Donald Trump Poll News

Senior Republicans are showing support for President Biden’s decision to launch coordinated airstrikes against Houthi rebel targets in Yemen. 

“I welcome the U.S. and coalition operations against the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists responsible for violently disrupting international commerce in the Red Sea and attacking American vessels,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in a statement. “President Biden’s decision to use military force against these Iranian proxies is overdue.”

“I am hopeful these operations mark an enduring shift in the Biden Administration’s approach to Iran and its proxies. To restore deterrence and change Iran’s calculus, Iranian leaders themselves must believe that they will pay a meaningful price unless they abandon their worldwide campaign of terror,” he added.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Mike McCaul, R-Texas, who said he was meeting with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when the strikes were called, also praised the actions. He also called on Biden to restore the Houthis’ terror designation.

“I’m pleased the president, in coordination with our allies, finally took action against the Iran-backed Houthis following weeks of instability in the Red Sea. Tonight, with these strikes, we are beginning to restore deterrence. The administration must acknowledge it was a mistake to rescind the Houthis designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and re-list them immediately,” he said.

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, similarly called the action “overdue” and accused the Biden administration of contributing to the increasingly hostile situation in the Red Sea, but said the strikes were “a good first step toward restoring deterrence in the Red Sea.”

FETTERMAN BLASTS SOUTH AFRICA ‘GENOCIDE’ CASE AGAINST ISRAEL AMID SLAYINGS OF WHITE FARMERS

“I appreciate that the administration took the advice of our regional commanders and targeted critical nodes within Houthi-controlled Yemeni territory. It is important that we follow this action in close consultation with our Saudi partners to ensure they are with us as the situation develops,” Wicker said.

“This strike does not change the basic facts: for weeks, the Houthis have launched drones and missiles at our sailors, while the Biden administration has trumpeted a maritime task force…It is time to dispense with the hollow talk of ‘joint resolutions’ and ‘maritime task forces.’ This strike should be a warning to the Houthis and other Iranian proxies that they will suffer catastrophic consequences from escalation in the region.”

US INTELLIGENCE OFFICIALS WARN HEZBOLLAH MAY TARGET MAINLAND US DURING WAR IN ISRAEL: REPORT 

President Biden announced in a statement that the U.S. led a coordinated airstrike in Yemen with the U.K. and support from Canada, Australia and Bahrain.

He said the targets were “used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., an ally of former President Trump’s, said he was “very supportive of the Biden Administration’s decision to strike Houthi rebels who have been harassing international shipping and trying to attack Israeli and American interests.”

“It’s long past time to let Iran know that we will hold them accountable for the actions of their proxies – in this case, the Houthi rebels. The only language radical Islamic groups understand is force. I hope the Biden Administration understands that their deterrence policy has completely failed,” Graham wrote on X.

TOP BIDEN ADVISER VISITS BEIRUT AS ISRAEL, HEZBOLLAH NEAR ALL-OUT WAR

Even rank-and-file Republicans have been issuing cautious and rare praise for the move. Rep. John James, R-Mich., a military combat veteran who served in Iraq, told Fox News Digital, “The Houthis are a terrorist organization. They have been striking at U.S. military personnel since late last year and must be destroyed.”

“I pray for the safety of our brave military personnel engaging,” James said.

Top Democrats in Congress are also backing Biden’s move, while some further to the left are angry with him for bypassing Capitol Hill to do it.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“While I support these targeted, proportional military strikes, I call on the Biden Administration to continue its diplomatic efforts to avoid escalation to a broader regional war and continue to engage Congress on the details of its strategy and legal basis as required by law,” Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said.

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said however, “The President needs to come to Congress before launching a strike against the Houthis in Yemen and involving us in another middle east conflict.”
 

Former President Trump slammed Hunter Biden during his Fox News Town Hall in Iowa on Wednesday night calling him out for selling his artwork for large sums of money.

“I don’t get $8 million for doing nothing like Hunter,” Trump said. “I don’t get I don’t get $500,000. I don’t get $500,000 for doing a painting. It’s not a bad idea, I guess, if you can get away with it. When I heard that when I said there’s no way they get away with that. But they got away with that. I guess they got away with it.”

“Now we have you know, there was an emoluments lawsuit against me where the radical left, sued me for that, and I won the suit.”

Trump was responding to a question on accusations from Democrats that he illegally profited from his businesses during his time in office.

HUNTER BIDEN MAKES SHOCKING APPEARANCE AT HIS OWN CONTEMPT HEARING

“I own hotels, all over the, I don’t get free money,” Trump said. “Somebody rents a hotel room, etc, etc. Much money I gave back. In fact, I didn’t have to do it. You know, George Washington was a very rich man. People don’t know that, in his essentially White House, which wasn’t built, but they had an office, he had a business desk and he had a country desk right next to each other. You’re allowed to do that. I didn’t do it.”

“I put everything in trust. And if I have a hotel and somebody comes in from China, that’s a small amount of money. And it sounds like a lot of money. That’s a small. But I was doing services for that. People were staying in these massive hotels, these beautiful hotels, because I have the best hotels, I have the best clubs, I have the best clubs, I have great stuff and they stay there and they pay.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Hunter Biden’s legal team for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

HOUSE GOP SAYS HUNTER BIDEN ‘VIOLATED FEDERAL LAW’ BY DEFYING SUBPOENA, PREPARE CONTEMPT RESOLUTION

Republican investigators have suggested they are suspicious over whether Hunter Biden’s art career, which began in recent years, has led to any conflicts of interest between wealthy buyers and the White House.

Hunter Biden’s art dealer told lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Tuesday that he has never discussed the paintings with the White House seemingly contradicting past statements from the White House on that matter.

Trump previously blasted the Justice Department’s Hunter Biden indictment in mid September as the “only crime” that doesn’t “implicate” the President Joe Biden.

Biden’s son was indicted on Sept. 14 for making false statements and unlawfully possessing a firearm.

Trump claimed in a Truth Social post at the time that the gun charge was “the only crime that Hunter Biden committed that does not implicate Crooked Joe Biden.”

Hunter Biden, in an indictment filed in federal court in Delaware by a special counsel overseeing the case, was accused of lying about his drug use when he purchased a weapon in 2018, during a time when he’s acknowledged struggling with a crack cocaine addiction.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

Late in the year, Trump took another shot at Hunter Biden for skipping his closed-door congressional deposition in mid December and joked that the presidential scion “went to the wrong place” on Capitol Hill.The former president joked that Hunter went to the Senate side of the U.S. Capitol when he should have gone to the House side.

Fox News’ Gabriele Regalbuto, Elizabeth Elkind, Andrew Murray, Paul Steinhauser and Houston Keene contributed to this report.

ANKENY, Iowa – Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley says she spoke with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Thursday morning but didn’t ask for his endorsement following his departure from the GOP nomination race.

And Haley, in a Fox News interview in Iowa following a campaign event in this city in suburban Des Moines, said that when she wished him well on Wednesday after his campaign suspension, she wasn’t aware of his derogatory comments about her that were caught in a viral hot mic moment.

Christie, who was making his second bid for the White House, dropped out of the race at a town hall event in Windham, New Hampshire, saying “it’s clear to me tonight that there isn’t a path for me to win the nomination.”

Christie, a long-shot for the nomination in a race dominated by former President Trump, in recent weeks had faced increased calls from fellow Republicans and from some voters to end his bid to give Haley a boost as she aims to close the gap with Trump.

CHRISTIE ARGUES HALEY WILL GET ‘SMOKED’ IN HOT MIC MOMENT AS HE DROPS OUT OF THE 2024 RACE

Haley, a former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, has soared in recent months to become the main rival to the former president, who’s making his third straight White House run.

Ahead of his announcement on Wednesday, Christie was heard on a microphone, apparently without knowing it, saying that Haley was “going to get smoked” by Trump, who is the commanding front-runner for the nomination.

“She’s not up for this,” he added.

Christie also took two digs at Haley during his speech.

NEW POLL SUGGESTS HALEY’S MOVED INTO SECOND PLACE IN FINAL DAYS AHEAD OF IOWA CAUCUSES

After Christie suspended his campaign, Haley wrote on social media that “Chris Christie has been a friend for many years. I commend him on a hard-fought campaign. Voters have a clear choice in this election: the chaos and drama of the past or a new generation of conservative leadership. I will fight to earn every vote, so together we can build a strong and proud America.”

Asked Thursday by Fox News whether she was aware of Christie’s cutting remarks in the hot mic moment, Haley said, “I didn’t know about the open mic comments.”

“But I do wish Chris well, it’s personal to get in a race. It’s personal to get out of a race. So, I know how tough that must be. But at the same time, I’m not like the fellas. Politics is not personal for me,” she added.

WAS THE CANDIDATE WHO SKIPPED OUT ON THIS WEEK’S IOWA DEBATE THE WINNER OF THE COMBATIVE SHOWDOWN?

And Haley told Fox News that “I did talk to him this morning and just told him I appreciated his … commitment to this race. But no, we didn’t ask him for an endorsement.”

Haley was interviewed the day after she and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis faced off in a combustible prime-time debate in the closing days before Iowa’s Jan. 15 caucuses kick off the Republican presidential nominating calendar.

The verbal fireworks ignited moments into the debate, with DeSantis charging that Haley was a “mealymouthed politician who just tells you what she thinks you want to hear just to try to get your vote.”

Haley immediate hit back, labeling DeSantis a liar.

“What we’re going to do is rather than have him go and tell you all these lies, you can go to DeSantislies.com and look at all of those,” Haley said in the first of at 10 references to a new campaign website.

Haley disagreed when asked if promoting the website was overkill.

“I wasn’t saying it to be repetitious, but I was saying it because every time he lied, I had to include it. Look, we have a country to save. People want real facts. They want real solutions. And this is the part of politics that I don’t like, that Americans don’t like. They don’t like the fact that people throw out stories to see if they can make one stick,” Haley said.

And she explained that “we just put up a website up there. You can go to the website, you can look at all the stuff he’s saying and see what the fact-checkers say and show that it’s false. And so I think that’s the easier way to handle it.”

A couple of times in the debate, DeSantis touted his own campaign website, which is full of opposition research clips of Haley.

On Thursday, DeSantis said at a campaign stop that Haley messed up by referring to the website.

“I think she really stepped in it by repeating that ridiculous website. People were groaning in the audience that she was doing it for the 10th, 12th time,” DeSantis said in Iowa.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Haley grabbed momentum last autumn, thanks to well-regarded debate performances. And in recent weeks, she caught up with DeSantis for second place in the polls in Iowa and in national surveys. A fresh survey released Thursday by Suffolk University indicated Haley seven points ahead of DeSantis for a distant second place behind Trump.

Haley also surpassed DeSantis and surged to second place and narrowed the gap with Trump in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary — just eight days after Iowa’s caucuses.

After New Hampshire, the GOP nomination spotlight shifts to her home state, which holds the first southern contest on Feb. 24.

Sen. Tim Scott, South Carolina’s junior U.S. senator, ended his own White House bid in November. 

Asked if she’s actively seeking Scott’s endorsement, Haley said “we’ve had a conversation and right now we’re focused on Iowa. Then we’ll focus on New Hampshire, then we’ll focus on South Carolina. We’re taking it one state at a time.”

Fox News’ James Levinson contributed reporting.

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

Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy has filed an amicus brief at the Supreme Court in support of former President Donald Trump’s efforts to remain on state ballots.

“President Trump’s political opponents have sought to disqualify him from the ballot in multiple states because they fear they cannot beat him in a free and fair election,” Ramaswamy noted in the filing. “Needless to say, the distress of competing against a formidable opponent cannot justify disqualification under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. The consequences of affirming the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision will extend far beyond the dispute over President Trump’s eligibility.”

“Specifically, this Court’s blessing of the state supreme court’s interpretation of Section 3 will warp incentives for state decision-makers and voters alike,” Ramaswamy added in the filing. “For secretaries of state and state supreme court justices, the path to national notoriety will be illuminated: To enhance your credibility among copartisans, simply concoct a reason to declare a disfavored presidential candidate of the opposing party ineligible to run for office.”

TRUMP BACKED BY 27 STATES IN SUPREME COURT FIGHT, WHO WARN OF 2024 ‘CHAOS’ IF HE’S REMOVED FROM BALLOT

“For voters, the message will be equally clear: Scour the records of disfavored candidates for speeches containing martial rhetoric, or even policies that had unintended consequences, and then file challenges under Section 3. The number of Section 3 complaints will proliferate, as will the number of divergent outcomes.”

The amicus brief was filed Thursday as the Supreme Court gears up to hear arguments on whether Trump should remain on the Colorado Republican presidential primary ballot. The justices said they will hear the case on an expedited basis, with arguments on February 8.

The justices issued an administrative stay that orders the Colorado Secretary of State to put the former president’s name on the GOP primary ballot, at least until the case is decided. The high court said that the briefs are due by January 31.

Ramaswamy said Wednesday that he planned to file the amicus brief at the Supreme Court in hopes that it would “overturn Coloarado’s disastrous decision to try to keep Donald Trump off the ballot.”

SUPREME COURT TO DECIDE IF TRUMP BANNED FROM COLORADO BALLOT IN HISTORIC CASE

In the clip announcing the filing, Ramaswamy said the court should overturn Colorado’s decision because it’s “the right thing to do for this country.”

“I feel a sense of obligation to do that as somebody who understands the Constitution,” he said. “It’s my belief that every other Republican, myself included, needs to withdraw from any ballot that forcibly withdraws Donald Trump from the primary.”

The Colorado Supreme Court decision was the first time in history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment was used to bar a presidential contender from the ballot. 

The state’s highest court concluded that Trump “engaged in insurrection” over his role in the January 6, 2021, protests at the U.S. Capitol.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The historical hearing will consider the meaning of the 14th Amendment, which bars people who “engaged in insurrection” from holding public office. 

The amendment was adopted in 1868, following the Civil War.

Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.

Gov. Brian Kemp used his State of the State speech to draw contrasts between his Republican philosophy and Democrats in an election year when the presidency and all of Georgia’s state House and Senate seats are on the ballot, but the Republican Kemp himself doesn’t face the voters.

Combined with that heavy dose of politics is good news for the pocketbooks of state employees and public school teachers. Kemp says he wants to give a 4% cost of living increase to public employees and an equivalent $2,500 raise to teachers. That’s possible because the state is on track for another multibillion-dollar surplus despite slowing tax revenues, and has banked nearly $11 billion in extra cash in previous years.

Echoing his economic message from his 2022 reelection and his pledge to put “Georgians First” from his 2018 campaign, Kemp on Thursday painted his policies as bringing opportunity and prosperity, while calling on voters to reject “Washington D.C.” because of high inflation and overregulation.

GEORGIA GOV. KEMP ANNOUNCES $1K YEAR-END BONUS FOR TEACHERS, STATE EMPLOYEES: ‘WHOLLY APPROPRIATE’

“They will see what we’ve achieved together at the state level to make Georgia an even greater place to live, work and raise a family,” Kemp said. “And they’ll see the hardships Washington, D.C. has brought into every home and placed on every kitchen table across our state.”

Kemp contrasted his economic record, including low unemployment, big industrial announcements and billions in tax rebates and tax cuts with inflation and high prices that he said are squeezing Georgians.

“These are the people that Washington, D.C. has left behind,” Kemp said. “Because for every challenge our nation faces, the federal response is to spend more, regulate more, tax more, and come up with yet another government program meant to cure every ill.”

That national message lines up with the political profile Kemp has built after weathering the storm of COVID-19, overcoming Donald Trump’s attempt to torpedo his reelection and then vanquishing Democratic superstar Stacey Abrams for a second time.

Kemp cultivates a profile of a steady conservative who doesn’t alienate moderates. In some ways, he’s enjoying the fruits of his second term, including a trip next week to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, for a second year in a row.

But Kemp is also tending a political organization that suggests future plans. His organization plans to support Republican candidates in this year’s state legislative elections, but also could help Kemp if he were to run for U.S. Senate or even president.

In line with that political future, Kemp framed themes Thursday to rally Republicans and dismay Democrats, making his strongest push to date for a school voucher bill and emphasizing support for a much-disputed police and fire training center.

The governor was a late supporter last year of a proposal that would give a $6,500 educational savings account to parents to pay for private school tuition or homeschooling supplies. But he voiced full-throated support Thursday for a bill that failed to pass because 16 House Republicans voted against it.

“Our job is not to decide for each family — but to support them in making the best choice for their child,” Kemp said.

GEORGIA GOV. KEMP APPOINTS LAUREN CURRY AS FIRST WOMAN CHIEF OF STAFF

Kemp again hit on support for the training center — derided as “Cop City” by opponents — by honoring state Trooper Jerry Parrish in his speech. Officials say Parrish was shot and wounded by Manuel Paez Terán in January 2023 when officers were trying to clear protesters occupying the property that includes the training center.

A report identified Parrish as one of six troopers who fired guns at Paez Terán, who was inside a tent. The troopers who fired on Paez Terán weren’t wearing body cameras, and Paez Terán’s family and other activists have expressed skepticism about law enforcement’s account of the shooting.

But Kemp voiced no doubts, continuing to proclaim his support for the training center, an issue his aides believes makes some Democrats look anti-police.

“As long as I’m your governor, there will be no gray area or political double talk,” Kemp said. “We will support our law enforcement officers. We will support our firefighters and first responders. And the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center needs to be built — period!”

Kemp also emphasized law enforcement support for by proposing an additional $3,000 pay raise for state law enforcement officers including troopers and prison guards atop the 4% raise for all employees. He also called on lawmakers to repay police officers’ college loans.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The governor promised a substantial increase in spending on mental health, increasing crisis center beds and paying more to mental health workers and service providers.

But Kemp also said he would spend to reduce the state’s debt, proposing $500 million to reduce the unpaid liability in the pension fund that covers most noneducation state employees.

Kemp defended his record on health care, even as his partial expansion of Medicaid has come under fire, signing up fewer than 3,000 people over its first six months. Kemp didn’t mention the Pathways program, which offers insurance to low-income adults who meet work, education or community service requirements. Instead, he focused on his much more popular backing of subsidies that has helped bring down premiums and persuade more insurers to offer coverage in rural areas of the state.

Notably, Kemp also didn’t outline a position on whether Georgia should make a fuller expansion of Medicaid coverage to low income adults, as state House Speaker Jon Burns says he wants to explore.

FIRST ON FOX: The House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing next week looking at what Republicans in the majority say are the regulatory and policymaking moves by the Biden administration that “undermine” U.S. immigration law.

The hearing, “The Biden Administration’s Regulatory and Policymaking Efforts to Undermine U.S. Immigration Law” will take place on Wednesday and will “examine how the Biden administration has engaged in a regulatory and policymaking onslaught against the rule of U.S. immigration law.”

Witnesses include Joseph Edlow, who served as acting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) director and chief counsel during the Trump administration, and former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Thomas Homan. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill will also be a witness at the hearing.

REPUBLICANS, DEMS SPAR AT MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT HEARING AS STATE AGS DESCRIBE IMPACT OF MIGRANT CRISIS 

The hearing comes as Republicans have been focused on the Biden administration’s immigration policies amid the historic and still ongoing crisis at the southern border, where numbers exceeded 300,000 encounters for the first time in December.

“The crisis at our southern border is a crisis of the Biden Administration’s own making. President Biden and his administration’s unilateral actions to unravel the rule of law have created the worst border crisis in U.S. history,” Chairman James Comer said in a statement announcing the hearing. 

“Cartel drug smuggling and human trafficking are surging, terrorists are exploiting the crisis, and communities are overwhelmed by illegal aliens being released by the Biden Administration,” he said. “The Biden Administration refuses to reverse course and has the gall to ask for more money to throw at the problem. No amount of money can fix bad policy. It’s past time to put deterrent-focused policies in place and this hearing is a great opportunity to hear from experts what that looks like.”

Republicans have clashed with Democrats and the administration over the handling of the crisis, with Republicans blaming the surge in migration on administration policies including the release of migrants into the interior and the rolling back of Trump-era enforcement like border wall construction and the Remain-in-Mexico policy.

The administration has said it is dealing with a hemisphere-wide challenge and working within a “broken” system that needs more funding and comprehensive immigration reform. It has also pointed to what it says are large numbers of removals, more than a million in FY 22 and FY 22, and more fentanyl seized in two years than the prior five years combined. 

MAYORKAS TELLS BORDER PATROL AGENTS THAT ‘ABOVE 85%’ OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RELEASED INTO US: SOURCES 

Currently, negotiations are ongoing in the Senate about potential compromises in order to pass the White House’s budget supplemental request, including $14 billion for the border. Republicans have demanded stricter limits on asylum and the use of parole to release migrants into the interior.

Meanwhile, in the House, Republicans have launched impeachment hearings against DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, arguing that he has refused to enforce the laws passed by Congress. DHS has pushed back, saying the process is “harmful to the Department and its workforce and undercuts vital work across countless national security priorities.” 

“Unlike like those pursuing photo ops and politics, Secretary Mayorkas is working relentlessly to fix the problem by working with Republican and Democratic Senators to find common ground and real solutions,” a memo the department released Thursday said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Mayorkas also drew support from Democrats on the Committee with Ranking Member Bennie Thompson saying that Mayorkas is “doing his job across all the department’s many critical homeland security missions, including border security and immigration enforcement.”

“Despite what Republicans would have Americans believe, Secretary Mayorkas is enforcing immigration law,” he said.
 

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich told an audience at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library that Democratic Party leaders will not rest until former President Donald Trump is in jail.

Gingrich speculated that Trump’s political opponents’ main goal is to prevent the former president from standing in the upcoming presidential election due to President Biden’s poor approval ratings.

“Their goal is to put him in jail. Literally. I mean, if they can get to the right place, they will have him in chains,” Gingrich told the audience in Simi Valley, California, on Wednesday.

NEWT GINGRICH: THIS IS NOT A WAR AGAINST TRUMP, IT IS A WAR AGAINST AMERICANS

He continued, “And their hope is that if the American people see this guy in chains, they won’t vote for him.”

However, Gingrich suggested that the overzealous effort to remove Trump as a candidate could prove the ultimate undoing of the officials seeking to imprison him.

“Now, what’s happening, of course, is because they’ve gone to overkill — I mean, you get to do one of these. But, you do three or four or five of them — people get the joke.”

NEWT GINGRICH ROASTS JOHN KERRY’S CLIMATE CONFERENCE TRIP: ‘DEEPLY COMMITTED TO TAKING YOUR MONEY’

The former house speaker said that the repeated failures have only served to bolster Trump as the election draws closer, and that Democrats can expect an “explosion of outrage” if the latest bids to put Trump in prison succeed.

“What they’re likely to have, I think, is an explosion of outrage across the whole country on a scale we have not seen in our lifetime, because people are going to just say, ‘This whole thing is rigged,’” Gingrich said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

He added, “It’s absurd, but the danger is that they have the power of the government.”

Former President Donald Trump delivered his own closing argument in the non-jury civil trial stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit Thursday, saying he “did nothing wrong,” that his financial statements were “perfect” and blasting the case as “election interference.”

Closing arguments in the trial began Thursday morning. The former president and 2024 GOP frontrunner was expected to deliver his own closing statement, but New York Judge Arthur Engoron rescinded the court’s offer for him to do so on Wednesday. 

During Trump attorney Chris Kise’s closing statement, he requested permission for Trump to speak – a request Engoron denied, but, regardless of the judge’s decision, Trump began to deliver his own remarks. 

NEW YORK JUDGE ENGORON RESCINDS OFFER FOR TRUMP TO DELIVER CLOSING ARGUMENT IN NYAG CIVIL TRIAL

Trump said his financial statements were “perfect,” and stressed that the bank loans were repaid and are “as happy as can be.”  

Trump acknowledged that there was an “error” made regarding one “triplex,” but said that mistake was “immediately corrected” and was an “honest mistake.” 

“When you say don’t go outside of these things, I’m an innocent man, persecuted,” Trump said to Engoron, while blasting the case as “election interference,” and saying if he is “not allowed to talk about it, it’s a disservice.” 

Engoron told Trump to wrap up his remarks within one minute, but Trump fired back, saying: “You can’t listen for more than one minute?” 

“Mr. Kise, please control your client,” Engoron said to Trump’s attorney.

Engoron then asked Trump: “Haven’t you been sued before?” 

Trump replied: “Yes.” 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

But the former president went on, saying: “I did nothing wrong, they should pay me for what I’ve been put through.”

Trump defended his business empire and said he was sued to get publicity. 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

President Biden has consistently held several closed-door meetings with his top donors to alleviate their concerns heading into the 2024 election, including worries about his age and energy, according to a report.

Biden’s attempts to suppress their anxieties have occurred since the launch of his re-election campaign last spring. The meetings have taken place at the White House and included at least six sessions, each consisting of between four and eight people, and have covered an array of issues, such as how to handle former President Trump if he wins the Republican nomination and abortion rights.

Individuals familiar with the matter told the Washington Post, which first reported on the behind-the-scenes gatherings, that Biden’s age and energy were also among their concerns.

HILLARY CLINTON SAYS BIDEN’S AGE IS A LEGITIMATE ISSUE: ‘PEOPLE HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO CONSIDER IT’

“It has dispelled anybody who has any doubts about his determination and his energy and his passion,” a person familiar with the meetings told the Post. 

“It just gives him some seasoning. That is good. It gives him energy, which is very good,” they said. “And these people who are wondering if he has lost a step, they leave and are like, ‘That was great.'”

In addition to his top contributors, other individuals that Biden has known for some time have been in attendance, according to the report. The meetings have occurred in areas of the White House not considered “official workspaces,” where political activity can be discussed, such as the Map Room and a private dining room.

However, other reports from Wednesday indicate Biden previously showed the donors the Oval Office. The White House Counsel’s office allegedly warned him last year to stop to prevent any potential legal issues, Axios reported.

While the exact people who have attended the discussions are unknown, former Disney CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, a left-wing megadonor who co-chairs Biden’s campaign, has facilitated the meetings. Katzenberg told Reuters last year that he believed attacks on Biden’s age would backfire on those who made it an issue, and added his age is his “superpower.” 

The worries of his top supporters align with those acknowledged by other prominent Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, who has said Biden’s age is an issue and people have a right to consider it.

Clinton made the comments last May during a Financial Times panel after the moderator referenced an incident when Biden almost tumbled down a flight of stairs.

DAVID AXELROD WARNS BIDEN’S ‘AGE ISSUE’ IS CONSISTENT CONCERN AMONG VOTERS: ‘ONE THING YOU CAN’T REVERSE’

“There was that heart-stopping moment when he almost fell over coming down the stairs a day or two ago,” the outlet’s editor said. “He didn’t use a railing, and Jill wasn’t there with him.” 

“Every time that happens, your heart is in your mouth because these things could be consequential. Is that a concern?” he asked.

“It’s a concern for anyone,” Clinton responded. “We’ve had presidents who had fallen before who were a lot younger, and people didn’t go into heart palpitations.”

“But his age is an issue, and people have every right to consider it,” Clinton added. “But, you know, he has this great saying – and I think he’s right – don’t judge him for running against the Almighty but against the alternative. I am of the camp that I think he’s determined to run; he has a good record that, three years ago, people would not have predicted would have gotten done.”

David Axelrod, a former adviser to former President Obama, also brought up worry over Biden’s age among voters in November.

“I have no concerns about polls a year out. I mean, you have to look at them and analyze them and adjust,” Axelrod said. “But I was in a situation as a strategist for Barack Obama in 2011 where we were facing some difficult polls.”

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“The one number in the polling that was concerning, and in the CNN poll that followed after The New York Times poll, had to do with age, and that is one thing you can’t reverse no matter how effective Joe Biden is behind the scenes,” he added. “In front of the camera, what he’s projecting is causing people concerns, and that is worrisome,” 

The White House and Biden’s campaign did not immediately provide a comment. 

FIRST ON FOX — It was another solid fundraising quarter for Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz as he builds resources for his campaign for re-election this year to a third six-year term in the Senate.

The conservative firebrand lawmaker brought in $5.5 million during the October-December fourth quarter of 2023 fundraising, according to figures shared first with Fox News on Thursday morning.

Cruz’s haul from his three fundraising committees is up slightly from the $5.4 million he brought in the previous three months. He raised $4.4 million during the April-June second quarter and $1.8 million during the first three months of 2023. 

The senator’s fourth quarter haul is also a $3.7 million increase from the final three months of 2017, the similar fundraising quarter during his 2018 re-election campaign.

TEXAS: THE RED STATE DEMOCRATS CONTINUOUSLY DREAM OF TURNING BLUE, BUT KEEEP FALLING SHORT

The senator’s team also highlighted that, additionally, the Ted Cruz Victory Fund brought in $1.4 million that was transferred to the National Republican Senatorial Committee — the Senate GOP’s campaign arm — and to the Republican Party of Texas.

The campaign showcased that they had 78,000 unique contributions, with an average contribution of $36.67, from Texans in 247 out of the Lone Star State’s 254 counties, as well as supporters in all 50 states. 

The Cruz campaign also reported that it closed out 2023 with over $7.3 million cash-on-hand.

THESE FIVE DEMOCRATIC-HELD SENATE SEATS ARE MOST LIKELY TO FLIP IN NOVEMBER

Cruz spokesman Nick Maddux told Fox News in a statement that “we continue to see an increase in energy and support from patriots across the Lone Star State and the nation. Texans are fired up to re-elect Senator Ted Cruz and ensure that Texas remains our nation’s conservative stronghold.”

Additionally, he argued that “the stakes could not be higher as the radical left threatens to dismantle our Texan way of life, which is why Senator Cruz will continue blazing his campaign trail with the people of Texas to ensure that we keep Texas Texas.”

Cruz has said that his re-election bid is “going to be a firefight,” and there is a large field of Democrats gunning to win their party’s nomination and face off with him in November.

Cruz, who narrowly defeated then-Rep. Beto O’Rourke in a hard-fought 2018 Senate battle, touted in a Fox News Digital interview last year that, after former President Trump, “there is no Republican in the country that Democrats hate more than me.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

He added that is “something I wear as a badge of honor. There is no Republican that they would like to beat more than me.”

Cruz was significantly out-raised in that 2018 showdown by O’Rourke, and Rep. Colin Allred, the most prominent of the Democrats running to take on Cruz, topped the senator by nearly $2 million during the second quarter of 2023, but the senator topped Allred in the third quarter by roughly $600,000.

Allred has yet to announce his fourth quarter fundraising. Candidates for the Senate have until Jan. 15 to file their reports with the Federal Election Commission.

Senate Democrats are defending their fragile 51-49 majority in November’s elections.

Republicans need a net gain of either one or two seats to win back the majority — depending on which party controls the White House after next year’s presidential election. 

The math and the map favor the GOP, as the Democrats are defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs, including three in red states and a handful in key general election battlegrounds.

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

A federal appeals court said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis violated the First Amendment rights of former Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren, who DeSantis suspended from office in 2022 over neglect of duty and incompetence.

In a unanimous ruling on Wednesday, a three-judge panel on the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals said a lower court failed to consider certain First Amendment violations made by DeSantis when he removed Warren and remanded the case.

DeSantis suspended Warren in 2022 via executive order for “neglect of duty,” after the prosecutor declared he would not prosecute anyone who violates state abortion restrictions, nor would he prosecute those who violate prohibitions against certain types of gender-transition treatment for minors. 

The Eleventh Circuit panel found DeSantis “lacked probable cause to believe Warren neglected his duty or war incompetent.” 

FLORIDA GOV. RON DESANTIS SUSPENDS ‘SOROS-BACKED’ STATE ATTORNEY WHO REFUSED TO ENFORCE ABORTION BAN

“The First Amendment prevents DeSantis from identifying a reform prosecutor and then suspending him to garner political benefit,” U.S. Circuit Judge Jill Pryor wrote. “On remand, DeSantis must prove that unprotected activity, such as Warren’s actual performance or his policies, motivated him to suspend Warren.”

The panel consisted of Pryor, an Obama appointee, U.S. Circuit Judge Kevin Newsome, a Trump appointee, and U.S. District Judge Anne Conway, a George H.W. Bush appointee. 

A DeSantis spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

FLORIDA PROSECUTOR ANDREW WARREN SUES GOV. RON DESANTIS OVER SUSPENSION

Following DeSantis’ suspension of Warren last year, the governor told Fox News at the time: “I do think that some of these prosecutors that have very militant agenda in terms of ideology have been able to get away with a lot in other states … We’ve had prosecutors around this country that think they can pick and choose which laws to enforce.”

DeSantis has called Warren a “Soros-backed” prosecutor and taken credit for firing him in stump speeches as he campaigns for the 2024 Republican nomination for president. 

Warren sued DeSantis after he was suspended last year, claiming that the suspension was retaliation for opposing the governor’s policies and positions.

“This is what we’ve been fighting for from the beginning — the protection of democracy,” Warren posted on X after the panel ruled in his favor. “We look forward to returning to the district court for the relief that has been denied to me and all the voters of Hillsborough County for 17 months: reinstating the person elected by the voters.” 

COURT UPHOLDS GOV. RON DESANTIS’ SUSPENSION OF PROSECUTOR WITH ‘MILITANT AGENDA’

Tallahasee-based U.S. Judge Robert Hinkle previously found that DeSantis’ decision to suspend Warren violated the U.S. Constituion and Florida state Constitution, but upheld the suspension anyway.

The lower court identified six factors that influenced DeSantis’ decision and said two of those factors violated Warren’s First Amendment rights. However, Hinkle ruled the governor would have suspended Warren based on the other four factors anyway and ruled in DeSantis’ favor.

The Eleventh Circuit said two more factors identified by the lower court were protected by the FIrst Amendment and sent the case back to Tallahassee for reconsideration. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“On remand, DeSantis must prove that unprotected activity, such as Warren’s actual performance or his policies, motivated him to suspend Warren,” the court said. 

Earlier this week, Warren announced he’s not seeking re-election as state attorney. DeSantis appointed Suzy Lopez to replace him and Lopez is running for reelection. 

Fox News Digital’s Kyle Morris contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump signaled during an Iowa Town Hall event on Fox News Wednesday night that he has already decided who he will choose to be his running mate in 2024. 

“I can’t tell you that really, I mean, I know who it’s going to be,” Trump said when he was asked who his running mate will be in 2024.

“We’ll do another show sometime,” Trump said when pushed by host Martha MacCallum to “give us a hint.”

“What about any of the people who you’ve run against?” MacCallum asked. “Would you be open to mending fences with any of them?”

OBAMA INCREASINGLY WORRIED ABOUT TRUMP BEATING BIDEN, REPORT SAYS: ‘INCALCULABLE DAMAGE’

“Oh, sure. I will, I will,” Trump responded. “I’ve already started to like Christie better.”

“Christie for vice president?” MacCallum joked.

TRUMP TAKES NO CHANCES AS IOWA’S REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CAUCUSES APPROACH

“I don’t see it, I don’t see it,” Trump said. “That would be an upset. Christie for vice president. Ladies and Gentlemen, I’d like to announce, nah.”

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced earlier in the day that he has suspended his presidential campaign. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

Speculation about Trump’s potential running mate has run rampant in recent months with a variety of names being floated including GOP Congresswoman Nancy Mace, South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem, Trump’s GOP opponent and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.

The website OddsChecker.com currently lists Noem as the betting favorite followed GOP Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. 

Closing arguments in the non-jury civil trial stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against former President Trump and his business empire are expected to be delivered Thursday.

The trial began in October, after James sued Trump, his family and his business empire claiming he inflated his financial statements and deceived banks.

NEW YORK JUDGE ENGORON RESCINDS OFFER FOR TRUMP TO DELIVER CLOSING ARGUMENT IN NYAG CIVIL TRIAL

Trump and his family have denied any wrongdoing. The former president has repeatedly said his assets were actually undervalued. Trump has repeatedly said his financial statements had disclaimers, requesting that the numbers be evaluated by the banks.

Closing arguments are set to begin at 10 a.m. ET. It is unclear if Trump will be present for the proceedings. 

Judge Arthur Engoron on Wednesday rescinded the court’s offer for Trump to deliver his own closing argument in the case Thursday.

Engoron had initially approved the request for Trump to make his own closing statement, but said the former president would be required to limit his remarks to “commentary on the relevant, material facts that are in evidence, and application of the relevant law to those facts.”

Engoron said Trump would be prohibited from introducing new evidence or commenting on “irrelevant matters” and said he could not “deliver a campaign speech” or speak ill of court staff or the attorney general.

However, Trump attorney Chris Kise, in an email to Engoron, said Trump has “been wrongfully demeaned and belittled by an out of control, politically motivated Attorney General” and he should be allowed to “speak about the things that must be spoken about.” 

DEUTSCHE BANK SOUGHT OUT ‘WHALE’ OF A CLIENT IN TRUMP, BENEFITED FROM RELATIONSHIP, FORMER EXECUTIVE TESTIFIES

Kise also requested to postpone closing arguments, citing the death of Trump’s mother-in-law, Amalija Knavs, whom Kise said Trump “was very close to.” 

Former first lady Melania Trump made the announcement about her mother’s passing on X late Tuesday.

Engoron said he was “sorry to hear the sad news,” but denied the request.

Engoron went on to impose a deadline for Kise to agree, on behalf of Trump, to abide by his rules for the closing argument — a deadline Kise missed.

“Not having heard from you by the third extended deadline (noon today), I assume that Mr. Trump will not agree to the reasonable, lawful limits I have imposed as a precondition to giving a closing statement above and beyond those given by his attorneys, and that, therefore, he will not be speaking in court tomorrow,” Engoron wrote in an email Wednesday.

MELANIA TRUMP ANNOUNCES PASSING OF ‘BELOVED’ MOTHER: ‘WE WILL MISS HER BEYOND MEASURE’

James filed the lawsuit against Trump “under a consumer protection statute that denies the right to a jury,” a Trump spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

“There was never an option to choose a jury trial,” the spokesperson said. “It is unfortunate that a jury won’t be able to hear how absurd the merits of this case are and conclude no wrongdoing ever happened.”

James is seeking more than $370 million from Trump and his family, claiming the funds would be repayment for the profits she claims were illicitly gained.

TRUMP DEMANDS JURY, SAYS NEW YORK AG HAS ‘NO CASE’ IN HEATED TESTIMONY

Back in September, Engoron ruled that Trump and the Trump Organization had committed fraud while building his real estate empire, by deceiving banks, insurers and others, by overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.

“He ruled against me without knowing anything about me,” Trump said on the stand during the trial. “He called me a fraud, and he didn’t know anything about me.”

Throughout the trial, Trump attorneys brought witnesses, like former Deutsche Bank top executives, who testified the banks sought additional business from Trump, who they viewed as a “whale of a client.”

Trump’s defense also brought in expert witnesses, like New York University accounting professor Eli Bartov, who reviewed the Trump financial statements at issue in the case and said he found no evidence of accounting fraud.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Bartov testified last month that Trump’s financial statements didn’t violate accounting principles, and he suggested that anything problematic — like a huge year-to-year leap in the estimated value of his Trump Tower penthouse — was simply an error.

“My main finding is that there is no evidence whatsoever of any accounting fraud,” Bartov testified. Trump’s financial statements, he said, “were not materially misstated.”

It was an undeniable stunt by Hunter Biden – and it wasn’t even as effective as his last stunt.

The president’s son crashed his own House contempt hearing yesterday, sat in the front row and dramatically walked out – with all three cable news networks following him to the press mob in the hallway. His lawyer ripped the Republican-run committee for refusing to hold a public hearing, and Hunter soon slipped into a waiting SUV while mumbling only a few words to the press. 

None of this was good for his father, whose White House aides are frustrated when Hunter seizes the spotlight, reviving questions about unethical business practices tied to the impeachment inquiry of the president.

TRUMP GOES TO FEDERAL IMMUNITY HEARING, SKIPPING IOWA, SEIZES MEDIA SPOTLIGHT

Just a day earlier, Lloyd Austin’s disappearing act turned into a full-fledged firestorm. We learned–not long after the White House did – that the Pentagon chief is battling prostate cancer.

The idea that nine days after he was rushed to Walter Reed, we finally found out that Austin was being treated for a serious disease, and not the “minor” elective procedure he had claimed, is mind-boggling. Of course we all wish the retired general, who is still hospitalized, a speedy recovery.

For days, Joe Biden couldn’t consult with the man overseeing America’s armed forces, didn’t even know he was in the hospital. The secretary of Defense, who is in the nuclear chain of command, was AWOL. And yet the White House coughed up a statement saying the president still has confidence in him.

All of which makes Biden look weak and unwilling to fire anyone.

The two episodes are unconnected, but they underscore how the administration often seems to lose control of events.

BIDEN TEAM COMPLAINS ABOUT TRUMP COVERAGE; THE ‘FULL HITLER’ CONFRONTATION

When Hunter Biden last made a surprise appearance, outside the Capitol, he spoke to reporters about how he was ready to testify, but not in a closed-door session. At least the public got to hear him and weigh his case.

The argument for public testimony has a certain populist appeal. But the truth is that Hill committees routinely demand private depositions, spending hours vacuuming up details, before they grant a televised hearing. And Biden could be charged with contempt of Congress on that basis alone.

When Hunter and his entourage walked in, GOP Rep. Nancy Mace demanded he be immediately jailed. When they walked about, Marjorie Taylor Greene accused him of being afraid of strong conservative women.

By the time his attorney was making his hallway comments, Hunter briskly walked toward the exit, looking like he was heading back into hiding. The novelty had worn off.

And keep in mind that Hunter is under criminal indictment. So he’s going to continue to be an albatross for his dad.

Meanwhile, bipartisan criticism continues to build over Austin’s shocking lack of candor. Pennsylvania Democrat Chris Deluzio yesterday became the first lawmaker in his party to call for the secretary’s resignation.

The prostate cancer disclosure has brought into sharp relief that Austin did something that might have gotten an ordinary soldier court-martialed for being MIA.

And one broader point: The reclusive Austin rarely talks to reporters or holds news conferences and takes only a handful of journalists on foreign trips. So how can he be an effective advocate for the military and for the commander-in-chief? Maybe it’s time for him to concentrate on healing.

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES

Footnote: Chris Christie dropped out of the presidential race yesterday, after days of insisting he would do no such thing. I thought he’d at least wait till after Iowa, since his departure will mainly help Haley in New Hampshire.

When he was preparing to run, the former New Jersey governor told me he would stay in as long as he had a shot at the nomination. But he came to be viewed as an anti-Trump spoiler, didn’t qualify for last night’s debate, and said last night he no longer had a path.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“I would rather lose by telling the truth than lie in order to win,” Christie said. He accused Republican lawmakers who endorse him of “cowardice” and “hypocrisy.” And now he’s he’s folded his tent.

DES MOINES, Iowa – It was a slugfest.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, sharing the debate stage in Iowa five days before the state’s caucuses kick off the Republican presidential nominating calendar, spent much of their two-hour showdown Wednesday night attacking each other and disagreeing on policy.

That allowed the absent front-runner in the GOP race – former President Donald Trump – to emerge relatively unscathed in a debate that was held a couple of hours after another contender – former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, suspended his campaign.

Trump, who skipped a Republican debate for the fifth straight time since last summer, was a few miles away in downtown Des Moines, taking part in a Fox News town hall.

WHAT FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP SAID AT A FOX NEWS TOWN HALL IN IOWA

The verbal fireworks ignited moments into the debate, with DeSantis charging that Haley was a “mealymouthed politician who just tells you what she thinks you want to hear just to try to get your vote.”

Haley immediate hit back, labeling DeSantis a liar.

“What we’re going to do is rather than have him go and tell you all these lies, you can go to DeSantislies.com and look at all of those,” Haley argued, in the first of numerous references to a new campaign website.

And she warned the audience at the debate – which took place at Iowa’s Drake University – “don’t turn this into a drinking game. You will be overserved.”

After DeSantis claimed that “Haley’s running to pursue her donors’ issues. I’m running to pursue your issues and your family’s issues,” she returned fire, arguing DeSantis “is only mad about the donors because the donors used to be with him, but they’re no longer with him now.”

And Haley charged that DeSantis’ “campaign is exploding.”

CHRISTIE TAKES AIM AT HALEY AS THE FORMER NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR DROPS OUT OF THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL RACE

DeSantis, who was convincingly re-elected to a second term as Florida governor 14 months ago, was once the clear alternative to Trump in the Republican White House race. He was solidly in second place behind Trump, who remains the commanding front-runner as he makes his third straight presidential bid.

But after a series of campaign setbacks over the summer and autumn, DeSantis saw his support in the polls erode.

Haley grabbed momentum during the autumn, thanks to well-regarded debate performances. And in recent weeks she caught up with DeSantis for second place in the polls in Iowa and in national surveys. 

Haley also surpassed DeSantis and surged to second place and narrowed the gap with Trump in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary — just eight days after Iowa’s caucuses.

Haley and DeSantis battled over key issues, from the war in Ukraine and the bloodshed in the Middle East to border security and immigration.

In a sharp exchange, DeSantis accusing Haley of being soft on securing the border. Haley returned fire, arguing “you can’t trust what Ron is saying.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

While DeSantis and Haley spent plenty of time targeting each other, they did step up their attacks on Trump, with both of them criticizing Trump for not showing up at the debate and knocking the former president on policy.

DeSantis slammed Trump for failing to “drain the swamp” and to finish building the border wall with Mexico, and slammed him on the issue of abortion.

Haley targeted Trump for the exploding national debt and not taking a tougher stance against China.

She also aimed to frame the race as a two-candidate contest between her and the former president, stressing “I wish Donald Trump was up here on this stage. He is the one that I’m running against.”

Longtime Republican strategist David Kochel, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns and statewide contests in Iowa, was in the debate hall on Wednesday night.

Kochel told Fox News that DeSantis and Haley are “both getting a little bolder in going after” Trump.

“There are two campaigns going on in Iowa right now. One is Trump vs. his expectations and the other one is Haley vs. DeSantis to see who gets the right to take on Trump one-on-one,” Kochel emphasized.

Kochel, who remains neutral in the GOP nomination race, noted that Haley and DeSantis “both want a shot at Trump and the other one’s in the way.”

“She certainly got her licks in. She came across as more polished,” he argued. But he added that DeSantis “knew what he wanted to do tonight.”

And Kochel didn’t see much downside for Trump – who is sitting on a massive lead in the latest Iowa polls – in skipping the debate.

“His people don’t care. They’re with him no matter what,” he said. And he noted that DeSantis and Haley are “in the semi-finals. Trump has a bye week.”

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

Former President Trump, if elected to a second term, said he would alleviate the “chaos” brought to the nation by the Biden administration by securing the southern border, bringing America back to energy independence, strengthening the economy and expanding and strengthening the military.

Trump, the 2024 GOP frontrunner, participated in a Fox News Town Hall Wednesday night in Des Moines, Iowa, just days before the highly-anticipated first-in-the-nation primary contests in the Hawkeye State on Jan. 15.

Trump, who leads the Republican primary field by a massive margin, stands at or above 50% support in the latest polls in Iowa. 

The town hall was co-moderated by “Special Report” chief political anchor Bret Baier and “The Story” executive editor and anchor Martha MacCallum. 

TRUMP ON POTENTIAL 2024 VP PICK: ‘I KNOW WHO IT’S GOING TO BE’

Trump took questions from Iowa voters on a number of issues, but said President Biden has brought “chaos” to the country.

“They have chaos at the border. They have chaos in the military. People are going woke,” Trump said. “We have chaos now. Look at today with Hunter Biden going into Congress and just sitting down and the bedlam that’s been caused today. You have chaos.” 

Trump said the country has “more” chaos with Biden than under his presidency.

“He can’t put two sentences together and he’s representing us on nuclear weapons with Putin and Xi and all of these very smart people—the media hates when I say they’re smart, but let me tell you, they’re very smart and they’re very cunning,” Trump said.

“I think we had very little chaos,” Trump said, reflecting on his administration. “I think most of the chaos was caused by the Democrats constantly going after me.” 

Trump went on to point to the “phony Russia, Russia, Russia” investigation; his impeachments;  and more.

“They had the chaos. They were the ones that caused the chaos,” Trump said. “We didn’t have chaos.” 

Trump said that under his presidency, the United States saw the “biggest tax cuts in history” and “the biggest regulation cuts in history.” 

TRUMP STARTS 2024 IN ‘STRONGEST POSSIBLE POSITION’ IN REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY RACE

“I had no wars. I’m the only president in 72 years—I didn’t have any wars,” Trump said. 

But Trump said Biden and Democrats use the “narrative” that he would bring chaos “because they have nothing else.”

“The new narrative they have, as you know, is I’m going to be a dictator, because a guy like Biden, there’s nothing he can run on—everything he’s turned out, it’s turned out badly,” Trump said.

Trump said under Biden, the border “is a disaster” and “the worst border in history.”

“I think the worst border in the history of the world,” Trump said.

In Fiscal Year 2023 alone, border officials encountered nearly 2.5 million migrant encounters at the southern border–including 600,000 getaways, and 249 people on the terror watch list. 

The GOP frontrunner said that if elected, his second term would begin by “immediately” terminating “every open borders policy of the Biden administration.”

In September, Trump announced his plans to carry out “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history” if he is elected to a second term.

Additionally, he plans to “invoke the Alien Enemies Act to remove all known or suspected Gang Members, drug dealers, or Cartel Members from the United States”—an effort he says will end the “scourge of illegal alien gang violence once and for all.”

Meanwhile, Trump was asked to respond to Biden’s claims, and to say that political violence is “never acceptable.”

“Well, of course, that’s right,” Trump said. “And of course, I’m the one who had very little of it. Take a look at wars again—I didn’t start—I wasn’t involved in wars. We beat the hell out of ISIS. We won 100%. We brought our troops back home.”

He added: “Look at the violence that we’ve had recently.”

COURT DATES AND PRIMARIES: TRUMP FACES COMPETING CALENDARS IN 2024

Trump went on to say that Biden’s presidency is “bedlam.”

“You have a man who can’t lead. You have a man who can’t find his way off a stage after he makes a speech that lasts for about two minutes,” Trump said. “Now, I think bedlam is Joe Biden.”

Trump said Biden is using a “political ploy” by claiming that he “wants to be a dictator.”

But as for being a “dictator,” Trump joked that he would be—but only for one day.

“I’m going to be a dictator for one day. We’re going to do two things: the border—we’re going to make it so tight, you can’t get in unless you come in legally—and the other, we’re going to drill, baby, drill,” Trump said. “After that, I’m not going to be a dictator after that. I’m not going to be a dictator.”

TRUMP FIRES BACK AT JAN. 6 CRITICISM, SAYS BIDEN IS A ‘TRUE THREAT TO DEMOCRACY’

But Trump, who said he has “gotten to know Washington,” and who said “everybody wants to come work for us” in a possible second term, said he was “not going to have time for retribution.”

“I’m not going to have time for retribution,” Trump said. “We’re going to make this country so successful again. I’m not going to have time for retribution.” 

He added: “And remember this, our ultimate retribution is success…There won’t be retribution. There will be success.”

Moving onto the economy, Trump said it is “horrible, except the stock market’s going up.” 

“And I think the stock market’s got markets going up because I’m leading Biden in all of the polls– every poll, every single poll for in states that normally are not easy to lead,” Trump said. “But I would say this we have a situation in which I believe the stock market goes up because I’m leading. I think if I wasn’t leading, the stock market would be 25% lower. And I think, frankly, if I didn’t win, I think the stock market would crash.” 

Moderator Bret Baier pointed to comments Trump made this month in which he said if there is a crash of the stock market, he hoped it would be during “this next 12 months because I don’t want to be Herbert Hoover. The one president I just don’t want to be, Herbert Hoover.”

On Wednesday, Trump clarified, saying that he believes “there will be a crash if I don’t win.” 

TRUMP EDGES BIDEN AGAIN IN NEW 2024 POLL, BUILDS SUPPORT WITH YOUNGER VOTERS

“And I say that and I do not want to be Herbert Hoover. You know, Herbert Hoover was 1929. He was the president. And that was not a good time to be. I don’t want to be Herbert Hoover and I won’t be Herbert Hoover,” Trump said. 

Trump has been criticized as a “big government Republican” by his GOP opponents for adding $8 trillion to the national debt during his tenure, but he defended his record–especially during the coronavirus pandemic. 

“I say very simply, we were starting to pay down debt,” Trump said. “We were going to pay down a lot of debt when COVID came along. If I didn’t inject this country with money, you would have had a depression, the likes of which you have never seen.”

Trump continued, “You had to inject money. We gave businesses that were going bankrupt, temporarily bankrupt, but they needed money. We helped businesses. If I didn’t do that, you would have had a depression in this country. That was a very good investment. And now what they should be doing instead of the kind of debt that they’re building at record levels, they should be paying down their debt and they ought to go into the energy business instead of this Green New Scam business that they’re in.”

Meanwhile, as for a running mate, Trump said he’s already made his pick. 

“I can’t tell you that really, I mean, I know who it’s going to be,” Trump said. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“We’ll do another show sometime,” Trump said when pushed by host Martha MacCallum to “give us a hint.”

“What about any of the people who you’ve run against?” MacCallum asked. “Would you be open to mending fences with any of them?”

“Oh, sure. I will, I will,” Trump responded. 

Former Ambassador Nikki Haley responded to a Trump attorney’s defense of his immunity from legal charges as president as “ridiculous” during the last GOP presidential debate before the Iowa caucuses. 

“Do you agree with the argument Donald Trump’s lawyer made in court that a president should have immunity for any conduct, including in ordering the assassination of a political rival unless that president is impeached and convicted by the Senate for that offense first?” CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Haley during a debate on Wednesday night. 

“No, that’s ridiculous,” Haley responded. “That’s absolutely ridiculous. I mean, we need to use some common sense here. You can’t go and kill a political rival and then claim, you know, immunity from a president. I think we have to start doing things that are right and you know Ron said we should have leaders that we can look up to. Well, then stop lying, because nobody’s going to want to look up to you if you’re lying.“

Haley continued, “But what I do think we need to look at is what has President Trump done? You look at the last few years and our country is completely divided. It’s divided over extremes. It’s divided over hatred. It’s divided over the fact that people think that if someone doesn’t agree with you that they’re bad. And now we have leaders in our country that decide who’s good and who’s bad, who’s right, and who’s wrong, that’s not what a leader does. What a leader does is they bring out the best in people and get them to see the way forward.“

HALEY, DESANTIS FIRE SHOTS AT TRUMP IN HEAD-TO-HEAD DEBATE: ‘HE DID NOT DELIVER’

The question from Tapper to Haley was in reference to a comment from Trump lawyer D. John Sauer this week in a Washington D.C. courtroom where he answered with a “qualified yes” when asked if Trump’s immunity from prosecution as president would apply if Trump “ordered S.E.A.L. Team 6 to assassinate a political rival.”

“He would have to be impeached and convicted,” Sauer argued.

JUDGE JUDY ENDORSES NIKKI HALEY FOR PRESIDENT: ‘SHE IS WHIP SMART…SHE IS THE FUTURE’

Sauer said, “There’s a political process that would have to occur under the structure of our Constitution which would require conviction and impeachment by the Senate in these exceptional cases, as the OLC memo itself points out from the Department of Justice you’d expect a speedy impeachment and conviction.”

Sauer argued before a federal appeals court Tuesday that the president has “absolute immunity,” even after leaving office — an argument that the judges appeared to be skeptical of.

Judge Karen Henderson, an appointee of former President George H.W. Bush, fired back, saying: “I think it’s paradoxical to say that his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed allows him to violate criminal law.” 

But Sauer argued that Biden, “the current incumbent of the presidency is prosecuting his number one political opponent and his greatest electoral threat.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Meanwhile, Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team argued that presidents are not entitled to absolute immunity and that Trump’s alleged actions following the November 2020 election fall outside a president’s official job duties.

“The president has a unique constitutional role but he is not above the law. Separation of powers principles, constitutional text, history, precedent and immunity doctrines all point to the conclusion that a former president enjoys no immunity from prosecution,” prosecutor James Pearce said, adding that a case in which a former president is alleged to have sought to overturn an election “is not the place to recognize some novel form of immunity.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump campaign for comment but did not immediately receive a response. 

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis went head-to-head in the fifth GOP presidential primary debate Wednesday night, but not without taking several shots at the front-runner in the race who was absent from the matchup – former President Donald Trump.

Trump declined to attend the CNN debate in Iowa, as he has for previous debates, despite qualifying. The former president instead attended a town hall on Fox News Channel, which was also held in Des Moines, Iowa.

Haley and DeSantis were asked whether Trump has the “character” to be president again.

“I think the next president needs to have moral clarity,” responded Haley, a former two-term South Carolina governor. “I think you need to have moral clarity to understand that it’s taxpayer money, not your own money. I think you need to have moral clarity to understand that when you’re dealing with dictators in the world, that we always have to fight for democracies and human rights and protecting Americans and preventing war.”

CHRIS CHRISTIE DROPS OUT OF 2024 RACE, TAKES SHOTS AT HALEY WHILE ENDING REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN 

“So I don’t think that President Trump is the right president to go forward,” she said. “I think it’s time for a new generational leader that’s going to go and make America proud again.”

“I wish Donald Trump was up here on this stage,” she added later. “He’s the one that I’m running against. He’s the one that I wish would be here. He needs to be defending his record.”

DeSantis said Trump didn’t deliver on multiple campaign promises during his presidency on issues like bringing down the national debt and border security.

“I appreciated what President Trump did, but let’s just be honest: He said he was going to build a wall and have Mexico pay for it. He did not deliver that,” the governor said. “He said he was going to drain the swamp. He did not deliver that. He said he was going to hold Hillary accountable, and he let her off the hook. He said he was going to eliminate the debt and he added $7.8 trillion to the debt. So, we need to deliver and get this stuff done.”

DeSantis later said that unlike Trump, he would have Mexico pay for a border wall as president.

“We will build a wall,” he said. “We will actually have Mexico pay for it in the way that I thought Donald Trump was. We’re going to charge fees on remittances that workers send to foreign countries. Billions of dollars will build the wall.”

“He also promised record deportations,” he continued. “Donald Trump deported fewer people than Barack Obama did when he was president. Biden has let in 8 million people just in four years. They all have to go back.”

DeSantis also hit Trump for not showing up at the debate, saying, “Donald Trump should be on this stage.”

“Every candidate needs to earn your vote,” he said. “Nobody’s entitled to your vote, and he comes in here every now, and then he does his spiel and then he leaves. I’ve shown up to all 99 counties because it’s important. You’re a servant of the people, you are not a ruler over people, and that’s the type of president that I will be.”

The Trump campaign dismissed the attacks when reached by Fox News Digital Wednesday evening.

“When two losers fighting for distant second place are cat fighting in front of 10 viewers on CNN, they don’t have a leg to stand on,” a spokesperson said.

The debate came just five days before the Iowa caucuses kick off the 2024 voting calendar.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie dropped out of the race just hours before the debate started.

Christie, one of the most vocal Trump critics in the GOP, urged voters not to support the former president during his speech announcing his campaign’s suspension at a town hall event in Windham, New Hampshire.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“I also know though, this is the right thing for me to do. Because I want to promise you this – I am going to make sure that in no way do I enable Donald Trump to ever be President of the United States again. And that’s more important than my own personal ambitions,” Christie said.

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

• A combined 10 candidates — five Democrats and five Republicans — have qualified for ballot access in two special elections to the Georgia Legislature.
• Among the more notable candidates for the seats are former state Rep. Tim Bearden and Republican National Committee Youth Advisory Council Co-Chair C.J. Pearson.
• If no one candidate receives an outright majority of the vote in either Feb. 13 election, the race will head to a March 12 runoff that would coincide with Georgia’s presidential primary.

Five candidates apiece are running in special elections for a Georgia state Senate seat west of Atlanta and a state House seat near Augusta.

Qualifying closed Wednesday for the Feb. 13 votes to replace Republican Mike Dugan in Senate District 30 and Rep. Barry Fleming in House District 125. Dugan resigned to run for Congress, while Gov. Brian Kemp swore Fleming in as a superior court judge on Wednesday.

Members of all parties will run together in the special elections with no primaries to select nominees. If no one wins a majority on Feb. 13, the top two candidates would advance to a runoff on March 12, the same day as Georgia’s presidential primary.

GEORGIA VOTING SYSTEM UNDER SCRUTINY AS TRIAL OVER CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGE DRAWS NEAR

Running in the Senate race as Republicans are former state Rep. Tim Bearden of Carrollton, real estate agent Renae Bell of Tallapoosa, contract administrator Amber Nixon of Carrollton and consultant Robert “Bob” Smith. Ashley Kecskes Godwin of Carrollton is running as a Democrat. The district covers all of Haralson County and parts of Carroll, Douglas and Paulding counties.

Bearden was elected to the state House four times before former Gov. Nathan Deal appointed him as director of the Georgia Public Safety Training Center. Bearden is now the government affairs manager for a billboard company. He’s a former police officer who pushed for expansions of gun rights while in the House.

“My goal is to make sure that this district is set up for a prosperous future,” Bearden told Carrollton radio station WLBB-AM on Tuesday. He said he would seek tougher criminal penalties for trafficking fentanyl and those who injure police officers and firefighters.

Bell is a real estate agent, the wife of Haralson County school Superintendent Jerry Bell, and the former chair of the Greater Haralson Chamber of Commerce. Bell said she seeks to foster limited government, entrepreneurship and self-reliance.

“As a small business owner, the Make America Great Again movement resonated with me. The Trump economy ushered in unheralded prosperity, hope for my grand children’s future, and restored my feeling of safety in my community,” Bell said in a statement.

Republicans running in the House race include conservative commentator C.J. Pearson of Grovetown, Columbia County Commissioner and car wash owner Gary Richardson of Evans, farmer James Steed of Grovetown and software developer John Turpish of Grovetown. The lone Democrat running is cosmetologist Kay Turner of Grovetown. The district covers parts of Columbia and McDuffie counties.

Currently national co-chair of the Republican National Committee Youth Advisory Council, Pearson won notice as a Black middle school student posting videos supporting Republican causes.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Richardson can’t run for reelection as a commissioner because he’s term-limited after eight years.

FIRST ON FOX: A Florida country music star has released a song supporting Gov. Ron DeSantis touting the governor’s leadership that his presidential campaign says will be played at all events going forward. 

Billy Dean, a member of the Florida Music Hall of Fame with 3 certified gold albums and 11 Billboard country music top hits to his credit, recorded a song called “Never Back Down” which the DeSantis team used to produce a music video supporting the governor. 

“The fight is tough, you gotta stand your ground, and if you still believe in the American Dream then never back down, never back down, never back down, and if you still believe in living free, never back down,” Dean sings in the song. 

The song continues, “They shame us just because we love our country, attacking everything that we hold dear. They shame us for our faith, our flag, our family, so why the hell are they still living here?”

DESANTIS DECLARES IOWA GOALPOST AT FOX NEWS TOWN HALL: ‘WE’RE GOING TO DO WELL HERE’

“I’m a Florida native and resident, who has lived the American Dream,” Dean, nominated for a Grammy in 1992 for his song “Somewhere In My Broken Heart”, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “My dad served in WW2 and lost 2 brothers Harold Mason Dean and Robert Lloyd Dean to the cause. They sacrificed their dreams so I could live mine. My dad did not want me to serve the country with guns and bullets but I can serve with my pen, paper, and guitar.”

“Ron DeSantis is not just Florida’s Governor, he is America’s Governor and he inspired me to write and record a song as a message to all those who put power and party above country, you won’t get away with it without a fight. I owe it to our Veterans to NEVER BACK DOWN”

FIREBRAND HOUSE REPUBLICAN SEEING ‘MASSIVE SURGE’ FOR DESANTIS IN IOWA: ‘CLOSER THAN PEOPLE THINK’

Dean’s song marks the second time in about a year that a star musician has publicly supported his political efforts. In 2022, Johnny Van Zant, lead vocalist of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and his brother Donnie Van Zant of 38 Special wrote “Sweet Florida” with lyrics touting DeSantis’s leadership.

“We got to thank Governor DeSantis for standing and believing for what he believes…he’s been a great governor for us,” Johnny told “Fox & Friends” at the time.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The song’s release comes less than a week before Monday’s Iowa Caucus where voters will take part in the first election of the 2024 presidential cycle.

DeSantis is currently polling at 16.4% in Iowa, according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls, neck and neck with former ambassador Nikki Haley at 16.6% and trailing former President Donald Trump who sits at 52.2%.