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Mark Zuckerberg just had to eat several large helpings of crow.

And some minor political flap wasn’t on the menu. 

As the Wall Street Journal first reported, the CEO of Facebook and Meta expressed regret on such weighty matters as government-induced censorship and free speech.

TRUMP THREATENS TO QUIT KAMALA DEBATE AFTER RFK BACKS HIM, DENOUNCES MEDIA

It’s good for Zuck to accept some degree of responsibility, but it’s kinda too late. By about three years.

The admissions came in a letter to Jim Jordan, the House Judiciary chairman, and is a major win for the Republicans. The onetime Harvard whiz kid usually digs in defensively, with vague promises of future reform.

After the pandemic hit, Zuckerberg wrote, senior Biden administration and White House officials had “repeatedly pressured our teams for months to censor certain COVID-19 content, including humor and satire, and expressed a lot of frustration with our teams when we didn’t agree.”

A side-by-side of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and U.S. President Joe Biden. (Getty Images)

That is an important distinction. The Biden pressure tactics didn’t always work. Facebook could, and sometimes did, say no. But much of the time, the giant social media site just caved.

And Facebook had a publicly proclaimed agenda: prodding millions of people to take Covid vaccines.

Zuckerberg said the administration pressure “was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it.” His company “made some choices that, with the benefit of hindsight and new information, we wouldn’t make today…I feel strongly that we should not compromise our content standards due to pressure from any administration in either direction — and we’re ready to push back if something like this happens again.”

TRUMP, REJECTING ADVICE, TRIES MOCKERY, INSULTS, AI AGAINST KAMALA, BUT IS IT WORKING?

I don’t know: How confident are you that Facebook would publicly push back on some hot-button issue today?

A Biden White House spokesman, in lawyerly language that didn’t quite respond to Zuck’s accusations, said it had “encouraged responsible actions to protect public health and safety…Our position has been clear and consistent: we believe tech companies and other private actors should take into account the effects their actions have on the American people, while making independent choices about the information they present.”

Two years ago, a Free Press reporter who examined the “Twitter Files” found that both the Trump and the Biden administrations “directly pressed Twitter executives to moderate the platform’s pandemic content according to their wishes.”

One document mentioned the White House chief technology officer, who “led the Trump administration’s calls for help from the tech companies to combat misinformation.”

In this photo illustration, a Facebook logo is seen on a computer screen and a hand holding a medical syringe in front of it.  (Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The piece also said that Facebook, Google and Microsoft joined in “weekly” calls with the Trump officials to talk about “general trends” at the companies. Sounds euphemistic.

But Trump was also a victim. Just four hours after a 2020 campaign video was posted and drew a half million views, Facebook took it down, saying it violated the social network’s policy against Covid misinformation. 

The Trump camp had posted a clip from a Fox interview in which the president said children were “virtually immune” from the coronavirus. Most medical experts disagreed at the time.

“They’ve got much stronger immune systems than we do somehow for this,” Trump said. “They don’t have a problem. They just don’t have a problem.”

PUT POLICY ASIDE: KAMALA HARRIS WILL WIN OR LOSE BASED ON THE EXCITEMENT FACTOR

A White House spokeswoman at the time called the move “another display of Silicon Valley’s flagrant bias against this president, where the rules are only enforced in one direction.”

Zuckerberg, for his part, also made news on the Hunter Biden laptop.

He told Jordan that Meta “shouldn’t have demoted” a New York Post story about the laptop shortly before the 2020 election. 

Let me stop right there. Demoted is tech jargon for suppressing a story, blatantly burying it so that few if any users see it. This happened after Twitter, as you’ll recall, totally blocked the Post story.

Former President Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally in Bozeman, Montana, on Friday, Aug. 9.  (AP/Rick Bowmer)

Trump allies got access to the laptop from the Delaware computer shop owner, at a time when Biden was the Democratic nominee. Dozens of former intelligence officials signed a letter dismissing the laptop story as fake, and in a debate with Trump, Biden said the release of the emails had “all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”

Zuckerberg writes: “It’s since been made clear that the reporting was not Russian disinformation, and in retrospect, we shouldn’t have demoted the story.”

Right. And it took the New York Times and Washington Post another year and a half to “authenticate” the laptop’s contents.

In the 2020 election, Zuck funded nonprofits to set up Covid-era voting booths and equipment sorting mail-in ballots, which Republicans, calling it “Zuckerbucks,” argued with some justification that this unfairly benefited Democratic areas. Zuckerberg now says he won’t repeat the effort this time.

Trump said in a posting last month: “All I can say is that if I’m elected president, we will pursue Election Fraudsters at levels never seen before, and they will be sent to prison for long periods of time. We already know who you are. DON’T DO IT! ZUCKERBUCKS, be careful!”

In his Mar-a-Lago interview with me, Trump made his distaste for Facebook quite clear, in fact using it to justify dropping his opposition to banning TikTok, saying that would only help Zuckerberg’s company.

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Now some may dismiss all this as old news, given that the events date to the pandemic and the last election. But it raises fundamental questions that continue to reverberate today, when Elon Musk’s endorsement of Trump has prompted many liberals to leave or largely abandon X and join Threads, the Zuckerberg copycat site.

Politicians and special interests routinely lobby the federal government. But when they use their considerable clout to pressure tech giants – secretly, behind closed doors, shielded from the public – it is deeply troubling.

A House Democrat who played a major role in the first impeachment of former President Trump is criticizing Republicans’ own push against former President Biden.

“I don’t see any evidence here. The problem is, is they wanted to try to create an impeachment, so they started with an impeachment, and they went looking for evidence, fishing for it,” Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., told Fox News Digital last week.

“There’s just nothing there. And it’s clear the report again confirms that. It’s too bad we wasted so much valuable time in Congress going through that process.”

Crow was one of seven House Democrats chosen by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to make the case for impeaching Trump in 2020. He was one of two first-term lawmakers on that team.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS REFER HUNTER BIDEN, JAMES BIDEN FOR CRIMINAL PROSECUTION AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

The House GOP accused President Biden of impeachable offenses. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images/File)

“Congress actually passed Ukraine funding. He withheld that funding, which is actually against the law; the president does not have the authority to withhold funding that’s dedicated by Congress for a specific purpose,” Crow said. “The job of the president is actually to make sure that funding is used appropriately and to implement it. So., that happened, and then Congress investigated it, and then we went through an impeachment proceeding.”

“Contrast that with the Republican approach, they just said they want to impeach Biden. And then they went looking for things to impeach him on, and, of course, didn’t come up with anything.”

His comments come after House Republicans released a report accusing Biden of committing impeachable offenses relating to his family’s foreign business dealings.

It’s the product of a yearslong probe by the House committees on Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means into whether Biden used his position as vice president to benefit himself or his family.

HUNTER DEMANDED $10M FROM CHINESE ENERGY FIRM BECAUSE ‘BIDENS ARE THE BEST,’ HAVE ‘CONNECTIONS’

Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., criticized the House GOP effort. (File)

Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chair of the House Oversight Committee, pushed back on Crow’s comments via a spokesperson, telling Fox News Digital, “It comes as no surprise that a Democrat congressman who dismisses concerns about Joe Biden’s mental fitness to serve the remainder of his term also dismisses the clear evidence of Joe Biden’s involvement in his family’s business schemes. 

“Bank records don’t lie and reveal the Bidens and their associates raked in nearly $30 million by selling the Biden brand. Multiple witnesses have confirmed Joe Biden was involved in his family’s business schemes as he dined, spoke, had coffee, and met with nearly all of his family’s foreign business associates. This is blatant corruption and abuse of public office.”

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee told Fox News DIgital, “Our impeachment inquiry shows conclusively that Joe Biden abused his public office for the private financial benefit of the Biden family and Biden business associates. The facts speak for themselves, and Democrats can no longer stretch the truth to cover for President Biden.”

The report said that “overwhelming evidence demonstrates that President Biden participated in a conspiracy to monetize his office of public trust to enrich his family.”

FLASHBACK: HUNTER BIDEN IN 2017 SENT ‘BEST WISHES’ FROM ‘ENTIRE BIDEN FAMILY’ TO CHINA FIRM CHAIR, REQUESTED $10M WIRE

Crow was an impeachment manager for Democrats’ bid to oust former President Trump. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci/File)

“Among other aspects of this conspiracy, the Biden family and their business associates received tens of millions of dollars from foreign interests by leading those interests to believe that such payments would provide them access to and influence with President Biden,” the report said.

The committees said the Biden family and its associates received more than $27 million from foreign individuals or entities since 2014.

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The White House said in response to the report last week, “This failed stunt will only be remembered for how it became an embarrassment that their own members distanced themselves from as they only managed to turn up evidence that refuted their false and baseless conspiracy theories. The American people deserve more from House Republicans, and perhaps now they will finally join President Biden in focusing on the real issues that American families actually care about.”

Fox News Digital also reached out to the Ways and Means Committee for comment.

One of the nation’s oldest civil rights organizations plans to seek federal legal action after Texas officials executed searches and seizures relating to alleged illegal ballot harvesting ahead of the 2024 election.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, announced that his office’s Election Integrity unit had executed searches in three South Texas counties last week as part of his ongoing probe.

Paxton said the unit had been working since 2022 to investigate fraud and ballot harvesting allegations, which led to enough evidence to obtain warrants.

However, officials at LULAC – the League of United Latin American Citizens – alleged the warrant searches constituted “raids” and wrongly targeted elderly longtime volunteers who were engaged in lawful ballot collection.

VERMONT GOP SEES RECORD BALLOT BOOST AS BLUE-STATE CITIZENS SEE NEED FOR CHANGE

A woman prepares mail-in ballots to be counted at a polling station in Pennsylvania. (Aimee Dilger/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images/File)

LULAC National President Roman Palomares said he is hoping to go to Washington to meet with Justice Department officials who handle civil rights cases. Palomares alleged that “100%” of those targeted were of Latino or minority ethnicity.

“Two or three of our members were [subject to the searches], and they’re certified [voter] registrants,” he told Fox News Digital. “These are regular people, but for some reason they’re targeting [them].”

“We think it’s unjustifiable. These are tactics that they use to suppress the vote,” Palomares said. “That’s what we feel that’s being done, and that’s why we’re here. I’m here to defend my members.”

While Paxton’s office did not return a request for comment, the attorney general said in a statement that “secure elections are the cornerstone of our republic.”

“We were glad to assist when the District Attorney referred this case to my office for investigation. We are completely committed to protecting the security of the ballot box and the integrity of every legal vote. This means ensuring accountability for anyone committing election crimes,” Paxton said.

NEWLY REPORTED TRANSCRIPTS DEPICT COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN HINDERING LAW ENFORCEMENT AT TRUMP RALLY

However, Palomares said there may be another political interest in the Uvalde-area counties where the operations took place: Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Republicans see the 80th State House district as the Democrat seat most primed to flip red in November.

Palomares argued that LULAC volunteers aren’t in Bexar County to help Democrats retain the seat, suggesting the organization is not allowed to do so.

“There are folks that are working to help, not necessarily her, but to get voters registered so they can vote; we’re nonpartisan. We can’t tell them how to vote, but we want to register as many people so they can exercise their right,” he said.

“And those are the folks that have been targeted. And it appears that it’s targeted around this district.”

Abbott’s office did not return a request for comment on the allegation, but it did in January endorse former Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin, the Republican in the race.

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League of United Latin American Citizens pamphlets (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images/File)

Palomares added that one woman subject to the warrant searches was 80 years old and a former member of the LULAC board. 

He said law enforcement confiscated her electronics and that she told him she was embarrassed to be stuck outside her house in her nightgown around dawn. He called the way the searches were conducted “intimidation tactics.”

“I don’t think it’s right. You know, she hasn’t committed a crime, hasn’t been convicted, hasn’t been hiding or anything,” Palomares said.

“I mean, these are allegations that they hear from somewhere, and they come in and do things.”

A spokesperson for the Justice Department confirmed receipt of a letter from LULAC on Tuesday but declined to elaborate further.

A California Republican congresswoman’s campaign is criticizing her Democratic attorney opponent of intentionally crafting a legal defense for a client that blamed victims for their alleged sexual harassment — and the challenger is hitting right back.

Rep. Michelle Steel, whose Democratic-leaning Orange County seat is considered a crucial hold for Republicans in November, is facing off with Derek Tran. 

Tran is an attorney and military veteran who recently defended a former employee of a warehouse market chain who was rebuffing accusations from two women.

In the case, plaintiff Luis Pacheco alleged he was wrongfully fired by a warehouse market in San Bernardino County after being accused of sexual harassment by two women with whom he had had “consensual relationships… and still on friendly terms,” according to court documents.

ALASKA REPUBLICAN DROPS OUT OF THREE-WAY RACE, DEALING BLOW TO DEMOCRATS NATIONALLY

Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Calif. (Getty)

Pacheco claimed the market and other defendants conducted a “sham investigation and automatically terminated [him] because he was male.”

“Plaintiff Pacheco was discriminated against for his gender due to the political climate and ‘Me Too’ movement. Plaintiff Pacheco believes Defendants automatically chose the females’ side without considering his explanation of events because of his gender,” documents read.

Lance Trover, a spokesperson for Steel, said Tran “based his campaign on protecting women, but chose the side of an alleged sexual abuser.”

“Not as a defense attorney but in an effort to enrich his client and himself: Voters deserve an explanation from someone who wants to be their representative in Congress,” he said.

In campaign advertisements and correspondence, the Steel campaign has used the “Me Too” references to criticize Tran’s legal defense formulation.

VERMONT GOP SEES RECORD BALLOT BOOST AS BLUE STATE CITIZENS SEEK CHANGE

A woman wearing a “Vote” t-shirt prepares mail-in ballots to be counted at a polling station in Pennsylvania.  (Aimee Dilger/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

However, Tran sold the firm partway through the litigation and the new leadership took over active cases, including Pacheco’s.

In a statement to the Orange County Register, Tom Feher — the current attorney of record on the case — said the California Superior Court has ruled Pacheco’s case has merit and will go to trial.

“[That is] despite the attempts of the corporation to deny our client access to justice. My job as workers’ rights attorney is to uphold the law and win justice for workers — it’s not about politics.”

Tran’s camp, however, has responded by calling Steel the “last person” who should be criticizing others for treatment of victims — “like Derek Tran has spent his career fighting to do.”

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Rolls of “I Voted” stickers are stored at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center (MCTEC) ahead of the 2024 Arizona Primary and General elections. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

“Michelle Steel puts corporations and political extremists ahead of women’s rights her entire career… Steel even voted against stronger protections for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault by opposing the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2021, and led efforts to ban abortion nationwide without exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the woman,” a spokesperson for Tran’s campaign said.

In regard to the votes, Trover responded that Steel opposed a “partisan” Violence Against Women Act iteration, but supported ensuing compromise legislation.

The Cook PVI ranks Steel’s district as D+2, meaning she is one of a handful of Republicans defending seats in Democrat-majority districts. The district’s lines changed slightly after the 2020 census.

Recent polls depict the race as a dead heat.

The Biden administration’s border policies have helped contribute to the destruction of indigenous tribes in Central and South America, according to one expert.

Panama’s indigenous Embera-Wounnaan tribe has seen a rapid decay in its way of life over the last three years, with tribal leaders blaming the flood of migrants journeying north from South America and crossing its territory en route to the United States.

“What struck me most listening to the five Embera chiefs is how much their concerns reminded me of the past very similar marginalizations of Native American tribes, who were pushed aside and destroyed by gold miners, settlers and U.S. cavalry who prioritized their own narcissistic agendas during the 19th century,” Todd Bensman a National Security Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, told Fox News Digital.

BIDEN ADMIN REFUSES TO REVEAL TERROR WATCHLIST NATIONALITIES AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION EXPLODES ON HIS WATCH 

Vice President Kamala Harris clasps the hand of President Biden at the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

The comments come after Bensman’s recent travels to areas around the famed Darien Gap, a large chunk of nearly inhabitable wilderness stretching through Colombia and Panama. The area also is home to the indigenous territory of the Embera, a 19,000-member tribe of hunters and farmers who now find themselves at the center of broader U.S. border security policy.

Bensman conducted interviews with all five chiefs of the Embera-Wounaan reservation and detailed their plight in a report for the New York Post, arguing that much of the blame for the situation faced by the tribe rests with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Rather that stop this dangerous flow, the White House has encouraged it.” Bensman wrote in the report. “The Biden-Harris administration lavished millions in tax money on United Nations agencies and non-governmental advocacy groups (NGOs) that descended on this region to ease the burdens of Darien Gap travel.”

The report outlines how mass migrations to the U.S., which have been encouraged by lax U.S. border policies, have been particularly damaging to the Embera, who have seen their native lands overrun with people, trash and human waste as migrants travel north to the United States.

But perhaps worse is the impact the situation has had on many of the tribe’s members, many of whom have abandoned their traditional way of life to chase the quick money that comes with helping facilitate travel through the dangerous wilderness.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS BIDEN ADMIN MOVE TO GIVE LEGAL STATUS TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SPOUSES OF US CITIZENS

“Embera men do pilot pretty much every boat ferrying the immigrants. They are making money,” Bensman told Fox News Digital.

But the quick money has also led to an epidemic of drug and alcohol abuse within the tribe, as well as a mass-abandonment of its traditions of hunting, fishing and farming. As a result, many members of the tribe have also begun to suffer from food shortages, a problem exacerbated by passing migrants desperate for a meal themselves. 

“There is infighting among them now to get at the currency paid by immigrants,” Bensman said. “The villages I saw were greatly changed from how residents described them as being just a few years ago. Radical changes have occurred in some of the places I saw. There is filth and garbage everywhere.”

A Panamanian Embera competes in spear throwing during the third ancestral indigenous games in Pueblo Nuevo Buri, Panama, on Dec. 16, 2021. (Luis Acosta/AFP via Getty Images)

Bensman argued that the current situation faced by the tribe shares many traits with the plight of North America’s indigenous populations, only this time “American and international liberal groups” are the ones “clearly repeating that same terrible old history with the Embera.”

“One would think that the liberal progressives who staff the United Nations and all of those NGOs down there, facilitating a new kind of gold rush through tribal lands might occupy a higher moral plane than Gen. George Armstrong Custer or President Andrew Jackson during their days of dealing with indigenous peoples in the way as though they didn’t exist. But economic migrants rushing toward U.S. gold clearly are more important to these organizations,” Bensman said.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

Without a seat at the table to determine their own fate, the tribal leaders were left hoping to send a message to international leaders, including Biden.

“Mr. President and you candidates, you are finishing off and you are killing all the Indians on the Comarca!” General Chief Leonide Cunampia told Bensman during their interview. “You have to pay attention to what’s going on in our territory. The immigration is contaminating us!”

Migrants arrive at the Reception Center for Migrant Care in Lajas Blancas, in the jungle province of Darien, Panama, on June 28, 2024. (Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images)

Bensman argued that instead of helping facilitate travel, the U.S. will have to commit enough resources for air deportations that would hopefully work to deter larger numbers of migrants, though he sees little hope that a potential Harris administration would change the approach of the current one.

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“A Trump administration will flood the zone with the help Panama wants to close the gap. Hanging in the balance is the future cultural viability of this tribe out there,” Bensman said. “Either administration owes that tribe a seat at the table going forward.”

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

Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from the Fox News Digital immigration hub.

A Middle East policy expert who helped get the Iran nuclear deal signed into law is anticipating that Vice President Kamala Harris would seek a similar agreement with Tehran if she wins the White House.

“The idea that the old nuclear deal can just be restarted, we’re past that. Iran’s progress on its nuclear program has exceeded the previous limitations… a firm, verifiable nuclear deal that corrals and runs the ability to accelerate the nuclear weapon, that has to be the goal,” said Joel Rubin, a Democratic strategist and former Obama administration deputy assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs to the House.

“The best way to do that is a nuclear agreement that’s firm and verified… Any realistic president would go for that. And that’s Kamala Harris, she’s a realistic president-to-be.”

ISRAEL WARNS US DEFENSE CHIEF IRAN AGGRESSION HAS ‘REACHED ALL-TIME HIGH’

Vice President Kamala Harris should create some form of a new Iran nuclear deal, a former Obama official said. (Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images)

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, was signed in 2015 by Iran, members of the United Nations National Security Council, and the European Union. 

Republicans and some moderate Democrats opposed the agreement, arguing it was too weak to successfully restrain the Islamic regime’s nuclear aspirations. Iran hawks in the U.S. also argued the lifting of sanctions on Iran would only serve to embolden its anti-Western leaders.

President Trump pulled out of the agreement in 2018.

But former President Barack Obama’s allies have maintained it was a necessary compromise to limit the threat from Iran’s nuclear capabilities and a sure way to bring Tehran to the negotiating table.

ISRAEL ATTACKS TARGETS IN LEBANON TO THWART HEZBOLLAH’S PREPARED STRIKES: IDF

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, opened the door to new talks this week. (Iranian Leader Press Office/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“There has to be a way to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions. If they were to get a nuclear weapon, that would be a threat to the region and to the world, including, of course, the United States. But it is not going to be an easy way forward,” Rubin said. 

Harris said during her short-lived 2020 presidential campaign that she would rejoin the Iran deal if elected president. 

While It’s unclear whether she’s retained that stance in her 2024 campaign platform, it could expose her to GOP-led accusations of emboldening Iran at a time when the country is already growing more aggressive toward the U.S. and its allies.

NETANYAHU VOWS MORE ‘SURPRISING BLOWS’ AFTER ISRAEL THWARTED ‘THOUSANDS’ OF HEZBOLLAH ROCKETS: ‘NOT THE END’

As president, Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, suggested on Tuesday that Tehran could rejoin talks on a nuclear agreement, according to The Associated Press. Khamenei said there was “no harm” in interacting with an “enemy” in “certain situations.”

A State Department spokesperson told RadioFreeEurope, however, that rejoining the agreement “is not on the table right now.”

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

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…

-House launches inquiry into Biden’s trans surgery standards

-Over 200 Bush, Romney, and McCain staffers call on moderate Republicans to jump ship

-10 days until voting starts as election looms

Three State Swing

Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance returns to the campaign trail Tuesday in battleground Michigan.

On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate will hold events in two more crucial swing states – Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

If it feels like déjà vu, it is. 

“We’re going to make sure that Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan go red,” the first-term senator from Ohio who preaches populism said in a recent Fox News Digital interview in Michigan.

Democrats reliably won all three working-class states in presidential elections for nearly a quarter-century before Trump narrowly carried them in capturing the White House eight years ago.

However, in 2020, President Biden won back all three states with razor-thin margins as he defeated Trump.

The states remain extremely competitive as Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump face off in the 2024 presidential election.

Last month’s Republican National Convention was held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s largest city. Trump and Vance held their first joint-campaign rally after the convention in Grand Rapids, Michigan, just a few miles north of where Vance was interviewed by Fox News on Wednesday….Read more

Vice presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) addresses the audience at a campaign rally on August 20, 2024 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (Andy Manis/Getty Images)

White House

STILL ON THE JOB: White House insists Biden is in charge of the country while on second straight vacation …Read more

‘INTENTIONAL FAILURE’: Governor rips Harris after report reveals eye-popping cost of illegal immigration in state …Read more

BORDER STONEWALL: Biden-Harris admin refuses to release nationalities of those on terror watchlist …Read more

Capitol Hill

‘FROZEN’: Trump assassination attempt task force chair questions law enforcement response after site tour …Read more

‘INTERFERENCE’: House launches probe into Biden admin ‘political interference’ in trans surgery standards …Read more

FILE – President Joe Biden speaks during an event with the National Governors Association in the East Room of the White House, Feb. 23, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Tales from the Trail

FINAL COUNTDOWN: Trump, Harris begin sprint to Election Day …Read more

‘LAWLESSNESS’ FLOODING US: Police vote to likely make or break Harris’ run, retired chief says …Read more

TICK TOCK: With 10 days until voting starts, ‘election season’ kicks off sooner than you think …Read more

WHALE OF A TALE: RFK Jr targeted by environmental group after gruesome story involving dead animal resurfaces …Read more

DEADLOCKED: Republican aiming to flip key Senate seat in deep blue state deadlocked with Democrat: poll …Read more

SPLIT TICKET: Group that backs Trump bails on Lake in Arizona for progressive Dem …Read more

CAN’T LET THAT HAPPEN: Over 200 former Bush, McCain and Romney staffers implore ‘moderate Republicans’ to vote for Harris …Read more

GREEN MTN RED WAVE: Blue state GOP fields record number of candidates …Read more

Across America

POISON IVY: Anti-Israel agitators hit Cornell University with vandalism, protests on first day of classes …Read more

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LYNDON: Lyndon B Johnson began his presidency after JFK was assassinated …Read more

‘MOTHER’S INTUITION’: Afghanistan withdrawal Gold Star family reveals moment they knew son was in danger …Read more

BEACH TOWN BUST: Homeless people taking over popular coastal boardwalk issued ultimatum …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.

Republican vice presidential candidate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, speaking near the site of a major electric vehicle battery factory project, charged that Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris and the current Democratic administration “are helping China destroy and replace our auto industry from the inside out.”

Vance held a campaign event Tuesday in Big Rapids, Michigan near where Gotion Inc., a company that, according to FARA filings, was quietly registered as a Chinese foreign principal in 2023, is planning to build a $2.4 billion electric vehicle battery plant.

Vance said that Harris’ “tie-breaking vote that she cast to send inflation through the roof,” referring to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, made “Chinese companies like Gotion eligible for millions of your taxpayer dollars.”

“Even some of the folks in Obama’s administration said that the Gotion factory plant is a threat to America’s national security,” Vance told the audience. “But Kamala Harris not only wants to allow the Chinese Communist Party to build factories on American soil, she wants to pay them to do it with our tax money.”

BIDEN-HARRIS DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY OFFICIAL CALLS FOR ‘QUEERING NUCLEAR WEAPONS’ AS PART OF RADICAL DEI AGENDA

Republican Presidential candidate, former U.S. president, Donald Trump, left, poses for photos with Republican Vice Presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance. (Melissa Sue Gerrits)

“Democrats in this state, and including Kamala Harris, want to give hundreds of millions of dollars to those same companies that have been undercutting Michigan autoworkers. What a disaster, isn’t it?” he added. “Donald Trump has a different idea. He is going to drill, baby, drill. We’re going to unleash American workers and bring back those great factories.”

The senator also touched on the drama surrounding former President Trump’s scheduled debate with Vice President Harris after reports that the presidential nominees were clashing over debate rules ahead of the live Sep. 10 event.

THE HARRIS-WALZ ENERGY AGENDA: HIGHER PRICES, FEWER AUTOMOTIVE CHOICES

“He thinks it’s important that the American people see him debate and especially see Kamala Harris, because she’s run from the media for pretty much the entire campaign,” Vance said in an exclusive interview with Fox News’ Aishah Hasnie at the Michigan event. “He also doesn’t like that they’re trying to change the rules at the very last minute, because they figured out that Kamala Harris, she’s just not that great at this.”

Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris waits to speak at a campaign rally at United Auto Workers Local 900 on August 8, 2024 in Wayne, Michigan.  (Andrew Harnik)

Vance also addressed the letter that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sent to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan on Monday, revealing that he faced pressure from the Biden-Harris administration to censor Americans, particularly regarding COVID-19 content.

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“This should be bombshell news,” Vance told Fox of the letter. “The leader of one of the most important social networks in the world just came out and said, I censored Donald Trump in the run-up to the election because there were certain elements within the Biden administration and the Biden campaign that encouraged me to do that. That is crazy. That is the revelation of censorship in a way that affected an American election.”

Fox News’ Aishah Hasnie contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE — Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp insists “the road to the White House is going to run through Georgia.”

And Kemp, the popular two-term conservative governor of the crucial southeastern battleground state, emphasized in an exclusive national interview with Fox News Digital “there’s no path for former President Trump to win, or any Republican … to get to 270 (electoral votes) without Georgia.”

Kemp, interviewed Tuesday on the eve of Vice President Kamala Harris’ two-day bus swing through Georgia, said his state “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.”

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

2024 COUNTDOWN: TRUMP CRISSCROSSING CAMPAIGN TRAIL WITH 10 WEEKS UNTIL ELECTION DAY

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

The governor was interviewed a couple of days after Trump praised Kemp in a social media post “for all of your help and support in Georgia, where a win is so important to the success of our Party and, most importantly, our Country.”

“I look forward to working with you, your team, and all of my friends in Georgia to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” the Republican presidential nominee added.

The comments from Trump were a major change of tune when it comes to Georgia’s governor.

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

WASH, RINSE, REPEAT: WHY JD VANCE IS CONCENTRATING ON THESE THREE STATES

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

But earlier this month, Trump went on a 10-minute tirade against Kemp at a rally in Atlanta just blocks from the Georgia 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.

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

“He’s a bad guy. He’s a disloyal guy. And he’s a very average governor,” Trump said. “Little Brian. Little Brian Kemp. Bad guy.”

Kemp told Fox News, “I’m not sure exactly what happened going into the rally. I’ve seen a lot of different stories and people’s explanations of what happened.”

“To me, that was a small distraction that’s in the past,” Kemp added.

And Kemp said Republicans “need to stay focused on the future. … 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. And there’s a host of issues that I think you could contrast Kamala Harris and her record.

“To me, that’s what we need to stay focused on. Not some dustup from two or three weeks ago.”

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING IN 2024 ELECTION

Asked about Trump’s reversal last Thursday, Kemp said, “You have to ask him those questions. 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.”

But Trump’s statement came moments after Kemp appeared on Fox News Channel and reiterated to host Sean Hannity that “we need to send Donald Trump back to the White House.”

Asked Tuesday if he and Trump had connected since last week, Kemp said, “I haven’t talked to him.”

“I’ve talked to a lot of other folks, and I think everybody has a good understanding of where everybody is and understands my position has not changed,” Kemp said. “I have been supporting him and the whole ticket in Georgia, and I’m still doing that and will continue to do that through November.”

Republican strategists agree that to recapture Georgia, Trump will need assistance from Kemp’s well-oiled and funded political machine to turn out GOP voters.

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Kemp said he’s “working hard” to “turn the Republican vote out and make sure that we win this state in November.”

“How that looks and how that goes will really be up to kind of how things play out and what states are in play and who’s going where and when,” Kemp added.

“I’ve got other responsibilities in my duties with the Republican Governors Association, traveling around the country helping to raise money to win North Carolina and hold New Hampshire in our column and also helping our legislative races here.”

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (right) joins fellow GOP governors at a Republican Governors Association news conference at an oil refinery in Chalmette, La., June 3, 2024 (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)

Kemp also acknowledged that he’s asked for legal advice from the state attorney general on whether he can remove from the state election board three conservative members on the five-person panel who championed and passed a controversial set of new rules that mandate extra requirements for county election boards to certify their results.

“We’ve asked the attorney general for an opinion on that on whether this would be an official complaint, if you will, and I’m waiting to hear back. So, I really wouldn’t be able to comment too much on that since we’re asking for legal advice,” Kemp told Fox News.

Trump, who has been charged in Fulton County, Georgia, for election interference, praised the three members for pushing for the new rules and called them “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency and victory.”

Georgia Democrats call the new rules a “concerted effort to subvert democracy” and have challenged them, arguing they could delay election certification and spark major disputes.

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

The Trump campaign on Tuesday pushed back against a narrative within the media that Vice President Kamala Harris is taking a more positive approach to border wall construction — calling such a claim “preposterous.”

“How much longer will the mainstream media allow Kamala Harris to hide and use staff to speak on her behalf?” Karoline Leavitt, National Press Secretary for the Trump campaign said in a statement. “It’s DAY 37 of ZERO interviews and Kamala’s anonymous campaign sources are now claiming she supports President Trump’s border wall — this is a preposterous and false claim.”

Axios ran a headline on Tuesday morning that accused Harris of a “flip flop” on border wall construction. It noted Harris’ support of a bipartisan border security bill introduced in January. The bill pushes funding to the border, while also authorizing limits on asylum entries.

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

The Harris campaign has not announced that an interview has been scheduled.  (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

The package, which has the support of the Biden administration but has so far failed to drum up enough Republican support to pass the chamber, also includes a limited amount of funding for additional border wall construction, but it is just a fraction of the $25 billion former President Trump eyed for the project.

While Harris, along with President Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, have consistently backed the bill, Axios said that her recent speech at the Democratic National Convention in which she said she would sign the bill was a sign of her embracing a more hawkish immigration policy.

“Last year, Joe and I brought together Democrats and conservative Republicans to write the strongest border bill in decades. The Border Patrol endorsed it. But Donald Trump believes a border deal would hurt his campaign, so he ordered his allies in Congress to kill the deal. Well, I refuse to play politics with our security, and here is my pledge to you. As president, I will bring back the bipartisan border security bill that he killed, and I will sign it into law. I know — I know we can live up to our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants and reform our broken immigration system. We can create an earned pathway to citizenship and secure our border,” she said.

New ads, in which the Harris campaign portrays the former California senator as tough on the border, show images of the Trump-era border wall.

FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS BIDEN ADMIN MOVE TO GIVE LEGAL STATUS TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SPOUSES OF US CITIZENS

Candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks at the U.S.-Mexico border on August 22, 2024 south of Sierra Vista, Arizona. Trump will hold a rally in Glendale, Arizona tomorrow. (Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images) (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

But the Trump campaign noted that, despite that limited support, Harris has a history of opposing the wall at the border. The Trump administration built more than 400 miles of border wall, and it was abruptly halted by the Biden-Harris administration in 2021. 

While there have been some gaps filled and some limited extra construction due to already appropriated congressional funds, the administration has consistently said it opposes border wall construction and there have been no indications of plans for significant extra construction. 

Additionally, Harris has long been a critic of the wall construction that took place in the Trump-era. In 2018, Harris called the wall “un-American.” That came a year after she joined Democrats in introducing a bill to block border wall construction.

During her campaign launch in 2019, she dismissed the wall’s effectiveness.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

“On the subject of transnational gangs, let’s be perfectly clear. The president’s medieval vanity project is not going to stop them,” she said.

In 2020, she called it “a complete waste of taxpayer money and won’t make us any safer.”

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The Trump campaign also sought to link her to the decision to halt border wall construction in her role “as border czar” — although that role was limited to international diplomacy related to root causes. 

“As Border Czar, Kamala Harris halted construction of the border wall. Kamala’s ACTIONS speak much louder than the WORDS of the anonymous staff she is cowering behind,” Leavitt said.

Trump senior adviser Jason Miller described the report as “total bulls—” and said that Harris “hasn’t flip-flopped on anything.”

“Harris opposes the wall, has always opposed the wall, and stopped wall construction as VP,” he said.

Special counsel Jack Smith has filed another indictment against former President Trump in the election interference case on Tuesday.

The new charges narrow the allegations against the Republican presidential nominee following a Supreme Court ruling that conferred broad immunity on former presidents. 

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Desert Diamond Arena, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Sources familiar with the matter tell Fox News that discussions surrounding the superseding indictment will likely not speed things up, and it is unlikely it will go to trial before the November election. 

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This is a breaking story. Check back for updates. 

FLASHBACK: A current top campaign adviser for VP Kamala Harris was deeply involved in pushing Facebook to suppress “misinformation” in an effort to control the political narrative on COVID and other issues.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted in a letter on Monday while expressing regret that his company, Facebook, was pressured by the Biden-Harris administration to censor Americans, particularly regarding COVID-19 content, bringing to the forefront actions taken by Harris’ deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty as part of that pressure campaign.

Flaherty, who previously served as the White House director of digital strategy, helped lead the campaign to target alleged “misinformation” relating to the COVID-19 virus and its vaccinations, FOX Business previously reported.

Flaherty emailed Google team members in April 2021 to “connect […] about the work you’re doing to combat vaccine hesitancy, but also crack down on vaccine misinformation,” according to the documents. 

META CEO ZUCKERBERG ADMITS HE WAS PART OF THE BIDEN-HARRIS CENSORSHIP SCHEME. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED, AMERICA

A top aide for VP Harris once helped pressure tech companies to suppress certain narratives on social media. (Getty Images)

Flaherty continued asking for trends surrounding vaccine misinformation on the website, while offering government assistance in the form of COVID experts at the White House to partner in product work with YouTube. 

Google, in an internal email, noted that after a subsequent meeting with Flaherty, the White House staffer “particularly dug in on our decision making for borderline content” – which is content that doesn’t cross Community Guidelines but rather brushes up against it, according to YouTube. 

A week later, Google acknowledged that it sent the White House the total amount of videos removed for COVID vaccine misinformation, while discussing the government’s desire for even more data.

“Really [Flaherty’s] interested in what we’re seeing that is NOT coming down,” read an internal Google email between employees, seemingly referring to videos that had not yet been removed. 

According to internal company communications viewed by FOX Business and reported on in 2023, Flaherty asked Facebook if they could provide government agencies with special access to tools to target users in 2021. 

“Since it’s a global pandemic, can we give agencies access to targeting parameters that they normally wouldn’t be able to?” Flaherty asked.

TRUMP SAYS MARK ZUCKERBERG CALLED TO APOLOGIZE ABOUT PHOTO OF ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Robert Flaherty testifying in front of the House Judiciary Committee on May 1. (House Judiciary Committee)

The idea came up in a conversation about how to convince people worried about side effects around the COVID vaccine to take it.

On an April 5 call, a Facebook employee mentioned how if someone was worried about nosebleeds as a side effect of the vaccine, in an ideal world, they would direct them to information addressing that concern. Flaherty asked the Facebook team, “Are you able to provide resources?” 

Another Facebook employee replied that doing something like showing them a targeted resource addressing their concern might trigger people. The Facebook employee said they “have to be careful in how we approach.” 

Flaherty asked, “If people are having the conversation, is the presumption that we let people have it. Direct them to CDC. What then?” 

A Facebook employee replied, “We all know people that have had the experience that think that FB is listening to them.” 

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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg once claimed Facebook had suppressed 18 million posts that contained “misinformation” about COVID-19. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Facebook employee told Flaherty that something like an immediate generated message about nosebleeds might give users “the Big Brother feel” but suggested they show the content on a delay to avoid setting off alarm bells among users. 

“We should pay attention to those conversations, make sure that people see information, even if it’s not right then,” the Facebook employee said. 

Flaherty was involved in a tense exchange with GOP Rep. Jim Jordan, of Ohio, during a hearing on Capitol Hill earlier this year when Flaherty claimed that Elon Musk did not face “any adverse government actions” in response to changing the outlet’s censorship policies.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and the Harris-Walz campaign for comment but did not receive a response.

“Ultimately, it was our decision whether or not to take content down, and we own our decisions, including COVID-19-related changes we made to our enforcement in the wake of this pressure,” Zuckerberg wrote in his letter to the House Judiciary Committee this week. “I believe the government pressure was wrong, and I regret that we were not more outspoken about it.

Fox News Digital’s Hillary Vaughn and Chase Williams contributed to this report

FIRST ON FOX: House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner is demanding President Biden take “immediate and forceful action” against Iran, calling his administration’s response “dangerously insufficient,” after the intelligence community determined the regime is “actively” attempting to influence the 2024 presidential election.  

Turner, R-Ohio, in a letter to President Biden, obtained by Fox News Digital, wrote about his “grave concern” about Iran’s activities. 

IRAN IS ‘INCREASINGLY AGGRESSIVE’ IN ITS OPERATIONS TO TARGET US PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS: INTEL COMMUNITY

“The FBI and U.S. intelligence community have unequivocally demonstrated that Iran is engaged in a systemic campaign to compromise the integrity of our democratic process,” Turner wrote. “Moreover, within the past few months, multiple individuals linked to the Iranian government have been implicated in plots to carry out political assassinations on former President Trump and members of his administration on American soil.” 

Turner said that despite the “severity of these threats,” the response from the Biden-Harris administration has been “dangerously insufficient.” 

“The failure to decisively confront Iran not only undermines the security of our electoral system but also emboldens other hostile actors who might seek to exploit this weakness,” Turner wrote, adding that allowing Iran to “persist in its misinformation and aggression not only empowers a rogue regime but also places American lives at unacceptable risk.” 

Turner is urging Biden to take “immediate and forceful action” to counter the threat from Iran. 

“Your administration must develop a comprehensive strategy to safeguard our elections and protect our citizens,” Turner wrote. “The security of our nation and the integrity of our democracy depends on a strong and proactive response.” 

Turner’s letter comes just days after the intelligence community said it had observed “increasingly aggressive Iranian activity” during the 2024 election cycle, involving influence operations targeting the American public and presidential campaigns.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the FBI, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said Monday that Iran “seeks to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions.” 

“Iran has furthermore demonstrated a longstanding interest in exploiting societal tensions through various means, including through the use of cyber operations to attempt to gain access to sensitive information related to U.S. elections,” the agencies said in a joint-statement. “In addition to these sustained efforts to complicate the ability of any U.S. administration to pursue a foreign policy at odds with Iran’s interests, the IC has previously reported that Iran perceives this year’s elections to be particularly consequential in terms of the impact they could have on its national security interests, increasing Tehran’s inclination to try to shape the outcome.” 

The intelligence community said it has observed “increasingly aggressive Iranian activity” during the 2024 election cycle, specifically involving “influence operations targeting the American public and cyber operations targeting presidential campaigns.” 

“This includes the recently reported activities to compromise former President Trump’s campaign, which the IC attributes to Iran,” they said. 

The FBI has been investigating Iranian cyber hacking attempts against Trump’s presidential campaign, after Politico began receiving internal Trump campaign documents. 

The Trump campaign said the documents were obtained “illegally from sources hostile to the United States,” who “intended to interfere in the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our Democratic process.” 

FBI INVESTIGATING IRAN’S HACK OF TRUMP CAMPAIGN DOCUMENTS

Iranian hackers broke into the account of a “high ranking official” on Trump’s campaign in June 2024. 

The hack by Iran came “after recent reports of an Iranian plot to assassinate President Trump around the same time as the Butler, PA tragedy.” 

“The Iranians know that President Trump will stop their reign of terror just like he did in his first four years in the White House,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital. “Any media or news outlet reprinting documents or internal communications are doing the bidding of America’s enemies and doing exactly what they want.”

But the intelligence community said it is “confident that the Iranians have through social engineering and other efforts sought access to individuals with direct access to the presidential campaigns of both political parties.” 

“Such activity, including thefts and disclosures, are intended to influence the U.S. election process. It is important to note that this approach is not new,” they said. “Iran and Russia have employed these tactics not only in the United States during this and prior federal election cycles but also in other countries around the world.” 

FBI INVESTIGATING IRAN’S HACK OF TRUMP CAMPAIGN DOCUMENTS

The agencies stressed that “protecting the integrity of our elections from foreign influence or interference is our priority.” 

“As the lead for threat response, the FBI has been tracking this activity, has been in contact with the victims, and will continue to investigate and gather information in order to pursue and disrupt the threat actors responsible,” they said. “We will not tolerate foreign efforts to influence or interfere with our elections, including the targeting of American political campaigns.” 

The intelligence community said it is working closely with its public and private sector partners to “share information, bolster security, and identify and disrupt any threats.” 

The 2024 presidential campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris told Fox News it “vigilantly monitors and protects against cyber threats, and we are not aware of any security breaches of our systems.” 

Iran has long been suspected of running hacking campaigns targeting its enemies in the Middle East and beyond. Tehran also has long threatened to retaliate against Trump over the 2020 drone strike he ordered that killed prominent Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

In its report, Microsoft stated that “foreign malign influence concerning the 2024 US election started off slowly but has steadily picked up pace over the last six months due initially to Russian operations, but more recently from Iranian activity.”

The analysis continued: “Iranian cyber-enabled influence operations have been a consistent feature of at least the last three U.S. election cycles. Iran’s operations have been notable and distinguishable from Russian campaigns for appearing later in the election season and employing cyberattacks more geared toward election conduct than swaying voters.”

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“Recent activity suggests the Iranian regime – along with the Kremlin – may be equally engaged in election 2024,” Microsoft concluded.

Former President Trump has added former Democrats Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard to his transition team, broadening his coalition of supporters “across partisan lines.” 

“As President Trumps’s broad coalition of supporters and endorsers expands across partisan lines, we are proud that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard have been added to the Trump/Vance Transition team,” Trump campaign senior advisor Brian Hughes told Fox News Digital.

FORMER DEMOCRAT TULSI GABBARD ENDORSES TRUMP IN THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE

“We look forward to having their powerful voices on the team as we work to restore America’s greatness,” Hughes added. 

RFK Jr., who began the 2024 cycle running for president as a Democrat, then shifted to run as an Independent, suspended his campaign last week and endorsed former President Trump—a historic move for a member of the Democrat Kennedy family dynasty. 

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., left, shakes hands with Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz.

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard also switched party affiliation, and considers herself an Independent. 

Gabbard, a veteran and the former Democratic representative for Hawaii’s 2nd congressional district, endorsed Trump this week. 

“I am proud to stand here before you today, whether you’re a Democrat, a Republican or an Independent,” Gabbard said. “If you love our country, as I do, if you cherish peace and freedom as we do, I invite you to join me in doing all that we can to save our country and elect President Donald J. Trump and send him back to the White House to do the tough work of saving our country and serving the people.”

Gabbard, who ran in the 2019 Democratic presidential primary against Kamala Harris, was recently recruited by Trump to help with debate prep ahead of his Sept. 10 face-off against the vice president at the National Constitutional Center in Philadelphia.

Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump shakes hands with former Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who endorsed Trump, at the National Guard Association of the United States’ 146th General Conference, Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

RFK JR DEFENDS ‘MAGA,’ TEASES MORE TO JOIN TRUMP ‘UNITY GOVERNMENT’

Meanwhile, RFK Jr. took to social media this week to give his own definition of “MAGA.” 

“‘Make America Great Again’ recalls a nation brimming with vitality, with a can-do spirit, with hope and a belief in itself. It was an America that was beginning to confront its darker shadows, could acknowledge the injustice in its past and present, yet at the same time could celebrate its successes,” Kennedy wrote.

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“It was a nation of broad prosperity, the world’s most vibrant middle class, and a [sic] idealistic belief (though not consistently applied) in freedom, justice, and democracy. It was a nation that led the world in innovation, productivity, and technology. And it was the healthiest country in the world. I have talked to many Trump supporters. I have talked with his inner circle. I have talked to the man himself. This is the America they want to restore.”

The Arizona Police Association (APA) turned heads recently by endorsing liberal Democrat Rep. Ruben Gallego in Arizona’s U.S. Senate race, despite Gallego’s controversial history on law enforcement issues and the APA’s simultaneous support of former President Donald Trump.

“Congressman Gallego has continually fought for robust, increased funding for America’s Law Enforcement, and specifically Arizona Law enforcement,” the APA said in a statement Monday, arguing that Gallego helped secure $168 billion in “direct support of police officers so that they have the personnel and equipment needed.”

The move to back the Democrat over Republican Kari Lake comes despite the organization endorsing Lake’s bid for governor during the last election cycle and just days after it announced its endorsement of Trump in the presidential race.

‘NEVER TRUMPERS’ COALESCE BEHIND DEM TICKET IN REPUBLICANS FOR HARRIS CAMPAIGN

U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake speaks during a campaign rally of former President Donald Trump at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, Aug. 23, 2024. (Photo by OLIVIER TOURON/AFP via Getty Images)

“As a Marine combat veteran, we know Congressman Gallego understands the complexities of modern policing in American society today, while at the same time recognizing the public’s expectations,” APA President Justin Harris said in a statement posted to X.

“I am proud to have the APA’s support and look forward to working with them in the Senate to ensure Arizona’s law enforcement officers have the resources necessary to combat fentanyl trafficking, train the next generation of officers, and, above all, keep Arizona families safe,” Gallego said in a statement attached to the APA release.

The move also comes as Gallego’s record on police issues has come under increased scrutiny, including an Arizona Sun Times report last week that detailed the lawmaker’s record and statements on law enforcement.

In one instance detailed by the report, Gallego argued for restrictions on police use of certain weapons because they “don’t know how to use” them in a “safe manner.” In another instance, he posted on social media about his effort to restrict police departments from being able to access military gear.

U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake speaks during Day 2 of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on July 16, 2024. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

KARI LAKE WINS GOP NOD, SETTING UP GENERAL ELECTION BATTLE WITH GALLEGO FOR SINEMA’S SEAT

The report also detailed Gallego’s history of social media posts in support of Black Lives Matter in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death in 2020, including one post in which he argued that protesters “aren’t the bad guy” and that “the bad guys were the one behind the police line.”

“Signing major reforms into law & transforming the culture of law enforcement remains a matter of life & death, especially for Black communities,” the Arizona lawmaker said in a separate post on the one-year anniversary of Floyd’s death. “We cannot stop fighting for racial justice.”

The APA’s decision was blasted by Lake’s campaign, which has made public safety a centerpiece of the race in Arizona.

“Ruben Gallego supported defunding the police and vilified law enforcement while serving in Congress,” a Lake spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “He supports open borders and is weak on crime. Kari Lake will always back the blue and support law enforcement and safe communities.”

Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz. (ill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Nevertheless, the APA opted to back Gallego, noting his support for legislation such as the Invest to Protect Act and Enhancing COPS Hiring Program Grants for Local Law Enforcement Act.

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“The APA does not take our endorsements lightly; we recognize the importance of having a U.S. senator that can bring people together to improve society for all,” he added. “We believe Congressman Gallego will be that U.S. Senator.”

When reached for comment, a spokesperson for Gallego referred Fox News Digital to the lawmaker’s statement in the APA release. The APA did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

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

A new poll indicates a deadlocked Senate race in Maryland, where Republicans are aiming to flip a long-held Democrat seat in an overwhelmingly blue state in a key contest that may decide if the GOP wins back the chamber’s majority.

Former two-term Gov. Larry Hogan – the Republican nominee in the race – and Democratic nominee Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks both stand at 46% support among likely voters in Maryland, according to an AARP public opinion survey released on Tuesday.

Seven percent were undecided, according to the survey conducted Aug. 14-20.

SENATE DEMOCRATS CAMPAIGN CHAIR GOES ONE-ON-ONE WITH FOX NEWS

Former two-term Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland celebrates his victory in the 2024 Maryland Republican Senate primary, in Annapolis, Maryland, on May 14, 2024. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)

The poll is the first since the May primary in Maryland to indicate a tied race, with previous surveys suggesting Alsobrooks with the lead. The winner of the November election will succeed Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, who is retiring this year after serving nearly two decades in the Senate and nearly six decades as a state and then federal lawmaker.

TOP SENATE REPUBLICAN CRISS-CROSSES THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL IN ‘MAKE OR BREAK’ MOMENT TO WIN BACK MAJORITY

While Hogan and Alsobrooks are tied, the poll indicates Vice President Kamala Harris far ahead of former President Donald Trump in Maryland. According to the survey, Harris tops Trump by 30 points in a multi-candidate field and by 32 points in a head-to-head match-up.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Maryland Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and Vice President Kamala Harris, right, stand on stage together after speaking at a campaign event on Gun Violence Awareness Day at Kentland Community Center on June 7, 2024 in Landover, Maryland. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“Hogan is running a net 32-points ahead of Trump,” the poll’s release highlighted. “Not surprisingly, he is outrunning Trump among all major demographic groups.”

Democrats control the Senate by a razor-thin 51-49 margin, and Republicans are looking at a favorable election map this year with Democrats defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs.

One of those seats is in West Virginia, a deep red state that Trump carried by nearly 40 points in 2020. With moderate Democrat-turned-Independent Sen. Joe Manchin, a former governor, not seeking re-election, flipping the seat is nearly a sure thing for the GOP.

Republicans are also aiming to flip seats in Ohio and Montana, two states Trump comfortably carried four years ago. And five more Democratic-held seats up for grabs this year are in crucial presidential-election battleground states.

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With Democrats trying to protect their fragile Senate majority, Hogan’s late entry into the race in February gave them an unexpected headache in a state previously considered safe territory. Hogan left the governor’s office at the beginning of 2023 with very positive approval and favorable ratings.

The poll highlights that “Hogan is making the race competitive in spite of Maryland’s large Democratic registration advantage by winning Independents by 23-points and also a quarter of Democrats.”

Republican Presidential nominee former President Donald Trump takes questions at a campaign event in Howell, Michigan, on Aug. 21, 2024. (Nic Antaya/Getty Images)

Hogan, a vocal Republican Trump critic who flirted with a 2024 White House run before deciding against it, has repeatedly said that he won’t vote for the former president in November’s election. And in the spring, he stood out from most other Republicans for publicly calling for the guilty verdicts in Trump’s criminal trial to be respected.

Asked about having Trump at the top of the Republican ticket, Hogan said in a Fox News Digital interview earlier this year that “it’s a tough hurdle to overcome because he lost my state by 33 points…It’s not going to be helpful to me, but I think we’re going to be able to overcome that challenge.”

The AARP poll was conducted by the bipartisan polling team of Fabrizio Ward (Republican) & Impact Research (Democrat). The firms interviewed 1,258 likely voters in Maryland.

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

FIRST ON FOX: Former President Trump is criticizing President Biden’s botched handling of the Afghanistan withdrawal in a new documentary which ties the terror attack at Abbey Gate to a focus on “culture wars” by the Biden administration.

The American Principles Project (APP), a conservative think tank, released a trailer for a documentary that will be released next week.

The documentary, “Culture War: The Deadly Consequences of a Woke War Machine” looks at the 2021 suicide bombing at Abbey Gate, the third anniversary of which was marked on Monday. The bombing, which occurred during the frantic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, killed 13 American service members and 180 people in total.

The documentary includes interviews with former President Trump, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, multiple members of Congress, and the families of four service members who were killed in the attack. The documentary alleges that the Biden administration was focused on a “culture war.” The trailer highlights decisions made over COVID-19 vaccinations and recruitment efforts using drag queens.

TRUMP EXPECTED TO SLAM HARRIS ON 3RD ANNIVERSARY OF DEADLY AFGHANISTAN ATTACK THAT KILLED 13 AMERICANS 

Marines assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) await a flight at Al Udeied Air Base, Qatar August 17. Marines are assisting the Department of State with an orderly drawdown of designated personnel in Afghanistan. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by 1st Lt. Mark Andries  |  AP)

Trump, who visited Arlington National Cemetery on Monday to mark the third anniversary of the Abbey Gate terror attack, takes aim at Biden for his handling of the botched withdrawal in the upcoming documentary.

“When Biden got in, he didn’t know what he was doing, frankly, and they lost respect for our country. They respected our country when I was here,” Trump said.

“We had no killing whatsoever for eighteen months, until that horrible day where they lost so many people. We got out with no dignity, no pride, no strength. It was really a horrible situation,” he continued.

American Principles Project President Terry Schilling accused President Biden and Vice President Harris of overseeing a “left-wing social experiment.”

“Maintaining a strong military is one of the president’s most important responsibilities. Yet under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, our armed forces have been turned into a left-wing social experiment, with deadly consequences,” Schilling said.

“‘Culture War’ seeks to expose the true destruction that Democrats’ cultural extremism has wrought on our service members. The men and women who died at Abbey Gate deserved far better from our current leadership in Washington,” he continued. “We owe it to them and their families to ensure their stories are told, so that the American people know exactly how we have reached this dangerous point and what needs to be done to avoid such a needless catastrophe in the future.”

HARRIS’ ROLE IN AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL A MYSTERY DESPITE BEING ‘LAST PERSON IN THE ROOM’ WITH BIDEN

This screenshot shows former President Donald Trump in a new documentary. ( )

The relatives of some of the 13 American service members who were killed appeared on stage at the Republican National Convention last month, saying Biden had never publicly named their loved ones. 

Biden and Harris released separate statements on Monday recognizing the three-year anniversary of the Abbey Gate bombing, with each notably listing the names of the 13 fallen troops. 

“These 13 Americans—and the many more that were wounded—were patriots in the highest sense. Some were born the year the war in Afghanistan started. Some were on their second or third tour. But all raised their hand to serve a cause greater than themselves—risking their own safety for the safety of their fellow Americans, Allies, and Afghan partners. They embodied the very best of who we are as a nation: brave, committed, selfless. And we owe them and their families a sacred debt we will never be able to fully repay, but will never cease working to fulfill,” Biden said.

Biden’s statement contradicts his June debate response when he claimed, “Truth is, I’m the only president this century that doesn’t have — this decade — any troops dying anywhere in the world like he did.” Biden’s comment at the time received intense backlash.

HARRIS LEAVES OUT DEADLY BOTCHED AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL IN SOARING PRO-MILITARY DNC SPEECH

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“We also owe their brothers and sisters-in-arms—who served and sacrificed for our freedom and future during America’s longest war. 20,744 American service members were wounded. 2,461 made the ultimate sacrifice. They were sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, spouses and friends. No matter how much time passes, the pain of their loss will remain real and raw. And so will the pride we feel in their service. From the deserts of Helmand, to the mountains of Kunduz, and everywhere in between—these women and men worked alongside our Afghan partners to protect our nation. And deployment after deployment, tour after tour, they dared all, risked all, and gave all to keep us safe,” he continued.

The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s media inquiry.

Fox News’ Cameron Cawthorne and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

After tabulations from the state’s recent primary were finalized, the Vermont Republican Party recorded 22 new candidates for state House races, on top of the 74 that had already been on the ballot for the 150-member chamber.

While nationally considered a blue state, Vermont Republican Party Chairman Paul Dame said Monday the development was exceptional, given the state’s actual penchant to blur partisan lines.

He ascribed the GOP’s boost to a recently enacted “double-digit” property tax hike in the state, as well as voters’ renewed focus on the presidential race.

“I think we’re absolutely poised to pick up seats from where we have been, there seems to be much more energy and cohesion on the Republican side than we’ve had in a while,” Dame said.

RNC FILES LAWSUIT OVER NONCITIZEN VOTING RIGHTS IN VERMONT’S LARGEST CITY

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (Philscott.org)

Gov. Phil Scott, a moderate Republican ranked the most popular such official in the country at 81%, has also been involved with party work, Dame said. A request for comment from Scott was not immediately returned.

Dame said he’s talked to several of the new candidates, including a man from Colchester, who had been on the fence when petitions were circulated in May.

“Over the summer, you always get his kids ready to enroll in school. And he said, ‘You know what – now Vermont is going to be our home. We’re going to make a commitment to stay here. If that’s the case, I want to run and change the course that we’re on,'” Dame recalled.

In Vermont, many of the latecomers to the ballot appear to follow a similar timeline. 

After the primary ballot is finalized in May, voters realize there are vacancies on the final ballot and then may try to organize write-in campaigns.

VERMONT REBUILDS AFTER HURRICANE FLOODING

If 25 voters write the same name in for a House seat, or 50 voters for a state Senate seat, that name will then appear on the November general election ballot.

While 96 Republicans is still somewhat distant from two decades ago when Vermont saw 130 Republicans on the ballot, the significance is that Vermonters are stepping up to serve.

“It’s a story of regular voters, seeing the need for change and deciding that they’re willing to step up and be part of that change,” he said.

“It’s definitely inflation and affordability. I think that that’s sort of the national… but then Vermont is adding a new layer on top of that.”

With the Democrats recently earning a supermajority in the legislature, Scott has issued a record number of vetoes and Democratic lawmakers in return have issued a record number of veto overrides.

Thus was the case in the property tax debate, with Scott calling for “tax relief now,” while House Speaker Jill Krowinski, D-Chittenden, said the governor failed to offer a sufficient alternative plan.

As for the GOP’s prospects in November, Vermont has had a penchant for ideologically divergent election results.

Scott is just as much a heavy favorite as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the self-described “democratic socialist.”

“Vermonters vote for authenticity,” Dame added. 

“And both Gov. Phil Scott and Sen. Bernie Sanders have a relationship with Vermonters that Vermonters know that they believe what they’re saying – they say very different things, but they know that they can trust what they’re saying there and they’re not pandering.”

Both Scott and Sanders are not afraid to criticize their own party.

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Peter Duval, left, and Esther Charlestin were two Democrats vying to run against Vermont’s GOP Gov. Phil Scott.

Sanders has critiqued President Biden and members of the Democratic caucus in Congress on occasion, while Scott was the first GOP governor to back impeachment inquiries against former President Trump.

In the latest University of New Hampshire poll, Sanders leads his Republican challenger Gerald Malloy 66-25%. Scott leads Democrat Esther Charlestin by a similar 55-28%.

Former Sen. Jim Jeffords, R-Vt., who notably ceded Republican control of the Senate when he switched to a Democrat-caucusing-Independent in 2001, was the last GOP member of Congress from the Green Mountain State.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Vermont Democratic Party for comment but did not hear back by press time.

A left-wing environmental group is resurfacing a 2012 story about Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. transporting part of a whale carcass across state lines in an effort to have him prosecuted this week.

The Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund referenced a 2012 interview with Kennedy’s daughter, Kick Kennedy, with Town and Country Magazine. In the interview, Kick describes her father cutting the head off of a dead whale and strapping it to the roof of their vehicle, before driving from a beach in Massachusetts to Mount Kisco, New York.

The center claims the animal was protected by the Marine Mammal Protection and Endangered Species, making it illegal to possess any part of it.

They further claim that it was likely a felony violation of the 1900 Lacey Act, “which prohibits the transportation of any wildlife, dead or alive, that was reduced to possession in violation of any state, federal or international regulation or law,” the group told Axios.

KENNEDY FAMILY CHOOSES POLITICS OVER FAMILY WITH ENDORSEMENT IN 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE

A left-wing environmental group is resurfacing a 2012 story about Robert F. Kennedy Jr. transporting part of a whale carcass across state lines in an effort to have him prosecuted this week. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Representatives for Kennedy did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Kick, in the interview, recalled how when she was 6 years old, her father heard that a dead whale was on the shore of Hyannis Port’s Squaw Island. She said that as someone who was interested in studying animals, her father went to the site with a chainsaw, removed the head and tied it to his car’s roof with a bungee cord.

“Every time we accelerated on the highway, whale juice would pour into the windows of the car, and it was the rankest thing on the planet,” Kick told the magazine, saying the incident happened sometime around 1994.

“We all had plastic bags over our heads with mouth holes cut out, and people on the highway were giving us the finger, but that was just normal day-to-day stuff for us,” she added.

TRUMP THANKS RFK JR FOR ENDORSEMENT AFTER THIRD-PARTY CANDIDATE SUSPENDS HIS CAMPAIGN: ‘THAT’S BIG’

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. waves to the crowd at a campaign rally for Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Glendale, Arizona. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

The center did not immediately respond to questions from Fox News Digital about whether the group has reached out to law enforcement. A letter from the group obtained by Axios calls on Kennedy to surrender any animal remains he may have in his possession.

The group is the political action wing of the Center for Biological Diversity, and it advertises its endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris on the landing page of its website.

ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR. LAMBASTS ‘DNC-ALIGNED MAINSTREAM MEDIA,’ ACCUSES THEM OF ENGINEERING HARRIS’ RISE

The resurfaced story comes just days after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. withdrew from the 2024 presidential race and endorsed former President Donald Trump.

“The 2024 election is crucial for the future of the environment. That’s why we’ve endorsed Kamala Harris for president and are working with our progressive partners to elect climate champions up and down the ticket,” the group wrote.

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The resurfaced story comes just days after Kennedy withdrew from the 2024 presidential race and endorsed former President Donald Trump.

The White House insisted again Monday that President Biden remains in charge of the country despite being on a second straight week of vacation. 

During a teleconference Monday, White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby recognized the three-year-anniversary of the Aug. 26, 2021, Abbey Gate suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members and more than 100 Afghans outside Kabul Airport. 

Biden, who is at his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, for the week, notably remained out of public view on the anniversary of the deadly terrorist attack. Last week, Biden was vacationing in California, including when the Israeli military said they launched a preemptive strike destroying thousands of Hezbollah rocket launchers in Lebanon, essentially deterring a major attack by the terrorist group intended for central Israel.  

A journalist noted Biden’s public absence in a question to Kirby on Monday.

“The President’s public comportment and the paucity of events on his public schedule, as on this very day, have fostered a public perception that Mr. Biden is increasingly disengaged from the presidency,” Newsmax’s James Rosen said on the teleconference. “Time and again, the question I am hearing from members of the general public, and which I put to you here, Admiral, is: Who is running the country?”

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

President Joe Biden walks to get into a vehicle upon arrival in Gordons Pond in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on August 25, 2024.  (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

“Is he a ceremonial figure in some sense at this point?” he added. 

“James, now you know better than that. I mean, my goodness, he talked to Prime Minister Modi today,” Kirby said of Biden. “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.” 

“The President is on vacation, but you can never unplug from a job like that, nor does he try to,” Kirby added. “He’s very much in command of making sure we can continue to protect our national security interests here at home and certainly overseas.” 

Former President Donald Trump stands alongside Misty Fuoco, whose sister Sgt. Nicole Gee died in the Abbey Gate bombing, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Aug. 26, 2024, in Arlington, Virginia.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Former President Trump participated in a wreath laying ceremony Monday with relatives of the 13 fallen at Arlington National Cemetery. Biden and Vice President Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, were both absent but released separate statements listing the names of the 13 U.S. service members killed. 

TRUMP EXPECTED TO SLAM HARRIS ON 3RD ANNIVERSARY OF DEADLY AFGHANISTAN ATTACK THAT KILLED 13 AMERICANS

Some of the relatives of the fallen took to the stage of the Republican National Convention last month to condemn Biden for never publicly stating their names, and the Trump campaign doubled down on their criticism of the Biden-Harris administration’s Afghanistan withdrawal, noting that Harris had “bragged” about being the last person in the room with Biden before he made the decision.

National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby during a daily press briefing on July 31, 2024, at the White House. Kirby held a teleconference with media on the three-year anniversary of the Abbey Gate bombing Monday. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The Trump campaign on Monday also slammed how neither Biden nor Harris, despite their written statements, have ever said the names of the 13 Americans killed out loud publicly and stressed how their handling of the withdrawal “stranded thousands of American citizens and left billions of dollars worth of U.S. equipment behind for the Taliban.” 

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The statements from Biden and Harris each noted that “America’s longest war” was over and remembered the 2,461 U.S. service members killed and the 20,744 wounded during the two-decade-long conflict.