NationalWatch

Former President Trump released a video Thursday mocking independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for not meeting the requirements to appear at the first presidential debate.

The short video, recorded aboard Trump’s private jet, addressed reports that Kennedy had insufficient support in national polls and did not appear on enough state ballots to earn a spot at CNN’s upcoming debate.

“I know RFK Jr. wants to try to get onto the stage on Thursday, and I’d love to have him frankly, because I don’t think he’s much of a debater, and he’s got some very liberal, radical left ideas,” Trump said in the video. “But you have to get certain numbers, that was the criteria, and he’s way below those numbers. He’s not coming close.”

RFK JR. FAILS TO MEET REQUIREMENTS FOR FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE, CNN SAYS

Former President Trump speaks before members of the Club 47 group at the Palm Beach Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

“So I hope to see him up there someday, but it looks to me like he’s not going to qualify on many fronts,” Trump continued. “They say he hurts Biden more than he hurts me, and I don’t know if that’s true or not. They say he hurts Biden because he’s a serious left person. If he is, that’s good — I don’t really care.”

In order to qualify for the CNN-hosted debate, candidates are required to receive at least 15% support in four separate national polls. Candidates must also be on the ballot in enough states to make it hypothetically possible to collect the 270 electoral college votes necessary to win the election.

Kennedy — the highest-performing 2024 candidate outside the Republican and Democratic parties — failed to meet the criteria by the Thursday morning deadline, the network said.

DNC KEEPS GOING AFTER RFK JR. SUPER PAC, ALLEGES TRUMP’S LARGEST DONOR PROPPING UP CANDIDACY

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at the Libertarian National Convention in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

A CNN spokesperson independently confirmed to Fox News that RFK Jr. did not qualify.

“You have to do better than six or seven points. Maybe someday he’ll be there, but I doubt it,” Trump concluded in his Thursday video.

The independent candidate was only able to produce the necessary 15% support figure in three separate national polls, according to a news release by CNN. The network also reported that Kennedy had not qualified for the ballot in enough states to meet the 270 possible electoral college votes threshold.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

President Biden speaks to the press in the East Room at the White House in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

“Presidents Biden and Trump do not want me on the debate stage and CNN illegally agreed to their demand,” Kennedy said in his own statement on Thursday. “My exclusion by Presidents Biden and Trump from the debate is undemocratic, un-American, and cowardly.”

“Americans want an independent leader who will break apart the two-party duopoly,” he added. “They want a President who will heal the divide, restore the middle class, unwind the war machine, and end the chronic disease epidemic.”

Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis’ “Hail Mary” court filing to halt a court appeal is “an obvious attempt” to prevent discovery of her “misconduct,” according to attorneys for former President Trump.

Last week, Wills argued that the Fulton County Superior Court found there was no sufficient evidence to support their claims that she had a conflict of interest, saying there is “no basis” to appeal Judge Scott McAfee’s March ruling allowing the Atlanta prosecutor to stay on the case.

However, in a legal filing Thursday, Trump attorneys told the Georgia Court of Appeals that “without citation to any applicable authority, the State filed this ‘Hail Mary’ motion to dismiss these meritorious appeals, accusing this Court of ‘improvidently’ granting interlocutory review. There is no proper procedural vehicle for the State to relitigate this Court’s sound decision to hear the merits.” 

“President Trump has filed his response in opposition to the State’s meritless motion to dismiss the interlocutory appeal,” Steve Sadow, lead counsel for Trump said in a statement. “The Georgia Court of Appeals granted us the right to appeal after due and proper consideration. The State’s “Hail Mary” motion is an obvious attempt to stop appellate review of DA Willis’ misconduct.”

GEORGIA PROSECUTOR FANI WILLIS APPEALS AFTER JUDGE DROPS MULTIPLE TRUMP CHARGES

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks to the media after winning the Democratic primary on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 in Buckhead, Georgia. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

“We are optimistic that the Court will deny the motion and proceed to favorably decide the appeal on the merits,” he said.

Trump and several co-defendants alleged earlier this year that Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade were romantically involved prior to his hiring and that she financially benefited from the relationship, allegations they both have denied.

Judge McAfee’s order in March said that Wade had to be removed in order to keep Willis from disqualification in the Trump election interference case in Georgia. McAfee allowed the defense to appeal his ruling, and the appeals court announced last week that it will hear the defense’s case to still have Willis disqualified. 

The appeals court agreed to hear the case on Oct. 4 and paused all other litigation concerning Trump and those defendants until the disqualification matter is settled. 

“The State’s motion to dismiss the interlocutory appeal, which has already been permitted by the Court of Appeals, appears to be a last ditch effort to stop any appellate review of DA Willis’ misconduct,” Sadow said in a statement Wednesday. 

TRUMP’S APPEAL TO DISQUALIFY FANI WILLIS FROM GA CASE GETS OCTOBER HEARING DATE

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis looks on during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on March 1, 2024 in Atlanta. (Photo by Alex Slitz-Pool/Getty Images)

“The State’s motion deliberately failed to mention that Judge McAfee’s ruling stated an ‘odor of mendacity remains’ from the hearing testimony by the DA and the State’s witnesses. The judge also said there were “reasonable questions” as to whether Willis and former prosecutor Wade testified untruthfully. The State has tried this gambit before with no success,” he said. 

Both Wade and Willis denied they were in a romantic relationship prior to his hiring and insisted that the couple split the costs of their shared travels. Willis said she reimbursed Wade for her share of the trips in cash.

In his March order, McAfee said while Willis’ “reimbursement practice” was “unusual and the lack of any documentary corroboration understandably concerning,” he ultimately decided that the defendants did not present “sufficient evidence” that expenses were not “roughly divided evenly.” 

He also said that “the evidence demonstrated that the financial gain flowing from her relationship with Wade was not a motivating factor on the part of the District Attorney to indict and prosecute this case.”

In February, Judge McAfee held a two-day evidentiary hearing where the defense, led by attorney Ashley Merchant, set out to expose a money trail that would mean Willis has a conflict of interest in the case against Trump and should be disqualified.

FANI WILLIS’ EX-STAFFER TESTIFIES SHE WAS FIRED AFTER BLOWING WHISTLE ON DA’S SPENDING

Former President Trump appears in Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday, May 30, 2024 in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool)

“[T]he Court finds that the record made at the evidentiary hearing established that the District Attorney’s prosecution is encumbered by an appearance of impropriety,” McAfee wrote in his order.

“As the case moves forward, reasonable members of the public could easily be left to wonder whether the financial exchanges have continued resulting in some form of benefit to the District Attorney, or even whether the romantic relationship has resumed.”

“Put differently, an outsider could reasonably think that the District Attorney is not exercising her independent professional judgment totally free of any compromising influences. As long as Wade remains on the case, this unnecessary perception will persist,” he said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Wade resigned from the DA’s office after McAfee’s ruling.

When the defense in March submitted a joint motion for a Certificate of Immediate Review, McAfee said that his Order on the Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss and Disqualify the Fulton County District Attorney issued March 15 “is of such importance to the case that immediate review should be had” and allowed the defendants to ask the Georgia appeals court for an opportunity to appeal, which the court granted last month.  

Former New York mayor, billionaire entrepreneur and media magnate Michael Bloomberg contributed nearly $20 million to help boost President Biden in his 2024 election rematch with former President Trump, sources confirm to Fox News.

Bloomberg, a one-time Republican turned independent turned Democrat, wrote a massive $19 million check to the Future Forward PAC, known as the FF PAC, which is the leading super PAC supporting Biden’s bid for a second term in the White House.

And Bloomberg, who briefly ran unsuccessfully against Biden for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, also gave the maximum donation of $929,600 to the Biden Victory Fund, a fundraising committee that benefits the president’s re-election campaign and various Democratic Party committees.

BIDEN HAS A MASSIVE MAY FUNDRAISING HAUL, BUT COMES UP FAR SHORT OF TRUMP

Michael Blomberg speaks at a United Nations Climate Change Conference at The Plaza Hotel, on September 19, 2023 in New York City. (Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Bloomberg Philanthropies)

Sources with knowledge of the transfers confirmed them to Fox News on Thursday evening.

“I stood with Joe Biden in 2020, and I am proud to do so again,” Bloomberg said in a statement to the Washington Post, which was the first news organization to report the massive contributions.

WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLL SHOWS IN THE BIDEN-TRUMP REMATCH

Bloomberg shelled out a staggering $1 billion of his own money on his 2020 Democratic presidential nomination bid.

After he dropped out of the race, he transferred roughly $18 million to the Democratic Party. And he separately announced the funding of a $100 million independent ad campaign to boost Biden’s White House bid.

President Biden speaks at a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 29, 2024. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Bloomberg, who at 82 is a year older than Biden, according to Forbes Magazine, is the 15th wealthiest person in the world, with approximately $106 billion in assets.

As the news of the Bloomberg contributions was going viral, so was word that conservative billionaire donor Timothy Mellon gave a mind-boggling $50 million contribution last month to a leading super PAC supporting Trump’s White House bid.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

According to a federal disclosure filing on Thursday, Mellon made his contribution to Make America Great Again (MAGA) Inc. the day after Trump was convicted of all 34 felony counts in his criminal trial, which is the first involving a former or current president in the nation’s history.

The New York Times was first to report the contribution from Mellon, who’s an heir to the Pittsburgh-based Mellon banking family.

Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, walks to the podium at a campaign event Tuesday, June 18, 2024, in Racine, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps) (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

In its fundraising filings, MAGA Inc. disclosed that it brought in over $68 million in fundraising last month, with most of the money coming from Mellon, with another $10 million from the conservative mega donors Dick and Liz Uihlein, founders of the Uihlein shipping and packaging company.

The super PAC announced a few days after the Mellon donation that they were reserving $100 million in ad reservations to run spots this summer in support of Trump.

The latest contribution from Mellon follows a previous $25 million donation earlier this cycle to MAGA Inc. Mellon also contributed roughly the same amount to American Values, the main super PAC supporting Democrat turned independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign.

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

Gay Trump voters are shattering the Democratic Party’s “lie” that the LGBT community only votes blue, the president of the Log Cabin Republicans told Fox News Digital. 

“Donald Trump is providing an opportunity for everybody to have an equal shot on a fair playing field. And that’s what it comes down to at the end of the day. LGBT voters don’t need to be pandered to. We don’t need to be marginalized. We just need to be given the same opportunity for success, and for freedom, and for liberty as everybody else,” Log Cabin Republicans President Charles Moran told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview earlier this week. 

“Donald Trump is the only candidate who’s making that happen,” he continued. “There’s no assumption … of us being in a discounted or a diminished state.”

The Log Cabin Republicans is the nation’s oldest and largest organization of LGBT Republicans, with over 10,000 members across the country, including 80 chapters in 40 states, Moran said. Though the group’s base focuses on centrist and center-right gay voters, Log Cabin Republicans also has strong support from suburban women and youths. 

MELANIA TRUMP SAYS US ‘MUST UNITE’ AHEAD OF MAR-A-LAGO LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS EVENT

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk on the south lawn of the White House on December 23, 2020. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Throughout Moran’s interview, he stressed that Trump, in conjunction with former first lady Melania Trump, is spreading a message of unity while vowing to implement policies that benefit all Americans, regardless of skin color, gender or sexual orientation. 

MELANIA TRUMP RETURNS TO CAMPAIGN TRAIL WITH PRO-LGBT REPUBLICAN EVENT APPEARANCE: REPORT

Trump has made massive strides in courting the gay community in his previous campaigns, with Moran anticipating again increasing the number of gay voters supporting the GOP this year. In 2016, Trump only received 14% of the gay vote, but he doubled that statistic to 28% in 2020.

Log Cabin Republicans President Charles Moran (Charles Moran)

“This is a year where we can absolutely drive those LGBT numbers up, and I’m going to shoot for as close to 50% as possible. And the really important thing here is that shatters the stereotype that if you’re gay you have to be a Democrat. We know that not to be true as much, as the left wing and mainstream media want to keep pushing that lie. It’s just not true. Nearly a third of the LGBT voters in the last election voted for Republicans, both for either President Trump or for congressional Republicans,” he said. 

FLASHBACK: RNC ANNOUNCES ‘PRIDE COALITION,’ PARTNERSHIP WITH LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS AHEAD OF MIDTERMS

The Trump campaign told Fox News Digital that Trump’s commitment to curbing inflation and addressing spiraling crime rates if re-elected will benefit all Americans. 

“By bringing down inflation and the skyrocketing cost of living, cutting taxes, and restoring law and order in our communities, President Trump’s second term agenda will create a safer and more prosperous America for ALL Americans, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or creed!” Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s national press secretary, said. 

American flags and a pride flag hang from the White House before a Pride Month celebration on the South Lawn, June 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Moran noted that amid efforts to earn a greater share of gay votes, members of the LGBTQ community have become disenchanted with the Democratic Party’s “virtue signaling” and “pandering.”

“I think one of the biggest things that we’ve seen in 2024 is that the era of virtue signaling and pandering is coming to a very quick halt. You saw corporations during Pride Month really cut back and curtail on some of the over-the-top virtue signaling that had been going on because they got called out on it, mocked and shamed for that inauthenticity back in 2023. I don’t think any of those corporate CEOs wanted to go back into that in 2024. So I’m really in a strong position at this point to let Republicans know: Just be authentic with it, because the Biden administration has been taking an ever-increasing role of the pandering and virtue signaling,” Moran said. 

MELANIA FULLY BEHIND TRUMP’S 2024 CAMPAIGN, SAYS IT WOULD BE A ‘PRIVILEGE’ TO SERVE AS FIRST LADY AGAIN

President Biden (AP/Evan Vucci)

He pointed to the White House’s pride month event last year, when a trans activist went topless on the South Lawn, as well as the White House flying a progress flag, which he called the “bastardized version of the traditional rainbow flag,” while flanked by American flags last year. The White House quickly condemned the trans activist for the nudity stunt, as footage of the scene from the South Lawn went viral. 

“It’s turned into a mockery,” he said of recent “pandering” at the White House. 

“It is worse now under Joe Biden internationally to be gay. The lives of our brothers and sisters in the Middle East and in other parts of the world, in Africa and the Caribbean and some places in Southeast Asia, it is now worse and more dangerous than it was under Donald J. Trump.”

When asked if Biden or Trump has better policies that benefit the gay community, Moran did not hesitate when answering, “Trump.” He cited that Trump is the “first president ever elected in history that supported LGBT marriage, marriage equality on day one,” that the 45th president has made it easier to be a gay voter in the Republican Party, that gay people across the world were at less risk of harm and discrimination under the Trump administration due to his foreign policies, and that the 45th president leaves pandering at the door in favor of authentic messaging.

GAY GOP HOUSE CANDIDATE INSISTS ‘NEW REPUBLICAN PARTY’ MORE ACCEPTING, WORKING TO UNITE AMERICANS

“LGBT voters have gotten to the point now, where they are mature enough and they’re sophisticated enough to say, like, ‘hey, it’s not so much: do you support marriage equality, or some of these other LGBT rights issues?’ It’s a ‘are you … creating a condition as an elected official for me to be able to survive, to thrive, to raise my family, to run my business?’ And every one of the answers that keeps coming back is ‘no’ from these Democrats,” he said. 

Former President Trump speaks during a campaign event at Wildwood Beach in New Jersey, on Saturday, May 11, 2024. ( Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“At some point, you can’t just keep slapping the rainbow lipstick on a pig here. And that’s exactly what the Democrats are trying to do with the pandering and the virtue signaling.” 

Moran conveyed that Biden has even worsened gay rights for people on the world stage with weak foreign policies. 

“Under the Biden administration, it’s actually gotten worse because of that lack of strong foreign policy presence, and because of the lack of America being willing to stand up for our morals and values on an international stage. It’s actually gotten worse. What they’ve done to empower Iran, the releasing of the $10 billion and the consideration of doing it again, absolutely has an impact in our world. Where they’re executing gays and lesbians regularly for being who they are,” he said. 

BIDEN, HARRIS ANNOUNCE NEW CAMPAIGN PUSH FOR LGBTQ SUPPORT, CALL MEMBERS ‘A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH’

“It is worse now under Joe Biden internationally to be gay. The lives of our brothers and sisters in the Middle East and in other parts of the world, in Africa and the Caribbean and some places in Southeast Asia, it is now worse and more dangerous than it was under Donald J. Trump,” he continued. 

Biden-Harris 2024 spokesperson Kevin Munoz told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that “LGBTQ+ Americans couldn’t have more at stake this election: Donald Trump and his extremist allies are running to gut LGBTQ+ rights and erase history as their top priorities.”

“LGBTQ+ Americans deserve leaders who will fight for every American’s freedom and dignity. That’s what President Biden and Vice President Harris have done throughout their time in office, and what they will do if reelected, including pressing Congress to pass the Equality Act. There has never been a more critical time to protect the rights of all Americans, no matter who you love or how you identify, and [President Biden is running] to not just safeguard, but strengthen the rights and voice of every single American,” Munoz continued. 

Melania Trump (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

News broke this week that former first lady Melania Trump will join the Log Cabin Republicans for her second campaign fundraiser with the group this summer and her fourth fundraiser with them overall. Moran said that Melania Trump is “an amazing ally” and communicator who spreads the message of “unity.” 

“She really knows that inclusion does win and that unity is one of the most important things that we have going for us in this country. And that’s kind of the tone that she’s set with a lot of the coalitions this year, in terms of bringing Americans together. And we know that under Joe Biden, it doesn’t matter if you’re gay or you’re straight, if you’re black or you’re white, or you’re Asian, if you’re Christian, if you’re Jewish or you’re Muslim, life is worse for you now under Joe Biden and his failed leadership than it was under Donald Trump. And that’s something that we can all rally around,” he argued. 

Supporters of former President Trump gather for a weekend Trump rally on the Jersey Shore beachfront on May 11, 2024, in Wildwood, New Jersey. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

Melania Trump will join the Log Cabin Republicans in Manhattan on July 8, with donations benefiting the group’s “Road to Victory” program to boost voter turnout for the GOP. 

Moran reflected on President Reagan’s mantra that “80% my friend is not 20% my enemy,” which he said is embraced by the Log Cabin Republicans as they look to broaden the GOP vote. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“You don’t have to agree with us on all of our public policy points, but if you agree that we have a place in the party, or that America is a place where LGBT people can and should have the same rights and responsibilities as every other person, we can work with you on that. And that’s what we’re going to do to have a lasting, durable majority in the Republican Party.”

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

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has not qualified for the first debate of the election cycle, CNN said Thursday.

In order to qualify for the CNN-hosted debate, candidates are required to receive at least 15% support in four separate national polls. Candidates must also be on the ballot in enough states to make it hypothetically possible to collect the 270 electoral college votes necessary to win the election.

Kennedy — the highest-performing 2024 candidate outside the Republican and Democratic parties — failed to meet the criteria by the Thursday morning deadline, the network said. A CNN spokesperson independently confirmed to Fox News that RFK Jr. did not qualify.

CNN FINALIZES RULES FOR FIRST BIDEN VS. TRUMP DEBATE, RFK JR. COULD STILL QUALIFY

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaks at the Libertarian National Convention in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The independent candidate was only able to produce the necessary 15% support figure in three separate national polls, according to a news release by CNN. 

The network also reported that Kennedy hadn’t qualified for the ballot in enough states to meet the 270 possible electoral college votes threshold.

“Presidents Biden and Trump do not want me on the debate stage and CNN illegally agreed to their demand,” Kennedy said in a statement on Thursday. “My exclusion by Presidents Biden and Trump from the debate is undemocratic, un-American, and cowardly.”

DNC KEEPS GOING AFTER RFK JR. SUPER PAC, ALLEGES TRUMP’S LARGEST DONOR PROPPING UP CANDIDACY

Joe Biden and Donald Trump debate at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, during the 2020 election cycle. (Kevin Dietsch/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Americans want an independent leader who will break apart the two-party duopoly,” he added. “They want a President who will heal the divide, restore the middle class, unwind the war machine, and end the chronic disease epidemic.”

Kennedy has sharply criticized CNN’s standards for the debate, claiming the requirements for entry were arbitrarily enforced against him in order to maintain a one-on-one debate format.

The Trump campaign said it would have been fine with Kennedy on the stage.

“President Trump said repeatedly he had no problem debating RFK Jr. and he believes any candidate who qualifies for the ballot should be allowed to make their case to America’s voters,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said. “It’s Joe Biden and the Democrats who are using financial and legal resources to prevent RFK’s access to the ballot because they know RFK Jr. is a radical leftist who pulls more votes from Biden than President Trump.”

The 90-minute debate, scheduled to take place on June 27 in Atlanta, will be hosted by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. It will be the first in-person face off between Biden and Trump since they stood alongside one another on debate stages during the 2020 cycle.

CNN said there will be two commercial breaks during the debate, and candidates will not be allowed to consult with other members of their campaign during that time.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaks during a voter rally at The Hangar at Stanley Marketplace in Aurora, Colorado. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)

The network also noted that candidates’ podiums and positions will be determined by a coin flip, their mics will be muted outside of speaking time, and they will only be provided with a pen, a notepad and a bottle of water.

Candidates will not be allowed to bring props or prepared notes.

Fox News’ Kyle Morris contributed to this report.

President Biden and former President Trump appear to be taking quite different approaches in prepping for the first presidential debate of 2024.

The debate, which came about after a war of words between the two over a potential on-stage clash last month, is scheduled to be held June 27 in Atlanta, much earlier than in any previous election cycle.

Trump has so far avoided any mock debates with his team and is focusing heavily on meeting with close allies and hitting the campaign trail. Meanwhile, Biden has opted to hunker down in the days leading up to what is expected to be a historic clash by prepping with his advisers at Camp David.

KEY DEM SENATE CANDIDATE WHO ACCUSED OPPONENT OF ELECTION DENIALISM HAS HISTORY OF QUESTIONING RESULTS

President Biden, left, and former President Trump. (Getty Images)

Trump has been gathering with Republican allies for private meetings in recent weeks as he looks ahead to the debate, including a handful of those in contention to be his vice presidential running mate, senators and other policy experts, sources tell Fox News Digital. His campaign has characterized the meetings as “policy discussions.”

One of the vice presidential nominee contenders, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, huddled with Trump and members of his staff earlier this month at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago club and residence in Palm Beach, Florida. Sources familiar with the meeting confirmed the encounter and that the session centered around debate messaging on the economy and how to target Biden over inflation.

Trump also took part in another policy discussion last week during his one-day trip to the nation’s capital, where he met behind closed doors with Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, another potential running mate, as well as first-term Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri. 

Trump co-campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, veterans in the political world, also sat in on the session, which included discussions on how to deal with likely debate questions on the Jan. 6, 2021, protests at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of the former president aiming to disrupt congressional certification of Biden’s 2020 election victory.

BIDEN MAKES MAJOR GAINS WITH CRUCIAL VOTING GROUP AHEAD OF 1ST DEBATE WITH TRUMP: POLL

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speaks to members of the media outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse in New York City on May 13. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump has also held policy discussions with senior advisers Kellyanne Conway and Stephen Miller, and with former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell. To date though, none of the sessions have included any mock debates, which is a switch from 2020 when former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie role-played Biden to prepare Trump for the general election debates.

“President Trump takes on numerous tough interviews every single week and delivers lengthy rally speeches while standing, demonstrating elite stamina. He does not need to be programmed by staff or shot up with chemicals like Joe Biden does,” senior adviser Jason Miller told Fox News Digital concerning why Trump has yet to do any traditional mock debates.

Trump has demanded that both candidates be drug tested before the debate.

Trump will hold a rally in the battleground state of Pennsylvania on Saturday, while Biden will undergo in-depth preparations at Camp David over the weekend and into next week.

Biden’s former chief of staff, Ron Klain, is leading the president’s debate prep, alongside other senior campaign aides and longtime advisers, a campaign official told Fox News Digital.

INSIDERS PREDICT RUST BELT REPUBLICAN, POSSIBLE TRUMP VP PICK, COULD FLIP BIDEN VOTES IN KEY SWING STATES

Former White House chief of staff Ron Klain. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The official said his sessions will center on ways to hold Trump “accountable for his extreme record and the dangerous things he’s been saying on the campaign trail,” including “ripping away reproductive rights, promoting political violence, undermining our democratic institutions, and doing the bidding of his billionaire donors to fund tax giveaways to the ultra-wealthy and corporations by hurting seniors and the middle class.”

Given the president’s “day job,” the official said he would have less time to prepare than he did four years ago, so preparations will largely be confined to immediately prior to the debate.

“The President has gotten increasingly punchier in recent remarks about Trump and plans to carry that theme through to the debate, while still projecting himself as the wise and steady leader in contrast to Trump’s chaos and division,” the official said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

A spokesperson for CNN confirmed to Fox News Digital that independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. did not qualify for the debate despite a late effort to be included alongside his top contenders.

Trump and Biden are only expected to meet on the debate stage one other time ahead of the November general election, when ABC News hosts its debate in September.

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

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced he is filing a lawsuit against the state of New York for what he called “their direct attack on our democratic process through unconstitutional lawfare against President Trump.”

On Thursday, Bailey said on his podcast, “The Bailey Wire,” that his office would be taking steps to combat illicit prosecutions against the former president. 

Bailey said it’s time to restore the rule of law.

“Radical progressives in New York are trying to rig the 2024 election. We have to stand up and fight back,” he exclusively told Fox News Digital. 

GOP AG LAUNCHES NEW PROBE INTO COMMUNICATIONS FROM DOJ AND TRUMP PROSECUTORS

Andrew Bailey, Missouri’s attorney general, said he will sue New York for “their direct attack on our democratic process through unconstitutional lawfare against President Trump.” (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Bailey said the state’s actions against Trump sabotage Missourians’ right to a free and fair election.

“We have to fight back against a rogue prosecutor who is trying to take a presidential candidate off the campaign trail,” Bailey wrote on X.

Bailey’s office noted that the lawsuit will go straight to the U.S. Supreme Court because it is a state versus state action. His office said it will be titled “Missouri vs. New York.” 

Last month, Bailey probed the Justice Department for documents related to any communications with prosecutors connected to the indictments of former President Trump.

TRUMP’S ‘MODERN DAY SALEM WITCH TRIAL’ VERDICT SIGNALS ‘OPEN SEASON’ ON FORMER PRESIDENTS: EXPERTS

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and President Biden. (Getty Images )

“The investigations and subsequent prosecutions of former President Donald J. Trump appear to have been conducted in coordination with the United States Department of Justice,” Bailey alleges, adding that he believes that allegation is demonstrated in part by the move of the third-highest ranking DOJ official, Matthew Colangelo, to the Manhattan DA’s office to help prosecute the criminal case, N.Y. v. Trump.  

In addition, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg worked alongside New York Attorney General Letitia James in pursuing civil litigation against Trump, using that experience as a springboard from which to campaign for his current position, Bailey notes. 

NEW YORK APPEALS COURT REJECTS TRUMP’S BID TO LIFT GAG ORDER

“During that campaign, Bragg promised ‘if elected, [he] would go after Trump.’ Once he won election, he pledged ‘to personally focus on the high-profile probe into former President Donald Trump’s business practices,’” Bailey states. 

Bailey argues that Bragg’s decision to bring the prosecution “despite its transparent weakness has nonetheless had the effect of keeping former President Trump off the campaign trail, which President Biden has bragged about.” 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

“Given the timing (Bragg charged Trump only after Trump declared his candidacy for President), the transparent weakness of the charges, and the effect the charges have in keeping Trump off the campaign trail, there is substantial reason to suspect the Biden administration has coordinated with Bragg and others to bring prosecutions against Trump,” Bailey claims.

Fox News Digital’s Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report. 

President Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign and the Democratic National Committee raised a combined $85 million in May, which is their second-best month of fundraising this election cycle.

But the money raised by Biden and the DNC is far short of the staggering haul raised by former President Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee last month.

In announcing their May fundraising figures on Thursday evening, the Biden campaign also highlighted that they had a massive $212 million cash-on-hand as of the end of May. 

“Our strong and consistent fundraising program grew by millions of people in May, a clear sign of strong and growing enthusiasm for the President and Vice President every single month,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement. 

BIDEN STRIKES GOLD IN CALIFORNIA, ONE WEEK AFTER TRUMP’S MASSIVE HAUL IN THE BLUE BASTION 

President Biden’s re-election campaign scolded MSNBC and CNN on Wednesday for ignoring a “Black Voters for Biden-Harris” rally in Philadelphia. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Biden’s announcement came on the final day the presidential campaigns had to file their May fundraising figures with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

But the Trump campaign didn’t wait for the deadline to tout its May fundraising haul.

The former president’s campaign announced two and a half weeks ago that they and the RNC, fueled in part by the former president’s guilty verdicts in his criminal trial, combined hauled in a stunning $141 million in fundraising in May.

That was up from the $76 million they raised in April when they topped President Biden and the Democratic National Committee for the first time in their 2024 election rematch. 

Former President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower on May 30, 2024 in New York City after being found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. (Felipe Ramales for Fox News Digital)

Spotlighting their grassroots appeal, the Trump campaign said that the average dollar donation was $70.27 with 25% of the donors in May being first time contributors to the former president’s 2024 run.

The Trump cash announcement came in the wake of what his campaign showcased as “record-shattering” fundraising immediately after he was found guilty of all 34 felony counts in the first trial of a former or current president in the nation’s history.

The former president’s campaign highlighted that in the first 24 hours following Thursday evening’s verdict, they and the RNC hauled in nearly $53 million in fundraising, which counted towards May’s total. 

BILL AND HILLARY CLINTON HELP BIDEN RAISE BIG BUCKS 

The Biden campaign also raised funds off of the Trump verdict, and a source familiar told Fox News that “the 24 hours after the verdict were one of the best fundraising 24 hours of the Biden campaign since launch.”

Biden’s May haul came without any major fundraising events headlined by the president. The Biden campaign says that a majority of its May fundraising came from grassroots donors. 

The campaign has been using its funds to build up what appears to be a very formidable ground operation in the key battleground states and announced hours earlier on Thursday that they had hired their 1,000 staffer. The Biden campaign enjoys a large organizational advantage over team Trump when it comes to grassroots outreach and get-out-the-vote ground game efforts.

File photos of President Biden (left) and former President Trump ((AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson and Evan Vucci))

“The money we continue to raise matters, and it’s helping the campaign build out an operation that invests in reaching and winning the voters who will decide this election,” Chavez Rodriguez highlighted.

Biden’s campaign appears to enjoy a large cash-on-hand advantage over Trump, whose campaign didn’t report their cash-on-hand amount in announcing their May fundraising. The campaigns are not legally required to report those figures until the end of July, following the close of the second quarter of fundraising.

Biden enjoyed a $146 million to $88 million cash-on-hand advantage over Trump at the end of March, following the close of the first fundraising quarter of the year.

Trump has been aiming to close his fundraising gap with Biden, who had regularly been outpacing Trump in monthly fundraising.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump walks to the podium at a campaign event Tuesday, June 18, 2024, in Racine, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps) (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

Trump’s April haul was boosted by a record-setting $50.5 million that the former president’s campaign raked in at a single event early in the month with top dollar GOP donors that was hosted at the Palm Beach, Florida home of billionaire investor John Paulson.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Both candidates have held top dollar fundraising events so far in June.

The president set a new Democratic Party fundraising record – according to his campaign – as he hauled in over $30 million at a star-studded fundraiser on Saturday in Los Angeles with former President Obama, Hollywood heavyweights George Clooney and Julia Roberts, and late night TV talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.

President Joe Biden (L) laughs with former President Barack Obama onstage during a campaign fundraiser at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on June 15, 2024. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) (Getty Images)

And he brought in $8.1 million at a fundraiser at the Northern Virginia home of former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, where he was also joined by former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State and former Sen. Hillary Clinton, who was the Democrats’ 2016 standard-bearer.

Meanwhile, Trump’s team touted that they hauled in roughly $27.5 million during a fundraising swing by the former president in California and Nevada a week ago.

Fundraising, along with public opinion polling, is a key metric used to measure the strength of a candidate and their campaign. Money raised can be used to build up grassroots outreach and get-out-the-vote operations, staffing, travel and ads, among other things.

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

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…

– VP Harris gets a big promotion in ‘Queer Eye’ blooper

– Speaker Johnson urged to crack down on DEI

– Climate radicals target Taylor Swift

‘Very Damning’ Video

While White House officials are busy dismissing as “cheap fakes” a series of viral videos apparently showing President Biden in declining mental acuity, a conservative tech expert counters that the footage is genuinely troubling and that the Biden message shop is simply working to “gaslight” social media moderators and voters.

“The discredited right-wing critics of President Biden who spread other debunked lies, including that the 2020 election was stolen, are clearly threatened by the wide range of nonpartisan fact-checkers that have pulled back the curtain on the cheap fake smears they’re forced to rely on,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told Fox News Digital.

“It’s very clear what’s going on here,” counter Heritage Foundation tech researcher Jake Denton. “They’re trying to push a new term underneath the school of misinformation to try and pressure social media companies to take action on videos of this nature.”

The reality is that the videos accurately reflect Biden’s current cognitive ability, Denton told Fox News Digital, saying Americans should “reject these terms and buzzwords and just assess the videos as they are, because they’re very damning.”

“It looks horrible because it is,” he said.

The Republican National Committee’s research division posted several videos on X that appeared to show President Biden in a “perpetual state of confusion.” The Biden White House dismisses them as “cheap fakes,” but one tech expert says the truth is “[i]t looks horrible because it is.”

White House

TIGHT-LIPPED: Biden admin won’t say whether it plans to reach out to Rachel Morin’s family …Read more

‘MADAM PRESIDENT’: VP Harris scores a big promotion in mistaken ‘Queer Eye’ video caption …Read more

SHOTGUN WEDDING: Experts warn Biden border order will lead to marriage fraud  …Read more

Capitol Hill

BORDER CONTRADICTION: Md. Dems lament mom’s murder allegedly by illegal migrant, yet praise Biden on border …Read more

‘WOKE’ WARS: Missouri senator pushes to eliminate DEI at the Pentagon  …Read more

ABORTION BY MAIL: 1800s-era law targeted by Senate Dems over key postal provision …Read more

VARSITY BLUES: Johnson urged by over 50 conservative groups to crack down on DEI in medical schools …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

MEME WARS: Biden donors put up $10M in effort to compete with Trump viral videos …Read more

WHY NOW?!: Biden campaign manager asked about timing of immigration executive order …Read more

LOWEST ON RECORD: New Yorkers turn on Democrat governor in new poll …Read more

ONE ON ONE: RFK Jr. fails to meet debate criteria, meaning it’s Trump vs. Biden, CNN says …Read more

FINAL COUNTDOWN: Insiders reveal how Biden, Trump are prepping for their first debate …Read more

NAME ‘THREE DRAG QUEENS’: Blue city mayor’s odd question to rival raises eyebrows …Read more

Drag queen “Pattie Gonia” was recently named one of National Geographic’s “Travelers of the Year.” (Christopher Polk / Contributor)

Across America

TROUBLE IN A SMALL TOWN: Florida mayor resigns via mass email to residents …Read more

‘INSIDIOUS’ BIAS: New lawsuit alleges a women’s medical program illegally excludes White women …Read more

EPA SUED AGAIN: Groups target trucking emissions standards …Read more

JUNETEENTH: Deep South state unveils monument honoring those who endured slavery …Read more

TAX CUTS: Red state governor signs income, property tax cuts into law …Read more

‘A GREAT DAY’: High Court delivers justice to Texas grandmother jailed for political retaliation  …Read more

LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO: Climate radicals target Taylor Swift’s private jet  …Read more

DEM MAYOR ‘OUSTER’: Oakland pol to face landmark recall vote …Read more

Around the World

ARMS FOR ALLIES: Taiwanese president gives thanks as US approves $360M weapons sale  …Read more

‘SCOURGE OF ANTISEMITISM’: French political rivals join forces to decry Jewish girl’s gang rape  …Read more

POOCH PACT: Kim commits to defending Russia, seals deal with gift of dogs …Read more

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un pet dogs during a walk in the garden of the Kumsusan Guesthouse in Pyongyang, North Korea in this image released by the Korean Central News Agency June 20, 2024.     (KCNA via REUTERS)

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.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who is rumored to be one of former President Trump’s top considerations for vice president, touted his and his wife’s relationship with Trump while stumping for him in Michigan on Thursday.

During a tour of West Michigan’s Sobie Meats butcher shop with his wife, North Dakota first lady Kathryn Burgum, the governor addressed speculation that he could be Trump’s choice to serve as vice president should he take back the White House this November.

Asked on Thursday whether he had any updates to provide on the vetting process for vice president, Burgum told reporters: “This will be my only second ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer of probably the last year, but no. … Haven’t heard any updates.”

Though he didn’t have any updates pertaining to Trump’s selection of a running mate, Burgum said he’s “had a lot of discussions” with the former president in recent months.

NORTH DAKOTA GOV, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE DOUG BURGUM FRONT AND CENTER AT TRUMP NEW JERSEY RALLY

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and his wife, Kathryn Burgum, stand alongside former President Trump at a caucus night rally at the Treasure Island Casino in Las Vegas on Feb. 8. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

“It’s been a real honor for Kathryn and I to have spent as much time with the president as we have since we first endorsed him,” he said. “We were the first presidential candidate who dropped out to endorse him. We were there on the stage in Iowa on that historic night. We were there with him in Nevada.”

Burgum said he and his wife are readily available to assist Trump with his campaign, noting that he told the former president, “‘Hey, we’re on call. Call us if you need us, and we’ll go.'”

“So we had a chance to spend quite a bit of time with him, and across that we’ve had a lot of discussions,” he added.

Burgum said he and his wife had gotten to know Trump “in a much closer way” and insisted he is “incredibly hard-working.”

“He thinks about solutions in pure common sense, and he thinks about it in terms of what’s best for America,” he added of Trump. “He is super curious. You go to a fundraiser with him or a roundtable, and he’ll ask questions of everybody that’s there. He’s always sampling, he’s always learning. So I think he’s getting great input and he’s getting input from the American people on these policies.”

Although it is still unclear who Trump will select as his running mate for the upcoming presidential election, which is less than five months away, a report published last week brought into focus the former president and first lady’s relationship with Burgum and his family.

MELANIA WILL ‘MOST CERTAINLY’ HAVE INFLUENCE ON TRUMP’S VP PICK, SAYS FORMER WHITE HOUSE AIDE

Former President Donald Trump listens as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum speaks during a Nevada Republican caucus night watch party in Las Vegas on Feb. 8. (Ian Maule/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Puck report highlighted Melania Trump’s relationship with Kathryn and pointed to how Kathryn “worked with Melania on multiple occasions, including on building recovery-friendly workplaces” during Trump’s presidency.

The report also highlighted how the Burgums were invited to the White House to celebrate the signing of the First Step Act criminal justice reform initiative, an issue the outlet said is “particularly important to Kathryn.”

Additionally, the outlet noted how the two couples “bonded” with one another at Mar-a-Lago for an Easter brunch this year.

Burgum has attended numerous rallies and events to offer support for the former president in recent weeks and months, further adding to speculation that he is gunning to serve as Trump’s running mate in the 2024 election.

During his trip to Michigan on Thursday, Burgum spoke favorably of Trump’s ability to communicate with Americans ahead of the June 27 presidential debate.

“There’s never been a better politician, a better debater, a better communicator. I mean, you look at the size of the rallies where people show up to hear President Trump… it’s historic,” he said. “It’s really remarkable the way he can connect with people. And I’m sure he’s going to do that during the debate.”

From left: House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.; Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin; South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem; and South Carolina Gov. Tim Scott are among those floated as a possible vice presidential running mate for former President Trump. (Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Burgum, who traveled to New York City to support the former president during his trial last month, also touted Trump’s record on immigration during his visit to the Great Lakes State, saying, “No one’s been stronger on the border.”

Trump’s decision on who he will select as his running mate isn’t expected to be made public until this summer’s Republican National Convention, which is slated to take place in Milwaukee from July 15-18.

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, continued the course of not supporting former President Trump during the 2024 election.

Last week, Trump had a closed-door meeting with Republican senators where he pitched a new policy position that could win over workers in key swing states ahead of the November election.

Romney attended the meeting, though he told CNN reporter Manu Raju on Tuesday that he did not go to support Trump.

“I didn’t go there to support former President Trump. I went there to listen to what he was planning on doing if he became president,” Romney told Raju.

Romney reportedly acknowledged he was not planning to attend the meeting, though he changed his mind after his flight was canceled.

ROMNEY SCORCHES BRAGG’S ‘POLITICAL DECISION’ IN TRUMP CASE: ‘MALPRACTICE’

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said Tuesday he won’t support former President Trump in the 2024 election because of a “matter of personal character.” (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

“With President Trump, it’s a matter of personal character,” the Utah senator said. “I draw a line and say when someone has been actually found to have been sexually assaulted, that’s something I just won’t cross over in the person I wouldn’t want to have as president of the United States.”

Romney was referring to a federal jury’s decision in New York City last year, which ruled Trump was not liable for the rape of E. Jean Carroll, though the former president was liable for sexual abuse and defamation.

Fox News Digital reached out to Romney’s team to verify the accuracy of the statements and was told, “That is what he said and has been saying this for months – it’s not new.”

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

Carroll, who alleged that Trump raped her at the Bergdorf Goodman department store across from Trump Tower in Manhattan sometime in 1996, was seeking $12 million.

FEDERAL JUDGE REJECTS TRUMP REQUEST FOR NEW TRIAL IN E JEAN CARROLL SUIT, SAYS HE MUST PAY $83.3 MILLION

Former President Trump remains the 2024 GOP presidential front-runner. (Donald Trump 2024 campaign)

Trump, the 2024 GOP presidential front-runner, has repeatedly denied the allegations. His denial resulted in Carroll slapping Trump with a defamation lawsuit, claiming his response caused harm to her reputation.

The jury found Carroll was injured as a result of statements Trump made while in the White House in June 2019.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The jury awarded Carroll $7.3 million in compensatory damages, other than the reputational repair program, and $11 million in damages for the reputational repair program.

The jury found Trump’s statements were made to harm Carroll and awarded her $65 million in punitive damages. In total, the jury said Carroll should be paid $83.3 million.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

The Senate Republicans’ campaign arm is launching ad buys expected to exceed $100 million ahead of the 2024 elections, in which the party stands a significant chance of taking back the majority in the upper chamber. 

The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) on Thursday started reserving multimillion-dollar ad spots for the fall in key states Ohio, Nevada, Michigan and Arizona as it eyes potential Republican pickup opportunities. 

The reservations are for both television and digital ad campaigns. 

DEMOCRATS EYE TAKE DOWN OF FEDERAL PROVISION COULD AFFECT ABORTION BY MAIL

The NRSC announced plans to make ad reservations in Ohio, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada.  (Getty Images)

The races in Ohio and Nevada are considered “Toss Ups” by non-partisan political handicapper the Cook Political Report. In Michigan and Arizona, the Senate seats being vacated by Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., are rated only “Lean Democratic.”

MIKE PENCE’S GROUP URGES GOP TO OPPOSE MEASURE INCLUDING WOMEN IN FUTURE DRAFT

Sinema is not running for re-election to her seat.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images`)

NRSC Executive Director Jason Thielman said in a statement, “This investment is a reflection of the fact that Senate Democrats are on defense all over the country.”

“Joe Biden’s extreme unpopularity has given us a chance to build a lasting Senate Majority. We have the right candidates and the right message, now we need to execute,” he added. 

TRUMP-BACKED CANDIDATE WINS VIRGINIA’S REPUBLICAN SENATE PRIMARY TO TAKE ON TIM KAINE

Republicans are currently in the minority in the Senate.  (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

News of the new fall reservations comes as the campaign arm has already started working with GOP candidates in Montana, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Nevada and Arizona on coordinated ad buys. According to the NRSC, similar coordinated campaigns will also be launched with Bernie Moreno in Ohio, Mike Rogers in Michigan and Eric Hovde in Wisconsin in the next few months. 

The $100 million top line ad spend will include a variety of modes of advertising including TV, radio and digital, and will also incorporate additional coordinated ad campaigns with candidates.

VA DEM TIM KAINE WARNS AGAINST TAKING ELECTION FOR GRANTED AS TRUMP EYES BLUE STATE

Sens. Jon Tester, Jacky Rosen, Sherrod Brown, Tammy Baldwin, Bob Casey (Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The NRSC is hoping to take advantage of a less than favorable Senate re-election map for Democrats and guarantee a Republican Senate majority in the next Congress. The current breakdown between the Democratic caucus and Republican conference is 51 to 49. 

The campaign arm is also eyeing a potential upset in Maryland, where popular former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan is testing whether he can win the blue state again. 

A Democrat super PAC, which has received more than $500K in cash from a left-wing dark money nonprofit, has jumped into a Republican congressional primary in Colorado in the latest example of Democrats meddling in a Republican primary.

Rocky Mountain Values PAC, which is bankrolled by the left-wing dark money nonprofit Sixteen Thirty Fund, has spent at least $300,000 boosting former Republican state Rep. Ron Hanks, by attacking him as being too conservative and tying him to former President Trump. Hanks is in a six-way primary race in Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, a seat abandoned by GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert, according to FEC filings.

The funding comes as Democrats are presumably calculating that Hanks is less likely to defeat Democrat Adam Frisch as opposed to the Republican Jeff Hurd, who polling suggests is the front-runner. Sixteen Thirty Fund gave $500K to Rocky Mountain Values PAC in April and over $4,500 earlier this month.

Frisch lost to Boebert by just 546 votes in 2022 in a district Trump is popular in.

FORMER NAVY SEAL SAYS DEMS MEDDLING IN HIS SENATE RACE ‘TO DISTRACT MONTANA VOTERS’ FROM ‘TWO-FACED’ OPPONENT

Jeff Hurd and Ron Hanks are competing in the CO-03 GOP primary (Fox News Digital)

“A shock to no one, Adam and the Democrats are attacking Jeff because they know he is the only Republican who can beat Frisch and keep the seat red,” the Hurd campaign statement told The Colorado Sun earlier this month. 

“Voters in western and southern Colorado won’t be duped.”

The GOP-aligned Congressional Leadership Fund has responded by dropping roughly $400,000 in ads attacking Hanks’ record on issues like gun control and accusing him of not being aligned with Trump’s policies. 

Frisch has also spent money in the primary attacking Hurd, The Colorado Sun reported.

ABC PANEL CRITICIZES DEMOCRATS MEDDLING IN GOP PRIMARIES: ‘EMBARRASSINGLY HYPOCRITICAL’

Man at voting booth (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

“Why are Democrat mega donors spending so much to prop up Ron Hanks’ campaign?” CLF Communications Director Courtney Parella told Fox News Digital.  

“Republicans, beware.”

Left-wing groups getting involved in Republican primaries has become a common occurrence over the past several years as Democrats operate under the strategy that elevating a candidate they feel is weaker by touting him or her as “too conservative” in the primary will provide the Democrat with an easier opponent in November.

In 2022, Democrats spent more than $40 million to boost six pro-Trump candidates in Republican primaries, and all six of those Republicans lost their general election races to Democrats.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Rep. Lauren Boebert  R-Colo., leaves the U.S. Capitol after the last votes of the week on Thursday, February 15, 2024 (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

However, many political experts view the strategy as risky, and DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene told the Washington Post in January 2024 that her group no longer supports the strategy of propping up “far-right” candidates in swing districts.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Hurd campaign, Hanks campaign and Sixteen Thirty Fund but did not receive a response. 

“RMV PAC is committed to defeating extreme Colorado Republicans,” Amber Miller, a spokesperson for Rocky Mountain Values PAC, told The Colorado Sun.

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump have filed a new motion in his New York civil fraud case alleging that the judge engaged in “prohibited communications” and should recuse himself. 

In a motion filed with the New York State Supreme Court, Trump’s lawyers accuse Judge Arthur Engoron of engaging in actions “fundamentally incompatible with the responsibilities attendant to donning the black robe and sitting in judgment.”

That action refers to a conversation Engoron allegedly had with New York City real estate attorney Adam Leitman Bailey “regarding the merits of this case, the permissible scope of the New York State Attorney General’s and this Court’s own authority under Executive Law…and the consequences of this Court’s decision on business in the State.”

“The New York Code of Judicial Conduct exists to ensure that litigants are afforded a fair and impartial trial. Justice Engoron’s communications with Attorney Adam Leitman Bailey regarding the merits of this case, however, directly violate that code and demonstrate that Judge Engoron cannot serve as a fair arbiter. It is clear that Judge Engoron should recuse himself immediately,” Alina Habba, spokesperson for Trump said in a statement. 

TRUMP POSTS $175M BOND IN NY CIVIL FRAUD CASE, AVERTS ASSET SEIZURE

Justice Arthur Engoron presides over the civil fraud trial of the Trump Organization at the New York State Supreme Court in New York City on November 13, 2023. (ERIN SCHAFF/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

According to the filing, Bailey told ABC in an interview that he had tried to advise Engoron weeks before the judge’s decision. 

“Although Mr. Bailey claims that President Trump was not mentioned by name in the conversation, when asked whether ‘it was obvious that [his] input was related to this case,’ Mr. Bailey stated ‘well[,] obviously we weren’t talking about the Mets,’” the filing says. 

Engoron in February found Trump liable for more than $350 million in damages in the civil fraud case brought against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

James’ case also targeted Trump’s family and the Trump Organization. Engoron ruled that Trump and defendants were liable for “persistent and repeated fraud,” “falsifying business records,” “issuing false financial statements,” “conspiracy to falsify false financial statements,” “insurance fraud,” and “conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.”

The judge criticized Trump’s behavior during the trial, saying that he “rarely responded to the questions asked, and he frequently interjected long, irrelevant speeches on issues far beyond the scope of the trial.”

TRUMP UNLOADS ON JUDGE, NYAG FOR TARGETING HIM ‘FOR POLITICAL REASONS’ DURING UNPRECEDENTED TESTIMONY

New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference, Sept. 21, 2022, in New York.   (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File)

According to the ABC report cited in the filing, a spokesperson for the court said: 

“[N]o ex parte conversation concerning this matter occurred between Justice Engoron and Mr. Bailey or any other person. The decision Justice Engoron issued February 16 was his alone, was deeply considered, and was wholly uninfluenced by this individual.”

The filing notes that since those allegations have come to light, “it is reported that the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct has launched an investigation into this Court’s conduct” and that “at least a dozen news outlets have reported on both the alleged ex parte communication and the pending investigation.”

“The law is clear that any communication outside of the presence of the parties or their lawyers must be strictly scrutinized,” lawyers for Trump argue in the filing. “The Court is obligated to avoid attempted ex parte communications, and if an ex parte communication does occur, the Court should, at minimum, promptly notify all parties of the communication.”

“The appropriate remedy for the ex parte communication is notification to the parties and recusal,” it states. 

“Here, it is beyond dispute that neither Defendants nor the Attorney General were present during the purported communication with Mr. Bailey. Nor did this Court ever notify either party that the purported communication took place, which would have at least permitted an opportunity for comment on the substance of the conversation, as conveyed by this Court,” the filing states. 

“Worse yet, Mr. Bailey’s account indicates that this Court not only permitted but welcomed such prohibited communication. According to Mr. Bailey, this Court was an active participant in a conversation concerning the merits of the case, wherein this Court asked Mr. Bailey a ‘lot of questions.'” 

BILL MAHER GRILLS ESPER FOR NOT BACKING BIDEN AFTER CALLING TRUMP A ‘THREAT TO DEMOCRACY;: A ’BINARY’ CHOICE

Donald Trump arrives to Trump Tower, Thursday, May 30, 2024 after being found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. (Felipe Ramales for Fox News Digital)

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

Notably, Bailey years ago successfully sued then-real estate mogul Trump over a condo dispute. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“For the foregoing reasons, Defendants respectfully request that this Court recuse itself, or, in the alternative, set the matter down for an evidentiary hearing, and grant any such other and further relief it may think proper,” the filing concludes. 

Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz and Brooke Singman contributed to this report. 

Senate Democrats are looking to strike a provision in a federal law that bars materials related to abortion from being transmitted through the mail, warning that it could be wielded by a Republican president and Congress to ban abortions nationally. 

Sen. Tina Smith, (D-Minn.), is leading an effort to revise the 1873 Comstock Act, repealing the piece making the mailing of abortion materials illegal. 

“There is a very clear, well-organized plan afoot by the MAGA Republicans to use Comstock as a tool to ban medication abortion, and potentially all abortions,” Smith said in a statement to the Washington Post, which first reported on the bill. “My job is to take that tool away.”

MIKE PENCE’S GROUP URGES GOP TO OPPOSE MEASURE INCLUDING WOMEN IN FUTURE DRAFT

Sen. Tina Smith is hoping to strip a controversial abortion provision from the 1800s-era Comstock Act. (Getty Images)

However, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has maintained that the law does not outright ban drugs that can induce abortion from being sent through mail, because intent is not always known. “The mere mailing of such drugs to a particular jurisdiction is an insufficient basis for concluding that the sender intends them to be used unlawfully,” Christopher Schroeder, assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel in the DOJ concluded in a 2022 opinion. 

Such a measure is likely to receive full Democratic support if it scores a vote on the Senate floor. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has not said whether this measure will be included in the parade of reproduction-related votes that have been scheduled in the summer months. 

TRUMP-BACKED CANDIDATE WINS VIRGINIA’S REPUBLICAN SENATE PRIMARY TO TAKE ON TIM KAINE

Mifepristone is one of the medications used to facilitate abortions. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)

Schumer did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital.

Smith’s bill could also manage to pick up some Republican support from moderate Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who have joined their Democratic counterparts on abortion and reproduction related votes in the past. 

VA DEM TIM KAINE WARNS AGAINST TAKING ELECTION FOR GRANTED AS TRUMP EYES BLUE STATE

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has teed up several reproductive votes. (REUTERS/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/File Photo)

Despite having a good outlook for Senate support, the measure would not be expected to be brought to a vote in the House or have enough votes to pass. 

Democrats in the Senate have concentrated their legislative efforts in the upper chamber on safeguarding access to contraception, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and abortion ahead of a recess-heavy fall schedule. 

So far, votes have occurred for Democrat-backed bills to ensure accessibility of both birth control and IVF procedures, but both procedural hurdles have failed, as Republicans opposed the broad nature of both bills. 

SENATE GOP STOPS DEM ATTEMPT TO BAN BUMP STOCKS AFTER SCOTUS REVERSES TRUMP-ERA RULE

The overturn of Roe v. Wade was incredibly controversial. (AP Photo/Anna Johnson)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In the next month, Schumer is expected to schedule a vote on a bill that would codify Roe v. Wade and the federal right to an abortion. Such a measure is similarly expected to fail. 

The series of votes on the subject come as Democrats fight to retain their very vulnerable Senate majority in the November elections. Five incumbent Democrats are embroiled in tough elections in the most competitive Senate races of the cycle, according to non-partisan political handicapper the Cook Political Report, which rates three as “Toss Ups” and two as only “Lean Democratic.”

• Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed legislation that cuts the state’s top individual tax rate from 4.4% to 3.9% and the top corporate rate from 4.8% to 4.3%. Finance officials say the cuts will cost about $483 million the first year and $322 million a year after that.
• The cuts are the latest in a series of income tax reductions Arkansas has enacted over the past several years. Sanders has signed three cuts into law since taking office last year.
• Lawmakers also approved legislation to keep the state’s Game and Fish Commission, which issues hunting and fishing licenses and oversees wildlife conservation, in operation.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Wednesday signed legislation cutting the state’s property and income taxes after lawmakers wrapped up a special session where they also approved legislation to keep the state’s hunting and fishing programs running.

Sanders signed the measure cutting the state’s top corporate and individual income tax rates, and another raising the homestead property tax credit, hours after the predominantly Republican Legislature adjourned the session that began Monday.

The cuts are the latest in a series of income tax reductions Arkansas has enacted over the past several years. Sanders, a Republican, has signed three cuts into law since taking office last year and has said she wants to phase the levy out over time.

BIDEN WANTS TO RAISE YOUR TAXES. HERE ARE 5 REASONS EVEN HE SHOULD LEARN TO LOVE THE TRUMP TAX CUTS

“We are moving in the right direction and we’re doing so responsibly,” Sanders said at a news conference before signing the legislation.

The measures will cut the state’s top individual tax rate from 4.4% to 3.9% and the top corporate rate from 4.8% to 4.3%, retroactively, beginning Jan. 1. Finance officials say the cuts will cost about $483 million the first year and $322 million a year after that.

Supporters argued the state is in a healthy position for the reductions, noting that Arkansas is forecast to end the fiscal year with a $708 million surplus.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, front, speaks about tax cuts while surrounded by state Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R-Beebe), left, Speaker of the House Matthew Shepherd (R-El Dorado), rear center, and state Sen. Steve Crowell (R-Magnolia), right, during a news conference on June 19, 2024, at the state Capitol in Little Rock, Arkansas. (Thomas Metthe/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP)

But opponents of the measures have said the benefits are too skewed toward higher earners and that the state should instead put more money toward reducing the high maternal mortality rate and providing more services for people with disabilities.

“Now is not the time to be underfunding the programs that deal with these problems,” Democratic Rep. Denise Garner said before the House voted on the cuts Tuesday.

The tax cut legislation also requires the state to set aside $290 million from its surplus into a reserve fund in case of an economic downturn.

The other legislation signed by Sanders increases the homestead tax credit from $425 to $500, retroactive to Jan. 1. That cut will cost $46 million.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Lawmakers had expected to take up tax cuts later this year, but that plan was accelerated after the Legislature adjourned its session last month without a budget for the state Game and Fish Commission. That created uncertainty about whether the agency, which issues hunting and fishing licenses and oversees wildlife conservation, would operate beyond July 1.

Sanders on Wednesday signed a compromise budget proposal for the agency aimed at addressing concerns from some House members who had objected to the maximum pay for the agency’s director.

The new measure includes a lower maximum salary for the director, and requires legislative approval to increase his pay by more than 5%.

Vice President Kamala Harris shared a video of her meeting with original and current cast members of the TV show “Queer Eye,” which featured a caption that did not match what was said.

In the clip, Harris is seen greeting Carson Kressley, Jai Rodriguez, Karamo Brown and Jonathan van Ness at the door.

After walking into the White House, cast members are seen hugging Harris before Rodriguez tells her they are “going to fight every urge not to open drawers,” warning Harris it was in their DNA.

After sharing a picture with the cast members, the video jumps to a scene where van Ness refers to Harris as “Honey,” before correcting himself and saying, “I mean, Madam Vice President.”

KAMALA HARRIS ARGUES PEOPLE STILL GETTING USED TO FIRST WOMAN VP, SAYS THEY ‘LOVE TO TALK ABOUT MY LAUGH’

Vice President Kamala Harris met with cast members of “Queer Eye” at the White House, in which captions in a clip of the meeting did not match what was said. (Vice President Harris X post)

However, the video caption underneath read, “Madam President.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and van Ness’ team about the apparent caption error but did not hear back.

STEVE HARVEY DEFENDS GIVING KAMALA HARRIS EASY QUESTIONS TO HELP ADMIN ‘GET THE WORD OUT’

The caption on the video quoted Jonathan van Ness as saying “Madam President” instead of “Madam Vice President.” (Vice President Harris X post)

Harris shared the video on X, saying, “The cast of [Queer Eye] joined me at the White House to discuss the hard-fought progress the LGBTQI+ community has made in the past 20 years. Thank you for a meaningful conversation, for giving my office your stamp of approval, and for being fabulous.”

This is not the first time Harris has been referred to as “Madam President.”

‘GREATEST THREAT’: FORMER TOP KAMALA HARRIS AIDE REVEALS WHICH TRUMP VP PICK COULD SINK HER CANDIDACY

Last year, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre mistakenly referred to the vice president as “the president” during an afternoon press conference.

The slip-up came in the first few minutes of the press conference, as Jean-Pierre announced Harris’ planned speaking engagement commemorating the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“This Sunday, the president will speak about the fight to secure women’s fundamental right to reproductive health care in the face of these attacks,” Jean-Pierre said, without realizing or correcting her mistake. “She will talk about what’s at stake for millions of women across the country and most importantly, the need for Congress to codify the protections of Roe into law.” 

Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz contributed to this report.