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President Biden began his second straight week of vacation Monday, providing more fodder for critics who insist he is not finishing out his term with very much vigor.

Biden arrived at his Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, beach house on Sunday, where he will remain until at least Saturday, according to The New York Post. The president arrived following a six-night vacation stay with his family the previous week at Democratic Party donor Joe Kiani’s California ranch estate. Biden also reportedly has no public events scheduled while he is at the beach this week.

The lame duck president has been criticized for overusing vacation time when he is supposed to be the leader of the free world. During the third anniversary of the Kabul airport bombing that killed 13 American soldiers on Monday, White House national security communications adviser John Kirby was pressed by a reporter on whether Biden is simply a “ceremonial figure” at this point.

‘ACCESS GRANTED’: BIDEN’S FREE VACATION AT FRIEND’S CALIFORNIA MANSION DRAWS IRE OF CRITICS

President Biden tries to get up from a beach chair in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Wednesday. (Leigh Green)

“My goodness, he talked to Prime Minister Modi today. He had calls with leaders in the region and in Europe, President Zelenskyy, last week. He monitored in real time what was going on over the weekend. I mean, come on,” Kirby said of Biden. “The president is on vacation, but you can never unplug from a job like that, nor does he try to… He’s very much in command of making sure we can continue to protect our national security interests here at home and certainly overseas.”

BIDEN IS IN CHARGE OF COUNTRY ON SECOND STRAIGHT VACATION, WHITE HOUSE INSISTS 

President Biden talks on the phone in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Wednesday. (Leigh Green)

Meanwhile, shortly after bowing out of the race to win re-election in July, Biden told reporters he is “not going anywhere” and intended to “work like hell” until the end of his term in January 2025. “Over the next six months, I’ll be focused on doing my job as president,” Biden added during a July 24 Oval Office address, which was only the third speech he had given from the Resolute desk since becoming commander in chief. 

Sources differ on the exact number of days that Biden has spent on vacation during his presidency. Data from the Republican National Committee claims that after serving roughly two years and seven months as president, Biden spent about 40% of his time on vacation.

BIDEN FLIES FROM ONE VACATION TO ANOTHER AFTER VOWING TO END GAZA WAR, WITH MIDDLE EAST ON THE BRINK

House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., alongside other congressional Republicans, have called on Biden’s Cabinet to consider invoking the 25th Amendment, which allows for the vice president to take over the president’s duties if he is unable to fulfill the responsibilities necessary to run the White House. Democrats similarly sought to invoke the 25th Amendment during the final days of former President Trump’s time in office.

“Who is running the country?” several social media users asked Thursday, including Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas. “An Armed Illegal Alien Street Gang from Venezuela Seizes an Apartment Complex in Aurora, Colorado—Residents Terrified! Meanwhile, Joe Biden is on his second vacation in two weeks and Kamala Harris is preparing for her first interview in 40 days.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response.

Vice President Kamala Harris, in her first media interview since taking over the top of the Democratic ticket roughly 40 days ago, said she had “a number of things” in mind for day one priorities should she take the Oval Office but didn’t divulge much in the way of specifics. 

She did say she believes Americans are ready to “turn the page” on former President Donald Trump.

“The voters are really eager to hear what your plans are. If you are elected, what would you do on day one in the White House,” CNN’s Dana Bash asked Harris, who was flanked by her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. 

“Well, there are a number of things I will tell you. First and foremost, one of my highest priorities is to do what we can to support and strengthen the middle class,” Harris said. 

HARRIS CLAIMS SHE ‘MADE CLEAR’ HER POSITION ON FRACKING IN 2020 – TRANSCRIPT SHOWS ANOTHER STORY

Vice President Kamala Harris in her first sit-down interview with the media since rising to the top of the Democratic ticket.  (CNN)

“When I look at the aspirations, the goals, the ambitions of the American people, I think that people are ready for a new way forward, in a way that generations of Americans have been fueled by, by hope and by optimism. I think, sadly, in the last decade, we have had in the former president, someone who has really been pushing an agenda, and in an environment that is about diminishing the character and the strength of who we are as Americans — really dividing our nation. And I think people are ready to turn the page on that,” Harris replied. 

“So, what would you do? Day one?” Bash pressed. To which Harris said, its going to be about one implementing my plan for what I call an opportunity economy.”

“I’ve already laid out a number of proposals in that regard, which include what we’re going to do to bring down the cost of everyday goods, what we’re going to do to invest in America’s small businesses, what we’re going to do to invest in families,” Harris said. 

ON DODGING THE MEDIA, KAMALA HARRIS ‘OWES RESPONSES’ TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC, SAYS CAMPAIGN ADVISER

Harris and Walz sat down for an interview with CNN anchor Dana Bash that aired on Thursday evening. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

“For example, extending the child tax credit to $6,000 for families for the first year of their child’s life, to help them buy a car seat, to help them buy baby clothes, a crib,” she said. 

Notably, extending the child tax credit, though it differs slightly, was first a policy announcement by the Trump campaign. 

“There’s the work that we’re going to do that is about investing in the American family around affordable housing, a big issue in our country right now. So there are a number of things on day one,” Harris stated. 

Later in the roughly 26-minute, pre-taped interview, Harris said one of her proposals included a tax credit of $25,000 for first-time home buyers. 

‘WHATEVER’: DEMOCRATS REACT TO KAMALA HARRIS’ LACK OF INTERVIEWS

Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at United Auto Workers Local 900 on Aug. 8, 2024, in Wayne, Michigan.  (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“What we need to do to bring down the cost of housing. My proposal includes what would be a tax credit of $25,000 for first-time home buyers, so they can just have enough to put a down payment on a home, which is part of the American dream and their aspiration. But do it in a way that allows them to actually get on the path to achieving that goal and that dream,” she said. 

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Walz, for his part, said he is “excited” about Harris’ agenda. 

“As I said, the idea of inspiring America to what can be and I think many of these things that the vice president’s proposing are, are things that we share in values,” he said. 

Vice President Kamala Harris sat down for her first interview with the media since rising to the top of the 2024 Democratic presidential ticket, shedding light on President Biden’s call announcing he was dropping out of the race, as well as defending her recent policy flip-flops.

Harris rose to the top of the ticket after Biden dropped out of the race last month following his disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump in June. The debate, which included Biden tripping over his words and losing his train of thought, opened the floodgates to traditional Democratic allies of the president joining conservatives in sounding the alarm over Biden’s mental acuity and 81 years of age. 

The highly anticipated sit-down marks the first interview Harris has held in 39 days, when she became the presumptive nominee. Harris has largely avoided the media since ascending the Democratic ticket, only rarely answering media questions while on the campaign trail and holding no press conferences. 

Harris was joined by her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, for the pre-taped CNN interview that aired Thursday evening. 

TRUMP, VANCE CONTINUE TO HAMMER HARRIS FOR ‘COPYING’ THEIR POLICIES 

Harris and Walz will sit down for an interview with CNN anchor Dana Bash that airs on Thursday evening. ( Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Following Harris’ first sit-down interview with the media since ascending the ticket, Fox News Digital compiled the top five moments from the Savannah, Georgia, interview as the election cycle comes down to its final months. 

Harris fumbles ‘day one’ question 

Harris was asked twice about her “day one” agenda, but gave overarching answers instead of responding with a specific executive order or directive. 

“The voters are really eager to hear what your plans are. If you are elected, what would you do on day one in the White House?” Bash asked Harris. 

“Well, there are a number of things. I will tell you first and foremost one of my highest priorities is to do what we can to support and strengthen the middle class. When I look at the aspirations, the goals, the ambitions of the American people, I think that people are ready for a new way forward in a way that generations of Americans have been fueled by — by hope and by optimism.,” Harris responded. 

“I think sadly in the last decade, we have had in the former president someone who has really been pushing an agenda and an environment that is about diminishing the character and the strength of who we are as Americans — really dividing our nation. And I think people are ready to turn the page on that.

“So what would you do? Day one?” Bash pressed. 

“Day one, it’s gonna be about one, implementing my plan for what I call an opportunity economy. I’ve already laid out a number of proposals in that regard, which include what we’re gonna do to bring down the cost of everyday goods, what we’re gonna do to invest in America’s small businesses, what we’re gonna do to invest in families,” Harris said. 

“For example, extending the child tax credit to $6,000 for families for the first year of their child’s life to help them buy a car seat, to help them buy baby clothes, a crib. There’s the work that we’re gonna do that is about investing in the American family around affordable housing, a big issue in our country right now. So there are a number of things on day one.”

Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz in a CNN interview.  (CNN)

‘SICKENING’: VP HARRIS SLAMMED BY SCHOOL SHOOTING VICTIMS’ FAMILIES OVER RECENTLY UNEARTHED COMMENTS

Harris says she made position clear on allowing fracking in 2020 — except it wasn’t hers

Harris doubled down in the interview that she would not ban fracking if elected, claiming she made “clear” where she stood on fracking during the 2020 election. 

“No, and I made that clear on the debate stage in 2020 that I would not ban fracking. As vice president, I did not ban fracking. As president, I will not ban fracking,” Harris said. 

Before Harris dropped her bid for president in 2019 and joined President Biden’s ticket, she said during a CNN town hall “there’s no question I’m in favor of banning fracking” on her first day in office. 

Harris was asked about fracking during her 2020 vice presidential debate against then-Vice President Mike Pence but did not reveal her position on fracking, instead saying Biden would not ban fracking. Fox News Digital reviewed a transcript of the 2020 vice presidential debate and found “fracking” was mentioned nine times, with Harris using the word twice. 

“Joe Biden will not end fracking. He has been very clear about that,” Harris said during the debate in 2020 cycle. 

“I will repeat, and the American people know that Joe Biden will not ban fracking. That is a fact. That is a fact,” she added during another portion of the debate. 

Walz cites ‘grammar’ for false claim on guns he ‘carried in war’

U.S. Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Governor Tim Walz takes the stage on Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center, in Chicago, on August 21, 2024.  (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

Gov. Walz attempted to blame his grammar when asked about his prior comments that he wants to ban guns like the ones he “carried in war,” even though he never saw combat during his time in the Army National Guard. 

“The country is just starting to get to know you,” Bash noted before asking him about his 2018 remarks. “I want to ask you a question about how you described your service in the National Guard. You said that you carried weapons in war, but you have never deployed, actually, in a war zone. A campaign official said that you misspoke. Did you?”

Walz responded: “Well, first of all, I’m incredibly proud. I’ve done 24 years of wearing the uniform of this country. Equally proud of my service in a public school classroom, whether it’s Congress or — or the governor. My record speaks for itself, but I think people are coming to get to know me. I — I speak like they do. I speak candidly. I wear my emotions on my sleeves, and I speak especially passionately about — about our children being shot in schools and around — around guns.” 

Bash again asked if he misspoke, sparking Walz to admit he did while citing his “grammar.” 

“Yeah, I said — we were talking about in this case, this was after a school shooting, the ideas of carrying these weapons of war. And my wifem the English teacher, told me my grammar’s not always correct. But again, if it’s not this, it’s an attack on my children for showing love for me, or it’s an attack on my dog. I’m not gonna do that, and the one thing I’ll never do is I’ll never demean another member’s service in any way. I never have and I never will,” he responded.

Harris dodges whether Biden endorsed her in phone call he was dropping out 

Harris dodged answering whether Biden endorsed her to run in his place when he first called and informed her he was bowing out of the election amid mounting concern over his mental acuity. 

“What about the endorsement? Did you ask for it?” Bash asked Harris. 

“He was very clear that he was gonna support me,” Harris responded. 

“So when he called to tell you, he said, ‘I’m pulling out of the race, and I’m gonna support you?,’” Bash pressed Harris. 

“Well, my first thought was not about me to be honest with you. My first thought was about him, to be honest. I think history is gonna show a number of things about Joe Biden’s presidency. I think history is gonna show that in so many ways it was transformative, be it on what we have accomplished around finally investing in America’s infrastructure, investing in new economics, in new industries, what we have done to bring our allies back together, and have confidence in who we are as America, and grow that alliance, what we have done to stand true to our principles including the — the — one of the most important international rules and norms, which is the importance of sovereignty and territorial integrity,” she said. 

Biden did endorse Harris just minutes after dropping out of the race in a message on X. 

Vice President Kamala Harris in her first sit-down interview with the media since rising to the top of the Democratic ticket.  (CNN)

HARRIS CLAIMS SHE ‘MADE CLEAR’ HER POSITION ON FRACKING IN 2020 – TRANSCRIPT SHOWS ANOTHER STORY

“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this,” he wrote. 

Harris would appoint a Republican to the cabinet if elected 

Harris said that she would appoint a Republican to her cabinet if elected, which follows a tradition of presidents bringing on or retaining politicians from across the aisle until recent history. 

CONSERVATIVES REACT TO KAMALA HARRIS’ LATEST ‘WORD SALAD’ ON CLIMATE CHANGE ‘DEADLINES’

“You had a lot of Republican speakers at the convention. Will you appoint a Republican to your cabinet?” Bash asked. 

“Yes, I would.,” Harris responded, noting she does not have a specific person in mind. 

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives for a campaign rally in Savannah, Ga., Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024.  (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Before the respective Trump and Biden administrations, presidents have historically appointed politicians from the opposite party to their cabinet or kept on politicians from a previous president of the opposite party. 

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Transportation Secretary under the Bush administration, Norm Mineta, for example, was a Democrat, while President Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Defense was Republican William Cohen, and former President Obama retained Bush’s Republican Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates. 

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

The Trump-Vance campaign released a statement Thursday night following Vice President Kamala Harris’ first media interview since becoming the Democratic nominee for president, calling her a “San Francisco radical” and highlighting aspects of her record that were not discussed in the interview. 

“[Harris] said her values ‘have not changed’ three separate times. She’s still a San Francisco radical,” the campaign said. 

Among other things, the Trump-Vance campaign said that CNN’s Dana Bash did not bring up Harris’ history of supporting “ending cash bail for violent criminals, fundraising for the Minnesota Freedom Fund, which freed rioters,” her “vote for tie-breaking vote for American Rescue Plan, which economists say fueled inflation,” and her “support for closing immigration detention centers and freeing thousands of criminals into American neighborhoods.”

“[Harris] spoke for just over 16 minutes and didn’t even address the crime crisis in this nation. She spent a mere 3 minutes and 25 seconds talking about the economy and 2 minutes and 36 seconds talking about immigration,” the statement said. 

KAMALA HARRIS OFFERS VAGUE ‘DAY 1’ OVAL OFFICE PLAN IN CNN INTERVIEW: ‘A NUMBER OF THINGS’

Vice President Kamala Harris raised eyebrows when telling CNN’s Dana Bash that her ‘values haven’t changed’ after making complete reversals on far-left positions she held in 2019. (Screenshot/CNN)

During her interview, Harris said she believes Americans are ready to “turn the page” on former President Donald Trump.

She also defended her work as the appointed border czar for the Biden administration and that her work “resulted in a number of benefits.”

“The root causes work that I did as vice president that I was asked to do by the president has actually resulted in a number of benefits, including historic investments by American businesses in that region, the number of immigrants coming from that region has actually reduced since we began that work,” she said. 

ON DODGING THE MEDIA, KAMALA HARRIS ‘OWES RESPONSES’ TO THE AMERICAN PUBLIC, SAYS CAMPAIGN ADVISER

Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at United Auto Workers Local 900 on August 8, 2024 in Wayne, Michigan.  (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“When I look at the aspirations, the goals, the ambitions of the American people, I think that people are ready for a new way forward, in a way that generations of Americans have been fueled by, by hope and by optimism. I think, sadly, in the last decade, we have had in the former president, someone who has really been pushing an agenda, and in an environment that is about diminishing the character and the strength of who we are as Americans — really dividing our nation. And I think people are ready to turn the page on that,” Harris said. 

‘WHATEVER’: DEMOCRATS REACT TO KAMALA HARRIS’ LACK OF INTERVIEWS

Harris’ most detailed plans revealed in the Thursday night interview included a $6,000 child tax credit – similar to what the Trump-Vance campaign earlier had announced as a policy plan.  (Photo by Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images)

This was in response to what she would accomplish on day one of a Harris presidency, which Bash later had to press for more detail. 

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Harris’ most detailed plans revealed in the Thursday night interview included a $6,000 child tax credit – similar to what the Trump-Vance campaign earlier had announced as a policy plan –  and a $25,000 tax credit for first-time homeowners. 

SAVANNAH, Ga. — She’s been riding a wave of energy and momentum since replacing President Biden atop the Democrats’ 2024 presidential ticket nearly six weeks ago, but Vice President Harris is urging caution in her battle against former President Trump.

“This is going to be a tight race until the very end,” Harris told supporters on Thursday at a packed arena in this historic coastal city in Georgia, one of seven crucial battleground states that will likely determine the outcome of the presidential election.

Harris, speaking after a slew of polls released over the past 24 hours indicated a margin-of-error race in the key swing states and new national surveys suggested Harris with the edge, told the crowd at Savannah’s Enmarket Arena “let’s not pay too much attention to the polls because we are running as the underdog.”

“We have some hard work ahead of us. But we like hard work. Hard work is good work,” Harris said to cheers. “And with your help, we are going to win this November.”

NEW FOX NEWS POLL NUMBERS IN 4 KEY BATTLEGROUND STATES

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Harris arrives for a campaign rally in Savannah, Ga., on Aug. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

For much of this year, polls suggested a close contest between President Biden and Trump as they faced off in a rematch of their 2020 showdown. But Trump opened up a small but significant lead in the weeks after the president’s disastrous performance against his predecessor in their late-June debate showdown in Atlanta.

But Harris has enjoyed a surge, both in polling and in fundraising, since replacing Biden after her boss in a blockbuster announcement ended his re-election campaign on July 21.

KAMALA HARRIS DEFENDS POLICY REVERSALS AS SHE SITS FOR HER FIRST INTERVIEW SINCE REPLACING BIDEN ATOP DEMOCRATS’ 2024 TICKET

Harris’ rally in Savannah came at the end of a two-day swing through parts of southeastern Georgia with her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. And she arrived at the arena about two hours after sitting for her first network interview since becoming the Democrats’ standard-bearer.

Democrat presidential nominee Vice President Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, step off their campaign bus in Savannah, Ga., on Aug. 28, 2024. (Sail Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Georgia had long been a reliably red state in White House elections until Biden narrowly edged Trump in 2020 to become the first Democrat in nearly three decades to capture the state.

And in runoff elections two months later, the Democrats flipped both of the state’s GOP-held Senate seats.

But fast-forward to this summer, as Biden was facing a rising chorus of calls from within his own party to end his 2024 bid, Trump built a lead in Georgia.

Harris’ trip this week sends a signal that Democrats feel the state is once again in play.

“Georgia, for the past two election cycles, voters in this very state … have delivered,” Harris told the crowd.

“You did that, and so now we are asking you to do it again,” she said. “Let’s do it again.”

THIS STATE MAY DECIDE THE 2024 SHOWDOWN BETWEEN HARRIS AND TRUMP

Georgia’s popular two-term conservative governor agrees that his state’s very competitive.

“Certainly this is a battleground state,” Gov. Brian Kemp said during a Fox News Digital interview on Tuesday.

“I’ve been saying for a long time that the road to the White House is going to run through Georgia. And there’s no path for former President Trump to win, or any Republican … to get to 270 without Georgia,” Kemp said.

But Kemp, who on Thursday headlined a fundraiser in Atlanta for Trump, added that Georgia “should be one that we win if we have all the mechanics that we need. And I’m working hard to help provide those in a lot of ways and turn the Republican vote out and make sure that we win this state in November.”

Vice President Harris urges her supporters not to pay attention to the polls as she headlines a rally in Savannah, Ga., on Aug. 29, 2024. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)

The vice president, in her rally, reiterated her themes of preserving democracy, increasing access to affordable health care and child care, and protecting abortion access.

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But Harris was interrupted twice during her rally by demonstrators protesting the Biden-Harris administration’s stance in support of Israel in its deadly war with Hamas in Gaza.

Both protesters were removed as the crowd cheered and chanted, “Kamala, Kamala.”

Harris paused her speech, saying that people “have a right” to be heard. And then she addressed the conflict in the Mideast, saying “the president and I are working around the clock. … We’ve got to get a hostage deal and get a cease-fire done now.”

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

Former President Trump pledged during a campaign rally in Michigan Thursday that if he wins a second term, he would mandate free in vitro fertilization treatment for women. 

“I’m announcing today in a major statement that under the Trump administration, your government will pay for — or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for — all costs associated with IVF treatment,” Trump told the crowd at Alro Steel in Potterville, Michigan. “Because we want more babies, to put it nicely.”

IVF treatments are notoriously expensive and can cost tens of thousands of dollars for a single round. Many women require multiple rounds, and there is no guarantee of success.

“And for the same reason, we will also allow new parents to deduct major newborn expenses from their taxes,” Trump said.  

TRUMP ‘RESPECTFULLY’ HONORED FALLEN TROOPS AT ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY AMID ALTERCATION REPORT: VETERAN

Former President Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, arrives to speak at a campaign event at Alro Steel Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in Potterville, Mich. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Trump’s announcement, which was short on details, comes after the Republican nominee has faced intense scrutiny from Democrats for his role in appointing the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, sending the issue of abortion back to the states. 

Trump has tried to present himself as moderate on the issue, going as far as declaring himself “very strong on women’s reproductive rights.”

Embryo tanks sit in the IVF lab of a women’s hospital in Boston. Trump vowed that if he wins a second term, the government or insurance will pay for IVF treatment.  (David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe)

In an interview with NBC before Thursday’s rally, Trump signaled support for changing Florida’s six-week abortion ban, which limits the procedure before many women even know they are pregnant.

Trump, in the interview, did not explicitly say how he plans to vote on the ballot measure when he casts his vote this fall. But he repeated his past criticism that the measure, signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis last year, is too restrictive.

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“I think the six weeks is too short. It has to be more time,” he said. “I am going to be voting that we need more than six weeks.”

Trump had previously called DeSantis’ decision to sign the bill a “terrible mistake.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump said Florida’s six-week abortion ban “is too short,” signaling he could vote in favor of a ballot initiative to overturn the six-week ban on abortions in the state. 

“I think the six-week is too short, there has to be more time,” Trump told an NBC News reporter when asked how he will vote on Florida’s Amendment 4 that will appear on the ballot for November elections. “I’ve told them that I want more weeks,” he continued. 

The reporter then pressed if Trump will vote in favor of the amendment.

“I am going to be voting that we need more than six weeks. Look, just so you understand, everybody wanted Roe v. Wade terminated for years, 52 years. I got it done. They wanted it to go back to the states. Exceptions are very important for me, for Ronald Reagan, for others that have navigated this very, very interesting and difficult path,” Trump responded. 

JD VANCE VOWS TRUMP WOULD NOT IMPOSE FEDERAL ABORTION BAN, VETO IT IF COMES ACROSS DESK

BOZEMAN, MONTANA – AUGUST 09: Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse at Montana State University on August 9, 2024, in Bozeman, Montana. (Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)

The Trump campaign told Fox News Digital on Thursday evening that the 45th president has not yet revealed how he will vote on the Amendment. 

“President Trump has not yet said how he will vote on the ballot initiative in Florida, he simply reiterated that he believes six weeks is too short,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. 

HARRIS REPEATS DEBUNKED CLAIM TRUMP WANTS TO ‘BAN’ ABORTION DURING FIRST CAMPAIGN RALLY SINCE BIDEN QUIT RACE

A pregnant woman stands for a portrait in Dallas, Thursday, May 18, 2023. According to provisional statistics for 2023 released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday, April 25, 2024, U.S. births fell last year, in a substantial drop marking an apparent end to pandemic-related fluctuations and a return to a long-standing national decline. A little under 3.6 million babies were born in the U.S. last year, about 76,000 fewer than the year before. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed The Heartbeat Protection Act into law last year, which banned most abortions after six weeks of gestation. This year, Florida residents will vote on Amendment 4, Right to Abortion Initiative, which works to overturn the ban. 

“No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider. This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion,” the amendment reads. 

Trump also addressed the interview and his remarks regarding Amendement 4 during an event in Potterville, Michigan, on Thursday when he 

“She asked me about abortion. And I handled it very nicely. Because you know what? That’s so overplayed. We have abortion. We have the whole thing brought back into the states where it belongs. That’s where everybody wanted it for years and years and years, and they are voting on it,” he said of the interview with NBC News. 

“And I happen to believe in the exceptions Ronald Reagan did, for life of the mother, rape, incest. The exceptions – probably 90% of the people [support exceptions]. But, you know, I was just telling this reporter the real problem, and the real radicals on that issue are the Democrats. Where you can have an abortion in the ninth month. And in six states, you’re allowed to kill the baby after the baby is born,” he added. 

THREE HARRIS DNC ATTACK LINES AGAINST TRUMP THAT WERE INACCURATE OR FALSE

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks on Day 2 of the Republican National Convention (RNC), at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., July 16, 2024.  (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

Republicans and religious leaders in the state have railed against the pro-choice amendment in Florida, including DeSantis who said the amendment potentially passing would represent “the end of the pro-life movement.” 

“If you care about building a culture of life in this state or this country, them winning in Florida I think really represents the end of the pro-life movement,” DeSantis said earlier this month during an event at Jesuit High School in Tampa, the Tampa Bay Times reported. 

“If you look at the state of Florida, we do not have a pro-life majority,” DeSantis warned. “We’ve got a big chunk, but we don’t have a majority. If only people that are pro-life oppose it, it very well might pass.”

Catholic leaders in the state have also slammed the amendment as “extremely grave” and urged all “Floridians of goodwill” to vote against it. 

“We urge all Floridians of goodwill to stand against the legalization of late-term abortion and oppose the abortion amendment. In doing so, we will not only protect the weakest, most innocent, and defenseless of human life among us but also countless women throughout the state from the harms of abortion,” said the Catholic bishops of Florida in a statement on Amendment 4.

TRUMP SAYS PROJECT 2025 ‘GOES WAY TOO FAR’ WITH ABORTION RESTRICTIONS

Trump had previously voiced his displeasure with DeSantis signing the ban on abortion after six weeks last year, calling it a “terrible mistake” and “terrible thing.” 

HOWELL, MICHIGAN – AUGUST 20: Republican Presidential Candidate former U.S. President Donald Trump responds to a queston from a reporter after his remarks on August 20, 2024 at the Livingston County Sheriffs Office in Howell, Michigan. Trump is visiting Michigan this week to discuss “crime and safety” during a campaign event.  (Nic Antaya/Getty Images)

The 45th president’s comments come as Vice President Kamala Harris and her 2024 presidential campaign claim Trump would impose a federal abortion ban if re-elected to the White House, which Harris cited in her nomination acceptance speech last week at the DNC in Chicago. 

SOFTENED ABORTION LANGUAGE IN TRUMP-APPROVED GOP PLATFORM IRKS SOME SOCIAL CONSERVATIVES

“Children who have survived sexual assault, potentially being forced to carry a pregnancy to term. This is what’s happening in our country because of Donald Trump. And understand, he is not done. As a part of his agenda, he and his allies would limit access to birth control, ban medication abortion and enact a nationwide abortion ban, with or without Congress,” Harris said. 

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

Trump has denied that he would impose a federal abortion ban, instead advocating that abortion laws be left up to individual states. 

Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s 2024 running mate, also addressed Democrats’ claims that Trump would impose a federal ban if re-elected in an interview on Sunday. 

“Democrats made the case this week, and beyond this week, that Donald Trump, if elected, will impose a federal ban on abortion if he wins. Now, Donald Trump says he won’t. But can you commit, senator, sitting right here with me today, that if you and Donald Trump are elected, that you will not impose a federal ban on abortion?” “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker asked Vance in an interview that aired Sunday. 

Former President Trump and vice presidential candidate U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, appear on the first day of the Republican National Convention on July 15, 2024.  (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

“I can absolutely commit to that, Kristen. Donald Trump has been as clear about that as possible. I think it’s important to step back and say, ‘What does Donald Trump actually said on the abortion question, and how is it different from what Kamala Harris and the Democrats have said?’ Donald Trump wants to end this culture war over this particular topic.”

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“If… California wants to have a different abortion policy from Ohio, then Ohio has to respect California, and California has to respect Ohio. Donald Trump’s view is that we want the individual states and their individual cultures and their unique political sensibilities to make these decisions, because we don’t want to have a non-stop federal conflict over this issue. The federal government ought to be focused on getting food prices down, getting housing prices down. Issues, of course, where Kamala Harris has been a total disaster,” Vance continued. 

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

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

What’s happening…

-This state may be the decider between Trump & Harris

-GOP Senator slams Biden admin over missing migrant children

-New Jersey faces doubled energy rates

‘FAIR BUT TOUGH’

Former President Trump is weighing in – in advance – on 2024 election rival Vice President Kamala Harris’ first interview since replacing President Biden atop the Democrats’ national ticket.

Trump, in a social media post on Thursday morning, called for CNN to conduct a “fair but tough interview” of Harris and if that occurs, the former president argued “it will expose her as being totally inept and ill-suited for the job of President.”

Harris has been riding a wave of energy, enthusiasm and momentum in both polling and fundraising since succeeding her boss as their party’s presidential nominee nearly six weeks ago. 

But she’s refrained from holding a news conference or sitting for a major interview – until now.

And that’s brought continuous incoming fire from Trump, GOP running mate Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, their campaign, and allied Republicans.

“She can’t answer questions,” Trump charged earlier this week as he took questions from reporters during a stop in northern Virginia.” Why doesn’t she do something like I’m doing right now?”

And he claimed that the vice president “can’t talk. We can’t have another dummy as a president.”…Read more

Israeli citizens speak with Fox News Digital to discuss their varying views on what a Harris presidency would mean for the people of Israel. (Photo by Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images)

White House

PARTISAN IMPACTS: GOP Rep subpoenas Biden officials over get-out-the-vote EO …Read more

Capitol

SWING STATE BATTLE: This state may decide whether Harris or Trump wins the 2024 presidential election …Read more

‘OFFENSIVE TO ALL WOMEN’: Top Republican joins chorus of backlash against key Kamala Harris interview decision …Read more

‘RECKLESS DISREGARD’: GOP sen slams Biden admin over missing migrant children …Read more

Tales from the Trail

‘LOST CONTROL’: Incident took place as Harris was campaigning in key swing state …Read more

T-MINUS 8: With 8 days until voting starts, ‘election season’ kicks off sooner than you think …Read more

‘RESPECTFULLY AND SOLEMNLY’: Veteran praises Trump after ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery amid altercation report …Read more

CAMPAIGN CONFUSION: Harris team’s ‘internal worries about cohesiveness’ surface in new report …Read more

NOT A WARM WELCOME: Vance booed during speech to firefighters union …Read more

GOP Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance enlisted in the Marines and served in Iraq. (Fox News)

Across America

‘DISASTER PLAN’ IN ACTION: NJ residents, lawmakers fume at double energy rates …Read more

PIER PRESSURE: Gaza pier interfered with ability to open ‘more efficient’ humanitarian aid corridors: inspector general …Read more

‘SPREADING THE WORD’: Montana college athlete recalls ‘frustration’ after being offered thousands of dollars to make endorsement videos for Jon Tester …Read more

ARMY WEIGHS IN: Military says Arlington National Cemetery employee who was ‘abruptly pushed aside’ during Trump visit won’t press charges …Read more

REAL ESTATE REPARATIONS?: Controversial new program designed to correct alleged systemic injustice …Read more

‘MS-13 ON STEROIDS’: El Paso on high alert with deadly migrant gang surges into US …Read more

DAM BURSTING?: More problems for Dolton ‘supermayor’ as former assistant turns whistleblower …Read more

FREE AGENT: Trump shooting victims’ attorney response to Secret Service agents on leave …Read more

HELPING ILLEGALS: California Republican lawmaker reacts to ‘crazy’ bill that would give undocumented first-time homebuyers money …Read more

‘INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE’: Vermont officials suggest removing terms ‘son’ and ‘daughter’ from the classroom …Read more

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

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

Conservative activists and media outlets took to X to share their thoughts on a clip of CNN’s interview with Vice President Kamala Harris as she explained why her policy positions have changed since she took over the Democratic ticket for president. 

In the clip of the interview, which will air Thursday night on CNN, anchor Dana Bash asked, “Generally speaking, how should voters look at some of the changes that you’ve made? … Is it because you have more experience now, and you’ve learned more about the information? Is it because you were running for president in a Democratic primary? And should they feel comfortable and confident that what you’re saying now is going to be your policy moving forward?”

“Dana, I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed,” Harris replied. 

“You mentioned the Green New Deal. I have always believed, and I’ve worked on it, that the climate crisis is real, that it is an urgent matter to which we should apply metrics that include holding ourselves to deadlines around time. We did that with the Inflation Reduction Act,” Harris continued. 

TRUMP, VANCE CONTINUE TO HAMMER HARRIS FOR ‘COPYING’ THEIR POLICIES

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at United Auto Workers Local 900 in Wayne, Michigan, on Aug. 8. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“Gobbledygook,” conservative commentator Steve Guest posted on X. “The definition of a deadline is ‘the latest time or date by which something should be completed’.”

Noah Rothman, senior writer at the National Review, referenced her comments as “rambling.” 

Charles C. W. Cooke, a British-American journalist, called the clip an “instant classic.”

“Undefeated. She’s still got it—even as the nominee,” he said. 

The X account for The Blaze referred to the comment as “word salad” — a term Republicans frequently use to describe Harris’ media engagements. 

39 DAYS: KAMALA HARRIS HAS YET TO DO FORMAL PRESS CONFERENCE SINCE EMERGING AS DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE

Vice President Kamala Harris talks as she visits SandFly Bar-B-Q in Savannah, Georgia, on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Harris continued, “We have set goals for the United States of America and, by extension, the globe, around when we should meet certain standards for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, as an example.”

“That value has not changed. My value around what we need to do to secure our border. That value is not changed,” she said. 

39 DAYS: KAMALA HARRIS HAS YET TO DO FORMAL PRESS CONFERENCE SINCE EMERGING AS DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on Aug. 19. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

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“I spent two terms as the Attorney General of California prosecuting transnational criminal organizations, violations of American laws regarding the passage, illegal passage of guns, drugs, and human beings across our border. My values have not changed,” she said. 

Federal, state and local officials convened a meeting in New Jersey Thursday focused on improving protection for “high-profile figures” and ensuring financial support to communities like Bedminster, which was not used to funding such endeavors.

State Sen. Doug Steinhardt, R-Belvidere, convened the meeting in Bedminster, where Trump owns a golf club he frequently visits. It featured officials from the township; Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J.; law enforcement; and other leaders.

Steinhardt, a former NJGOP chair who represents Trump’s club, said the assassination attempt in neighboring Pennsylvania prompted him to organize all potential stakeholders in this way.

“President Trump has been a champion for our country, and it’s our duty to ensure his safety and the safety of all our leaders,” Steinhardt said. 

TRUMP ASSASSINATION TASK FORCE REBUFFS PARALLEL CONGRESSIONAL PROBE

In this Nov. 20, 2016, file photo, President-elect Donald Trump, left, waves to the media as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie arrives at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse in Bedminster, N.J.  (Associated Press)

“The recent attack is a stark reminder of the growing threats they face. We cannot allow our communities to bear the financial burden of these enhanced security measures alone.”

Steinhardt later told Fox News Digital after the meeting that he and the other stakeholders took a “significant step in the right direction.”

“[We] reaffirmed that when high-profile figures visit our towns, the financial burden of providing enhanced security shouldn’t fall on local taxpayers,” Steinhardt said. 

“As we move forward, I’m optimistic that we can strike the delicate balance required for Secret Service and local communities to protect leaders like President Trump during this period of heightened political unrest.”

When asked about the meeting, Kean’s office cited legislation freshly drafted by the lawmaker that would authorize the Secret Service to reimburse state and local governments when their resources are used to coordinate VIP security.

The agency had come under scrutiny after the Butler incident for allegations it did not properly work with the Pennsylvania State Police and other agencies to prevent a threat like shooter Thomas Crooks.

Bedminster Mayor Larry Jacobs said in a statement he called Kean when the Secret Service requested township resources to help protect Trump’s club.

BUTLER LAWMAKER SLAMS ‘INAPPROPRIATE’ TREATMENT OF LOCAL POLICE AFTER TRUMP INCIDENT: ‘THROWN UNDER THE BUS’

A view of the entrance to Trump National Golf Club (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

“Bedminster has always been willing to step up and answer the call to keep every resident in our town safe, and that includes the former president,” Jacobs said.

The rural community, at the crossroads of interstates 78 and 287 in the middle of the state, was not used to budgeting that kind of appropriation.

“We fully appreciate the Secret Service’s request, especially in light of the July 13 assassination attempt. However, this request could easily run into six figures and is simply too much for our small town to foot,” Jacobs said, calling Kean’s Presidential Security Resources Reimbursement Act the right solution.

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Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, the Republican vice presidential candidate, greets former President Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, right, during a campaign rally at Georgia State University in Atlanta Aug. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

A Somerset County official echoed those sentiments in her own statement shared by Kean.

Particularly in the time since New York state has pursued Trump in court, the former president has appeared to frequent his Bedminster club more than his namesake tower about an hour to the east.

With that trend likely to continue, properly securing the Raritan Valley and providing the resources to local and state concerns to do so remains paramount, officials added.

Vice President Kamala Harris defended flip-flopping on key policies such as energy in a preview clip of her first sit-down interview with the media since ascending the Democratic presidential ticket. 

“Generally speaking, how should voters look at some of the changes that you’ve made?” CNN host Dana Bash asked Harris in the preview clip released late Thursday afternoon. “… Is it because you have more experience now, and you’ve learned more about the information? Is it because you were running for president in a Democratic primary? And should they feel comfortable and confident that what you’re saying now is going to be your policy moving forward?”

Harris responded that her “values have not changed” throughout her political career. 

“I think the most important and most significant aspect of my policy perspective and decisions is my values have not changed. You mentioned the Green New Deal. I have always believed, and I have worked on it, that the climate crisis is real, that it is an urgent matter to which we should apply metrics that include holding ourselves to deadlines around time. We did that with the Inflation Reduction Act,” Harris responded. 

TRUMP, VANCE CONTINUE TO HAMMER HARRIS FOR ‘COPYING’ THEIR POLICIES

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, United States on August 19, 2024. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Harris has been accused by voters, political pundits and the Trump campaign of flip-flopping on key policies since emerging as the Democratic Party’s nominee since President Biden dropped out of the race last month. On fracking, for example, Harris’ campaign announced last month that the vice president did not support a ban on the oil extraction technique that enjoys broad support in battleground states like Pennsylvania.

39 DAYS: KAMALA HARRIS HAS YET TO DO FORMAL PRESS CONFERENCE SINCE EMERGING AS DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE

That position, however, is the opposite of her remarks as a primary candidate during a 2019 CNN town hall event, when Harris said there is “no question I’m in favor of banning fracking.”

Harris has also distanced herself from “Medicare for All” and semiautomatic rifle buyback programs, after publicly touting both programs during her failed primary campaign during the 2020 cycle. 

A scoreboard displays ‘DNC 2024’ ahead of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center on August 16, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois.  (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN REFUSES TO REVEAL NATIONALITIES OF TERROR WATCH LIST MIGRANTS NABBED AT BORDER

“We have set goals for the United States of America, and by extension, the globe, around when we should meet certain standards for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,” Harris continued in her comments to CNN on Thursday.

“As an example, that value has not changed. My value around what we need to do to secure our border. That value has not changed. I spent two terms as the Attorney General of California prosecuting transnational criminal organization, violations of American laws regarding the passage, illegal passage, of guns, drugs and human beings across our border, my values have not changed,” she said.

Harris and Walz will sit down for an interview with CNN anchor Dana Bash that airs on Thursday evening. ( Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

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The network will release the full interview with Harris at 9 p.m. Thursday evening, with Bash telling her audience Thursday afternoon that the interview will dive into Harris’ policies on handling the economy, inflation, the environment and immigration. 

The interview was conducted in the battleground state of Georgia at Kim’s Cafe, a Black-owned restaurant in Savannah. Harris was joined by her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for the interview.

Fox News Digital’s Mike Lee contributed to this report.  

Congress’ only career firefighter will introduce Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, at the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) conference in Boston Thursday in an effort to urge members to support the Trump-Vance ticket, after they were the first labor union to endorse President Biden in 2020.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., became a City of Miami firefighter in 1975 and rose to the rank of chief by the end of his career. He said Thursday that, like his fellow first responders, former President Trump has shown he is always ready to “answer the call.”

The IAFF has not thrown their support to either current presidential candidate yet.

Gimenez said while his main role is to introduce Trump’s running mate, he will make brief remarks on why his fellow firefighters should endorse the Republican nominee this time around.

TOP REPUBLICAN CALLS USSS DIRECTOR’S ‘SLOPED ROOF’ DEFENSE ‘FINAL STRAW’: I’M 70 AND ‘COULD RUN AROUND IT ALL DAY’

Rep. Carlos Gimenez poses at the IAFF convention in Boston, Massachusetts. (Office of Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla.)

“I felt it was important enough to get up at 3 a.m. to go to Boston and introduce Sen. Vance and talk to them about why I think President Trump and JD Vance are right for not just firefighters but for America.”

Gimenez discussed Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent policy proposals in a general sense, and suggested she has been pushing fixes to problems the Biden-Harris administration themselves exacerbated.

“My pitch is going to be, you know, where firefighters are always willing to answer the call or they answer the bell – Right now America is, is asking for help, and we should respond,” Gimenez said.

“And America is asking for help because of the disaster that’s been the Biden-Harris administration and… some of the things that have happened over the last three and a half years… that Kamala Harris in particular wants us to forget that they were in charge of.”

“Somehow they’re now going to fix it or she’s going to fix it… It’s like having the arsonist tell you how to put out the fire.”

Gimenez said that while he has held other roles throughout his life – commissioner, mayor of Miami-Dade County, congressman – when he is asked what his job was, he routinely replies, “firefighter.”

CUBA’S MEDDLING IN US ELECTIONS A ‘BADGE OF HONOR’ TO SOME TARGETED CRITICS

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, a former City of Miami fire chief, in uniform. (Office of Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla.)

“I was the youngest one and the first Hispanic chief – I was very fortunate to be a firefighter and it’s also shaped the way I see things and how I deal with things.”

Gimenez said that when “firefighters do well, America does well,” and that as a “first responder,” they understand urgency in key situations.

As for whether the IAFF may be primed to make a 180 and endorse Trump, Gimenez said the union tends to follow its affiliate in the AFL-CIO, which typically endorses Democrats.

“Ever since I’ve been a firefighter, they tend to go Democrat. Hopefully, we can break the trend today.”

Gimenez expressed hope in that regard, given they did not swiftly endorse Harris as they had for Biden in 2020.

“It’s not a slam dunk for Democrats this time around,” Gimenez said of some union endorsements, despite Biden self-identifying as the most “pro-union” president in history.

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Notably, Teamsters President Sean O’Brien became the first such official to speak at the Republican National Convention, but was reportedly not invited to speak to the Democratic National Convention this year.

Unions aside, Gimenez said firefighters don’t care about political affiliation while on-the-job. 

“Every time the bell rings, we get on the truck or we get on the rescue [vehicle] and we answer the call. We’re going to help – that’s what’s great about [firefighters].”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign and IAFF for comment.

Then-Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris did not rule out potentially packing the Supreme Court in 2019 when she sought the party’s nod to face then-President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. 

The now-vice president and Democratic nominee for president in 2024 reiterated several times during her previous campaign that she wasn’t opposed to a Supreme Court expansion, which would theoretically allow liberal justices to take on a majority role through new appointments. 

“I’m open to this conversation about increasing the number of people on the United States Supreme Court,” Harris told voters in Nashua, New Hampshire, after a question was posed to her about adding up to four seats to the high court, Bloomberg reported at the time.

HARRIS CAMPAIGN MANAGER IGNORES PRESS CONFERENCE QUESTION AS VP HITS 33 DAYS WITHOUT ONE

Kamala Harris previously claimed to be open to packing the Supreme Court. (Reuters)

Her interest in court-packing was not limited to a one-off remark. Harris made it clear, reiterating during her primary campaign in 2019 to both the New York Times and Politico that she was open-minded when it came to adding more seats to the court. 

Harris claimed to Politico at the time that “everything is on the table” to restore confidence in the Supreme Court, including court-packing. 

She was asked by The New York Times whether she wished to elaborate on being “open” to court-packing, to which she declined. 

“I’m just open to it,” she said. 

BIDEN-HARRIS HHS SECRETARY SIDESTEPS BACKING ANY LIMIT ON LATE-TERM ABORTION

The U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C., is the seat of the Supreme Court of the United States and the Judicial Branch of government. (Robert Alexander/Getty Images)

Harris’ campaign did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication. It was asked whether Harris was still open to court-packing. 

Last month, Biden and Harris’ administration rolled out a slate of policies to overhaul the Supreme Court. In their proposal, they called for term limits for Supreme Court justices, who currently serve lifetime appointments, an enforceable ethics code for justices, and an amendment to the Constitution to overturn the high court’s ruling that former presidents have substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts while in office. 

The overhaul also included a form of packing the court, according to the analysis of former Trump administration lawyer Mark Paoletta. Stealthily included under the term limit proposal, Biden and Harris’ plan outlines a system in which the president appoints a new Supreme Court justice “every two years to spend eighteen years in active service on the Supreme Court.”

DEM LAWMAKERS’ VOTING RECORDS WITH BIDEN-HARRIS IN SPOTLIGHT AHEAD OF TIGHT RACES

Biden and Harris’ administration recently revealed a proposed Supreme Court overhaul. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Even though Joe Biden caved to radicals and recently endorsed court packing, Harris is even further to the left of him on this thoroughly discredited idea,” Paoletta said in a statement to Fox News Digital. He notably worked on the confirmation efforts for Justices Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch. 

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Harris’ past statements and refusal to comment further on the subject suggest that her administration could undertake not only the Supreme Court expansion apparently outlined in the administration’s desired overhaul, but an even more drastic version. 

Paoletta pointed to a recent claim from Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, who said Harris’ campaign told him his Supreme Court legislation is “precisely aligned with what we are talking about,” the Dispatch reported.

“According to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse—who is the single most malignant figure in America trying to undermine the independence of the Supreme Court—Harris supports his court-packing legislation that would disqualify the senior-most Justices from active service, which just so happen to be Justice Thomas, Chief Justice Roberts, and Justice Alito,” Paoletta explained. 

NEWSOM DODGES QUESTION ON HARRIS PRICE CONTROLS: ‘SHE HASN’T PUT OUT THE DETAILS’

Democrats have slammed the Court’s conservative majority. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

He claimed Whitehouse’s plans, which Harris has purportedly expressed agreement with, are “far more nefarious” than the “court packing scheme” under former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. 

As Paoletta noted, legislation authored by Whitehouse laid out a similar structure to Biden and Harris’ latest proposal, outlining appointments of justices every two years. Under the bill, only the most recently appointed nine justices would oversee appellate jurisdiction cases. It further states that “all” justices are to preside over original jurisdiction cases, without specifying a number. 

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Prior to the latest overhaul proposal, Biden had held off supporting packing the court, despite calls from other Democrats. He once warned that Democrats would “live to rue” taking such action. 

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

The U.S. Army says a staff member was “abruptly pushed aside” during a ceremony attended by former President Trump and his campaign during a Monday ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, but that the campaign member will not face charges.

The incident took place at a ceremony honoring the 13 U.S. soldiers who were killed in an attack on the Kabul airport during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. The Army confirmed reports of an altercation between at least one Trump campaign official and a cemetery staff member.

“Participants in the August 26th ceremony and the subsequent Section 60 visit were made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds. An ANC employee who attempted to ensure adherence to these rules was abruptly pushed aside,” the Army said in a statement.

“Consistent with the decorum expected at ANC, this employee acted with professionalism and avoided further disruption. The incident was reported to the JBM-HH police department, but the employee subsequently decided not to press charges. Therefore, the Army considers this matter closed,” the statement continued.

REPUBLICANS SLAM HARRIS FOR BEING ‘LAST PERSON IN THE ROOM’ WHEN BIDEN MADE CALL TO EVACUATE AFGHANISTAN

The U.S. Army says a staff member was “abruptly pushed aside” by a member of former President Trump’s campaign during a Monday ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. (Getty Images )

“This incident was unfortunate, and it is also unfortunate that the ANC employee and her professionalism has been unfairly attacked. ANC is a national shrine to the honored dead of the Armed Forces, and its dedicated staff will continue to ensure public ceremonies are conducted with the dignity and respect the nation’s fallen deserve,” the Army added.

The cemetery has a long-standing federal ban on the use of its property by any political campaigns, and cemetery staff had warned that campaign staff could not use the event to take photographs or video.

‘YOU’RE FIRED’: TRUMP VOWS PINK SLIPS ON DAY 1 FOR EVERY OFFICIAL RESPONSIBLE FOR ‘AFGHANISTAN CALAMITY’

Trump participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on the third-year anniversary of the Abbey Gate bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members during the Afghanistan withdrawal. (Pool)

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung argued that the staffer who blocked the campaign photographers appeared to be having a “mental health episode.” He also specified that the campaign was granted approval to bring a photographer.

38 DAYS: VP REFUSES TO REVEAL POLICY POSITIONS

“The fact is that a private photographer was permitted on the premises and, for whatever reason, an unnamed individual, clearly suffering from a mental health episode, decided to physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony,” he said.

Trump attended the event at the invitation of relatives of the fallen soldiers, who thanked him for his attendance. (Pool)

Trump attended the event at the invitation of relatives of the fallen soldiers, who thanked him for his attendance in a statement.

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“We are deeply grateful to the president for taking the time to honor our children and for standing alongside us in our grief, offering his unwavering support during such a difficult time,” five of the family members wrote after the event. “His compassion and respect meant more than words can express.”

House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is joining the wave of critics going after Vice President Kamala Harris for holding her first 2024 campaign interview alongside her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

“It is absolutely unacceptable that the first and ONLY interview from Kamala Harris, the anointed Democrat nominee for President of the United States, is done jointly with Tim Walz,” Stefanik said on Thursday.

“It is offensive to ALL women that Kamala has refused to sit for a solo interview when she is running to be commander-in-chief.”

KAMALA HARRIS GRANTS FIRST INTERVIEW TO CNN AFTER WEEKS OF AVOIDING PRESS, TO BE JOINED BY TIM WALZ

Vice President Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are getting heat for choosing to do their first interviews together. (Getty Images)

Harris and Walz are sitting down with CNN host Dana Bash for a pre-taped interview Thursday set to air at 9 p.m. ET. It will be both of their first interviews since becoming the Democrats’ presidential ticket. 

It will be Harris’ first formal interview since replacing President Biden at the top of the ticket 39 days ago. 

It comes after growing pressure on Harris to participate in an unscripted, on-the-record media event or press conference – something she has not done since becoming the nominee, save for a notable but brief gaggle with reporters earlier this month. 

Republicans have seized on her decision to have her first sit-down alongside Walz, arguing it shows Harris is not capable of defending her platform on her own.

CNN ANCHOR: DID HARRIS ‘WAIT TOO LONG’ TO SCHEDULE HER FIRST INTERVIEW?

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., was among the Republicans piling on Harris. (Faith and Freedom Coalition )

Stefanik also accused the media of complicity, continuing her statement, “The Democrats’ stenographers in the mainstream media just blindly regurgitate the talking points provided to them directly by the Kamala Harris campaign.”

“Kamala Harris and her entire campaign is an affront to the American people,” she said.

Harris campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt responded to Stefanik’s statement, saying, “For at least 20 years, every ticket, Republican and Democrat, sat for a joint interview. The only exception was when Donald Trump walked out of his joint interview four years ago with 60 Minutes’ Lesley Stahl, because he couldn’t handle her holding him accountable on his extreme, unpopular record.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump campaign for a response.

AP PANNED FOR SAYING HARRIS IS ‘HAVING IT BOTH WAYS’ AS A SITTING VP, CHANGE CANDIDATE: ‘YOU’RE LETTING HER’

The Harris campaign responded with a shot at former President Trump. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Meanwhile, some journalists are also skeptical of the campaign’s decision. 

Former CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller wrote on X, “Should CNN have insisted on a one-on-one interview with Harris and turned down a joint interview with Harris and Walz? Too tough to walk away from. But first question to Harris ought to be why [she] couldn’t appear solo.”

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It’s not unusual for presidential candidates and their running mates to do joint interviews – a fact that Harris allies have repeatedly utilized in her defense.

Politico Playbook quoted a campaign official who responded to the uproar with a list of joint interviews by a presidential ticket going back two decades, telling the outlet, “Obviously she will do solo interviews, too.”

Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign is reportedly riddled with “internal worries about cohesiveness,” as those loyal to the vice president and former Obama staffers come together to form an “at times unwieldy” team working on what not long ago had been President Biden’s re-election campaign. 

The main architect of Biden’s campaign messaging, Mike Donilon, has gone back to the White House, but Harris has kept most of Biden’s other campaign staffers, Axios reported, citing six people involved in the campaign. The vice president also has tapped her own staffers and prominent aides from former President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, resulting in a “Frankenstein” team with competing power centers. 

It contrasts with Biden’s insular campaign team that had a few longtime aides calling the shots. The Harris team’s attempt to avoid making Biden staffers feel cast aside has resulted in confusion about who is in charge, according to the report. One person involved told Axios there isn’t “as much tension at the very, very top, where the question is more: ‘Who is the first among equals with the vice president?'”

HERITAGE RIPS HARRIS’ ‘DANGEROUSLY LIBERAL’ POLICY RECORD WITH NEW WEBSITE, 6-FIGURE OUTREACH TO INDEPENDENTS

Vice President Kamala Harris and vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz during the final day of the Democratic National Convention. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

“The entanglement of these different entities has led to many people feeling a real lack of role clarity,” another person involved in the campaign told Axios, citing more confusion “two or three rungs down.” 

Biden’s campaign had parted ways with prominent election lawyer Marc Elias over his strategy last year. Harris has brought Elias, who is close to former Obama administration Attorney General Eric Holder, back to work on her campaign to help vet vice presidential running mates and now focus on Democrats’ recount strategy. 

The short timetable of just 68 days until Election Day seems to have deterred major tension, the report says. 

Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, disembark from their campaign bus in Savannah, Aug. 28, 2024, as they travel across Georgia for a two-day campaign bus tour. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

RFK JR. CANNOT REMOVE NAME FROM BALLOTS IN 2 KEY BATTLEGROUND STATES

“It’s just a mad dash,” one person involved told Axios. “Things are colliding occasionally, but it’s not malicious.”

Some of the Biden campaign aides told Axios they thought the former Obama staffers had been second-guessing their moves for months, as some were involved in pushing Biden to exit the race. 

Though some on Biden’s team believe Harris is more electable than the president after his June debate performance against former President Trump, and welcome the “burst of enthusiasm,” some are disappointed they have to defend Harris for her past progressive stances on “Medicare-for-all” and banning fracking. Her positions on those issues, along with those of other Democrats, in part contributed to Biden’s 2020 nomination win. 

Kamala Harris greets patrons at Sandfly Bar-B-Q restaurant in Savannah, Georgia, Aug. 28, 2024. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

Instead of changing the makeup of Biden’s campaign team, Axios noted, the vice president instead shifted her messaging from Biden’s focus on “democracy” to Harris’ new push for “freedom” and “future.” 

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment. 

A U.S. veteran and former member of the Presidential Honor Guard defended former President Trump’s appearance at Arlington National Cemetery this week amid reports of an altercation between Arlington staff and the Trump campaign.

The veteran, Lucas O’Hara, said on social media that he worked at Arlington for three years during his time in the military, and he lauded Trump’s composure at the event. Meanwhile, the Trump campaign is facing criticism following reports that cemetery staff warned them not to take photographs at the Monday event.

“I have witnessed over 75 wreath laying ceremonies performed by politicians and conducted 524 funerals in this cemetery during the time I served in the Presidential Honor Guard for three years. What I got to witness yesterday was the most respectful and solemn ceremony I have seen,” O’Hara wrote. 

“There were no speeches, no angles, no weird photo ops just our elected officials and the 45th President respectfully and solemnly honoring the fallen and their families,” he added.

38 DAYS: VP REFUSES TO REVEAL POLICY POSITIONS

A U.S. veteran and former member of the Presidential Honor Guard defended former President Trump’s appearance at Arlington National Cemetery this week amid reports of an altercation between Arlington staff and the Trump campaign.

The Monday event honored the 13 U.S. service members who were killed while defending the Kabul airport during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Several parents of the service members released a statement saying they had approved a Trump campaign photographer to record the event.

A report from NPR says two Trump campaign staff members “verbally abused and pushed” a cemetery official who tried to stop them from filming and taking photos. A defense official also told The Associated Press that the campaign was warned by cemetery staff not to take photographs at the event.

REPUBLICANS SLAM HARRIS FOR BEING ‘LAST PERSON IN THE ROOM’ WHEN BIDEN MADE CALL TO EVACUATE AFGHANISTAN

“Federal law prohibits political campaign or election-related activities within Army National Military Cemeteries, to include photographers, content creators or any other persons attending for purposes, or in direct support of a partisan political candidate’s campaign,” a cemetery official said in a statement. “Arlington National Cemetery reinforced and widely shared this law and its prohibitions with all participants. We can confirm there was an incident, and a report was filed.”

Members of former President Trump’s campaign got into an altercation with staff at the Arlington National Cemetery. (Getty Images )

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung argued that the staffer who blocked the campaign photographers appeared to be having a “mental health episode.” He also specified that the campaign was granted approval to bring a photographer.

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“The fact is that a private photographer was permitted on the premises and, for whatever reason, an unnamed individual, clearly suffering from a mental health episode, decided to physically block members of President Trump’s team during a very solemn ceremony,” he said.

Former President Trump participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on the third-year anniversary of the Abbey Gate bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members during the Afghanistan withdrawal. (Pool)

Trump attended the event at the invitation of family members of the soldiers who were killed in the Kabul bombing.

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“We are deeply grateful to the president for taking the time to honor our children and for standing alongside us in our grief, offering his unwavering support during such a difficult time,” five of the family members wrote after the event. “His compassion and respect meant more than words can express.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A lawsuit against the New York Times brought by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has been resurrected by a federal court.

Palin, a former Republican vice presidential candidate, sued the outlet after it published a 2017 editorial claiming her campaign had encouraged the 2011 shooting of then-Rep. Gabby Giffords. The editorial in question was published on the day of a mass shooting at a congressional baseball practice game.

No such encouragement of connection to the shooting was ever produced — Palin filed suit against the newspaper, alleging staff had intentionally published false information in an attempt to smear her and damage her reputation.

NEW YORK TIMES FOUND NOT LIABLE IN SARAH PALIN DEFAMATION CASE

Then-US House of Representatives candidate Sarah Palin speaks on stage during a “Save America” rally before former US President Donald Trump in Anchorage, Alaska. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff dismissed the lawsuit in February 2022 in the middle of jury deliberations. He allowed the jurors to finish deliberating and give a verdict, which ultimately favored the New York Times, but lawyers pointed out that individuals on the jury received notifications from the outlet mid-deliberation announcing the judge’s dismissal.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan on Wednesday overturned that dismissal and verdict, finding that Rakoff made a series of errors that qualify the lawsuit for a retrial.

“We have no difficulty concluding that an average jury’s verdict would be affected if several jurors knew that the judge had already ruled for one of the parties on the very claims the jurors were charged with deciding,” 2nd Circuit Judge John Walker Jr. said regarding the dismissal.

SARAH PALIN SUES NY TIMES OVER EDITORIAL TYING HER TO GIFFORDS SHOOTING

“We think a jury’s verdict reached with the knowledge of the judge’s already-announced disposition of the case will rarely be untainted, no matter what the jurors say upon subsequent inquiry,” Walker said, addressing claims from jurors that the dismissal and subsequent notifications did not affect their decision.

Vehicles drive past the New York Times building in New York City. (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)

The court noted several other issues with how Palin’s lawsuit was handled, including restrictions on her claim that editorial page editor James Bennet allowed the unsubstantiated claims against her to politically aid his brother, Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado.

Palin’s legal team called the ruling “a significant step forward in the process of holding publishers accountable for content that misleads readers and the public in general.”

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“The truth deserves a level playing field, and Governor Palin looks forward to presenting her case to a jury that is ‘provided with relevant proffered evidence and properly instructed on the law,’” lawyer Shane Vogt added.

The New York Times called the ruling “disappointing,” but said it is confident the lawsuit will be dismissed again in a retrial.

Importantly, the appeals court did not find Rakoff biased against Palin and therefore still eligible to preside over the retrial.

Vice President Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz are scheduled to sit for their first campaign interview on Thursday night with CNN anchor Dana Bash in Atlanta.

For the prior 38 days, Harris has been lambasted for failing to take substantive questions from the press or take part in such an event.

By contrast, former President Trump has held at least two press conferences and participated in interviews across the spectrum, including with Fox News Channel.

Trump and Harris are scheduled to meet for a Sept. 10 televised debate.

38 DAYS: VP REFUSES TO REVEAL POLICY POSITIONS

Democrat presidential nominee Vice President Harris and running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/File)

As the interview approaches, viewers have been reminded of prior appearances, including a 2021 discussion with NBC’s Lester Holt in which Harris was criticized for her response to a question about not visiting the Mexican border.

“And I haven’t been to Europe, I don’t understand the point that you’re making. I’m not discounting the importance of the border,” Harris told Holt in a moment that went viral on the Republican side of the aisle.

After Harris’ speech at the convention, the Wall Street Journal editorial board wrote that the presentation was “confident, optimistic, [but] mostly devoid of policy substance.”

“Whether she can keep this up, unexplained and unexposed, for the next 12 weeks will determine whether she becomes America’s 47th President,” the editorial board wrote. 

In recent days, however, Harris has garnered some high-profile surrogates on the campaign trail.

KERRY KENNEDY HITS THE STUMP FOR HARRIS AFTER BROTHER RFK JR JOINS TEAM TRUMP

After former independent candidate and Democrat scion Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped his bid for president and endorsed Trump, the Harris campaign announced a spate of joint appearances with Kerry Kennedy, who is Kennedy Jr.’s sister and a particularly vocal critic of her brother’s politicking.

In Arizona, Kennedy appeared with labor activist Dolores Huerta, who spoke onstage with Robert F. Kennedy Sr. the night he was assassinated on the campaign trail in Los Angeles in 1968.

On Aug. 7, Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, told reporters he was having a “bit of fun” when he found himself on the same tarmac as Air Force Two in Eau Claire, Wis.

Vance approached Harris’ ride and told reporters, “I just wanted to check out my future plane,” adding that he wanted to see about greeting Harris and asking her why she “refuse[s] to answer questions from the media.”

“I at least have enough respect for you all and for the American people to come and talk to you and answer questions.”

While Thursday will mark her first interview, the inclusion of Walz led to the announcement being critiqued on X.

“Kamala Harris is doing a joint interview with Tim Walz on Thursday. She legit can’t do an interview by herself,” said OutKick founder Clay Travis.

Meanwhile, Minnesota Republican strategist Dustin Grage surmised that Walz is a “better communicator than Kamala Harris” and posted a clip of Walz sitting for an interview with a CBS affiliate.

“This is why he will be her support animal in Thursday’s interview with CNN. But there is also a reason it will be pre-recorded, because even in softball interviews, it’s hard to remember all of those lies on the spot.”

Ahead of her interview, Harris and Walz embarked on a South Georgia bus tour that begins and ends in Savannah. While Chatham County – where the city is located – is safely in Democrat hands, the campaign hopes the stops on the stump will bring more voters into the Harris-Walz fold.

South Georgia writ large leans Republican. In southwest Georgia, longtime Democrat Rep. Sanford Bishop’s Warner Robins-Albany seat is seen as a potential but borderline pickup for Republicans if they have a good year at the polls.

Reps. Buddy Carter and Austin Scott’s GOP seats in the region remain safely Republican, according to Cook PVI ratings.

“[The bus tour offers the] opportunity to get to places we don’t usually go [and] make sure we’re competing in all communities,” said Harris campaign communications director Michael Tyler.

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Vice President Harris (AP Photo/John Bazemore/File)

Tyler told the Associated Press that Harris retained President Biden’s custom of taking part in informal get-togethers but that the venues have changed, pointing to a recent pit stop in Aliquippa, Pa., where they visited a high school football practice.

Walz is a former teacher and football coach.

Georgia has also been a contentious state for both parties. Democrats flipped both U.S. Senate seats in recent years, while Trump has warred with otherwise popular GOP Gov. Brian Kemp.

The Republican nominee’s tone reportedly changed in recent times, as the governor was lauded by his longtime critic for his “help and support” in the Peach State.

“A win [here] is so important to the success of our party and most importantly our country,” Trump said on X.

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

SAVANNAH, GA. – Vice President Kamala Harris wakes up Thursday in this historic coastal city in Georgia, a crucial presidential election battleground that’s one of seven states that will likely determine the winner of her 2024 face off with former President Trump.

The vice president on Wednesday kicked off a two-day bus swing in southeastern Georgia, accompanied by her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, visiting with faculty and students at a high school before stopping by a barbecue joint.

On Thursday, Harris and Walz will sit for their first major interview before the vice president holds what’s expected to be a large rally in Savannah.

By choosing the Peach State for her first campaign trail swing following last week’s Democratic National Convention, Harris is making a statement – that Georgia is once again in play in November’s election.

NEW FOX NEWS POLL NUMBERS IN FOUR KEY BATTLEGROUND STATES 

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris talks as she visits SandFly Bar-B-Q in Savannah, Ga., Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Georgia had long been a reliably red state in White House elections until President Biden narrowly edged then-President Trump in 2020 to become the first Democrat in nearly three decades to capture the state.

Fast-forward to this year’s election, and Trump saw his slight edge in the polls in Georgia over Biden jump to a solid single-digit lead after the president’s disastrous performance in their one debate, a late June showdown in Atlanta.

THIS POPULAR GOP GOVERNOR SAYS HIS STATE’S A MUST WIN FOR TRUMP

But in the 5½ weeks since the vice president replaced her boss atop the Democrats’ 2024 ticket, polls indicate that it’s once again a margin-of-error race in the Peach State.

A Fox News poll conducted August 23-26 in Georgia and released on Wednesday indicated Harris with a razor-thin 50%-48% edge over Trump among registered voters. The most recent Fox News survey in Georgia before Biden dropped out of the race indicated Trump topping the president by six points, 51%-45%.

Georgia’s popular two-term conservative governor agrees that his state’s very competitive.

“Certainly this is a battleground state,” Gov. Brian Kemp emphasized in a Fox News Digital interview on Tuesday.

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia is interviewed by Fox News Digital, on June 3, 2024 in Chalmette, Louisiana.  (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

“I’ve been saying for a long time that the road to the White House is going to run through Georgia. And there’s no path for former President Trump to win, or any Republican … to get to 270 without Georgia,” Kemp said.

But he added that Georgia “should be one that we win if we have all the mechanics that we need. And I’m working hard to help provide those in a lot of ways and turn the Republican vote out and make sure that we win this state in November.”

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So are the Democrats.

“The Georgia Democratic coordinated campaign is running the largest in-state operation of any Democratic presidential campaign cycle, with over 190 Democratic coordinated campaign staff in 24 coordinated offices across the state,” the Harris campaign touted hours ahead of the vice president’s arrival in Savannah.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, poses for a photo with students from Savannah State University, at the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport in Savannah, Ga., Aug. 28, 2024.   (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

This is Harris’ second stop in Georgia since taking over for Biden as the party’s standard-bearer. She previously hosted a large rally in downtown Atlanta.

But this time around, Harris is barnstorming through the southern part of the state, far from Atlanta and its growing suburbs, which make up nearly 60% of Georgia’s population. The traditional route for Democrats to win statewide in Georgia is to concentrate on metropolitan Atlanta. 

But Quentin Fulks, who was principal deputy campaign manager under Biden and has remained in that role with Harris, is following the playbook from two years ago when he steered Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock’s narrow re-election victory over GOP challenger Hershel Walker. The strategy is to not only win big in Atlanta and its suburbs, but also to stay competitive in the rest of the state.

“We have to make sure that we are competing everywhere across the state,” Fulks said Tuesday in an interview on MSNBC. “We’re going to continue to run in rural counties. …. We have to be statewide in that state and even compete in counties that Democrats don’t traditionally go. That is how you win statewide in Georgia.”

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The Harris campaign noted that “campaigning in Southeast Georgia is critical as it represents a diverse coalition of voters, including rural, suburban and urban Georgians — with a large proportion of Black voters and working-class families.”

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to marching band members at Liberty County High School in Hinesville, Ga., Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The first stop for Harris and Walz was Liberty County High School in Hinesville, where they met with the school’s administrators, faculty, students and stopped in on the school’s marching band rehearsal.

“We wanted to come by just to let you know that our country is counting on you. All of you,” Harris told the students. “We’re so proud of you. Your generation, all that you guys stand for … is what is going to propel our country into the next era of what we can do and what we can be.”

The vice president told the students that she was in band when she was in high school, according to a pool report.

The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee took aim at Harris as her bus tour got underway.

“The Trump campaign is fighting and winning in Georgia by building a broad coalition of support from those fed up with her four years of failure in the White House,” senior adviser Brian Hughes told Fox News.

And RNC spokesperson Morgan Ackley argued that “while our highly engaged and energetic operation in Georgia is focused on turning out votes across the entire state, Democrats in Georgia are finally learning an important lesson…there is more to Georgia than just Atlanta.”

Ackley emphasized that “Republicans from Catoosa to Camden County and everywhere in between are fired up and ready to re-elect President Donald J. Trump because his message of putting America first again resonates with Americans of all backgrounds.”

But the Harris campaign appears to enjoy a large organizational advantage over Trump’s team in Georgia. And Republican strategists agreed that to recapture Georgia, Trump will need assistance from Kemp’s well-oiled and funded political machine to turn out GOP voters.

Former President Trump, right, is joined by his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, during at a campaign rally at Georgia State University in Atlanta Aug. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

For two years after his 2020 election defeat to Biden, which included a razor-thin loss in Georgia, Trump attacked Kemp for failing to overturn the election results in his state. 

Trump toned down the criticism in 2022 after Kemp crushed Trump-backed former Sen. David Perdue in the state’s GOP gubernatorial primary.

Then, earlier this month, Trump went on a 10-minute tirade against Kemp at a rally in Atlanta just blocks from the Georgia State Capitol. Trump blamed the governor not only for failing to overturn the 2020 vote count but also for not stopping a county prosecutor from indicting the former president for his attempts to reverse the results.

But last week, in a major change of tune, Trump aimed to patch up his differences with Kemp by praising the governor in a social media post.

Kemp told Fox News Digital that “I’ve been consistent for really the last couple of years that I was going to support the ticket, whoever our nominee was, in Georgia. That’s exactly what I’m doing, what I have been doing.”

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Kemp on Thursday will join his wife, Georgia first lady Marty Kemp, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who served in the Trump administration, to headline a fundraiser in Atlanta for the former president.

“It’s my belief that we cannot afford four more years of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris or Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, which I think would probably be worse than even Biden and Harris were,” the governor argued.

“I believe Republicans need to stay focused on litigating Kamala Harris and Joe Biden’s record. … We need to be telling people why they should vote for us, what we’re going to do to make things better than they are right now.”

Another sign of how important Georgia is in deciding the White House race – the massive amount of money being spent by both the Harris and Trump campaigns to run ads in the state.

The Trump campaign is dishing out nearly $33 million to reserve ad time on Georgia airwaves for the final stretch, with the Harris campaign spending over $42 million.

Spotlighting the stakes, veteran Georgia-based Republican consultant Stephen Lawson noted that “from the Trump-Kemp détente to Harris campaigning in rural Georgia to the massive spending, just continues to underscore that the road to the White House runs through Georgia.”

“That was true in 2020. It’s why Joe Biden is in office right now,” Lawson highlighted.

And looking ahead to this autumn’s presidential election, he added that “I think it will be very, very, difficult for either Harris or Trump to win the White House without winning Georgia.”

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