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GLENDALE, Ariz. – With Arizona front and center in the 2024 election, introductory speakers at Vice President Harris’ rally in Glendale made overtures to moderate Republicans by invoking one of the GOP’s past presidential nominees.

Rep. Gregory Stanton, D-Ariz., who represents the eastern Phoenix suburbs, called on “John McCain Republicans” to support the Harris-Walz ticket, portraying it as the moderate option.

Mesa Republican Mayor John Giles echoed those comments, saying that as a lifelong member of the GOP, he does not recognize his party.

“It has been taken over by extremists,” Giles said, adding it also has forced “people from the [political] center” out of the party.

AZ’ KARI LAKE TEARS INTO KAMALA HARRIS ON BORDER: THE ONLY WALZ SHE SUPPORTS IS HER VP PICK

Former President Trump and former U.S. Sen. John McCain. (Getty Images)

“You don’t owe a damn thing to that political party,” Giles added, saying it would be “displaced loyalty” to support Donald Trump.

“In the spirit of the great Sen. John McCain, please join me in putting country over party and stopping Donald Trump and protecting the rule of law, protecting our constitution and protecting the democracy of our great country.”

McCain, who died in 2018, had an icy relationship with Trump, especially after McCain signaled a thumbs-down after casting the deciding vote against repealing ObamaCare.

The two often traded barbs, with McCain withdrawing any future support for Trump after the release of the Billy Bush tape during the 2016 cycle and Trump commenting on McCain’s service in Vietnam.

9/11 TERRORIST FEARS TRUMP WILL GET ELECTED AND EXECUTE HIM

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, onstage during a campaign event in Philadelphia. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

On Friday, Giles, who remains an office-holding Republican, called Harris the “capable, just and fair leader our country deserves.”

He also criticized Trump’s focus on the border crisis, claiming his party’s nominee is not trying to fix the crisis but use it for his “own political purposes.”

Of “John McCain Republicans” who may be at Friday’s rally, Stanton added, “We are glad that you are here, and we are excited to earn your support.”

Other mayors who spoke included Tempe’s Corey Woods and Phoenix’s Kate Gallego, the ex-wife of Democratic senatorial candidate Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., whom officials also urged support for against former news anchor Kari Lake.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.

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Late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., left, stands with late former U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., during a walk-through of the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Outside the rally, John from Avondale stood in line with Harris-Walz supporters while holding a hand-drawn poster resembling a Google Maps GPS graphic depicting the “fastest route” from the Desert Diamond Arena to the southern border at Nogales.

“Too many Americans are getting killed from illegals from across our border because it’s so wide open,” said John, who added he did not expect to be allowed in with the poster.

“Not only that, but sooner or later, they’re going to start taking all our jobs.”

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Appearing to address the rallygoers around him, John quipped, “And I don’t know about all these people if they have jobs, but sooner or later that’s going to happen.

“Not only that, your prices are going to go up with taxes because someone has to support 20 million illegal aliens, and that ain’t going to be me. That’s why I’m not voting for Miss Harris.”

Fox News Digital’s Sophia Compton contributed to this report.

There are 88 days until Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

But if Americans vote like they did in the last two election cycles, most of them will have already cast a ballot before the big day.

Early voting starts as soon as Sept. 6 for eligible voters, with seven battleground states sending out ballots to at least some voters the same month.

It makes the next few months less a countdown to Election Day, and more the beginning of “election season.”

VANCE PRAISED FOR ‘ABSOLUTE FIRE’ TAKEDOWN OF HARRIS-WALZ ‘TAG TEAM’ RIOT ENABLERS: ‘MAKE AMERICA BURN AGAIN’

Former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)

States have long allowed at least some Americans to vote early, like members of the military or people with illnesses. 

In some states, almost every voter casts a ballot by mail.

Many states expanded eligibility in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic made it riskier to vote in-person.

That year, the Fox News Voter Analysis found that 71% of voters cast their ballots before Election Day, with 30% voting early in-person and 41% voting by mail.

Early voting remained popular in the midterms, with 57% of voters casting a ballot before Election Day.

TIM WALZ’S SELECTION AS HARRIS RUNNING MATE DRAWS SKEPTICISM, EVEN AMONG ANTI-TRUMP FIGURES

A voter fills out a ballot in Lake Orion, Michigan. (Nic Antaya/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Elections officials stress that voting early is safe and secure. Recounts, investigations and lawsuits filed after the 2020 election did not reveal evidence of widespread fraud or corruption. 

The difference between “early in-person” and “mail” or “absentee” voting.

There are a few ways to vote before Election Day.

The first is early in-person voting, where a voter casts a regular ballot in-person at a voting center before Election Day.

The second is voting by mail, where the process and eligibility varies by state.

Eight states vote mostly by mail, including California, Colorado, Nevada and Utah. Registered voters receive ballots and send them back.

Most states allow any registered voter to request a mail ballot and send it back. This is also called mail voting, or sometimes absentee voting. Depending on the state, voters can return their ballot by mail, at a drop box, and/or at an office or facility that accepts mail ballots.

In 14 states, voters must have an excuse to vote by mail, ranging from illness, age, work hours or if a voter is out of their home county on Election Day.

States process and tabulate ballots at different times. Some states don’t begin counting ballots until election night, which delays the release of results.

Voting begins on Sept. 6 in North Carolina, with seven more battleground states starting that month

This list of early voting dates is for guidance only. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, go to Vote.gov and your state’s elections website.

The first voters to be sent absentee ballots will be in North Carolina, which begins mailing out ballots for eligible voters on Sept. 6.

Seven more battleground states open up early voting the same month, including Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nevada.

KAMALA HARRIS HAS AVOIDED INTERVIEWS FOR MORE THAN TWO WEEKS SINCE BECOMING DEM NOMINEE

Early voters cast their ballots in Ferndale, Michigan. (Nic Antaya/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

September deadlines

In-person early voting in bold.

Sept. 6

• North Carolina – Absentee ballots sent to voters

Sept. 16

• Pennsylvania – Mail-in ballots sent to voters

Sept. 17

• Georgia – Absentee ballots sent to military & overseas

Sept. 19

• Wisconsin – Absentee ballots sent

Sept. 20

• Arkansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Utah, Wyoming – Absentee ballots sent to military & overseas
• Minnesota, South Dakota – In-person absentee voting begins
• Virginia – In-person early voting begins
• Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia – Absentee ballots sent

Sept. 21

• Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Washington – Absentee ballots sent to military & overseas
• Indiana, New Mexico – Absentee ballots sent
• Maryland, New Jersey – Mail-in ballots sent

Sept. 23

• Mississippi – In-person absentee voting begins & absentee ballots sent
• Oregon, Vermont – Absentee ballots sent

Sept. 26

• Illinois – In-person early voting begins 
• Michigan – Absentee ballots sent
• Florida, Nevada – Mail-in ballots sent
• North Dakota – Absentee & mail-in ballots sent

Sept. 30

• Nebraska – Mail-in ballots sent

October deadlines

Oct. 4

• Connecticut – Absentee ballots sent

Oct. 6

• Michigan – In-person early voting begins 
• Maine – In-person absentee voting begins & mail ballots sent
• California – In-person absentee voting begins & mail ballots sent
• Montana – In-person absentee voting begins
• Nebraska – In-person early voting begins 
• Georgia – Absentee ballots sent
• Massachusetts – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 8

• California – Ballot drop-offs open
• New Mexico, Ohio – In-person absentee voting begins
• Indiana – In-person early voting begins
• Wyoming – In-person absentee voting begins & absentee ballots sent

Oct. 9

• Arizona – In-person early voting begins & mail ballots sent

Oct. 11

• Colorado – Mail-in ballots sent
• Arkansas, Alaska – Absentee ballots sent

Oct. 15

• Georgia – In-person early voting begins
• Utah – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 16

• Rhode Island, Kansas, Tennessee – In-person early voting begins
• Iowa – In-person absentee voting begins
• Oregon, Nevada – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 17

• North Carolina – In-person early voting begins 

Oct. 18

• Washington, Louisiana – In-person early voting begins
• Hawaii – Mail-in ballots sent

Oct. 19

• Nevada, Massachusetts – In-person early voting begins 
• Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas – In-person early voting begins 
• Colorado – Ballot drop-offs open

Oct. 22

• Hawaii, Utah – In-person early voting begins 
• Missouri, Wisconsin – In-person absentee voting begins

Oct. 23

• West Virginia – In-person early voting begins

Oct. 24

• Maryland – In-person early voting begins

Oct. 25

• Delaware – In-person early voting begins

Oct. 26

• Michigan, Florida, New Jersey, New York – In-person early voting begins 

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Oct. 30

• Oklahoma – In-person early voting begins 

Oct. 31

• Kentucky – In-person absentee voting begins

The Republican Party is urging the nation’s highest court to allow Arizona to enforce its proof of citizenship requirements ahead of the November election.

The Supreme Court is being asked to allow enforcement of sections of an Arizona law requiring documented proof of citizenship to cast a ballot in the presidential election, including voting by mail.

The Republican National Committee and state GOP lawmakers have filed an emergency appeal with Justice Elena Kagan, who has jurisdiction over time-sensitive applications from Arizona. 

SUPREME COURT REJECTS MISSOURI EFFORT TO BLOCK SENTENCING, GAG ORDER AGAINST TRUMP IN NEW YORK CASE

The United States Supreme Court building is seen in Washington, D.C. Republicans are asking the court to allow Arizona to implement voting laws that would require proof of citizenship in order to cast a ballot. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Kagan has the discretion to act alone or bring in her eight colleagues to decide the case, Republican National Committee v. Mi Familia Vota.  

She will likely ask opponents of the law to weigh in with written briefs, which would be due in the coming days. 

A federal judge had blocked enforcement of the law, prompting the appeal to the high court for temporary relief.

LEONARD LEO SAYS EFFORTS TO ‘DELEGITIMIZE’ SUPREME COURT THROUGH MEDIA ATTACKS ARE MEANT TO UNDERMINE RULINGS

The now-stalled 2022 state law requiring proof of citizenship was challenged by civil rights groups and the Arizona Democratic Party. 

Rolls of “I Voted” stickers are stored at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center (MCTEC) in Phoenix, Arizona. The Arizona proof of citizenship requirement for voters was shot down by a federal judge, prompting the state to turn to the Supreme Court for relief. (PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

A 2013 Supreme Court ruling previously limited when states could impose such restrictions when voting in federal elections.

A high court order on enforcement in the Arizona case is expected in the coming days or weeks.

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This comes as Vice President Kamala Harris — the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee — and her running mate Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) plans to rally in the state later Friday, a key election battleground.

Former President Trump’s plane was diverted to Billings, Montana, on Friday due to a mechanical issue, a Billings airport official said. 

The Republican presidential nominee is scheduled to hold a rally in nearby Bozeman, Montana, Friday evening, and is still expected to make it.

Bozenman is about a two-hour drive from Billings. 

“I just landed in a really beautiful place: Montana. So beautiful, flying over, and you just look down and that’s the way it’s supposed to be,” Trump said in a video from his plane posted to social media, making no mention of any plane issues or of the diversion. “I’m here to do some fundraisers and most important to support Tim Sheehy who’s running for the U.S. Senate and we think he’s going to do really well. We’re going to have a rally. And it’ll be a lot of fun.” 

TRUMP, HARRIS IN DEAD HEAT IN POLL OF SEVEN CRITICAL BATTLEGROUND STATES 

 Trump walks off the plane at the Philadelphia International Airport on June 22, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Sheehy is running against current Democratic Sen. Jon Tester in the state. 

It’s not clear if Trump will fly on to Bozeman or drive in a motorcade, the local FOX affiliate reported.

Trump is speaking at Montana State University at 8 p.m. mountain time, and is expected to draw thousands of supporters. 

TRUMP-ENDORSED NAVY SEAL TIM SHEEHY WINS REPUBLICAN NOMINATION IN MONTANA SENATE RACE TO UNSEAT JON TESTER

Bozeman airport CEO Brian Springer told the outlet that Trump’s plane had landed in Billings and that the motorcade that had expected him to land in Bozeman had left. 

Trump flies on his private plane, nicknamed Trump Force One, which is a Boeing 757 that includes a living room, flat screen TV and a lounge.

“I’m a worker, right? I’m not a pleasure guy. I’m a worker guy, and it’s a tremendous plane for that. It’s got great speed, and all that energy gets us to where we’re going on time,”Trump told Fox News in January while giving a private tour of his plane. 

Trump’s plane in Atlanta, Georgia in April.  (Megan Varner/Getty Images)

He told Fox News that while he loves his plane, Air Force One, the plane flown by the president, is “very special.” 

“Air Force One is always Air Force One, even if this is nicer,” Trump joked. “Air Force One is still Air Force One. I mean it represents something very special.” 

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.  

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…

-Trump and Harris campaigns in a dead heat…

-A “Squad” Democrat turns on Walz…

-Progressive women’s groups silent on Doug Emhoff’s affair in previous marriage…

Ukraine Punches Back

Ukraine on Friday continued its efforts to bring the war onto Russian soil as fighting rages on in Russia’s Kursk region, while “massive” drone strikes were also carried out against military and government targets in at least four other western regions.

Russia’s Lipetsk region, which sits just north of Kursk, came under attack by Ukrainian drone strikes early Friday in which an ammunition depot and warehouse were reportedly hit …Read more

A soldier of Ukraine’s National Guard 15th Brigade launches a reconnaissance drone Leleka to determine Russian positions near the front line in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, Monday, July 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Andriy Andriyenko)

White House

HUNKERING DOWN: Biden heads to Delaware after only one WH event …Read more

Capitol Hill

HIGH DEMANDS: Republicans ask Supreme Court to allow Arizona proof of citizenship law to be enforced …Read more

‘FAR FROM MODERATE’: Former MN lawmakers reveal one key thing every American must know about Walz …Read more

This split shows Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rep. Ilhan Omar and Gov Tim Walz. ((Photo by Steven Ferdman/GC Images, Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images and Andrew Harnik/Getty Images))

Tales from the Trail 

‘YOU LOSE CREDIBILITY’: CNN panel has heated debate over Kamala Harris’ lack of engagement with media …Read more

MARGIN OF ERROR: Trump and Harris in dead heat among voters in seven swing states: poll …Read more

DOOR OPENED?: Walz pick does little to persuade Dearborn’s anti-Biden/Harris voters …Read more

‘WE ARE SUFFERING’: ‘Squad’ Dem challenger rips Walz for pushing same ‘dangerous’ policies as far-left radicals …Read more

HATS OFF: Viral Harris-Walz camo cap raises $1 million, draws NRA scorn …Read more

‘WALZ’ WORK: Senate candidate Kari Lake rips Harris’ border cred at campaign event …Read more

Across America

FLASHBACK: Walz claimed ‘responsibility to ensure’ 2020 riots would end before another night of chaos …Read more

CHOPPING BLOCK: Venezuela’s Maduro bans X for 10 days following exchange with Elon Musk …Read more

‘THINK BEFORE YOU POST’: UK threatens jail time for offensive posts amid anti-immigration riots …Read more

‘KISS MY A–‘: Michigan man repeatedly curses at judge, gets hit with six misdemeanor charges …Read more

WOMEN’S GROUPS SILENT: Progressive women’s groups silent on Doug Emhoff’s affair in previous marriage …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.

Former top Biden adviser Anita Dunn is taking aim at Democratic Party leadership, as well as the mainstream news media, in a striking interview in which she accused them both of “horrible” attacks against the still-sitting President Biden. 

Dunn, who recently left the White House to join the Harris campaign, spoke to Politico about the fallout from the disastrous presidential debate this summer, in which Biden stumbled through a number of answers and which ultimately led to him being replaced on the ticket by Vice President Kamala Harris.

Dunn said the debate itself wasn’t that bad, it was what followed that would be critical.

BIDEN HUNKERS DOWN AT DELAWARE BEACH HOUSE AFTER ONLY PUBLIC EVENT OF THE WEEK 

“So [former President] Trump didn’t gain any ground in the debate whatsoever. And we actually picked up a few votes in the group. So it was a bad debate, but it didn’t feel catastrophic at all, certainly in terms of voters,” she said.

“And I think other people who did independent research saw roughly the same thing. If you go back and you look at the polls, what you will see is you didn’t see much movement whatsoever coming out of the debate because the structure of this campaign had been fairly static for a long time, and the debate didn’t change that.”

Anita Dunn, senior adviser to President Biden, center, and White House Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs Reema Dodin, right, arrive for a lunch meeting with Senate Democrats at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on July 22, 2021. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“What did change it was 24 days of unremitting negative, horrible attacks on Joe Biden,” she said.

When asked to clarify who those attacks came from, Dunn pulled no punches: “From his own party and from the press.”

She also said that after that debate there was a press atmosphere that was “just unremittingly negative” and was made worse by leaders of the party speaking out.

BIDEN HOSTS TEXAS RANGERS AT WHITE HOUSE 

“Clearly there were leaders of the party who decided to go ahead and go very public. And that gave permission to other people to go public,” she said.

Dunn was asked if an example of that was when former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., went on TV twice in the days after the debate.

“Absolutely,” she said.

PELOSI ADMITS BIDEN CAMPAIGN WASN’T ON ‘PATH TO VICTORY’ 

Dunn later side-stepped a question about whether Biden is still angry at Pelosi, as well as former President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. — while also taking another swipe at some in leadership.

“The task in front of us is to win this election and to not let Donald Trump become president again and to win the House of Representatives, which had certain leaders in 2022 done a slightly better job, maybe we would control today, but we don’t,” she said.

Tensions have been simmering internally within the Biden camp. NBC News reported that those tensions boiled over in light of the debate, with Biden family members discussing whether Dunn should be fired — reportedly angered by her suggestion first son Hunter Biden keep a low profile.

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Dunn was asked about a letter sent by President Biden to lawmakers saying he wasn’t getting out of the race, which she admits backfired on some members. When asked if Hunter was involved, she said: “That is not true.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is facing scrutiny from Republicans over what they say are pro-China remarks, including an interview in which the Democratic vice presidential nominee said he does not agree with the idea there needs to be an adversarial relationship with the communist government.

Walz worked briefly in China as a teacher, traveling to Guangdong in 1989 for a teach abroad program to teach English and American history. He later became a member of Congress and governor of Minnesota. 

The Wall Street Journal, citing local media reports, reported that one trip to China doubled as his honeymoon in 1994, and he planned his wedding date to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.

In an interview from 2016, Walz said he believed there was potential for a strong relationship between China and the U.S., although he also said China needed to play “by the rules” on human rights and the environment.

FORMER MINNESOTA LAWMAKERS UNLOAD ON HARRIS’ ‘PARTISAN’ VP PICK TIM WALZ: ‘VERY THIN-SKINNED’ 

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, and Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate, appear on stage together during a campaign event at Girard College Aug. 6, 2024, in Philadelphia.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“I’ve lived in China and, as I’ve said, I’ve been there about 30 times. … I don’t fall into the category that China necessarily needs to be an adversarial relationship. I totally disagree, and I think we need to stand firm on what they’re doing in the South China Sea, but there’s many areas of cooperation we can work on,” he said in the interview with Agri-Pulse Communications.

In the interview, he noted he was on the congressional executive commission on China, a bipartisan commission that focuses on human rights.

Walz taught the same year as the Tiananmen Square crackdown by the communist regime against pro-democracy protesters. He later started a company to organize trips to China and, as he noted in his remarks, has visited the country dozens of times, conducting summer education trips to China. The New York Post reported that he said after his initial travel there, “No matter how long I live, I will never be treated that well again.”

It’s brought criticism from some on the right who believe Walz is soft on the threat coming from the Chinese Communist Party.

Former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell said “communist China is very happy with [Walz] as Kamala’s VP pick.”

“No one is more pro-China than Marxist Walz,” Grenell said.

James Hutton, a former assistant secretary at the Department of Veterans Affairs, said Walz “doesn’t see China as a problem.”

“This is a guy who will have to learn the truth of the vicious nature of the dictatorship in Beijing. Communist tyranny may not be a bad thing to Walz, but the rest of the world knows. Walz is dangerous.”

“Tim Walz owes the American people an explanation about his unusual, 35-year relationship with Communist China,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said.

The flag of China is flown behind a pair of surveillance cameras outside the Central Government Offices in Hong Kong, China, July 7, 2020.  (Roy Liu/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Harris campaign and some Democrats have pushed back against that criticism. 

“Throughout his career, Gov. Walz has stood up to the CCP, fought for human rights and democracy and always put American jobs and manufacturing first. Republicans are twisting basic facts and desperately lying to distract from the Trump-Vance agenda: praising dictators and sending American jobs to China,” spokesperson James Singer said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will ensure we win the competition with China and will always stand up for our values and interests in the face of China’s threats.” 

WHERE DOES TIM WALZ STAND ON ISRAEL?

Others, including Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin, noted that Walz criticized Beijing for cultural genocide in Tibet and Xinjiang in 2009, accompanied Speaker Nancy Pelosi on a visit to Tibet and had met with the Dalai Lama. He has also co-sponsored resolutions on key human rights issues.

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., told the Post his selection is “an affirming signal that a Harris-Walz administration would continue to make human rights a key part of the United States’ relationship with China.”

Meanwhile, on Chinese social media platform Weibo, opinions were split on what the Walz pick indicated.

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“I feel like he should be the one running for president,” one user said.

“In 2014, he said in an interview with U.S. media that he ‘cares a lot about human rights and democracy in China.’ He was also a member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. He has bad intentions,” another said.

Fox News’ Eryk Michael Smith contributed to this report.

Controversy over Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s military service record is at the heart of Capitol Hill’s latest political firestorm, with veterans on both sides of the aisle chiming in on the new Democratic vice presidential candidate.

Republicans are accusing Walz of misrepresenting details about his 24-year career in the National Guard — GOP lawmakers who served in the military have attacked him for leaving the National Guard to run for Congress shortly before his unit deployed to Iraq.

Democratic veterans in Congress jumped to his defense, pointing out that Walz served past his 20-year retirement eligibility mark and dismissing the GOP attacks as baseless.

“The veterans’ community is incensed right now that Tim Walz refuses to answer questions about his military record,” Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., the first former Green Beret elected to Congress, told Fox News Digital. “[He] has misled voters about his military rank, and it appears he abandoned his men prior to their deployment to Iraq. We expect leaders to lead by example and this ain’t it.”

JD VANCE ACCUSES TIM WALZ OF ‘LYING’ ABOUT MILITARY SERVICE: ‘STOLEN VALOR GARBAGE’

From left: Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., a former Green Beret, is leading House GOP attacks on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s military record, while Democratic veterans like Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., are playing defense. (Getty Images)

Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., a retired Navy SEAL who served multiple combat tours, told Fox News Digital, “He abandoned his soldiers and their families at the time they needed him most, before a combat deployment. He sat on the sidelines in Minnesota as his soldiers risked their lives in Iraq. This is a Cardinal Sin for anyone that has served our nation honorably. God forbid he is ever a heartbeat away from becoming the Commander in Chief.”

The Harris campaign countered the GOP offensive with a press call hosted by House Democratic military veteran Reps. Jason Crow, D-Colo.; Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass.; and Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J.

“We have officers and enlisted who have all said he’s an exemplary, admirable soldier,” said Auchincloss, a former Marine, adding that attacks against Walz were cast “in bad faith.”

Crow, a retired Army Ranger, said, “It just shows how morally bankrupt they are. They have no ideas. They have no vision for the future. All they can do is attack and lie and twist and contort.”

The controversy kicked off when Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, former President Trump’s running mate and a former Marine, accused Walz of “stolen valor.”

VP KAMALA HARRIS PICKING GOV. TIM WALZ AS RUNNING MATE MET WITH MEDIA SCORN: ‘SUCH A WEIRD CHOICE’

Vice President Kamala Harris chose Walz as her running mate earlier this week. (Reuters/Kevin Mohatt/Pool)

“When the United States Marine Corps, when the United States of America, asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it. I did what they asked me to do, and I did it honorably, and I’m very proud of that service,” Vance said during a media event this week.

Crow responded to Vance on X, “Falsely maligning a fellow veteran’s service for personal gain is beyond the pale. You’ve lost your way.”

Walz had served in the National Guard for 20 years before retiring and re-enlisting after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. He retired two months before his unit received orders to deploy to Iraq, spurring accusations among critics that he left to avoid deployment.

“Tim Walz served honorably. He served for 24 years,” Auchincloss said Thursday. “He made his decision to run for the United States Congress before his battalion got notice of impending deployment to Iraq.”

CNN FACT-CHECKS TIM WALZ ABOUT ‘ABSOLUTELY FALSE’ CLAIM HE CARRIED WEAPONS ‘IN WAR’

He also contrasted his record to Trump’s, who has been accused by his critics of dodging the Vietnam War draft for his deferrals on medical grounds, and accused him of a “despicable track record of disparaging veterans.”

The Minnesota governor has never deployed to a combat zone. Vance served in Iraq for six months in a noncombat role following the 2001 attack.

Walz was also discovered to have claimed several times that he retired as a command sergeant major, which is not accurate — he reverted to his previous rank upon retirement because he did not complete the necessary corresponding coursework, the National Guard has said.

Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., also criticized Walz. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

It prompted the Harris-Walz campaign to update his biography page from saying he was a “retired Command Sergeant Major” to having “served as a command sergeant major.”

Where Walz spent his deployment has also generated back-and-forth between the right and left. During his re-enlistment, Walz deployed to Italy in 2005 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, according to the National Guard.

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He said in a resurfaced C-SPAN interview, “My battalion provided base security throughout the European theater from Turkey to England in the early stages of the war in Afghanistan.”

That has been seized on by critics who have accused him of falsely claiming to have deployed to Afghanistan. It’s not clear from reports, however, that Walz has ever said he deployed to Afghanistan.

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

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report

MINNEAPOLIS – A former Republican Minnesota lawmaker and the head of the state Republican party slammed Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, telling Fox News Digital he is a pure “partisan and abandoned the city during the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots, which was echoed by another former Walz colleague. 

“It was absent,” Minnesota GOP Chair David Hann told Fox News Digital about Walz’s leadership as the city of Minneapolis was destroyed by Black Lives Matter rioters in 2020, resulting in hundreds of buildings being destroyed and an estimated $500 million in damage.

Walz has faced criticism for waiting several days to call in the National Guard, which Hann tells Fox News Digital was a decision made for political reasons. 

“He didn’t do anything for three days, and I think it’s because he was fearful of alienating this left-wing base that is the Democratic Party,” Hann said. “They were talking about this as a protest against police violence,” Hann said. “I think that if he were to call in the National Guard when it started to get out of control, that would have been seen as, oppositional to their narrative of, we’re just out here protesting, you know, excessive police force.”

HARRIS VP PICK TIM WALZ’S TOP FIVE ‘WEIRD’ MOMENTS IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Gov. Tim Walz waited several days to call in the National Guard as riots destroyed Minneapolis in 2020. (Getty Images)

 “So, he did nothing for three days until it got completely out of hand. And it was really unbelievable. We would see these things on the news, and I’ve lived here most of my life and know the city very well,” he said. “It was just hard to believe that this was going on and that the governor was doing literally nothing.”

Hann, who served as minority leader of the Minnesota Senate, told Fox News Digital that as the city was burning, he knew of multiple people, including the Republican majority leader at the time, who tried to urge Walz to call then President Trump for assistance.

“He wouldn’t do it,” Hann said. “It only took after about four days that he finally did that, when it was clear that this thing was not going to stop on its own. So he was completely absent. He has never acknowledged that it was his responsibility that he failed.“

Hann told Fox News Digital that four years later, the city has yet to fully recover from the destruction.

WHERE DOES TIM WALZ STAND ON ISRAEL?

MN GOP Chair David Hann speaks to Fox News Digital (Fox News Digital)

“It’s still, I call it a ghost town,” Hann said. “A few weeks ago, I had a meeting in downtown Minneapolis. I try to avoid going there as much as I can. This was on a Tuesday or Thursday morning, 10:00 in the morning. I drove down there. It was like 7:00 Sunday morning. There were no cars. There were no people. There was no activity. It was just dead.”

Hann continued, “There’s no places to eat. In the evening, people don’t want to be around. There are sports, you know, basketball games or baseball games with people that do not want to stay around the city after dark. And at one point, Minneapolis was a pretty good city for nightlife. Not anymore. People are fearful. The crime is out of hand and carjackings, shootings. We’re a high crime place now, which is unbelievable, and this is all under the watch of Governor Walz because he has failed to try to address the crime, and he has gotten himself aligned with this defund-the-police movement.”

Hann told Fox News Digital that he also believes that Walz is a far more partisan politician than the narrative is letting on.

“Partisan, divisive, very thin-skinned, mean-spirited,” Hann said. “He does not like to be challenged. He does not like people to differ with him, and he can get angry if he thinks that you’re not agreeing with him sufficiently.”

Building goes up in flames during the George Floyd riots. (Getty Images)

Hann added that Republicans he has spoken to called Walz the “most difficult guy to deal with they’ve ever had to deal with.”

A former Republican state senator in Minnesota who worked alongside Walz for several years, interviewed under anonymity in order to speak more freely, echoed Hann’s claim and shared with Fox News Digital that it was “very frustrating” and “difficult” to work with Walz.

“He doesn’t handle stress very well. He gets very, very angry and displays it,” they said.

“He’s very nice, very engaging. Comes off like everybody’s friend. But it’s very treacherous as far as what he’s done to the state and his vision,” the former lawmaker added. “He’s got a veneer of extreme liberalism that is quite obvious now.” 

When it came to decision-making, the former state senator claimed that Walz listened to “the last person that got to him.”

The Minnesotan said they are “very concerned” about a potential Harris-Walz presidency, urging voters to “listen to what he’s saying, you can’t decipher it. He talks and talks and never really answers the questions.”

Fox News Digital asked Hann, now that Walz has become the vice presidential nominee and is being introduced to a brand new national audience, what is the most important thing people should know about Walz’s tenure as governor.

“I hope the word gets out that Governor Walz is partisan and he’s very much aligned left, left-wing politically, and he is far from a moderate and is unwilling to try to work with people who differ with him,” Hann said.

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Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a campaign event on August 7, 2024, in Detroit, Michigan. Kamala Harris and her newly selected running mate are campaigning across the country this week. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“I think his record as governor has not been good for the people of the state. His allies are this, left-wing political base, public employee unions. That’s where his base is. That’s what he caters to. But for most of us who are just trying to, you know, live our lives, take care of our families, start businesses. It’s tough and he doesn’t seem to have much empathy for that.”

The Harris Walz campaign pointed Fox News Digital to a recent Fox op-ed from a Republican who worked with Walz that praised his bipartisanship along with other quotes from former colleagues calling him someone who works across the aisle.

The campaign also pointed to newly unearthed audio first reported by ABC News where Trump said he was “very happy” with Walz’s handling of the riot and calling him an “excellent guy.”

The Trump campaign told ABC News those comments were made after Walz sent in the National Guard.

CHANDLER, Ariz. — Arizona U.S. Senate Republican nominee Kari Lake spoke out Thursday on the dangers she said the Democratic presidential ticket presents for her state, particularly in terms of border security.

Lake, speaking at a campaign event with several families affected by border violence and smuggling, also spoke to Fox News Digital after the event concluded.

Ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris’ scheduled rally on Friday in Glendale, Lake said the Democratic presidential nominee will again come to Arizona without stopping at the southern border.

Lake criticized Harris’ proverbial role as the “border czar,” and praised the “build the wall” policies of Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump.

“Apparently the only Walz [Harris] supports is her VP pick…” Lake quipped, in reference to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

JD VANCE RIPS HARRIS’ LATEST WORD SALAD: ‘SIGNIFICANCE OF THE POWER OF DIPLOMACY’

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Lake invited Harris to go to the border after her rally, adding that “people don’t like her here.”

“We’re living in the nightmare [Harris, President Biden and U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego] created,” she said.

Lake said her Democratic opponent Gallego, who is vying to succeed retiring Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., has “rubber stamped” Biden-Harris border agenda items.

Lake added that Harris, Walz and Gallego represent the “three musketeers of nightmarish policy.”

In that regard, Lake dismissed claims Republicans are not united behind her after she narrowly lost her previous state gubernatorial bid to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.

She noted that Karrin Taylor Robson — with whom she had a contentious 2022 gubernatorial primary — endorsed her, while also pointing out the prevalence of everyday-American Democrats who have voiced support for her bid.

9/11 TERRORIST FEARS TRUMP WILL GET ELECTED AND EXECUTE HIM

U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake, R-Ariz, speaks during the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee last month.  (Reuters/Mike Segar)

At the event, held at a Maricopa County Republican Party office in Chandler, Lake was flanked by U.S. Reps. Eli Crane and Andy Biggs, as well as the families affected by the open border.

Among those in attendance were parents who lost children to the fentanyl crisis, as well as a local resident and former Democratic voter, Jade Gillon, who said, as an African American, she supports Trump because life was better under his administration, regardless of race.

Lake invited Gillon to the podium to offer remarks in which she contrasted her life under Trump versus Biden.

“I’m working six days this week,” Gillon said, going on to suggest Democrats engage in fearmongering against Trump. 

“I’m doing worse under this administration than Donald Trump’s administration — yet I’m told to be afraid of a man who made my life better? Make it make sense.”

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Ruben Gallego, Kamala Harris and Kari Lake. (Getty Images)

During his remarks, Crane criticized the media for failing to report on concerns about Biden’s acuity, while claiming Walz’ controversy over his true military record is “pretty standard in D.C.”

“I think one of the things I’m most concerned about when I look at Kamala and her VP choice is how cozy they are with socialism,” Crane added.

“Some of the things that they’ve said about socialism and how it’s next to, or liken it to being a good neighbor, if that’s what you guys want. If that’s what the American people want, we can continue to ride this pain train.”

In response, Gallego For Arizona campaign spokesperson Hannah Goss countered the Democrat is a Marine combat vet who indeed believes in border security and has fought to hire more border agents while in Congress.

“[Gallego has fought to] fix our broken asylum system, crack down on fentanyl trafficking, and invest in proven technology — all to increase our border security,” Goss said.

“Meanwhile, Kari Lake is a power-hungry liar who will do or say anything to gain power, even if it means launching desperate, false attacks on Ruben’s record.”

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Thursday’s event also highlighted the coalition “Democrats & Former Democrats for Kari Lake & America First” following Harris’ campaign’s announcement of “Republicans for Harris.” 

Gallego similarly launched “Republicans and Independents for Ruben” in the key swing state. Gallego notably also voted with the otherwise Republican majority on the “Laken Riley Act.”

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

Fox News’ Jamie Vera and Landon Mion contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris are neck-and-neck in key swing states, according to a poll released Wednesday.

A survey conducted by Ipsos found the Republican presidential nominee and his Democratic opponent are in a dead heat struggle for seven swing states: Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada.

Harris receives 42% of the vote share in the seven swing states, compared to Trump’s 40% and independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy’s 5%.

HARRIS REPLACING BIDEN SOLIDIFIES TRADITIONAL BLUE STATES, GIVES DEMS A BETTER NATIONAL OUTLOOK

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at the National Association of Black Journalists, NABJ, convention in Chicago, Illinois.  (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Ipsos said in their report that the “margin on the ballot is well within the margin of error, indicating a race that is too close to call.”

Approximately 52% of respondents in the swing states said that inflation is the most important issue facing the country, while 32% said immigration is the most pressing matter.

The Ipsos poll was conducted between Jul. 31 and Aug. 7 — the Harris campaign announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate on Aug. 6.

WALZ DOESN’T MOVE NEEDLE WITH RURAL VOTERS, DATA SHOWS

Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she boards Air Force Two prior to a departure at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Detroit, Michigan. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Pollsters have not had enough time to effectively survey the impact of Walz’s selection on Harris’s chances.

The campaign has made it a point to highlight Walz’s Midwestern roots and everyman persona, introducing him as “Coach Walz” during rallies in a nod to his time as a teacher and high school football coach.

Harris will lean on Walz in the critical Midwestern swing states of Michigan and Wisconsin, where the Minnesota governor can point to his regional ties.

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Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz listens at a campaign rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

The Ipsos poll utilized a representative probability sample of 2,045. 

Respondents consisted of U.S. adults 18 or older living in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Ipsos reports a margin of sampling error of +/- 3.1 percentage points.

Voters in Dearborn, Michigan, who led a movement against President Biden’s bid for re-election, are unlikely to support Vice President Harris even after she tapped Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.

“Nope,” Mike Hachem, a Dearborn leader of the Abandon Biden movement, told Fox News Digital when asked if the choice of Walz might move the needle toward Harris in the community. “He means nothing for the Arab and Muslim community, especially in Michigan. He’s just a younger Joe Biden.”

The plain answer comes as some have speculated that Harris’ decision to choose Walz over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, the only Jewish candidate under consideration, was done in an effort to appease far-left members of the Democratic Party more sympathetic to Gazans and thousands of voters in Dearborn, who could hold the key to a victory in the critical swing state of Michigan.

HARRIS SNUBBING SHAPIRO MAKES LIBERAL JEWS IN HOLLYWOOD FEEL ‘NOT WELCOME’ AMONG DEMOCRATS: REPORT

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via AP/File)

Leaders of the National Uncommitted Movement, which was inspired by the Listen to Michigan campaign and Abandon Biden movements, had the chance to briefly speak with Harris before her campaign event in Detroit on Wednesday. According to a New York Times report about the conversation, the leaders stressed their demand that the U.S. place an arms embargo on Israel and also asked for a meeting with the vice president to discuss the demand, something she told them she was open to.

Reports of the meeting quickly sparked fears among supporters of Israel that Harris was open to the idea of an embargo, an idea her national security adviser sought to clarify.

“[Harris] has been clear: she will always ensure Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups,” the adviser, Phil Gordon, said in a post on X. “She does not support an arms embargo on Israel. She will continue to work to protect civilians in Gaza and to uphold international humanitarian law.”

Nevertheless, the moment demonstrated the fine line Harris will have to walk to win Michigan: expressing sympathy and understanding for those most upset about the carnage in Gaza while maintaining support for Israel.

Hachem said there is nothing Harris can do to gain the support of much of the Dearborn community, noting the vice president actually moved in the wrong direction when she shouted down protesters who disrupted her remarks at the Detroit rally.

COMIC MICHAEL RAPAPORT SAYS HARRIS LOST HIS VOTE OVER ISRAEL: ‘CAN’T SUPPORT PARTY THAT IS FOR THIS BULLS—‘

“She alienated the Arab and Muslim community even further,” he said, noting that many members of the community are “ready to support” former President Trump over the Harris ticket.

Former President Trump (Sean Rayford/Getty Images/File)

But Abed Ayoub, the national executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, signaled a more optimistic tone, telling Fox News Digital that while choosing Walz didn’t help Harris gain support from within the Muslim community, the choice did at least leave the door open.

“He can connect with people, he seems like an overall nice guy, but that doesn’t win, that’s not going to be enough to win votes and to win the support of the community back,” Ayoub said. 

Instead, Ayoub argued that the choice at the very least gave a lifeline to Harris, whereas a choice of Shapiro likely would have shut the door on any chance the vice president had to pick up supporters in the Arab community.

“His opposition to student encampments, things he said in the past, the way he has degraded Arabs and Palestinians,” Ayoub cited as a few of the reasons Shapiro on the ticket would close the door on support. “He has a record of being anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian through his career and most of his adult life.”

Democrat presidential nominee Vice President Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, arrive at a campaign rally in Philadelphia on Aug. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

With Walz on the ticket instead, Ayoub said Harris now must focus on policy changes that would potentially help her pick up support going forward. He cited a potential arms embargo of Israel as a step that would help her gain traction within the community.

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“They should take immediately clear policy positions,” Ayoub said. “Give their immediate commitment early on rather than waiting.”

The Harris campaign did not 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.

Vice President Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, claimed responsibility for preventing riots in Minneapolis in the spring of 2020 as the city spiraled into chaos and destruction, recently unearthed comments show. 

“The responsibility to ensure it doesn’t happen falls upon me, and I will do everything in my power to do that,” Walz told the media on May 29, 2020, when asked if “we’re not going to see a repeat of the unrest last night, tonight or for the rest of the weekend.”

Walz noted that he couldn’t “assure” the media that riots wouldn’t continue to unfold, but he highlighted that it was his personal responsibility to work to prevent destruction.

“As I said, I spent, myself, 24 years in the National Guard. I’m surrounded by good people. We’re pulling the assets, and I’m going to need the help of Minnesotans, like we do on a lot of this. I’m going to need folks to cooperate to get this through. I want to acknowledge, again, that pain that people are feeling, the need to get justice,” he continued.

TIM WALZ’S BLM RIOTS RESPONSE LEFT MINNESOTA HUSBAND, DAD OF 2 ‘DISGUSTED’: ‘CAN’T BELIEVE’ PEOPLE SUPPORT HIM

Protesters throw objects into a fire outside a Target store near the 3rd Police Precinct in Minneapolis on May 28, 2020, during a demonstration over the death of George Floyd. (Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images)

Minneapolis was the epicenter of the 2020 riots, which were sparked when George Floyd, a Black man, died at the hands of a White officer during a police encounter in the city. Floyd’s death was followed by social justice protests and riots across the nation, which came at a time when COVID-19 cases and government-mandated lockdown measures meant to control the pandemic upended society in unprecedented ways ahead of the 2020 election.

After Walz’s comments on May 29, 2020, Minneapolis was again rocked by riots that evening, according to local media reports. 

“Protesters blanketed the area near the Fifth Precinct, heavily damaging at least seven buildings – including a U.S. Post Office, a Wells Fargo branch, a staffing agency and a Subway in a nearby strip mall,” the Star Tribune reported at the time.

Democrat vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a campaign event in Detroit on Aug. 7, 2024. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The outlet in a separate article described the evening of May 29 into the following morning as “perhaps the worst night in [Minneapolis’] history” as residents of an apartment building recalled jumping out of bed at 4 a.m. while a neighboring building that housed an O’Reilly Auto Parts store and a Family Dollar burned.

More than 1,500 buildings in the city were damaged or destroyed due to the riots, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.

TRUMP PRAISED WALZ’S GEORGE FLOYD RIOT RESPONSE IN 2020, AUDIO SHOWS: ‘VERY HAPPY’

“Where I live now, people are disgusted by Tim Walz. But where I live now doesn’t represent a large swath of Minnesota’s population,” Max Rymer, who moved with his wife and two children from a neighborhood south of downtown Minneapolis to a suburb about 45 minutes north of the city in 2020, told Fox News Digital in a previous comment this week.

A protester is shown in front of a building set ablaze on May 29, 2020, during a demonstration over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)

Rymer is running as a Republican for the Minnesota House of Representatives and said he “still can’t believe there are people in the state who support the guy after” what residents “have been through the last four years.”

Walz deployed the Minnesota National Guard on May 30, with the state’s National Guard saying at the time that it was “‘all-in’ to restore order.”

The riots plaguing the Twin Cities were “no longer in any way about the murder of George Floyd,” said Walz at the time.

Gov. Tim Walz waited several days to call in the National Guard as riots destroyed parts of Minneapolis in 2020. (Getty Images)

WALZ SLAMMED FOR ‘HESITATING’ TO SEND IN GUARD AS HIS DAUGHTER TIPPED OFF RIOTERS VIA SOCIAL MEDIA

“Our great cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are under assault,” Walz said. “The situation in Minneapolis is now about attacking civil society, instilling fear and disrupting our great city.”

The move earned praise from then-President Trump, who lauded Walz in a phone call with governors.

“What they did in Minneapolis was incredible. They went in and dominated, and it happened immediately,” Trump told Walz and the others on the call.

People take their seats ahead of Vice President Harris’ campaign rally with her newly chosen vice presidential running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, in Philadelphia on Aug. 6, 2024. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

His comments came as other cities, stretching from Seattle to New York City, saw riots that police departments alone were hard-pressed to handle. Portland, Oregon, for example, saw at least 100 nights of rioting and protests that summer. 

Though Walz did mobilize the state’s National Guard just days after the riots began, locals have said the Democrat governor acted slowly to curb the destruction.

“I called the White House after [four] days of unbridled rioting with the Governor frozen on what to do,” Republican state Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka wrote on X on July 28. “I know that Gov[.] Walz and Pres[ident] Trump talked. I know Walz finally brought the Guard out in full for the next night. But Walz was [three] days too late. Pressure may have made him move.”

Flames rise from the post office near the 3rd Police Precinct in Minneapolis on May 28, 2020, during a protest over the death of George Floyd. (Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images)

Minnesota’s first lady, Gwen Walz, set social media ablaze this week after an unearthed clip of her describing how she handled the riots went viral.

WIFE OF HARRIS’ VP PICK SETS SOCIAL MEDIA ABLAZE WITH ‘BIZARRE’ ADMISSION ABOUT 2020 RIOTS

“Again we had more sleepless nights during the riots,” Walz’s wife told KSTP in July 2020. “I could smell the burning tires, and that was a very real thing. And I kept the windows open as long as I could because I felt like that was such a touchstone of what was happening.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz greets Vice President Harris at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on March 14, 2024. (Stephen Maturen/AFP via Getty Images)

5 CONTROVERSIES SURROUNDING VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE TIM WALZ, FROM DUI TO COVID FRAUD

Critics and conservatives slammed the remarks as “bizarre” on social media.

“What might you call this? Bizarre? Abnormal? Peculiar? Eccentric? Offbeat? Quirky?” wrote Noah Rothman, a senior writer at the National Review Online. “Gotta be a word that describes reveling in the catharsis represented by the torching of other people’s property.”

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk described the comments as “weird.”

A Minneapolis post office burns on May 29, 2020. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

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Harris named Walz as her running mate on Tuesday, with the Minnesota Democrat winning the ticket spot against other reported contenders such as Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly. Harris rose to the top of the ticket after President Biden dropped out of the race amid mounting concerns over his mental acuity and pressure from Democrats that he pass the torch to another candidate.

Fox News Digital’s Audrey Conklin and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

Several progressive women’s groups were silent when asked by Fox News Digital about how second gentleman Doug Emhoff’s affair when he was married to his ex-wife could affect his image as a leader championing their cause.

Fox News Digital sent an inquiry for comment to EMILYs List, the League of Women Voters, the Progressive Women’s Alliance of West Michigan, the National Organization for Women, the National Women’s Political Caucus, the Feminist Majority Foundation, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, the Women’s Liberation Front and the International Center for Research on Women. None of the groups returned a request for comment about whether Emhoff should face heightened scrutiny as potentially the next first gentleman by press deadline.

13 DAYS: KAMALA HARRIS HAS NOT HELD A PRESS CONFERENCE SINCE EMERGING AS PRESUMPTIVE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE

Kerstin Emhoff addressed ex-husband Doug Emhoff’s affair with a nanny. (Getty)

As the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer husband, Emhoff has been involved in a number of left-wing causes and has encouraged men to advocate for abortion in the aftermath of the summer 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Earlier this year, he teamed up with Men4Choice to tour Florida, Arizona and North Carolina to campaign for abortion rights. Meanwhile, his wife was making press stops at abortion clinics.

“This is an issue of fairness to women. Women are dying,” Emhoff said in an NBC interview in May. “It’s affecting man’s ability to plan their lives. And it’s also an issue of what’s next, what other freedoms are at risk. And these freedoms are affecting all Americans, not just women.”

Emhoff, Vice President Harris’ husband, admitted to having an affair with a nanny shortly after the Daily Mail published a report last week that the second gentleman had an affair with his daughter’s nanny and got her pregnant. The nanny’s close friend told the outlet that she did not keep the baby but did not elaborate further.

“During my first marriage, Kerstin and I went through some tough times on account of my actions. I took responsibility, and in the years since, we worked through things as a family and have come out stronger on the other side,” Emhoff told CNN last week of the affair.

KAMALA HARRIS’ HUSBAND DOUG EMHOFF ADMITS TO EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIR THAT LED TO BREAKUP OF FIRST MARRIAGE

Vice President Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, head toward Air Force Two at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Aug. 6, 2024. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Emhoff and his first wife were married from 1992 to 2008 and share two adult children. Harris married Emhoff in 2014 and helped co-parent his children, who call their stepmother “Mommala.”

The divorce cited “irreconcilable differences” as the motivation behind parting ways, the New York Post reported. 

Harris knew about the affair before they married, and the Biden 2020 campaign knew about it when it was vetting her for Biden’s vice presidential pick, CNN reported. 

KAMALA HARRIS’ HUSBAND DOUG EMHOFF RESPONDS TO TRUMP’S ATTACKS ON HER: ‘THAT’S ALL HE’S GOT?’

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff (Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images/File)

Kerstin Emhoff defended her ex in a statement to the Washington Post on Saturday. 

“Doug and I decided to end our marriage for a variety of reasons, many years ago,” she wrote. “He is a great father to our kids, continues to be a great friend to me and I am really proud of the warm and supportive blended family Doug, Kamala, and I have built together.”

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Despite the affair and divorce, Kerstin Emhoff has posted supportive messages about her ex-husband’s second wife and has endorsed Harris on social media.

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

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.

President Biden is scheduled to hold his first public event of the week on Thursday before flying to his beach house in Delaware. 

Biden hasn’t been seen publicly since walking back to the White House from Marine One on Monday after returning with first lady Jill Biden from their residence in Wilmington, Delaware. 

None of the events on the president’s public schedule have been open to the press so far this week. 

On Thursday, Biden – during events closed to the press – is scheduled to call Hawaii Gov. Josh Green and Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen “to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the tragic Maui wildfires and those who lost their lives” and receive his presidential daily briefing. 

Biden later Thursday afternoon is to welcome the Texas Rangers to the White House to celebrate their 2023 World Series championship season during an event open to only press-credentialed media. 

BIDEN HUNKERS DOWN IN WHITE HOUSE WITH NO PUBLIC EVENTS ON SCHEDULE AGAIN

President Biden walks on the South Lawn of the White House after arriving on Marine One on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (Michael Reynolds/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The president then is scheduled to depart the White House for Joint Base Andrews, from where he will then travel to Wilmington, Delaware. Biden’s arrival in Wilmington is listed as open to the press, but the president and Jill Biden will then greet campaign staff there during an event listed on the public schedule as closed to the press. The couple will then go back to their home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, on Thursday evening. 

Biden sat down with CBS News for his first interview since exiting his race for re-election at the White House on Wednesday afternoon. The interview isn’t scheduled to air in full until Sunday. 

Aside from a promotional clip of the interview, the public hasn’t seen Biden since Monday as he returned to the White House. The president told CBS News that he is “not confident at all” that there would be a peaceful transfer of power in January 2025 if former President Trump loses the election, though Biden misspoke initially and said, “if Trump wins.” 

President Biden returned from a weekend in Delaware to the White House on Monday, where he received a classified briefing on Iran-Israel military situation. (Andrew Leyden/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“He means what he says. We don’t take him seriously. He means it, all the stuff about, ‘If we lose, there’ll be a bloodbath, it’ll have to be a stolen election,’” Biden said. “Look what they’re trying to do now in the local election districts where people count the votes,” the president added, “or putting people in place in states that they’re going to count the votes, right?”

HARRIS SNUBBING SHAPIRO MAKES LIBERAL JEWS IN HOLLYWOOD FEEL ‘NOT WELCOME’ AMONG DEMOCRATS: REPORT

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended the president, telling Fox News congressional correspondent Aishah Hasnie, “You’ll see him tomorrow. There will be more opportunities. We have five months left here. There’ll be plenty of opportunities, obviously, to see the president and, certainly, when we have events, public events to share and travel to share as we normally do, we will do just that.” 

Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz during a campaign event at Temple University’s Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Asked if the president has yet spoken to any of the U.S. service members injured in the attack by Iranian proxies on a base in Iraq over the weekend, Jean-Pierre said at the White House press briefing that she did not “have any conversations to speak of,” but added, “obviously, we are wishing them a speedy recovery. They were injured. And so we have to give them some space and opportunity, to get better, to get that treatment that they need. As the president, he’s also the commander in chief, as you know, and he takes that incredibly seriously.” 

Of the seven injured U.S. personnel, Jean-Pierre said two have been returned to duty, two are recovering locally, and three have been evacuated for further treatment and remain in stable condition. 

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As Pennsylvania comes into focus as a key 2024 battleground, there’s speculation about whether “Scranton Joe” will campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris in the state, especially after Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was passed up for Harris’ running mate. Harris announced earlier this week that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz would join her on the Democratic ticket. 

Vice President Kamala Harris has established a 4-point lead over former President Trump among registered voters, according to a Thursday poll from Marquette Law School.

The poll, conducted from July 24 to Aug. 1, surveyed 879 registered voters from across the country. It advertised a margin of error of 4.1%. The poll found that Harris expanded her lead among likely voters, with Trump trailing 6 points in a 53% to 47% matchup.

Marquette says its likely voters result has a margin of error of 4.7% and was based on a survey of 683 people.

The poll comes as momentum for Harris continues to surge following President Biden’s unprecedented decision to withdraw from the race last month.

HARRIS IS ‘BIDEN’S CO-PILOT’ ON ‘BIDENOMICS’ POLICIES THAT PROMPTED WOEFUL JOBS NUMBERS: TRUMP CAMP

Vice President Kamala Harris has established a 4-point lead over former President Trump among registered voters, according to a Thursday poll from Marquette Law School. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

A Wednesday poll from NPR, PBS and Marist found that Harris has a 3-point lead over the former president.

VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS NAMES MINNESOTA GOV. TIM WALZ AS HER RUNNING MATE

The poll had found Harris leading Trump 51% to 48%, but clarified that the difference is within the margin of error. Harris has also narrowed Trump’s lead on key issues like the economy.

A Wednesday poll from NPR, PBS and Marist found that Harris has a 3-point lead over former President Trump. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Both polls had Trump leading Harris on key issues, including illegal immigration and foreign policy issues like Israel’s war in Gaza.

TRUMP QUICKLY MOVES TO DEFINE HARRIS AS ‘MORE LEFT THAN BERNIE SANDERS’

The Marquette poll showed that 49% of Americans believe Trump would be better for the economy than Harris, with just 37% saying the reverse.

The Marquette poll showed that 49% of Americans believe Trump would be better for the economy than Harris, with just 37% saying the reverse. (Getty Images)

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The surveys come days after a Fox News poll found Trump and Harris deadlocked in Pennsylvania, a key swing state for the presidential election.

The state of the race in the Keystone State is similar to where it was in April, when President Biden and Trump were tied 48%-48%. The survey, released Friday, shows Harris and Trump locked in a tie in Pennsylvania at 49%-49% — barely different from what the final election results were in the state in 2020 (49.85% Biden vs. 48.69% Trump).

Vice President Kamala Harris’ decision to tap Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as running mate over Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, the only Jewish candidate under consideration, sparked immediate speculation that the Keystone State’s governor was cast aside because of his pro-Israel politics.

“This is a person who listened to the Hamas wing of her own party in selecting a nominee,” former President Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, told reporters in reaction to the pick, according to a CBS News report.

The comment comes amid heavy backlash to the selection of Walz over Shapiro in some corners, with many speculating that the pick was made to appease the far-left wing of the Democratic Party that some see as hostile to Israel.

“Those in the overly online left who are attacking Josh Shapiro’s pro-Israel positions in a different way than they are attacking non-Jewish veep contenders’ positions, they’re just telling on themselves,” Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., told CNN Monday.

WALZ WAITED UNTIL LEGISLATIVE SESSION WRAPPED TO DEMAND RESIGNATION FROM DEM LAWMAKER ACCUSED OF BURGLARY

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a news conference on Jan. 26, 2021, in St. Paul. (Anthony Souffle/Star Tribune via AP, File)

“There is a strong undercurrent of antisemitism to that,” he continued. “It’s unacceptable. Every contender’s positions on all policy issues, their track records in elected office, all of that is fair game. That is totally open to be subjected to interrogation and to questioning by the Harris team, by observers, but holding him to a different standard because of his religion just simply isn’t who we are in the Democratic Party.”

The defense of Shapiro comes as some supporters of Israel have become increasingly worried in recent months that Harris has started to carve out a position different from President Biden on support for the Jewish state, claiming the vice president has begun to take a more sympathetic view toward the faction of the Democratic Party that has showed support for Palestinians amid Israel’s invasion of Gaza.

While Harris has continued to express that Israel has a right to defend itself and has repeatedly condemned the October terrorist attacks against the Jewish state, she did become the first administration official to call for an “immediate cease-fire” in Gaza.

Harris also vowed “not to be silent” about the suffering of Gazans ahead of a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month, remarks some took as a continued signal of a shifting position from the president.

Walz has taken a similar approach to Harris, at times expressing support for Israel while also expressing sympathy for the plight of Gazans.

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS NAMES MINNESOTA GOV TIM WALZ AS HER RUNNING MATE

“You can hold competing things: That Israel has the right to defend itself, and the atrocities of October 7 are unacceptable, but Palestinian civilians being caught in this… has got to end,” Walz said during an appearance on Minnesota Public Radio in March, according to a report from Al Jazeera.

Walz has also consistently argued that Israel has a right to exist, telling the Jewish Community Relations Council earlier this year that the “ability of Jewish people to self-determine themselves is foundational.”

“The failure to recognize the state of Israel is taking away that self-determination. So it is antisemitic,” he said.

Gov. Tim Walz arrives to speak at a press conference regarding gun legislation at City Hall on Aug. 1, 2024, in Bloomington, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

The Minnesota governor was quick to condemn the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, arguing those that carried out the attack showed “an absolute lack of humanity.”

“That’s not a geopolitical discussion. That’s murder,” Walz said, according to a Times of Israel report.

He also urged members of his own party to take the concerns of Jewish students seriously amid a wave of anti-Israel demonstrations on American college campuses in the spring.

KAMALA HARRIS’ VP PICK TIM WALZ PREVIOUSLY CHARGED WITH DUI IN NEBRASKA

“I think when Jewish students are telling us they feel unsafe in that, we need to believe them, and I do believe them,” Walz said during a PBS appearance. “Creating a space where political dissent or political rallying can happen is one thing. Intimidation is another.“

Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via Getty Images)

According to a USA Today report, Walz also expressed support for Israel while serving in Congress between 2007 and 2019, voting with Israel multiple times, including a vote to condemn the United Nations resolution that declared Israeli settlements on the West Bank illegal.

But Walz also showed that his support for Israel is not unlimited, warning the country about those same settlements during a diplomatic tour through the Middle East in 2009, arguing that they were damaging prospects for peace.

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Like Harris, the Minnesota governor called for a cease-fire to the conflict in March. That same month, he praised Democrats who voted uncommitted during the state’s primary, following a movement that started in Michigan to protest the Biden administration’s handling of the conflict in Gaza.

As former President Trump blasts Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz over his response to the unrest in his state in May 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, a resurfaced audio recording shows that Trump had praised Walz at the time for how he “dominated” the situation.

In the audio recording, which was obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday, Trump was on a phone call with Walz and other governors and officials on June 1, 2020.

“What they did in Minneapolis was incredible. They went in and dominated, and it happened immediately,” Trump told Walz and the others on the call.

Walz, who has served as Minnesota’s governor since 2019, was selected as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate Tuesday, putting a spotlight on his handling of the riots that spread across Minneapolis in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder on May 25, 2020.

TIM WALZ’S BLM RIOTS RESPONSE LEFT MINNESOTA HUSBAND DAD OF 2 ‘DISGUSTED’: ‘CAN’T BELIEVE’ PEOPLE SUPPORT HIM

Flames from a nearby fire illuminate protesters standing on a barricade in front of the Third Police Precinct on May 28, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during a riot over the death of George Floyd. (Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images)

Walz deployed the National Guard three days later to stop the violence, which included the torching of a police station, but critics have said both the governor and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey were too slow to act. Walz and Frey each blamed the other for the delays.

Walz has been criticized over his delay in deploying the National Guard to Minneapolis during the riots in May 2020. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Trump offered federal help to Walz at the time, but the governor did not take him up on it.

WALZ SLAMMED FOR ‘HESITATING’ TO SEND IN GUARD AS HIS DAUGHTER TIPPED OFF RIOTERS VIA SOCIAL MEDIA

Trump didn’t blame Walz at the time for the delays, later saying: “I don’t blame you. I blame the mayor.”

“I was very happy with the last couple of days, Tim,” Trump said during the call. “You called up big numbers and the big numbers knocked them out so fast, it was like bowling pins.”

FIVE CONTROVERSIES SURROUNDING VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE TIM WALZ, FROM DUI TO COVID FRAUD

But on Wednesday, Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told The Associated Press in a statement that Trump was only acknowledging that Walz took steps to end the violence after days of violence and unrest in Minneapolis.

Trump can be heard praising Walz for his response to the unrest in a resurfaced phone call from June 1, 2020, though the former president has blasted the governor in recent months. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

“Governor Walz allowed Minneapolis to burn for days, despite President Trump’s offer to deploy soldiers and cries for help from the liberal Mayor of Minneapolis,” Leavitt said. “In this daily briefing phone call with Governors on June 1, days after the riots began, President Trump acknowledged Governor Walz for FINALLY taking action to deploy the National Guard to end the violence in the city.”

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Fox Digital reached out to the Trump campaign for comment but did not immediately hear back.

Fox Digital’s Michael Lee and Chris Pandolfo, along with The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Vice President Kamala Harris has moved into the betting lead for the first time since being elevated to the top of the ticket.

Harris has a 50.7% chance to be elected president, while former President Trump sits at a 47.9% chance to win the election, according to the Real Clear Politics betting average on Thursday.

Thursday marked the first time Harris has been the betting favorite to win the election, while it’s also the first time the Democratic ticket has been favored over Trump since May 1, when President Biden was still in the race. On that day, Biden held a narrow 42.3% to 42.2% advantage in the Real Clear Politics betting average.

KAMALA HARRIS AND HER NEWLY NAMED RUNNING MATE KICK OFF A BATTLEGROUND STATE SWING

Since that day, Trump continued to put distance between himself and Biden, peaking as a 66.2% favorite on July 15.

But Trump’s lead steadily declined in the weeks after Biden’s decision to drop out of the race and endorse Harris, who quickly went on to lock up the Democratic nomination.

Trump’s odds tumble culminated Thursday, just days after Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to join her on the ticket, a move the Harris campaign believes will help her solidify support in critical Midwestern swing states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Vice President Kamala Harris. (Reuters/Kevin Mohatt/Pool)

VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS NAMES MINNESOTA GOV TIM WALZ AS HER RUNNING MATE

Harris was either leading or tied with Trump on Thursday in all the major betting markets tracked by Real Clear Politics, with her biggest lead coming on the popular platform Predictit, a New Zealand-based prediction market that offers “shares” of political outcomes.

Harris shares were selling for 57 cents on the platform as of Thursday morning, while Trump shares were selling for 46 cents, an 11-cent lead for the vice president. Shares on the platform are priced between $0.01 and $0.99, meaning the price of a share essentially represents the percentage chance of a particular outcome.

Former President Trump. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

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The shift in the betting favorite comes as Harris has also overtaken Trump in many national polls, becoming the leader on the Real Clear Politics polling average for the first time on Monday. That lead represents the first time the presumed Democratic ticket has had the advantage since September 11 of last year, when Biden a 44.5% to 44.3% advantage.

Neither the Trump nor Harris campaigns immediately responded to Fox News Digital requests for comment.

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

Vice President Kamala Harris’ influence on the botched withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan remains unclear publicly despite her previously confirming she was the “last person in the room” with President Biden before he made the decision. 

According to a new Washington Post report, officials say Harris did not push for policy change but did raise some important questions during interagency meetings in early 2021 before what resulted in a chaotic 17-day evacuation from Kabul and a suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members and roughly 170 Afghan civilians at Hamid Karzai International Airport’s Abbey Gate,.

The vice president, now the Democratic presidential nominee, acted “like a district attorney” while asking questions during the deliberations but did not provide much insight into what she was thinking, one senior military official who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Post. 

“She never gave a sense for where she was on it,” the official told the newspaper.

KAMALA HARRIS SHUTS DOWN ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS DURING CAMPAIGN SPEECH IN MICHIGAN: ‘I’M SPEAKING’

Vice President Kamala Harris arrives at Philadelphia International Airport to attend a campaign event on Aug. 6, 2024. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Despite that account, another former military official who participated in the administration’s deliberations at the time told the Post he does not remember Harris “playing any role of significance” during meetings of the National Security Council that Biden led in 2021. The official did admit that the vice president could have counseled Biden outside those briefings.  

In a statement to the Post, a Harris aide said the vice president asked, “probing questions” during deliberations in which she was fully involved before the withdrawal and “strongly supported President Biden’s decision to end America’s longest war.” 

“We’re not going to get into the Vice President’s private counsel to the President,” the aide added. 

Positioning herself as a vice president who is closely involved in the administration’s key matters, Harris confirmed to CNN in 2021 that she was the “last person in the room” with Biden before his decision to withdraw U.S. troops and effectively end more than 20 years of war in Afghanistan. 

While campaigning for president in 2019, Harris said she wanted to “ensure that the country is on a path to stability, that we protect the gains that have been made for Afghan women and others,” according to the Post. 

Gold Star families of U.S. military members killed at Abbey Gate in Afghanistan in August 2021 speak during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 17, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

HARRIS AND WALZ MADE UNPRECEDENTED ABORTION CLINIC VISIT PRIOR TO PRESIDENTIAL TICKET TEAM-UP

When Biden’s presidency began in 2021, Afghan official Nader Nadery, who served as an adviser to then-Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, said he hoped Harris would help persuade Biden to keep some U.S. troops in the country until the Taliban could agree to a peace deal. With the Taliban’s seizure of power came the erosion of women’s rights, and Nadery questioned whether Harris had tried to convince Biden to change direction. 

“I hoped that President Biden listened to her and other voices who advocated for Afghan women,” he reportedly said of the withdrawal.  

Taliban fighters control access to the Abbey Gate at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan, Aug. 25, 2021. (Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times)

Republicans and former President Trump have criticized Biden’s handling of the withdrawal, especially after Biden’s stunning omission of the 13 U.S. service members killed at Abbey Gate during the June presidential debate in Atlanta, where he claimed to be the “only president this century” and in “this decade” who did not have “any troops dying anywhere in the world.” 

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Attendees of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last month heard from the families of those service members, who condemned how Biden never publicly said the names of their loved ones. 

Now, as the Democratic ticket pivots to Harris and her newly selected running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, criticism of the vice president on the Afghanistan withdrawal has not gained similar traction. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Harris’ campaign and the vice president’s office for comment, but they did not immediately respond.