NationalWatch

Communities across rural Michigan that could play a pivotal role in determining the next president have not shown much visible enthusiasm just three months before voters head to the polls.

“I’m actually seeing a lot less campaign signs and advertisements,” Brandy Jones, a Michigan resident, said in a Los Angeles Times report discussing the seemingly “invisible” campaigns. “Usually this time during an election year, we’re being bombarded with it, and I’d be over it and irritated. This year it’s just nothing.”

According to the report, large stretches of rural roads and small towns in Michigan show little sign that a presidential election is around the corner, lacking the usual indicators of enthusiasm such as campaign signs, flags bearing the name of candidates or campaign advertising.

TRUMP RUNNING MATE JD VANCE TO TAIL HARRIS ON TRAIL THIS WEEK

Vice President Harris and former President Trump (Getty Images)

One Los Angeles Times reporter “who drove hundreds of miles across a broad swath of the state” reported seeing only 16 presidential campaign signs across mostly rural streets and country roads. Experts in the state told the outlet that the lack of visible campaign enthusiasm is much different in the state than it was in the lead-up to the 2016 and 2020 elections, where the same areas were filled with pro-Trump yard signs and flags.

“I am beginning to see just a few here and there in the last couple weeks, but it has been noticeably different than 2016 or 2020,” Thomas Ivacko, the retired executive director of the University of Michigan’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, told the Los Angeles Times.

In one 42-mile stretch of back roads in Ingham and Livingston counties, located east of Lansing, only one flag supporting former President Trump and no flags bearing the names of President Biden or Vice President Harris were visible.

One local, who said she plans to vote for Trump, told the outlet the election is “just not as big this time around.”

“People know who they’re voting for, and they are sick of the games,” the local, Joan Saunders, told the Los Angeles Times.

HARRIS LAPS TRUMP IN CASH DASH THANKS TO FUNDRAISING SURGE

But the Trump campaign remains confident in the enthusiasm of the voters it will likely need to win the election, pointing to a growing operation in Michigan that has resulted in multiple new offices spread across the state and thousands of volunteers stepping up to help the former president.

In Michigan and other key swing states, the campaign hopes to have over 100,000 volunteers and attorneys, a small army of supporters that could only be made possible by voter enthusiasm.

More than 12,000 people piled into Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 20, 2024, to see former President Trump and vice presidential nominee JD Vance at their first joint rally. (Fox News Digital/Brandon Gillespie)

The campaign is also banking on running against the current administration’s record, a message it believes will resonate with voters in Michigan.

“Dangerously liberal Kamala Harris is responsible for every struggle Michiganders have faced over the last three and a half years,” Team Trump Michigan Communications Director Victoria LaCivita told Fox News Digital. “Her policies led to skyrocketing inflation, inability to afford gas and groceries, violent crime at the hands of illegal immigrants, and a California-elitist obsession with electric vehicles.” 

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

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Both campaigns will likely continue to spend significant time pitching their case and mobilizing supporters in the state, which figures to once again feature a close race that could ultimately decide who wins the election.

Trump rode a wave of enthusiasm to break the famed “Blue Wall” and take Michigan by less than a half of a percentage point in 2016, the first time the state had voted for a Republican candidate since 1988. But Trump would lose the state four years later to Biden in another close race, besting Trump by just under three percentage points.

Thousands line the streets of Grand Rapids, Michigan, on July 20, 2024, to attend former President Trump’s first rally since the failed assassination attempt against him. (Fox News Digital/Brandon Gillespie)

This year’s race promises to be close again with the Real Clear Politics polling average showing Harris with a two-point lead as of Monday.

But LaCivita remains optimistic, arguing that Michiganders will push back against the Biden administration’s record.

“Nothing has been worse for Michiganders than the Biden-Harris agenda, which is why voters are going to overwhelmingly support Donald J. Trump in November,” LaCivita said.

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

Former anti-Trump Republicans, or “Never Trumpers,” are now supporting Vice President Kamala Harris, who is aiming to reposition herself as a moderate while moving away from her past progressive positions.

The campaign officially launched as Republicans for Harris on Sunday with several former lawmakers on board, including former Trump White House officials Stephanie Grisham and Olivia Troye.

While the Trump campaign has focused on highlighting Harris’ progressive background during her tenure as the California attorney general, Harris’ campaign is now shifting gears to frame her more moderately while distancing itself from positions she once championed, all while painting former President Trump as “extreme.”

When reached for comment, a Trump campaign spokesperson said Trump “is building the largest, most diverse political movement in history because his winning message of putting America first again resonates with Americans of all backgrounds.”

“Kamala Harris is weak, failed and dangerously liberal, and a vote for her is a vote for higher taxes and inflation, open borders and more war,” the Trump campaign told Fox News Digital.

THE MEDIA’S SUDDEN REJECTION OF KAMALA HARRIS’ ‘BORDER CZAR’ LABEL 

Rogan warned that people are so brainwashed that they will elect Harris to the presidency in November. (Getty Images)

In a campaign press release, national director of Republican outreach, Austin Weatherford, described Trump as “toxic” to “Republicans who no longer believe the party of Donald Trump represents their values and will vote against him again in November.”

“Donald Trump said he doesn’t want these voters, but Vice President Harris and our campaign are working overtime to earn the support of my fellow Republicans who care about defending democracy and restoring decency — all of which would be torn away in a second Trump presidency,” Weatherford said.

Other figures ditching the Republican campaigning for Harris’ include former Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld — who previously challenged Trump in the 2020 primary, former Reps. Adam Kinzinger, Jim Greenwood, Claudine Schneider, Tom Coleman Denver Riggleman and Joe Walsh, another previous Trump challenger. 

“Serving as his chief spokesperson and one of the longest-serving members of his team, I saw firsthand the lengths Trump was willing to go to stay in power as he did on January 6th, and the lies he so easily told Americans for the length of the Administration. I might not agree with Vice President Kamala Harris on everything, but I know that she will fight for our freedom, protect our democracy, and represent America with honor and dignity on the world stage,” Grisham, Trump’s former White House press secretary, said in a statement.

HARRIS’ SHIFT FROM TOUGH-ON-CRIME PROSECUTOR TO SOCIAL JUSTICE ADVOCATE FACES SCRUTINY FROM CONSERVATIVE GROUP

Vice President Kamala Harris was tasked early on in the Biden administration with addressing the root causes of mass migration from Central and South America.  (Kevin Mohatt/Reuters)

“I was a proud Republican, but Donald Trump is unfit to lead our nation,” Whitman also said in a statement. 

Former GOP Washington state chair and state Sen. Chris Vance, Reed Howard of Young Republicans for Harris, and former RNC delegate Rina Shah are also among Harris’ supporters.

To garner attention during her primary run for president in 2019, Harris catered to the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. 

She discontinued that campaign in December that year, and just months later, in the summer of 2020, aligned more with the new radical ideals pushed by Democrats following George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis and the Black Lives Matter anti-police protests and riots that rocked the U.S. afterward. 

In resurfaced clips that began airing in ads by Republican David McCormick’s campaign for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, Harris is seen on camera opposing fracking, stating she would “think about” abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), describing hiring more police officers as “wrongheaded thinking” and weighing the proposal of permitting felons to vote. Harris is also seen saying she was in favor of a “mandatory buyback program” for guns and said private health insurance should be eliminated, according to a summary of the ads’ content by the New York Times. 

ABORTION, ‘FREE’ EDUCATION AMONG TOP ISSUES FOR HARRIS VOTERS

VP Harris drew a large crowd Tuesday afternoon in West Allis, Wisconsin, at a rally as she takes over the helm in the Democrat party.  (Fox News Digital)

On fracking, which is particularly important to the economy in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state during the 2024 race, the Harris campaign reversed course on Friday. An official with Harris’ re-election campaign told The Hill that she will not seek to ban fracking if she is elected president. 

That contrasts with what Harris told CNN while campaigning for the 2020 presidential nomination. 

“There’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking,” Harris said at the time.

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A Harris campaign official told the Times that Harris staffers plan to paint Republicans who drudge up Harris’ past statements espousing left-wing ideas as exaggerated claims or lies about Harris’ record. The campaign also plans to paint Harris as a candidate with deep ties to law enforcement by highlighting her record as a local prosecutor and state attorney general in California, according to the newspaper. 

Harris is facing one of the most crucial weeks in her two-week presidential campaign thus far, as she is expected to pick her running mate by Tuesday. Harris and her VP nominee will then travel across several battleground states to court voters as the latest national and key battleground state polls are now showing a margin-of-error race between Harris — who replaced Biden on the 2024 ticket after increasing internal pressure in the Democratic Party — and the former president.

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report. 

EXCLUSIVE: Nearly 100 illegal immigrants on the terror watch list have been released into the United States during the Biden administration, while Border Patrol agents have encountered migrants on the watch list from dozens of different countries, a new House report is revealing.

“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, of the more than 250 illegal aliens on the terrorist watchlist who were encountered by Border Patrol at the southwest border between fiscal years 2021 and 2023, DHS has released into American communities at least 99, with at least 34 others in DHS custody but not yet removed from the United States,” the report by Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, a copy of which was first obtained by Fox News Digital, says.

The staff interim report also found that immigration judges granted bond to at least 27 migrants on the watchlist who entered illegally, and that Border Patrol has encountered tens of thousands of migrants from countries that could present national security risks – including 2,134 Afghan nationals, 33,347 Chinese nationals, 541 Iranian nationals, 520 Syrian nationals, and 3,104 Uzbek nationals.

BIDEN DHS REVEALS 50 MIGRANTS STILL AT LARGE AS ISIS-AFFILIATED SMUGGLING NETWORK BRINGS HUNDREDS TO US

The report was written by Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, which is chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan. (Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“That does not include the untold numbers of potential terrorists that evaded Border Patrol to enter the United States as part of nearly 2 million ‘gotaways’ since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration,” the report says.

The report, citing information provided to committee staff in June, also found that Border Patrol had encountered migrants on the terror watchlist from 36 different countries — including places with active terror presences. Those countries include Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Tajikistan and Yemen.

AUTHORITIES NAB 8 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS WITH TIES TO ISIS IN MULTI-CITY STING OPERATION

The Terrorist Screening Dataset (TSDS) contains sensitive information on terrorist identities. It initially contained only known or suspected terrorists (KSTs) but now also includes additional individuals who represent a “potential threat to the United States, including known affiliates of watchlisted individuals.”

The concern about potential terrorists has grown amid the ongoing crisis at the southern border, where record numbers of migrants have been encountered since the Biden administration took office in 2021. The number of encounters on the watchlist has grown significantly as well, with the committee report finding a more than 3,000% increase of encounters.

SAN DIEGO, CA – JUNE 13: Migrants are processed by the U.S. Border Patrol near the Jacumba Hot Springs after crossing the US-Mexico border on June 13, 2024 in San Diego, California.  (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)

The Biden administration has accused Republicans of not providing enough funding and reforms to a “broken” system, while Republicans have put the crisis down to the rolling back of Trump-era policies by the Democratic administration.

But officials have warned about the risk that terrorists may seek to enter in through the southern border. That was on display when DHS identified over 400 individuals brought to the U.S. from Eastern European and Central Asian countries by an ISIS-affiliated smuggling network in the past several months.

ICE SOUNDS ALARM ON WHAT MIGRANTS ARE FAILING TO BRING TO BORDER AS FEARS MOUNT AFTER ISIS ARRESTS

That came after eight Tajikistan nationals with ties to ISIS were busted by federal authorities in New York City, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. All eight came in via the southern border illegally, but no derogatory information was flagged during processing, sources told Fox.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

The Judiciary Committee report revealed that of those eight Tajikistan nationals, three were released after using the CBP One phone application to schedule an appointment and four were encountered by Border Patrol.

“Although American communities already feel the disastrous effects of the Biden-Harris Administration’s immigration policies, the worst could still be yet to come,” the staff interim report alleges. 

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“With national security experts and immigration officials increasingly concerned about the threat of terrorism originating from the border, it is clear that policymakers must take all necessary steps to secure the border and stop the flow of illegal aliens. However, the Biden-Harris Administration has refused to address the national security nightmare created by its radical, open-borders agenda,” it said.

Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

Vice President Kamala Harris is placing her experience as a “top cop” front and center as she looks to “prosecute” her GOP opponent and press her case for why she should win the presidency in November – but the legal career she’s leaning on is “devoid” of achievement, critics say, and she owes much of her success to networking.

Her nearly three-decade rise up the ranks has included numerous bumps along the way – including failing her bar exam on the first try in 1989.

Civil rights attorney Leo Terrell, who passed the California bar the same year on his first try, described Harris as a “political opportunist” who was in “the right position, the right place” at the right time. By making calculated moves, she was able to leap from district attorney to attorney general to senator to vice president – and perhaps beyond.

“Networking,” Terrell said, is what catapulted Harris’ career. “Let’s face it, she got to her position not on academic achievement. She got to her position as San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general, U.S. senator and vice president, because of networking.”

THE MEDIA’S SUDDEN REJECTION OF KAMALA HARRIS’ ‘BORDER CZAR’ LABEL 

Vice President Kamala Harris’ rise up the ranks has included numerous bumps along the way – including failing her bar exam on the first try in 1989. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Terrell added that the guidance of former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, who has openly discussed his extramarital relationship with Harris during the 1990s, also aided Harris’ political rise. 

“She has no outstanding achievement as a lawyer, as a trial lawyer, her record is devoid,” Terrell said. “… From my perspective, listening to her speak, listening to her approach to matters of public concerns… I don’t think she’s an academic heavyweight. I just don’t see what’s propelling her to this current political status. It’s pure networking and politics and being in the right place, at the right time.”

Harris has leaned on her experience as the Golden State’s “top cop” after announcing her candidacy for president in the aftermath of President Biden dropping out of the race.

“As a tough prosecutor, Kamala Harris dealt with men like Trump all the time: Rapists, con men, frauds, criminals – she’s used to guys like Trump, used to putting them in their place,” a narrator for a pro-Harris ad released this week states. 

Following Biden’s exit from the race, Democrats have begun to push the narrative that the election is now pitting a “Prosecutor vs. the Felon,” referring to former President Trump, who was found guilty in a New York criminal case earlier this year. 

“The contrast in this race could not be clearer – a prosecutor versus a convicted felon. A champion for American’s fundamental freedoms versus a man who has tried to rip them away at every turn. Let’s get to work,” Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., wrote on X. 

OBAMA’S INNER CIRCLE SIGNALS 44TH PRESIDENT FIRMLY BEHIND HARRIS DESPITE NOT SAYING SO PUBLICLY

“November 5: the Prosecutor vs. the Felon,” Rep. Daniel Goldman, D-N.Y., also chimed in. 

Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett testifies during the third day of her confirmation hearings on Capitol Hill, Oct. 14, 2020. (Anna Moneymaker/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

Harris, who will turn 60 in October, spent 27 years in the legal world, which kicked off with her failing the bar exam.

Harris’ failure made national news in 2020, when she was running on the Biden ticket for the White House while simultaneously juggling her Senate duties, most notably serving on the Senate Judiciary Committee. In that capacity, Harris questioned Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, who was selected by Trump to fill the seat of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

“Republicans are scrambling to confirm this nominee as fast as possible because they need one more Trump judge on the bench before Nov. 10 to win and strike down the entire Affordable Care Act,” said Harris during the nomination hearing. “This is not hyperbole. This is not a hypothetical.”

Harris’ questions and exchanges with Coney Barrett were not nearly as fiery as her demeanor during previous hearings, including the battle surrounding Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination in 2018. As the 2020 election cycle loomed over the hearings, social media commenters pointed out that the then-vice presidential nominee had failed her bar exam, while Coney Barrett finished first in her class while attending Notre Dame Law School. 

“Kamala Harris failed the bar 1st time. Amy Coney Barrett 1st in her class,” one social media post at the time read. “I rest.”

The social media comments spurred outlets such as USA Today to publish fact checks that revealed Harris did in fact fail the bar exam on her first try, while Coney Barrett graduated top of her class. While the New York Times reported in a 2016 profile on Harris that she failed the exam, and had recently consoled a young law student who also failed the test, telling her: “It’s not a measure of your capacity.”

NEW YORK TIMES SPINS KAMALA HARRIS’ PAST WORD SALADS AS ‘CELEBRATORY ARTIFACTS’ WITH CANDIDACY UNDERWAY

Ashley Williams, Montel Williams and Kamala Harris attend Eighth Annual Race To Erase Multiple Sclerosis Benefit at the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City, California on May 18, 2001. (Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

Harris ultimately passed one year later, with the bar admitting her in 1990, Fox News Digital found on the California Bar’s website. 

DEMS HYPE HARRIS AS TRUMP ‘PROSECUTOR’ IN ELECTION, BUT CRITICS SLAM HER LEGAL CAREER

Harris attended historically Black college Howard University as an undergraduate, and earned her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, which Terrell noted is an excellent law school – making it “kind of odd” for a student to fail the bar exam on their first try. 

District Attorney Kamala Harris walks into a courtroom on April 29, 2004, in San Francisco. (Paul Chinn/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

After passing the bar, she launched her career in the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office as a deputy DA in 1990. In the late 1990s, she moved over to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office as assistant DA, then to the San Francisco city attorney’s office, before running in 2004 to become San Francisco’s top cop. She was elected as San Francisco DA and served in the role for about seven years, in that time building a friendship with then-Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and rubbing elbows with fellow Californian, Rep. Nancy Pelosi. 

HOW DOES KAMALA HARRIS POLL AGAINST DONALD TRUMP?

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris speaks to supporters before a press conference on Oct. 29, 2008. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Her meteoric rise in politics only grew from there, clinching the California attorney general position in 2011, when Gov. Jerry Brown led the state, then winning her Senate run in 2016 after longtime Sen. Barbara Boxer announced her retirement from politics. 

HARRIS OUTPERFORMS BIDEN IN 2024 SHOWDOWN WITH TRUMP: POLL

Days after Obama endorsed Biden for president in August 2020, Biden announced Harris would join him on the ticket. Harris, who has been called “the Female Obama,” has had a long friendship with the 44th president, including being among the first elected Democrats in the nation to endorse his first run for president in the 2008 election – snubbing Hillary Clinton in favor of the then-Illinois senator. 

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama attend an event in the East Room of the White House on April 5, 2022. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“We did it, Joe,” Harris famously said in a phone call with Biden after polls showed the pair won the election. 

Harris is now the presumptive Democratic nominee for the 2024 election, after Biden bowed out of the race, which was shortly followed by him endorsing his veep. 

VP HARRIS FINALLY REACTS TO DC VIOLENCE, HOURS AFTER FLAG BURNING BY ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS

“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made,” Biden said in an X post following his withdrawal from the race. “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats – it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”

Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks alongside President Biden in the Rose Garden of the White House on July 26, 2021. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The 46th president had faced mounting pressure from his Democrat allies and legacy media outlets to bow out of the race since June 27, when he delivered a botched debate performance against Trump that was riddled with garbled remarks and where the president lost his train of thought and appeared more subdued than during other recent public events. 

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The debate reignited concern among conservatives and critics that Biden’s mental acuity had slipped, while it marked the beginning of a pressure campaign among Democrats to oust Biden. 

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

Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph contributed to this report. 

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff’s ex-wife released a statement defending her ex after he confessed to having an affair with a nanny during their marriage.

“Doug and I decided to end our marriage for a variety of reasons, many years ago,” Kerstin Emhoff told the Washington Post in a statement Saturday. “He is a great father to our kids, continues to be a great friend to me and I am really proud of the warm and supportive blended family Doug, Kamala, and I have built together.”

Emhoff admitted to having an affair with a nanny shortly after the Daily Mail published a report last week that the second gentleman had an affair with his daughter’s nanny and got her pregnant. The nanny’s close friend told the outlet that she did not keep the baby, but did not elaborate further. 

“During my first marriage, Kerstin and I went through some tough times on account of my actions. I took responsibility, and in the years since, we worked through things as a family and have come out stronger on the other side,” Emhoff told CNN last week of the affair. 

KAMALA HARRIS’ HUSBAND DOUG EMHOFF ADMITS TO EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIR THAT LED TO BREAKUP OF FIRST MARRIAGE

Kerstin Emhoff addressed her ex-husband Doug Emhoff’s affair with a nanny. (Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images)

Emhoff and his first wife were married from 1992 to 2008 and share two adult children. Vice President Kamala Harris married Emhoff in 2014, and helped co-parent his children, who call their stepmom “mommala.” 

The divorce cited “irreconcible differences” as the motivation behind parting ways, the New York Post reported. 

Harris knew about the affair before they married, and the Biden 2020 campaign knew about it when it was vetting her for Biden’s vice presidential pick, CNN reported. 

HARRIS IS ‘BIDEN’S CO-PILOT’ ON ‘BIDENOMICS’ POLICIES THAT PROMPTED WOEFUL JOB NUMBERS: TRUMP CAMP

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff speaks at a reception alongside Vice President Kamala Harris during a reception celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 20, 2024. (Getty Images)

Despite the affair and divorce, Kerstin Emhoff has posted supportive messages regarding her ex-husband’s second wife. 

KAMALA HARRIS’ HUSBAND DOUG EMHOFF RESPONDS TO TRUMP’S ATTACKS ON HER: ‘THAT’S ALL HE’S GOT?’

“LFG!!!! It’s time for democrats to put their differences aside and find common ground. We can’t give up and lose to DJT. ALL HANDS ON DECK!! Kamala Harris for President!” she posted to her Instagram account, accompanied by a Time cover of Harris following President Biden dropping out of the 2024 race. 

President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff on the Truman Balcony of the White House on July 4, 2024. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“For over 10 years, since Cole and Ella were teenagers, Kamala has been a co-parent with Doug and I,” she told CNN last month in defense of Harris. 

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“She is loving, nurturing, fiercely protective and always present,” she continued. “I love our blended family and am grateful to have her in it.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the vice president’s office for comment on the matter, but did not immediately receive a reply. 

As Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and her soon-to-be-announced running mate hit the campaign trail this week in all seven crucial battleground states, Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance will be close by.

The first-term senator from Ohio, who is former President Trump’s running mate on the GOP national ticket, plans to tail Harris as part of the Trump campaign’s plan to bracket the vice president and her running mate on their initial swing state tour.

Sources in the senator’s political orbit confirmed to Fox News that Vance will be in Philadelphia on Tuesday as the vice president kicks off her campaign swing. 

KAMALA HARRIS FACES A CRUCIAL WEEK AHEAD AS SHE GETS READY TO UNVEIL HER RUNNING MATE

Republican vice presidential nominee, Sen. JD Vance, speaks at a campaign rally at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

The senator is expected to use his stops, which are being described as media availabilities rather than rallies, to take aim at Harris over the key issues of inflation, border security and crime, which Republicans view as the vice president’s political Achilles’ heel.

The Vance events, which were first reported by Politico earlier on Monday, are also expected to feature “everyday Americans” who have been negatively impacted by President Biden’s policies.

HARRIS LAPS TRUMP IN CASH DASH THANKS TO FUNDRAISING SURGE 

Vance is expected to stay close to Harris and her running mate as the Democratic ticket holds rallies Wednesday in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and Detroit, Michigan, and on Thursday in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Later in the week, Harris and her running mate will also hold rallies in Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.

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The bracketing of Harris by Vance comes as the senator increasingly fits into the role of the GOP ticket’s attack dog, as well as a key ambassador to the top-dollar Republican donor class.

Sen. JD Vance greets former President Trump during a campaign rally at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

But Trump, who has a history of practicing in-your-face politics, has had no problem taking direct aim at Harris in the two weeks since she replaced Biden at the top of the Democrats’ ticket.

In social media posts this past weekend and at the rally with Vance in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday, Trump charged that the vice president had a “low IQ” and was “dumb,” and accused her of lacking “mental capacity.”

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

FIRST ON FOX: A key House committee is widening its probe into the major Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue.

Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., who chairs the Committee on House Administration, is investigating ActBlue over accusations it’s skirting campaign donation laws that allow for rampant fraud on the site.

In a letter sent to top officials on the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Monday, Steil urged them to “immediately initiate an emergency rulemaking to require political campaigns to verify the card verification value (‘CVV’) of donors who contribute online using a credit or debit card, and to prohibit political campaigns from accepting online contributions from a gift card or other prepaid credit cards.”

Republicans on the committee and other GOP officials have for months accused ActBlue of lax donor verification standards.

IN SHOWDOWN WITH TRUMP, DEMOCRATS MOVE TO MAKE HARRIS NOMINATION OFFICIAL

House Committee on Administration Chair Bryan Steil is probing the Democratic fundraising giant that’s helped Vice President Kamala Harris bring in millions. (Getty Images)

“Following widespread allegations of fraudulent donations being reported to the FEC by ActBlue, one of the largest fundraising platforms in the country, this emergency rulemaking is necessary to reassure the American people that ActBlue is taking the necessary steps to protect its donors,” Steil wrote.

According to his committee, whistleblowers who approached the panel in recent weeks have accused ActBlue of deliberately not using CVV numbers for donations to reduce the bar for verification. 

Whistleblowers have also reported the receipt of a significant number of donations from retirees living on a fixed income, and hundreds of donations of $2.50 from the same individual, according to the committee.

The site has been used to raise millions of dollars for Vice President Kamala Harris as she seeks to take on former President Trump in November.

As of Monday morning, however, a CVV number was required on the page accepting credit card donations for the vice president.

HARRIS LEANS IN ON BORDER SECURITY AND TRUMP RELISHES THE FIGHT

Steil accused ActBlue of accepting donations via prepaid debit card and gift cards, which he said could be used to launder foreign donations. (CyberGuy.com)

A CVV number was also required for credit card donations to several Democratic House candidates’ ActBlue pages checked by Fox News Digital, though donations were also accepted via Paypal, Venmo and Google Pay, which did not require the user to input such information.

As of spring last year, however, the FEC did not impose specific rules requiring CVV numbers for online political donations.

Steil’s letter also argued that the site’s acceptance of prepaid credit cards and gift cards fueled a “very real possibility that straw donors are making campaign donations with funds provided by another person or an unlawful donor including a foreign national. These issues present a serious loophole to the transparency and integrity of the campaign donation process, and an emergency rulemaking is required to rectify these issues.”

The committee said whistleblowers have also claimed prepaid gift cards and credit cards are being used to launder campaign contributions that would otherwise violate campaign finance laws.

2024 AD WARS: TRUMP, HARRIS RACE TO DEFINE VICE PRESIDENT

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It comes after similar investigations were launched by the GOP attorneys general of Virginia, Wyoming and Missouri last week.

ActBlue told Newsweek in response to those probes, “This investigation is nothing more than a partisan political attack and scare tactic to undermine the power of Democratic and progressive small-dollar donors. We welcome the opportunity to respond to these frivolous claims.”

The FEC declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital.

ActBlue and the Harris campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Former President Trump has endorsed a second GOP candidate in the primary for Washington’s 4th Congressional District in an effort to oust Rep. Dan Newhouse, who is one of 10 Republicans who voted to impeach him in 2021 following the Jan. 6 Capitol protests. 

Trump, in a post on Truth Social ahead of Tuesday’s vote, said, “Tiffany Smiley is a tremendous America First Candidate running to represent the Great People of Washington’s 4th Congressional District!” 

“Likewise, Jerrod Sessler, who I have Endorsed in the past, would be fantastic, fighting for the same things that Tiffany, and I, want for our Country,” Trump continued. “They are both running against a weak and pathetic RINO, Dan Newhouse, who stupidly voted to impeach me for absolutely no reason, and he now strongly wishes he didn’t make that Decision. The other Impeachers are mostly all gone, a good thing for the U.S.A….” 

“Newhouse has to go, and Republicans need to unite behind a WINNER to ensure we have a tremendous Victory in November. Therefore, I give my Complete and Total Endorsement to both Tiffany Smiley and Jerrod Kessler – EITHER OF WHICH WILL DO A TREMENDOUS JOB, AND NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” he also said. 

WHICH SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS HAVE BANNED TRUMP AND WHY? AN OVERVIEW 

Tiffany Smiley, who unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Senate in 2022, speaks that year during a campaign event in Maple Valley, Washington. Smiley has now been endorsed by former President Trump in the race for Washington’s 4th Congressional District. (David Ryder/Getty Images)

Trump described Smiley as a “Triage Nurse, Veterans Advocate, Army Wife, Loving Mother, and a Strong Supporter of our Movement to Make America Great Again,” who “will be an INCREDIBLE Fighter in Congress who will work hard to Stop Inflation, Grow our Economy, Secure our Border, Strengthen our Incredible Military/Vets, and Defend our always under siege Second Amendment.” 

Newhouse, who is seeking his sixth term in office, told KEPR in May that “[s]ome people are still very adamant in their opposition to me,” following his vote to impeach Trump on Jan. 13, 2021,”but I gotta tell you, there are a lot of people that will come up to me and say, ‘Hey Dan maybe I disagree with that one vote but I support you on all the other things you’re doing, I’m beyond that.’” 

FLASHBACK: THESE ARE THE 10 REPUBLICANS WHO VOTED TO IMPEACH TRUMP 

Rep. Dan Newhouse is one of 10 Republicans who voted in early 2021 to impeach former President Trump. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“And that’s a good thing because we have so many issues that we face as a nation,” he added. 

Smiley told KEPR the same month that if elected, she will focus on preserving dams in the lower Snake River, keeping illegal drugs out of communities in the central part of Washington state, and boosting agriculture. 

Trump also has endorsed Jerrod Sessler in the Washington 4th Congressional District race. The former president is shown here speaking with local Black business leaders at Georgia State University in Atlanta, on Saturday, Aug. 3. (AP/John Bazemore)

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“The party here in this district is so divided and it’s confusing, so this district deserves true representation, a representative who really reflects who we are in this district,” she said. 

Vice President Kamala Harris’ search for a running mate is quickly coming to a close, but Democrats remain divided over who should join her on the party ticket.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is widely considered to be the top contender, but she reportedly conducted interviews with a number of finalists on Sunday. Harris is scheduled to make her first appearance with her running mate at a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

The three contenders that Harris spoke to on Sunday were Shapiro, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, according to CNN.

Figures within the Democratic Party are deeply divided over who would be the best pick for Harris to help carry her momentum toward Election Day.

HOW LONG WILL THE KAMALA HARRIS HONEYMOON IN THE POLLS AGAINST DONALD TRUMP LAST?

Vice President Kamala Harris’ search for a running mate is quickly coming to a close, but Democrats remain divided over who should join her on the party ticket. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)

Harris has already improved on President Biden’s position in polling, with most showing the race neck-and-neck, with Trump maintaining only a slight advantage.

THE STATE OF THE RACE WITH 100 DAYS TO GO UNTIL THE NOVEMBER ELECTION

The campaign is expected to announce Harris’ running mate via an online message to supporters. Four years ago, Biden’s campaign announced Harris as his running mate via a text to supporters on Aug. 11, 2020.

Harris has already improved on President Biden’s position in polling, with most showing the race with Trump as very close.  (RYAN COLLERD/AFP via Getty Images)

The range of candidates shows Harris is conscious that she needs a running mate who will help her appeal to more moderate voters, given her far-left voting record in the Senate.

“I think she needs to pick someone who’s more moderate than her. I think she needs to pick someone that’s got more governing experience at the ground level,” former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said on ABC News’ “This Week.”

KAMALA HARRIS SUPPORTERS UNSURE WHEN ASKED ABOUT VP’S POLICY ACCOMPLISHMENTS

He argued Harris should pick up Shapiro, saying it is not a “hard choice.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is a top contender to be Harris’ running mate in 2024. (AP Photo/Joe Lamberti)

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Shapiro would also offer a presumed advantage on Election Day, with Pennsylvania being a major swing state. Meanwhile, Walz’ Minnesota is more reliably blue.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., reportedly warned Harris against picking Shapiro. He reportedly argued that Shapiro is too focused on “his own personal ambitions.”

The pair had reportedly clashed over the years during their interactions in Pennsylvania state politics.

Former President Donald Trump has been blocked from five of the top social media platforms over the years, and all except one have returned his accounts as he runs for re-election in 2024. 

During his presidency, Trump saw his Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube accounts all suspended in 2021 following the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

“Since President Trump first ran for office, liberals in big tech have allowed terrorists and dictators to spout hate speech on their platforms while banning President Trump in a shameless attempt to help Democrats win elections,” RNC Spokesperson Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital in a statement. “It won’t work – President Trump’s message is resonating with voters across the country, which is why he had the most successful TikTok launch in history, and he will continue to speak directly to the American people about his agenda to Make America Great Again.”

Trump’s Snapchat account was suspended in 2021 after the outlet claimed he was responsible for “multiple policy violations.” It has not been restored since. 

GOP SENATOR INVESTIGATES GOOGLE FOR OMITTED FAILED TRUMP ASSASSINATION SEARCH RESULTS: ‘NO LOW THEY WON’T GO’

Former President Trump during a campaign event at Trump National Doral Golf Club in Miami, Florida, on July 9, 2024. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Asked why the profile could not be restored several years later, a spokesperson for Snapchat told Trump’s team their terms of service prevented them from reinstating his account.

Trump War Room, an account working on behalf of the former president’s 2024 re-election campaign, blasted Snapchat in a post on X.

“Snapchat REFUSES to reinstate President Trump’s account — but then shamelessly asks the Trump campaign to advertise with Snapchat Big Tech is all in for Kamala!” Trump War Room wrote, alongside a screenshot of their communication with Snapchat.

Snapchat’s terms of service reportedly don’t allow for a terminated user to create a new account or be reinstated to their old one. 

2024 SHOWDOWN: TRUMP CAMPAIGN REJOICES AFTER HARRIS LEANS IN ON KEY ISSUE HAUNTING HER VICE PRESIDENCY

In the same message, the spokesperson for Snapchat encouraged the Trump campaign to buy advertisements on the platform to reach a “key audience that can be persuaded to turn out for Trump.”

The Instagram logo is seen on a cell phone in Boston, Oct. 14, 2022.  (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File)

Meta suspended Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts in 2021, but it reinstated them two years later.

“Two years ago, we took action in what were extreme and highly unusual circumstances. We indefinitely suspended then-US President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts following his praise for people engaged in violence at the Capitol on January 6, 2021,” Meta said in a statement. 

“We then referred that decision to the Oversight Board — an expert body established to be an independent check and balance on our decision-making. The Board upheld the decision but criticized the open-ended nature of the suspension and the lack of clear criteria for when and whether suspended accounts will be restored, directing us to review the matter to determine a more proportionate response.” 

Trump was also suspended from Twitter in 2021, but was given his account back after Elon Musk bought the company.

Youtube said its decision to reinstate Trump to the platform “carefully evaluated the continued risk of real-world violence, while balancing the chance for voters to hear equally from major national candidates in the run up to an election.”

Truth Social has posted big losses. A logo displayed on a smartphone with Donald J. Trump seen in the background, in this photo illustration.  (Photo illustration by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto)

Musk recently suggested that Google’s autocomplete search feature was omitting results for the assassination attempt against Trump.

“Wow, Google has a search ban on President Donald Trump,” Musk wrote. “Election interference?” A Google spokesperson told FOX Business that there was no “manual action taken on these predictions.”

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After being blocked from several of the top social media companies in the U.S., Trump launched his own platform, Truth Social, which he frequently uses to make public statements regarding his 2024 presidential campaign.

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

A significant oil purchase by the Biden administration for the purpose of replenishing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) — which was tapped to artificially lower gas prices — has managed to fly under the radar for many, and Republicans are beginning to take notice. 

“It is a little hypocritical,” Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, told Fox News Digital.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said, “They’re being kind of two-faced about this.”

The Department of Energy (DOE) announced the purchase of 4.65 million barrels of oil for the SPR last week. The response was minimal, with many lawmakers unaware the purchase had even occurred. The president did not officially announce the SPR replenishment or tout the purchase. 

HARRIS’ BORDER REMARKS HAUNT DOWN-BALLOT DEMS AS LAKE AD PREVIEWS GOP GENERAL ELECTION STRATEGY

Democrats are criticized for reacting differently to Biden’s oil purchase for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) than they did to Trump’s proposed buy.  (Getty Images)

In 2020, when former President Trump’s administration sought to include replenishment for the SPR in a COVID-19 economic stimulus package, Senate Democratic leadership slammed him for what they referred to as a “bailout” for Big Oil. During that time, oil prices had fallen relatively low, and a purchase could have been made at roughly $30 per barrel. 

Democrats were successful in removing the SPR replenishment from the ultimate version of the stimulus package. 

The Biden administration, on the other hand, purchased 43.25 million barrels of oil at an average price of $77 per barrel, which is roughly $20 less than what it sold for in 2022 for an average $95, but still significantly higher than it was in 2020. 

When questioned about the vastly different responses to the Trump and Biden administration’s similar actions, Senate Democrats were less than willing to address it. 

REPUBLICANS LAMBASTE BIDEN FOR ISRAEL WEAPONS DELAYS: ‘STOP ACCOMMODATING IRAN’

The SPR has been drained by nearly half. (Reuters/Angus Mordant)

“They made money. Yeah. So, sell high, buy low,” said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., an outspoken proponent of the Green New Deal and moving away from fossil fuels. “That’s the way to manage your strategic joint reserve. And then you can deploy it the next time that you need it again.”

When the Trump administration’s proposed purchase was dropped from the COVID-19 stimulus in 2020, then-Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., reportedly touted eliminating the “$3 billion bailout for Big Oil” from the framework. 

Schumer’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on whether Biden’s purchase is also a bailout for Big Oil.

‘NO KINGS ACT’: SCHUMER ADVANCES BIDEN SCOTUS OVERHAUL WITH BILL TO STRIP TRUMP’S IMMUNITY

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., did not criticize Biden’s oil purchase in the same manner he did a similar requested purchase under Trump. (Getty Images)

“Let’s be honest, they shouldn’t have been selling off the petroleum reserves anyway,” Ernst told Fox News Digital. “But yeah, it’s pretty bad. So if you’re going to say it under one administration, you need to say it under the other.”

According to Sullivan, “the biggest issue” is that “these guys, more than any other administration, have been using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — which is supposed to be used for emergencies — as a political device, and they should be using a much more important strategic petroleum reserve called Alaska.” 

‘DANGEROUS MESSAGE’: TOP REPUBLICAN RAISES CONCERNS OVER TRADING AMERICANS FOR ‘ACTUAL RUSSIAN CRIMINALS’

Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., is chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.  (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., told Fox News Digital, “I think both sides are hypocritical.”

“We have to have petroleum. We have to have a reserve. We really do. And you can’t rob Peter to pay Paul, as they say,” he explained. “And you’ve got to be very careful how you do this. And if you think you’re going to basically change the market, basically just put more oil on the market or make them think that you’re putting the reserves back when you’re really not, and whatever, it makes no sense at all.”

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The SPR currently holds 375.1 million barrels, a significant departure from the authorized storage capacity of 727 million barrels. In December 2009, the SPR held a record 726.6 million barrels. 

Since taking office, President Biden has sold nearly half of what was in the reserve, marking the lowest the SPR has been filled since the 1980s. 

Pennsylvania’s Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, reportedly among the top contenders to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, partnered with a major transgender lobbying group to challenge counselors who support children with gender dysphoria without promoting progressive medical transition methods.

The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention nonprofit for LGBTQ youth, collaborated with Shapiro’s office to weed out licensed counselors – many of whom were part of Christian groups – who were opposed to suggesting so-called “gender affirming care” for children with gender dysphoria.

The nonprofit and Shapiro’s office worked together to stomp out what they deemed as individual therapists doing “conversion therapy,” according to emails obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation through public record requests. 

2024 SHOWDOWN: TRUMP CAMPAIGN REJOICES AFTER HARRIS LEANS IN ON KEY ISSUE HAUNTING HER VICE PRESIDENCY

Josh Shapiro, governor of Pennsylvania, is on the list of Harris’ potential running mates. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg)

While conversion therapy traditionally focuses on altering same-sex attraction, it now also encompasses gender identity. New policy statements from Pennsylvania’s licensing boards, effective June 8 and adopted by five boards, classify attempts to help gender-distressed children accept their biological sex – rather than endorsing a transgender identity – as conversion therapy, the Dailey Caller reported.

The new policies in Pennsylvania denounce licensed professionals who address a child’s gender distress without supporting their desired transgender identity as engaging in “immoral” and “unprofessional conduct.” Such actions could lead to penalties from the state board, including potential revocation or suspension of professional or medical licenses.

Michael Geer, president of the nonprofit Pennsylvania Family Institute, told the news outlet that Shapiro’s action “hinders the ability of counselors and therapists to help their patients and threaten to punish those with convictions on sexuality and gender that differ from the governor’s.”

“Pennsylvanians who seek help in facing unwanted same-sex attractions or gender dysphoria should be free to speak with professional counselors who could help them achieve their personal goals,” he said in a statement to the outlet.

TWO OUTRAGEOUS BILLS KAMALA HARRIS SPONSORED WOULD CRUSH TAXPAYERS

People attend the LA Pride Parade on June 11, 2023, in Hollywood, California. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

According to the emails, Perry Monastero, who worked for more than five years in the Trevor Project’s campaign against conversion therapy in Pennsylvania, commended the state boards for adopting the new policy statements. He described them as “more binding” than state law, according to a May report by the Philadelphia Business Journal.

“This action by the boards is more binding than if we had a state law, because the decision makers are the professionals and their own peers, so they’re the ones that are saying this is not up to standard, and they’re the ones that could impact the discipline,” Monastero said in an email.

Monastero sent Ashleigh Strange, executive director of Shapiro’s Advisory Commission on LGBTQ Affairs, an internal Trevor Project memo listing alleged conversion therapy practitioners in Pennsylvania.

The Daily Caller reported that the Trevor Project undertook an extensive review of publicly available data to identify individuals and organizations involved in conversion therapy. Many of these were discovered through databases of Christian groups like the Restored Hope Network and Focus on the Family. The report indicates that Pennsylvania has a notably high number of faith-based organizations employing licensed “conversion therapy” providers.

GOP SENATE CANDIDATE IN PA TOURS NATURAL GAS PLANT AS VP HARRIS PIVOTS FROM ANTI-FRACKING COMMENTS

A pronoun graph from the NIH’s Gender Pronouns & Their Use in Workplace Communications guide. (NIH )

In a March 8 email, Strange informed Shapiro’s LGBTQ commission that the administration is working with the Trevor Project to improve reporting mechanisms for alleged conversion therapy practitioners, stating, “We are working with the Trevor Project to amplify ways the public can report conversion ‘therapists.'”

Additionally, meeting minutes from state licensing boards – including those for Medicine, Social Workers, Marriage and Family Therapists, Professional Counselors, Psychology, and Osteopathic Medicine – reveal that the Shapiro administration has been pressuring these boards to eliminate practices labeled as conversion therapy between April 8 and May 2.

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“We are offended, yet not surprised, that opponents of counseling choice are unfairly targeting our Christian counselors who respect client goals and support those who seek to walk out their faith with their bodies,” Anne Edward, an executive director at one of the faith-based counseling hubs, Restored Hope Network, told the news outlet. “This counseling reduces suicidality for minors by a whopping 50 percent according to the Williams Institute Generations data reviewed by Dr. Paul Sullins. Disturbingly, The Trevor Project is seeking to ban counseling choice and punish counselors.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Shapiro’s office but did not hear back by press deadline.

Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. released a bizarre video on X Sunday, in which he tells comedian Roseanne Barr about the time he dumped a dead bear cub in New York City’s Central Park a decade prior. 

In the video, RFK and Barr are situated around a dinner table in a home, as the independent candidate tells his story. He explains that he’s trying to get ahead of a story The New Yorker is working on.

RFK says he was taking a group of people falconing in Goshen, New York, about a two hour-drive north of New York City.

RFK tells Barr he was on his way there when a woman in a van in front of him hit a young bear and killed it. 

RFK JR. SAYS HE MAY NEED TO APOLOGIZE TO PAST WOMEN FOR ALLEGED SEXUAL ASSAULT: ‘HAD A VERY RAMBUNCTIOUS LIFE’

“So, I pulled over and picked up the bear and put him in the back of my van because I was going to skin the bear… and put the meat in my refrigerator,” RFK says, as a visibly shocked Barr listens. He notes that the practice is legal in New York State under certain conditions. 

RFK Jr. says he thought dumping the bear in Central Park would amuse people.  (X/@RobertKennedyJr)

RFK says he continued hawking with his group of acquaintances and ended up staying late. Instead of going home, RFK says he had a dinner obligation in New York City. 

RFK then admits, without elaborating, that he had to go the airport after dinner and couldn’t go home. 

“I didn’t want to leave the bear in my car because that would have been bad,” RFK says. 

He recounts how at the time – this being 2014 – there had been “a series of bicycle accidents,” some of which, resulted in the deaths of several people. 

Comedian Roseanne Barr listening to RFK Jr. recount a 10-year-old story.  (X/@RobertKennedyJr)

RFK tells Barr he had had an old bike in his car and came up with the idea to put the bear in Central Park and “make it look like he got hit by a bike.”

“So, everybody thought, ‘That’s a great idea.’ So, we went and did that,” RFK says, clarifying that he hadn’t been drinking, unlike his acquaintances. “And we thought it would be amusing for whoever found it.” 

RFK, JR. SPEAKS OUT AFTER SHOOTING AT TRUMP RALLY

The prank apparently got noticed the next day. According to RFK, “it was on every television station. It was on the front page of every paper.” 

RFK Jr. seen with comedian Roseanne Barr. (X/@RobertKennedyJr)

“I turned on the TV and there was a mile of yellow tape. And there were 20 cop cars. There were helicopters flying over it. And I was like, ‘Oh my God. What did I do?'” RFK says, noting that his prints “were all over that bike.” 

“Luckily the story died after awhile and it stayed dead for a decade,” RFK says. 

The presidential candidate tells Barr that The New Yorker had “somehow found out about” the incident and is planning to publish an article. 

“It’s going to be a bad story,” RFK says in the video, eliciting laughter from Barr and others in the room. 

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“Looking forward to seeing how you spin this one,” RFK captioned on the video posted on X. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to RFK’s campaign and The New Yorker for comment. 

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., married fiancée Mindy Noce Saturday in a South Carolina ceremony.

Scott, 58, and Noce, 47, were married in the chapel at Charleston’s Seacoast Church, according to local newspaper The Post and Courier. The Republican senator announced their nuptials afterward in a post on his personal X account on Saturday just before 9 p.m. 

“Tonight, we promised to cherish and nourish each other and our marriage for the rest of our lives,” Scott posted. “Mindy, you’ve made me the happiest man alive. I love you.”

The senator then quoted a Bible verse, Matthew 19:6, that reads, “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

TIM SCOTT FIRES BACK AFTER MILWAUKEE MAYOR SAYS HE DOESN’T ‘BUY’ THE IDEA THAT TRUMP SURGING WITH BLACK VOTERS

Sen. Tim Scott and Mindy Noce were married Saturday, Aug. 3, in Charleston, South Carolina. (Courtesy of Tim and Mindy/Rian Fuller Photography)

The event saw a variety of attendees from the political world, including former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, Sen. John Thune R-S.D., Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C.

TIM SCOTT DELIVERS ROUSING RNC SPEECH AFTER TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: ‘DEVIL CAME TO PENNSYLVANIA’

Sen. Tim Scott’s marriage to Mindy Noce was attended by a multitude of prominent political figures, including fellow South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. (Courtesy of Tim and Mindy/Rian Fuller Photography)

“Congrats to ⁦@SenatorTimScott & Mindy on a beautiful wedding in Charleston,” Walker wrote on X. “I love this man and I’ve watched his heart for God lived out in a difficult arena.”

Former President Trump took to his social media platform to congratulate Scott and Noce.

Sen. Tim Scott, 58, and Mindy Noce, 47, exchange vows on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024, in South Carolina. (Courtesy of Tim and Mindy/Rian Fuller Photography)

“Congratulations to my longtime friend, Senator Tim Scott, and his beautiful bride, Mindy Noce, who were married today in the Great State of South Carolina,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “You have a GREAT future. God bless you both!”

Sen. Tim Scott and Mindy Noce got married Saturday, Aug. 3 in Charleston, S.C. (Courtesy of Tim and Mindy/Rian Fuller Photography)

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Noce, who is an interior designer in South Carolina, grew up in a military family with a father who was in the Navy and brothers who went to military school. She and Scott were engaged earlier this year after church friends tried to set them up on a pickleball date. 

Fox News’ Bailee Hill contributed to this report. 

Police in Washington, D.C., arrested a Texas woman for allegedly making threats against former President Trump and illegally carrying a firearm on Friday.

The woman, Christina Montoya, was arrested after traveling to the nation’s capital. Police were first notified about her by the Secret Service, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

“Through the detectives’ investigation, 41-year-old Christina Montoya of San Antonio, Texas, was arrested and charged with carrying a pistol without a license, possession of an unregistered firearm, and threats against a former president,” police said in a statement.

Authorities said Montoya’s threats against Trump began on July 20.

ALINA HABBA ACCUSES KAMALA HARRIS OF ‘COMMITTING A CRIME,’ COVERING UP BIDEN’S HEALTH

Police in Washington, D.C., arrested a Texas woman for allegedly making threats against former President Trump and illegally carrying a firearm on Friday. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Police located the woman’s vehicle and recovered a Smith & Wesson M&P Shield pistol, a magazine and a gun lock, according to the police report.

JD VANCE CALLS TRUMP’S OFFER TO DEBATE HARRIS ON FOX NEWS ‘MASTERSTROKE’

The incident comes just weeks after Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to assassinate Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump narrowly survived the attack, receiving a bullet wound to his ear.

The assassination attempt is currently the subject of multiple investigations by the FBI, the Secret Service and Congress. Former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned following a devastating hearing in which both Republicans and Democrats called for her removal.

GEORGIA ACTIVIST STEALS THE SHOW AFTER BEING INTRODUCED BY TRUMP AT ATLANTA RALLY: ‘INCREDIBLE’

Former President Trump is rushed offstage after being wounded at a rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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Scrutiny centers on the building Crooks used as a perch to fire on the former president and why it was not within the Secret Service security perimeter.

Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to announce her running mate for the 2024 election cycle by Tuesday, as four frontrunners vie to land on the ticket. 

Govs. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Tim Walz of Minnesota, and Sen. Mark Kelley, D-Ariz., have emerged as top contenders for the vice presidency under a potential Harris administration. Each candidate could bring political benefits to Harris’ election run, though each also must walk a political tightrope over potential pitfalls that could prevent him from joining the campaign. 

Harris officially clinched her party’s 2024 presidential nomination on Friday, earning more than a majority of votes from convention delegates, the DNC reported. Harris rose to the top of the election cycle following President Biden dropping out of the race last month amid mounting concerns over his mental fitness and health. 

14 DAYS: KAMALA HARRIS HAS NOT HELD A PRESS CONFERENCE SINCE EMERGING AS PRESUMPTIVE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE

Vice President Kamala Harris has not held a press conference since becoming the presumptive Democratic nominee. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Gov. Josh Shapiro 

Pennsylvania is again a key battleground state this election cycle, after previously voting for Donald Trump in 2016, when he won against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and voting blue for President Biden in the 2020 election. Shapiro, who has led the state since last year, could bolster Harris’ chances of locking up its key 19 electoral votes. 

PENNSYLVANIA GOV. SHAPIRO, POTENTIAL HARRIS RUNNING MATE, CANCELS WEEKEND FUNDRAISERS AHEAD OF VP ANNOUNCEMENT

Gov. Josh Shapiro is seen at the Celebration of Freedom ceremony on July 4, 2023, in Philadelphia. (Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images)

Shapiro, who previously served as the state’s attorney general and in local political roles in Montgomery County, is largely supportive of Democratic policies and proposals while also working to portray himself as a moderate in the Rust Belt state that includes massive cities such as the Democratic stronghold of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. 

Shapiro, who is the state’s third Jewish governor, is facing resistance from protesters and voters over his views on the Israel-Hamas war that began on Oct. 7.

Shapiro denounced universities during the 2023-2024 school year for failing to protect students as campus protests raged against Israel and the ongoing war in the Middle East. 

2024 SHOWDOWN: TRUMP CAMPAIGN REJOICES AFTER HARRIS LEANS IN ON KEY ISSUE HAUNTING HER VICE PRESIDENCY

“What we’re seeing at Columbia and what we’re seeing in some campuses across America, where universities can’t guarantee the safety and security of their students, it’s absolutely unacceptable,” Shapiro told Politico in April. 

Vice President Kamala Harris and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro speak to the press while making a stop at the Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia, July 13, 2024. (Ryan Collerd/AFP via Getty Images)

“If the universities in accordance with their policies can’t guarantee the safety and security and well-being of the students, then I think it is incumbent upon a local mayor or local governor or local town councilor, whoever is the local leadership there, to step in and enforce the law,” he added.

Anti-Israel protests have been a powder keg situation in the U.S. since shortly after the Oct. 7 terror attack by Hamas. During the 2023-24 college school year, agitators and student protesters flooded college campuses nationwide to protest the war in Israel, which also included spiking instances of antisemitism and Jewish students publicly speaking out that they did not feel safe on some campuses. 

Anti-Israel protesters rally outside of New York University’s campus on May 3, 2024. (Rashid Umar Abbasi for Fox News Digital)

Agitators on Columbia University’s campus, for example, took over the school’s Hamilton Hall building, while schools such as UCLA, Harvard and Yale worked to clear spiraling student encampments where protesters demanded their elite schools completely divest from Israel. 

The University of Pennsylvania also faced widespread protests and a tent encampment against Israel, with Shaprio condemning the school’s then-president, Liz Magill, for failing to denounce genocide against Jews during congressional testimony. Magill resigned from the elite school in December amid widespread outrage over her handling of campus antisemitism. 

The Philadelphia Inquirer also unearthed an opinion piece Shapiro wrote for his college newspaper in 1993 that claimed peace “will never come” to the Middle East, arguing Palestinians are “too battle-minded” to coexist with Israel.

“Using history as a precedent, peace between Arabs and Israelis is virtually impossible and will never come,” the then-University of Rochester student wrote. 

Anti-Israel critics have since labeled Shapiro “Genocide Josh,” arguing he’s too supportive of Israel, which anti-Israel protesters say is leveling genocide against residents of Gaza amid the war. Democrats have said that left-wing voters holding anti-Israel views are singling Shapiro out, as he’s the only Jewish potential veep reportedly at the top of Harris’ contender list. 

Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks during a campaign event in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on April 16, 2024. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg)

“There are several incredible options for vice president. The superb Governor of Pennsylvania, @JoshShapiroPA, is one of them. Singling him out, or applying a double standard to him over the war in Gaza, is antisemitic and wrong. Don’t go there,” Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., posted on X.

Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who has notably been a staunch defender of Israel amid the war, has meanwhile remained mum on his support of Shapiro. 

FETTERMAN SKEPTICAL OF HARRIS PICKING GOV. SHAPIRO AS RUNNING MATE, SOURCES SAY: REPORT

Politico reported Saturday evening that Fetterman’s advisers met with the Harris team to allegedly convey concerns the senator has with Shapiro potentially running on the ticket, most notably reportedly citing the pair’s time together on Pennsylvania’s Board of Pardons, which reviews criminal cases to determine potential clemency for an offender. Fetterman allegedly worked to revitalize the board and offer second chances to convicts, while Shapiro reportedly took a more heavy-handed approach, Politico reported. 

PENNSYLVANIA REPUBLICANS SOUND OFF ON POTENTIAL KAMALA HARRIS VP PICK OF GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO

Shapiro has earned endorsements from key Pennsylvania Democrats to run alongside Harris, including from longtime Sen. Bob Casey and Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, and is received favorably by voters in his home state, polls show, which could give him an edge over his other reported VP challengers. 

Gov. Andy Beshear 

Kentucky’s governor, Andy Beshear, has served as the Bluegrass State’s leader since 2019, and is seen as a centrist Democrat who could appeal to moderate voters at the federal level. 

KENTUCKY GOV BESHEAR RESPONDS TO RUMORS THAT HE’LL RUN FOR PRESIDENT: ‘IT’S FLATTERING’

Kentucky’s governor, Andy Beshear, has served as the Bluegrass State’s leader since 2019. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)

Republicans, however, have been quick to call out the Kentucky governor as a poor potenital choice as Harris’ running mate, including Kentucky Rep. James Comer, who slammed Beshear for reportedly trying to “reinvent his image from a wimpy choir boy to a liberal attack dog.” 

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a fellow Kentuckian, also slammed Beshear over the weekend for leaving the state to reportedly meet with Harris, while also quipping it’s “no surprise for a guy used to having jobs served up to him on a silver platter.” Beshear is a second-generation politician, the son of former Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, who served as governor for two terms and as attorney general for one term. 

Unlike Shapiro, who could deliver a key battleground state if named as Harris’ running mate, Beshear comes from a deep red state that is unlikely to vote for Harris. In 2012, presidential candidate Mitt Romney carried the state, which was followed by Trump carrying the state in both the 2016 and 2020 elections. 

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear sits for an interview in Versailles, Kentucky, on May 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley, File)

Beshear’s age of 46 and positioning himself as a moderate Democrat could aid his efforts to land on the ticket, but he is also facing criticisms from left-wing voters for his stance on abortion. 

Following the Supreme Court’s landmark Dobbs decision in 2022, abortion was essentially banned in Kentucky, allowing just a few exceptions. Beshear is pro-choice and campaigned during his re-election last year to champion abortion access, but activists in the state say he could do more to broaden access to the procedure, NBC News reported. 

“Yes, he’s doing better than a conservative would, and I’m thankful for that,”  Tamarra Wieder, the Kentucky state director of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates told the outlet. “But I worry about how that record will look on a national stage.” 

POPULAR DEMOCRAT GOVERNOR BREAKS WITH PARTY, SPEAKS OUT AGAINST SEX CHANGE SURGERIES FOR MINORS

Harris has meanwhile been lauded by progressives for her vow to protect abortion access, immediately lambasting the leaked Supreme Court decision in 2022 that overturned Roe v. Wade and effectively ended recognition of a constitutional right to abortion. 

“How dare they?” Harris said in a speech for a left-wing PAC focused on electing pro-choice Democrats, EMILYs List, in May 2022 after the decision was leaked to Politico.

“How dare they tell a woman what she can and cannot do with her own body?” Harris asked. “How dare they try to stop her from determining her own future? How dare they try to deny women their rights and their freedoms?”

In March, she also became the first sitting president or vice president to visit an abortion provider. 

Gov. Tim Walz 

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has been in politics for decades, serving in the U.S. Congress from 2007 until 2019, when he was elected governor of the Gopher State. He won his gubernatorial re-election in 2022. 

MINNESOTA GOV TIM WALZ, UP FOR HARRIS VP, CRITICIZED FOR ‘REMARKABLE LACK OF LEADERSHIP’ DURING COVID, RIOTS

Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a news conference at the state Capitol, on Aug. 16, 2023, in St. Paul. (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski, File)

Walz, similar to Shapiro, could provide a boon to the Harris campaign if he helps aid voter turnout for the Democratic ticket in the battleground state. 

Walz’s name has received far more national attention in recent weeks compared to his previous years in politics, and was among the first Democrats to lambaste Republicans as “weird” in a political insult that’s gaining momentum in the 2024 cycle. 

Walz, however, has faced criticism for his handling of COVID-19 and riots that rocked Minneapolis in 2020, Fox Digital previously reported. 

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“[H]e’s been a disaster for Minnesota and is by far the most partisan governor that I can remember having,” Minnesota GOP Chairman David Hann told Fox News Digital last week. “Going back to 2020, certainly – he did nothing to try to stop the riots going on in Minneapolis. I think he was fearful of alienating his ‘progressive’ base, who were supporting the riots. Kamala Harris was raising money for the rioters.”

Some critics point to Walz’s memorandum mandating indoor masking during the coronavirus pandemic, as well as setting up a hotline to report residents who violated COVID-19 mandates, as FOX 9 Minneapolis reported at the time.

Sen. Mark Kelly 

Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly has perhaps the most nationally recognized name in the pool of Harris’ potential running mates, as he’s a retired NASA astronaut and husband to retired Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt in 2011. 

WHO IS MARK KELLY? WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE SENATOR FROM ARIZONA AND POSSIBLE VP PICK

Sen. Mark Kelly on Capitol Hill, Sept. 21, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Kelly, 60, was elected to the U.S. Senate in the 2020 election cycle, with his win marking the first time since 1953 that Arizona has had two Democratic senators. 

Arizona could serve as another key state for the Democratic Party’s efforts to hold onto the White House following Biden’s departure from the race. Trump won the state in 2016, but Biden was victorious in the 2020 election. Kelly could help bolster support for Harris in the state, which also sits along the nation’s border with Mexico during an election that includes voter outrage over the immigration crisis under the Biden administration. 

Sen. Mark Kelly and Gov. Josh Shapiro (Getty Images)

If Kelly is chosen as Harris’ running mate and the pair win in the November election, he would leave behind a vacated Senate seat in the swing state, sparking some concern. Kelly brushed off worries over a Republican potentially winning the seat in a 2026 special election, arguing in comments to CNN that Democrats have historically performed well in state elections. 

“Democrats have been really good about winning statewide races in the state of Arizona. We figured this out,” he said. “We have a strong state party, and I imagine we’re going to be successful from now going into the future.”

“I don’t think it’ll be an issue,” he continued. “I think we’ve got a great slate of other Democrats, but this is not about me.”

Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs would fill the seat with an interim candidate before the 2026 election. 

Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to announce her running mate by Tuesday. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Shortly following Biden announcing he was dropping out of the race, Kelly was seen as Harris’ most likely pick for VP on prediction sites tracked by FOX Business, but he has since been unseated in the top spot by Shapiro. 

Harris is expected to announce her running mate by Tuesday, and is reportedly meeting with the top veep contenders at the Naval Observatory on Sunday, including Walz, Shapiro and Kelly. 

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In addition to the four floated VP contenders, Harris is also reportedly considering Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to join her on the ticket. 

The – It’s been mostly smooth sailing for Vice President Kamala Harris in the two weeks since she replaced President Biden at the top of the Democrats’ national ticket.

A party eager to keep former President Trump from returning to the White House quickly unified behind Harris. The vice president experienced a surge in contributions and more than doubled Trump in July fundraising, and volunteers flocked to Biden-turned-Harris campaign offices.

And the small lead that Trump has built over Biden in the weeks following the president’s disastrous late June debate performance instantly vanished, as the latest national and key battleground state polls indicated a margin-of-error race between Harris and the former president.

But Harris faces a consequential week ahead, starting with a decision in the coming hours on whom she’ll choose as her running mate on the Democratic Party ticket.

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Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Harris stayed in the nation’s capital this weekend, meeting with some of the roughly half-dozen running mate contenders, Democratic sources confirmed to Fox News.

Among those on the list are Govs. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Tim Walz of Minnesota, and Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona. Also in contention, according to sources, are Govs. Andy Beshear of Kentucky and JB Pritzker of Illinois, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

The vetting, screening and interview of running mates normally takes months. But these are far from normal times for the Democrats, and Harris is facing an extremely compressed process.

2024 AD WARS: TRUMP, HARRIS RACE TO DEFINE VICE PRESIDENT

While Harris and her team have remained mostly quiet about the naming of a vice presidential nominee, allies of the contenders have been advocating and interest groups within the party have been making their wishes known.

The announcement by Harris in the coming hours will likely disappoint some of those supporting candidates who weren’t named as the running mate, and could exacerbate policy divisions within the party that have been papered over the past two weeks.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at West Allis Central High School during a campaign rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 23, 2024. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)

Harris and her to-be-named running mate will team up on Tuesday at a rally in Philadelphia to kick off an ambitious and jam-packed swing state tour through Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, the seven battlegrounds that will likely determine the outcome of the presidential election.

The vice president drew over 10,000 at her first major rally since taking over for Biden at the top of the Democrats’ ticket, last week at the Georgia State Convocation Center in Atlanta. 

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It was the first time this cycle that the Democratic ticket drew a crowd comparable to the large audiences Trump has been regularly drawing for much of his more than year-and-a-half long campaign to return to the White House. And the size and energy of Harris’ crowds during this week’s swing state tour will be closely monitored.

Trump and his running mate – Sen. JD Vance of Ohio – held a rally at the same venue in Atlanta on Saturday, where the former president continued his relentless attacks and insults of Harris.

In social media posts earlier on Saturday and at the rally, Trump charged Harris had a “low IQ” and was “dumb,” and accused her of lacking “mental capacity.”

Former President Trump speaks at a campaign rally at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

The Harris campaign, firing back on Sunday morning, claimed that Trump was “weak… struggling… panicking… and Donald Trump is running scared.”

Harris has yet to sit for a major interview since taking over for Biden, and the Trump campaign is turing up the criticism.

“It’s been 13 days since Kamala Harris became the presumptive nominee of the Democrat Party and she still hasn’t sat for a single interview with the media,” Vance highlighted in a social media post on Saturday.

Harris will start the week by formally landing the party’s presidential nomination, as a virtual roll call run by the Democratic National Committee concludes at 6 p.m. ET. But there’s no drama, as the vice president was the only candidate to qualify for the roll call.

The roll call kicked off on Thursday and DNC Chair Jaimie Harrison announced on Friday that Harris had clinched the nomination by winning the votes of a majority of delegates to the party’s nominating convention, which gets underway in two weeks in Chicago.

While the past two weeks have been smoother than many expected, the Harris campaign is well aware there are still three months to go until the November election.

Battleground states director Dan Kanninen emphasized that “it is the task of the Harris campaign to turn the unprecedented energy behind the Vice President into action.”

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

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch had little to say when asked about President Biden’s proposals to overhaul the Supreme Court, but he did deliver a brief message.

When asked by “Fox News Sunday” host Shannon Bream about Biden’s suggestions for changes to the Supreme Court, Gorsuch said he did not want to get into “what is now a political issue during a presidential election year.” He then continued, however, stressing the importance of an “independent judiciary,” particularly for those who are unpopular.

“It’s there for the moments when the spotlight’s on you, when the government’s coming after you. And don’t you want a ferociously independent judge and a jury of your peers to make those decisions? Isn’t that your right as an American?” Gorsuch said. “And so I just say, be careful.”

Biden and Vice President Harris are calling on Congress to impose term limits and a code of conduct on the Supreme Court while also drafting limits on presidential immunity, a White House official said in late July.

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During the interview, Gorsuch also discussed how he believes there are too many laws in the U.S., to the point where it can be difficult for people – and the government – to keep track of them all. 

The justice, who co-authored a book titled “Over Ruled: The Human Toll of Too Much Law,” said that while “we need laws to keep us free and safe,” having too many has resulted in people committing violations without even meaning to do something wrong. 

“As a judge now for 18 years, I just came to see case after case in which ordinary Americans just trying to live their lives, not hurt anybody, raise their families, were just getting whacked by laws unexpectedly,” Gorsuch said.

GORSUCH BLASTS SOTOMAYOR’S DISSENT IN CHRISTIAN WEB DESIGNER RULING: ‘REIMAGINES’ FACTS FROM ‘TOP TO BOTTOM’

Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch attends a formal investiture ceremony for a local judge at the Washington County Courthouse, March 11, 2022, in Hagerstown, Maryland. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

Gorsuch further illustrated his point by citing problems Americans have had when seeking information from the IRS hotline.

“It turns out for a period of time they were giving wrong answers about a third of the time,” Gorsuch told host Shannon Bream. He said when asked how this happened, they said the tax code had gotten so complex. 

Neil Gorsuch and other members of the Supreme Court arrive for President Biden’s State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol on March 7, 2024. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Gorsuch also addressed how he approached conflicts with other branches of government.

“The answer, is the Constitution,” he said.

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The Trump appointee also noted the need for Americans to be able to trust each other, and that not everything needs to be solved by a distant government. 

“My good friend [retired Justice] Stephen Breyer says, ‘If I listen to almost anyone talk for long enough, I’m gonna find something they say that we can agree on,'” Gorsuch said. “Maybe we should start there.”

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report. 

Top Democratic strategist David Axelrod says Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is riding on the “irrational exuberance” of the Democratic Party following President Biden’s withdrawal.

Axelrod made the statement in an interview with CNN Newsroom this weekend. Harris’ campaign has surged out of the gate with record fundraising and cutting away at Trump’s lead in polls.

“She has a lot of momentum, but if you do look at the polling, this is still a really tight race,” he said. “This is going to be a hard fight for either side. It’s based on the numbers we’re seeing right now.”

“Look, I mean, there’s a lot of irrational exuberance on the Democratic side of the aisle right now, because there was despair for some period of time about what November was gonna look like,” he continued. “Now people feel like there’s a chance.”

JD VANCE CALLS TRUMP’S OFFER TO DEBATE HARRIS ON FOX NEWS ‘MASTERSTROKE’

Top Democratic strategist David Axelrod says Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is riding on the “irrational exuberance” of the Democratic Party following President Biden’s withdrawal. (Left: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images, Right: Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Axelrod nevertheless argued that Trump still holds an advantage over Harris despite close polling.

“It’s absolutely Trump’s race to lose right now. He is ahead,” he said. “And he is ahead in most of the battleground states. They’re close, they can be won by either candidate.”

WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING IN THE KEY BATTLEGROUNDS SHOWS

He went on to say that everyone should remain “sober” about their chances on the Democratic side.

Axelrod argued that Trump still holds an advantage over Harris despite close polling, saying Democrats need to remain “sober.” (Screenshot/HBO)

2024 SHOWDOWN: TRUMP QUICKLY MOVES TO TRY AND DEFINE HARRIS

Fox News polls conducted after Biden’s blockbuster announcement in three of the seven crucial states – Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – indicated Trump and Harris are neck-and-neck.

Additionally, in Minnesota and New Hampshire the latest surveys suggest that Democrats are reestablishing single-digit leads with Harris at the top of the ticket. Republicans have not won a presidential election in decades in either state, but recent polls showed Trump to be very competitive with Biden.

Fox News Polls conducted after Biden’s blockbuster announcement in three of the seven crucial states – Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – indicated Trump and Harris are locked in a very competitive race. (Felipe Ramales for Fox News Digital)

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Some pollsters argue that Harris may drop in the polls in the coming months as the shock of Biden’s withdrawal wanes.

“Before long, Harris’ ‘honeymoon’ will end and voters will refocus on her role as Biden’s partner and co-pilot. As importantly, voters will also learn about Harris’ dangerously liberal record before becoming Biden’s partner,” veteran GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio, who polls for the Trump campaign, predicted last month.

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Trump running mate Sen. JD Vance joined “Sunday Morning Futures” to discuss his take on criticism surrounding his candidacy on Sunday.

Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo pressed Vance to respond to those on both sides of the aisle who say he may not be the right pick for Trump.

“A lot of people talking about you on both the Democrat side and the Republican side. You’ve heard the chatter. They’re saying some people are saying you were the wrong pick for Trump’s running mate. What are you doing about it?” Bartiromo asked.

“The media is going to attack the people, I think, who can most effectively bring President Trump’s message to a broader swath of the electorate,” Vance responded. “I’m not shocked that a lot of inside-the-Beltway media types don’t like me, but their policies are the problem. Of course, they don’t like me because we’re running to fix what they have broken.”

13 DAYS: KAMALA HARRIS HAS NOT HELD A PRESS CONFERENCE SINCE EMERGING AS PRESUMPTIVE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE

Trump running mate Sen. JD Vance joined “Sunday Morning Futures” to discuss his take on criticism surrounding his candidacy on Sunday. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

“And I guess the Democrats see all of that as weird,” Bartiromo said. “What do you say about this new strategy to call you weird from the Democrats?”

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“I think that it’s a lot of projection, frankly, Maria, from people who want to give transgender hormones to 9-year-old kids and want biological males to play in women’s sports,” Vance said. “Look, I’m a husband, I’m a father, I’m happily married, and I love my life. And I’m doing this because I want to be a good public servant who fixes the problems of the Democrats. They can call me whatever they want to. The middle school taunts don’t bother me. What bothers me and what offends me is what Kamala Harris has done to this country.”

Vance says Democrats who are calling him “weird” are “projecting.” (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

“Kamala Harris shot interest rates through the roof. And then she welcomed in millions of illegal aliens to compete with Americans for scarce homes. So I don’t care what they call me, I just wish they would stop screwing up the country,” he added.

JD VANCE CALLS TRUMP’S OFFER TO DEBATE HARRIS ON FOX NEWS ‘MASTERSTROKE’

Vance went on to blast Harris for her lack of transparency to the press, highlighting that she hasn’t answered a single press question in the 14 days since President Biden withdrew from the race and endorsed her.

Harris hasn’t answered a single press question in the 14 days since President Biden withdrew from the race and endorsed her, vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance said Sunday. (Allison Joyce/AFP via Getty Images)

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Polls show Harris has improved over Biden, but is still trailing Trump.