NationalWatch

ATLANTA — Standing in front of a crowd of over 10,000 people in battleground Georgia’s capital and largest city, Vice President Kamala Harris went on offense over an issue that she and President Biden have been playing plenty of defense over the past couple of years.

Harris, near the top of her 18-minute speech on Tuesday, took aim at former President Trump over the issue of border security, which many Republicans see as the vice president’s political Achilles heel.

“In this campaign, I will proudly put my record against his,” Harris said, before highlighting her border security efforts as California attorney general.

Harris argued that Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, “has been talking a big game about securing our border, but he does not walk the walk.”

1 OF THESE 5 DEMOCRATS COULD BE HARRIS’ RUNNING MATE

Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, holds a rally in Atlanta on Tuesday. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

She pointed to a border security bill with some bipartisan support that was making its way through Congress earlier this year before Republicans turned against the measure after prompting from Trump.

“It was all set to pass, but at the last minute Trump directed his allies in the Senate to vote it down,” Harris said. 

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

She charged that the former president “tanked the bipartisan deal because he thought it would help him win an election” and pledged that “as the president I will bring back the border security bill that Donald Trump killed.”

Trump, his campaign and allied groups have repeatedly criticized Harris over the past week and a half — since she replaced Biden at the top of the Democrats’ national ticket — over the surge of migrants across the nation’s southern border during the Biden administration.

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

Harris was tasked by Biden in 2021 with leading the diplomatic outreach to tackle the “root causes” of migration in Central American countries. It led to her being dubbed the “border czar” both by the media and Republican opponents, although the White House has rejected that description.

The Harris campaign says they are not scared to pick a fight over immigration and border security.

However, Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that they “relish the opportunity” to “go head-to-head” with Harris over the issue.

HOW LONG WILL THE HARRIS ‘HONEYMOON’ IN THE POLLS LAST?

The Trump campaign quickly took to social media to respond to the comments by the vice president at her rally.

“Kamala is actually *BRAGGING* about her record on immigration. HERE ARE THE FACTS: As Border Czar, Kamala ferried 15+ million illegals directly into our communities. She thinks illegal immigration “is NOT a crime.” She wants to abolish ICE. She thinks you’re stupid,” the Trump campaign claimed.

Hours earlier, the Trump campaign — in its first major ad blitz of the general election — charged that Harris had “failed us” in securing the border.

Responding to the ad, Harris campaign spokesperson Ammar Moussa reiterated the theme that Trump had a heavy hand in “killing the toughest border deal in decades.”

“As a former district attorney, attorney general, and now vice president, Kamala Harris has spent her career taking on and prosecuting violent criminals and making our communities safer. She’ll do the same as president,” Moussa emphasized.

As the vice president was arriving at the Georgia State Convocation Center in downtown Atlanta — the same venue where Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance will hold a rally on Saturday — the Harris campaign put up a new video that spotlights border security. 

The video argued that Harris “helped lead the way to record low border crossings and has spent her entire career keeping our communities safe” and charged that Trump “sided with drug traffickers and the cartels to block the strongest, fairest reforms to secure the border in decades.”

HOW LONG WILL THE HARRIS ‘HONEYMOON’ IN THE POLLS LAST?

The Trump campaign instantly pilloried the video.

“Every statement in Kamala’s border ad is an absolute lie. The truth is that President Trump handed the most secure border in history to the Biden-Harris Administration, and they opened it up by erasing every one of his good policies,” the Trump campaign charged. “As Border Czar, Kamala Harris has overseen the worst immigration crisis in American history, enabling drug cartels to smuggle deadly fentanyl across our border and allowing more than 11 million illegal criminals and terrorists from all over the world to enter our country. “

Vance — at two stops in Nevada on Tuesday — turned up the volume on his attacks on Harris over border security. In Reno, he pledged that “in six months, we’re going to re-elect Donald J. Trump president of the United States. And when we do, we’re going to launch the largest deportation program in American history. If you came here illegally, you got to go back.”

Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks during a campaign event in Reno, Nevada, on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

On Thursday, Vance will hold a campaign event in Arizona along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Democratic National Committee, in response to Vance’s comments, fired off an email titled “JD Vance Doesn’t Care About Border Security – He Followed Trump’s Orders to ‘Kill’ Bipartisan Border Deal.”

Picking a fight on border security may not seem to some like a smart strategy for the vice president’s team.

However, a Harris campaign official told Fox News that they are not scared to go on offense on immigration and on the border and charged that Trump does not have any credibility on the issue.

The Trump campaign is happy to have the fight.

“We relish the opportunity for President Trump, who created the most secure border in history, to go head-to-head with failed Border Czar Kamala Harris, who has overseen the worst border crisis in history,” Leavitt argued. “On the issue of immigration in every single poll, President Trump dominates Harris because Americans know the truth about their records.”

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

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pumped up spectators poured out of Harrisburg’s New Holland Arena Wednesday following a fiery Trump rally marking the former president’s first campaign event in Pennsylvania after narrowly escaping an assassin’s bullet in Butler County.

Inside, former President Donald Trump railed on Vice President Kamala Harris as “the architect of the border invasion,” her history of support for far-left policies – “She wants to turn us into a Communist country” — and her tenure as a California prosecutor. 

Outside, supporters decked out in American flags and Trump slogans shared with Fox News Digital their elation after witnessing the former president following his near assassination.

“It was our first time at a Trump rally and wow,” Bill and Amy said. “It’s almost better than any concert I’ve been to! It’s all love.”

TRUMP PUBLICLY THANKS WOMAN WHOM MADE IMMIGRATION CHART THAT ‘SAVED MY LIFE’ DURING ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Supporters voiced why their want Trump to win in November. (Fox News Digital)

“He’s been my president from day one – it never stopped,” Marsha Felman said. “He’s the man to do the job. He’s done it once, and he can do it again.”

“I’ve been feeling pumped since 2016,” another ardent supporter said.

WATCH:

One supporter highlighted the need for voters to get out and vote on November 5, saying, “We need to pray and vote.”
Chuck Winton, who drove up from Maryland, said that Vice President Kamala Harris is a liar.

VIDEO FROM TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT VICTIM’S POV SHOWS FIGURE MOVING ON ROOF MOMENTS BEFORE GUNFIRE

“She lies a lot,” he said. “Calling herself a candidate for president when she has not even been nominated.”

WATCH:

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Trump filled the arena with a capacity crowd and called a moment of silence before the 7,600 in attendance in memory of Corey Comperatore, who was killed in the July 13 assassination attempt.

Former President Trump, while speaking at a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Wednesday, publicly thanked the woman who created a chart he was referencing when he was shot in an assassination attempt, saying she saved his life.

Trump was nearly killed at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13 when a gunman opened fire from a roof. As Trump was speaking, he referenced a large chart showing immigration data. He turned his head ever so slightly, and a bullet grazed his ear. 

On Wednesday, Trump was talking about immigration again, specifically about the border and human trafficking, when he brought up the now-famous chart.

“You know, this chart saved my life. Where is that chart? I love that chart,” Trump said. “I’m going to sleep with that chart for the rest of my life. That chart … you know the amazing thing? You know, the people that operate the computers and all the brilliant equipment we have backstage.”

TRUMP CLASHES WITH ABC NEWS REPORTER OVER ‘NASTY QUESTION,’ BLASTS ‘FAKE NEWS NETWORK’ DURING HEATED Q&A

Former President Trump reacts after being shot in the ear at a rally in Pennsylvania July 13. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)

He then spoke about the woman who created the chart, calling her “great” and saying she should come up on stage.

Trump called the woman to the stage, and she walked up.

VIDEO FROM TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT VICTIM’S POV SHOWS FIGURE MOVING ON ROOF MOMENTS BEFORE GUNFIRE

During a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Wednesday, former President Trump introduced the woman who created the chart he looked at when a bullet grazed his ear in Butler, Pa., July 13. (Fox News)

“She’s never done this before. She saved my life in a sense,” Trump said. “I said you saved my life. Here she is. Wow.”

Trump then whispered something into her ear, and she walked up to the microphone to say “Hi” before walking offstage.

“She’s a computer genius,” Trump added. “She saved my life.”

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The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for the woman’s name or for comment.

Alina Habba, a legal spokesperson for former President Donald Trump, accused Vice President Kamala Harris of breaking the law by “co-conspiring” to hide President Biden’s cognitive decline during a speech on Wednesday.

Habba was speaking to a crowd of Trump supporters at a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, when she made the comments. The lawyer now serves as a senior adviser to Trump’s re-election campaign.

“President Trump has been and is innocent of any crime other than loving this country,” Habba began.

“Let me tell you, Kamala,” she continued. “You are committing a crime because the only co-conspirator I know of the Biden-Harris administration is you, and you have lied to us about President Biden for the last three and a half years.”

TRUMP TELLS JESSE WATTERS THAT HE WAS NOT WARNED ABOUT GUNMAN, DESPITE REPORTS

Alina Habba accused Vice President Kamala Harris of “committing a crime” during a pro-Trump speech in Pennsylvania.

The crowd cheered while Habba delivered the speech.

“The truth always comes out,” she added. “So let me just tell you, America. Her policies are the same ones we’ve been living in for three and a half years, so don’t get it twisted. They don’t work.”

THE ‘WEIRD’ CAMPAIGN: THE STUNNING DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HARRIS AND VANCE COVERAGE

Alina Habba has served as Trump’s legal advisor. (Getty Images)

Trump and Harris have been throwing jabs at each other in recent days as the 2024 presidential election nears. 

Biden dropped out earlier in July after concerns about his age intensified. 

He almost immediately endorsed Harris.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at her Presidential Campaign headquarters in Wilmington, DE, U.S.,  July 22, 2024.   (Erin Schaff/Pool via REUTERS)

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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment. 

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: Project 2025, the right-leaning Heritage Foundation’s vision for building a “better country for all Americans” during a conservative presidential administration, will be releasing a response to critics who have characterized the endeavor as far-right and extreme.

While former President Trump has repeatedly denied any collaboration with Project 2025, its detractors are primarily on the left, Heritage Foundation officials said Wednesday.

The officials exclusively shared with Fox News Digital the dozens of fact checks they plan to roll out to blunt false claims about the framework.

The foundation — founded by former congressional aide Ed Feulner, who offered a vision of a publicly-accessible, market-driven think tank for conservatives — has released similar frameworks in election years dating back to the 1980s.

AMID HARRIS’ YOUTH POLLING SURGE, LATEST FIGURES SHOW BIDEN DID BETTER WITH BLACK VOTERS

The Heritage Foundation flag flies over a building in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

While Trump’s campaign has warned “it will not end well” for anyone directly linking him to the framework overall, many left-wing figures have launched specific attacks on the 900-plus pages of proposals. 

In regard to the GOP nominee, however, the makers of Project 2025 will attempt to point to multiple media fact checks confirming Trump is not behind it.

Also called the “Presidential Transition Project,” the dossier claims to be explicitly independent of the Trump campaign, and Heritage Foundation officials routinely reference “conservative” goals, not “Republican,” “Libertarian” or other distinctly partisan ends.

However, numerous figures involved in Project 2025, including recently departed director Paul Dans, have connections to the last Trump administration. Dans was a top staffer in the Office of Personnel Management.

The project’s stated goal is to “rescue the country from the grip of the radical left.”

In one of the instances of false characterizations Project 2025 will cite, Vice President Kamala Harris claimed in her first campaign rally as presumptive Democratic nominee that the framework calls for cutting Social Security. 

LEGAL EXPERTS CALL BIDEN’S COURT OVERHAUL PLANS A ‘PIPE DREAM’

Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts addresses delegates during the second day of the National Conservatism conference at the Emmanuel Centre in London on May 16, 2023. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Despite the Trump campaign’s warnings, Harris cited “Donald Trump” when referencing what the framework wants to accomplish.

“[He] intends to cut Social Security and Medicare,” Harris said Tuesday in Wisconsin.

Project 2025 plans to respond by highlighting CNN’s own fact check, which points out the term “Social Security” appears only a few times in the nearly 1,000 pages and never in reference to cuts.

Heritage Foundation spokesperson Mary Vought said Project 2025 proposes “no changes to Social Security.”

Vought told the outlet Harris should “follow her own advice and read the book, instead of promoting lies and disinformation.”

Officials with the project also plan to respond to claims vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, is a partner in the framework amid his prospective boss’s criticisms.

Vance has written a foreword to Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts’ upcoming book, wherein he writes that the nonprofit is not “some random outpost on Capitol Hill,” but the “most influential engine of ideas for Republicans from Ronald Reagan to Donald Trump.”

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

JD Vance, a U.S. senator from Ohio and a 2024 Republican vice presidential candidate, and his wife Usha Vance greet attendees during the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on July 15. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Project 2025 intends to blunt another Harris claim that the manual includes restrictions on in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and contraception. Citing PolitiFact, Project 2025 plans to point out the term “IVF” never appears in the document.

Responding chiefly to Harris’ claims, Roberts said the presumptive Democratic nominee’s claims are “breathtaking in [their] dishonesty.”

“It’s so blatant that even corporate media outlets like CNN are calling out her lies. She has no policy record to run on, except her shambolic tenure as border czar,” he asserted.

Roberts said Project 2025 is being barraged by “two sets of lies. First, that Project 2025 is connected with the Trump campaign. It’s not,” he said. “Second, that Project 2025 proposes all manner of wild, extreme policies. It doesn’t. Dozens of independent fact checks prove that [Harris] is lying, along with an army of paid influencers online. But the truth will win out in the end.”

For his part, Trump has expressed his disagreement with the faction of the right that opposes IVF after an Alabama court ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law.

Project 2025 does, however, provide recommendations on limiting access to abortion.

Project 2025 also plans to respond to critics who have pointed to a widely disseminated post later found to be satire that claimed it sought to mandate “period passports” that track women’s menstrual cycles under penalty of law.

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An official with the project pointed Fox News Digital to a Reuters fact check that confirmed the claim was erroneously taken seriously online.

Other fact checks Project 2025 officials seek to roll out include responses to claims the framework seeks to end gay marriage and makes references to “valid family” structures, though it does seek to promote “stable and flourishing married families.”

Project 2025 also seeks to introduce changes to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, not to abolish it, as some critics have claimed.

In another regard, Starbucks’ decision to provide coffee to first responders at the Republican National Convention led to outrage at the Seattle-based brewer. Upset patrons began claiming it is therefore backing Project 2025 and called for boycotts.

Project 2025 spokesman Noah Weinrich told fact-checker Verify the claim is “purely misinformation.”

The Harris campaign lashed out at former President Trump before he appeared on stage this afternoon at a National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) event, accusing the former president of “demeaning” the organization’s members in the past.

“Ahead of Donald Trump’s conversation at NABJ today – let’s remember exactly who this man is. Not only does Donald Trump have a history of demeaning NABJ members and honorees who remain pillars of the Black press, he also has a history of attacking the media and working against the vital role the press play in our democracy,” reads a statement by Harris campaign Black Media Director Jasmine Harris, which provided several links to instances of confrontations Trump had with NABJ members during his time as president.

The statement came as Trump appeared at the NABJ convention in Chicago on Wednesday, where he sat down for an interview moderated by three journalists, including Fox News’ Harris Faulkner.

EX-CNN HOST DON LEMON CELEBRATES BEING FREE FROM ‘CORPORATE OVERLORDS’ SO HE CAN OPENLY SUPPORT KAMALA HARRIS

Former President Trump and Vice President Harris (Getty Images)

But the former president’s appearance at the event has caused controversy, with critics questioning the organization’s decision to invite Trump.

The decision to invite Trump was defended by NABJ President Ken Lemon, who acknowledged “the concerns expressed by our members” but argued “it is important for us to provide our members with the opportunity to hear directly from candidates and hold them accountable.”

“It has always been our policy to ensure that candidates know that an invitation is not an endorsement. We also agreed that while this race is much different – and contentious – so are the consequences,” Lemon said in a statement.

Former President Trump is shown during a campaign event in Pickens, South Carolina, on July 1, 2023. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

9/11 TERRORIST FEARS TRUMP WILL BE ELECTED AND EXECUTE HIM, ASKS FOR FRENCH TRANSFER

Nevertheless, the Harris campaign argued that Trump would “lie about his record” and the “real harm he’s caused the Black community” during his appearance at the convention.

“He will lie about the skyrocketing Black unemployment and Black uninsured rates our communities suffered from when he was president,” Harris said. “He’ll lie about his failed response to the pandemic that cost Black Americans our lives and our livelihoods. He’ll lie about skyrocketing crime under his leadership and make grand claims about putting checks in people’s pockets when we know his Project 2025 agenda would cost our families thousands.”

During the event, Trump clashed with ABC News reporter Rachel Scott, complaining that the journalist opened the interview with a “nasty question” and calling her TV network “fake news.”

TRUMP CLASHES WITH ABC NEWS REPORTER OVER ‘NASTY QUESTION,’ BLASTS ‘FAKE NEWS NETWORK’ DURING HEATED Q&A

“A lot of people did not think it was appropriate for you to be here today,” Scott said. “You have told four congresswoman of color who were American citizens to go back to where they came from. You have used words like ‘animal’ and ‘rabbit’ to describe Black attorneys. You’ve attacked Black journalists, calling them a ‘loser,’ saying the questions that they asked are ‘stupid and racist.’”

“I don’t think I have ever been asked a question in such a horrible manner,” Trump fired back. “I think it’s disgraceful that I came here in a good spirit. I love the Black population of this country; I’ve done so much for the Black population of this country.”

Meanwhile, the NABJ was not able to coordinate with Vice President Harris to have her appear at the convention, with Lemon saying in the statement that the organization had been trying to work out a way for her to appear since before she became the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee.

Vice President Harris (Erin Schaff/Pool via REUTERS)

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“We were advised by her campaign at the time that her schedule could not accommodate this request. The last update we were provided (earlier this week) was that Harris would not be available in person or virtually during our Convention,” Lemon said. “We are in talks about virtual options in the future and are still working to reach an agreement.”

Reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a Harris campaign spokesperson pointed to an NABJ statement that the vice president and organization were hoping to schedule a Q&A session in September.

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

The Trump and Harris campaigns mixed it up on X on Wednesday afternoon after the former president’s heated appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists’ conference in Chicago, and the Republican vice presidential nominee blasted Vice President Harris as a “coward.”

“Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency, while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in,” Harris campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler said in a statement after the event.

“Today’s tirade is simply a taste of the chaos and division that has been a hallmark of Trump’s MAGA rallies this entire campaign,” Tyler continued. “It’s also exactly what the American people will see from across the debate stage as Vice President Harris offers a vision of opportunity and freedom for all Americans. All Donald Trump needs to do is stop playing games and actually show up to the debate on September 10.”

Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, fired back, saying the former president “walked right into the NABJ conference and showed he had the courage to take tough questions, while Kamala Harris continues to hide from any scrutiny or unfriendly media like the coward she is.”

1 OF THESE 5 DEMOCRATS COULD BE HARRIS’ RUNNING MATE

During the event, Trump clashed with ABC News reporter Rachel Scott, accusing her of asking a “nasty question” and referring to the Disney-owned network as “fake news.”

Trump participated in a Q&A with Scott, Semafor reporter Kadia Goba and Fox News Channel anchor Harris Faulkner. The event caused ripples before it began because many Black journalists objected to Trump even being invited in the first place. Once it began, Scott kicked things off by “addressing the elephant in the room.”

“A lot of people did not think it was appropriate for you to be here today,” Scott said. “You have pushed false claims about some of your rivals, from Nikki Haley to former President Barack Obama, saying that they were not born in the United States, which is not true. You have told four congresswomen of color who were American citizens to go back to where they came from. 

“You have used words like animal and rabid to describe Black district attorneys. You attack Black journalists, calling them a loser, saying the questions that they ask are, quote, stupid and racist. You’ve had dinner with a White supremacist at your Mar-a-Lago resort. So, my question, sir, now that you are asking black supporters to vote for you, why should Black voters trust you after you have used language like that?”

TRUMP CLASHES WITH ABC NEWS REPORTER OVER ‘NASTY QUESTION,’ BLASTS ‘FAKE NEWS NETWORK’ DURING HEATED Q&A

Former President Trump clashed with ABC News reporter Rachel Scott, accusing her of asking a “nasty question” and referring to the Disney-owned network as “fake news” at the National Association of Black Journalists’ convention in Chicago on Wednesday. (Fox News)

Trump shot back at Scott, saying he’s “never been asked a question in such a horrible manner.”

“I love the Black population of this country,” Trump said. “I’ve done so much for the Black population of this country, including employment, including opportunity zones, with Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, which is one of the greatest programs ever for Black workers and Black entrepreneurs. I’ve done so much, you know. And I say this, historically Black colleges and universities were out of money.”

“And let me go a step further,” Trump added. “I was invited here, and I was told my opponent, whether it was Biden or Kamala. I was told my opponent was going to be here. It turned out my opponent isn’t here. You invited me on under false pretense.

“And then you were half an hour late, just so we understand. I have too much respect for you to be late. They couldn’t get their equipment working or something.”

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

Former President Trump appears at the National Association of Black Journalists’ convention in Chicago on Wednesday. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

“Mr. President, I would love if you could answer the question,” Scott said, again asking why Black voters should trust him for another term. 

“I think it’s a very nasty question,” Trump shot back. “I have answered the question. I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln.”

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Former Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama and Bill Clinton attended NABJ conventions in the past, either as presidents or presidential candidates.

Trump posted on Truth Social following the NABJ event, saying of Scott, “The questions were Rude and Nasty, often in the form of a statement, but we CRUSHED IT!”

Fox News Digital’s Brian Flood and Landon Mion contributed to this report. 

The state of Virginia has been hit by another violent crime, allegedly committed by an illegal immigrant, amid an ongoing debate about “sanctuary” policies across the country and in some parts of the state.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed to Fox News that the suspect arrested for the fatal carjacking of a grandmother in Virginia on Sunday is an illegal immigrant from El Salvador.

Jose Aguilar-Martinez, 21, is charged in the fatal Sunday encounter that resulted in the death of 54-year-old Melody Waldecker, a grandmother, FOX 5 DC reported. 

COUNTY SUPERVISOR IN VIRGINIA URGING COUNTY LEADERS, SHERIFF TO HONOR ICE DETAINERS

Melody Waldecker and Jose Aguilar-Martinez (Handout)

According to the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office, Aguilar-Martinez is accused of carjacking Waldecker on July 28. Investigators determined she was struck by her own vehicle as the suspected carjacker fled the scene. ICE confirmed that Aguilar-Martinez entered the U.S. as a “gotaway,” meaning he entered the U.S. without being captured by Border Patrol. 

The agency said it has placed a detainer request on him with local authorities, which is a request that he be transferred into ICE custody when he is eventually released from local custody.

The sheriff’s office said in an update that Aguilar-Martinez had a California driver’s license. California is a sanctuary state and has a policy that allows illegal immigrants to obtain licenses.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ACCUSED OF RUNNING OVER GRANDMOTHER IN FATAL VIRGINIA CARJACKING

The incident follows another crime allegedly involving immigrants in the state. At least two of the men accused of murdering a man and leaving his body near a walking trail in Oakton, Virginia, are illegal immigrants, ABC 7 reported.

Maudin Anibal Guzman-Videz is a Honduran native who entered in 2018 and was released into the U.S., before being ordered removed in 2019 yet remained in the country, according to a statement provided to Fox News Digital by ICE.

According to the agency, he has multiple detainers against him in Fairfax County, but those have not been honored. He has a rap sheet that includes a conviction for assault and entering to commit burglary. However, the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office told 7News that ICE did not send a detainer to its office.

It has also issued a lengthy statement outlining how it defers to the state attorney general’s opinion that a detainer is only a request, and that it will only honor a detainer if ICE also has a judicial warrant.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

“ICE knows that should they wish to take one of these offenders into custody, all that is required on their part is a judicial warrant authorizing arrest. ICE is notified every time an undocumented immigrant is taken into our custody. Yet, time and again, they make no effort to secure a warrant that would give judicial authority to detain. This inaction is a failure of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, not of the Sheriff’s Office,” the office said.

“The status of a person as an inmate or an undocumented immigrant does not diminish their right to be free from unlawful seizure, nor does it eliminate their access to due process and equal protection,” the sheriff wrote.

That has brought criticism from other officials in the state, who called the reasoning a “cop-out.” The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office has had 725 undocumented immigrants in jail over the past year, but only three were transferred to ICE, according to 7 News.

ICE confirmed to Fox News Digital that a second subject arrested in the incident, Wilmer Adalid Guzman-Videz, is an illegal immigrant from Honduras who entered illegally in 2022 and was released with a notice to appear. He was arrested in Washington, D.C., and ICE has lodged a detainer with the city’s police.

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Virginia is seen as a potential swing state, with some polls suggesting it could be in reach for former President Trump; and illegal immigration has consistently registered as a top issue of concern for voters ahead of the 2024 election. 

Fox News’ Bill Melugin, Landon Mion and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

President Trump told a crowd on Wednesday that Vice President Harris “became a Black person,” after years of identifying as Indian, when a reporter asked him a question related to her race.

Trump was speaking at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) on Wednesday afternoon when ABC News’ Rachel Scott asked the former president if he agreed with Republican lawmakers who have characterized Harris as a “DEI” or diversity, equity and inclusion, hire. 

Former President Trump appears at a rally at the Van Andel Arena on July 20, 2024 in Grand Rapids, Michigan (left). Vice President Harris speaks to NCAA Champion Teams on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C. (right). (Left: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images, Right: Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“I’ve known her for a long time, indirectly, not directly… and she was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage,” Trump said. “I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black. And now she wants to be known as Black. So, I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black?”

The vice president’s mother was born in India and her father is a Black man from Jamaica. 

Harris’s campaign communications director, Michael Tyler, released a statement about Trump’s comments shortly after the event.

“The hostility Donald Trump showed on stage today is the same hostility he has shown throughout his life, throughout his term in office, and throughout his campaign for president as he seeks to regain power and inflict his harmful Project 2025 agenda on the American people,” Tyler said. “Trump lobbed personal attacks and insults at Black journalists the same way he did throughout his presidency – while he failed Black families and left the entire country digging out of the ditch he left us in. Donald Trump has already proven he cannot unite America, so he attempts to divide us.

“Today’s tirade is simply a taste of the chaos and division that has been a hallmark of Trump’s MAGA rallies this entire campaign,” Tyler added. “It’s also exactly what the American people will see from across the debate stage as Vice President Harris offers a vision of opportunity and freedom for all Americans. All Donald Trump needs to do is stop playing games and actually show up to the debate on September 10.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also responded to Trump’s comments, saying what he said is “insulting,” adding, “No one has any right to tell someone who they are.”

“How they identify, that is no one’s right. It is someone’s own decision,” Jean-Pierre said. “Only she can speak to her experience.  Only she can speak to what it’s like. She’s the only person that can do that. And I think it’s insulting for anybody. It doesn’t matter if it’s a former leader, a former president. It is insulting.

“She is the Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris,” she added. “We have to put some respect on her name here.”

Trump posted on Truth Social following the NABJ event, writing: “The questions were Rude and Nasty, often in the form of a statement, but we CRUSHED IT!”

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

What’s happening…

-Tlaib ally mourns assassination of top Hamas leader…

-Harris and VP pick to tour battleground states…

-Texas Gov. Abbott scores border victory over Biden…

The Israel Defense Forces revealed Wednesday four reasons why it killed Fuad Shukr, the Hezbollah commander responsible for a drone strike that left 12 children and teens dead over the weekend in northern Israel. 

Shukr served as a senior adviser to Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah at the time of his death in an IDF strike on Tuesday in southern Beirut. The IDF says its fighter jets “eliminated the Hezbollah terrorist organization’s most senior military commander [Shukr]” in Lebanon’s capital city. 

Here’s why Israel’s military says it took out Shukr …Read more

The IDF claims to have ‘eliminated’ Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr after a targeted strike in Beirut. (IDF Spokesman’s Unit)

White House

FIRST ON FOX: Key Biden agency slapped with subpoena over secretive plan to register voters in crucial swing state …Read more

‘DANGEROUSLY LIBERAL’: Harris once proposed health care plan with heavy middle class burden …Read more

Capitol Hill

‘WON’T SILENCE US’: Tlaib ally ignites backlash after mourning assassination of top Hamas leader …Read more

‘OUTRAGEOUS’: Cuban-American lawmakers compare Biden to these autocrats over SCOTUS plan …Read more

BACKING THE BLUE: Gillibrand, Hawley seek mental health hotline for first responders in bipartisan effort …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

HIDDEN TREND: Amid Harris surge, veep loses ground with Black voters …Read more

VP PICK CLUE: New report on Harris campaign could be very telling, in light of Wall Street rule …Read more

COURTING VOTES: Harris and her VP pick to tour battleground states next week …Read more

RED ON BLUE: Republican wins primary for Ruben Gallego’s open seat, sets up long-shot battle …Read more

SHAKE IT OFF: Vance dismisses Dem attacks, discusses what issues he wants to tackle as VP …Read more

‘TRANSPARENTLY FAKE’: Harris mocked for ‘fake’ southern accent during Georgia rally …Read more

‘AMERICANS KNOW THE TRUTH’: Trump campaign rejoices after Harris leans in on key issue haunting her vice presidency …Read more

FLIPPING DELAWARE: Republican looks to become first GOP gov of Biden’s home state in more than 30 years …Read more

‘LACK OF LEADERSHIP’: Possible Harris VP pick slammed for response during 2020 riots …Read more

Vice President Kamala Harris is pictured in front of the White House. (Getty Images)

Across America

‘HATE MAP’: Watchdog group launching map to track political violence …Read more

‘CLEAR COMMUNICATIONS FAILURE’: Former Secret Service agent says team should have been at Trump rally ‘for one reason’ …Read more

ACCESS DENIED: Investigators struggle with would-be Trump assassin’s encryption amid Iran threat …Read more

‘NOT THEIR ASSIGNMENT’: Butler DA says local snipers were not responsible for monitoring rooftop …Read more

‘REPREHENSIBLE’: Corey Comperatore’s family speaks out after scammers impersonated them on Facebook …Read more

CRIME SCENE RELEASED: Site of Trump assassination attempt prepares for farm show …Read more

BUOYED BY RULING: Texas Gov. Abbott celebrates court’s decision to keep floating Rio Grande barrier in place for now …Read more

LINE OF SIGHT: Video from Trump shooting victim shows figure moving on roof before gunfire …Read more

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

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

A comparison of polls taken before and after President Biden’s decision to end his re-election bid depicted the fledgling Vice President Kamala Harris campaign gaining momentum with one notable exception.

Harris, who could be the first Black female president and first president of South Asian descent, lost ground to Biden among Black voters, according to a recent analysis.

Delving into the crosstabs, or categorized responses, in New York Times/Siena polling from July 2 and July 24, Biden performed five points better than former President Trump with Black voters.

In the July 2 survey, Biden enjoyed 56% support among Black voters to Trump’s 13% — or a gap of 43 points.

9/11 TERRORIST FEARS TRUMP WILL BE ELECTED AND EXECUTE HIM, AS HE ASKS FOR FRENCH TRANSFER

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump. (Getty Images)

However, in the latest poll wherein Harris replaced Biden as the Democratic name, the vice president garnered support from 65% of Black respondents compared to Trump’s 17%. That calculates to a 48-point spread and a difference of five.

The disparity was first highlighted in a larger comparison of the two overall polls by Harvard Institute of Politics polling director John Della Volpe.

In a chart titled, “Harris Sees Dramatic Improvement Among Young Voters, Hispanics, Independents,” the MSNBC contributor depicted how Harris enjoyed a 29-point swing in her favor over Biden with voters aged 18-29.

Hispanic voters polled by the Times swung Harris’ way 33 points, and overall registered voters moved seven points her way – offering a 49-49 tie with Trump.

LAWMAKERS ON TRUMP ASSASSINATION TASK FORCE SHARE RARE BIPARTISAN COMMITMENT

Democrats and liberal media pundits are dismissing polls showing former President Trump’s gains among Black voters. (Felipe Ramales for Fox News Digital)

However, Washington Free Beacon editor Peter Hasson posted Della Volpe’s chart and flagged the fact it also showed Harris losing five points among Black voters to Trump, whom Democrats often brand as racist or discriminatory against minorities.

During an address in Philadelphia earlier this month, Harris claimed Trump “stokes hate” and “incites fear.” Trump, however, has often highlighted relevant parts of his presidential record, such as working with Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., to establish “opportunity zones” in minority communities.

For his part, Trump has made overtures to the Black community during his current campaign, including announcing a planned trip to Chicago this week to join a question-and-answer session with the National Association of Black Journalists.

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He also will hold a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – the majority-Black capital of the Keystone State. It will be his first event in the commonwealth since he was nearly assassinated about three hours westward in Butler on July 13.

Following a 2016 rally near Lansing, Michigan, Trump was lambasted from his left for ruminating aloud to Black voters with Democratic proclivities in underserved communities, “What the hell do you have to lose?”

His opponent at the time, Hillary Clinton, called the remark, “so ignorant, it’s staggering.”

Biden notably told a New York radio show popular within the Black community in 2020 that “if you have a problem figuring out whether you are for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black.”

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is reportedly urging Wall Street donors to make their donations immediately due to a rule that limits donations to certain presidential tickets.

Harris’ campaign has reportedly been citing an SEC rule that bans some employees of financial institutions from contributing to a presidential ticket that includes a sitting governor, leading many on Wall Street to conclude her pick will be a governor, Axios reported Wednesday.

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

The five candidates considered most likely to secure a spot on Harris’ ticket are currently Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Mark Kelley, D-Ariz., Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. If the indications are correct, however, the three governors could be the ones to watch.

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

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign is reportedly urging Wall Street donors to make their donations immediately due to a rule that limits donations to certain presidential tickets. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)

“Any reporting on developments or updates in Vice President Harris’ running mate search are premature and speculative,” a campaign spokesman told Axios.

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

Harris could select her running mate as soon as this week. Democrats surged to support her presidential campaign after President Biden bent to party pressure to drop out of the race. Her campaign has announced that she will have a running mate by the time she appears at a rally in Philadelphia next week.

Vice President Kamala Harris could select her running mate as soon as this week. Democrats surged to support her presidential campaign after President Biden bent to party pressure to drop out of the race. (Erin Schaff/Pool via REUTERS)

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

It remains to be seen whether Democrats’ enthusiasm for Harris’ campaign can continue through Election Day. Harris has already improved over Biden in polls against former President Trump, but she is still trailing in most.

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Harris is expected to officially win the Democratic nomination sometime before Aug. 7. The Democratic National Convention will begin on Aug. 19, which comes after the required certification date for some states.

Presumptive Democratic nominee for president Vice President Kamala Harris will be rallying in Philadelphia next week with her highly anticipated running mate pick. Harris is expected to announce her running mate by Monday.

On Tuesday, Aug. 6, Harris will hold her first rally with her VP pick in Philadelphia during the campaign’s four-day, battleground state tour. Harris and her vice presidential nominee will hit Michigan and Arizona, too. 

The campaign’s decision to rally in Pennsylvania on the first day suggests Harris’ running mate may be Gov. Josh Shapiro, who has been floated at the top of the list of possible running mates in recent weeks. 

KAMALA HARRIS’ TREATMENT OF STAFF UNDER SCRUTINY AS REPORTS OF POOR OFFICE CULTURE RESURFACE

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at West Allis Central High School on July 23, 2024 in West Allis, Wisconsin. Harris made her first campaign appearance as the party’s presidential candidate with an endorsement from President Biden. (Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)

Elected as Pennsylvania attorney general in 2016 and re-elected in 2020, Shapiro gained national recognition for his investigations into sexual abuse allegations within the Catholic Church and his legal challenges against several Trump-era policies, including the Muslim travel ban, the rollback of ACA contraceptive coverage and environmental deregulation.

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. (REUTERS/Kevin Mohatt/Pool)

The vice presidential short list also includes Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

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

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks during a campaign event with President Biden, not pictured, at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg)

Following President Biden’s early July suspension of his re-election bid and his endorsement of Vice President Harris, all eyes are now on her imminent choice for the crucial vice presidential role.

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Harris and her vice presidential pick will also visit Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Georgia and Nevada to court voters in these crucial battleground states. 

As of now, the Harris campaign has still “made no decision on a running mate,” according to a campaign statement Tuesday night, Reuters reported. 

During Vice President Kamala Harris’ run for president in the 2020 election cycle, the then-California senator proposed a new health care plan that had potentially high costs for the American middle class.

An archived version of Harris’ campaign website reviewed by Fox News Digital details her “Medicare For All Plan,” which Harris, who personally authored the proposal, promised would provide “comprehensive health insurance that covers every American.”

Harris cited fellow presidential primary rival Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Medicare For All plan as the model for how to pay for her plan, with the then-California senator specifically pointing to an “income based premium paid by employers, higher taxes on the top 1%, taxing capital gains at the same rate as ordinary income, among others.”

Harris also provided a link to the Sanders plan, which included a 7.5% payroll tax increase for employers and a 4% increase in income taxes on households making over $29,000.

HARRIS MOCKED FOR ‘FAKE’ SOUTHERN ACCENT DURING GEORGIA RALLY

Vice President Kamala Harris. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

While Harris praised the Sanders plan for having “good options,” she accused the Vermont senator of going too far with the 4% tax increase, instead proposing that the new tax only apply to households making over $100,000.

“I would tax Wall Street stock trades at 0.2%, bond trades at 0.1%, and derivative transactions at 0.002%. Think of it like this: that’s a $2 fee on a $1,000 trade by investors and big banks,” Harris continued. “I would also end foreign tax shelters by taxing offshore corporate income at the same rate as domestic corporate income. Together, these proposals would raise well over $2 trillion over ten years, more than enough to make up the difference from raising the middle class income threshold.”

However, the proposed 7.5% bump to employer payroll taxes and 4% tax hike on households over $100,000 was panned by critics, including those who ended up joining Harris in a future President Biden administration.

Then-Biden Deputy Campaign Manager Kate Bedingfield, who would go on to serve as the White House communications director from 2021-2023, called the plan a “Bernie Sanders-lite Medicare for All and a refusal to be straight with the American middle class, who would have a large tax increase forced on them with this plan.”

JD VANCE ADDRESSES PAST CRITICISM OF TRUMP AFTER HE’S CHOSEN AS VP: ‘BOUGHT INTO MEDIA’S LIES AND DISTORTIONS’

Despite Harris’ pledge to target employers and high-income households with the burden, some experts argue the cost would mostly be borne by middle-class workers.

Thomas Savidge, a research fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research, told Fox News Digital that any payroll tax increase to employers is likely to be passed on to employees in the form of lower wages.

Vice President Kamala Harris. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

“The cost of payroll tax increases are ultimately borne by employees,” Savidge said. “Increases in payroll taxes on employers take money away that could have been used to increase employee pay, offer better benefits, or hire additional staff.”

Savidge noted that the 4% increase in income taxes would cover a large percentage of the American middle class and would be especially harmful in the current economic environment, where concerns over inflation already have many tightening their belts and spending less.

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, over 37% of U.S. households make over $100,000 and could be impacted by the tax, representing a large chunk of middle-class workers.

THE ‘WEIRD’ CAMPAIGN: THE STUNNING DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HARRIS AND VANCE COVERAGE

Savidge also argued that the Harris proposal represents the most “extreme” way to tackle American concerns over the cost of health care, noting that such a plan would distort the market while having significant impacts on wait times and quality of care.

“This is an extreme way to go about it,” Savidge said. “It’s going to end up making the problems that we have much worse.”

Harris’ current campaign website does not yet include her platform, and the new Democratic nominee also has yet to unveil a new health care plan.

The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital inquiry on whether Harris stood by the plan or if she would support one similar to it in this campaign.

Sen. JD Vance speaks at a press conference on May 13, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah, File)

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However, the Harris proposal was slammed by the office of Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, who the Trump campaign has touted as its “policy attack dog on Kamala Harris.” 

“After four years of sky-high inflation rushing household budgets, the last thing the American people need is another tax hike from Kamala Harris, Vance spokesman William Martin told Fox News Digital. “Her middle class tax increase would hit millions of households, and has drawn comparisons to Bernie Sanders from this in her own party. There is no place for her weak, failed and dangerously liberal agenda in the White House.”

Vice President Kamala Harris caused a wave of criticism on social media after appearing to suddenly use a southern accent during a speech in Atlanta.

“You all helped us win in 2020 and we gonna do it again in 2024,” Harris, who is from California, told Atlanta rally goers while seemingly debuting the new accent.

The accent immediately caught the attention of critics on social media, who accused the presumptive Democratic nominee of pandering to her audience.

“Kamala Harris went to speak in Atlanta and now has a southern accent,” OutKick founder Clay Travis said on X, including a clip of the moment. “Why do people do this? It’s just so transparently fake.

JD VANCE ADDRESSES PAST CRITICISM OF TRUMP AFTER HE’S CHOSEN AS VP: ‘BOUGHT INTO MEDIA’S LIES AND DISTORTIONS’

Vice President Kamala Harris. (Reuters/Hannah Beier)

“Do people do this with any other regional accents?” Travis questioned in a subsequent post. “I don’t think so. No one goes to Massachusetts and suddenly talks like a Kennedy. It’s only the South.”

Travis’ post garnered several replies from critics of the vice president’s accent.

“It’s what sociopaths do,” one reply said.

“It’s called mirroring and it is a strong narcissistic tendency,” another user said.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Westover High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on July 18, 2024. (ALLISON JOYCE/AFP via Getty Images)

THE ‘WEIRD’ CAMPAIGN: THE STUNNING DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HARRIS AND VANCE COVERAGE

The moment also caught the attention of conservative columnist Ian Haworth.

“Kamala Harris’s fake southern accent puts Hillary Clinton to shame,” Haworth said on X, referencing former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s widely mocked use of a southern accent at various stages of her career in politics.

The viral moment comes as Harris continues to try her footing on the trail after being elevated to the top of the Democratic ticket last week, with Georgia being one of the key swing states likely to decide November’s election.

Former President Trump won the state by just over five percentage points in 2016, only to have President Biden narrowly flip it to his column by less than one percentage point in 2020.

Former President Trump. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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The state figures to be one of the closest races again in 2024, with the Real Clear Politics polling average showing Trump with a narrow 3.6 point lead over Harris on Wednesday.

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

Vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance says he was prepared for the deluge of negative media coverage that came after former President Trump tapped him to be his running mate.

In an interview with NBC News, Vance said he does not believe Trump is disappointed about picking him.

“No,” Vance said. “I mean, I knew that when I came out of the gate there was going to be a couple of days of positive media coverage and then immediately they would go and attack me over everything that I had ever said in my life.”

“The price of entry of being on the national ticket and giving me an opportunity to govern is you have to … take the shots, and so I sort of expected it,” he added. “I think that, frankly, the people who’ve made a lot of money and acquired a lot of power screwing the country up are not going to go easily.”

JD VANCE ADDRESSES PAST CRITICISM OF TRUMP AFTER HE’S CHOSEN AS VP: ‘BOUGHT INTO MEDIA’S LIES AND DISTORTIONS’

Vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance says he was prepared for the deluge of negative media coverage that came after former President Trump tapped him to be his running mate. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Vance went on to say he would want to target border policy once in office, essentially undoing the work of Vice President Kamala Harris. President Biden tapped Harris to address the flow of illegal immigration in 2021.

THE ‘WEIRD’ CAMPAIGN: THE STUNNING DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HARRIS AND VANCE COVERAGE

“It all starts with strength — strong borders, strong families, a strong economy and a strong president,” Vance said in a recent rally speech. “Of all of Kamala Harris’ faults, the worst of all is that she left America weak and vulnerable. The entire world now knows that she helped cover up Joe Biden’s declining mental capacity for years.”

Sen. JD Vance went on to say he wants to target border policy once in office, essentially undoing the work of Vice President Kamala Harris. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

“Our adversaries,” Vance added, “are licking their chops and the world is in disarray because of weak American leadership.”

Vance also defended comments that Democrats have used to attack him. A highlight was an old interview in which he criticized Harris and various Democratic women as “childless cat ladies.” He clarified the comment to NBC but did not back down or apologize.

KAMALA RIDES TSUNAMI OF POSITIVE PRESS, BUT SKEPTICS SEE A RISKY CHOICE

“What I was criticizing and continue to criticize is a particular neurosis in American leadership that I think leads people to say crazy things, like you shouldn’t have children because climate change is a threat to the future,” he told the outlet. “Climate change may very well be a problem, but it is not a problem that should motivate people to not have families. And I think that attitude is quite damaging. It’s quite destructive.”

Sen. JD Vance faced criticism from Democrats for calling Vice President Kamala Harris and others “childless cat ladies.” (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

“I’ll keep on calling it out, even though I’m sure that Democrats will misrepresent what I say,” he added. “I just think that the substance of what I said is actually quite defensible.”

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Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., jumped to Vance’s defense on the issue in recent campaign appearances. She and top Trump adviser Jason Miller have been traveling with Vance as he makes his way to rallies across the country.

“I’m here today because of the nasty attacks on JD Vance claiming that he’s anti-woman,” Luna said at a rally in Nevada. “Can you believe that? This is, mind you, by the same party that can’t define what a woman is.”

EXCLUSIVE: A new conservative watchdog group is launching an interactive map that tracks instances of political violence “perpetrated by leftist organizations” in the U.S., it claims.

New Tolerance Campaign (NTC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, announced the launch of its “Hate Map,” an interactive system that will allow users to track instances of political bias through an “unbiased, detailed account of incidents, ensuring a more balanced and thorough perspective.”

“There are organizations and individuals across the country on the left today who are promoting, inspiring and, in some cases, directly engaging in physical violence against those with whom they disagree,” Gregory T. Angelo, president of New Tolerance Campaign, told Fox News Digital in an interview. 

NTC created a catalog of left-leaning groups with a history of events that turned violent, such as protests, vandalism, physical assaults, threats and intimidation.

HARRIS’ BACKING OF BAIL FUND DURING GEORGE FLOYD PROTESTS DAMPENS TRUMP ‘PROSECUTOR’ CAMPAIGN PITCH

The New Tolerance Campaign is launching an interactive “Hate Map.” (New Tolerance Campaign)

Angelo specifically called out the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit they say “has become something of a partisan cudgel.”

HOUSE REPUBLICANS REPLACE AMERICAN FLAGS AT UNION STATION AFTER ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS

“Whether it’s corporate boardrooms that have been infected by the woke mind virus, whether it is colleges and universities that continue on an ever leftward drift, or activist nonprofits like the ACLU and the Southern Poverty Law Center, who have basically just started carrying water for America’s progressive left, the institutions have been taken over by leftist forces going back decades,” Angelo said.

The NTC president said some examples of recent violent incidents include the 2012 shooting at the Family Research Council, the 2017 shooting at a Republican practice session for the Congressional Baseball Game, and the attempted assassination of former President Trump this month.

The New Tolerance Campaign is seeking to catalog “instances of political violence.” (New Tolerance Campaign)

“These were not isolated events. They’re part of a larger pattern of hate and violence promoted by the left,” Angelo said.

“We are going to continue to catalog hate and the promotion of violence on the left,” he said. “Sadly, I don’t think that that number is going to be going down anytime soon. If anything, it’s going to be going up, and we will be here as a resource for members of the media, for elected officials, for everyday Americans and people in academia to use this in their research when it comes to calling out hate across the country.”

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NTC said the map will consist of a wide range of coverage, be updated regularly and be a user-friendly interface, according to a press release obtained by Fox.

Efforts to reach the Southern Poverty Law Center for comment were unsuccessful at press time.

Donald Trump and his allies keep talking about a coup.

I don’t quite see what that gets them.

It seems more an expression of frustration than anything else. The campaign spent two years preparing to run against Joe Biden, with frailty and mental acuity an overriding issue, and now they’ve got an energetic, 59-year-old vice president who has not been fully defined the way presidential nominees usually are by this point.

THE ‘WEIRD’ CAMPAIGN: THE STUNNING DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HARRIS AND VANCE COVERAGE

In his interview with Laura Ingraham, Trump said: “They staged a coup against the President of the United States. They went in and they told him, you’re leaving. You’re way down in the polls, 17 points, I think. It’s like you’re in a fight with somebody, and you’re really winning, and they take him out and they put somebody else in. Nobody ever heard of this before. This is a coup.”

Now I can understand the argument that 14 million people voted for Biden in the primaries and none for Harris — though she was on the ticket with him — and that they have been disenfranchised.

Then the mainstream media and Democrats led by Nancy Pelosi, through increasingly blatant leaks, pressured Biden into stepping aside.

A side-by-side view of former U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)

But the reason it’s not a coup is that Harris, armed with the president’s endorsement, was the only candidate who emerged. Not one Democrat challenged her. Not Gretchen Whitmer, not Gavin Newsom, not Pete Buttigieg, not Josh Shapiro, not any of the other names that have been bandied about. 

Now that reflects in significant measure the worry about a backlash for passing over the first black woman and Asian-American woman to seek the presidency. Harris also deserves credit for assembling enough delegates to win in just 32 hours. So she ran unopposed. 

JD Vance, in a recording obtained by the Washington Post, told donors in Minnesota that the VP represented a unique challenge.  

KAMALA RIDES TSUNAMI OF POSITIVE PRESS, BUT SKEPTICS SEE A RISKY CHOICE

“All of us were hit with a little bit of a political sucker punch,” Vance said. “The bad news is that Kamala Harris does not have the same baggage as Joe Biden, because whatever we might have to say, Kamala is a lot younger. And Kamala Harris is obviously not struggling in the same ways that Joe Biden did…

“Let’s be honest, 10 days ago, the two candidates who were running for president, everybody had an opinion about ’em. Love ’em or hate ’em, everybody has an opinion about Donald Trump and Joe Biden after the past eight years. But Kamala Harris, people don’t really know.”

Now that’s candor behind closed doors.

Former US President Donald Trump arrives at the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, on Wednesday, July 17, 2024.  (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

It also underscores that the battle to define the vice president’s image over the next few weeks will make or break her candidacy.

In his first ad since clinching the nomination, airing in battleground states, blames Harris for the mess at the border, with the tagline: “Failed. Weak. Dangerously liberal.”

Vance has also had a rough rollout. CNN reports that he said several years ago: 

“We think babies are good because we’re not sociopaths…

THE RACE TO DEFINE KAMALA HARRIS, AS PELOSI ENDORSES HER AND NO CHALLENGERS EMERGE

“And the fact that so many people, especially in America’s leadership class, just don’t have that in their lives.

“You know, I worry that it makes people more sociopathic and ultimately our whole country a little bit less, less mentally stable.”

As for Twitter, “almost always, the people who are most deranged and most psychotic are people who don’t have kids at all.”

As I’ve argued, the mainstream press seems far more interested in Vance’s history of controversial statements than in Harris’ past ultra-liberal stances, including promoting a bail fund for BLM rioters in 2020. 

US Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Westover High School in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on July 18, 2024.  (ALLISON JOYCE/AFP via Getty Images)

The New York Times described her old clips and comments as “weaponization” by Republicans, as if the media don’t have an obligation to dig as well. 

In other news from the “Ingraham Angle” interview:

–Trump made a false accusation against the president on classified documents. “Now, with Biden, he really was convicted of that case. He was let go of that case. And, by the way, you’re talking about many more [documents]. And he didn’t have the Presidential Records Act…They said he was incompetent and, therefore, he can’t stand trial, and yet he would have been allowed to be president.”

Biden wouldn’t have to stand trial because special counsel Robert Hur declined to bring charges. He voluntarily contacted authorities upon realizing that he had many classified documents from his vice-presidential years and turned them over.

Trump, who was indicted for withholding documents, boasted that the case had been thrown out – by the Florida judge he appointed, Aileen Cannon, who has made many rulings favoring him. That is being appealed.

–He sent mixed signals on the debates, saying he will “probably” debate Harris, “but I can also make a case for not doing it.”

–Trump cleaned up a furor over telling a Christian audience that they won’t have to vote in four years because he will have fixed everything. He said he was telling them “you never vote. This time, vote. I will straighten out the country. You won’t have to vote anymore. I won’t need your vote. You can go back to not voting.”

–The former president said Harris “got rid of the laugh. I noticed I haven’t seen that crazy laugh that she’s got. She’s crazy. That laugh, that’s the laugh of a crazy person.”

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With less than 100 days to go, there may not be many laughs in what promises to be an ugly campaign.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called out the White House after a recent intelligence report found that Iran is trying to sabotage former President Trump’s presidential campaign, arguing that the Biden-Harris administration’s policy of “weakness and appeasement” strengthens Tehran.

The findings were revealed during an Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) press briefing on Monday. An official said that U.S. spy agencies “observed Tehran working to influence the presidential election,” likely because Iranian leaders want to avoid escalating any conflicts with the U.S. 

The regime is allegedly using “vast webs of online personas and propaganda mills,” to spread disinformation. Though the ODNI did not explicitly say that Iran was aiming at Trump, an official said they “haven’t observed a shift in Iran’s preferences” since 2020, meaning that Tehran was still targeting the Republican candidate.

Speaking to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, Pompeo said that he was not surprised by Iran’s attempts to influence the election. The Fox News contributor explained that Iran was “isolated, broke, and weak,” when he left office in January 2021 — and accused the Biden administration of enabling the Iranian regime.

IRAN TRYING TO SABOTAGE TRUMP’S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: US INTELLIGENCE

Mike Pompeo told Fox News Digital that Iran’s targeting of the Trump campaign was “not surprising.” (Getty Images)

“It is not surprising that the Iranian regime would want to do everything in its power to prevent a second Trump administration,” Pompeo said.

“The Biden-Harris administration, on the other hand, has pursued a program of weakness and appeasement, and Iran is flush with cash and powerful once more as a result.

The former Secretary of State also said that Tehran “despises” American values and expects them to continue interfering with the 2024 presidential election.

“It will do everything it can to meddle in our democracy to support Kamala Harris, who will continue the same policies of weakness and keep the regime rich and powerful,” Pompeo added.

On Monday, the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran denied the interference allegations. 

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Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump stands on stage with Melania Trump and other members of his family during the Republican National Convention, July 18, in Milwaukee.  (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

“Iran does not engage in any objectives or activities intended to influence the U.S. election,” a spokesperson said. “A significant portion of such accusations are characterized by psychological operations designed to artificially pep up election campaigns.”

Tehran has also been accused of a separate plot to kill Trump on July 13, after a gunman shot the former president at a Butler, Pennsylvania, rally. The Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran has called the claims “unsubstantiated and malicious.”

During a joint hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, the FBI’s deputy director Paul Abbate said that officials are “not ruling anything out,” regarding Iran’s possible involvement.

An election official sits in front of a portrait of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during the registration of candidates before the country’s presidential elections last month at the Interior Ministry in Tehran, Iran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

“We have no information that there are any co-conspirators, foreign or domestic, including Iran, related to this, but we’re not — I want to be clear — we have no evidence of that,” Abbate explained. “We’re not ruling anything out. We’re looking into all possibilities and leaving our minds open to that.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman contributed to this report.

A Republican primary candidate for governor of Delaware, Mike Ramone, said in a conversation with Fox News Digital that he intends to beat what he called one-party rule in President Biden’s home state. 

Currently serving as the minority leader of the state House, Ramone said he intends to flip the governor’s office red for the first time in more than three decades come November. 

“Delaware has been controlled by one party for 32 years. And I am here to give Delaware a choice,” Ramone said. “Balance brings discussion and discussion brings vetting, and vetting avoids unintended consequences…. There is the far red and the far blue that both will be out to vote. But I believe that many far-blue might even consider that they can do better also in the state of Delaware.” 

Under Democratic leadership, Ramone argued that Delaware has morphed into one of the worst states when it comes to education, health care, safety, traffic, and business friendliness. 

He said it’s the only state in the nation that had negative GDP. 

“We need to go back to line item reviews of every single expense we make because we’re spending people’s taxes. It’s not our money. It’s their money. And I do think Ronald Reagan had it best, you know, ‘Are you better off today than you were then?’ And if people feel they’re better off, we won’t have a Republican,” Ramone said. “But if they feel that they’re tired of the drama in politics, if they feel they want to have a leader who leads from the front but supports from the back, if they feel that it’s time to move into the technology and the job development in fintech, in pharma, in other aspects like Pete DuPont did for our state when he moved us into being the corporate capital of the world, then they’re going to vote for Mike Ramone. They’re going to vote for a business person.”

Ramone, who has more than 40 years of experience in the business sector, said Delaware voters need to consider “management style” when electing their leaders.

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Mike Ramone has won eight elections in a state House district dominated by Democrat voters.  (Mike Ramone Campaign )

“The way we manage our state currently is dysfunctional. Our education system is one of the highest funded and one of the lowest in results. Our health care system is absolutely havoc-ridden,” he said. “I do not believe digesting hatred or negativeness or tainting facts is something I will ever be part of … I just think there are so many things we can do better. We need to stay focused. We need to create a vision.” 

According to latest voter registration data available this month, Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly two to one in the state. Delaware also has about 16,600 more independent voters than registered Republicans, and Democrats currently control nine statewide offices. Additionally, Ramone’s campaign comes at a pivotal point nationally after Biden exited the presidential race. 

“Joe Biden. We are all proud of Joe. I’m a Republican, and I can say that because he’s the first Delawarean to ever become a president of the country,” Ramone said. “And I think that’s just wonderful. However, I don’t think the style of leadership we watched in the last years of presidential campaigns and so forth are what’s indicative of Delaware.” 

Mike Ramone said Delaware has one of the highest funded and lowest performing education systems in the country.  (Mike Ramone Campaign )

Ramone, who first went into business at age 20, taking out an $8,000 loan to open his first flower shop, said he’s willing to put his reputation on the line to run the state in a way that’s “fiscally responsible” again. 

Delaware lost the three c’s – credit cards, chemicals and cars – when two major car manufacturers, the juggernaut DuPont, and MBNA closed their doors, Ramone said. 

He argued the state has the ideal location to become a fintech hub with Silicon Valley-esque initiatives to bring higher-paying jobs in different sectors to the state, not what he called the “$15 Amazon jobs.” 

Ramone described education as a “catastrophe” in the state, arguing that most funding gets tied up in administration in the state’s 19 school districts and department of education, rather than being used in classrooms.

First elected to the state House 16 years ago, Ramone has survived eight separate elections to hold onto his district, which has more registered Democratic voters per capita than the state has as a whole. 

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Mike Ramone is running as a Republican gubernatorial candidate in Delaware.  (Mike Ramone Campaign )

“My belief is simple. My district is 8,000-something Democrats,” Ramone said. “It’s somewhere around 5,000 Republicans and around 5,200 independents. I’m the only elected official lucky enough to be reelected eight times in the state of Delaware, representing the third party, not the second party. I was in the minority minority. There’s more independents than Republicans, so I think I have a pretty good feel of building relationships. I think I have a pretty big feel of listening, and I think I have my fingers on the pulse of what Delaware is about. Delaware is a state that has an enormous amount of people who are fiscally reasonable, financially conservative, and socially moderate to liberal. In other words, leave people alone. Let them live their lives. But don’t clobber me for taxes and have overzealous government.” 

A father and grandfather, Ramone said he intends to make Delaware a state where younger generations can afford to live and prosper, instead of having to move elsewhere. 

Delaware’s last Republican governor was Mike Castle, who served in the position from 1985 to 1993.

Despite running during a presidential election year, Ramone said he believes his resume and business acumen will win him the governor’s office. 

“When I ran in my district, Mike Ramone signs were right next to a lot of Joe Biden signs, Mike Ramone signs right next to a lot of Donald Trump signs and Mike Ramone signs were in a lot of yards with no signs. So Delaware is small enough that I believe the national rhetoric may involve a higher level of turnout. But I don’t believe that turnout will help nor hurt me,” Ramone said. 

Mike Ramone promised to make Delaware a state where his grandchildren can afford to live and thrive.  (Mike Ramone Campaign)

Any traction for former President Trump in Kent and Sussex counties, Ramone argued, would be offset in New Castle County, where more Democrats would be motivated to bring out the vote against Trump. 

“I think it’s almost what you call revenue neutral. I think it’s going to offset itself. I’m not worried about what goes on nationally. I’m worried about what goes on in my community, in my state, and in each one of our three wonderful counties,” Ramone said. “You get into these campaigns, and they get so busy throwing bombs at each other, they forget to say why they should even be there. I’ll be focused on why I should be there. I’ll be focused on what I can do to help people. I will be focused on making Delaware a better place to live.” 

In Delaware, the governor’s office is term limited, so current Democratic Gov. John Carney cannot run for re-election this year. 

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Ramone will still need to advance through the Sept. 10 Republican primary. 

Jerry Price, a former New York Police Department officer, first announced his GOP bid for governor of Delaware in December. Ramone entered the primary race in May, and a third Republican, Bobby Williamson, launched his bid just earlier this month. For Democrats, current Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long and New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer are competing in the gubernatorial primary.

The winner from each party will face off in the Nov. 5 general election.