks the race as “Lean Democrat.”

‘RENT IS TOO DAMN HIGH’: ROSEN PANNED FOR BIDEN-ALIGNED VOTES, HIGH HOUSING COSTS

U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada, speaks during a news conference on June 16, 2023, at the East Vegas Library.  (Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Kennedy told Fox News Digital that he felt it was important to travel to Nevada and support Brown because the combat veteran is a “rock star.”

“He’s a beast. He’s what cool looks like. We need him in the United States Senate,” Kennedy said. “The people of Nevada need him and they deserve him. The people of Nevada deserve the right to go to the grocery store without having to first sell blood plasma so they can afford it and Sam’s going to help us fix that.”

“The people of Nevada deserve to be able to pay their rent or pay their mortgage without first having to cash in on their retirement account and Sam’s going to help us fix that in Washington. The people of Nevada deserve to be able to retire before they’re 94, for God’s sakes. And when they retire, they ought to be able to live in dignity. They shouldn’t have to live in a tent behind Outback and eat cat food and that’s a direct result of that problem I just described as a direct result of inflation caused by the Democrats who’ve been in control the last four years.”

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Jacky Rosen and Sam Brown are each running for Senate in Nevada. (Reuters)

Brown told Fox News Digital that the energy on the ground he has seen for his campaign has been “terrific.”

“This is a battleground state in the presidential race, a battleground state for the Senate,” Brown said. “When we win this race, we’ll take the majority. When President Trump wins, he’ll be in the White House. Folks are fired up because they need change. They’re desperate for change and Jacky Rosen, as senator, she’s been running from the people while I’m running for them.”

Kennedy told Fox News Digital he thinks the presidential race between Harris and Trump will be “close” in Nevada but that he is ceratin Brown will be a “great senator.”

“I mean, the guy’s a war hero, West Point graduate, SMU business school graduate, he’s been a businessman, he’s a good dad, he’s a good husband, he’s whip smart,” Kennedy said. “You get between Sam Brown and what’s best for Nevada. He’ll devour you like a light snack, man.”

“Back home in Louisiana we say he’s tough as a $3 steak and the people in Nevada need him and they deserve him. They’ve been through a lot. This bunch in Washington, D.C., their entire plan for the last four years, the Democrats, has been let’s do the worst thing possible that won’t work. They screwed this economy up so badly. The American people have been gutted like a fish because of this inflation and we’re going to fix it. And Sam Brown will help lead the charge.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Rosen’s campaign for comment but did not receive a response.

The White House on Saturday released a report from Vice President Kamala Harris’ doctor declaring her to be in “excellent health.” 

The report, which was previewed by a senior Harris campaign aide, comes as the 59-year-old Democratic nominee seeks to contrast herself with former President Trump, 79, who has not made recent health disclosures. 

“Vice President Harris remains in excellent health,” wrote her Army physician, Dr. Joshua R. Simmons. “She possesses the physical and mental resiliency required to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency, to include those as Chief Executive, Head of State and Commander in Chief.” 

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event on Thursday, Oct. 10, on the Gila River Indian Community reservation in Chandler, Ariz.  (AP/Ross D. Franklin)

READ THE REPORT BELOW. APP USERS: CLICK HERE

This is a developing story and will be updated. 

Vice President Kamala Harris will release a report detailing her medical history and health information on Saturday in an effort to prompt the same from former President Donald Trump.

The detailed report will conclude, “She possesses the physical and mental resiliency required to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency, to include those as Chief Executive, Head of State and Commander in Chief,” according to a senior campaign aide.

Harris advisers insist that the report is an opportunity to spotlight Trump’s health and mental acuity, since the 78-year-old Republican nominee would be the oldest president at the end of his potential second term, the aide said. 

TOP 5 FRIENDLIEST MOMENTS FROM KAMALA HARRIS’ MEDIA BLITZ: ‘THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES’

Harris speaks to the media before boarding Air Force Two after assessing the Hurricane Helene recovery response in North Carolina on Oct. 5, 2024, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

President Biden, 81, withdrew from the 2024 presidential election in July amid pressure from the Democratic Party given concerns over his advanced age and visible fatigue. Since then, Democrats have sought to go on offense against Trump with what was once their election vulnerability.

The decision to release Harris’ medical information comes after a New York Times report asserted that Trump has not been transparent with his own health, even after a would-be assassin’s bullet grazed his head at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania this past July.

WHY TRUMP IS HEADED INTO ‘THE BELLY OF THE BEAST’: THE STREATEGY BEHIND HIS BLUE STATE STOPS

Trump has not released an official medical report since he was the target of a would-be assassin’s bullet at a July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.  (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump did not release his medical records in his first White House campaign in 2016, the report notes. Neither did the Trump White House release accurate updates on his condition after a 2020 COVID diagnosis, with reports detailing that the president was more sick than his doctors said in public, according to the report.

“In 2024, days before becoming the official Republican presidential nominee for the third time, he was grazed by a would-be assassin’s bullet, yet his campaign did not hold a briefing on his condition, release hospital records or make the emergency physicians who treated him available for interview,” the report said. It goes on to quote several medical experts who raise concerns that Trump could enter the Oval Office in a second term with several “potentially worrisome issues.” 

DOUG EMHOFF DOESN’T DENY REPORT HE SLAPPED EX-GIRLFRIEND OUTSIDE OVERSEAS MOVIE EVENT

A doctor’s letter in 2023 stated Trump is in “excellent” overall health and that he scored well on cognitive exams.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The last health update from Trump came in November 2023, when his personal doctor, Bruce Aronwald, said in a letter Trump’s “overall health is excellent.” 

“His physical exams were well within the normal range and his cognitive exams were exceptional,” Aronwald wrote.

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The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

During an August interview with CBS News, Trump insisted that he would “gladly” release his medical records, noting at the time that he had a “perfect score” on a recent medical exam. 

Weeks out from the November election after two hurricanes, Democrats and civil rights groups in various states, including battleground states Democrats and Republicans covet, have launched lawsuits to extend voter registration deadlines.

Just this week in Georgia, where the voter registration deadline was Monday, civil rights groups were denied motions for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction. 

The Georgia State Conference of the NAACP, the Georgia Coalition for the Peoples Agenda and Stacey Abrams’ New Georgia Project filed their initial complaint against Gov. Brian Kemp, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the Republican National Committee and the Georgia Republican Party Oct. 7, arguing that not extending the deadline violates voters’ rights. 

Secretary Raffensberger’s office responded to the court’s decision in a statement, saying “We agree with Judge Ross, who said, ‘I don’t think we had even one voter who had been harmed or would likely be harmed by failure to register to vote.'” 

RESIDENTS IN KEY NORTH CAROLINA DISTRICT REVEAL HOW THEY THINK THEIR COUNTY WILL VOTE IN NOVEMBER

Voting forms and devastation in Georgia after Hurricane Helene (Getty Images)

The secretary also held a press conference shortly after the hurricane to announce various measures taken by the state to ensure citizens could make it to the ballot box. 

In Florida, District Judge Robert L. Hinkle denied a motion to issue a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction to block the Oct. 7 deadline and extend registration another 10 days.

Workers, community members and business owners clean up debris in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Marshall, N.C., Sept. 30, 2024. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The suit was initially filed in the U.S. District Court for Northern Florida Tuesday by multiple civil rights groups — the League of Women Voters, League of Women Voters of Florida Education Fund and the Florida chapter of the NAACP — against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Secretary of State Cord Byrd. It alleged the failure to extend the deadline places an “undue burden on the right to vote in violation of the First Amendment” and the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause. 

They alleged the registration deadline also favors Florida voters unaffected by the hurricanes. 

Civil rights groups are suing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Secretary of State Cord Byrd, alleging the failure to extend the deadline places an “undue burden on the right to vote in violation of the First Amendment” and the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause.  (Octavio Jones/Getty Images)

Republican election lawyer Jason Torchinsky noted that requests seeking to extend the voter registration deadline in Florida are anything but uncommon, stating they “are routinely denied.” In Georgia, however, Torchinsky predicted extending the voter registration deadline would have made little difference, if any, given the state’s registration rate. 

Kaivan Shroff, a Democratic political commentator, and Greta Bedekovics, associate director of Democracy Policy at the left-wing Center for American Progress, both specifically targeted DeSantis and Kemp. 

“It seems like Republican governors Kemp and DeSantis are trying to play partisan politics and prevent people from exercising their voting rights in the wake of these tragic natural disasters,” Shroff told Fox News Digital.

“However, I’m not sure that will be the case this time because when you look at urban centers like Tampa, they’ve been trending red in recent years.” 

“Governors in states like Georgia and Florida have issued emergency policy orders in the past, expanding voting and registration options in the aftermath of a hurricane, including during the 2022 election cycle. There is no reason that cannot be similarly done this year,” Bedekovics told Fox News Digital. 

Mark Ard, director of external affairs for the Florida Department of State, cheered Judge Hinkle’s decision, telling Fox News Digital in a statement that Florida’s voter registration system has been operating around the clock since the 2022 election, giving voters ample time to register to vote. 

“The Department of State and supervisors of elections across the state noticed and published the Oct. 7, 2024, date. The state has a substantial interest in maintaining deadlines created by the legislature,” the statement said. “We’re happy to see that the court ruled for the state of Florida by recognizing the substantial state interest in maintaining the voter registration deadline and denying the plaintiffs’ attempt to alter Florida law.”

The roof of Tropicana Field is damaged the morning after Hurricane Milton hit the region Oct. 10, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Cecile M. Scoon, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Florida, a plaintiff in the case, expressed disappointment in the ruling, saying the lawsuits are not politically motivated. 

“We’ve been bringing those kind of lawsuits for years. So, how is it political?” Swoon told Fox News Digital. “Before any of the parties were running for office, we were bringing these lawsuits.

“So, we have a history of being concerned about voters, regardless of how they vote. And, frankly, I do a lot of voter registration, and a lot of people that, when I work hard to get voter registration, many of them, probably more than 50%, are registering to vote for Trump. They say so.” 

Republican election lawyer Jason Torchinsky noted that requests seeking to extend the voter registration deadline in Florida are anything but uncommon. (iStock )

DESANTIS FIRES BACK AT HARRIS OVER HURRICANE RESPONSE: ‘SHE HAS NO ROLE IN THIS PROCESS’

Fox News Digital also spoke with Chad Ennis, vice president of the conservative nonprofit Honest Elections Project, who noted that several of the lawsuits were filed close to the state’s voter registration deadline, saying the judges who declined to extend the registration period made “the right rulings given the time frame.”

“I hate to say it is politically motivated, although the left always wants voter registration up until the day of the election,” Ennis said. “In a lot of cases, during COVID, they used COVID as an excuse to change deadlines and, unfortunately, they also tried to use the hurricanes to change the deadlines here.”  

Leslie Marshall, a Democratic strategist, told Fox News Digital she thinks the denial to extend voter registration could actually negatively affect Republicans come November. 

“Because this race is so close and because Donald Trump and Republicans have made, not gains with women, but they have made gains with African Americans — specifically, male African Americans — they may be shooting themselves in the foot with this ruling,” Marshall said.   

Various voting rights groups in the states most affected by the storms have asked to extend voter registration deadlines after the storms. (Bill Ingram/Palm Beach Post/USA Today Network via Reuters)

On the other hand, Democrats in South Carolina were successful in their legal maneuvers after the South Carolina Democratic Party (SCDP) sued the South Carolina Elections Commission, and a circuit court judge ruled to extend the registration deadline to Oct. 14. 

“We are pleased the voter registration deadline has been extended. This isn’t a partisan issue. It’s an issue of the public good and ensuring the right to vote is protected for everyone,” said SCDP Chair Christale Spain.

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South Carolina Election Commission public information officer John Michael Catalano said the commission was “able to comply with the order with minimal impact to election administration. We don’t anticipate this causing any issues for voters during early voting or on Election Day.”

Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key Wednesday night, leaving around 3.2 million people in Florida alone without power by Thursday afternoon. Milton came in as a Category 3 storm, just a few weeks after Hurricane Helene battered parts of Florida before devastating North Carolina. 

The U.S. congressman representing one of the areas hit hardest by Helene is raising concerns about the deadly storm’s impact on voter access in the region.

“There will likely be some people out there that, for one reason or another, will not be able to exercise their most important constitutional right,” Rep. Chuck Edwards, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital in an interview Friday.

Edwards is urging his constituents to make plans now, sending out a press release to residents of his district roughly three weeks before Election Day, asking those who intend to vote to start figuring out how they will do so.

“I’ll also follow up with folks in the area and make offers to help get transportation for those folks that feel like they might not have a normal life or a transportation style to make it to the polls,” Edwards said.

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Rep. Chuck Edwards spoke with Fox News Digital about the effects of Hurricane Helene in his district two weeks later. (Getty Images/Fox News Digital)

“I’m concerned. But I also have a lot of confidence with the folks in the area to help folks exercise that constitutional right. We just have to start thinking about it now. We can’t wait till the last minute, as too many times we’re accustomed to doing.”

Hurricane Helene tore through the Southeast two weeks ago, leaving billions of dollars of destruction and more than 230 people dead across multiple states.

Edwards estimated his district alone has seen “about 100 deaths” but noted many were still missing.

“About 9,200 acres of western North Carolina was affected in 28 counties. About 6,000 of that is right here in my district,” he said.

In addition to the devastation to life and property, however, the storm could have potentially severe ramifications for the election. North Carolina and Georgia, two of the hardest-hit states, emerged as battlegrounds in the 2020 presidential race.

HURRICANE MILTON CARVES DEADLY PATH THROUGH FLORIDA, MILLIONS WITHOUT POWER

The town of Chimney Rock in Edwards’ district after flash flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene Oct. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

About 17% of North Carolina’s registered voters are in the counties designated as Helene disaster areas, according to Michael Bitzer, a professor of politics and history at Catawba College.

“Folks are still in the process of putting their lives together, desperately trying to get their power back on, trying to get in touch with their loved ones, trying to dig out from the debris and not really thinking that there’s an election coming up here in three weeks or so,” Edwards said. 

CATEGORY 3 MILTON BEARS DOWN ON FLORIDA

“So, what I’m encouraging everyone to do is to start thinking about that now, to request an absentee ballot if you don’t think you’re going to be able to get to a poll or to plan to vote early.”

The North Carolina state legislature is already moving to mitigate possible issues. 

State lawmakers approved $5 million in emergency funding for the State Board of Elections to deal with the storm’s effects, and they also expanded emergency measures put in place by the election board that allow counties to modify early voting days and locations.

On the federal level, Edwards said he would give the government’s response a “C-minus.”

Edwards said President Biden left him a voicemail Friday. (Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“This storm was over about 10 a.m. on Friday, and it was into Tuesday before we saw the first boots on the ground from FEMA, before we saw the first helicopters with food and water,” he said.

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Asked about outreach from U.S. leaders, Edwards said President Biden called him earlier on Friday but left a voicemail. He did not indicate whether he’d return the call.

“It was maybe a 10-second clip going, ‘Attaboy. Keep up the good work. We’re thinking about you,’” Edwards said.

With three-and-a-half weeks until Election Day, former President Trump is holding a rally in Southern California on Saturday.

His campaign also announced this week that the Republican presidential nominee will hold a rally in New York City’s Madison Square Garden later this month. 

On Friday, Trump stopped in Colorado, and on Tuesday he’s scheduled to parachute into Illinois.

It’s been 40 years since a Republican carried New York in a presidential election, 36 years since California and Illinois went red in a White House race, and two decades since the GOP captured Colorado.

THE CLOSER: FORMER PRESIDENT OBAMA HITS THE TRAIL FOR HARRIS IN THE CLOSING STRETCH

Former President Trump speaks at a rally in Uniondale, New York, on Sept. 18. (Julia Bonavita/Fox News Digital)

With time an extremely precious commodity for the presidential campaigns in the final stretch of a White House showdown in a margin-of-error race with Vice President Kamala Harris, many are wondering why Trump is stopping in blue states, which his chances of carrying are extremely slim to nonexistent.

“We just rented Madison Square Garden. We’re going to make a play. We’re going to make a play for New York. Hasn’t been done in a long time. It hasn’t been done in many decades,” Trump said at a rally in Pennsylvania this week, hours after his campaign announced the New York City date.

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“We’re making a play for New Jersey. We’re making a play for Virginia,” Trump continued, before adding that he’s also aiming to compete in Minnesota and New Mexico.

Despite the former president’s bravado about expanding the electoral map, the latest Fox News Power Rankings in the 2024 presidential election rank New York, New Jersey, California and Colorado as solid Democrat, with Minnesota, New Mexico and Virginia as likely blue.

Fox News Power Rankings (Fox News )

Trump on Saturday will headline a rally in Coachella, a city in California’s Riverside County southeast of Palm Springs that’s best known nationally for a music festival that takes place nearby every April. 

“President Trump’s visit to Coachella will highlight Harris’ poor record and show that he has the right solutions for every state and every American,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement.

The stop in Coachella may also benefit Trump with Latino voters — who have been trending towards the GOP in recent years — not only in southeast California, but more importantly in neighboring Arizona and Nevada, two of the seven crucial battleground states that will likely determine if the former president or Harris wins the 2024 election.

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Trump’s rally in Madison Square Garden on Oct. 27 will be his third major campaign event in Democrat-dominated New York this year.

Last month, he packed the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, just outside of New York City. And he attracted thousands at a rally in NYC’s borough of The Bronx in May.

He also held a large rally in May along the shore in New Jersey.

Former President Trump gestures at a campaign rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, on May 11. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

“Choosing high-impact settings makes it so the media can’t look away and refuse to cover the issues and the solutions President Trump is offering,” a senior Trump campaign adviser told Fox News when asked about the strategy of holding October events in blue states. “We live in a nationalized media environment and the national media’s attention on these large-scale, outside-the-norm settings increases the reach of his message across the country and penetrates in every battleground state.”

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Longtime Republican strategist Jesse Hunt, a veteran of multiple GOP presidential campaigns, noted that these stops in blue states are less about geography and more about the message.

“Trump is creating a lot of unique and interesting contrast situations that can then be beamed into a mass audience in states that they care about,” Hunt said. “You have to create compelling narratives, compelling contrasts. I think that’s part of what Trump is doing.”

Hunt argued that Trump is a pro “at creating these moments that penetrate our fractured media environment” and that “voters in Georgia, voters in North Carolina, are certainly going to consume news about Trump’s event in Madison Square Garden.”

Former President Trump speaks during a campaign rally in the South Bronx in New York City on May 23. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

Pointing to veteran campaign strategists Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, who are steering Trump’s 2024 campaign, Hunt said they’re “a pretty smart team… and they’re not going to waste his time.”

Seasoned Republican strategist Matthew Bartlett agreed that “we are at a point where everything is nationalized.”

He argued that the Trump blue state events “will spin an entire news cycle. It will give his supporters talking points. And I think there’s admiration of going into the belly of the beast, to going into your opponent’s territory.”

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Bartlett added that “of course, there’s a downside.”

“In the waning days, if this strategy proves ineffective, it could be similar to what Hillary Clinton did, which was mismanaged her time in the last few days of 2016, by not being in the critical swing states, not being in places where you have to drive turnout,” he warned.

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