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Haitian migration roils town in key battleground state with signs of pro-Trump support on the rise

Haitian migration roils town in key battleground state with signs of pro-Trump support on the rise

CHARLEROI, PA., A small Pennsylvania town has been thrown into a national conversation about immigration into the U.S, after former President Trump pointed to it as a victim of mass Haitian migration –with some residents saying they believe the town is now backing the former president in November. “The small 4,000-person town of Charleroi, Pennsylvania, have you heard of it?” Trump said in September in Tucson, Arizona. “What a beautiful name, but it’s not so beautiful now. It has experienced a 2,000% increase in the population of Haitian migrants under Kamala Harris.” Charleroi, in Washington County, is a small town by the Monongahela River, that has seen a significant influx of immigrants — particularly from Haiti — in recent years. But the extent of that influx is disputed.  TRUMP SOUNDS ALARM ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT MURDERERS: ‘A LOT OF BAD GENES IN OUR COUNTRY’  Some officials and residents say that talk of them being overwhelmed is overstated. They say that the numbers have been increasing, but it isn’t the 2,000% Trump spoke of. Officials say the last census showed around 700 Haitians in the town of 4,000. They also say that they are helping revitalize a town, finding employment including at a nearby food processing plant. “This has been taking place since like 2015,” Charleroi Borough Manager Joe Manning told Fox News Digital. “The way it’s been portrayed that this was some unexpected surge in illegal immigrants is not the case. First of all, they’re all here legally, and there’s been no disruption to the community or anything like that.” “Everybody thinks that because of what’s been said, that our lives have been upended in some way. And that’s just not the reality,” he said. He acknowledged that there were some who were upset by the change: “But by and large, the community, they just live and let live.” Others disagreed. NEW POLL REVEALS TRUMP HAS SIGNIFICANT LEAD ON IMMIGRATION, BORDER SECURITY IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE “The Haitian invasion,” resident Kevin Armstrong, whose house sported enormous pro-Trump banners, said. “It’s sad, they’ve taken over our town.” Armstrong said his car insurance had been increased due to the number of uninsured drivers in the area. He also said he was pleased that former President Trump mentioned Charleroi. “That was amazing. I mean, for the president of the United States to recognize a small town like this and what’s going on, it’s bigger than me and you. That’s at the highest level in the land right there. And for him to notice that or for him to hear about that and bring it up into a speech, that’s huge.” Jeannine Motycki, however, told Fox News Digital that Trump “embellished just a tad.” “If we had a 2,000% influx, the streets would be lined. We don’t have that many homes, we don’t have that much land.” VANCE, WALZ SPAR ON IMMIGRATION DURING VP DEBATE: BEEN TO THE BORDER ‘MORE THAN OUR BORDER CZAR But she said there had been issues: “We do have a very diverse culture clash, it’s not a Haitian issue, it’s a culture issue in my opinion.” “Do I think it’s destroyed the town? No, I think personally it has destroyed more of the locals in town with their ways of thinking. They’re not conforming to our culture, that’s a fact, they have their own culture and they still live by their culture,” she said. “There’s so much hate here, and racism runs rampant,” she added. Another woman pointed to the number of local businesses immigrants opened, and said that Trump’s comments had divided the town, saying “it seems there’s now a divide in our town, even more so than there was before.” Many who spoke to Fox News Digital were happy to speak at length about their grievances, but were not prepared to give their full names — concerned about being targeted by neighbors or employers. But some complaints were similar to those in Springfield, Ohio, which too was the focus of the effects of mass migration in September. Residents Fox spoke to mentioned bad driving as a regular feature in the town, as well as the pressure on social services including on schools. “More than probably half of the population here is them now at this point?” one resident with Trump paraphernalia outside her house said. “So if there’s only so many houses, so many resources in any town, of course, they’re going to be affected. So that’s the other thing…there’s been multiple burglaries, robberies, accidents, constantly, sirens going off all the time, people having car accidents, driving the wrong way, going the wrong directions down one way roads.” Another resident described it as “chaos.” “It’s like playing dodgeball with your car every day because you don’t know you have to stop everywhere you’re on because you don’t know if they’re going to stop when they’re coming on a road. You got to look both ways on a one-way street because you don’t even know.” However, the town’s police say that there has not been an increase in 911 calls or reported traffic accidents in recent years, with both numbers staying relatively stable. “I would have to say that out of our call volume, [immigrants] may be 10 to 15% of our call volume, and the rest of that’s all, you know, the homegrown Americans that you’re dealing with,” Police Chief Chad Zelinsky told Fox News Digital. “Call wise, they’re no different than than anyone else. And our numbers haven’t gone up because of them,” he said. The political leanings of the town are clearly now towards the former president. While there were a handful of Harris-Walz signs, they were significantly outnumbered by Trump-Vance signs — including mockups of Trump as Rambo and anti-Biden signs with expletives. Manning said the county as a whole is turning Republican. “As far as how the town leans, a lot of the folks on council are Democrats, I think we have maybe three Republicans, but Washington County itself has turned very much Republican

Hard-line GOP effort to decentralize Senate leader authority dashed by McConnell ally

Hard-line GOP effort to decentralize Senate leader authority dashed by McConnell ally

As Senate Republicans approach their first competitive leader election in decades to pick a replacement for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., forces in the conference are pushing dueling pathways for the party as hard-liners hope to decentralize the leader’s authority in backing “Democrat priorities.” “To avoid the gridlock of business as usual, it is imperative that we structure the Senate in a way that gives individual senators real legislative power, not just lip service,” wrote Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, in an op-ed for Fox News this week.  Lee, who is chair of the Senate Republican Steering Committee, said that if former President Trump gets elected next month, there is limited time to pass his agenda with an expected slim majority in the Senate and potentially in the House as well.  MIKE LEE: THE UNNOTICED ELECTION THAT COULD DETERMINE THE FUTURE Running to succeed McConnell are Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., and Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Rick Scott, R-Fla. For Scott, democratizing the conference has been the guiding principle of his leadership campaign.  Both Thune and Cornyn have expressed openness to changes, and in fact, Cornyn threw his support behind a push for term limits for the Republican leader.  “Moderates will be tempted to join Democrats to pass funding bills that tie Trump’s hands,” Lee warned of Congress under a potential second Trump presidency.  The Utah Republican is among a cohort of senators that has pushed to democratize the Senate GOP conference and decentralize power from the leader, in particular.  Lee outlined specific requests of a potential Republican leader, which included nixing restrictions on individual senators’ ability to offer amendments, allowing significantly longer periods to debate legislation, and requiring broad conference support to “whip” in favor of bills or nominees.  ‘DESPICABLE HUMAN BEING’: MCCONNELL’S 2020 THOUGHTS ON ‘SLEAZEBALL’ TRUMP REVEALED IN NEW BOOK “This would protect Republican leadership from ever being in the position of having to whip for legislation advancing Democrat priorities,” he recently wrote in a conference-wide letter.  While some members of the conference, frustrated with its direction under McConnell, have similarly advocated for such a plan, others have pushed back.  An ally of the minority leader, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., sent his own letter to the conference just after Lee, writing, “It may be true that many Americans would be shocked to know that members may not be able to offer amendments.” But, he said, “I suspect many Americans would also be shocked to know that any one member can grind the legislative process to a halt while attempting to advance an amendment that a supermajority of our conference is against.”  On several occasions, members such as Lee and those in agreement with him have disrupted the amendment process advanced by the conference, able to do so by denying unanimous consent. The Senate is often referred to as running on the unanimous consent of members because the upper chamber can very easily be upended by one senator unwilling to allow processes to move forward.  A similar criticism of these senators was offered by a former Republican leadership aide, who said, “Often it is the same cohort of individuals who are decrying the centralization of power that do everything – not with the intention of yielding that result – but all of their behaviors drive the decision-making into the leader’s office at the 11th and a half hour.” HARRIS BARNSTORMS WISCONSIN IN 1-DAY SWING STATE TOUR TARGETING YOUNG VOTERS According to the former aide, the ultimate increase in power of leaders is the result of years and years of “institutional pressures.”  “This was a long slide into the marginalization of rank-and-file senators in favor of leadership.” In fact, they said, no matter who is elected as the next leader, they cannot decentralize power and democratize the GOP conference on their own.  Republican strategist Ron Bonjean, former top spokesperson to former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and former chief of staff of the Senate Republican Conference, said that “Senator Tillis is acting as a proxy for McConnell” who isn’t publicly discussing changes to the conference but is passionately arguing against certain reforms in closed-door meetings.  According to a Republican source familiar, “Tillis is running McConnell’s ground game” when it comes to preserving the conference’s norms and guardrails.  In his initial letter, Lee told colleagues the leader election is “a once-in-a-generation opportunity” to “lower the temperature of our politics and restore public trust in our institutions.” Tillis specifically opposed negotiating reforms as part of the race, writing, “I believe we need to elect a new leader first, rather than negotiate terms with the Republican leader candidates before the vote.” STRIKING BOEING WORKERS BOO AFTER DEMOCRATIC SEN MARIA CANTWELL CRITICIZES TRUMP The North Carolina Republican concluded, “I know Mike’s concerns about the voices of some members being silenced are sincere, but I believe his proposals to address these concerns are ill-advised.” The former GOP leadership aide pointed to the House of Representatives, suggesting Republicans are looking “at what’s happening in the House with a leader, the speaker in this case, who’s been politically weakened by conference rules.” They said senators are seeing “the chaos that episodically prevails” in the House and are asking, “Is this really what we want in the Senate?”  According to Bonjean, this feud “helps to muddy the waters for Thune and Cornyn” in their leader bids.  “What will be interesting to watch is the barometer of how many senators that will actually back up Sen. Lee’s trial balloon,” he added.  Lee’s ideas for the conference come as he and others have been left particularly unhappy with the relatively frequent late-night and last-minute spending packages, supplemental aid bills and re-authorization measures that have included what he considers to be Democrat priorities. 

GOP challenger in key House race blasts Dem opponent’s explanation on ethics complaint: ‘Not satisfied’

GOP challenger in key House race blasts Dem opponent’s explanation on ethics complaint: ‘Not satisfied’

CINCINNATI — GOP House candidate Orlando Sonza is blasting his Democrat opponent’s response to an ethics complaint related to reporting stock trades that he said is not enough to quell voter concerns on the issue. “Absolutely not,” Sonza told Fox News Digital when asked if he thinks Ohio voters are satisfied with Democrat Rep. Greg Landsman’s explanation of his stock trading activity that has drawn scrutiny in recent days.  “I mean, giving an answer that I’m not responsible for my own stock transactions does not fly muster. Do you really want that representative representing you in the U.S. Congress that says, ‘I’m sorry? I’m not the one that balances our budget because I’m not on the Budget Committee?’ No, You are responsible for every issue that’s put before you, as voters should expect.” Landsman was recently hit with an ethics complaint by a former inspector general of the Department of Commerce accusing him of breaking the law by waiting 20 months to disclose stock transactions, far outside the mandatory 45-day period. OHIO GOP SENATE CHALLENGER REACTS TO POLLS SHOWING DEAD HEAT IN CRITICAL SENATE RACE: ‘RADICAL LIBERAL’ “It was a question of whether or not the stock trades were disclosed,” Landsman said during Wednesday’s debate at Xavier University in Cincinnati. “They’ve all been disclosed. I have nothing to do with my trades. And so I didn’t know. Once I found out when we were putting our financial disclosure together, we disclosed them. It was late and that was wrong. And I took responsibility. It happened to maybe 60, 70, 80 members of Congress in the last term, dozens this term. And we put in place a system to make sure it doesn’t happen again.” Sonza told Fox News Digital that “the best way to look at how someone would act in elected office” is to “look at how they treat their own personal life.” “Their own personal finances, their own life decisions, and that’s a good metric for how they’re acting when cameras are not on and doors are closed, and I think you saw that tonight – so, no, absolutely not satisfied.” NRA TARGETS SEN SHERROD BROWN IN 7-FIGURE AD BUY IN OHIO: ‘VOTE LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT’ Sonza also took issue with a comment from Landsman in the debate about his involvement in the “Gang of Five” scandal while serving on the City Council, along with the recent ethics complaint. “That was a mistake,” Landsman said. “I should not have done that. In both instances, I immediately took responsibility. Politicians don’t do that often, certainly not often enough. I took responsibility and I moved on. I would encourage you to move on.” Sonza, who argued that Landsman would be a continuation of the Biden-Harris agenda in Congress, responded, “I mean, you had a politician that was asked point-blank why you violated the law, and his answer was, ‘We got to move on from it.’ No, voters have not moved on from you being part of the Gang of Five on [the] Cincinnati City Council or a judge who said voters should not vote for you ever again, and voters are not moving on to this very fresh allegation that my opponent himself admitted tonight that he violated federal law as a sitting congressman in failing to disclose over 80 stock transactions. I mean, that raises so many questions that really I think voters are now sadly just keying into.” Landsman, who has argued that he did not personally trade the stocks, told Fox News Digital in a statement, “We disclosed the trades, but late, and it’s been fixed. Sonza is desperate. Voters want normal, pragmatic, bipartisan leaders like me and they’re exhausted with the chaos and extremism of far-right politicians like him.” Sonza told Fox News Digital that while Wednesday’s debate was civil, it highlighted “stark” contrasts between the two candidates.  “No. 1, there is contrast on how to fix these big problems that our country has, and it comes down to policy,” Sonza said. “You heard on one side that it seems to my opponent, just seems to be invoking a lot of the same rhetoric, political rhetoric and buzzwords and really no substance to it. The very bills that he talks about. … I think we’ve been able to highlight why they were actually wrong for America and why I would have voted differently in these last 20 months and what I will do differently if elected. So, policy-wise, whether it was the economy or the southern border or national security, VA, there were stark policy differences.” The Cook Political Report ranks the Ohio 1st District race as “likely Democrat,” but Republicans have dedicated resources to the race as they look to protect their slim majority in the House in a race that could play a key role in determining that outcome. Landsman won by just over five points in 2022.

Critics drag Harris for ‘cringe’ pre-recorded video aired during Catholic charity dinner

Critics drag Harris for ‘cringe’ pre-recorded video aired during Catholic charity dinner

Conservatives and critics on social media dragged Vice President Kamala Harris over her “cringe” pre-recorded video message that was broadcast to the audience of the 79th Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner on Thursday evening after she skipped attending the event in-person.  “Kamala Harris releases her pre-recorded video for the Al Smith dinner in New York that she didn’t show up for. Comedian Jim Gaffigan made fun of the Vice President after the crowd gave a dismal applause once it ended. Cringe,” Trending Politics co-owner Colin Rugg posted on X of Harris’ video.  The Al Smith Dinner is a bipartisan charity dinner that has grown to become a political and cultural hallmark of election seasons, as the nominees for both political parties have historically attended the event to trade barbs with one another in a light-hearted manner.  Harris skipped the event – the first time a nominee has done so since failed Democratic nominee Walter Mondale in 1984 – and instead sent dinner organizers a video to broadcast to the audience. The video also featured comedian Molly Shannon as she reprised her “Saturday Night Live” character Mary Katherine Gallagher, a quirky Catholic student. Former President Donald Trump attended the event and was the featured speaker.  HARRIS TO VIRTUALLY ATTEND CATHOLIC CHARITY DINNER THAT RIVAL TRUMP IS HEADLINING “I just want to say that I’m Catholic, and tonight is one of the biggest dinners next to the Last Supper,” Shannon, dressed as Mary Katherine Gallagher, told Harris in the video.  “It is a very important dinner, and it’s an important tradition that I’m so proud to be a part of,” Harris responded, before Shannon delivered her character’s hallmark odd behavior of sticking her hands under her armpits and smelling them.  “Is there anything that you think that maybe I shouldn’t bring up tonight?” Harris asked.  “Well, don’t lie. Thou shall not bear false witness to thy neighbor,” Shannon responded.  “Indeed. Especially thy neighbor’s election results,” Harris said in a dig at Trump.  COMEDIAN JIM GAFFIGAN TAKES SURPRISING SHOTS AT HARRIS FOR SKIPPING ‘CATHOLIC MET GALA’ Shannon’s character advised Harris to not “say anything negative about Catholics,” before asking her: “Does it bother you that that Trump guy insults you all the time? Because it really bothers my friends and me.” “Oh, Mary Katherine, it’s very important to always remember. You should never let anyone tell you who you are. You tell them who you are,” Harris said.  Critics, including those on the Trump team, lambasted the video on social media.  KAMALA HARRIS PLANS TO SKIP HISTORIC AL SMITH DINNER DESPITE LONG-STANDING TRADITION The emcee of the dinner, comedian Jim Gaffigan, even quipped after the video was shown to the audience that he was unsure if attendees were supportive of her video and message. “I don’t even know what that noise you’re making is,” Gaffigan said. “Something like ahhhhh.”  “As I watched that, I couldn’t help but think of: Now I know how my kids felt when … I FaceTimed into a piano recital they were at,” he continued.  TRUMP APPLAUDS CATHOLIC GROUP’S MULTI-MILLION ANTI-HARRIS CAMPAIGN APPEALING TO CHURCH FAITHFUL Supporters of Harris lauded the video on social media as a “must watch,” while others commended her for skipping the dinner.  Former President Donald Trump took shots at Harris during his remarks, including her absence at the historic dinner.  “If you really wanted Vice President Harris to accept your invitation, I guess you should have told her the funds were going to bail out the looters and rioters in Minneapolis, and she would have been here, guaranteed. She would have been guaranteed,” Trump jabbed at Harris, citing her promotion of a bail fund during the riots of 2020.  “I must say I was shocked when I heard that Kamala was skipping the Al Smith dinner. I’d really hoped that you would come, because we can’t get enough of hearing her beautiful laugh. She laughs like crazy,” Trump joked at another point. Harris wrapped up her video on a serious note, including invoking the Gospel of Luke.  CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “The Gospel of Luke tells us that faith has the power to shine a light on those living in darkness, and to guide our feet in the path of peace. In the spirit of tonight’s dinner, let us recommit to reaching across divides, to seek understanding and common ground. And in honor of the great Al Smith, let us fight to build a better future with faith in God, our country, and in each other,” she said.  Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.