Trump’s Republican White House rivals rally around him in Colorado ballot battle


Trump’s competitors for the GOP nomination rallied around the former president on Tuesday evening after the Colorado Supreme Court removed him from the state’s 2024 ballot.

Though they want to defeat Trump at the ballot box, the former president’s rivals for the Republican presidential nomination don’t want him to be knocked off the ballot.

The divided court ruled that Trump is ineligible to run for the presidency under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause, arguing that his actions fueled the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by right-wing protesters aiming to disrupt congressional certification of President Biden’s 2020 election victory.

TRUMP CAMPAIGN BLASTS COLORADO SUPREME COURT RULING KNOCKING HIM OFF THAT STATE’S BALLOT

Donald Trump at campaign event in Iowa

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump attends a campaign event in Waterloo, Iowa, on Dec. 19. (REUTERS/Scott Morgan)

The ruling came as Trump and three of his rivals – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and multi-millionaire biotech entrepreneur and first-time candidate Vivek Ramaswamy – campaigned in Iowa with just under four weeks to go until the state’s caucuses lead off the GOP presidential nominating calendar.

“The Left invokes ‘democracy’ to justify its use of power, even if it means abusing judicial power to remove a candidate from the ballot based on spurious legal grounds. SCOTUS should reverse,” DeSantis wrote in a social media posting as he attacked what he viewed as judicial overreach.

WHAT CRITICS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE COLORADO HIGH COURT’S RULING

Haley told reporters that “we don’t need to have judges making these decisions. We need voters to make these decisions. So I want to see this in the hands of the voters. We’re going to win this the right way.”

Ramaswamy, who is Trump’s biggest defender in the winnowed down field of remaining rivals for the nomination, vowed to withdraw his name from the Colorado primary ballot and encouraged his opponents to do the same.

“This is what an *actual* attack on democracy looks like: in an un-American, unconstitutional, and *unprecedented* decision, a cabal of Democrat judges are barring Trump from the ballot in Colorado,” he charged. “Having tried every trick in the book to eliminate President Trump from running in this election, the bipartisan Establishment is now deploying a new tactic to bar him from ever holding office again.”

Fourth Republican presidential debate

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy stand at their podiums ahead of the fourth Republican candidates’ debate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Dec. 6. (REUTERS/Alyssa Pointer)

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Trump’s most vocal opponent in the GOP presidential nomination field, was campaigning in New Hampshire on Tuesday. The Granite State holds the first primary and second overall contest after Iowa in the Republican calendar.

Christie termed the Colorado ruling as “probably premature” because the former president has yet to be tried for inciting the attack on the Capitol.

“I do not believe Donald Trump should be prevented from being President of the United States by any court. I think he should be prevented from being President of the United States by the voters of this country,” Christie emphasized.

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Trump is the commanding front-runner for the Republican nomination as he runs for the presidency a third straight time.

Trump made history earlier this year as the first former or current president to be indicted for a crime, but his four indictments — including in federal court in Washington, D.C., and in Fulton County court in Georgia on charges he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss — have only fueled his support among Republican voters.

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



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As commanding front-runner Trump returns to Iowa, DeSantis and Haley turn up the volumen on each other


EXCLUSIVE – WATERLOO, IOWA – Former President Donald Trump returns to Iowa on Tuesday with just under four weeks to go until the Hawkeye State’s Jan. 15 caucuses lead off the Republican presidential calendar.

And with the first votes in the 2024 White House race fast approaching, Trump remains the commanding front-runner for the GOP nomination as he makes his third straight bid for president.

As Trump returns to Iowa, his top two rivals for the nomination are taking aim at the former president. But Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who later served as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, are also spending plenty of time on the campaign trail in Iowa blasting each other. 

“If you punch me, I punch back,” Haley’s repeatedly emphasized this week on the campaign trail, as she pushes back against attack ads from a DeSantis-aligned super PAC that are running on Iowa television.

FIRST ON FOX: HALEY SPOTLIGHTS NEED FOR ‘NEW CONSERVATIVE PRESIDENT’

Haley charges that “Ron DeSantis has lied in every one of his commercials” and stresses that “if you’ve got to go out, tell lies about someone to win, you don’t deserve to win.”

Asked about the ads, DeSantis in exclusive interviews with Fox News in Ankeny and Bettendorf, Iowa, on Monday fired back.

ONLY ON FOX: IOWA GOV. REYNOLDS, WITH DESANTIS, CALLS TRUMP-ALIGNED AD ‘MISLEADING’

“Her problem is that she doesn’t have a conservative record. She’s an establishment candidate,” he said.

Since he launched his White House campaign in the spring, DeSantis for months was the clear No. 2 rival to Trump in the Republican nomination race.

Ron DeSantis in Iowa

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, takes a photo with Iowa voters following a campaign event on Dec. 18, 2023 in Bettendorf, Iowa (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

Haley has enjoyed plenty of momentum in the polls in recent months, thanks in part to well-received performances in the first three GOP presidential primary debates. She leapfrogged over DeSantis for second place in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary and votes second after Iowa. And she’s in second place in her home state, another crucial early voting state that holds the first southern contest.

Haley’s also working to make a fight of it in Iowa, as she’s pulled closer to DeSantis, who remains a very distant second to Trump in the latest polls.

TRUMP HOLDS A MASSIVE LEAD IN THE POLLS WITH FIVE WEEKS TO GO UNTIL THE IOWA CAUCUSES 

Last week, Haley won the backing of popular Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire. And she was endorsed a couple of weeks ago by Americans for Prosperity (AFP) Action, the political wing of the influential and deep-pocketed fiscally conservative network founded by the billionaire Koch Brothers. AFP Action has pledged to spend tens of millions of dollars and mobilize its formidable grassroots operation to boost Haley and help push the Republican Party past Trump.

Nikki Haley turns up the volume on Ron DeSantis as they both campaign in IOwa

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley speaks during a town hall, Monday, Dec. 18, 2023, in Nevada, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

But Haley’s momentum this autumn has led to a much larger target on her back.

DeSantis charged in his Fox News interview that Haley was being funded by “liberal donors in California, Wall Street, liberal Wall Street executives.”

DESANTIS STOPS IN ALL 99 OF IOWA’S COUNTIES — BUT WILL IT HELP HIM CLOSE THE GAP WITH TRUMP? 

“They’re not funding her because she’s going to be a change agent. They’re funding her because they know she represents managed decline. She will not do what needs to be done to reverse the decline of this country. She also cannot beat Donald Trump in a one-on-one. She doesn’t have support from conservatives,” he argued.

Haley says the attacks she’s facing are a sign of her momentum in the Republican race and pledges, “I’m going to keep telling you the truth because that’s what we need to do.”

Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley gesture as they speak during the fourth Republican presidential primary debate at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on December 6, 2023. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

“I think they just see it as the rest of political observers do in that the fight is for second place,” longtime Iowa-based Republican strategist Jimmy Centers told Fox News. 

Centers, a veteran of multiple presidential campaigns, gubernatorial and congressional campaigns, and who served as communications director for then-Gov. Terry Brandstad and for current Gov. Kim Reynolds, emphasized that “to march on to New Hampshire and make a strong case, Gov. DeSantis needs to finish in second place.”

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“Ambassador Haley, seeing how she’s polling in New Hampshire, understands that if she can secure that second place finish, it’s going to be really hard for Gov. DeSantis to march on to New Hampshire and beyond,” Centers argued.

DeSantis reiterated to Fox News that “we’re going to win here in Iowa.”

And he predicted that the caucuses “will be very clarifying in terms of who is a real deal and who’s not. So we look forward to that.”

Asked if he’ll move on to New Hampshire regardless of his finish in Iowa, DeSantis quickly said, “Of course. Yeah, absolutely. Of course.”

But Centers, pointing to the increased verbal attacks between DeSantis and Haley, said that if they “keep poking at each other, it only benefits Trump.”

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



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Critics slam Colorado Supreme Court for removing Trump from state’s 2024 ballot: ‘A mockery’


Republicans and other allies of former President Donald Trump are slamming the Colorado Supreme Court for removing him from the state’s 2024 ballot. 

The divided court declared that Trump was ineligible for the White House under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause and removed him from the state’s presidential primary ballot, setting up a likely showdown in the nation’s highest court to decide whether the front-runner for the GOP nomination can remain in the race.

Donald Trump speaking in front of an American flag

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023, in Reno, Nev.  (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who ran against Trump in the 2016 presidential election, called the ruling “garbage,” and predicted it would be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele said the United States had effectively relinquished its role of promoting democracy abroad. 

Trump’s youngest son, Eric Trump, said the Court’s decision would add five percentage points to his father’s “already runaway polls.” 

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina likewise predicted the ruling would only make Trump stronger in the polls. 

Republican Party Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said the Court’s decision amounted to “election interference.” 

“This irresponsible ruling will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and our legal team looks forward to helping fight for a victory,” McDaniel tweeted. “The Republican nominee will be decided by Republican voters, not a partisan state court.” 

‘BIDENOMICS’ MESSAGING LEAVES MAJOR DEMOCRATIC DONOR CONFUSED: ‘WHAT THE F—’ DOES THAT MEAN?’

GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas called on the U.S. Supreme Court to “set this right,” saying that only “American citizens have the right to vote for whoever they want. That’s democracy.” 

Actor James Woods argued that Trump has yet to be found guilty of any crime, much less “convicted of insurrection.” 

GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said the Court’s decision had made “a mockery of our political system.” 

He vowed to introduce a bill that would “stop this nonsense and ensure any constitutional challenges go to the sole place they belong: the U.S. Supreme Court.” 

Vivek Ramaswamy, a Republican contender in the 2024 presidential election, called the decision “un-American, unconstitutional, and unprecedented.” 

After the decision, he vowed to withdraw his name from the Colorado primary ballot unless Trump was reinstated. The Colorado Republican Party said that wouldn’t be necessary because “we will withdraw from the Primary as a Party and convert to a pure caucus system if this is allowed to stand.” 

Fellow GOP contender in the 2024 race, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, called out the Left for invoking Democracy “to justify its use of power, even if it means abusing power to remove a candidate from the ballot based on spurious legal grounds. SCOTUS should reverse.” 

Former Democratic Congresswoman and 2020 presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard said that Democratic leaders “have completely lost faith in democracy.” 

Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich likened removing a top political rival from the ballot to “third world, country ending stuff.”  

Journalist Matt Taibbi called the court’s ruling a “major escalation of the lawfare phenomenon that’s zoomed from simmer to boil in the seven short years since Trump was first elected in 2016.” 

CONSERVATIVES LASH OUT AT TRUMP AFTER HE ATTACKS CHIP ROY, CALLS FOR HIM TO FACE PRIMARY CHALLENGE: ‘IDIOTIC’

The decision from a court whose justices were all appointed by Democratic governors marks the first time in history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate.

Former President Donald Trump

Acevedo maintained he gave Trump a “fair platform” that would allow viewers to judge him for themselves. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“A majority of the court holds that Trump is disqualified from holding the office of president under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment,” the court wrote in its 4-3 decision.

Colorado’s highest court overturned a ruling from a district court judge who found that Trump incited an insurrection for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, but said he could not be barred from the ballot because it was unclear that the provision was intended to cover the presidency.

The court stayed its decision until Jan. 4, or until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the case. Colorado officials said the issue must be settled by Jan. 5, the deadline for the state to print its presidential primary ballots.

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“We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” wrote the court’s majority. “We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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Ramaswamy vows to withdraw from Colorado primary ballot unless Trump is on it


Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is vowing to withdraw his name from the Colorado primary ballot unless former President Trump is reinstated following the state’s historic Supreme Court ruling on Tuesday declaring him ineligible for office. 

“This is what an *actual* attack on democracy looks like: in an un-American, unconstitutional, and *unprecedented* decision, a cabal of Democrat judges are barring Trump from the ballot in Colorado,” Ramaswamy reacted on X. “Having tried every trick in the book to eliminate President Trump from running in this election, the bipartisan Establishment is now deploying a new tactic to bar him from ever holding office again: the 14th Amendment.” 

“I pledge to *withdraw* from the Colorado GOP primary unless Trump is also allowed to be on the state’s ballot, and I demand that Ron DeSantis, Chris Christie, and Nikki Haley to do the same immediately – or else they are tacitly endorsing this illegal maneuver which will have disastrous consequences for our country,” he wrote.   

COLORADO SUPREME COURT DISQUALIFIES TRUMP FROM 2024 BALLOT

Vivek Ramaswamy in New Hampshire

GOP hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy is pledging to withdraw his name from the Colorado GOP primary if former President Trump isn’t reinstated.  (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)

The Colorado Supreme Court’s disqualification, which was made under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, cited Trump’s conduct during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

Tuesday’s 4-3 ruling is stayed until January 4 because of likely appeals. Three justices on the Colorado Supreme Court dissented.

“We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” the court’s majority wrote. “We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”

POLL SHOWS BIDEN HITTING RECORD LOW APPROVALS, FALLING BEHIND AGAINST TRUMP IN 2024 MATCHUP

Trump Campaign Spokesman Steven Cheung wrote in a statement that an appeal would be filed on Tuesday night.

“Unsurprisingly, the all-Democrat appointed Colorado Supreme Court has ruled against President Trump, supporting a Soros-funded, left-wing group’s scheme to interfere in an election on behalf of Crooked Joe Biden by removing President Trump’s name from the ballot and eliminating the rights of Colorado voters to vote for the candidate of their choice. Democrat Party leaders are in a state of paranoia over the growing, dominant lead President Trump has amassed in the polls. They have lost faith in the failed Biden presidency and are now doing everything they can to stop the American voters from throwing them out of office next November,” Cheung wrote. 

“The Colorado Supreme Court issued a completely flawed decision tonight and we will swiftly file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court and a concurrent request for a stay of this deeply undemocratic decision. We have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these unAmerican lawsuits,” he added.

Former President Donald Trump

The Trump campaign panned the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling banning the former president from the 2024 ballot, predicting the Supreme Court will rule in its favor.  (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In a previous ruling, Colorado District Judge Sarah B. Wallace allowed Trump to stay on the ballot, but found that Trump “engaged in insurrection” for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said in a statement that she would “continue to follow court guidance on this important issue.”

“The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that Donald Trump is barred from the Colorado ballot for inciting the January 6 insurrection and attempting to overturn the 2020 Presidential Election. This decision may be appealed,” Griswold wrote.

DEMOCRATS DROP ‘BIDENOMICS’ AS SOME VOTERS COMPLAIN IT’S ‘TONE-DEAF’: REPORT

Republican presidential candidates

Ramaswamy is challenging his GOP rivals Chris Christie, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis on joining him in vowing to pull their names from the Colorado ballot following the state’s Supreme Court ruling against former President Trump. (Getty Images)

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The 14th Amendment states: “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”

Disqualification lawsuits relating to Trump’s appearance on the ballot are pending in 13 states, including Texas, Nevada and Wisconsin.

Fox News’ Bill Mears and Adam Sabes contributed to this report. 



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Ketanji Brown Jackson slapped with ethics complaint over husband’s income


FIRST ON FOX — A conservative policy group has filed an ethics complaint against Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson for “willfully” omitting required income disclosures for years while serving on the federal bench.

The Center for Renewing America, a think tank led by former senior Trump White House official Russ Vought, sent a letter to the Judicial Conference with allegations that Jackson “willfully failed to disclose” required information about her husband’s malpractice consulting income for more than a decade.

The letter suggests that the Judicial Conference should refer Jackson’s possible ethics violations to Attorney General Merrick Garland for investigation and possible civil enforcement.

The letter notes that federal judges are legally required to disclose the “source of items of earned income earned by a spouse from any person which exceed $1,000…except…if the spouse is self-employed in business or a profession, only the nature of such business or profession needs be reported.”

JUSTICE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON’S DISSENTS ARE BETTER ‘CLICKBAIT’ THAN LEGAL SCHOLARSHIP, EXPERTS SAY

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images)

As part of her nomination to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Jackson disclosed the names of two legal medical malpractice consulting clients who paid her husband, Dr. Patrick Jackson, more than $1,000 for the year 2011, the letter notes.

In subsequent filings, however, Jackson “repeatedly failed to disclose that her husband received income from medical malpractice consulting fees,” the letter reads.

“We know this by Justice Jackson’s own admission in her amended disclosure form for 2020, filed when she was nominated to the Supreme Court, that ‘some of my previously filed reports inadvertently omitted’ her husband’s income from ‘consulting on medical malpractice cases,’” the letter says.

Vought says in the letter that “Jackson has not even attempted to list the years for which her previously filed disclosures omitted her husband’s consulting income. Instead, in her admission of omissions on her 2020 amended disclosure form (filed in 2022), Justice Jackson provided only the vague statement that ‘some’ of those past disclosures contained material omissions.”

Vought, who headed up the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under President Trump, argues that Dr. Jackson’s income does not qualify for the “self-employment” exception. The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (EIGA) requires Justice Jackson to identify the “source of items of earned income earned by a spouse from any person which exceeds $1,000.”

THOMAS BLASTS JACKSON’S ‘RACE-INFUSED WORLD VIEW’ IN SUPREME COURT RULING OUTLAWING AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

Ketanji Brown Jackson (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The former OMB chief argues that since Jackson was aware of the requirements in 2012 enough to list the specific sources of income for her first disclosure filing but not in subsequent filings, apart from admitting that she left off some of her husband’s income, her actions amount to “willful” violation of the law.

The letter also says there is reason to believe Justice Jackson may have failed to report the private funding sources of her “massive investiture celebration at the Library of Congress” in her most recent financial disclosure.

Following her appointment to the Supreme Court in 2022, the Library of Congress hosted a massive event in her honor that featured performances by several musicians and groups, including the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Quartet and civil rights movement Freedom Singer Rutha Mae Harris.

JUSTICE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON IS LONE DISSENTER AS SUPREME COURT VACATES ABORTION RULING

Justice and Doctor Jackson

Ketanji Brown Jackson and husband Patrick Jackson (Getty)

It’s unclear who paid for the event. EIGA requires that any gift “received over $415” be disclosed. EIGA defines “gift” as “a payment, advance, forbearance, rendering, or deposit of money, or [anything] of value.”

Jackson’s disclosure for that year includes flowers from Oprah Winfrey with a $1,200 price tag and a designer jacket from her Vogue photo shoot that cost $6,580.

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“Justice Jackson thus cannot claim ignorance of EIGA’s gift disclosure requirements, and there is no serious argument that this ‘massive event featuring performances by several musicians and groups’ celebrating her investiture is not a ‘thing of value,’” Vought said.

Vought also says that Jackson’s “disturbing trend of not reporting material sources of income and gifts” has “shielded potential conflicts of interest from public scrutiny and undermined the ability of the public, outside watchdog groups, and parties to scrutinize her recusal decisions.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Supreme Court’s public information office but did not receive an immediate response.



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Colorado Supreme Court disqualifies Trump from 2024 ballot


The Colorado Supreme Court has disqualified former President Trump from appearing on the state’s ballots in 2024.

The disqualification, which was made under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, is related to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

The Tuesday ruling is stayed until January 4 because of likely appeals. Three justices on the Colorado Supreme Court dissented.

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said in a statement that she would “continue to follow court guidance on this important issue.”

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Trump campaigns on stage in New Hampshire

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2023, in Durham, N.H.  (AP Photo/Reba Saldanha)

“The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that Donald Trump is barred from the Colorado ballot for inciting the January 6 insurrection and attempting to overturn the 2020 Presidential Election. This decision may be appealed,” Griswold wrote.

This is a developing story. Check back for more details.



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VP Kamala Harris announces nationwide tour in support of abortion rights


Vice President Kamala Harris is emphasizing abortion as a key issue in the run-up to the 2024 election, preparing numerous rallies around the administration’s pro-choice message.

Harris rolled out the Fight for Our Reproductive Freedoms Tour this week as President Biden’s team ramps up efforts for the upcoming election year.

“I will continue to fight for our fundamental freedoms while bringing together those throughout America who agree that every woman should have the right to make decisions about her own body — not the government,” Harris said in a statement.

This statement was followed with an announcement on social media accompanied by a video message.

VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS ATTENDS CELEBRATION BOWL IN SUPPORT OF ALMA MATER: ‘IT WAS A GOOD GAME’

Vice President Kamala Harris

Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks during the Women’s Economic Participation in the Industries of the Future meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Week in San Francisco. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

“Across our nation, there is a full-on attack on a woman’s fundamental freedom to make decisions about her own body,” the vice president said. “In the new year, I will be traveling the country to organize, build community and fight back. Because when we fight, we win.”

The tour will kick off in Wisconsin Jan. 22, the 51st anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision.

KAMALA HARRIS AT ODDS WITH BIDEN OVER ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR, WANTS MORE SUPPORT OF PALESTINIANS: REPORT

Vice President Kamala Harris

Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks about the Biden administration’s work to regulate artificial intelligence during an event in the East Room of the White House Oct. 30, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The nationwide effort is a follow-up to Harris’s Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour.

That previous tour aimed to “mobilize young people in the ongoing fight for fundamental freedoms and rights,” according to the White House, particularly causes like “critical fights for reproductive freedom, commonsense gun safety laws, climate action, voting rights, LGBTQ+ equality and teaching America’s full story.”

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Kamala Harris on college tour

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at Hampton University during her Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour Sept. 14, 2023, in Hampton, Va.  (AP Photo/John C. Clark)

Last month, Harris reacted to a number of polls showing former President Donald Trump was ahead of Biden in hypothetical election matchups — including specific key battleground states — during an interview with CNN and said they were going to have to earn their re-election.

“We’re going to have to earn our re-elect, there’s no doubt about it,” she told CNN in a phone interview Sunday, replying to a question about the recent surveys.

“It is absolutely right in a democracy with free and fair elections that the candidates, the people who want to continue in leadership, have to make their case and have to make it effectively,” Harris told CNN. “And that means communicating in such a way that the message is received about the accomplishments and what we care about.”

Fox News Digital’s Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.



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Conservatives lash out at Trump after he attacks Chip Roy, calls for him to face primary challenge: ‘Idiotic’


Former President Donald Trump took flak from a number of conservatives on Tuesday after he attacked Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, as a “RINO,” or Republican in name only, and called for him to face a primary challenge.

“Has any smart and energetic Republican in the Great State of Texas decided to run in the Primary against RINO Congressman Chip Roy. For the right person, he is very beatable. If interested, let me know!!!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social late Monday after Roy appeared in Iowa in support of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign.

Conservative politicians and commentators quickly jumped to Roy’s defense on social media, blasting Trump’s comments as “laughably insane” and “idiotic.”

NIKKI HALEY TAKES AIM AT GOP RIVAL FOR CAMPAIGNING WITH ‘ANTI-ISRAEL’ MEMBER OF CONGRESS

Chip Roy and Donald Trump

Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy and former President Donald Trump. (Getty Images)

“While [Chip Roy] is fighting to do what Donald Trump promised to do — secure our southern border — the former president is on social media demanding a primary challenge to one of the most conservative members of Congress,” DeSantis wrote before noting that the filing deadline for candidates in Texas had already passed.

“I stand with Chip and am honored to have his support. The time for talking is over. We must stop the invasion, and I will get it done,” he added.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a supporter of DeSantis’ campaign for president, also said he stood with Roy before calling Trump’s comments a “shortsighted effort to intimidate” him.

NEW POLL REVEALS AMERICA’S LEAST FAVORITE LEADER IN CONGRESS WITH SHOCKING SINGLE-DIGIT APPROVAL

“I support you for President, [Donald Trump]. But I’m 100% on board with [Chip Roy]. Chip is no RINO. He’s an American hero. He’s a constitutionalist. He’s a patriot. And most of all, he’s a good man who selflessly serves in Congress,” American Blockchain PAC CEO Jim Pfaff wrote.

Stephen Miller, a contributing editor at The Spectator, wrote, “Trump, who caved on bump stocks and Fauci is calling Chip Roy of Texas a RINO and to be primaried it’s just laughable at this point. It’s laughably insane. Run it back, guys.”

Conservative commentator John Cardillo called Trump’s attack on Roy an “idiotic lie,” and said anyone who didn’t call out the former president’s “stupidity” was a “cultist.”

FORMER TRUMP ADVISER KELLYANNE CONWAY LEADS CHARGE TO OVERHAUL GOP ABORTION STRATEGY, END DEMS’ 2024 ADVANTAGE

“This is so nuts as to be comical. If you think Chip Roy — Chip Roy — is a RINO, then words have no meaning,” Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies wrote.

Roy also posted his own response to Trump’s attack, simply posting a photo of the former president with Dr. Anthony Fauci, a figure often scorned by conservatives.

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Roy is currently running unopposed in the Republican primary for Texas’ 21st Congressional District, which he has represented since 2019.

When reached for comment, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital, “Chip Roy made a blunder endorsing a moron like Ron DeSanctus, who is violently falling out of the sky like a wounded bird.”

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



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Biden daughter adds to lengthy family history of unpaid taxes


President Biden has repeatedly called for wealthy individuals and corporations to cough up more money in taxes, even as Biden family members repeatedly failed to pay their own taxes.  

Fox News Digital reported Monday that Ashley Biden, the president’s daughter, owes over $5,000 in income taxes, according to a tax lien. She’s the latest in a string of Bidens who have faced such situations over the years.

“The scale is not anything like Hunter, but… Joe is constantly talking about how wealthy and connected people do not pay their fair share and can afford to pay more, and it just so happens that both of his living children did not pay their taxes,” Garrett Ziegler, the founder of nonprofit Marco Polo and former President Trump aide, told Fox News Digital. 

“This is just another example of the Bidens being careless,” he said. “You’d think that they would show a little bit more prudence when you’re the American first family to make sure you don’t have any tax liens on you, especially going into an election year.”

BIDEN’S DAUGHTER OWES THOUSANDS IN INCOME TAXES, LIEN DOCUMENTS SHOW

Biden family

Several Biden family members – including Frank, James, Hunter and Ashley Biden – have faced tax problems.  (Getty Images)

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue in Philadelphia County notified Ashley Biden on Dec. 1st about her unpaid taxes. The lien listed the start date as Jan. 1, 2015, when Joe Biden was serving as the vice president in the Obama administration, and it ended on Jan. 1, 2021, just days before he entered office as president.

Hunter Biden, meanwhile, allegedly carried out a multiyear scheme to bypass paying $1.4 million in federal taxes while living an indulgent lifestyle that included spending significant sums on escorts and illegal drugs, according to his California indictment on nine tax-related charges. 

Special Counsel David Weiss said he “engaged in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019, from in or about January 2017 through in or about October 15, 2020, and to evade the assessment of taxes for tax year 2018 when he filed false returns in or about February 2020,” which was in the middle of his dad’s presidential campaign.

Weiss added that, in “furtherance of that scheme,” Hunter Biden “subverted the payroll and tax withholding process of his own company, Owasco, PC by withdrawing millions” from the company “outside of the payroll and tax withholding process that it was designed to perform.”

Hunter Biden had allegedly “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills,” and in 2018, “stopped paying his outstanding and overdue taxes for tax year 2015.” He faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted.

BIDEN ADMIN AGENCY QUIETLY LEANED ON SOROS AND OTHER BILLIONAIRE-BACKED GROUPS FOR KEY POLICY ROLES

President Joe Biden Hawaii

Biden has long called for the wealthy to pay their fair share in taxes. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

However, Hunter and Ashley are not alone, as several other Biden family members have also faced tax issues. President Biden’s brother, James Biden, previously had at least five liens filed against him between 1995 and 2015, including one in the amount of $589,095, the Washington Free Beacon reported in 2020. 

President Biden’s other brother, Frank Biden, previously had at least three tax liens for unpaid income taxes. President Biden’s sister, Valerie Biden Owens, and her husband, John Owens, have faced at least five tax liens, including one in the amount of $229,749 in 1990, according to the Free Beacon. 

Despite his family’s tax issues, President Biden has repeatedly called on the rich to pay their fair share in taxes and vowed to go after “tax cheats.”

“Corporations need to pay their fair share in taxes,” Biden posted on social media in November 2019. “I’ll reverse Trump’s giveaway to the super-wealthy and corporations because it’s time we reward work, not just wealth.”

“As president, I’ll make sure giant corporations and the super-wealthy pay their fair share in taxes — and then invest that money in growing a stronger, more inclusive middle class,” he wrote weeks later in December 2019.

Biden has persisted in the calls throughout his presidency and, at one point, proposed doubling the number of Internal Revenue Service workers to target tax cheats.

“The president’s compliance proposals are designed to ameliorate existing inequities by focusing on high-end evasion,” the Treasury Department wrote in a report, according to Politico.

WHITE HOUSE SCRAMBLES TO DISTANCE ITSELF FROM ISLAMIC GROUP AFTER LEADER’S PRAISE FOR HAMAS’ OCT 7TH SLAUGHTER

President Joe Biden

Biden has also pledged to go after tax cheats. (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“These unpaid taxes come at a cost to American households and compliant taxpayers as policymakers choose rising deficits, lower spending on necessary priorities, or further tax increases to compensate for the lost revenue.”

Biden has also said paying higher taxes is “patriotic” and has regularly singled out the rich.

“For too long we’ve had an economy that gives every break in the world to the folks who need it the least. It’s time to grow the economy from the bottom up,” Biden said months after entering office and calling on the rich to pay their “fair share” in taxes.

“I’m a capitalist, but just pay your fair share,” Biden said at his State of the Union address this year.

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The White House, Frank Biden, Valerie Biden Owens and James Biden did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Ashley Biden did not respond to a previous request for comment. 

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





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Fox News Politics: Holiday Rush


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

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

-Many senators have left town for the holidays

-Trump edges Biden again in new 2024 survey

-Georgia Gov. Kemp announces $1K year-end bonus for teachers

Holiday Rush

The besieged U.S. southern border saw a record number of migrant encounters in a single day on Monday, as thousands flooded into Eagle Pass, Texas, amid a broader surge in recent weeks that has left authorities overwhelmed.

There were over 12,600 migrant encounters on Monday, Customs and Border Protection sources told Fox. That does not include the thousands still waiting for processing in the Del Rio Sector on Monday evening after a surge of migrants into Eagle Pass. The number includes over 11,000 illegal immigrant apprehensions and over 1,600 encountered at ports of entry.

As of Tuesday morning, sources told Fox that agents are still processing and transporting more than 4,500 migrants at the busy crossing point, with more than 5,300 already in custody and facilities at 260% over capacity.

Migrants waiting to be processed by Border Patrol

Thousands of migrants waiting to be processed by Border Patrol. (Fox News/Bill Melugin)

White House 

‘INCREASED COSTS’: Biden’s war on appliances faces major legal challenge …Read more

‘CLEAR MESSAGE’: Biden eco actions locking up land facing Supreme Court review …Read more

Capitol Hill 

WHY SO ‘SERIOUS’?: Vulnerable Dem senator promotes TikTok account after saying he had ‘serious concerns’ about CCP ties …Read more

OUT OF OFFICE: Most senators have left town as votes and border negotiations remain in the fray …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

BORDER CRISIS: Biden campaign co-chair ‘afraid’ president will lose big because of illegal immigration surge …Read more

‘FREE-FOR-ALL’: Voters describe ‘chaotic’ crisis at southern border …Read more

NEW POLL: Trump edges Biden again in new 2024 survey, builds support with younger voters …Read more

AD WARS: Super PACs supporting Trump and Haley launch dueling ads in New Hampshire …Read more

FIRST ON FOX: Over 500 elected officials back DeSantis as he’s joined by top conservatives in final Iowa push …Read more

JOE ‘GRINCH’: GOP blames Biden for rising cost of holiday goods in new attack ad …Read more

‘MISLEADING’ VOTERS: Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa charges that an ad from former President Donald Trump is “misleading” voters in her state …Read more

Across America

MERRY CHRISTMAS: Georgia Gov. Kemp announces $1K year-end bonus for teachers …Read more

‘ENDING A NIGHTMARE’: NY Gov. Kathy Hochul signs bill creating reparations commission despite concerns of ‘racial divisions’ …Read more

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



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As Trump super PAC targets Haley in New Hampshire ad, her super PAC fires back


FIRST ON FOX – A super PAC supporting Nikki Haley’s Republican presidential campaign on Tuesday launched a new ad in New Hampshire, which argues that former President Trump “knows Haley’s the only one who can beat him.”

The spot by Stand for America (SFA) Fund, which was shared first with Fox News, comes on the same day that the Trump-aligned super PAC Make America Great Again (MAGA) Inc. went up in New Hampshire with a competing commercial that blasts Haley over gas taxes.

The dueling ads in the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the 2024 GOP presidential nominating calendar come as Haley, a former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, continues to gain momentum with less than four weeks to go until the first votes in the Republican race.

However, Trump, who is making his third straight White House run, remains the commanding front-runner in the hunt for the Republican nomination.

FIRST ON FOX: HALEY SPOTLIGHTS NEED FOR ‘NEW CONSERVATIVE PRESIDENT’

“Of all the Republicans running for president, why is Donald Trump only attacking Nikki Haley? Because Trump knows Haley’s the only one who can beat him,” the narrator in the SFA spot claims.

The narrator emphasizes that “as governor, Nikki Haley cut taxes for small businesses by 40%, and now she’s pledging to eliminate the federal gas tax.”

HALEY’S MOMENTUM IN THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL RACE APPEARS TO BE PAYING OFF

“Want an 80-year-old name from the past or a new generation of conservative leadership,” the narrator says over pictures of 81-year-old President Biden and 77-year-old Trump. The ad then puts up a picture of the 51-year-old Haley with 49-year-old New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who endorsed Haley last week.

SFA Fund tells Fox News they are spending seven figures to run their ad in New Hampshire.

Haley has enjoyed plenty of momentum in the polls in recent months, thanks in part to well-received performances in the first three GOP presidential primary debates. She leapfrogged over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place in New Hampshire.

Former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, headlines a town hall in Atkinson, New Hampshire, on Dec. 14, 2023. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

She also aims to make a fight of it in Iowa, where the polls indicate DeSantis is a distant second behind Trump. Iowa’s Jan. 15 caucuses, which lead off the GOP nominating calendar, are followed eight days later by New Hampshire’s Jan. 23 primary. 

WHERE TRUMP, DESANTIS, HALEY AND THE REST OF GOP 2024 FIELD STAND IN NEW FOX NEWS POLL

Besides Sununu’s support, Haley was endorsed a couple of weeks ago by Americans for Prosperity Action, the political wing of the influential and deep-pocketed fiscally conservative network founded by the billionaire Koch Brothers. AFP Action has pledged to spend tens of millions of dollars and mobilize its formidable grassroots operation to boost Haley and help push the Republican Party past Trump.

Haley comes under attack in the MAGA Inc. ad, which repeatedly calls her “high tax Haley” and charges that as governor she “flipped,” breaking her pledge not to raise gas taxes.

MAGA Inc. spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt argued that “we won’t let another tax-and-spend politician try to fool the voters.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

A statement from Haley’s campaign released on the eve of the MAGA Inc. spot said, “Nikki Haley never supported a stand-alone gas tax increase. In fact, then-Gov. Haley killed the gas tax hike pushed by the South Carolina legislature and industry groups.”

“Donald Trump’s false attack ad sends a loud and clear message: Nikki Haley is surging and Trump is scared,” said Haley campaign spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas emphasized in a statement.

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



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Haley lets loose on DeSantis for campaigning with ‘anti-Israel’ member of Congress


GOP presidential candidate and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley let loose on her opponent, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, this week for hitting the campaign trail in Iowa with a member of Congress who she called the “most anti-Israel Republican there is.”

DeSantis was joined at a Johnston, Iowa, town hall on Saturday by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who made headlines for a string of recent votes in the House of Representatives that saw him side with a number of Democrats, including the far-left “Squad,” against bills in support of Israel.

“Ron DeSantis – who says Ukraine’s a territorial dispute, and that this is Israel’s war, not America’s war – turns around and brings in a Republican into Iowa that is the most anti-Israel Republican there is,” Haley told a crowd of supporters at a campaign event near Des Moines, Iowa, on Sunday.

ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS SHOW UP TO DEM CONGRESSMAN’S HOME IN MIDDLE OF NIGHT, BLARING CAR HORNS AND SCREAMING

Ron DeSantis, Thomas Massie, Nikki Haley

From left to right, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. (Getty Images)

“[Massie] voted with the ‘Squad’ against calling out antisemitism on college campuses, voted with the ‘Squad’ against hitting the presidents that were allowing it to happen, and voted with the ‘Squad,’ the only Republican, to turn around and ban the fact that we shouldn’t give $6 billion to Iran for five hostages. That’s who he brought to Iowa. So let him answer for that,” she said.

Massie, a self-described Libertarian, has opposed much of the legislation in support of Israel introduced following the horrific Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas terrorists that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, including babies. However, he has maintained that he is a supporter of Israel.

Last month, he voted against a resolution reaffirming the nation of Israel’s right to exist, joining Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., two members of the “Squad,” in opposing the legislation. In a post on X following the vote, he cited the language within the resolution for his decision.

NEW POLL REVEALS AMERICA’S LEAST FAVORITE LEADER IN CONGRESS WITH SHOCKING SINGLE-DIGIT APPROVAL

“I agree with the title ‘Reaffirming the State of Israel’s Right to Exist’ and much of the language, but I’m voting ‘No’ on the resolution because it equates anti-Zionism with antisemitism. Antisemitism is deplorable, but expanding it to include criticism of Israel is not helpful,” he wrote.

Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), center, arrives for the weekly House Republican conference meeting in the basement of the U.S. Capitol on Nov. 7, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Massie also voted alongside 22 Democrats last month against a resolution condemning antisemitism on college campuses. He cited concerns over free speech as the reason for his vote.

“Free speech means protecting speech you don’t like, not just speech you do like. Also, who defines antisemitism?” he wrote in a post on X.

FORMER TRUMP ADVISER KELLYANNE CONWAY LEADS CHARGE TO OVERHAUL GOP ABORTION STRATEGY, END DEMS’ 2024 ADVANTAGE

Additionally, Massie voted against the No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act, a bill to freeze funds associated with the Iran hostage deal and impose maximum sanctions on the nation.

“I’m voting against HR 5961 because there’s no legal or moral authority for us to freeze or steal assets of other countries we are not at war with. It’s also shortsighted for us to use our super-power status to force foreign banks to freeze assets of sovereign countries,” he wrote on X about his vote.

Far-left Squad Members

From left to right, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Cori Bush, D-Mo., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. (Getty Images)

DeSantis responded to criticism of his appearance with Massie during a Monday campaign event by stating that he did not see eye-to-eye with the congressman on foreign relations issues and referred to him as “basically an isolationist.”

“He votes against anything having to do with foreign relations. I disagree with that,” DeSantis said. “But you know, my 80% friend is not my 20% enemy, and we’ve got to stop thinking that way, as Republicans.” 

When reached for comment, DeSantis campaign press secretary Bryan Griffin told Fox News Digital, “Nikki Haley is just trying to distract from her record of inviting Gaza refugees to the U.S. and supporting U.S. tax dollars going to the Gaza Strip.” 

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“Ron DeSantis has been the clearest, most consistent pro-Israel candidate in this race. He has unequivocally supported Israel in exterminating Hamas, passed the strongest anti-Iran legislation of any state in a special session in November, and jumped into action to bring Americans home from Israel who were stranded by Joe Biden,” he added.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Massie’s office for comment.

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





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Trump edges Biden again in new 2024 poll, builds support with younger voters


A new national survey by the New York Times and Siena College is the latest to indicate former President Trump edging President Biden in an increasingly likely 2024 general election rematch.

Additionally, the survey suggests that the president is losing support among younger Americans – a key constituency for Democrats – due to his handling of the Israel-Palestinian war in Gaza.

According to the poll, which was released on Tuesday, Trump edges Biden 46%-44% among registered voters nationwide.

However, in a very early look at next November’s presidential election, Biden holds a razor-thin 47%-45% margin over Trump among those likely to vote in the 2024 contest.

BIDEN APPROVAL SINKS TO NEW ALL-TIME LOW IN NATIONAL POLL 

Donald Trump and Joe Biden

Former President Trump, left, and President Biden. (FOX News)

The 81-year-old Biden once held the upper hand over the 77-year-old Trump in 2024 rematch surveys, but Trump began enjoying an advantage over his successor in the White House in most polls starting in October.

The poll indicates that nearly three-quarters of voters ages 18-29 – a key part of the Democratic base that helped boost Biden to over then-President Trump in the 2020 election – disapprove of the way Biden is handling the conflict in Gaza.

HEAD HERE TO CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING

Younger voters questioned in the survey say they would back Trump 49%-43% over the president. That is a dramatic switch from June, when a previous Siena College poll for the New York Times pointed to Biden holding a 10-point lead.

Among registered voters overall, by a 46%-38% margin, they said Trump would do a better job than Biden handling the Israel-Palestinian fighting.

The new survey also indicates Biden’s approval rating slipping to 37% support among registered voters.

Biden hits all-time low in new national poll

President Biden arrives at Boston Logan International Airport to attend several campaign fundraisers, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The president stood at 34% approval in a Monmouth University poll released on Monday, an all-time low in Monmouth polling since Biden took over the White House nearly three years ago.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

Biden stood at 37% approval – an all-time low – in a Wall Street Journal survey released earlier this month. However, a new Fox News national poll released on Sunday indicated Biden’s approval rating at 43%.

The approval rating is a key indicator of a president’s performance, clout and popularity and is a closely watched metric, especially when an incumbent in the White House seeks a second term. 

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



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Over 500 elected officials have endorsed DeSantis as top conservatives hit campaign trail with him in Iowa


FIRST ON FOX: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign has now received the endorsements of over 500 elected officials across the United States as the governor campaigns this week in Iowa with several of those supporters including GOP Rep. Chip Roy.

As of Tuesday, the DeSantis campaign tells Fox News Digital that 543 current and former elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels have endorsed him for president as part of a list that shows the “significant strength of his momentum in early states.”

The DeSantis campaign published a map on its website outlining where all the more than 500 endorsements from elected officials came from which includes 97 elected officials in Iowa, 63 in New Hampshire, and 68 in South Carolina.

Rep. Roy, who will be joining DeSantis on the campaign trail in Iowa this week, told Fox News Digital he is looking forward to “barnstorming Iowa with Ron and Casey this week as they put in the hard work needed to win the Iowa Caucus.”

WATCH: DESANTIS’ TOP MOMENTS ON ISRAEL, IMMIGRATION, TRUMP AND HALEY AT CNN TOWN HALL: ‘AN EASY ANSWER’

Republican presidential candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks

Republican presidential candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks to guests at the Republican Party of Iowa 2023 Lincoln Dinner  ((Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images))

 “I fully endorse Ron Desantis because it’s time for a new generation of leadership, and he is the candidate who will deliver for Americans,” Roy said. “Reining in reckless spending, securing our border, and ending the weaponization of  government once and for all.

In addition to Roy, DeSantis was joined by GOP Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky in Iowa for an event on Saturday and Oklahoma’s Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt is hitting the campaign trail for the Florida governor at events in Iowa on Wednesday and Thursday. 

DESANTIS ARGUES TRUMP ‘WILL SAY IT’S STOLEN, NO MATTER WHAT’ IF FORMER PRESIDENT LOSES IN IOWA OR NH

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks to members of the media

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks to members of the media after an event on Thursday, July 27, 2023 in Chariton, Iowa.  ((Sergio Flores for The Washington Post via Getty Images))

“Iowans will hear directly from these national leaders who’ve seen first-hand Ron DeSantis fight the tough battles against the left and deliver big wins for conservatives,” DeSantis communications director Andrew Romeo told Fox News Digital.

“They’ll make sure there is no doubt in the minds of Iowans that Ron DeSantis will deliver on his promises to stop the invasion at our southern border, restore our economy, and revive America.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

Chip Roy

DeSantis, who recently earned the coveted endorsements of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats, currently sits at 20% in Iowa, according to the Real Clear Politics average. Former President Donald Trump’s polling average is 52% and former ambassador Nikki Haley is at 15.8% rounding out the top 3. 



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Ex-Miami Young Republicans director, Rubio intern and DeSantis campaign organizer arrested on Jan. 6 charges


The former director of the Miami Young Republicans, who was allegedly captured on surveillance video breaching the Crypt of the U.S. Capitol, was arrested last week on charges in connection to the Jan. 6 riot, according to newly unsealed court documents Monday. 

Barbara Balmaseda, 23, of Miami Lakes, Florida, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with a felony offense of obstruction of an official proceeding and misdemeanor offenses of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building or grounds, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building, the Justice Department announced. 

According to the Miami New Times, Balmaseda, a Florida International University (FIU) student and South Florida GOP strategist, previously interned for U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., between 2018 and 2019 and worked as an organizer for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2018 gubernatorial campaign. 

She was arrested on Thursday in Miami Lakes and made her initial appearance in the Southern District of Florida. Balmaseda’s attorney, Aubrey Webb, deemed the 23-year-old’s arrest by a task force of “FBI, Marshals, ATF and Metro-Dade Police” as a “waste of law enforcement resources” for what amounts to “essentially trespassing charges,” according to Politico. 

SUPREME COURT TAKES CHALLENGE TO JAN. 6 CHARGE THAT COULD HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR TRUMP

Barbara Balmaseda by SCOTUS

Barbara Balmaseda wearing a Trump 2020 hat in Washington, D.C.  (Department of Justice)

“Maybe if the FBI spent less time and resources focusing on J6 trespassers with no criminal history, they might be able to make an arrest of the suspect who left pipe bombs at the DNC and RNC offices on Capitol Hill on January 5, 2021, who currently remains at large,” Webb said in a statement. “We hope, of course, they will rein in the DOJ’s politically-motivated prosecution of January 6 demonstrators.” The attorney further stated that Balmaseda is “relieved this process will finally move toward a final resolution,” stressing that she is not charged with violence or destruction of property.

Last week, the Supreme Court notably agreed to hear a case involving three Jan. 6 defendants disputing an obstruction charge that could have implications for one of former President Trump’s criminal cases. Over 300 people have been charged by the Justice Department with obstructing an official proceeding in connection with the Jan. 6 riot.

The new complaint takes issue with how Balmaseda and former Proud Boys member Gabriel Garcia, who once sat on the Miami-Dade Republican Party Executive Committee, exchanged hundreds of texts and images from August 2020 through January 2021 and snapped a selfie together leaving the steps of the Capitol on January 6. Garcia was found guilty in November on felony charges of obstruction of an official proceeding and interference with law enforcement during a civil disorder in connection to the riot. His sentencing is scheduled for Mar. 28, 2024.

Meanwhile, court documents allege Balmaseda traveled from Florida to Washington, D.C., to protest the result of the 2020 presidential election. Prior to her arrival in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, 2021, Balmaseda exchanged messages with several associates in which she participated in communications reflecting her belief that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen and her knowledge about the certification process scheduled to take place on Jan. 6, 2021, prosecutors say.

On January 6, court documents say Balmaseda was photographed in Black Lives Matter Plaza – the two-block area in front of the White House renamed by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser during the 2020 George Floyd protests and riots. Shortly after, at about 2:00 p.m., Balmaseda approached the Capitol building with another individual and was in position to see the crowd of rioters climbing the scaffolding on the west side of the Capitol and plumes of smoke that billowed into the air, federal prosecutors alleged. 

Barbara Balmaseda by Supreme Court

Barbara Balmaseda smiles for a selfie in Washington, D.C.  (Department of Justice)

By this time, rioters had overwhelmed officers on the west front, bypassed the officer lines, and gained access to the northwest stairs of the Capitol. Around 2:09 p.m., rioters pushed past officers on the middle landing of the stairs and surged toward the Capitol building.

JUDGE PAUSES JAN. 6 CASE AGAINST TRUMP AMID FORMER PRESIDENT’S APPEAL TO DISMISS

Eventually, U.S. Capitol Police closed-circuit television (CCTV) captured Balmaseda entering the Capitol building via the Senate Wing door at approximately 2:16 p.m., just four minutes after rioters initially breached the building. According to the allegations, when Balmaseda entered the building, broken glass was scattered on the ground, and an alarm blared near the doorway. 

After entering the Capitol, Balmaseda made her way toward the Crypt and pushed her way to the front of a crowd of rioters who were confronting a police line, federal prosecutors say. The mob eventually overran the police line and proceeded into the Crypt. 

Balmaseda moved forward, joined a crowd of rioters, and headed towards an area known as the “OAP Corridor,” where another line of officers initially blocked a hallway. The complaint says officers eventually backed away, and the rioters, including Balmaseda, continued to move forward.

Balmaseda and Proud Boy

Barbara Balmaseda in a Dec. 12, 2020, with former Proud Boys member Gabriel Garcia.  (Department of Justice)

The Justice Department says Balmaseda then made her way back to the Crypt and eventually entered the Rotunda, where she took photographs and exited the area at approximately 2:53 p.m., Balmaseda returned to the Rotunda and stood nearby as a group of rioters attempted to push through an officer line. At approximately 3:11 p.m., law enforcement officers received additional support in the Rotunda and were able to corral rioters, Balmaseda included, towards the nearest exit, the Rotunda doors. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

In the 35 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,230 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 440 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony, the DOJ notes.

The investigation remains ongoing.



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Lawmakers urge Supreme Court to block Biden’s eco actions


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FIRST ON FOX: A group of dozens of House and Senate Republicans filed a legal brief Monday to urge the Supreme Court to take up two cases related to President Biden’s authority to lock up public lands from resource development and other uses. 

In the brief first obtained by Fox News Digital, the lawmakers — led by Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ore., and joined by House Natural Resources Committee Chair Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and 26 other lawmakers including three senators — argued that the president’s use of the 1906 Antiquities Act is an example of federal overreach and violates the U.S. Constitution.

The lawmakers specifically asked the high court to hear both American Forest Resource Council v. United States of America and Murphy Company v. Biden, two cases challenging the expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in southwest Oregon. Plaintiffs have argued that the monument expansion was both illegal and caused significant economic damage, particularly to the timber industry.

“We urge the Supreme Court to hear these cases and send a clear message that the President cannot simply bypass Congress and rewrite our nation’s land laws with the stroke of a pen,” Bentz said in a statement. “This is about upholding the Constitution, protecting our rural communities, and ensuring responsible management of our public lands.”

BIDEN ADMIN CREATES PATHWAY WITH ECO GROUPS TO SHUTTER ENERGY SOURCE SERVING MILLIONS OF AMERICANS

Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ore. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images)

The Antiquities Act, designed as a federal conservation tool, grants the president broad authority to establish national monuments on existing federal lands. Since taking office in 2021, Biden has established five such monuments in Colorado, Nevada, Texas, Mississippi and Arizona, which have faced opposition from industry, lawmakers and garnered legal challenges.

Invoking the Antiquities Act and establishing a national monument effectively blocks the designated lands from normal uses. Under separate legislation passed in the 1970s, Congress established the so-called “multiple-use” and sustained yield mandate, requiring the Bureau of Land Management to open the lands it manages to various uses including energy development like drilling, grazing, recreation and mining.

DEM, GOP SENATORS TEAM UP TO FORTIFY DOMESTIC GREEN ENERGY, DEFENSE SUPPLIES DOMINATED BY CHINA

“For far too long the executive branch has abused the Antiquities Act to cut off millions of acres of public lands, an action that greatly impacts rural communities across the country and ignores Congress’ directive on how those lands must be responsibly managed,” Westerman said Tuesday.

“The president does not have the constitutional authority to lock away our federal land and waters, especially without any local input,” he said. “I urge the Supreme Court to take up these two critical cases and set the record straight on the executive branch’s authority when it comes to regulating our federal lands and waters.”

President Joe Biden Arizona

President Biden discusses investments in conservation and protecting natural resources in Tusayan, Arizona, in August. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

The Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument – which involves the two cases that Republicans are asking the Supreme Court to consider – was designated in 2000 by former President Clinton then expanded in early 2017 by former President Obama. Environmentalists for years have defended the designation and expansion, saying it protects wildlife and plant species in the area.

But while the two cases are focused on that monument, they have much wider ramifications for future use of the Antiquities Act and national monuments created by Biden over the last two years, according to plaintiffs.

BIDEN ADMIN SEEKS TO LOCK UP CRITICAL MINERALS WITH ECO PROTECTIONS AMID GREEN ENERGY PUSH

Biden’s designation of the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada and Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument in Arizona, for example, have faced opposition that included legal challenges from state governments as well as mining, livestock and agriculture groups.

“Whether you’re living in southwest Oregon near the illegal expansion of the monument, in Utah where numerous presidential proclamations have placed massive areas off-limits in recent years, or in Washington, D.C., where concerns about the protection of our democracy and constitutional processes are top of mind, this case and its outcome are critical to the future management of our federal lands,” American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) President Travis Joseph said last month.

Pilot Rock in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument outside of Ashland, Ore., on Tuesday, February 20, 2018. The monument, expanded in the final year of the Obama administration, but under the Trump administration, the park is at risk of being reduced and once-protected land opened to lumber harvesting and motorized vehicles. (Photo by Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

Pilot Rock in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument outside of Ashland, Oregon, is shown on Feb. 20, 2018. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)

In 2019, after the AFRC sued the federal government over the designation of Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, a lower court ruled in favor of the group and said the executive branch lacked authority to override the will of Congress which, in separate legislation, defined sustained-yield timber harvest as the dominant use of public land in Oregon.

Then in July, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision. Months earlier, in April, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals came to a similar conclusion in Murphy Company v. Biden, the second case that Republicans asked the Supreme Court to review.

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“This lawsuit attempted to rob Oregonians and all Americans of a biological treasure that deserves permanent protection,” Kristen Boyles, an attorney with eco group Earthjustice, said after the appellate court ruling on July 18. “Appeals courts in D.C. and Seattle have now upheld monument expansion, rejecting every single one of the timber industry’s arguments.”



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Voters describe the crisis at the southern border


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Voters are increasingly worried about border security, and candidates on the campaign trail are listening to these concerns.

A common question that voters raised at many campaign stops throughout Iowa was: “How do you plan on closing the southern border?”

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have pledged that securing the border would be the No. 1 priority if elected to the White House.

At a town hall on Sunday in Altoona, Iowa, Haley fed her stump speech to Iowans, revealing how she feels about the current U.S.-Mexico border.

FOX NEWS POLL: MAJORITIES SUPPORT MEASURES TO STRENGTHEN BORDER SECURITY AS ISSUE INCREASES IN IMPORTANCE

Nikki Haley gives remarks in Altoona, Iowa, on Sunday. (Clare O’Connor)

“I truly have run out of things to say about the border. This is a dereliction of duty. It’s horrific to see what’s happening on the southern border and the northern border,” said Haley. “Securing the border is job No. 1, priority No. 1.”

The same day, one hour east of Haley, DeSantis gave a similar message on his border stance to a room full of voters in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

“We’re pretty busy on day one because there’s a lot that we need to do. One, we’re going to declare the border to be a national emergency,” said DeSantis.

Voters continue to mention the border as a top priority. A new Fox News poll shows that 8 in 10 voters are calling immigration/border security either an emergency or a major problem.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks in Oskaloosa, Iowa, on Sunday. (Clare O’Connor)

Donna Cox of Cleveland says securing the border is the top issue she cares about when deciding who to vote for in the GOP primary.

EX-ICE CHIEF THOMAS HOMAN EYES ‘HISTORIC’ DEPORTATION IF TRUMP’S REELECTED: ‘NO ONE’S OFF THE TABLE’

“My No. 1 priority in this next election is border security. It’s not just Latin America that’s coming across. It’s the Middle East. It’s China. I think that we’re a ticking time bomb,” said Cox.

When asked about the current situation at the southern border, she described it as “chaotic, uncontrolled, open, free-for-all, dangerous.”

Donna Cox of Cleveland is shown in Oskaloosa, Iowa. (Clare O’Connor)

“David” of Oskaloosa agreed. He called on the government to stop the flow of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

“The worst it’s ever been, the border is wide open. It’s a train wreck,” he said.

Iowa voters have just under one month to weigh their options for Republican candidates ahead of the first-in-the-nation caucus. The latest NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll showed DeSantis at 19% and Haley at 16% in Iowa. Both are trailing far behind front-runner former President Trump, who sits comfortably at 51% in the poll.

During a press conference in Corydon, Iowa, DeSantis said that the effects of the southern border crisis are felt in every state.

“Even in a rural community far away from the southern border, you’re seeing the effects of that, not just in terms of the narcotics and the drugs but also in terms of some of the problems that flow from that,” said DeSantis.

Wayne County Sheriff’s Deputy Garrett Abel, left, leads a ride-along with presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, right. (Clare O’Connor)

During a sheriff’s ride-along with Fox News, the Sunshine State governor talked about these effects. Wayne County Sheriff’s Deputy Garrett Abel led the ride-along and drove by one of many drug houses in Iowa that he has busted, sparking conversations about drug abuse in the country.

“For young people with drugs now, if there’s fentanyl laced [in] these drugs, I mean, it can be all she wrote,” said DeSantis during the ride-along. “They can get poisoned to death just on one use of drugs. The stakes are a lot higher than they were in the past.”

TOP CONSERVATIVES JOINING DESANTIS ON IOWA CAMPAIGN TRAIL AHEAD OF CAUCUSES: ‘WILL GET THE JOB DONE’

John Heckelsmiller from Ottumwa, Iowa, said he sees the ramifications of the southern border first-hand in Iowa.

“We’ve got influx of migrants in Ottumwa, and it’s evident everywhere you go that there’s people coming into this country that maybe shouldn’t be here because they didn’t enter legally,” said Heckelsmiller.

John Heckelsmiller from Ottumwa, Iowa, said he sees the ramifications of the southern border first-hand in Iowa. (Clare O’Connor)

When asked by reporters for a specific timeline for building a border wall as president, DeSantis stated his plan to do so but didn’t provide specifics.

“My job is to get it done and I will get it done, and it has not gotten done, and we will do it, and we’ll start on day one and we won’t stop until it’s done,” he said.

Cox says that while she supports DeSantis, it’s important to her that whoever ends up in the White House addresses border security.

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“Day one, anybody who takes this office has to attack the border,” said Cox.



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Vulnerable Dem senator promotes TikTok account after saying he had ‘serious concerns’ about CCP ties


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Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, made a personal TikTok account just months after sharing “serious” national security and privacy concerns about the Chinese-owned platform.

The electorally vulnerable Democrat launched his TikTok account on Saturday, but in March, he suggested that the platform could potentially jeopardize the privacy of Ohioans.

“We must protect Ohioans’ personal information from the Chinese Communist Party,” Brown told WTOL 11 when asked about his stance on the platform. “I have serious concerns with this company’s ties to the Chinese government and will continue to work with members of both parties to look at how we can best protect Ohioans’ privacy and our national security.”

Despite acknowledging the company’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and a potential privacy threat to its users, the senator encouraged Twitter (the platform now named X) users to “follow along with me” on his new social media page.

HARRIS DODGES MULTIPLE QUESTIONS ON TIKTOK REGULATION, BRINGS UP RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

Sen. Sherrod Brown faces tough reelection in red-state Ohio next fall. (Bill Clark)

“This is Sherrod Brown. I’m now on TikTok. I look forward to getting to know all of you,” Brown said in a clip posted to then-Twitter before talking about standing up to “special interest groups.”

EXCLUSIVE: JEWISH EMPLOYEES AT TIKTOK SHARE DETAILS OF HOSTILE, ANTISEMITIC WORK ENVIRONMENT

The three-term U.S. senator already posted several videos to his TikTok page since its launch, including one campaign-related clip of Brown filing a petition for reelection.

When asked whether he still has “serious concerns” about the platform, Brown’s team made no mention of the TikTok account.

“Sherrod has a strong record holding the Chinese Communist Party accountable and will continue working with both parties to protect Ohioans’ privacy and our national security,” Rachel Petri, campaign manager of Friends of Sherrod Brown, told Fox News Digital.

TikTok logo

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, made a personal TikTok account just months after sharing “serious” national security and privacy concerns about the Chinese-owned platform. (Matt Slocum)

Brown is running for a fourth term in a state won by former President Trump in both 2016 and 2020 in one of the Democrats’ most vulnerable races of the 2024 cycle as they seek to hold or expand their slim Senate majority.

Members of Congress have supported a ban on TikTok amid growing concerns over its ties to the CCP, with some states enforcing bans on the use of the app on government devices.

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In March, the House Energy and Commerce Committee grilled TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew over the platform’s ties to the CCP and allegations that the data of American users is compromised by China and being used to spy on American account holders.



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Iowa Gov. Reynolds, with DeSantis, takes aim at Trump over ‘misleading’ TV ad


EXCLUSIVE – Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa charges that former President Trump is “misleading” voters in her state.

“It’s misleading and it’s not fair to Iowans,” the governor said Monday night in an interview with Fox News Digital while referring to an ad the Trump campaign is running in the Hawkeye State that spotlights years-old clips of Reynolds praising the former president.

Reynolds endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the race for the White House last month, and the two teamed up again in Bettendorf, Iowa, with four weeks to go until the state’s caucuses kick off the GOP presidential nominating calendar.

While Reynolds supported Trump during his 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, their relationship soured this past summer when the former president blasted Reynolds for staying neutral in the Republican nomination race – following a long-standing tradition of Iowa governors.

DESANTIS TURNS UP THE VOLUME ON TRUMP 

Kim Reynolds, Casey DeSantis, Ron DeSantis on stage

Republican Gov. of Iowa Kim Reynolds (left), Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (right), and his wife, Florida first lady Casey DeSantis (center), at a campaign event in Bettendorf, Iowa, on Dec. 18. (Paul Steinhauser)

“He was upset with me because I was going to stay neutral at the beginning of the campaign for the first-in-the-nation caucus, which I did for seven months,” Reynolds said in her Fox News interview and in comments to the crowd minutes earlier.

Trump’s attacks on Reynolds intensified after she endorsed DeSantis.

“It’s not going to make any difference, because the only endorsement that matters is the Trump endorsement,” the former president claimed at a campaign event in Ankeny, Iowa, earlier this month.

Reynolds noted that after she backed DeSantis, Trump said her “endorsement didn’t mean anything” and called it “worthless,” adding that she was “the worst governor in the country.”

DESANTIS STOPS IN ALL 99 OF IOWA’S COUNTIES — BUT WILL IT HELP HIM CLOSE THE GAP WITH TRUMP? 

“That’s on one hand, and now we look at another hand – he’s using me in a commercial that dates back to 2016 and again [is] misleading Iowans as if I was endorsing him and going back and forth,” the governor added. “In 2016 and 2020 I supported President Trump. I endorsed him. I helped him in the state of Iowa. It’s a different day. It’s a different time.”

Pointing to Hawkeye State voters, Reynolds said “it’s OK for Iowans to say ‘thank you for what you did’ and move on. We need somebody that can win. We need somebody that can follow through on what they said they were going to do.”

Asked for a response, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung asked Fox News, “is she saying that she lied to voters all those years?”

Donald Trump headlines a 'Hannity' town hall

Former President Trump has taken shots at Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds since she endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the 2024 race for the White House. (Matthew Putney)

Trump remains the commanding front-runner in the race for the Republican nomination as he makes his third straight White House run.

He made history earlier this year as the first former or current president to be indicted for a crime with his four indictments, including in federal court in Washington, D.C., and in Fulton County court in Georgia on charges he tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The former president’s legal difficulties have only boosted his support among Republican primary voters.

TRUMP HOLDS A MASSIVE LEAD IN THE POLLS WITH FIVE WEEKS TO GO UNTIL THE IOWA CAUCUSES 

Trump holds an extremely formidable double-digit lead over DeSantis and the rest of the remaining field of 2024 nomination rivals in the latest polls in Iowa, but Reynolds remains optimistic.

Ron DeSantis in Iowa

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, takes a photo with Iowa voters following a campaign event on Dec. 18 in Bettendorf, Iowa. (Paul Steinhauser)

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Asked about the polls, she told Fox News “it can change.”

“The energy, the momentum, is with [DeSantis]. Iowans break late. So we’ve got a lot of time left,” she emphasized. “We’re going work hard to get him across the finish line.”

Fox News’ Clare O’Connor contributed to this report

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



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GOP Rep. Andy Barr endorses Trump for ‘strong leadership both at home and abroad’


EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Andy Barr is endorsing former President Trump, telling Fox News Digital that Americans “must rally behind” him to ensure “strong leadership both at home and abroad.” 

Barr, R-Ky., told Fox News Digital on Monday about his endorsement.

“I can not sit idly by while Joe Biden and his disastrous policies continue to erode what makes America the greatest country in the world,” Barr said. “Since Biden took office, we have seen record-high illegal immigration at the Southern Border, 40-year high inflation, and threateningly weak foreign policy that has invited aggression from our adversaries.”

Rep. Andy Barr

Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr speaks at a press conference on the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 25, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

TRUMP PICKS UP MORE SENATE GOP ENDORSEMENTS

However, Barr said, “despite all of this, Democrats and the ‘mainstream media’ are doing everything they can to ensure Joe Biden remains president.”

“Donald Trump is the only candidate who can defeat Joe Biden and reinstate an America First agenda,” he said.

Andy Barr and Trump split image

Rep. Andy Barr, left, and former President Trump (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Scott Eisen)

TRUMP HOLDS MASSIVE LEAD IN IOWA 5 WEEKS FROM CAUCUSES THAT KICK OFF GOP RACE: POLL 

Barr, reflecting on the Trump administration, said Americans “paid less at the pump and the grocery store.”

“American families’ incomes rose, and their small businesses flourished,” he said, adding that none of those developments were “coincidences.”

Former President Donald Trump on stage at an event pointing to the crowd

Former President Trump gestures on stage during the Alabama Republican Party’s 2023 Summer meeting at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel on Aug. 4, 2023, in Montgomery, Alabama. (Julie Bennett/Getty Images)

“They were a direct product of Trump’s low-tax, pro-economic growth policies,” he told Fox News Digital, saying Biden’s policies have “resulted in the opposite.” 

“As Kentuckians and Americans, we must rally behind a leader who understands the importance of strong leadership, both at home and abroad,” he said. “That is why, to protect our country and ensure prosperity, I am endorsing Donald J. Trump for President of the United States.” 

FOX NEWS POLL: TRUMP’S LEAD IN GOP PRIMARY WIDENS

Trump is dominating the 2024 Republican primary field. A new Fox News poll released over the weekend also showed that if the election were held today, Trump would beat President Biden by four points in a head-to-head match-up. 

Meanwhile, a source close to Barr told Fox News Digital that should a Senate seat become open for 2026, the congressman could be “a serious contender.”

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“Barr is a prolific fundraiser and a skilled legislator who would be a formidable ally for the America First agenda in the Senate,” the source told Fox News Digital.

That source said Barr’s early endorsement of Trump “could preview a closer working relationship” between Barr and Trump in the coming years.

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



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