NationalWatch

Ohio Sen. JD Vance told reporters Friday that he doesn’t think former President Trump “needs to pivot” with his campaign despite a number of recent polls showing Vice President Harris gaining ground. 

Vance, speaking at the Milwaukee Police Association, made the remark after a reporter said to him that “it seems like some allies of former President Trump have said in recent days he’s to focus more on policy, just like you talked about, less personal attacks.” 

“I’m curious, have you had that conversation with him and does he need to pivot, especially when you look to swing states like Wisconsin?” Vance was asked. 

“I don’t think the president needs to pivot,” the vice presidential candidate responded. “And if I told him that, I can guess what he’d say. I think that the reason that President Trump has been so successful connecting with Americans is even when they disagree with something that he might say, they know that he just is who he is, right?  

TRUMP RUNNING MATE VANCE AIMS TO TURN BLUE WALL STATES RED 

JD Vance speaks to reporters on Friday, Aug. 16 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Pool/Fox News)

“I’d much rather have a political candidate who I disagreed with 25% of the time, but was a real human being and was willing to speak off the cuff then to have somebody like Kamala Harris, who hides behind a teleprompter and doesn’t speak to the American people directly unless she’s got a script in front of her telling her exactly what to say,” Vance continued. “I think the unscripted nature of President Trump is one of the reasons why his campaign gives a pretty good insight into the kind of president that he’s going to be.  

“Now that said, we are focusing a lot on policy. We’re here in Wisconsin today talking about public safety. I was in Pennsylvania yesterday talking about veterans’ issues. I was in Michigan the day before, talking about how we have to stop the trade and energy policies that ship all of our manufacturing jobs to China,” Vance added. 

“But my only advice to my running mate is be yourself and let people see who you are. And I think he’s doing that every day on the campaign trail,” he concluded. 

TRUMP HAS TAKEN 81 QUESTIONS AT PRESS CONFERENCES, INTERVIEWS COMPARED TO HARRIS’ 14 SINCE WALZ JOINED TICKET 

Former President Trump and vice presidential candidate U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, appeared on the first day of the Republican National Convention on July 15, 2024.  (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

In the most recent Fox News Poll, Trump is leading Harris nationally 50-49%. 

However, in polls released this past weekend by Siena College for the New York Times, Harris tops Trump by four points – 50% to 46% – among likely voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.  

Polling and data guru Nate Silver also said Wednesday on “Special Report” that “if you have the election tomorrow… I think Harris would be a slight favorite.” 

“She has been ahead in most recent polling in the ‘blue wall’ states, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona, Nevada all polling in the margin of error range,” Silver said. 

Vice President Kamala Harris, left, and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is gaining ground against Trump in some recent polls. (RONDA CHURCHILL/AFP via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

“People should remember, though, two things,” he added. “One, we have three more months to go. There will be more surprises. And two, the polls have been wrong before. In both the last two general elections they underestimated Trump.” 

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and Yael Halon contributed to this report. 

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin took a public victory lap this week, claiming credit for managing the Old Dominion’s budget into a $1 billion surplus.

In his annual Joint Money Committee Address before the Commonwealth’s relevant legislative committees, Youngkin, a Republican, laid out how in recent years, most of the surrounding states’ growth had become attractive to longtime Virginians.

Youngkin began by greeting the Democratic committee chairs: House Appropriations Chair Luke Torian of Prince William, House Finance Chair Vivian Watts of Fairfax and Senate President L. Louise Lucas, who serves as the upper chamber’s finance chairwoman.

“Our neighbors in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida have been rapidly growing,” Youngkin said. “Many Virginians were choosing to go there instead of here.”

VIRGINIA DECLARES ‘INDEPENDENCE’ FROM CALIFORNIA AS YOUNGKIN EXITS NORTHAM-ERA EMISSIONS PACT

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin speaks during the Faith & Freedom Coalitions Road to Majority Policy Conference at the Washington Hilton on June 22, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Most of those states shifted toward lowering taxes, he said, while Virginia had been “falling behind” since the year Gov. Robert McDonnell – its last Republican governor – left office, he said.

“Across the country today, there are winning states, and there are losing states,” Youngkin said.

The governor, seen by some as presidential timber in future cycles while facing the Old Dominion’s one-and-done term limit, said there are economic winners and losers state-to-state.

“States that are winning with job growth, population growth, opportunity growth –  and others that are not.”

YOUNGKIN: EDUCATION IS THE BEDROCK OF THE AMERICAN DREAM

Virginia gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin holds a campaign event in Amherst, Va., October 28, 2021. (Charles Creitz)

Youngkin said such “winning states” are “domina[ting]” the national map in terms of economic growth and fiscal stewardship. 

Most of the “losing states,” he said, are running with budget deficits, while Virginia and the other southeastern states he mentioned – all but one of which are Republican-led, are faring better.

In remarks to Fox News Digital, Youngkin said that Virginia proves tax relief is a “catalyst for record job creation [and] business growth.”

“The playbook works,” he said. “We are demonstrating in Virginia that a state, once falling behind, can lead when we ‘invest’ in tax relief and understand that money belongs to the people who work for it, not the government.”

The Virginia Capitol in Richmond, Virginia, on Feb. 9, 2019. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

With the surplus, the governor said, his budget plans to see hundreds of millions of dollars in improvements to the heavily trafficked Interstate 81, which serves as a 323-mile backbone for much of mid-continent commerce – as it connects the northeast’s trucking hubs with several cross-country highways.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

About $90 million of the surplus will also go toward a Virginia military survivors and dependents fund.

However, the governor warned against profligately spending the new windfall, saying that what befell Virginia in the past “will happen again.”

A retired inspector in the New York Police Department running as a Republican for a key Hudson Valley congressional district dismissed characterizations of her service after controversy erupted Thursday over her conduct on the force.  

Alison Esposito, through her campaign, pushed back after documents surfaced regarding her involvement in two controversial arrests.

One incident included an allegation that she and another officer were involved in a situation where there was an unlawful detention and “frisk[ing]” of an “infant plaintiff” in 2016.

That situation unfolded at an apartment on E. 101 Street in Harlem, and was alleged in an affidavit to be “malicious, unlawful and not based upon a warrant.”

“Let’s be abundantly clear: Alison did NOT handcuff, detain, or stop, question, and frisk an infant. This is a ludicrous and inaccurate assertion,” Ben Weiner, Esposito’s campaign manager said in response to the news first reported by City & State New York.

RULE OF LAW ON THE BALLOT IN NYC SUBURBS AS COP AND VETERAN TRADE BARBS OVER BORDER CRISIS, POLICING

The Empire State Building is seen along the Manhattan skyline in New York City on July 24, 2023. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images)

Weiner suggested that facts of the case were not highlighted in initial reports and documents.

“The perpetrator in question was a 17-year-old who decided that she was going to prevent the officers from arresting her drug-dealing, gang member boyfriend who was wanted for a shooting, by punching and scratching Alison in the face and neck, refusing to comply with lawful orders.”

In the other case from 2003, three women visiting from Philadelphia were shopping at a department store when they noticed a purse that appeared to have cash sticking out of it.

According to documents from a lawsuit against officers obtained by Fox News Digital, one woman wondered aloud why someone would leave a purse in such a state, while another “picked up the purse” and considered whether it was a “set up” before returning it.

Outside, the women were detained by three plainclothes officers, including Esposito, according to the lawsuit. The women accused the officers of “deprivation of [their] liberty” among other transgressions. 

According to the affidavit, Esposito “grabbed [one of the plaintiffs] and held her.”

NEW YORK STATE RIPE FOR TRUMP’S TAKING, GOP PARTY CHAIR SAYS

A general view of Dutchess County Courthouse in Poughkeepsie, NY, on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)

The plaintiff, who admitted touching the purse later, alleged that she had been handcuffed with her “hands behind her back in an unnecessarily tight manner.”

The city ultimately settled both cases for a combined $120,000, according to City & State New York.

In comments to Fox News Digital, Weiner also called out Esposito’s opponent, Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y, saying the lawmaker and his “activists are trying to disgrace Alison’s 25-year NYPD career for political purposes.”

The two candidates have both burnished their law enforcement and military credentials, and Esposito previously derided Ryan’s similar move from service to politics.

Both candidates also describe themselves as rule-of-law problem-solvers in the Poughkeepsie area district that could decide the fate of the House next year.

As for the facts of the cases, Weiner said criminals often try to “scapegoat” law enforcement and embroil them in lengthy court proceedings, which leads municipalities to settle in order to avoid “costly litigation.”

NASSAU COUNTY BANS MASKS IN PUBLIC TO CURB VIOLENT CRIME, PROTESTS

Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., is facing off against former NYPD Insp. Alison Esposito in November. (Getty Images)

He also said that one of the prior reports on the matter was “an obviously untrue story [done] without proper due diligence [which] highlights the lengths the far-left will go to admonish the police.”

Ryan did not return a request for comment.

The Democrat has pushed back on some of Esposito’s claims in the past, including that he made Ulster a “sanctuary county” while county executive.

In 2019, Ryan enacted an order adjusting procedures involving cooperation with immigration authorities, and he noted at the time that Ulster strenuously avoided “sanctuary city” terminology.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In previous remarks to Fox News Digital, Ryan also noted he was one of 15 Democrats to demand President Biden seal the border by-fiat – calling the situation down there a “crisis.”

In turn, Esposito has contended that Ryan honorably served his country but became a typical politician when he entered Congress.

She also called upon her NYPD service to highlight how she would take on the immigration crisis herself, citing Orange County in particular as subject to migrant-related crime.

Gov. Tim Walz currently has a higher favorability rating than Sen. JD Vance among voters, according to a new 2024 survey on the vice presidential candidates.

A new Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos survey found that Walz is favored by 39% of Americans, compared to Vance’s 32%, while 30% have an unfavorable opinion of Walz. 

However, Americans may still be forming an opinion of Vice President Harris’ running mate, as 31% of respondents did not answer the question.

Additionally, 44% of Americans said they disapprove of Walz as Harris’ running mate.

MINNESOTA BUSINESS OWNERS SOUND ALARM ON HARRIS’ ‘NIGHTMARE’ VP PICK: ‘REALLY BAD FOR THE US’

Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a campaign rally with Democratic presidential candidate, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, at the Liacouras Center at Temple University on August 6, 2024, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Andrew Harnik)

Asked about their opinion of Vance, 32% of respondents have a favorable view of the Ohio senator, while 42% have an unfavorable opinion of Trump’s running mate. 

About 26% of respondents did not answer the question, 5 percentage points less than those giving an opinion of Walz.

VP candidates Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. JD Vance. (Left: Jeff Swensen/Getty Images, Right: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

VIDEO SHOWS WALZ PRAISING CONTROVERSIAL MUSLIM CLERIC HARRIS CAMPAIGN SAID HE HAD NO ‘RELATIONSHIP WITH’

Among rural voters, Vance is up 13 percentage points over Walz. 

The Ohio senator also holds a significant lead, net positive 37 points, among White evangelical Protestants.

U.S. Senator and 2024 Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance speaks during a campaign rally at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 6, 2024.  (Ryan Collerd/AFP)

Walz remains ahead by 16 points among people under 40 years old and is seen more positively among both men and women, according to the survey.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The poll was conducted from August 9 to 13 with a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

The two dueling candidates are expected to go head-to-head in the first vice presidential debate on CBS News on Oct. 1.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is denying reports that he sought a position in a hypothetical Democratic administration.

Kennedy was accused this week of reaching out to Democratic presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris’ team to discuss the possibility of working inside a future Cabinet — the claim appeared in a report from the Washington Post.

“That’s fake news. I didn’t ask Kamala Harris for a Cabinet position but I’ve reached out to all the candidates. I’ve met with some,” Kennedy told guests during his “TikTok Town Hall” live-streamed event.

BIDEN SAYS HARRIS ‘NOT GOING TO’ DISTANCE HERSELF FROM HIS ECONOMIC POLICIES

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during the Freedom Fest at the Caesars Forum Conference Center in Las Vegas. (Daniel Jacobi II/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

The independent candidate claimed that he had met with all other candidates in the presidential election — specifically mentioning a meeting with Libertarian Party candidate Chase Oliver.

“I wanted to meet with all the candidates to talk about dampening down the rhetoric and unifying our country and also talk about some of the issues — ending the wars, et cetera.”

Kennedy said he wasn’t sure he would be able to serve in a Harris-Walz administration unless “a lot of different changes” were made.

RFK JR. DISQUALIFIED FROM NEW YORK BALLOT, USED ‘SHAM’ ADDRESS FOR RESIDENCY, JUDGE RULES

“The other candidates have met with me, Kamala Harris has said she doesn’t want to,” Kennedy said. “I believe it would be tough for me to work with their administration unless they committed to a lot of different changes.”

The report from the Washington Post on Wednesday claimed Kennedy — whose long-shot bid for president took a hit earlier this week when a judge ruled his name should not appear on New York’s ballot — sought out a meeting with Harris in hopes of landing a potential Cabinet secretary position in her future administration. 

Kennedy was previously recorded on video speaking to former President Trump during a meeting at last month’s convention in Milwaukee, in which Trump appeared to allude to potential positions in his administration.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally in Las Vegas, Nevada. (AP/Julia Nikhinson)

Nevertheless, Kennedy has continued to campaign and make regular media appearances with the expectation that he can win the election, the report notes, though he has left open the possibility of meeting with or getting out of the way of either Harris or Trump if they share an openness about his vision for the country.

Polling has shown Kennedy is one of the most disruptive independent candidates in decades in both breadth of appeal and commitment of his supporters.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Lee contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., is being targeted for her support of large spending bills signed into law by President Biden that have been followed by rising prices and so-called “nightmare inflation.”

“The American Dream once lived in Nevada,” according to a new ad from Win it Back PAC, which is aligned with top conservative group Club for Growth. “But thanks to Jacky Rosen, we’re waking up to a nightmare where homes are for high rollers and the rent is too damn high because Rosen’s big spending drove housing costs through the roof.”

The new TV ad is a part of the PAC’s $4 million purchase in the battleground state, running through the November election.

DHS, FBI PROBED FOR INFO ON ALLEGED IRANIAN AGENT’S ASSASSINATION PLOT POSSIBLY TARGETING TRUMP

Rosen is being criticized for her support of Biden spending bills that proved to worsen inflation. (Getty Images)

It specifically pointed to Rosen’s vote in favor of Biden’s American Rescue Plan (ARP), which was billed as an investment in the economy to help ease the financial burden of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Following the ARP’s enactment, prices and inflation both continued to rise, which Win it Back cited.

It further highlighted the continually rising prices of rent and homes in Nevada, years after ARP was signed. 

“As you lie awake worried about the bills, illegals rest easy with your tax dollars under the mattress,” the video continues. “Break our laws. Live our dream. That’s Rosen’s record.”

‘PREGNANT PERSONS’: OHIO SEN SHERROD BROWN SCRUBBED ‘WOMEN’ FROM BILL ON PREGNANCY

Rosen is running for re-election in battleground state Nevada. (Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Multiple outlets have fact-checked whether illegal immigrants were likely to receive COVID-19 stimulus checks, and they determined that those who have overstayed visas were capable of receiving money and probably did. 

Rosen campaign spokesperson Johanna Warshaw told Fox News Digital in a statement, “Jacky Rosen is working to address the housing crisis and lower costs so that hardworking Nevadans can afford to pay rent or buy a home and build a good life.”

“She’s taking on price gouging in the housing market by out-of-state corporate investors, calling for lower interest rates to bring down mortgage and rent costs, and working directly with Nevada communities to free up public lands so that we can build more housing that regular people can afford,” she added.

‘PATH TO JUSTICE’: DURBIN URGES AUSTIN TO RETHINK REVOKING 9/11 MASTERMINDS’ PLEA DEALS

Former Army Capt. Sam Brown, Republican Nevada Senate candidate (Sam Brown for Nevada)

The Democrat senator is competing for re-election in November, facing off against the Republican Senate candidate and retired Army Capt. Sam Brown, who has been endorsed by former President Trump. 

The race is understood to be one of the most competitive in the country. However, Rosen received some welcome news on Thursday when the top nonpartisan political handicapper, Cook Political Report, shifted the race’s rating from a “Toss Up” to “Lean Democratic.”

In a June Fox News Poll, Nevadans reported feeling badly about their financial situations, with nearly half saying so at 49%. Just 13% felt like they were getting ahead. Fewer than 4 in 10 said they were holding steady financially.

KAMALA HARRIS LED DEMS IN 2018 CALL TO REJECT MORE FUNDING FOR BORDER PATROL, ICE

Nevadans reported feeling poorly about their financial situations. (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Registered voters nationally reinforced that the economy would be the top electoral issue in November in a new Fox News Poll released on Wednesday. Thirty-eight percent said the economy is the most important issue as it pertains to their vote in the upcoming presidential election.

Just 28% of respondents rated economic conditions positively, which is an improvement from 19% in August 2022. The figure is only one point off of the number at the start of Biden’s term, when 29% believed the economy was doing well. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Nationally, 43% rated their financial situation as being positive. This marked the highest percent to say so in more than two years. However, it’s still 10 points down from 53% who said their financial situation was good during Biden’s first year. 

A majority, 73%, still maintain that the national economy is doing poorly, as well as their personal financial situation, with 57% reporting as much.

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

Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to roll out her economic plan Friday during a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina. Early indications are it will have a progressive populist thrust, including attacks on corporate “price gouging,” which conservative critics say is a smokescreen to deflect from the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of inflation.

Michael Tyler, the Harris-Walz campaign communications director, said on CNN’s “Newsroom” Wednesday that Americans “can expect her to talk about the ways in which she wants to move this economy forward and lower costs for middle-class families,” noting Harris “understands that for too many families, prices remain too high.” Additionally, this week, the campaign insisted tackling inflation will be a “day one” priority.

However, conservatives are criticizing Harris for her “day one” claim about going after inflation, insisting she has had four years to do something about it.

HARRIS DOES ABOUT-FACE ON SEVERAL FAR-LEFT POLICIES, DISTANCES HERSELF FROM BIDEN

“Day one in office was 3½ years ago. What have you been doing in the meantime to tackle inflation?” E.J. Antoni said. “You’ve been creating it.” 

Similar remarks were echoed by former President Trump Wednesday during his own stop in North Carolina. 

“I gave Harris and Biden an economic miracle, and they quickly turned it into an economic nightmare,” the former president said.   

In advance of Harris’ first formal policy speech of her presidential campaign Friday, her team announced Harris plans to call for first-of-its-kind federal controls on food and grocery “price gouging” by corporations. The proposal would give authority to the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general to impose harsh penalties on companies for setting excessively high prices.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, speaks at a campaign rally Aug. 10, in Las Vegas.  (AP/Julia Nikhinson)

“There’s a big difference between fair pricing in competitive markets and excessive prices unrelated to the costs of doing business,” the Harris campaign said shortly after announcing the policy proposal.

Republican economists have criticized the move, calling it “Marxist” and “lunatic behavior.” 

They also challenged the merits of Harris’ claim that food and grocery providers are artificially inflating prices. 

“Actual consumer prices have been going up less than producer prices, which means that businesses, if anything, are price gouging themselves,” said Richard Stern, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget. 

“If the prices are going up more than the cost of doing business, then [the consumer price index] would be going up faster than [the producer price index], and it’s not.” 

Antoni, also of the Heritage Foundation, noted that, in the past, when politicians have tried to impose price and wage controls, it has “always ended with the same disastrous effect, which is shortages.”

“We had gas lines in the 1970s, and now she’s talking not about regulating the price of fuel, but regulating the price of food. So, instead of gas lines, we’re going to have bread lines. This is absolutely insane, but I guess we shouldn’t be surprised because, let’s face it, [Harris] is a Marxist, and her policies are going to introduce the exact same effects here that Marxist policies have had elsewhere.”

“Price control of groceries is a Soviet Union approach to inflation,” said Paul Teller, executive director at Advancing American Freedom, a nonprofit founded by former Vice President Mike Pence. “Price controls are wrong and never work, not on groceries and not on drug prices. They are anti-innovation and anti-free market.”

BIDEN INSTRUCTS MEDIA TO ‘START WRITING’ THAT HIS INFLATION POLICIES ARE ‘WORKING’

Meanwhile, other critics of Harris’ “price-gouging” proposal have questioned why she has not rolled out this proposed measure sooner. Democrats have control of the White House and, theoretically, the Senate, where Harris is the tie-breaking vote for legislation split along party lines.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment on the new “price-gouging” proposal, which is expected to be formally introduced Friday when Harris visits North Carolina, and was directed to a thread on social media that included news articles and research insisting a lack of competition and other factors in the grocery sector are giving corporations an unfair advantage over consumers.   

Another economic policy the Harris campaign has adopted in recent weeks is former President Trump’s no-tax-on-tips policy, which, Tyler said, was just one part of Harris’ plan, because the vice president “also understands what Donald Trump doesn’t understand, that that’s not enough.”

CLOSE CONTEST BETWEEN TRUMP AND HARRIS IN THIS BATTLEGROUND STATE TURNED RED: POLL 

Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential candidate, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff wave as they board Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrew in Maryland Aug. 6, 2024. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

“That’s why we have to increase the federal minimum wage,” Tyler said, highlighting Harris’ second known economic proposal so far. 

During her failed 2019 presidential campaign, Harris’ economic policies included a $3 trillion tax plan aimed at increasing taxes on the wealthy. Just like her current campaign, she wanted to raise the federal minimum wage, direct billions of dollars in tax credits to low-income renters, create a Bernie Sanders-style Medicare for all health care system and lower cash bail for criminals.

Everyday Americans are feeling the effects of inflation when they reach into their wallets. The Labor Department on Wednesday said the consumer price index (CPI), a broad measure of how much everyday goods like gasoline, groceries and rent cost, rose 0.2% in July from the previous month, in line with expectations.

GOOGLE EXECS PRESSED TO TESTIFY AFTER ADMITTING TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT SEARCH OMISSIONS WERE BY DESIGN

The prices of several essential grocery items have risen significantly in recent years. (Fox & Friends First)

Prices climbed 2.9% from the same time last year. It marked the lowest level of inflation since March 2021.

Housing costs were once again the main driver of inflation last month. Rent costs rose 0.3% for the month and are up 5.1% from the same time last year.

Rising rents are concerning because higher housing costs most directly and acutely affect household budgets.

The cost of food climbed 0.2% last month and is up 2.2% from the same time last year. The food-away-from-home index rose by 0.2%, while the cost of groceries inched 0.1% higher.

FIVE CONTROVERSIES SURROUNDING VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE TIM WALZ, FROM DUI TO COVID FRAUD

The Biden administration was criticized on social media for a post bragging about lowering gas prices.  (Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Despite these increases, Harris-Walz spokesperson Joseph Costello wrote in a campaign email Wednesday, “Inflation is at its lowest in over three years, and our economy is strong.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Donald Trump’s agenda would take us backwards, giving tax handouts to the same big corporations that are price gouging Americans, while raising prices on the middle class by $2,500 and driving our economy into a recession,” Costello said.

Fox Business’ Megan Henney contributed to this report. 

Nearly half the state attorneys general in the U.S. have filed amicus briefs with the Supreme Court to back an emergency stay that will allow the State of Arizona to require U.S. citizenship to vote in federal elections.

The Republican Party of Arizona said on Thursday that it had filed the emergency application pending appeal from the U.S. Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit “in support of HB 2492, our law requiring proof of citizenship to vote in presidential elections.”

The Arizona law requires proof of citizenship for ballots even if they are filed by mail.

“The Constitution gives states the power to set voter qualifications, and AZ is leading the charge to ensure ONLY CITIZENS vote in our elections,” the Arizona GOP tweeted. “This case has the potential to prevent non-citizen voting once and for all, which should have been the case all along.”

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ON VOTER ROLLS SPURS WATCHDOG GROUP TO SUE MARICOPA COUNTY

A voter drops off a ballot in front of the Orange County registrar’s office in Santa Ana, CA on Tuesday, March 5, 2024.  (Photo by Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

The brief was backed by attorneys general from 24 other states, including Texas, Florida, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah and Virginia, along with the two states that filed the brief — Kansas and West Virginia.

The Dhillon Law Group filed the brief, stating the Constitution does not support the district court’s ruling, and that it’s legal for a state to require proof of citizenship to vote in elections.

FOX NEWS POLL: NEW MATCHUP, SAME RESULT — TRUMP BESTS HARRIS BY ONE POINT

“The Court should therefore immediately stay the District Court’s injunction to the extent it interferes with Arizona’s constitutional power to choose how it appoints its presidential electors,” Harmeet Dhillon, lead attorney for the law group wrote.

The non-partisan group Honest Elections Project said that states “are well within their rights to require people to show proof of citizenship in order to vote by mail.” The group stated on its website that “We believe the Supreme Court should allow Arizona’s law to go into effect and allow states to secure their own elections.”

Rolls of “I Voted” stickers are stored at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center (MCTEC) ahead of the 2024 Arizona Primary and General elections in Phoenix, Arizona on June 3, 2024. Maricopa County election workers have repeatedly been the target of harassment and threats since the 2020 US election due to the spread of online misinformation about voter fraud. Officials are preparing for another onslaught of conspiracy theories in the 2024 presidential race by bulking up security and giving public tours at their ballot tabulation facility in downtown Phoenix, Arizona.  (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

An emergency application for stay by the Republican National Committee argues that voter integrity is a “problem” that’s gone unchecked, particularly with so many “illegal aliens” in the country. 

“There is every reason to believe this problem of non-citizen voting has gotten worse, as the number of aliens in the United States has undeniably grown. One study suggests there were over 11 million illegal aliens in the country in 2019.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Each of those aliens represents another possible opening for voter fraud, for each represents a probability — no matter how small — that they will vote illegally. Add to that the other possible sources of noncitizen voting — such as aliens here legally but who cannot vote or who have overstayed their visas — and the magnitude of the problem becomes clear.”

EXCLUSIVE: BYRON CENTER, Mich. — Donald Trump’s running mate defended the former president when pressed about allies and fellow Republicans advising him to stick to policy and messaging instead of “off the cuff” comments targeting Vice President Harris.

“I think one of the things people actually love about Donald Trump in politics is he’s not unwilling to speak off the cuff. He says what’s actually on his mind. He’s not always filtered. I think that’s a good thing and part of his appeal,” GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance of Ohio said Wednesday in a national exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.

But Vance, speaking ahead of a campaign event in battleground Michigan, also emphasized that “if you look at this race, we’re talking about policy. That’s 90% of what we’re doing. And I think that’s going to keep on happening.”

Harris has been riding a wave of momentum — witnessed in public opinion polling, in her soaring fundraising and in her large crowds she’s attracting on the campaign trail — in the three and a half weeks since she replaced President Biden atop the Democrats’ 2024 ticket.

TRUMP CAMPAIGN PLANS COUNTER-PROGRAMMING DURING DEMOCRATS’ CONVENTION

Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, the Republican vice presidential nominee, headlines a Trump campaign event in Byron Center, Michigan, on Wednesday.  (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

While criticizing Harris over key issues such as border security, crime and inflation, Trump has also continuously slammed the vice president and insulted her during speeches, news conferences and in social media posts.

Sources in Trump’s political orbit tell Fox News that top advisers to the former president are quietly aiming to persuade him to tamp down the insults to Harris and the questioning of the vice president’s racial identity and instead focus on branding her an ultra-liberal and spotlighting her stance on the border, crime and inflation

TRUMP ARGUES HARRIS IS MORE LIBERAL THAN BERNIE SANDERS — HERE’S WHAT THE VERMONT SENATOR TOLD FOX NEWS 

Trump allies are also publicly pitching Trump to refocus his attention.

“You’ve got to make this race not on personalities,” former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Monday in an interview on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.” “Stop questioning the size of her crowds and start questioning her position.”

McCarthy emphasized that Trump has “a short time frame to do it, so don’t sit back. Get out there and start making the case.”

During an interview Tuesday with Bret Baier on Fox News’ “Special Report,” former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley — Trump’s top rival from the Republican presidential primaries earlier this year — also had some unsolicited advice for her former boss.

Haley, who reiterated that she wants Trump to win the presidential election, emphasized that “the campaign is not going to win talking about crowd sizes. It’s not going to win talking about what race Kamala Harris is. It’s not going to win. Talking about whether she’s dumb. It’s not. You can’t win on those things. The American people are smart. Treat them like they’re smart.”

NIKKI HALEY HAS BLUNT MESSAGE FOR TRUMP, GOP AS KAMALA HARRIS GAINS MOMENTUM: ‘QUIT WHINING’

Following his interview with Fox News Digital, Vance was also asked about the criticism of Trump from fellow Republicans as he took questions from reporters at the conclusion of his campaign event at a trucking company in this southwestern Michigan town just south of Grand Rapids.

Former President Trump dances as he wraps up a campaign rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota on July 27. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“To the people who say that Donald Trump should do something different, they had an opportunity to make Donald Trump do something different by challenging him over three separate primaries, every single one of which he won. I think Donald Trump has earned the right to run the kind of campaign that he wants to run,” Vance emphasized.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

But the senator added that “if you listen to what Donald J. Trump says, if you look at what I say, we are prosecuting the case against Kamala Harris on policy.”

And taking aim at Harris, Vance charged that “we’d much rather have an American president who is who he is, who’s willing to offend us, who’s willing to tell us the truth, who isn’t a fake who hides behind a teleprompter.”

The Harris campaign has characterized some of Trump’s recent criticism of the vice president as “unhinged,” his recent interviews as “disastrous,” and the agenda he’s pushing as “dangerous and bizarre.”

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

Ohio Sen. JD Vance announced Thursday that he has accepted an invitation to debate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Oct. 1. 

“The American people deserve as many debates as possible, which is why President Trump has challenged Kamala to three of them already,” Vance wrote in a post on X. “Not only do I accept the CBS debate on October 1st, I accept the CNN debate on September 18th as well. I look forward to seeing you at both!” 

Walz, who is Vice President Harris’ running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket, said on X yesterday “See you on October 1, JD.” 

CBS News said in a prior statement that it invited both candidates to a debate in New York City, with Oct. 1 being one of the available dates. 

WHAT JD VANCE TOLD FOX NEWS DIGITAL IN AN EXCLUSIVE CAMPAIGN TRAIL INTERVIEW

JD Vance and Tim Walz are set to debate on Oct. 1. (AP/Carlos Osorio/Ross D. Franklin)

“We look forward to their responses and providing voters with an opportunity to hear directly from the vice-presidential candidates,” the network said. 

Although Vance said on X that he would debate Walz on CNN on Sept. 18 – it’s not immediately clear if Walz will attend that date. 

TRACKING KAMALA HARRIS’ POLICY REVERSALS: A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF KEY ISSUE FLIP-FLOPS 

Former President Trump shakes hands with JD Vance during the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 15. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

The Harris campaign did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital, but later released a statement saying “The debate about debates is over.

“Donald Trump’s campaign accepted our proposal for three debates — two presidential and a vice presidential debate. Assuming Donald Trump actually shows up on September 10 to debate Vice President Harris, then Governor Walz will see JD Vance on October 1 and the American people will have another opportunity to see the vice president and Donald Trump on the debate stage in October,” the Harris campaign said.

JD Vance then responded to the campaign’s statement by writing on X “Tim Walz refuses to deploy!”

“In all seriousness, if you want to be the VP of the United States, you should make your pitch directly to the American people. A debate is an opportunity to take your case to voters without a teleprompter or a script. Can’t imagine why anyone would say no,” he said.

CNN is quoting a spokesperson as saying that the network “invited both Senator Vance and Governor Walz to a Vice Presidential debate this fall, and Senator Vance has accepted.” 

Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. (Ronda Churchill/AFP via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

“We are always in communication with the campaigns around opportunities for the American public to hear from leading candidates for President and Vice President of the United States, and we look forward to this programming in the fall,” the spokesperson added. 

Fox News’ Kaitlin Sprague and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. tried to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss the possibility of him dropping out of the race and endorsing her in exchange for a position in her administration.

Kennedy, whose long-shot bid for president took a hit earlier this week when a judge ruled his name should not appear on New York’s ballot, sought out the meeting with Harris in hopes of landing a potential Cabinet secretary position in her future administration, according to a report from the Washington Post.

Harris and her campaign have yet to respond with an offer to meet the independent candidate, the report notes, nor have they shown any interest in entertaining his proposal.

RFK JR. DISQUALIFIED FROM NEW YORK BALLOT, USED ‘SHAM’ ADDRESS FOR RESIDENCY, JUDGE RULES

Independent Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

The longshot contender’s outreach was made through intermediaries, and comes after Kennedy made similar overtures to former President Trump during a meeting at last month’s convention in Milwaukee, which also resulted in no agreement between the two sides.

Kennedy, who polling has shown as one of the most disruptive independent candidates in decades, could be looking to leverage his position and drop out of the race, throwing his weight and considerable pull with his supporters behind the candidate who will allow him to continue having an influence past the election.

Nevertheless, Kennedy has continued to campaign and make regular media appearances with the expectation that he can win the election, the report notes, though he has left open the possibility of meeting with or getting out of the way of either Harris or Trump if they share an openness for his vision for the country.

“From the beginning of this campaign, we were saying people should be talking to each other,” Kennedy told the Washington Post. “That is the only way of unifying the country.”

Kennedy also expressed hope that Harris would reconsider his offer to meet, arguing that it is a “strategic mistake” for the Democrat’s campaign.

Vice President Kamala Harris. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)

JFK’S ASSASSINATION CUT SHORT MY UNCLE’S VISION BUT WE MUST REVIVE IT, NOT FORGET IT

“That’s my perspective,” Kennedy said. “I think they ought to be looking at every opportunity. I think it is going to be a very close race.”

The independent candidate would later take to social media, saying in a post on X Thursday that he has no intention of endorsing Harris.

“VP Harris’s Democratic Party would be unrecognizable to my father and uncle and I cannot reconcile it with my values,” Kennedy said in the post. “I have no plans to endorse Kamala Harris for President. I do have a plan to defeat her.”

Meanwhile, speculation continues that Kennedy and the Trump campaign could come to an agreement to bring the independent candidate into the fold. According to the Washington Post, the independent candidate was spotted at a hotel not far from Trump’s florida home and campaign headquarters.

Speaking to the Washington Post on the condition of anonymity, Trump campaign advisers said that they are in touch with Kennedy’s senior team and that there is an expectation he will drop out and throw his support behind the former president.

Former President Trump speaks to a crowd during a campaign rally on Sept. 25, 2023 in Summerville, South Carolina. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

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

Kennedy also noted he has had no contact with the Democratic Party since launching his independent campaign, which sparked a legal battle with the Democratic National Committee in an attempt to derail his and other third party campaigns.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“The only contact I have with the DNC is them suing me through intermediaries,” Kennedy told the Washington Post.

Reached for comment, the Kennedy campaign referred Fox News Digital to his Thursday post.

The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

Vice President Harris is doing an about-face on several far-left policies as she distances herself from President Biden and attempts to make a name of her own as the Democratic presidential nominee. 

In her first policy speech in North Carolina later this week and then next week at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Harris plans to present to Americans who she is and how she will govern essentially for the first time since Biden backed out of the race and endorsed her presidential campaign. 

In recent weeks, Harris has shifted on at least five major policy stances: mandatory assault rifle buybacks, fracking, immigration, health care and a federal jobs guarantee. 

While campaigning for president in 2019, she endorsed a mandatory buyback program for assault rifles. 

“We have to have a buyback program, and I support a mandatory gun buyback program,” Harris said in October 2019, according to NBC News. “It’s got to be smart, we got to do it the right way. But there are 5 million [assault weapons] at least, some estimate as many as 10 million, and we’re going to have to have smart public policy that’s about taking those off the streets, but doing it the right way.” 

In 2024, a Harris spokesperson says she wouldn’t push a mandatory buyback program for assault rifles. 

TRACKING KAMALA HARRIS’ POLICY REVERSALS: A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF KEY ISSUE FLIP-FLOPS

Harris also now contradicts what she stated during a September 2019 CNN Town Hall on fracking. An audience member asked at the time, “From contaminated groundwater to poisonous emissions – will you commit to implementing a federal ban on fracking your first day in office, adding the United States to the list of countries who have banned this devastating practice?”

“There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking, so yes,” Harris said then. “And starting – and starting with what we can do on day one around public lands, right? And then there has to be legislation, but yes – and this is something I’ve taken on in California. I have a history of working on this issue.” 

Kamala Harris has flip-flopped on five main policy issues. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

In 2024, Harris’ campaign says the vice president “does not support a total ban on fracking.” 

Five years ago, Harris called for decriminalizing border crossings and reconfiguring U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

She also raised her hand on the NBC News debate stage on June 27, 2019, when host Jose Diaz-Balart asked, “We had a very spirited debate on this stage last night on the topic of decriminalization of the border. If you’d be so kind, raise your hand if you think it should be a civil offense rather than a crime to cross the border without documentation? Can we keep the hands up so we could see them?” 

Now she calls for “strong border security and an earned pathway to citizenship.” 

Harris said she would eliminate private insurance and institute a single-payer health care program in 2019. She famously changed her “answer” the morning after the June 27, 2019, debated hosted by NBC News, saying she misunderstood the question and favored keeping supplemental private health insurance. She lost support from some progressives after the switch.

Harris and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., had raised their hands when host Lester Holt asked debate participants, “Many people watching at home have health insurance through their employer. Who here would abolish their private health insurance in favor of a government-run plan?”

In 2024, the Harris campaign says she no longer supports a single-payer health insurance program. 

Kamala Harris and running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, on the campaign trail. (RONDA CHURCHILL/AFP via Getty Images)

The Biden administration has not pursued a federal jobs guarantee. However, there were two instances of Harris at the debates in 2019 supporting the Green New Deal, which included a federal jobs guarantee. And in one of the clips, CNN host Dana Bash goes on to note that right after her answer.

“We currently have a president in the White House who obviously does not understand the science. He’s been pushing science fiction instead of science fact. The guy thinks that wind turbines cause cancer, but what in fact they cause is jobs,” Harris said during the July 31, 2019, Democratic Debate hosted by CNN. “And the reality is that I would take any Democrat on this stage over the current President of the United States, who is rolling it back to our collective peril. We must have and adopt a Green New Deal. On day one as president.” 

KAMALA HARRIS PANNED FOR REQUIRING ID TO ENTER ARIZONA RALLY AFTER PREVIOUSLY PAINTING VOTER ID LAWS AS RACIST

Harris, short for time, added she would re-enter the Paris Agreement and aim to be carbon-neutral by 2030. “Thank you, Senator,” Bash interjects. “I want to talk about that with Senator Gillibrand. You’re a co-sponsor of the Green New Deal, which includes the guarantee of a job with medical leave, paid vacations, and retirement security for everyone in America. Explain how that’s realistic.” 

Harris’ advisers privately told Axios this week that she wants to break with Biden’s unpopularity on the economy and rising prices. 

In Raleigh on Friday, she will propose how to tackle lowering costs on health care, housing and food for middle-class consumers, as well as how she’ll “take on corporate price-gouging.”

Harris reportedly wants to present clearer, more urgent solutions on inflation, considered one of the largest domestic policy issues of her campaign. In their first joint trip since Biden discontinued his re-election campaign, he and Harris will make an appearance together in Prince George’s County, Maryland. The event is slated to discuss lowering costs for Americans. 

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at her presidential campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, on July 22, 2024.   (Erin Schaff/Pool via REUTERS)

While campaigning for president in 2019, Harris said she was against fracking, supported decriminalizing illegal border crossings and was in favor of single-payer health care, known as Medicare for All. Now, during her short, three-month window bid for the White House in 2024, she backtracked on all three. 

She also copied Republican presidential nominee and former President Trump’s “no tax on tips” campaign promise after calculating how well it appealed in the swing state of Nevada to a key constituency of working class, largely immigrant service and hospitality employees. 

In her snap campaign for president, Harris plans to capitalize on the fact that most people know little about her to unapologetically change some of her more liberal positions.

She’s aiming to bill herself as the change agent in the race and wants her focus on the cost of groceries to communicate that she better relates to typical households than Trump, according to Axios. 

Gallup polling indicates 80% of U.S. adults are dissatisfied with the direction of the country. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The vice president said at rallies she would make fighting inflation a Day 1 priority if she is elected president in November despite already serving in the White House. This week, the Biden administration did announce an initiative to “Lower Costs for Families and Fight Corporate Rip-Offs.”

A new campaign video also paints Harris as coming from middle-class roots, as the vice president speaks of her job working at McDonald’s while attending Howard University.

Harris’ plan also centers on her record as a prosecutor, as she plans to highlight settlement wins in price-fixing cases as California attorney general, Axios reported. 

Fox News’ Mary Schlageter contributed to this report. 

Lawyers for former President Trump are requesting his sentencing hearing in New York v. Trump be delayed until after the November presidential election, citing “naked election-interference objectives.” 

Trump was found guilty in an unprecedented criminal trial on all counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, following a six-week trial stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation.

Trump has moved to overturn his criminal conviction in the Manhattan case after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a former president has substantial immunity for official acts committed while in office. 

TRUMP’S APPEAL TO LIFT REMAINING PARTS OF NY GAG ORDER DENIED

Judge Juan Merchan, left, former President Trump and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. (Getty Images, AP Images)

His initial sentencing was set for July 11 — just days before the Republican National Convention, where he was set to be formally nominated as the 2024 GOP presidential nominee, but Judge Juan Merchan agreed to delay that until Sept. 18. 

Trump attorney Todd Blanche on Thursday moved to further delay that sentencing hearing. 

“The Court should adjourn any sentencing in this case, though one should not be necessary because dismissal and vacatur of the jury’s verdicts are required based on Presidential immunity, until after the 2024 Presidential election,” Blanche wrote in a letter to Merchan. 

Blanche argued that the case “should be dismissed” and pointed to the fact that Vice President Kamala Harris, in her capacity as the Democratic presidential nominee, and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, in his capacity as the Democratic vice presidential nominee, “wrongly referred to this case in a public speech.” 

Blanche also pointed to Merchan’s daughter’s work at Authentic Campaigns, which represents top Democratic candidates. 

TRUMP TOUTS SUPREME COURT’S PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY RULING AS ‘BIG WIN FOR OUR CONSTITUTION AND FOR DEMOCRACY’

“Sentencing is currently scheduled to occur after the commencement of early voting in the Presidential election,” Blanche wrote. “By adjourning sentencing until after the election — which is of paramount importance to the entire nation, including tens of millions of people who do not share the views of Authentic, its executives, and its clients — the Court would reduce, even if not eliminate, issues regarding the integrity of any future proceedings.” 

Former President Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally in Bozeman, Montana, on Friday. (AP/Rick Bowmer)

Blanche stressed that there is no need “to rush.” 

“Setting aside naked election-interference objectives, there is no valid countervailing reason for the Court to keep the current sentencing date on the calendar,” Blanche wrote. “There is no basis for continuing to rush.” 

NEW YORK V. TRUMP: MERCHAN DELAYS SENTENCING HEARING UNTIL SEPTEMBER

He added, “Accordingly, we respectfully request that any sentencing, if one is needed, be adjourned until after the Presidential election.” 

In his arguments for dismissal, Blanche argued that Bragg offered official acts as evidence during the six-week-long unprecedented criminal trial. Blanche said that included official White House communications with staffers like Hope Hicks, Madeleine Westerhout and others. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. United States that a former president has substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts in office but not for unofficial acts. The high court said Trump is immune from criminal prosecution for “official acts” but left it to the lower court to determine exactly where the line between official and unofficial is.

Former President Trump will take questions from reporters on Thursday at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, the second straight week that the former president has grabbed headlines by holding a news conference.

The move is partially to try and blunt the momentum of Vice President Kamala Harris heading into next week’s Democratic National Convention. Harris has been riding a wave of energy and enthusiasm since replacing President Biden at the top of the Democrats’ 2024 ticket three and a half weeks ago. 

But it also appears to be another move to try and put pressure on Harris for not holding a news conference or a major interview since Biden bowed out and backed his vice president.

“It has been 24 days and Kamala Harris continues to duck and hide from the media – no interviews and no press conferences since she announced,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung emphasized on Wednesday.

VANCE SAYS TRUMP’S ‘OFF THE CUFF’ COMMENTS ‘PART OF HIS APPEAL’

Former President Trump speaks to reporters during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on Aug. 8. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump, at his news conference last week at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, continued to insult Harris’ intelligence, arguing that “she hasn’t done an interview — she can’t do an interview.”

The former president’s 2024 running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, has also been criticizing the Democrats’ standard-bearer for her lack of engagement with the media.

TRUMP CAMPAIGN PLANS COUNTER-PROGRAMMING DURING DEMOCRATS’ CONVENTION

“She doesn’t have any ability to be unscripted,” Vance charged as he answered reporters’ questions following a campaign event in southwestern Michigan. “She sure as hell isn’t giving interviews. She’s not standing before the American people answering questions.”

And he argued that “it is scandalous that Kamala Harris is running from the media. But more importantly, she’s running from the American people. That’s a disgrace.”

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, takes questions from reporters after headlining a Trump campaign event in Byron Center, Michigan, on Wednesday. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Harris, who to date has briefly taken a few questions from the traveling press, has said she will sit for a major interview before the end of the month.

“We will commit to directly engage with the voters that are actually gonna decide this election and that is gonna be complete with rallies, with sit-down interviews, with press conferences, with all the digital assets we have at our disposal,” Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler told CNN on Wednesday.

While Trump took questions for over an hour at last week’s news conference, he used some of his uneven answers to push unproven claims on a bunch of topics, including his repeated yearslong charge that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, and the size of the crowd at his Jan. 6, 2021, rally ahead of the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLL IN THE HARRIS-TRUMP FACE-OFF SHOWS

Hours before Thursday’s news conference, the Harris campaign put out a mock email advisory titled “Donald Trump to Ramble Incoherently and Spread Dangerous Lies in Public, but at Different Home.”

And Harris campaign spokesperson James Singer told Fox News that “Vice President Harris and Governor Walz are talking to voters, laying out a vision of the middle class, and letting Americans know they will fight for their freedoms.”

He argued that “Donald Trump can talk to whoever he wants, but he can’t explain away his toxic Project 2025 agenda, speak in coherent thoughts, or offer anything but insults and higher prices to the middle class.” 

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas on Saturday. (Ronda Churchill/AFP via Getty Images)

While criticizing Harris over key issues such as border security, crime and inflation, Trump in the past couple of weeks has also continuously slammed the vice president and insulted her during speeches, news conferences and in social media posts.

Sources in Trump’s political orbit tell Fox News that top advisers to the former president are quietly aiming to persuade him to tamp down the insults to Harris and the questioning of the vice president’s racial identity and instead focus on branding her an ultra-liberal and spotlighting her stance on the border, crime and inflation

TRUMP ARGUES HARRIS IS MORE LIBERAL THAN BERNIE SANDERS — HERE’S WHAT THE VERMONT SENATOR TOLD FOX NEWS 

Trump allies are also publicly pitching the former president to refocus his attention.

“You’ve got to make this race not on personalities,” former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Monday in an interview on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.” “Stop questioning the size of her crowds and start questioning her position.”

McCarthy emphasized that Trump has “a short time frame to do it, so don’t sit back. Get out there and start making the case.”

During an interview Tuesday with Bret Baier on Fox News’ “Special Report,” former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley — Trump’s top rival from the Republican presidential primaries earlier this year — also had some unsolicited advice for her former boss.

Haley, who reiterated that she wants Trump to win the presidential election, emphasized that “the campaign is not going to win talking about crowd sizes. It’s not going to win talking about what race Kamala Harris is. It’s not going to win talking about whether she’s dumb. It’s not. You can’t win on those things. The American people are smart. Treat them like they’re smart.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Vance, in an interview with Fox News Digital ahead of his campaign event in Michigan, responded to the blunt advice from fellow Republicans.

“I think one of the things people actually love about Donald Trump in politics is he’s not unwilling to speak off the cuff. He says what’s actually on his mind. He’s not always filtered. I think that’s a good thing and part of his appeal,” the GOP vice presidential nominee said.

But Vance also emphasized that “if you look at this race, we’re talking about policy. That’s 90% of what we’re doing. And I think that’s going to keep on happening.”

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

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is attempting to remove from a swing state ballot a Green Party presidential candidate – who, in 2016, received more votes than former President Trump’s margin of victory in the state.

An employee at the DNC filed a complaint against Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s placement on the ballot Wednesday, suggesting that since the Wisconsin Green Party doesn’t hold any statewide offices, Stein wouldn’t be able to be properly nominated as a candidate, according to a statement the DNC shared with Fox News Digital.

“We take the nomination process for President and Vice President very seriously and believe every candidate should follow the rules,” said Adrienne Watson, a senior adviser to the DNC. “Because the Wisconsin Green Party hasn’t fielded candidates for legislative or statewide office and doesn’t have any current incumbent legislative or statewide office holders, it cannot nominate candidates and should not be on the ballot in November.”

Stein’s campaign director pushed back on the complaint, telling Fox that the move is part of “anti-democratic shenanigans.”

SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON ONLY AMERICANS SHOULD DECIDE OUR ELECTIONS. HERE’S HOW CONGRESS CAN GUARANTEE IT

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein waits to speak at a news conference on Fifth Avenue across the street from Trump Tower Dec. 5, 2016, in New York City. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

“This is a fishing expedition conjured up by the DNC, and is in line with their statements back in March that they will hire an army of lawyers and infiltrators to find any angle of attack to prevent Green Party ballot access,” said Jason Call, Stein’s campaign manager. “We absolutely will be hiring counsel to defend our ballot line in Wisconsin.”

Trump won the state of Wisconsin in the 2016 presidential election, defeating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by about 27,000 votes.

BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION USING TAXPAYER MONEY TO MASK MEDICARE PREMIUM HIKES BEFORE ELECTION: CRITICS

Stein, the Green Party candidate in 2016, garnered 30,980 votes in Wisconsin that year – a number that surpassed the margin of Trump’s triumph over Clinton in that state.

Similar results were mirrored in other crucial states won by Trump that cycle.

Former President Trump’s 2016 victory over Hillary Clinton resulted in liberal critics of the Electoral College to grow louder. (Mike Segar/Reuterrs)

Dave Wasserman, senior elections analyst for the Cook Political Report, made a Dec. 1, 2016, post on X, then-Twitter, highlighting Stein’s votes being greater than Trump’s margin of victory in three swing states that play a crucial role in determining presidential elections: Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In Michigan, Trump defeated Clinton by about 10,000 votes. Stein received more than 50,000 votes in the state, once again exceeding his margin of victory.

Stein is expected to be virtually nominated as the Green Party’s nominee at their annual national meeting in August.

We don’t know whether Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Trump will win the White House this fall.

But there are two things we do know:

The 2024 presidential election is likely to be tight. And regardless of the victor, Harris will co-preside over her victory or defeat when the House and Senate convene a joint session of Congress to certify the Electoral College results on Jan. 6, 2025.

She’s required to do so.

The House and Senate will convene a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2025, to certify whether Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Trump won the 2024 presidential election. (Getty Images)

FOX NEWS POLL: CLOSE RACES IN BATTLEGROUND STATES SHOW VOTERS LOCKED IN

The House and Senate are the quadrennial arbiters of the electoral vote on Jan. 6. That’s why the date was so controversial four years ago. It devolved into a riot and emerged as one of the ugliest days in American history. What was usually a sleepy, ceremonial affair on Jan. 6 to tabulate and sign off on the electoral vote emerges forevermore as a major national security event — along the lines of State of the Union. And like it or not, possible controversy over the certification process next Jan. 6 likely gains momentum by the fact that Harris is the presumptive Democratic nominee and will be on the dais for her defeat or victory.

This scenario is just another radiating political isotope, augmenting our already unsteady political climate. It doesn’t help matters that Jan. 6, 2025, will be the first time Congress has met to certify the Electoral College since the mayhem of almost four years ago. That’s augmented by the fact that Trump stands to either officially win or lose on that day, too.

The vice president presides over joint sessions of Congress alongside the speaker of the House. Under the Constitution, the vice president also serves as president of the Senate — the only leader mentioned in the Constitution when it comes to the Senate. Joint sessions of Congress are special parliamentary events. Congress only convenes in such a conclave for the president’s State of the Union address and to certify the Electoral College results. 

Vice presidents sometimes duck joint meetings of Congress (note the slight difference). They look the same, but aren’t. Both bodies of Congress assemble in the House chamber for a joint meeting. Those circumstances are reserved for lawmakers to receive a foreign dignitary. Notably, Harris did not preside over a joint meeting of Congress for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month.

However, the speaker of the House always presides as the lead figure of that body — and the constitutional officer of the legislative branch of government.

LEGAL EXPERTS SAY BIDEN ADMIN’S LEGAL THEORY IN JAN 6 PROSECUTION ‘ON THE ROPES’ AFTER SUPREME COURT ARGUMENT

Protesters loyal to President Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

We don’t know who will appear alongside Harris on the dais for the Electoral College certification next year. That hinges on which party wins the House. Under the Constitution, the new Congress starts Jan. 3 at noon and must first elect a speaker. It will likely either be House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., if Republicans retain control, or if Democrats flip the House, expect them to tap House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

The certification of the electoral vote falls on Jan. 6 by design. That gives the new Congress a few days to prepare after it begins on Jan. 3. Moreover, Congress is tasked with certifying the election on Jan. 6 so that there’s ample time to prepare for the inauguration of the president on Jan. 20.

It’s not unheard of for a vice president with skin in the game to preside over the Electoral College certification joint session of Congress. Vice President Richard Nixon presided over his own re-election alongside President Dwight Eisenhower in the January 1957 joint session. Nixon was also vice president for the January 1961 session, watching himself lose to President John F. Kennedy. Vice President Hubert Humphrey was the Democratic nominee in 1968, so he co-presided over the joint session in January 1969 when Nixon finally ascended to the presidency.

SUPREME COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF JAN. 6 CAPITOL RIOT PARTICIPANT WHO CHALLENGED OBSTRUCTION CONVICTION

Speaking of Minnesota, Vice President Walter Mondale chaired the loss of President Jimmy Carter and himself to President Ronald Reagan in the 1981 joint session. Future President George H.W. Bush was on hand for the re-election of Reagan and himself in January 1985. As vice president, Bush then officiated over his own victory as president in January 1989. However, things were not as pleasant for former Vice President Dan Quayle four years later. Quayle co-moderated the loss by Bush and himself to President Bill Clinton in the January 1993 joint session.

Vice President Al Gore was on the dais for the re-election of Clinton and himself in January 1997. But Gore found himself in a particularly awkward spot on the dais four years later. Gore presided over his own defeat in 2001 to President George W. Bush, after the election of 2000, one of the most controversial in U.S. history. During the joint session, a parade of members of the Congressional Black Caucus tried to contest the slate of electoral votes from Florida — which Gore famously lost. However, none of the House members had a Senate co-sponsor to challenge the Florida vote.

Joe Biden presided over the Electoral College certification for President Barack Obama’s re-election in January 2013. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., was one of those pushing for debate on Florida’s electoral voters. Gore asked Waters if she had a Senate petitioner.

Waters replied that she didn’t and that she “did not care.”

Gore famously cut off Waters with a magnanimous line which drew applause.

“The rules do care,” observed Gore.

Vice President Dick Cheney was there for the re-election of Bush 43 and himself in January 2005. However, there was a bona fide challenge to the Ohio slate of electors by Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio.

Biden presided for President Barack Obama’s re-election in January 2013. That also returned Biden to the vice presidency. And Biden helped oversee things in January 2017 when Trump prevailed.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

And of course, we all now know the efforts employed by Trump loyalists to pressure former Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6, 2021.

Things will be a little different in January 2025. In late 2022, Congress adopted major changes to the archaic, 19th-century Electoral Count Act, which governed the electoral certification process. Among the biggest changes: a clarification that the role of the vice president is only ceremonial. Lawmakers wanted to make it clear that the vice president lacked power to accept or reject certain slates of electors. Moreover, the new law made it harder for lawmakers to challenge a state’s electoral slate. Before, it just required a sole House member and sole senator to join a petition. The current statute raises the bar to one-fifth of each chamber to contest a state’s electoral ballots.

So — win or lose — Harris doesn’t have much of a role other than to show up.

But just her presence on the ballot as the Democratic standard-bearer, presiding over her own election or loss, intensifies the nature of that proceeding. Especially after what we witnessed four years ago.

Former President Trump will have bulletproof glass surrounding his podium for outdoor events going forward, a federal law enforcement source briefed on the planning told Fox News. 

Indoor events, meanwhile, will not involve the same level of protection, the source confirmed. 

The additional level of protection comes after an assassination attempt on the former president during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last month. 

FILE: Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The president was addressing the open-air crowd, just minutes into his speech, when a gunman fired at him from the rooftop of a nearby building. 

Trump managed to just barely turn his head and duck beneath the podium. A Secret Service member killed the gunman just seconds after he opened fire. 

Trump was struck in the ear but avoided serious injury. One spectator in the audience was killed and two others were injured. 

VANCE SAYS MEDIA ACTED LIKE BIDEN WAS ‘EINSTEIN,’ AIM TO MAKE HARRIS INTO ‘SECOND COMING OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN’

The security failure has brought heavy scrutiny on the Secret Service, which had been responsible for coordinating with local law enforcement. 

The fury over the security lapse mounted after it was revealed that law enforcement had identified the gunman – later identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks – as suspicious an hour before the rally began, but lost track of him. 

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump reacts as multiple shots rang out during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, July 13, 2024.  (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)

Crooks was able to scale the roof of a building owned by AGR International Inc., a supplier of automation equipment for the glass and plastic packaging industry, and fire an estimated eight shots with an AR-15-style rifle. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Crooks was able to scale the roof of a building owned by AGR International Inc., a supplier of automation equipment for the glass and plastic packaging industry, and fire an estimated eight shots with an AR-15 style rifle. 

Former President Trump held yet another hours-long press conference Thursday — his second this month — in an effort to draw a stark contrast between his candidacy, policies and campaign versus his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been dodging the media since becoming the Democratic presidential nominee. 

Trump held a press conference Thursday at his Bedminster, New Jersey property. The former president and Republican presidential nominee stood at the podium with groceries on display, and delivered remarks focused on the rising costs under the Biden-Harris administration. 

“Harris has just declared that tackling inflation will be a ‘Day One priority’ for her,” Trump said Thursday. “But Day One for Kamala was three and a half years ago.” 

TRUMP ARGUES HARRIS IS MORE LIBERAL THAN BERNIE SANDERS — HERE’S WHAT THE VERMONT SENATOR TOLD FOX NEWS 

“Where has she been and why hasn’t she done it? Why hasn’t she done it?” 

Harris has been the Democratic presumptive presidential nominee for 25 days and has not held a press conference or a sit-down interview with the media. 

Trump said Harris’ campaign is “hiding” her, in a similar way he said the Biden campaign was “hiding” him. 

“They’re hiding her no different than him, because I believe she’s grossly incompetent,” Trump said. “And I don’t think that when people hear what she has to say, they’re going to buy it.” 

Sources in Trump’s political orbit tell Fox News that top advisers to the former president are quietly aiming to persuade him to tamp down the insults to Harris and the questioning of the vice president’s racial identity and instead focus on branding her an ultra-liberal and spotlighting her stance on the border, crime and inflation. 

But Trump, during the press conference Thursday, was asked about the “personal attacks” against Harris. 

“Because of what she’s done to the country, I’m very angry at her – that she had weaponized the justice system against me and other people. Very angry at her,” Trump said. “I think I’m entitled to personal attacks.” 

Trump added: “I don’t have a lot of respect for her. I don’t have a lot of respect for her intelligence. And I think she’d be a terrible president.” 

“I think it’s very important that we win,” he continued. “And whether the personal attacks are good or bad, I mean, she certainly attacks me personally.” 

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – AUGUST 03: Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump takes the stage with his Republican vice presidential running mate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), during a campaign rally at the Georgia State University Convocation Center on August 03, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia. Polls currently show a close race between Trump and Democratic presidential candidate, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.  (Joe Raedle / Staff)

Trump said Harris “actually called me weird… And she called JD and I weird. He’s not weird. He was a great student at Yale. He went to Ohio State, graduated in two years at the top of his class, and all of these different things.”

Trump pointed to Harris’ running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, saying he is “a weird guy” and Harris is “weird in her policy.” 

“Who wouldn’t want to have strong borders?” Trump said. “Who doesn’t want to have lower taxes?” 

TRUMP CAMPAIGN PLANS COUNTER-PROGRAMMING DURING DEMOCRATS’ CONVENTION

“You know, all my life I’ve watched as politicians campaigned and I’ve always been on, you know, for the most part on the other side, on the side that these people are on and they always talked about, we’re going to reduce taxes — this is the only campaign I’ve ever heard where they’re saying, we’re going to increase your taxes,” Trump continued.

Trump stressed that the voters “don’t know who she is.” 

“She is a radical left socialist,” Trump said. “But beyond that, I mean, she’s way beyond socialism, who’s going to destroy our country and when they find out, I think you’re going to see something.”

Trump defended his attacks against Harris. 

“I just want to win for the country. Some people say, oh, why don’t you be nice? But they’re not nice to me,” he said. 
They want to put me in prison. You know, just so you understand. You know, they tell me I should be nice. They want to put me in prison. It’s never happened before in the history of our country. I did nothing wrong.” 

Trump was referring to his legal challenges–many cases have been thrown out or delayed. 

As for his campaign, Trump said he wished he didn’t have to run. 

“If our country were run by Democrats and it was run beautifully, where we were really being productive and everything else, I would have never done this,” Trump said. “I wouldn’t have done it if I thought I couldn’t have won. I think I can win, I think I can win easily once they’re exposed for what they are, which is, you know, radical left lunatics. And that’s what they are.” 

Trump said Harris is “going to ruin our country.” 

“And I just hope the people of our country, and I believe they are, because I see it already happening,” Trump said. “But I hope they are able to think for themselves, because if they think for themselves, if they look at the destruction that’s going to be caused by Kamala and this, this person from out of nowhere, he came out of nowhere, a state that I love that state, but a state that’s doing so poorly where he’s the one that signed to put tampons in boys bathrooms…signed a bill that boys bathrooms, all boys bathrooms in Minnesota will have tampons and what’s going on?” 

“What’s wrong with us? What’s wrong with us as a country?” Trump said. “So no, if we had somebody doing a phenomenal job, I would be extremely happy.” 

Trump said that even while he campaigns and hopes to win in November, what he wants is the country to do “really well” in the final months of Biden’s term, even though he said it “would make it probably a little bit harder to win.” 

“I hope the country does really well. It’s country first. I want our country to do great,” Trump said. “If they were great leaders, I would be the first to say they’re doing a fantastic job.”

BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA – JULY 13: Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania. Butler County district attorney Richard Goldinger said the shooter is dead after injuring former U.S. President Donald Trump, killing one audience member and injuring another in the shooting. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Trump was asked why he felt God saved his life on July 13 after the assassination attempt at his Butler, Pa. rally. 

“That was a miracle,” Trump said. “God has something to do with it. It’s a miracle and God has something to do with it.” 

“Maybe it’s–we want to save the world,” he continued. “This world is going down.” 

Hours before Thursday’s news conference, the Harris campaign put out a mock email advisory titled “Donald Trump to Ramble Incoherently and Spread Dangerous Lies in Public, but at Different Home.”

US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (L) and Minnesota Governor and Democratics vice presidential candidate Tim Walz were slammed on social media for sharing a “cringe” video of themselves interviewing each other.  (RONDA CHURCHILL/AFP via Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

And Harris campaign spokesperson James Singer told Fox News that “Vice President Harris and Governor Walz are talking to voters, laying out a vision of the middle class, and letting Americans know they will fight for their freedoms.”

He argued that “Donald Trump can talk to whoever he wants, but he can’t explain away his toxic Project 2025 agenda, speak in coherent thoughts, or offer anything but insults and higher prices to the middle class.” 

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

Here’s what’s happening…

– Vance and Walz to debate October 1st 

– RFK Jr. reportedly seeks out Harris cabinet position in exchange for dropping out

– Google confirms Iran targeted the Trump & Harris campaigns…

Singing a Different Tune

Vice President Harris is doing an about-face on several far-left policies as she distances herself from President Biden and attempts to make a name of her own as the Democratic presidential nominee. 

In her first policy speech in North Carolina later this week and then next week at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Harris plans to present to Americans who she is and how she will govern essentially for the first time since Biden backed out of the race and endorsed her presidential campaign. 

In recent weeks, Harris has shifted on at least five major policy stances: mandatory assault rifle buybacks, fracking, immigration, health care and a federal jobs guarantee. 

While campaigning for president in 2019, she endorsed a mandatory buyback program for assault rifles. 

“We have to have a buyback program, and I support a mandatory gun buyback program,” Harris said in October 2019, according to NBC News. “It’s got to be smart, we got to do it the right way. But there are 5 million [assault weapons] at least, some estimate as many as 10 million, and we’re going to have to have smart public policy that’s about taking those off the streets, but doing it the right way.” 

In 2024, a Harris spokesperson says she wouldn’t push a mandatory buyback program for assault rifles. …Read more

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak at a campaign rally, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson) (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

White House

NO ‘GENIUS’ NEEDED: Retired NYPD Lt. exposes how Biden-Harris administration cooked the books on crime record …Read more

LATE ENTRY: DOJ finds 11th-hour Biden transcripts: watchdog …Read more

STAY THE COURSE: Biden says Harris ‘not going to’ distance herself from his economic policies …Read more

Capitol Hill

NO ‘MAGIC WAND’: Unearthed video shows longtime Dem rebuked student loan forgiveness before flip-flopping …Read more

POINT SCORING: Tense US, China standoff over Olympic drug testing hits House GOP …Read more

DISGRACED AND REPLACED: NJ Gov Phil Murphy has a pick ready to fill disgraced Sen. Menendez’s seat …Read more

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 16: U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) speaks to the media as he exits Manhattan federal court on July 16, 2024 in New York City. Menendez and his wife Nadine are accused of taking bribes of gold bars, a luxury car, and cash in exchange for using Menendez’s position to help the government of Egypt and other corrupt acts according to an indictment from the Southern District of New York. The jury found Menendez guilty on all counts.  (Adam Gray/Getty Images)

Tales from the Trail

‘DUCK AND HIDE’: Trump flips script on Harris with second press conference in a week as pressure mounts to face media …Read more

‘WE DON’T BELIEVE IT’: Vance accuses media of painting Harris as ‘second coming of Abraham Lincoln’ …Read more

STAGE IS SET: Vance agrees to debate Walz on Oct. 1 in NYC …Read more

‘COMPLETELY SCRIPTED’: Harris, Walz ripped for interviewing each other before doing media interviews …Read more

US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (L) and Minnesota Governor and Democratics vice presidential candidate Tim Walz were slammed on social media for sharing a “cringe” video of themselves interviewing each other.  (RONDA CHURCHILL/AFP via Getty Images)

25 DAYS AND COUNTING: Harris camp still silent on when VP will hold formal press conference …Read more

QUID PRO QUO: RFK Jr. reportedly asked Harris for Cabinet position in exchange for dropping out …Read more

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during the Freedom Fest at the Caesars Forum Conference Center in Las Vegas. ( (Daniel Jacobi II/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images))

‘BEYOND CONTROL’: Trump says under Biden-Harris admin US has ‘new category’ of crime …Read more

STAMP OF APPROVAL: More Americans are liking both Harris, Trump: poll …Read more

‘PLAYING POLITICS’: Harris campaign ‘playing politics’ by announcing her stance on key issues: strategist …Read more

Antisemitism Exposed

‘SO UNIMAGINABLE’: Federal judge rules against UCLA in lawsuit over ‘Jew Exclusion Zone’ …Read more

POLICE CLASH: Anti-Israel protesters clash with law enforcement, unleash smoke bombs following Harris rally …Read more

Protesters unleashed smoke bombs outside the Kamala Harris rally in Harlem, New York.  (Freedom TV)

Across America

‘NOT MY GOVERNOR’: Minnesota small business owner rips Harris VP pick’s ‘radical’ policies dealing with this key issue …Read more

HOSTILE INTERFERENCE: Google report confirms Iranian hackers targeted Trump, Harris campaigns …Read more

‘PREGNANT PERSONS’: Ohio Sen Sherrod Brown scrubbed ‘women’ from bill on pregnancy …Read more

Sherrod Brown scrubbed the word “women” from a bill relating to enrollment periods for pregnant women. (Getty Images)

‘QUESTIONABLE’: Climate Judiciary Project accused of ‘corruptly influencing courts’ through judge training program …Read more

‘NAKED ELECTION-INTERFERENCE’: Trump legal team calls for sentencing in Bragg case to be delayed until after election …Read more

Subscribe now to get the Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

FIRST ON FOX: A group of leading bipartisan senators conducting oversight of homeland security and governmental matters are demanding answers from FBI Director Christopher Wray and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas after an alleged Iranian agent was charged by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for orchestrating a scheme to assassinate a politician or U.S. official — potentially former President Trump. 

Pakistani national Asif Merchant was charged with seeking to carry out a murder-for-hire, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York’s office said earlier this month. 

“This dangerous murder-for-hire plot exposed in today’s charges allegedly was orchestrated by a Pakistani national with close ties to Iran and is straight out of the Iranian playbook,” Wray said in the press release. “A foreign-directed plot to kill a public official, or any U.S. citizen, is a threat to our national security and will be met with the full might and resources of the FBI.”   

‘PREGNANT PERSONS’: OHIO SEN SHERROD BROWN SCRUBBED ‘WOMEN’ FROM BILL ON PREGNANCY

Top bipartisan senators are demanding answers from Director Wray and Secretary Mayorkas on an alleged Iranian agent who sought to arrange a murder for hire plot potentially against Trump.  (Getty Images/ Department of Justice)

In a joint letter to Wray and Mayorkas on Wednesday, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., Ranking Member Rand Paul, R-Ky., Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Ranking Member Ron Johnson, R-Wis., noted that the court documents detailed Merchant had been “orchestrating his assassination plot since at least April 2024 when he ‘flew from Pakistan to Istanbul and then on to Houston, Texas on or about April 13, 2024, to recruit individuals to carry out his plot to assassinate U.S. government officials.” 

The senators pointed to a Fox News Digital report citing multiple federal law enforcement sources briefed on the investigation, who claimed that the FBI was watching Merchant before he entered the U.S. According to those sources, the bureau needed him to enter the country in order to cement their case and arrest him. 

‘PATH TO JUSTICE’: DURBIN URGES AUSTIN TO RETHINK REVOKING 9/11 MASTERMINDS’ PLEA DEALS

Arresting Merchant at Customs would not have allowed agents to get the evidence necessary regarding the plot, per the sources. 

“In light of this new information and to understand the extent of FBI’s and DHS’s awareness of Merchant and his plot, including the justification to allow him to enter the U.S.,” Peters, Paul, Blumenthal, and Johnson asked that the FBI and DHS leaders provide answers on when and how the Pakistani national became known to the FBI, what the bureau knew at that time, and if they shared the information with Secret Service. 

The lawmakers further asked the entities for information on whether the FBI sponsored Significant Public Benefit Parole (SPBP) for Merchant for “security interests.” The suspect was allegedly allowed entry through SPBP, which grants non-citizens entry to the U.S. on a temporary basis. 

KAMALA HARRIS LED DEMS IN 2018 CALL TO REJECT MORE FUNDING FOR BORDER PATROL, ICE

Asif Merchant, 46, is accused of trying to kill a political figure in the United States. He was let into the United States via immigration parole, federal law enforcement sources told Fox News.  (Justice Department)

They additionally questioned Mayorkas and Wray on the information provided to DHS by the FBI prior to the decision to allow Merchant into the country. “Did FBI inform DHS about Merchant’s assassination plot? When and how did DHS officials become aware of Merchant?” the senators questioned. 

In their correspondence, the senators noted that a request made last month is still outstanding for “documents and information from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), including any intelligence regarding a series of enumerated threats known or being investigated in advance of the July 13, 2024 rally,” where Trump survived an assassination attempt.

The initial request on July 24 came in response to an attempted assassination against Trump at an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The shooting wounded the former president’s ear, leaving him bloodied, and killed one spectator as well as critically injuring two others.

GOOGLE EXECS PRESSED TO TESTIFY AFTER ADMITTING TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT SEARCH OMISSIONS WERE BY DESIGN

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump was rushed offstage during a rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“Please explain what, if any, steps federal law enforcement has taken to investigate any connection between Merchant’s assassination plot and the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump,” the lawmakers requested in the latest letter. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The FBI confirmed receipt of the letter to Fox News Digital, but declined to comment. 

DHS did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication. 

Fox News’ Louis Casiano, Bill Melugin, David Spunt and Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.