Wed, 24 Jul 2024 20:46:35 -0400

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Butler County, Pennsylvania’s top prosecutor said Wednesday that testimony provided to federal lawmakers this week suggesting two snipers were in the building next to the roof from which the would-be Trump assassin was able to get a clear shot of the former president before opening fire at a rally on July 13, was “misstated.”

Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger pointed at testimony provided by Pennsylvania State Police commissioner Christopher Paris, which was given to the House Committee on Homeland Security on Tuesday.

In a press release, Goldinger explained that 20 minutes before Thomas Matthew Crooks started firing shots at former President Trump, two local snipers saw the gunman seated outside and took a picture of him before circulating it and passing it along to the Secret Service and Pennsylvania State Police.

The DA said Crooks moved his location to the opposite side of the building, and both local snipers moved within the building to the other side to match the suspicious person’s movements.

While both officers were on the second floor, one ran outside to look for Crooks, Goldinger explained, after spotting the would-be assassin running off with a backpack.

Goldinger told Fox News one sniper remained in the building while the other went outside.

The sniper who went outside could not find Crooks and returned inside. That’s when, according to Golding, both snipers heard the gunfire.

Goldinger told Fox News the entire building was the post for the two snipers and it is a mischaracterization to say otherwise.

He also said if the local snipers had remained at their original location inside the building, they would not have been able to see Crooks. Instead, Goldinger said, they would have needed to lean out of the window to see Crooks.

Fox News' CB Cotton contributed to this report.

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 01:46:41 -0400

Judge Cecilia Altonaga of United States District Court in Miami has rejected ABC's motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed against the Disney-owned network and its anchor George Stephanopolous by former President Trump, allowing it to move forward. 

The lawsuit stems from comments Stephanopoulos made in March when he falsely asserted that Trump was found "liable for rape" in a civil case. 

"A jury may, upon viewing the segment, find there was sufficient context. But a reasonable jury could conclude Plaintiff was defamed and, as a result, dismissal is inappropriate."

The former president trumpeted the ruling on Truth Social, writing, "A BIG WIN TODAY IN HIGH FLORIDA COURT AGAINST ABC FAKE NEWS, AND LIDDLE’ GEORGE SLOPADOPOLUS. A POWERFUL CASE! BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA WILL BE FORCED BY THE COURTS TO START TELLING THE TRUTH. THIS IS A GREAT DAY FOR OUR COUNTRY. MAGA2024!"

ABC News declined to comment. 

Stephanopoulos' comments were made during a tense exchange with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., on his Sunday program "This Week" in March.

After playing a clip of Mace discussing being a victim of rape, Stephanopoulos asked her, "How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw?" 

"You've endorsed Donald Trump for president. Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape," Stephanopoulos said, alluding to the legal victory by Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll. 

The ABC News anchor remained defiant about the lawsuit during an appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" in May.

"Trump sued me because I used the word ‘rape,’ even though a judge said that’s in fact what did happen," Stephanopoulos said. "We filed a motion to dismiss.

"After the federal jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse, but not rape, Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote in a later ruling that just because Carroll failed to prove rape "within the meaning of the New York Penal Law does not mean that she failed to prove that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the word ‘rape.’"

Fox News' Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 21:49:14 -0400

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The House of Representatives unanimously voted to establish a bipartisan commission to investigate the attempted assassination of former President Trump.

None of the lawmakers in attendance voted against the measure, while the 416 who were present voted yes. Also in attendance were 10 Democrats and six Republicans who did not vote.

The new task force will be comprised of seven Republicans and six Democrats, with the members likely being announced this week.

House GOP leaders raced the bill to the floor after the deadly shooting at Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania rally nearly two weeks ago. One attendee died and two others were injured, with Trump himself getting shot in the ear and evacuated off stage by Secret Service.

The vote was bipartisan, as expected — the hours following the shooting prompted a flurry of bipartisan condemnations against political violence, as well as scrutiny of the security situation that allowed a 20-year-old gunman with an assault rifle onto a rooftop just outside the rally perimeter.

Read more about the unanimous bipartisan vote.

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 21:16:58 -0400

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Acting U.S. Secret Service Director Ronald L. Rowe, Jr. will testify before three Senate committees Thursday, on the July 13 attempted assassination of former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Along with Rowe, the deputy director of the FBI will also testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is holding a hearing in partnership with the Senate Homeland Security Committee and the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.

Rowe was appointed to the position of acting director after former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned on Tuesday.

Cheatle’s resignation came after her lackluster testimony on Capitol Hill on Monday, which resulted in bipartisan demands for her to step down from her position after failing to protect Trump.

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas announced Rowe’s appointment Tuesday, saying he has served as Deputy Director of Secret Service since April 2023.

Rowe is a 24-year veteran of the agency and previously served as the Secret Service’s Assistant Director for the Office of Intergovernmental and Legislative Affairs, Deputy Assistant Director for the Office of Protective Operations, and in other leadership positions.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 19:45:44 -0400

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In addition to would-be Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks, other suspicious people were noted by security at the Butler, Pennsylvania event, Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Christopher Paris told the House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday.

"Was [Crooks] the only one determined to be suspicious that day," Rep. Andrew Garbarino asked Paris during a hearing with the committee.

"No, he was not," Paris replied.

"They identified Crooks for not matriculating," Paris said. "Crooks never made it through the secure perimeter into the venue space itself."

There were at least two other suspicious people identified and tracked by the law enforcement that day - but after spotting Crooks with a rangefinder, he became a "special individual," who was "even more suspicious," he said.

Read more about the commissioner’s testimony.

Fox News’ Christina Coulter contributed to this report.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 20:01:33 -0400

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Mary Crooks, the mother of would-be Trump assassin Thomas Crooks, was pictured outside for the first time since her son shot the former president, injured two rallygoers and shot dead former fire chief Corey Comperatore.

The gunman's mother, who is blind was guided by her husband Matthew Crooks from their blue Toyota Tacoma into their Bethel Park home around 7 p.m. on Wednesday evening.

Her husband opened her car door for her and grabbed onto her hand as the pair entered the house.

FBI Director Christopher Wray testified Wednesday that 14 guns were found in their home. The weapon Crooks used in his attempt to assassinate former President Trump was bought by Matthew Crooks in 2013, and later sold to his son.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 18:11:45 -0400

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One of the two surviving men who sustained wounds when a gunman opened fire at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday has been released from the hospital, while the other remains in serious but stable condition.

The survivors, 74-year-old James "Jim" Copenhaver, of Moon Township, Pennsylvania, and 57-year-old David Dutch of New Kensington, Pennsylvania were at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania when a gunman opened fire on former President Trump, grazing his ear.

Both men were transported to the Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh for treatment.

On Wednesday, Dutch was discharged from the hospital, according to hospital officials.

Copenhaver remains in the hospital in serious, but stable condition.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 18:12:19 -0400

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Video provided by the office of Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa., show officers racing to get to the building the would-be assassin of former President Trump, showing confusion on how to access the roof and more.

Exclusive video obtained by Grassley from Beaver County Emergency Services Unit, in compliance with congressional requests, show the officers racing to the AGR building after the shooting, and when they arrive, the officers are not sure how to access the roof.

The videos also show the shell casings being pointed out and counted, with officers noting that the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, had a rangefinder and cell phone on him.

There were also discussions heard on the video about Crooks having a potential detonator, though the officers were not sure if the device was active or not.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 16:31:31 -0400

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FBI Director Christopher Wray testified that the first time anyone from law enforcement saw would-be Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks with a weapon was seconds before he opened fire.

Wray testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday afternoon and was asked about the attempted assassination of former President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.

He was asked about the amount of time that passed between law enforcement officials seeing Crooks with a weapon and the moment shots were fired.

A local law enforcement officer saw Crooks on the roof without a weapon minutes before the shooting, though seconds before the shooting the same law enforcement officer saw him with a weapon.

“That is the first time, to my knowledge, the first time anybody from law enforcement saw him with a weapon,” Wray said. “That is seconds before he shot at President Trump.”

Wray was then asked how close the assassin’s bullet came to killing Trump.

“My understanding is that either it, or some shrapnel is what, you know, grazed his ear. So, I don’t know that I have the very distance…,” Wray answered before being asked if he would say very, very close.

“Yes,” Wray said.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 16:14:25 -0400

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FBI Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday that the weapon used in the attempted assassination of former President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13 was purchased by the shooter’s dad and sold to the shooter 10 years later.

Wray was asked about the history of the weapon used by Thomas Matthew Crooks when he opened fire at the presidential rally.

“I'm told that the father purchased the firearm in 2013, so quite a while ago, and then he sold it to his son in October of 2023,” Wray said.

The AR-style weapon was seen in law enforcement body camera footage released on Tuesday, near the shooter’s body on top of the roof he fired eight shots from before being killed by a counter sniper.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 15:45:42 -0400

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FBI Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday that a Steam account previously reported to have belonged to would-be Trump assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks belonged to someone else.

Wray was asked about a post allegedly made by Crooks on the gaming platform, which read, “July 13 will be my premier, watch as it unfolds.”

Wray said the information was released as the FBI was obtaining real-time information, but the agency has since learned the profile page that made the post was not the shooter.

Instead, he said, it was another individual who was making a “sick joke.”

After the shooting, the person who made the post created a profile page pretending to be the shooter, Wray said, and that person has since confessed to that.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 15:21:28 -0400

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the people of Israel were relieved former President Trump emerged safe and sound after being attacked at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.

Netanyahu made the comments as he addressed a joint session of Congress Wednesday afternoon amid his country’s continued fight against the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza.

“Like Americans, Israelis were relieved that President Trump emerged safe and sound from that dastardly attack on him…dastardly attack on American democracy,” Netanyahu said. “There is no room for political violence in democracies.”

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 15:02:04 -0400

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A Michigan man was found dead after allegedly telling police that he would confess to crimes targeting supporters of former President Trump and law enforcement.

One incident involved a four-wheeler that the driver used to plow down an 80-year-old man who was placing Trump signs in his yard. The elderly victim was hospitalized Sunday in critical condition.

The Hancock City Police Department received a message from an individual in Quincy Township on Monday who stated they wanted to "confess a crime involving an ATV driver within the last 24 hours," according to a press release from the Houghton County Sheriff’s Office. The caller further told police to "send someone to pick me up," the press release said.

Officers and deputies responded to the address and discovered a 22-year-old male suspect at the scene who was "deceased with a single self-inflicted gunshot wound," the sheriff’s office said.

The press release stated that the crimes reported in the City of Hancock "appear to be politically motivated, involving victims who displayed Trump election signs and law enforcement stickers and flags commonly referred to as ‘thin blue line’ paraphernalia."

Read more about the politically motivated attacks on Trump supporters.

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 14:23:40 -0400

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FBI Director Christopher Wray's testimony to the House Judiciary Committee is providing new details to the timeline of the Trump assassination attempt on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Wray revealed Wednesday that shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks conducted a Google search for "how far away was Oswald from Kennedy" on the same day he registered to attend the rally.

Crooks also visited the rally site about a week before the shooting and spent about 20 minutes there, Wray said. 

Read more about the Google search Crooks conducted before shooting.

Fox News' Rebecca Rosenberg and Bryan Llenas contributed to this report.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 13:32:33 -0400

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FBI Director Christopher Wray offered new details about the explosive devices found in Thomas Matthew Crooks' car and home during testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

Wray is facing questions from lawmakers about the FBI's investigation into Crooks' attempted assassination of former President Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

He said the FBI found 3 ‘relatively crude’ devices and the bombs were rigged for remote detonation.

Wray did not detail the size of the detonator but said Crooks was able to carry it with him onto the rooftop along with his rifle.

The FBI director also said that the state of the on-off switch on the detonator indicated it would not have worked had Crooks attempted to activate the bombs after opening fire on Trump.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 18:59:34 -0400

FBI Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday that "we now believe that the subject climbed onto the roof using some mechanical equipment, on the ground and vertical piping on the side of the AGR building, in other words, we do not believe he used a ladder to get up there."

He also said "outdoor events, whether they're political rallies or... a college football game in an open stadium, a concert, these are places that are, often, you know, particularly challenging to secure adequately, because the range of threats that can face them are higher.

"In addition to that... just threats to public officials, including politicians, is an increasingly, pervasive part of today's landscape. And so that adds to the challenge," Wray continued.

Read more about the FBI director's testimony.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 13:22:25 -0400

FBI Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday that a person affiliated with his agency is being investigated over a “totally inappropriate” post about the Trump assassination attempt. 

“Have any FBI agents texted, emailed, or expressed disappointment that Trump survived the assassination attempt, or otherwise editorialized about the assassination attempt?” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, asked Wray during the House Judiciary Committee hearing.  

“I don't know about any agents. There have been at least two instances, I think, or one instance of an individual, who posted something that I consider outrageous and totally inappropriate and unacceptable. And that individual has been referred to our inspection division, which is the arm, our sort of internal affairs investigatory arm that does the disciplinary process,” Wray responded. 

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 12:45:08 -0400

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BUTLER, Pa. – Whistleblowers have told Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley that a law enforcement officer who was assigned to monitor the roof of a building that would-be former President Trump assassin Thomas Crooks fired from on July 13 left their post because it was "too hot."

Crooks, 20, fired multiple rounds from the roof of American Glass Research (AGR) Building 6, which was outside the rally perimeter but had a direct line of sight to where the former president was standing on stage at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

"This comes from a whistleblower with direct knowledge of the Secret Service plan and setup that day," Hawley said. "And what this whistleblower tells my office is that there was at least one law enforcement person assigned to the roof itself. In other words, the plan called for a law enforcement individual to be on the roof at all times during the rally. And that did not happen. And what the whistleblower tells me is the law enforcement individual who was assigned to that roof abandoned it."

Butler's temperature reached a high of 92 degrees on July 13, and prior to the assassination attempt, emergency personnel at the rally were mostly focused on attending to people suffering from heat-related illnesses.

Hawley, who visited the rally site on July 19, noted that the AGR building in question was about 150 yards or fewer from the main stage of Trump's rally.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 12:29:17 -0400

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said Wednesday during the House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Trump rally shooting response that "we can add additional resources to protect political candidates. And we should.

"The people who went to that rally deserved to be protected from gun violence, just like the students at Parkland deserve to be protected from gun violence, just like the babies at Sandy Hook deserve to be protected from gun violence. So we'll devote more resources. We've added a presidential candidate who is also now protected," Swallwell said, referencing Kamala Harris.

"But if we're being honest with ourselves, we have armed this country to the teeth, and we have allowed the most dangerous people to have access to the most dangerous weapons," he continued.

"So we really need to step back and think if we allow these weapons to be in our country, can we truly protect our elected officials and can we truly protect, most importantly, our children in the next generation?" he added.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 12:36:46 -0400

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FBI Director Christopher Wray says the investigation into Trump rally shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks has uncovered that he searched about the JFK assassination on the day he registered to attend Trump's July 13 campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania.

"One of the things that I can share here today that has not been shared yet is that we've just in the last couple of days, found that from our... analysis of a laptop that the investigation ties to the shooter, reveals that on July 6th, he did a Google search for, quote, 'how far away was Oswald from Kennedy? And so that's a search that obviously is significant in terms of his state of mind," Wray said. "That is the same day that it appears that he registered for the Butler rally."

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 12:04:48 -0400

FBI Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday that the weapon that Trump rally shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks used in the attack "had a collapsible stock, which could explain why it might have been less easy for people to observe."

"Because one of the things that we're finding is... the first people to observe him with the weapon were when he was already on the roof," Wray continued. "And we haven't yet found anybody with firsthand observation of him with the weapon walking around beforehand."

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 13:26:26 -0400

FBI Director Christopher Wray told House lawmakers that the FBI "did not have any information about the shooter" prior to the Trump assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.

"He was not in our holdings, before the shooting," Wray said about Thomas Matthew Crooks while answering a question from Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.

"We've run a thorough search, for this subject through all of our holdings. And he was not in them anywhere," Wray added.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 11:55:29 -0400

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FBI Director Christopher Wray, speaking about an Iranian plot to assassinate former President Trump, said "we for some time and I in particular for some time, have been calling out the efforts by the Iranian government to attempt to retaliate for the killing of [Iranian leader Qasem] Soleimani by going after, current or former prominent U.S. officials.

"And we've even had an indictment against it. And I think we need to recognize the brazenness of the Iranian regime, including right here in the United States. And I expect that we're going to see more of it," Wray continued.

"I'm not aware of any threat information related to protectees that wasn't, you know, passed in a timely way. But I can't really get into specifics here," he added.

"Any information related to threats against, the former president... we routinely share with Secret Service on a number of levels in a timely way," Wray also said.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 11:57:40 -0400

FBI Director Christopher Wray said Wednesday that it is "a dangerous time to be a prominent public official."

"I believe that former President Trump, really, frankly, like any president or former president, is a very high profile figure and attracts a lot of unfortunately the kind of threats that we have been talking about," he added during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Trump rally shooting response.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 11:35:55 -0400

FBI Director Christopher Wray told the House Judiciary Committee that agents have recovered 14 firearms linked to Trump rally shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks and his family.

"I think it was a total of, I think 14 in the house," Wray said.

"The weapon that he used for the attempted assassination, was, an AR-style rifle, that was purchased legally, that he, as is my understanding, acquired, I think bought, actually, from his father, who was the one who originally bought it, again, legally," Wray also said.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 11:32:44 -0400

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FBI Director Christopher Wray says his agency has "recovered three [explosive] devices, two, in his vehicle and one back in his residence" during the investigation into Trump rally shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks.

"I would say these are relatively... crude devices themselves. But they did have the ability to be detonated remotely," he said.

"In addition to the two devices that we recovered out of his vehicle, there were receivers for those two explosive devices with the devices. And then on the shooter himself, when he was killed by law enforcement, he had a transmitter with him," Wray revealed.

"Now, I do want to add one important point here is that at the moment... it looks like because of the on on/off position on the receivers, that if he had tried to detonate those devices from the roof, it would not have worked," Wray added. "But that doesn't mean the explosives weren't dangerous."

Wray also said: "We have recovered a drone that the shooter appears to have used. It's being exploited and analyzed by the FBI lab. The drone was recovered in his vehicle. So at the time of the shooting the drone was in his vehicle with the controller."

Wray told the House Judiciary Committee that "it appears" Crooks was flying the drone about 200 yards away from the stage area of the Trump rally around 3:50 to 4 p.m. local time on the day of the shooting. Trump was hit with gunfire at 6:11 p.m. as the campaign event was underway.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 10:37:20 -0400

FBI Director Christopher Wray told House lawmakers Wednesday that there are no signs Thomas Matthew Crooks had any help with the Trump assassination attempt.

"Not at this time, but again, the investigation is ongoing," he said about the matter.

Wray also said the FBI has recovered "eight cartridges on the roof" following the shooting on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 10:33:25 -0400

FBI Director Christopher Wray, answering a question from Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., about "why doesn't the FBI disclose to the American people all of the investigative detail and evidence that you're gathering as it is gathered?" says his agency is trying to be transparent.

"We have tried to be transparent, with both Congress and the American people as we are going along in the investigation, frankly, unusually so for an ongoing investigation, given the sheer nature, of it," Wray said.

"But part of the issue, is that as like in any investigation, as we proceed, facts evolve, our understanding of what somebody said turns out to have more context that we didn't have before. We have additional leads out there," he continued.

"So part of our goal is not just to respect the ongoing investigation process, but also to make sure that we don't prematurely provide information that then, two days later, turns out to be different than what we told people," Wray added.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 10:52:01 -0400

FBI Director Christopher Wray told House lawmakers Wednesday that "I have been saying for some time now that we are living in an elevated threat environment and tragically, the Butler County assassination attempt is another example.

"A particularly heinous and very public one of what I've been talking about," he added.

"But it also reinforces our need at the FBI and our ongoing commitment to stay focused on the threats, on the mission and on the people we do the work with and the people we do the work for," Wray also said. "Every day, all across this country and indeed around the world, the men and women of the FBI are doing just that, working around the clock to counter the threats we face. 

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 10:27:23 -0400

FBI Director Christopher Wray said during his opening statement to the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday that there is a "lot of work to do" regarding the Trump rally shooting investigation and that "no stone" will be left unturned.

"I want to assure you and the American people that the men and women of the FBI will continue to work tirelessly to get to the bottom of what happened," Wray said. "We are bringing all the resources of the FBI to bear both criminal and national security. That is a whole lot of work underway, and still a lot of work to do. And our understanding of what happened and why will continue to evolve. We're going to leave no stone unturned. The shooter may be deceased, but the FBI's investigation is very much ongoing."

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 10:17:23 -0400

Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., who has been a critic of former President Trump, said Wednesday that "regardless of my strong feelings about Donald Trump's behavior, I unequivocally and unabashedly condemn with every fiber of my being, the attempt against his life."

"Political violence erodes the very foundations of our nation. It consists of freedom of speech, of peaceful transition, of power. A democratic government at its core," he added. "These cannot exist if political violence is allowed to fester and to go unchecked."

He called the Trump rally shooting "an attack on our democracy."

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 10:19:07 -0400

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, opened the House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Trump rally shooting response Wednesday by saying there are a "lot of unanswered questions" regarding the incident.

"There are a lot of unanswered questions about the security failures that day," Jordan said in his opening statement. "Questions about decisions made before the rally. Questions about actions during the rally and questions about statements made after the event concluded."

Jordan called the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13 a "tragedy" that took the life of volunteer firefighter Corey Comperatore, adding that "of course, former President Trump, by the grace of God, survived the assassination attempt. "

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 10:05:26 -0400

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FBI Director Christopher Wray has arrived Wednesday at the Rayburn House Office Building for a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the Trump rally shooting response.

On the way into the hearing room, Wray did not respond to multiple questions asked by Fox News Congressional Correspondent Aishah Hasnie on if he would be cooperative with lawmakers or if his agency has figured out the motive for the assassination attempt against former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 09:53:59 -0400

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Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., told ‘Fox & Friends’ on Wednesday that he thinks it’s “stunning” that authorities were using text messaging to coordinate their search for Trump rally shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks. 

Rubio’s comment comes after Sen. Chuck Grassely, R-Iowa, posted a video on social media Tuesday showing law enforcement on the roof of a building in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Crooks was shot dead by snipers. 

"Beaver County sniper seen and sent the pictures out. This is him," one law enforcement officer tells another man, who appears to be a Secret Service agent, on the roof. 

“I think it’s stunning, that in an event like this, of the Republican nominee, a former president and someone we know is being targeted by foreign governments for assassination, I think it’s amazing that the way they were communicating with each other was taking pictures on a cell phone and distributing it to some sort of text messaging group,” Rubio said Wednesday. 

“This was a massive, systemic failure and we are lucky that the shooter was not some professionally trained assassin,” he added. “If it had been, we would have had a very different, much more tragic outcome.” 

Fox News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 08:46:26 -0400

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Body camera footage recorded during the aftermath of the assassination attempt on former President Trump showed law enforcement discussing how a sniper "lost sight" of gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks.

Sen. Chuck Grassely, R-Iowa, posted the three-minute video on social media Tuesday. The footage shows authorities on the roof of a building in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Crooks was shot dead by snipers. 

"Beaver County sniper seen and sent the pictures out. This is him," one law enforcement officer tells another man, who appears to be a Secret Service agent, on the roof. 

"Rifle's right there, obviously," another law enforcement officer says as he points at the weapon. 

The first law enforcement officer, whose body camera was recording, said the sniper who spotted Crooks was still in a building nearby, showing where the sniper was located.

"That’s the sniper who sent the original pictures and seen him come from the bike and then set the bag back down and then lost sight of him," the officer said. "He’s the one who sent the pictures out. I don’t know if you got the same ones I did…."

"I think I did, yeah," the man who appears to be a Secret Service agent replied. "He’s got his glasses on…." 

The footage was obtained from the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit, and Grassley posted it on X. Fox News Digital has blurred the image of the body. 

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 08:45:16 -0400

The Secret Service has recently encouraged former President Trump’s campaign to refrain from holding outdoor rallies with large crowds after a shooter nearly assassinated him during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, according to reports.

The Washington Post reported that three people familiar with the matter said Secret Service agents expressed their concerns to Trump campaign advisers after the Butler shooting.

All three people who spoke with the publication spoke on condition of anonymity.

On the advice, the Trump campaign is looking for indoor venues like basketball arenas and large indoor spaces that can hold thousands of people, the sources reportedly said. Trump’s campaign team is also not planning any large outdoor events anytime soon, the Washington Post reported.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 08:27:38 -0400

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EXCLUSIVE: House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, is raising concerns about the security of U.S. and world leaders visiting here in the wake of the failed assassination attempt against former President Trump.

"Yeah, I mean, of course," McCaul told Fox News Digital when asked whether security lapses at Trump's Butler, Pennsylvania ,rally made him concerned about the level of security around President Biden as well. "I would say any [leader]… We've got Netanyahu coming down tomorrow. That's a good example."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday as his country continues to be at war in Gaza with the pro-Palestinian terror group Hamas.

Security preparations are already underway on Capitol Hill, with fencing being seen around the perimeter of the U.S. Capitol as early as Tuesday morning. 

But nevertheless, the deadly shooting at Trump's rally earlier this month, in which one attendee was killed and two people were critically injured, has spurred concerns and conversations about elected officials' safety. Trump himself was shot in the ear and evacuated by Secret Service agents.

McCaul said of possible tension at Netanyahu's coming address, "I mean, the ingredients are there for it. It's ripe for violence."

He cited the threat of protests by pro-Palestinian demonstrators, some of whom have consistently patrolled the Capitol complex in the wake of Hamas' attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, confronting pro-Israel lawmakers on both sides. More than 300 protesters were arrested in late October of last year after occupying the Cannon House Office building during a protest.

That same Capitol office building saw a massive protest on Tuesday, just a day before Netanyahu's speech. Protesters occupied the Cannon building rotunda, chantinng and waving banners before dozens were arrested by police, some detained with zipties. Among the banners were messages reading, "Jews say: Stop the genocide."

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Liz Elkind

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 08:16:34 -0400

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The U.S. Secret Service (USSS) should have "one set of standards," according to Republican Oklahoma Rep. Josh Brecheen.

Brecheen introduced a bill on Tuesday called the Secret Service Readiness Act that aims to create "a uniform fitness standard for Secret Service special agents and uniformed division officers" after the assassination attempt that wounded former President Trump at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.

"We believe that there ought to be one set of standards for Secret Service agents. There shouldn't be multiple different ways you can qualify based upon your sex or your political beliefs. If people who are being protected by [the] Secret Service – if they want the opportunity to let those who can't meet full historic standards on their details, let them handle it. Don't force it upon everybody else and potentially make them more vulnerable to an assassination attempt. There should be one set of standards."

Brecheen's comments come after the Oklahoma congressman, along with other bipartisan members of the House Committee on Homeland Security, on Monday visited the site of the rally to get a better idea of how shooter Thomas Crooks was able to open fire on the president from approximately 150 yards.

The assassination attempt and string of security failures or miscommunications that allowed Crooks to get on the roof of a nearby building and fire multiple rounds from an AR-15 at the former president and his rally attendees, killing one and critically wounding two others, has brought a magnifying glass to the Secret Service's recent diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that some experts have criticized as counterintuitive.

The USSS did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Fox News Digital regarding the new bill.

Former USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle, who resigned Tuesday, was responsible for executing the agency’s integrated mission of "protection and investigations by leading a diverse workforce," according to the USSS agency website. Critics have accused Cheatle of prioritizing "woke" ideologies rooted in DEI instead of only focusing on hiring the best for the agency.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Audrey Conklin

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 07:54:38 -0400

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A top House Democrat who took part in a bipartisan walk-through of the Butler Farm Show grounds in Pennsylvania, where former President Trump was nearly assassinated, said law enforcement rank-and-file seem apprehensive to speak publicly about "who’s in charge."

Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., said officers who serve are "great people" and that breakdowns that led to the fatal event earlier this month prove interagency clarity in cooperation is badly lacking.

Correa praised Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) Commissioner Col. Christopher Paris for being forthright during Tuesday’s House Homeland Security Committee hearing on the Trump rally shooting. He added that local officials and law enforcement in the Butler area he met with Monday were equally admirable.

Correa said local agency members approached him during a private congressional walk-through and told him they needed to talk some more about what they saw on the ground.

"A couple of folks there kind of hinted to me that everybody locally is not comfortable going out and giving their opinion," he said. "But one individual said he’s not quite sure who was in charge.

"There was a local supervisor or council member who said that we need to talk some more. You guys (Congress) need to hear more about what happened and what didn't happen. They weren't here [in Washington]. We need to get their opinions and thoughts. Those are the people that were where the rubber meets the road, so to speak," he said.

Correa added that, comparatively speaking, the Secret Service is a small operation of around 3,600 agents, while Paris said the PSP employs about 6,000.

"The local police and state troopers really are force multipliers, and, in this case, there are some things you need to work on to fix the process," Correa said.

He said after the House hearing with Paris and his trip to Northwest Pennsylvania the best thing to do is go "back to the drawing board and really start kicking the tires in terms of guidance and Secret Service and what they do and how they address and work with local public safety agencies."

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Charles Creitz

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 07:40:05 -0400

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Last month, Jake Paul said that former President Trump will most likely get his vote, and understandably so. He was rather emotional about the assassination attempt on the former president.

A gunman opened fire on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13 during a rally, and a bullet clipped his right ear. Paul thinks it was by the grace of God that it was not worse.

"It's one of the craziest things I've ever seen and probably will ever see. I think there would have been a civil war if something would have hit him. But I think that's like the divine intervention, for sure. I believe that God stepped in and saved him," Paul said on his brother Logan's podcast, "Impaulsive," which Trum

"It's quite literally ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.' And I think that's also probably why God had this exact situation happen - because He saw the path that we were going down with," the YouTuber-turned-boxer added. 

"And I'm not even gonna say, like, it's Democrat-Republican, what does it matter? It's the people who are running the government now, the path that they were leading us to was gonna be catastrophic and terrible. And I think God really intervened, like, ‘we need this guy right now. Everyone needs to flip sides. We can't have a close election - we need a landslide. We need this guy to come back in and make America great again.'"p himself appeared on earlier this year.

"We saw the action of God right in front of our eyes," Logan responded.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Ryan Morik

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 07:01:40 -0400

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Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, told 'Fox & Friends First' that he hopes FBI Director Christopher Wray comes to the House Judiciary Committee hearing Wednesday with answers and “a plan to make us feel better about what the FBI is doing” in the wake of the Trump assassination attempt. 

“We have so many examples of mishandling of investigations, of corruption at the FBI, that my constituents and many of my colleagues as well are very suspect of whatever the FBI comes up with,” said Gooden, who is a member of the committee. “But it is my hope today that Director Wray will be forthcoming, he will answer the questions that we have for him, that he will slightly put our minds at ease if that is possible.” 

“It’s frankly appalling and embarrassing as a nation that we have such terrible security for our former and current presidents. I’ve got to believe that we can do better,” Gooden also said. 

“I want to know where we are currently, what information they have, what the plan is, what resignations are taking place, who is going to be held accountable, how this is not going to happen again,” Gooden added. “I don’t want any secrets. The American people are tired of tragedies and incidents taking place where we have questions and conspiracy theories for many years to come unanswered.” 

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 06:49:23 -0400

FBI Director Christopher Wray is set to testify this morning on Capitol Hill as lawmakers continue to hold hearings on the Trump rally shooting security response.

Wray will appear in front of the House Judiciary Committee for a hearing it says "will examine the FBI’s investigation into the assassination attempt against President Trump and the ongoing politicization of the nation's preeminent law enforcement agency under the direction of FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland."

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned from her position on Tuesday, a day after she testified in front of the House Oversight Committee. Lawmakers had criticized her responses to the Secret Service's handling of the Trump assassination attempt.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 06:46:52 -0400

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A top House Democrat who took part in a bipartisan walk-through of the Butler Farm Show grounds in Pennsylvania, where former President Trump was nearly assassinated, said law enforcement rank-and-file seem apprehensive to speak publicly about "who’s in charge."

Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., said officers who serve are "great people" and that breakdowns that led to the fatal event earlier this month prove interagency clarity in cooperation is badly lacking.

Correa praised Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) Commissioner Col. Christopher Paris for being forthright during Tuesday’s House Homeland Security Committee hearing on the Trump rally shooting. He added that local officials and law enforcement in the Butler area he met with Monday were equally admirable.

Correa said local agency members approached him during a private congressional walk-through and told him they needed to talk some more about what they saw on the ground.

"A couple of folks there kind of hinted to me that everybody locally is not comfortable going out and giving their opinion," he said. "But one individual said he’s not quite sure who was in charge.

"There was a local supervisor or council member who said that we need to talk some more. You guys (Congress) need to hear more about what happened and what didn't happen," he said.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 06:40:40 -0400

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Just over a week after Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania, nearly assassinating former President Trump and killing firefighter Corey Comperatore, the 20-year-old's neighbors are grappling with the reality of the "evil' that lurked down the street. 

"That's sheer fear. If [Trump] had his head turned, he would've had his brains blown out, and that was manufactured around the corner from my house," said a neighbor who lives about the same distance from the Crooks home that the shooter was from the president when Crooks opened fire.

"There was such evil around the corner," she said Tuesday. "We're always going to have a scar from what happened and how close to us [it was]."

Another woman who regularly runs through the neighborhood said she passed Crooks in their quiet neighborhood several times over the summer. Despite her attempts to "look over and smile and say hello," he would "look up as though nobody had been passing him."

That woman said she was shocked when she heard the news of the shooting just 40 minutes away from her house. Things got even more "surreal" when she realized the perpetrator lived far closer to home than she thought.

"When I first thought about the shooter being in Butler, I thought, 'Wow, that's in my backyard.' It ended up being closer. All of a sudden, it's a neighbor," she said.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 06:26:14 -0400

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New video footage captured by a rally goer shows the assassination attempt on former President Trump before a sniper took out the shooter after he opened fire.

Jon Malis took the footage as he and his family watched the campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, next to the American Glass Research (AGR) building, which Thomas Matthew Crooks was able to scale to a clear line of sight to Trump, who suffered injuries to his ear from the shooting. One spectator was killed and several others were injured in the incident.

Crooks, 20, appeared to fire eight shots before he was killed by sniper fire.

"I noticed about two minutes before the shooting started, the people were starting to say, 'hey, he's climbing up here, he's crawling around, he's doing this, he's doing that," Malis told Fox News. "We just kind of ignored it because we thought it was some person trying to get a better view."

"I want to say three, then maybe five [rounds were heard]," he added. "And then I heard the two counter sniper rounds."

Fox News' Landon Mion and Bryan Llenas contributed to this report.

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 00:30:58 -0400

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Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban chimed in on X after President Biden’s remarks about not running for re-election and backing Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid for presidency against former President Donald Trump.

Cuban, who even took a swipe at Elon Musk’s X platform, cast a few polls for his followers would follow.

Here are his polls:

“Is @X MAGA country”

Here’s another:

"Who is currently the low energy candidate for President" Kamala Harris or Donald Trump?

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 21:55:37 -0400

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President Biden was slammed for his remarks from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening that his administration is lowering border crossings at a better rate than under former President Donald Trump.

"Biden: 'We are also securing our border. Border crossings are lower today than when the previous administration left office,'" communications director for the State Freedom Caucus Network, Greg Price, posted to X.

"A lie so pathetic that you almost have to laugh," he added.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 21:46:46 -0400

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Republican South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace took aim at President Biden’s speech on Wednesday evening for stumbling over his words at times. 

“Pour one out for the closed captioning people…” Mace quipped in an X post. 

Former President Donald Trump also slammed Biden’s roughly 11-minute speech, writing on his Truth Social account that “Crooked Joe Biden’s Oval Office speech was barely understandable, and sooo bad!”

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 21:24:44 -0400

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President Joe Biden has just gone from being his own worst enemy to being Kamala Harris’ greatest asset. I say that because the bumbling, unsure Joe Biden of three and a half weeks ago and since the disastrous presidential debate was absent on Wednesday night.

To be sure, there were a few moments, indeed more than a few moments, where he stumbled over his words and expressions in his Oval Office address to the nation. But far more important was the brief 10-minute or so summary Biden offered Americans of his accomplishments. On Wednesday night, in the absence of a partisan political campaign, they suddenly seemed far more compelling than they did in the course of the now ended Biden-for-President effort.

I say that because every point that Biden’s approval goes up from here on out will undoubtedly translate into additional support for Vice President Kamala Harris in her race against Donald Trump.

In his brief address, Biden convincingly made a case for his leadership -- both domestically and overseas -- without direct partisan attacks or shrill and harsh rhetoric.

Most tellingly, Biden struck a theme that neither he nor the Democrats could have articulated while he was a candidate: "Passing the torch to a new generation."  The president sought to inoculate Harris, perhaps not entirely convincingly, on her greatest liability -- the Southern border and unfettered illegal immigration.

Similarly, Biden made what I thought was a strong case for unity, stability and, most of all, democracy.

Still, I don’t believe, nor would I mean to imply that this speech in any way changes or fundamentally alters the campaign to come. But it suggests that Joe Biden has been revitalized and can play three important roles for Vice President Harris.

First, as chief advocate for the Biden domestic and foreign policy. Second, as chief advocate for a new, and frankly untested, face on the national stage – the sitting vice president. And third, not to be underestimated, after Wednesday’s speech, there will be a revitalized and resurgent ability to raise vast sums of money to combat Donald Trump and the Republicans.

Make no mistake, Joe Biden, with his brief 10-minute address, has gone from being a pariah among donors to a likely celebrity again. The president, who just one short week ago was shunned by the party’s richest and most influential donors, will undoubtedly be welcomed back into living rooms from the Upper East Side to West Los Angeles as he makes the case simultaneously for his administration and that of his hoped-for successor.

Finally, the president’s speech gives Democrats an asset they frankly lacked until Wednesday night: a sitting president who can make the case for the Party. Biden no doubt will join with former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama to demonstrate newfound Democratic unity both at the convention and beyond. Harris now has an opportunity at that convention, both on her own and with her choice of vice president, to lay out her own vision of the America she hopes to lead.

I still regard Donald Trump as the front-runner in the 2024 election, as the polls narrowly show. But with a newly compelling Joe Biden, a united Democratic Party and three presidents to advocate on her behalf, Kamala Harris has a far better chance of winning this election than anyone thought possible just a few days ago.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 21:25:16 -0400

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President Biden was flanked by members of his family while he addressed the nation from the Oval Office in his first speech since dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.

The president was joined by first lady Jill Biden, daughter Ashley Biden, son Hunter Biden, as well as grandchildren such as Maisy Biden, Naomi Biden, and Finnegan Biden.

Photos from inside the Oval Office showed some members of the Biden family become emotional and crying after the president wrapped up his speech. First daughter Ashley Biden was seen hugging her father after he finished his roughly 11-minute address.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 21:17:30 -0400

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The Republican National Committee (RNC) poked fun at President Biden during his address to the nation from the Oval Office on Wednesday after he appeared to freeze and jumble his words.

"BIDEN v. TELEPROMPTER (Teleprompter remains undefeated)," an account associated with the RNC posed on X during the speech.

Biden, 81, has battled a life-long stutter, and has often drawn criticism for his speech, especially when related to concerns over his health.

His poor performance in the first presidential debate, in which he spoke with a raspy voice, led to the widespread calls from within his own party for him to drop out of the 2024 race.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 21:15:51 -0400

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President Biden addressed the nation for the first time on Wednesday since bowing out of the 2024 election, saying he is passing the torch to "a new generation" while again throwing his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris in her campaign to secure the Democratic Party's nomination. 

"I decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. It's the best way to unite our nation. You know, there is a time and a place for long years of experience in public life. There's also a time and place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices. And that time and place is now," Biden said. 

The speech lasted roughly 11 minutes, with the president sitting at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office while touting his years in political office and decision to bow out. Members of the president's family were in attendance for the speech, including first lady Jill Biden, daughter Ashley Biden, son Hunter Biden and others. 

The president said he looks forward to the work before him in his final six months in office, including pushing for Supreme Court reforms. 

"I'm gonna call for Supreme Court reform, because this is critical to our democracy," he said. Media reports recently surfaced that Biden is considering supporting legislation that would attempt to impose term limits on Supreme Court justices and a new enforceable ethics code.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 21:13:31 -0400

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The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C., mocked President Biden's speech Wednesday where he addressed the nation following dropping out of the presidential race.

"President Biden: My record merits a second term, so I’m not seeking a second term and instead installing a candidate who wasn’t elected because 'nothing can come in the way of saving democracy,'" the Heritage Foundation posted on X.

Biden spoke for about 11 minutes on Wednesday evening, when he elaborated on exiting the 2024 election.

"I decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. It's the best way to unite our nation. You know, there is a time and a place for long years of experience in public life. There's also a time and place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices. And that time and place is now," Biden said.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 20:57:33 -0400

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First lady Jill Biden called on Americans to put their trust in Vice President Harris following President Biden's Wednesday address from the Oval Office on his decision to drop out of the 2024 race.

"To those who never wavered, to those who refused to doubt, to those who always believed, my heart is full of gratitude," she wrote in a post on X.

"Thank you for the trust you put in Joe—now it’s time to put that trust in Kamala."

Biden explained in his address that his decision to drop out was "the best way to unite our nation."

"I revere this office but I love this country more. It's been the honor of my life to serve as president," he said.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 21:10:15 -0400

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President Biden was joined in the Oval Office by multiple family members and staff for his address to the nation Wednesday night.

Seated to the president’s left, just off camera, were first lady Jill Biden, daughter Ashley, her husband, Howard Krein, son Hunter, granddaughters Maisy, Finnegan and Naomi, and grandson Hunter.

Senior adviser Mike Donilon was also seated in the room, with advisor Steve Ricchetti standing next to him.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and advisor Ben LaBolt were standing in back of the Oval Office, near the portraits of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson.

Ashley Biden had her eyes closed for most of the speech, nodding silently and breathing deeply as her father spoke. At one point, she dabbed her eyes with the sleeve of the Olympic-themed shirt she was wearing.

Other Biden family members, including the first lady, kept intense watch on the president, nodding slowly. 

Ashley held her mother’s hand at the end of the speech.

Fox News' Sarah Tobianski contributed to this report.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 20:40:45 -0400

President Biden said during his Oval Office address on Wednesday that he intended to finish his term as president.

"Over the next six months I'll be focused on doing my job as president," Biden said, mentioning the economy, civil rights, political violence, gun violence and climate change.

"I will keep fighting for my cancer moonshot so we can end cancer as we know it because we can do it."

He also said he would continue working for "Supreme Court reform," before touting that the U.S. "is not at war anywhere in the world."

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 20:44:27 -0400

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President Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office on Thursday after dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.

"I revere this office but I love this country more. It's been the honor of my life to serve as president," Biden said, before stating America was "going to have to choose between moving forward or backward."

He called on Americans to see those they disagree with as "fellow Americans," and declared, "We are a great nation because we are a good people."

"I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America's future all merited a second term," Biden said, before stating him dropping out was "the best way to unite our nation."

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 19:47:57 -0400

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The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has scrambled fighter jets to intercept two pairs of Russian and Chinese bombers ahead of President Biden's highly anticipated Oval Office address.

Less than an hour before Biden is expected to hit the airwaves, Fox News correspondent Lucas Tomlinson posted on X about the deployment.

"Ahead of Biden’s Oval Office address, NORAD says it scrambled fighter jets to intercept two Russian Tu-95 'Bear' bombers and two Chinese H-6 bombers off the coast of Alaska."

NORAD said in its own post that it "detected, tracked, and intercepted two Russian TU-95 and two PRC H-6 military aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on July 24, 2024."

"NORAD fighter jets from the United States and Canada conducted the intercept."

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 20:34:29 -0400

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The White House has released excerpts from President Biden's highly anticipated Oval Office address, which he is expected to deliver tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET.

The excerpts were revealed in an X post by Andrew Bates, the White House senior deputy press secretary.

“The defense of democracy is more important than any title. I draw strength, and find joy, in working FOR the American people. But this sacred task of perfecting our Union is not about me. It’s about you. Your families. Your futures," Biden is expected to say, according to Bates.

Biden is also expected to use the speech to "pass the torch to a new generation," which he will claim is the "best way to unite our nation."

“Over the next six months I will be focused on doing my job as President. That means I will continue to lower costs for hard-working families and grow our economy. I will keep defending our personal freedoms and our civil rights – from the right to vote – to the right to choose," Biden will say.

“The great thing about America is here, kings and dictators do not rule. The people do. History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The idea of America – lies in your hands.”

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 19:13:28 -0400

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Vice President Harris is vetting around a dozen potential options to be her running mate, according to a report by CBS News that cited a source familiar with the process.

Those names, some of which Fox News Digital has also reported are being considered, include Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and California Gov. Gavin Newsom are also reportedly being considered.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 20:40:28 -0400

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Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., claimed he was not part of a "coordinated effort" to pressure President Biden to drop out of the race despite being one of the first to publicly ask him to withdraw.

"I can't speak to the private efforts that either Speaker Pelosi or Chuck Schumer or Hakeem Jeffries were undertaking, because I really wasn’t part of those internal discussions, so I don’t know what they were conveying to the president except that they were conveying the feedback they got from members of the House and Senate," Schiff told the co-hosts of ABC's "The View" on Wednesday.

He continued, "I can only speak for myself. I wasn’t part of a coordinated effort." 

Schiff was one of the first prominent Democrats to publicly call on Biden to drop out of the race in the weeks following the president's disastrous debate performance.

"I really resisted wanting to say what I ultimately felt I needed to, but having worked on the January 6th committee, having worked on impeachment of the former president, having the grave concerns that I have that if we go back to the disastrous presidency of Donald Trump, it could be the end of our democracy as we know it," the California congressman and U.S. Senate candidate told the daytime hosts.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 20:42:44 -0400

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The White House communication team’s credibility surrounding knowledge of President Biden's political future is in the national spotlight after telling the public for weeks that Biden would not drop out of the 2024 race while simultaneously battling questions from the press about mounting concerns over his health. 

"All you can do is shake your head.  No one at the White House has any credibility when it comes to Joe Biden’s health. From Vice President Harris to the White House physician to everyone in the press office, they covered up the president’s frailties. They hid the truth. It’s a scandal," former George W. Bush White House press secretary Ari Fleischer told Fox News Digital.

Voters and social media commenters across the nation have sounded off in recent days that the communications team was "out of the loop" as concerns mounted surrounding Biden's health and subsequent claims that the president would exit the 2024 presidential race. 

When Biden did announce his departure from the race, only a handful of White House and campaign officials – such as Vice President Kamala Harris, chief of staff Jeff Zients and campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon – were made aware ahead of the letter, while some senior officials learned of the decision in a Zoom call, and most others through Biden's public announcement on X, media outlets reported.

The White House communications shop, which is led by press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, had for weeks shut down claims Biden would drop out, while describing Biden's health as above board and no reason for concern. 

"Absolutely not," Jean-Pierre declared in a press briefing on July 3 when asked if Biden had any plans to exit the 2024 race. 

Jean-Pierre's messaging had been backed up by White House spokesman Andrew Bates, who frequently issued statements to the media that Biden was in the race to win while brushing off questions about the president's health. 

"The president told both leaders he is the nominee of the party, he plans to win and looks forward to working with both of them to pass his 100-days agenda to help working families," Bates said last week in a comment to the New York Times. 

"That is not happening, period," Bates said Friday when asked if members of the Biden family were discussing the president’s exit plan. "The individuals making those claims are not speaking for his family or his team – and they will be proven wrong. Keep the faith."

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 20:44:37 -0400

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The Democratic National Committee (DNC) recently decided that August 1 will be the first day delegates begin voting for their favored presidential candidates.

Vice President Kamala Harris is the party's presumptive nominee after accruing a massive amount of support from delegates after President Biden dropped out of the race. The vote will take place virtually, according to a DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee hearing on Wednesday.

The virtual voting process will be quicker than learning who becomes the nominee at the Democratic National Convention, which takes place later in August.

DNC outside counsel Patrick Moore noted that the deadline to certify a presidential and vice presidential candidate is August 7.

"The goal of these rules is to make the process work such that, a president and vice presidential nominee will be certified on or before August 7," Moore said during a meeting.

"So if for some reason or another, the process did not work on that timeline, which again, we firmly intend and expect that it will, the rules provide the chair of the DNC and the chair of the convention working together may extend the process," he added.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 20:47:49 -0400

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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had a tense exchange with Fox News' Senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy during Wednesday's press briefing.

Doocy grilled Jean-Pierre about Biden's cognitive decline after the president dropped out of the 2024 race on Sunday.

"It would seem that people in this White House knew that President Biden was slipping and it was hidden from the American people," he said. "So who ordered White House officials to cover up a declining president?"

"I know that that is a narrative that you love," Jean-Pierre began before Doocy interrupted her.

"Wait. First of all, there's been no cover up," the official added. "I want to be very clear about that. I know that's the narrative that you all want..."

Doocy interrupted her again and the two had a short back-and-forth before she repeated that there was not a cover-up, and encouraged Doocy to listen to Biden's "incredibly powerful and important" address from the Oval Office on Wednesday night.

At the beginning of the exchange, Doocy asked the press secretary how she was doing in reference to the recent news cycle.

"How are you doing with all of this?" Doocy asked the press secretary, .

"You care about how I feel?" Jean-Pierre laughed.

"Are you going to stick around for a potential President Harris administration?" Doocy added.

"Oh, my goodness. So let me just get through the day. Can I just get through today?" the admin official responded.

At the end of their exchange, Doocy asked Jean-Pierre "if there [were] any names that came forward that surprised you of Democratic officials in the last week who stabbed President Biden in the back?"

To which Jean-Pierre curtly responded with, "I don't have anything else to say."

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 16:12:13 -0400

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White House Press Secretary Karine Jean Pierre said that calls for Biden to resign are "ridiculous" and that he is currently capable of serving as president.

Asked about calls for Biden to resign from office, the press secretary said that "any suggestion of that note is ridiculous.""I just laid out what the president has been able to do in almost four years, and it's been successful. He's been able to do more again than any president has been able to do in two terms," she said during the press briefing Wednesday. "He's been able to do that more in one term, and he wants to finish the job that he started and delivering more historic results for the American people."

Biden is scheduled to address America from the Oval Office Wednesday evening and deliver his first remarks since dropping out of the presidential race. Jean Pierre said that he will use this time to explain further the reasoning behind his decision to withdraw.

"He didn't step down from campaigning or from running because he didn't believe he can serve in a second term," she said. "That is not why. And what I would say, as I just finished my opening, I would say tune in, tune in to what he has to say tonight and he will lay that out for you all in the American people as to why he made that decision."

Jean Pierre added that Biden "absolutely" believes he is currently capable of serving as president.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 15:55:36 -0400

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White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Vice President Kamala Harris has been "unwavering" in her support of Israel during a Wednesday press briefing, despite Harris' absence from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress.

"Let me just first say that the vice president has been unwavering in her commitment to the security of Israel," Jean-Pierre told reporters. "As you know, she's been a partner with this president for the past four years, not just domestic issues, but obviously also foreign policy issues."

The press secretary added that Harris plans to meet with Netanyahu during the Israeli leader's trip to the U.S.

"She continues to be supportive to Israel, making sure that Israel's security is ironclad as we have been as a partner -- as the president has been -- and she's going to meet with the prime minister," Jean-Pierre added.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 17:05:39 -0400

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FOX News Media sent formal letters to the Donald Trump and Kamala Harris campaigns on Wednesday proposing a debate to take place on September 17 in Pennsylvania."

Now that Vice President Kamala Harris is the presumptive Democratic nominee, FOX News Media is amending our proposal for a debate this cycle.

Given the race has changed, we’d like to request the opportunity to host a Presidential Debate between VP Harris and former President Trump," the letters sent to each campaign, signed by FOX News Media President and Executive Editor Jay Wallace and FOX News Vice President of Politics Jessica Loker, stated. 

"We propose to host the debate in the state of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, September 17, just as early voting is getting underway there and in other key battlegrounds. We are open to discussion on the exact date, format and location – with or without an audience," Wallace and Loker continued. "Again, we believe Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, the faces of our political coverage, are the best choices to moderate." 

Read the full story by Brian Flood on how Fox News Media proposed a Trump-Harris debate.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 15:30:14 -0400

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Members of President Biden's Cabinet are doubling down on their support for the president amid calls for them to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove him from office.

The shoring up of their support comes as Biden continues to face pressure over his health as well as his decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, which prompted mounting concern from lawmakers questioning his ability to serve the remainder of his term if he is unable to seek re-election.

"Secretary Yellen disagrees with those calls," a spokesperson for Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Fox News Digital on Tuesday, while also pointing to recent comments she made during a House hearing in which she refused to comment in detail on her private meetings with Biden.

Fox News' Brandon Gillespie contributed to this update.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 15:27:58 -0400

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Gov. Josh Shapiro, D-Pa., who is being floated as a potential running mate for Vice President Kamala Harris, revealed the two things he talked about with the likely Democratic nominee during their last phone call.

Shapiro told reporters that President Joe Biden called him after withdrawing from the presidential race on Sunday.

"Following his call, I received a call from Vice President Harris, and we talked about one thing and one thing only, well, I guess technically two. One, she asked me for my endorsement," Shapiro said on Wednesday.

"Two, we discussed how to defeat Donald Trump here in Pennsylvania," he added. "That's all we discussed. And she and I had not spoken since then."

Shapiro did not turn down the idea when asked about calls for a Harris-Shapiro ticket.

"The vice president now has a deeply personal decision to make, one that she is obviously quite familiar with because she went through it with then candidate Biden when she was selected to serve as the vice president of the United States. That is a deeply personal decision that should be made free from any political pressure," he said when asked about potentially running on a ticket with Harris. "This is a process that the vice president needs to go through and make her decision based upon factors that she lays forward." 

Fox News' Deirdre Heavey contributed to this post.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 15:26:47 -0400

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Vice President and presumptive Democratic nominee for president Kamala Harris said Wednesday that she would sign a bill into law that would codify abortion protections similar to the Roe v. Wade law that was overturned by the Supreme Court.

"We who believe that every person in our nation should be free from bigotry, discrimination and hate will continue to fight for equality and justice for all. And we who believe in reproductive freedom will fight for a woman's right to choose, because one does not have to abandon their faith or deeply held beliefs to agree that the government should not be telling her what to do," Harris said a Zeta Phi Beta sorority event Wednesday.

"You know, when he was president, Donald Trump, former president, handpicked three members of the United States Supreme Court because he intended for them to overturn Roe v Wade, the United States Supreme Court, previously the court of Thurgood and RBG," she said.

"And as he intended, they did. Well, let me tell you something. When I am president of the United States, and when Congress passes a law to restore those freedoms, I will sign it into law. We are not playing around," she added.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 14:41:04 -0400

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However, the change at the top of the Democratic ticket does not concern the Trump campaign, according to sources familiar. 

"The Trump team has been wholly prepared for every scenario, as evidenced by the memos and gameplanning done months in advance," a Trump campaign adviser told Fox News Digital. "The campaign leaves nothing to chance and is well-positioned to prosecute the case against a weak, failed, incompetent, and dangerously liberal in Kamala Harris." 

The former president will continue his packed schedule of criss-crossing the nation for rallies with supporters, speeches and more.

Trump also, in recent weeks, has been meeting and speaking with world leaders. Trump is expected to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago on Friday after speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week. 

Read the full story from Brooke Singman.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 14:30:21 -0400

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The New York Times is attempting to spin Vice President Kamala Harris' history of unflattering viral moments as "celebratory artifacts" following her swift emergence as the presumptive Democratic nominee. 

Amanda Hess, the Times' internet culture critic, penned a piece titled "The Triumphant Comeback of the Kamala Harris Meme," highlighting the surging online content in the days after President Biden announced his endorsement for Harris and his exit from the 2024 race.

Hess called Harris a "highly memeable presidential candidate."

"The same unflattering supercuts and Photoshop jobs once used to denigrate Harris have now been flipped into celebratory artifacts of her candidacy," Hess told readers Tuesday.

The Times critic said that Harris' go-to catchphrase "what can be, unburdened by what has been," something that has long been ridiculed by conservatives, was "reclaimed by Harris supporters," writing, "The mild incoherence of her phrasing only makes it more interesting as a hook on TikTok, where fans chop up and remix a candidate’s speech like D.J.s working a goofy soundboard."

Fox News' Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this update.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 14:15:46 -0400

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A crowd supporting the new presidential candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris chanted "lock him up!" during her first rally as the presumptive Democratic nominee.

"I was elected attorney general of the state of California, and I was a courtroom prosecutor before then. And in those roles I took on perpetrators of all kinds — predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain," Harris told voters at a Wisconsin rally Tuesday, according to a report from the New York Post.

"So hear me when I say I know Donald Trump’s type."The line was well received by those in the audience, who enthusiastically cheered before breaking out into chants of "lock him up!"

The chants were reminiscent of those seen at rallies for then-GOP candidate Donald Trump during the 2016 election, when crowds would chant "lock her up" in reference to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump’s opponent that year.

Four years later, similar chants were heard at former President Trump's rallies in reference to President Biden, with the crowd chanting "lock him up!" after Trump slammed the Biden family as a "criminal enterprise."

Fox News' Michael Lee contibuted to this update.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 13:57:01 -0400

An all-female focus group slammed the idea of Vice President Kamala Harris leading the Democratic Party on the 2024 ticket.

MSNBC hosted a focus group asking voters how they think Harris compares to President Joe Biden as a presidential candidate, and the responses were unanimously negative toward the vice president."I think she's worse," one woman said.

"She doesn't even know what's going on at the border. That's what she was supposed to be doing," another said. "As a school teacher, if I did not do what I was suppose to be doing, you better believe my job would be in jeopardy."

The MSNBC host then asked if Harris could choose a running mate that would sway them to vote for her in November, to which all the women said "no."

One individual said they would vote for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy before Harris.

"I don't get a good feel from her," one voter said.

"I think she's an idiot," another told the outlet.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 13:41:25 -0400

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Vice President Kamala Harris has expressed mixed views on Israel over the last several years, an issue that is sure to be highlighted as she takes over at the top of the Democratic ticket at the same time as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Washington.

Harris has often been an advocate for Jewish causes and frequently supported the U.S. alliance with Israel since joining the Senate in 2017, but cracks in the now-vice president’s support for the Jewish state have started to show amid the country’s monthslong invasion of neighboring Gaza in response to the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks.

Shortly after taking office in 2017, Harris and husband Doug Emhoff, who is Jewish, traveled to Israel. The trip was the third for Harris, according to a report from the Times of Israel, but the first for her husband, highlighting the importance of the country to a senator who had spent much of her upbringing around the Jewish community.

That same year, Harris made one of her first speeches as a senator to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the report notes, where the freshman senator boasted that she had introduced a resolution condemning the United Nations Security Council's resolution that condemned Israel.

"I believe that a resolution to this conflict cannot be imposed. It must be agreed upon by the parties themselves. Peace can only come through a reconciliation of differences and that can only happen at the negotiating table," Harris said during the speech. "I believe that when any organization delegitimizes Israel, we must stand up and speak out for Israel to be treated equally."

Fox News' Michael Lee contributed to this update.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 13:33:18 -0400

EXCLUSIVE: President Biden's son Hunter was spotted arriving at the Reagan National Airport right outside Washington, D.C.  on Tuesday night where he briefly answered questions about his father's health.

"Great," the president's son said when asked to comment on his health just days after bowing out of the presidential race amid concerns from members of his own party about his ability to serve out another term.

"How are you feeling now that he has stepped down," Biden is asked as he walks into the airport parking garage.

"It's all good, man," Hunter responds.

Read the full story from Andrew Mark Miller.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 13:00:16 -0400

Democratic strategist James Carville warned members of his party to be "careful" in their support for Vice President Harris, and said there was "tough sledding ahead.""This has been a real change in mood in the party and around the country, but we got to be a little careful.

There's about ten percent too much triumphalism going on, and you know, it’s going to be a very difficult race," Carville said during a Wednesday interview on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."

"It’s going to be very close, and I understand that people are feeling a lot better, and they're excited.

"But that excitement has got to be tempered with realism, and the realism is she has a tough campaign on, and as you say, she’s got several things she’s got to accomplish at the same time," he cautioned.

Read the full story from Hannah Panreck.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 19:40:57 -0400

EXCLUSIVE: A top grassroots group that represents Jewish Republicans is taking aim at Vice President Kamala Harris for being absent from Wednesday's speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in front of a joint meeting of Congress.

The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), in an announcement shared first with Fox News, is launching a five-figure digital ad buy in key general election swing states that accuses the vice president and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee for "snubbing" the Israeli leader's address to Congress.

The speaker of the House and the vice president, in the constitutional role as president of the Senate, usually preside over joint meetings and sessions of Congress.

However, Harris will be notably absent while Netanyahu is addressing Congress. 

The vice president will instead be attending a previously scheduled luncheon with the Zeta Phi Beta sorority.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Paul Steinhauser.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 12:46:54 -0400

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Former President Donald Trump is leading Vice President Harris in a hypothetical general election matchup, according to a new poll conducted after she rose as the likely-Democrat nominee.

CNN conducted a survey after President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 presidential race and backed Harris for the nomination. The poll found that if the general election were today, Trump held a 3-point lead over Harris, 49% to 46%.

The results, released Wednesday, also reveal that Harris is performing better than Biden did in recent CNN hypothetical matchups against Trump. According to the poll, about 9 in 10 voters approve of Biden's decision to end his re-election bid.

About 76% of Democrat or Democrat-leaning voters said that Harris should be nominated as their party's 2024 nominee, just days after Biden dropped out of the race. Among the Democratic respondents, 75% say they are confident in her chances of beating Trump in November.

The CNN poll was conducted from July 22 to 23 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 12:11:03 -0400

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The media are gushing – there’s no other word – over newly minted Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.

She was being portrayed as having the money and the mojo as she headed to Milwaukee. "Harris Hits the Trail, Powered by Endorsements, Money and Delegates," said The Washington Post.The excitement is understandable.

The mainstream press wanted Joe Biden to step aside, the vice president steps in and attacks Trump from an ex-prosecutor’s perspective (and he calls her "Dumb as a Rock"). And given that Harris would be such a groundbreaker – first female president, first black female president, first president of Asian-American background – it’s a hell of a story.

But with Biden finally planning to address the country tonight – putting to rest absurd rumors that he was dying or dead – the spotlight remains firmly fixed on Harris.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Howard Kurtz.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 11:37:14 -0400

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Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton made the case for a Kamala Harris presidency in a New York Times guest essay on Wednesday.

"Elections are about the future. That’s why I am excited about Vice President Kamala Harris. She represents a fresh start for American politics. She can offer a hopeful, unifying vision. She is talented, experienced and ready to be president. And I know she can defeat Donald Trump," Clinton wrote.

She made the case that Harris as a "savvy former prosecutor and successful vice president" could be the perfect contrast to the former Republican president, though warned from personal experience that the vice president would face sexist attacks.

"Ms. Harris’s record and character will be distorted and disparaged by a flood of disinformation and the kind of ugly prejudice we’re already hearing from MAGA mouthpieces. She and the campaign will have to cut through the noise, and all of us as voters must be thoughtful about what we read, believe and share," Clinton wrote.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Lindsay Kornick.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 19:35:50 -0400

Speculation is mounting that President Biden will pardon his son, Hunter Biden, who was recently found guilty in a federal gun trial, despite the president and his staffers saying he will not give the first son a pass amid his legal troubles. 

"I’ve been very clear; the president is not going to pardon his son," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in December. Biden, himself, addressed the issue last month, telling ABC News that he ruled out pardoning his son and answering in the affirmative that he would accept the jury’s verdict in the case. 

The administration assured Fox News Digital on Tuesday that the president's comments stood in regard to Hunter Biden's pardon. However, the credibility of those press aides is in doubt after weeks of denying Biden was considering quitting the 2024 campaign.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Emma Colton.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 11:07:13 -0400

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Republican lawmakers are criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris' decision to forego attending Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress, calling it "shameful," as she opts instead to deliver a speech at a women's convention.

Netanyahu will deliver an address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday amid Israel's ongoing 292-day war with the terrorist group Hamas. Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee after President Biden dropped out of the 2024 race, declined to preside over the address and will instead speak at the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc.'s Grand Boulé in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called Harris' decision "inexcusable." 

"She will not be there because she refuses to attend," Johnson said at a GOP press briefing Tuesday. "She needs to be held accountable for that."

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 10:56:32 -0400

Vote.org, the largest nonpartisan voting registration platform in the country, saw the single largest number of registrations over a 48-hour period during the 2024 election cycle since President Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, the organization said.

Over a 48-hour period since President Biden's announcement on Sunday, Vote.org said it saw a roughly 700% increase in daily new voter registrations, totaling over 38,500 in that period.

Young voters, ages 18-34, accounted for 83% of those registrations.

This figure tops even when, last September, a Taylor Swift Instagram post urging followers to register led to 34,000 registrations via Vote.org over 48 hours, the group said.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 10:22:16 -0400

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Vice President Kamala Harris once called infamous hate crime hoaxer Jussie Smollett a victim of an attempted "modern day lynching.

"Now the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, Harris to this day has not deleted her 2019 social media post that repeats the false claim, even after the "Empire" actor's criminal conviction in Illinois for the faked attack. 

Smollett claimed two masked men "doused him with bleach, put a rope around his neck and said, ‘This is MAGA country!'" in the heart of Chicago during the 2019 polar vortex. 

"[Jussie Smollett] is one of the kindest, most gentle human beings I know. I'm praying for his quick recovery," California Sen. Harris posted on X, formerly Twitter, Jan. 29, 2019. 

"This was an attempted modern day lynching. No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or color of their skin. We must confront this hate." 

Weeks later, after it became clear police were investigating Smollett for filing a false report, Harris said she was "sad, frustrated and disappointed" by news the actor made "false claims to police." 

Fox News' Chris Pandolfo and Callie Cassick contributed to this update.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 10:20:00 -0400

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Vice President Harris' presidential campaign is hitting back after former President Donald Trump blasted her handling of the southern border crisis.

Trump said during a recent press call that after Harris was appointed "border czar" that "millions and millions of illegal aliens have invaded our country, and countless Americans have been killed by migrant crime because of her willful demolition of American borders and laws."

Harris' campaign fired back at Trump's comment.

"The only ‘plan’ Donald Trump has to secure our border is ripping mothers from their children and a few xenophobic placards at the Republican National Convention," Harris campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz told Fox News Digital in a statement.

"He tanked the toughest bipartisan border security deal in a generation because for Donald Trump, this has never been about actually securing the border – it’s always about himself. He can make up whatever lies he wants but the fact is there’s only one candidate in this race who will fight for real solutions to help secure our nation’s border, and that’s Vice President Harris," Munoz said.

Fox News Digital's Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 09:40:27 -0400

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Former President Trump said on Tuesday that he wants to make at least one visit, and possibly more, to the southern border as he seeks to make the ongoing migrant crisis a central issue in his re-election campaign — and draw a contrast with "radical" Vice President Kamala Harris.

"The answer is yes. I will be taking at least another trip or two trips or three trips, whatever is necessary," he said in response to a question about whether he will visit the border.

He said details were yet to be figured out along with other officials including former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Thomas Homan and former National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd.

"We have a lot of knowledge of the border, I’ve been there many times," he said.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Adam Shaw.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 09:26:04 -0400

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Many lawmakers and donors have come out in support of Vice President Kamala Harris following President Biden's exit from the 2024 race. 

However, one Biden megadonor is not "enthusiastic" about the president's endorsement and is cutting his fundraising efforts.

"You have to be enthusiastic or hoping for a political appointment to be asking friends for money. I am neither," attorney John Morgan wrote on X Sunday. "It's others turn now. The donors holding the 90 million can release those funds in the morning. It's all yours. You can keep my million. And good luck."Morgan further explained why he won't support the Harris campaign on "Cavuto: Coast to Coast" Tuesday. 

"To go out and have a fundraiser raise 3, 4 or $5 million. It sounds easy, but it's not easy," he stressed. "It's very difficult to do that. You have to have motivation. You have to really believe, or you have to really want something. There has to be a driving force inside of you."

On Sunday, Biden announced he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential election despite affirming his intentions to stay in the race following his concerning debate performance. 

Fox Business' Madeline Coggins contributed to this update.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 19:24:39 -0400

Democrat Rep. Emilia Sykes, who is running for re-election in an Ohio district that's vulnerable for Democrats, ignored questions about Vice President Harris’ record on immigration on Tuesday.

"Hello, Congresswoman, do you think that Kamala Harris did a good job as the border czar," Sykes was asked in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Sykes ignored the question and kept walking, which prompted a follow-up question.

"Congresswoman, do you think Kamala Harris did a good job as the border czar? Yes or no?"

Sykes responded, taking issue with the pronunciation of Harris’ name, "I don’t know who Kamala Harris is."

"She’s the vice president," the questioner responds before Sykes enters her office.

Read the full story from Andrew Mark Miller about Sykes' response to questions about Vice President Harris’ record on immigration.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 08:45:09 -0400

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Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu arrived in Washington, D.C., on Monday evening in preparation for his address to Congress on Wednesday. He will hold his first meeting with President Biden on U.S. soil since the Iran-backed terrorist movement Hamas slaughtered nearly 1,200 people on Oct. 7, including some 30 Americans, and took about 250 hostages.

The two leaders have had sharp disagreements over Israel’s prosecution of the war in the Gaza Strip, where Hamas is based. A telling example was Israel’s decision to defy Biden and seek military control over the southern Gaza City of Rafah, the last main stronghold of Hamas battalions and hostages held by the U.S.-designated terrorist entity.

Caroline Glick, an American-Israeli commentator and former adviser to Netanyahu, told Fox News Digital, "Biden's meeting with Netanyahu finds the two leaders on opposite ends of the spectrum. Like the vast majority of Israelis, Netanyahu remains committed to achieving Israel's war goals of destroying Hamas as a military and political entity, returning all the hostages, preventing Gaza from ever threatening Israel in the future, and changing the strategic balance in northern Israel completely in Israel's favor to permit the 80,000 Israeli residents of the border towns with Lebanon to return to their homes safely after living in hotels since they were evacuated in October."

According to Glick, who lives in Jerusalem, "Biden seeks a cease-fire that achieves none of these goals. In their meeting, Biden will pressure Netanyahu to abandon Israel's war goals and accept a cease-fire. Netanyahu will seek to secure weapons supplies to ensure Israel has what it requires to win."

Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this update.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 08:25:57 -0400

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Second gentleman Doug Emhoff clapped back at former President Trump, who criticized his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, after she launched her presidential campaign.

Trump, who often coins nicknames for his political opponents, dubbed Harris "Laughin' Kamala" and "Lyin' Kamala" on his social media platform Truth Social.

"That's all he's got?" Emhoff said Tuesday when asked by reporters about the former president's comments about his wife.

"You heard the Vice President yesterday making the case against Donald Trump," Emhoff said. "Very clearly laid out the case, directly and in a compelling fashion. But she also laid out a vision for the future. A vision where there's freedom. Where we're not having to talk about these issues of today in this post Dobbs Hellscape that Donald Trump created."

Harris launched her presidential campaign Sunday night after President Biden announced he was suspending his re-election campaign. Harris secured enough delegates Monday night to secure the Democratic Party's nomination, although the party's nominee will not formally be selected until next month's convention in Chicago.

"We're gonna prosecute the case against Donald Trump and his lies, his gaslighting, during COVID, the dereliction of duty, inciting an insurrection and all those other things," Emhoff said.

"We're gonna make that very clear," Emhoff continued. "She's gonna be able to make that case. We're also gonna move on from this type of environment, this Dobbs, where freedoms are taken away, where autonomy is taken away. Where they're telling you, you can't read this book. They're telling you, you can't learn these facts. They're telling you, you can't vote. All that is gonna change, and it must change."

Fox News Digital's Landon Mion contributed to this update.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 08:16:15 -0400

Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn. said Tuesday that the American people are ready to accept a Jewish vice president as the veepstakes is underway in the Democratic Party.

Phillips, who mounted an unsuccessful primary challenge to President Biden only to see Biden later drop out, discussed presumptive Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris' options as she seeks a running mate, and spoke favorably of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish.

“I am a little surprised in this day and age that somehow, maybe, breaking barriers may stop at people of the Jewish faith,” Phillips said Tuesday on NewsNation. 

Shapiro is reported to be on Harris' VP shortlist, but some pundits and reporters have suggested his Jewish faith may be a negative with voters. CNN anchor John King called Shapiro a "risky" choice on the basis of his faith, and former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer told Fox News this week he would be shocked if the Democratic Party nominated a Jewish candidate for vice president. 

“The fact of the matter is, you know, we’re Americans,” Phillips said. “Judaism is a faith. It’s a religion, not an ethnicity or a nationality. It’s almost strange and disconcerting that we’re even having the conversation.”

“I think most of us know John King was just reporting the truth,” he added. “Anybody Jewish knows that there are some people who are antisemites, they’re on the left, they’re on the right.”

“I hope she picks Josh Shapiro, I think he’d be a magnificent pick,” Phillips said. He also noted that Harris' husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, is Jewish. 

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 07:54:27 -0400

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A veteran and high-ranking Democratic lawmaker claims she was in the dark about President Biden's intention to resign from the 2024 presidential campaign.

Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters from California spoke to Politico on Monday, saying Biden dropping off the party's ticket caught her completely off-guard after she "woke up to it on the television."

"I was angry at first, because we’d worked so hard to give him the kind of support that would cause him to stay," Waters told Politico. "We had been told up to the last minute that he was going to stay."

She continued, "After I calmed down, I was alright, because in doing that, he endorsed Kamala [Harris]. And I thought, well, that’s great."

Waters was a die-hard defender of Biden following his disastrous performance in the first presidential debate that led the U.S. public to question his mental capacities. 

She consistently pushed back on any intention to replace the president with a stronger Democratic candidate and told Politico she has "seen him at his best."

However, Waters has also been a high-profile ally of Harris. The California representative told Politico that she sees Harris as a friend and didn't hesitate to endorse her.

"I tell you that Trump, the MAGA crowd, racists — I think that they’re going to hit and they’re going to hit hard," she said of challenges facing Harris. "They’re going to do everything that they can do to try and convince their crowd and others that she should not be the president and he will be dog whistling about a woman and a Black in ways that he knows how to do."

Fox News Digital's Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this update.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 07:36:35 -0400

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Vice President Kamala Harris once called infamous hate crime hoaxer Jussie Smollett a victim of an attempted "modern day lynching."

Now the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, Harris to this day has not deleted her 2019 social media post that repeats the false claim, even after the "Empire" actor's criminal conviction in Illinois for the faked attack. 

Smollett claimed two masked men "doused him with bleach, put a rope around his neck and said, ‘This is MAGA country!'" in the heart of Chicago during the 2019 polar vortex. 

"[Jussie Smollett] is one of the kindest, most gentle human beings I know. I'm praying for his quick recovery," California Sen. Harris posted on X, formerly Twitter, Jan. 29, 2019. 

"This was an attempted modern day lynching. No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or color of their skin. We must confront this hate." 

Weeks later, after it became clear police were investigating Smollett for filing a false report, Harris said she was "sad, frustrated and disappointed" by news the actor made "false claims to police." 

But her initial comments were a "rush to judgment" that showed a "hasty decision before all the facts are known," said Eugene Roy, a retired Chicago Police Department chief of detectives with more than 30 years experience on the force. 

Harris' campaign and her White House office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"It's one thing to express your support for a friend. It's another thing to use your platform as a government official to prejudge a case before it's played out. Before all the facts are known," said Roy, who was featured in the Fox Nation documentary "Jussie Smollett: Anatomy of a Hoax." 

Fox News Digital's Callie Cassick contributed to this update.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 07:26:23 -0400

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Vice President Kamala Harris has announced that in lieu of co-presiding over the speech to a joint meeting of Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, she will attend a previously scheduled event in Indiana, the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Grand Boule in Indianapolis.

Since it is a Joint Meeting of the House and Senate, the speaker of the House and president of the Senate, who is the vice president, usually preside. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said today that it may be "unprecedented" not to have the vice president preside. 

However, there have been multiple instances over the years in which the president pro tempore has presided.

One such instance came during Netanyahu’s 2015 speech to a joint meeting of Congress – the last time Netanyahu spoke to Congress.

Then-Vice President Biden did not co-preside with then-House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. Instead, then-President Pro Tempore of the Senate Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, presided.

In 2011, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard spoke to a joint meeting of Congress. However, then-Vice President Biden did not preside over that meeting, either. It was Boehner and then-President Pro Tempore Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii.

There have been other instances as well. However, it is extremely rare to have someone like Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., the acting chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, preside over a joint meeting of Congress. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., is the president pro tempore of the Senate now. She will also not co-preside with Johnson during the joint meeting.

Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this update.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 07:15:04 -0400

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Vice President Kamala Harris raised $100 million from Sunday afternoon — when President Biden ended his re-election bid and endorsed his vice president to succeed him as the Democratic Party's presidential nominee — through Monday night, her campaign announced on Tuesday morning.

And the Harris campaign also touted that the fundraising in the wake of the president's blockbuster news came from more than 1.1 million unique donors, with 62% of them first-time contributors.

The Harris campaign has been spotlighting the surge in fundraising, and in an email release on Monday afternoon highlighted that the money raised was the "largest 24-hour raise in presidential history."

But the Harris campaign hasn't offered a breakdown of what percentage of the cash haul was raised online by small-dollar donations and what share came from top-dollar donors. The haul includes money raised by the campaign, the Democratic National Committee and joint fundraising committees.

"The historic outpouring of support for Vice President Harris represents exactly the kind of grassroots energy and enthusiasm that wins elections," campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz said in a statement. "Already, we are seeing a broad and diverse coalition come together to support our critical work of talking to the voters that will decide this election."

Fox News Digital's Paul Steinhauser contributed to this update.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 07:01:53 -0400

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Former President Trump’s campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Tuesday, accusing President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris of violating campaign finance laws by transferring his $91 million in fundraising cash to her new campaign. 

Biden bowed out of the presidential race on Sunday following weeks of calls for him to leave following a shaky debate performance. 

The president endorsed the vice president to run for the Democratic ticket in his place and transferred his millions of dollars in campaign cash over to her. 

The Trump campaign argued in the complaint, first reported by The New York Times and obtained by Fox News Digital, that Harris is "seeking to perpetrate a $91.5 million dollar heist of Joe Biden’s leftover campaign cash."

David Warrington, who serves as general counsel for the Trump campaign, called the act "a brazen money grab that would constitute the single largest excessive contribution and biggest violation in the history of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended."

"Kamala Harris is in the process of committing the largest campaign finance violation in American history and she is using the Commission’s own forms to do it," the filing concluded. "The Commission must not and cannot sit idly by while one candidate takes nearly one hundred million dollars from the authorized committee of another, in violation of the Act and the will of the donors who gave the money in the first place."

Fox News Digital's Brie Stimson and Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this update.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 06:48:54 -0400

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Since the end of World War II, there have only been three incumbent presidents, all Democrats, who turned down running for a second term: Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson and Joe Biden.

The 46th president had faced mounting pressure from his Democrat allies and legacy media outlets to bow out of the race since June 27, when he delivered a botched debate performance against Trump that was riddled with garbled remarks and where the president lost his train of thought and appeared more subdued than during other recent public events. 

The debate reignited concern among conservatives and critics that Biden's mental acuity had slipped, while it marked the beginning of a pressure campaign among Democrats to oust Biden in favor of a candidate they believed is better suited to take on Trump.

Dozens of members of Congress began publicly thanking Biden for his work in the White House and decades in public office while calling on him to pass the torch to another candidate. He made the announcement just more than a week after an assassination attempt on Trump's life during a rally in Pennsylvania and just days after the Republican National Convention wrapped up in Milwaukee, where Trump was certified as the Republican Party's nominee.

Shortly after his announcement on Sunday afternoon, Biden endorsed Vice President Harris to pick up the mantle and make a run for the party's nomination. As of Tuesday, Harris had enough delegates to lock up the nomination, which will be certified by the DNC next month.

Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this update.

Wed, 24 Jul 2024 06:37:19 -0400

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President Biden is set to address the nation on Wednesday evening from the Oval Office for the first time since he officially dropped out of the 2024 election. 

"Tomorrow evening at 8 PM ET, I will address the nation from the Oval Office on what lies ahead, and how I will finish the job for the American people," Biden posted to his X account on Tuesday. 

Biden had been self-isolating in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, since last Wednesday, when he was diagnosed with COVID-19, which forced him to cancel scheduled events in Las Vegas and fly back to his home in The First State. After suffering "mild symptoms" and "general malaise" after his diagnosis, he received a negative diagnosis on Tuesday of this week and returned to the White House. 

His trip back to the nation's capital on Tuesday marked the first time Biden was seen in public since suspending his re-election bid on Sunday and the first time since being diagnosed with COVID-19 on July 17. 

Biden's address Wednesday is expected to shed additional light on his departure from the 2024 race after he, his campaign and the White House vowed for weeks that Biden would remain in the election cycle and was determined to win in the rematch against former President Trump. 

Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this update.