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Trump cuts Pennsylvania town hall short over medical emergencies in crowd

Trump cuts Pennsylvania town hall short over medical emergencies in crowd

Former President Donald Trump cut a Pennsylvania town hall short on Monday, stopping questions from the audience after two medical emergencies unfolded in the crowd.  The campaign town hall at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center & Fairgrounds in Oaks, Pennsylvania, first came to a halt when South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, the event’s host, was discussing Vice President Kamala Harris’ appearance on “The View” and slamming the Democratic nominee’s support of President Biden’s energy policies.  “Hold it. A doctor, please,” Trump interjected, noticing a commotion in the crowd. “Doctor, thank you very much. We have incredible people. They come here hours before, and it’s a little hot.” “They’re there with us all the way. We got to respect them,” Trump continued, referencing his supporters. “And you take your time, doctor. Take your time. Thank you very much. We always have great doctors in the audience. We’ve never had too much of a problem. Look at the quality of care we have. It’s incredible when you think that these people, first responders, our first responders are amazing.”  TRUMP RESOUNDINGLY ENDORSES TEXAS SEN. TED CRUZ AHEAD OF TUESDAY NIGHT SENATE DEBATE The incident was not captured on camera, though the New York Post reported that “a heavyset middle-aged man was wheeled out on a stretcher with his shirt cut open.”  “Let’s wait till they take care of this incredible person who I guarantee you is a great patriot, I guarantee it,” Trump said. “Everybody in this room is a patriot.”  The Republican presidential nominee requested that “Ave Maria” be sounded over the loudspeaker like it had at his recent comeback rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in honor of firefighter Corey Comperatore, the rallygoer killed during the first assassination attempt on Trump’s life on July 13.  “We’ll be praying for him,” Noem said of the man wheeled out before taking another audience question.  TRUMP CAMPAIGN HINTS AT ELECTION DAY TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS FOR VOTERS IMPACTED BY HURRICANES HELENE, MILTON Trump began his response about border security before the crowd yelled again about another medical incident. The former president stood up and looked into the crowd, stating “Take your time, doctor.”  “I wish we could open those doors,” Trump said. “For security reasons, they can’t. But you know what I said? Just open them. Because anybody comes through those doors, you know what’s going to happen to them.”  “It looks like, sir, she’s on her feet and walking out. Let’s encourage her,” Noem said. “I know it’s really warm in here. Everybody agrees that it’s really warm in here. We’ve got a lot of people who love America. I’m going to ask that if you have a chair, maybe sit so everyone around you can sit and still see the president.”  “They’re both okay. Yes, they’re both. They’re both in good shape. And that’s wonderful,” Trump said of the two audience members who needed medical attention. Trump then decided not to take more questions from the crowd, calling on organizers to play music in the venue instead.

Fox News Power Rankings: Harris loses her lead and a new electorate emerges

Fox News Power Rankings: Harris loses her lead and a new electorate emerges

The presidential race is a toss-up as the last key state in Vice President Harris’ column drifts towards former President Trump. But even as polls show a tight race, some voters are rethinking long-held beliefs. This week’s Power Rankings draws up the new Harris and Trump coalitions and shows how they could propel either candidate to victory. Harris will make headlines tomorrow when she sits down for her first ever formal interview on Fox News. The sit-down will be the Vice President’s biggest and most closely-watched opportunity in an uneven media tour. Her talk show appearances went smoothly, and an interview on Call Her Daddy, one of the country’s most popular podcasts, generated the same kind of excitement among young women that Trump has gained from male influencers. But last Wednesday, asked if she would have done something differently than President Biden during his administration, Harris told ABC’s The View that “there is not a thing that comes to mind.” VP KAMALA HARRIS TO SIT DOWN WITH CHIEF POLITICAL ANCHOR BRET BAIER FOR FIRST FORMAL FOX NEWS INTERVIEW The answer reminded voters that Harris is the second-in-command in a presidency they say has made their lives worse. In NBC’s latest national poll, 45% of voters say Biden’s policies have hurt them and their families, while only a quarter say those policies have helped. That is a “net hurt” of 20 points. Voters view Trump’s policies much more positively, with 44% saying they helped and 31% saying they hurt. In other words, a “net help” of 13 points. The same poll found Trump’s retrospective job approval is higher than in any of their surveys when he was president. Harris’ campaign knows that tying the Vice President to Biden isn’t a winner. In her first interview as the Democratic nominee, Harris said it was time to “turn the page on the last decade;” her bus tells voters she offers “a new way forward.” Trump allies have said they will use the clip in new ads, though it’s not yet clear whether that will happen. Democrats counter that elections are as much about personal qualities as the issues. Harris leads on caring about people like you (+8), and being honest and trustworthy (+11) in a recent New York Times/Siena poll. At the same time, Trump is up three points on being a strong leader, while Harris leads by eight on being fun. Either way, Harris’ answer was unhelpful to her campaign, which has weeks left to persuade voters that she would do things differently. It has now been two weeks since the only debate between Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Ohio Sen. JD Vance, and two polls conducted after the showdown suggest that Vance won the night. Those are meaningful shifts in Trump’s direction, and NBC’s poll also showed a modest improvement in Vance’s favorability. The polls above are two of many showing a race within the margin of error.  But beneath the top lines, there are signs that the Democratic and Republican coalitions are changing. And while Trump’s gains with Black and Latino voters have been talked about the most, both coalitions are strong enough to win an election. FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: THE BIGGEST SURPRISES COME AFTER OCTOBER Trump is gaining in four key voting groups. Compared to the 2020 electorate, he is up six points with male voters, while Democrats have shed 20 points worth of Black vote, 10 points of Hispanic vote, and 3 points with young voters, according to the Times/Siena poll. The Black and Hispanic gains are the most important for the GOP. These voters can make all the difference in states like Pennsylvania and Arizona.  The column on the left in the charts shows the percentage that each group made up of the 2020 electorate according to the Fox News Voter Analysis. The percentages apply within each voter category (race, age, etc). Men, for example, made up 47% of the electorate, which means 53% of voters were women. That is where the picture becomes more complicated for the Trump campaign.  As men have shifted six points towards the former president, women have shifted three points towards Harris. Voters with a college degree have shifted 10 points towards the Vice President, giving her an overall 26-point advantage with the bloc. And Harris has flipped seniors. These are some of the most reliable and over-represented voting groups in the U.S. Only about a third of adults have a college degree, for example, but this group accounts for 40% of voters. In other words, the gains that Trump has made with some key groups are counterbalanced by Harris’ gains with other voters. Battleground polls also show a race on a knife’s edge.  Surveys from the Wall Street Journal and Quinnipiac across the three key Rust Belt states have the candidates within a few points, matching more than a dozen other high-quality polls over the last month. This forecast previously gave Harris an advantage in Michigan. The state has delivered for Democrats since 2016, and the GOP’s turnout operation appears to be particularly disorganized there.  But that isn’t enough when the polls show a race this tight. Both campaigns are making regular visits, and Republicans have booked more spending here than any other battleground state (except Pennsylvania, where ad rates are higher). Michigan moves from Lean D to Toss Up. After that shift, the Power Rankings predict that Harris will win at least 226 electoral votes, with Trump winning at least 219. There are seven states worth 93 votes in the middle. Harris has a six-vote edge that includes Nebraska’s second district. That is important for the Vice President, since a victory there, combined with the Rust Belt battlegrounds, would give her an outright win. But with so many coin-flip states, this race looks like an electoral college dogfight. The presidential election moves from Harris Lead to Toss Up. The Senate forecast still puts Republicans in control with 51 seats. An all-but-certain flip in West Virginia and an edge in Montana gets

Trump lawyers request to move New York criminal case to federal court, citing SCOTUS immunity ruling

Trump lawyers request to move New York criminal case to federal court, citing SCOTUS immunity ruling

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump on Tuesday again requested that his New York criminal case be transferred to federal court, citing the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling and arguing that he cannot be prosecuted for official acts he performed as president.  Trump’s lawyers first requested in August to shift New York v. Trump to federal court, but U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected the request in September.  Trump’s attorneys are arguing that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office “violated the Presidential immunity doctrine in grand jury proceedings, and again at trial, by relying on evidence of President Trump’s official acts during his first term in Office.”  Trump lawyers argued that the “use of official-acts evidence in grand jury proceedings and at trial violated the Constitution and threatens the ability of all future Presidents to fulfill that role.” TRUMP ASKS FEDERAL COURT TO TAKE OVER BRAGG CASE WEEKS BEFORE SENTENCING Bragg charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump pleaded not guilty.  A Manhattan jury found the former president guilty on all counts during an unprecedented six-week trial in New York City earlier this year.  Trump’s attorneys have already moved to appeal the verdict.  Trump attorney Todd Blanche said the verdict should be overturned, also citing the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity granting presidents limited immunity for official acts. JUDGE MERCHAN DELAYS TRUMP SENTENCING UNTIL AFTER ELECTION In his arguments for dismissal, Blanche argued that Bragg offered official acts as evidence during the six-week-long unprecedented criminal trial. Blanche said that included official White House communications with staffers like Hope Hicks, Madeleine Westerhout and others.  The Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. United States that a former president has substantial immunity from prosecution for official acts in office but not for unofficial acts. The high court said Trump is immune from criminal prosecution for “official acts” but left it to the lower court to determine exactly where the line between official and unofficial is. Judge Juan Merchan will also now make a decision on Nov. 12 on Trump’s motion to vacate. Trump’s initial sentencing was set for July 11 — just days before the Republican National Convention, where he was set to be formally nominated as the 2024 GOP presidential nominee, but Merchan agreed to delay that until Sept. 18.  Last month, Merchan granted Trump’s request to delay sentencing until after the presidential election. The sentencing is now scheduled for Nov. 26.  Fox News’ Maria Paronich contributed to this report. 

Harris’ off-putting manner put Zelenskyy on defensive ahead of Russian invasion, new book reveals

Harris’ off-putting manner put Zelenskyy on defensive ahead of Russian invasion, new book reveals

Vice President Kamala Harris’ history as a federal prosecutor instilled in her a direct, sometimes adversarial communication style that reportedly alienated Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during their first private sit-down, leaving him “disgruntled” and defensive just days before Russian troops invaded his country.  Their tense sit-down was chronicled in “War,” the new book by Bob Woodward. In the book, Woodward details some of the most consequential foreign policy and security challenges overseen by President Biden during his first term. Among them, Russia’s 2022 invasion and ongoing war in Ukraine. Fox News obtained an early copy of the book, which is available in bookstores today. As Woodward reports, Biden deployed Harris to the Munich Security Conference in February 2022, less than a week before Russian President Vladimir Putin’s troops commenced their full-scale invasion of Ukraine – with the sole mission of convincing Zelenskyy that the Russian incursion was imminent, based on all available U.S. intelligence and the hundreds of thousands of troops it had confirmed Russia had been amassing nearby, including some 40,000 soldiers near the Belarusian border.  Harris was to demonstrate unified support for Ukraine from the U.S. and NATO, and to help Zelenskyy accept the fact that this was, indeed, happening.  However, Woodward reports, aspects of that mission backfired – at least behind closed doors. Publicly, Harris delivered a winning speech, effectively reassuring the world of the U.S. commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and Article 5. It is considered among her major achievements as vice president.  HUNTER BIDEN LEGAL SAGA IS ‘REAL WAR’ THAT ‘PREOCCUPIED’ OUTGOING PRESIDENT, NEW WOODWARD BOOK CLAIMS In private, however, Zelenskyy was immediately put off by Harris’s brusque communication style and “forceful” demeanor during their sit-down, during which Harris and her national security adviser, Philip Gordon, wore masks and did not attempt to shake hands with their Ukrainian counterparts upon entering the room. Though Germany was still under COVID-19 protocols, the icy start to the meeting “disgruntled” Zelenskyy, Woodward said, and left the Ukrainian president feeling “like he was about to be reprimanded” at a frightening and vulnerable time for his nation. “You need to take seriously the likelihood that any day the Russians will invade your country,” Harris told him forcefully. In Woodward’s telling, things between the two did not improve from there. Harris, a successful former federal prosecutor and California attorney general, has been praised and criticized for her adversarial communication style – and it was one she reportedly employed during her sit-down with Zelenskyy, in attempt to convince him of the imminence of Russia’s invasion. TRUMP MEETS UKRAINE’S ZELENSKYY AT TRUMP TOWER, SAYS RUSSIA’S WAR MUST END WITH ‘FAIR DEAL’ “Look,” Harris told him, after some tense back-and-forth, “our teams will share more specific information with you but we are telling you that your numbers are wrong. You really face a potentially imminent invasion.”  Rather than softening him, the meeting appeared to put Ukraine’s president even more on the defensive.  As Woodward writes, Zelenskyy was hard-pressed to acknowledge the imminence of the invasion despite credible U.S. intelligence, in large part because it would create a “self-fulling prophecy” for Ukraine’s nascent democracy, risking the collapse of the country’s economy, and potentially, its government. Finally, Zelenskyy relented, looking Harris in the eye and asking directly, “What do you want me to do?”  He inquired whether the U.S. would impose sanctions, close ports to Russian ships, give Ukraine Stinger or Javelin missiles or send warplanes to his country, in order to equip them for the battles ahead. Harris’s answer did little to assuage him. “The punishment can only come after the crime,” she said of a U.S. response to Russia, Woodward noted, instead advising him to “start thinking about things like having a succession plan in place to run the country if you’re captured or killed or cannot govern.”  Zelenskyy was urged by the U.S. to have an escape plan – one which he boldly rebuffed, choosing to remain in Kyiv in the days and weeks following Russia’s invasion.  He also turned down evacuation offers from both the U.S. and Turkey following the start of the war. The “fight is here,” he would later say from Kyiv. “I need ammunition, not a ride.” BIDEN PLEDGES $8 BILLION TO UKRAINE FOLLOWING PUTIN’S PROPOSED CHANGES TO NUCLEAR RULES Harris remarked to Gordon upon leaving the meeting that that was the last time they might ever see him again.  “War” is available for purchase in stores on Oct. 15. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub. 

Dem strategists ratchet up Hitler-Trump comparisons despite concerns about heated rhetoric

Dem strategists ratchet up Hitler-Trump comparisons despite concerns about heated rhetoric

Democrats on television have continued their heated rhetoric against former President Donald Trump despite multiple attempts on his life, and pundits twice compared him to murderous dictator Adolph Hitler in the last week. In an interview on “CNN News Central,” Democratic strategist Aisha Mills was asked to respond to a comment made earlier in the day by Trump, who remarked that the U.S. has “a lot of bad genes in our country right now” during a discussion about illegal immigrants who were committing murders. Mills began by claiming that Trump “revered the Nazis… revered Hitler.” “Donald Trump has had a very sinister philosophy, wanting to be a dictator, absolutely dividing people up based on who they are, based on factors about them that have to do with their race and their gender, etc.,” she continued. MSNBC GUEST COMPARES TRUMP TO HITLER’S FINAL DAYS IN BUNKER OVER HIS HARRIS AI CROWD CLAIMS “And when he uses language like this, I don’t think that it’s a Freudian slip. I think that the danger of a Donald Trump is that he would absolutely try to exterminate an entire group of people because he thinks that their genes are somehow different than his and faulty,” Mills said. “And I say this with all the sternness that you hear in my voice because it is serious. And Americans should recognize that.” On Sunday, prominent Democratic strategist James Carville compared Trump’s plans to hold a rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City to a Nazi sympathizer who held a rally there almost 100 years ago. TRUMP REVEALS NEW DETAILS OF FIRST ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT IN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: ‘IT WAS THE CRAZIEST DAY’ “See what happened there. They are telling you exactly what they’re going to do, they’re telling you, ‘We’re going to institute a fascist regime,’” Carville told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki in response to a Trump comment that “radical left lunatics” might need to be handled by the National Guard on Election Day.  Carville explained that “this election is about the Constitution.” “We are not going to have one if we lose it. And I’m not exaggerating. I’d love to debate anybody on that question,” Carville said. “He lies about everything, except, except he’s telling the truth when he’s going to have a roundup.” Fox News Digital reached out to CNN and MSNBC for comment but did not immediately receive a response.  Fox News Digital reached Carville by phone, and the political veteran dismissed the social media blow back to his comments. “He said he would round up his political opponents,” Carville said. “Am I not supposed to repeat what he said? I am only repeating what he said.” “He’s the one that chose to have a rally at Madison Square Garden. The same place the Nazis had a rally on Feb. 20, 1939,” Carville added.  Carville also dismissed the “implication” that “because there are crazy people who aren’t even Democrats, they are registered Republicans, that made an attempt on Trump’s life that we shouldn’t repeat what he said, which I think is an idiotic position.” Thomas Matthew Crooks, the first man who attempted to assassinate Trump, was a registered Republican, according to voting records, but he only participated in the Nov. 8, 2022 state election due to his age. Records also show that he made a $15 donation to Progressive Turnout Project, a Chicago-based political action committee that supports Democratic candidates. Ryan Routh, the second attempted assassin, is not currently registered but was a registered Democrat in the past and claimed to have voted for Trump in 2016 while also voicing support for several Democrats on social media. Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung told The Hill in a statement that Carville has “lost his marbles.” “President Trump is 100% correct — those who seek to undermine democracy by sowing chaos in our elections are a direct threat, just like the terrorist from Afghanistan that was arrested for plotting multiple attacks on Election Day within the United States.” The Hitler comparisons come after Trump has blasted Democrats and the media for heated rhetoric against him that he says contributed to two failed assassination attempts against him. “He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it,” Trump told Fox News Digital about the gunman who pointed a gun on him on a Florida golf course. “Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out.”  Over the weekend, a man with multiple guns and ammunition was arrested outside a Trump rally in California in what many fear was a potential third assassination attempt against Trump. The man dismissed those fears and claimed he was a Trump supporter in a phone call with Fox News Digital. Fox News Digital’s Yael Halon contributed to this report

‘Boys playing girls’ sports’ ad lands Texas Dem in hot water with LGBTQ activists on eve of pivotal debate

‘Boys playing girls’ sports’ ad lands Texas Dem in hot water with LGBTQ activists on eve of pivotal debate

Democrat Rep. Colin Allred of Texas is getting pushback from the progressive flank of his party for his most recent attack ad against Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in which he says he doesn’t want “boys playing girls’ sports.” The Allred ad debuted days before he’s set to take the stage Tuesday night in a debate against his Republican opponent in next month’s Senate election. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the largest LGBTQ lobbying group in the country, endorsed Allred this year. But they’re expecting Allred to explain his comments.  “Texans have, for too many years, been subjected to Ted Cruz’s hate and lies. They are ready to turn the page,” HRC spokesperson Brandon Wolf told LGBTQ media outlet The Advocate. “Congressman Allred needs to explain his comments in this ad. They simply don’t square with what we know about his record. For years, he has supported our community and worked to protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination. Texans deserve to finally have a leader who values equality and freedom.” TEXAS DEM’S SENATE AD FEATURES BORDER WALL HE ONCE BLASTED AS ‘RACIST’ Allred, who is now running for Senate, released the ad in response to recent attacks by Cruz, who has tried to link Allred to support for transgender inclusion in women’s and girls’ sports.  “I’m a dad, I’m also a Christian, and my faith has taught me that all kids are God’s kids. So let me be clear, I don’t want boys playing girls’ sports or any of this ridiculous stuff Ted Cruz is saying,” Allred said in the ad.  His statement also drew the ire of other trans activists, including transgender journalist Erin Reed.  “Allred’s response is significant. He’s the first major Democratic candidate to acquiesce to anti-trans messaging,” Reed wrote on X. “His decision to respond this way may be short sighted.” TEXAS DEM ALLRED SAYS HE OPPOSES ‘BOYS IN GIRLS’ SPORTS’ DESPITE PAST OF ALLOWING IT, FIGHTING PARENTAL RIGHTS A new ad paid for by Cruz’s campaign aired during NFL games in Texas this month and claimed that Allred wanted an “extreme liberal vision for America” for wanting to allow “boys in girls’ sports.” Cruz is reportedly set to run another ad this Sunday, the third addressing the subject. Allred is a former NFL linebacker who played for the Tennessee Titans from 2006 to 2010 after a college career at Baylor. He announced his Senate campaign to challenge Cruz in May 2023 and then won his party’s nomination in early March this year.  In October 2021, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law restricting transgender student athletes from playing on sports teams that align with their gender identity. Texas is one of 23 states with laws in place to prevent transgender inclusion in women’s sports. Allred has been an opponent of those efforts dating back to the first year of his congressional career. As recently as June 2023, he co-sponsored a law that “would force public schools to allow biologically male athletes who identify as transgender on girls’ sports teams.” CRUZ RACE NOW A ‘TOSS-UP’ SHOULD BE WARNING FOR TEXAS GOP, SAYS EXPERT Allred posted on X, “Texas should be a place where our young people can be who they are, free from discrimination. This is yet another dark, shameful moment for our state as the GOP in Texas is more focused on attacking trans students than fixing the real problems we face.” Allred also advocated for a Transgender Bill of Rights, co-sponsoring a resolution in March 2023 “Recognizing that it is the duty of the Federal Government to develop and implement a Transgender Bill of Rights.” The resolution called for federal law to ensure that biological men can “participate in sports on teams and in programs that best align with their gender identity; [and] use school facilities that best align with their gender identity.” Additionally, Allred supported efforts that would limit parents’ rights regarding transgender athletes. He voted against the Parents Bill of Rights Act, which required school districts to alert parents if their child was sharing a bathroom, locker room or sports team with a student of the opposite biological sex. Cruz and Allred are scheduled to have their first and only debate Tuesday evening. Cruz has held his Senate seat for the last 12 years. Fox News Digital reached out to Allred’s campaign for comment but received no response by the publication deadline.  Fox News Digital’s Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.