Biden’s ‘garbage’ comment sends Dem senators scrambling in key swing state races: ‘Strongly disagrees’
President Biden sparked a political firestorm Tuesday after calling supporters of former President Trump “garbage,” which could spell trouble for several incumbent Democratic senators running for re-election in key swing states where Trump is popular. Fox News Digital reached out to five Democratic senators — Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Montana Sen. Jon Tester, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen, Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey and Arizona Senate candidate Ruben Gallego — for comment on Biden’s remarks. “Tammy Baldwin does not agree with President Biden,” Andrew Mamo, Tammy Baldwin’s campaign spokesman, told Fox News Digital. “Tammy is fighting for all Wisconsinites no matter who they are or who they vote for.” JD VANCE CALLS OUT HARRIS DONOR WHO DOUBLED DOWN ON BIDEN’S ‘GARBAGE’ COMMENT A Rosen spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “Sen. Rosen strongly disagrees with disparaging anyone based on who they vote for. As one of the most bipartisan and independent senators, she works hard to find common ground across party lines and represent all Nevadans.” “Jon Tester doesn’t agree with those comments and is proud to have the support of Montanans of all political stripes, including those who are voting for Donald Trump,” said Monica Robinson, spokesperson for Montanans for Tester. FROM BIDEN’S ‘GARBAGE’ TO TRUMP’S ‘LOSERS.’ MAKING SENSE OF POLITICAL INSULTS IN 2024 “Sherrod doesn’t agree with that and fights for all Ohioans, regardless of who they vote for,” Brown campaign spokesperson Matt Keyes told Fox News Digital. “I am running to represent all Arizonans, regardless of who they vote for,” Gallego told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Sen. Casey respects all Pennsylvanians regardless of how they vote,” Casey campaign spokesperson Maddy McDaniel told Fox News Digital. Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin, running for Senate in the swing state of Michigan, spoke in opposition of Biden’s comment too. FORMER JILL BIDEN STAFFER TORCHES WHITE HOUSE’S ‘BONEHEAD’ ATTEMPT TO TRANSCRIBE BIDEN’S ‘GARBAGE’ COMMENT “He shouldn’t have said it. It’s inappropriate,” Slotkin said during an appearance on local radio Wednesday morning. “For me, I just think that kind of talk is the last thing we need in our politics.” While all the Democrats Fox News Digital reached out to condemned Biden’s “garbage” comment, some have disparaged Trump supporters, including Gallego and Brown. Gallego previously called Trump supporters “dumb” and the “worst people in the world.” Brown accused Trump’s supporters of “racism” and said it “works for them.” During a virtual Kamla Harris campaign call with Voto Latino, Biden took a swipe at former President Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden, which made headlines after insult comedian Tony Hinchiffe made jokes mocking different ethnic groups. In one joke, he referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.” “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters,” Biden said. “[Trump’s] demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it is un-American.” His remarks were quickly likened to Hillary Clinton’s labeling of half of Trump supporters as belonging in “a basket of deplorables” in 2016, a comment that was widely seen as undermining her campaign. The White House attempted to clean up Biden’s remark. White House spokesperson Andrew Bates told Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich President Biden “referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage.’” “The president was referencing a joke by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe in which he likened Puerto Rico to an island of floating ‘garbage’ in the middle of the ocean,” he said. “So just to clarify, he was not calling Trump supporters garbage, which is why he put this out and is why he wanted to make sure that we put out a statement that clarified what he meant and what he was trying to say. And, so, just want to make that very clear for folks who are watching,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday. VP Kamala Harris distanced herself from Biden’s remarks Tuesday. “I think that, first of all, he clarified his comments, but let me be clear. I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for,” Harris said. Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report
‘Apprentice’ alumni, including season winner, support Trump in election’s closing days: ‘grateful’
A group of 11 former contestants on “The Apprentice” have issued a public letter backing Donald Trump for president in response to a letter from fellow alumni who released a statement declaring their support for Kamala Harris. The letter, spearheaded by Kendra Todd, winner of Season 3, said the signers felt compelled to respond to the Harris letter after their fellow contestants claimed “to have spoken to dozens of their fellow contestants to confirm we shared their observations of Trump’s character.” “It is disappointing and shameful that these contestants would use the platform that Donald Trump gave them to attack him in this manner,” the letter reads. “Is this the thanks he gets for literally changing the trajectory of our lives?” Todd, now a real estate broker, told Fox News Digital, “What bothered me the most with how they claimed that they spoke with dozens of us former contestants on the show and they believed that they represent the majority of the cast mates. And I simply just do not believe that to be true.” The letter supporting Harris, obtained by Politico, was signed by four contestants, a producer, and a casting manager. The signers said they got to see Trump up close and saw a man who “embodied charisma and salesmanship.” HARRIS RESPONDS TO BIDEN ‘GARBAGE’ REMARK FOR FIRST TIME “But our extended up-close-and-personal experiences with Donald also revealed his serial history as a divisive, self-interested and erratic leader with a fragile ego,” the pro-Harris letter read. “We saw first-hand how he demanded one-way loyalty, the trail of his broken promises, his willingness to lie and take advantage of people, and how virulently he lashed out whenever he was triggered by even the slightest of criticisms.” The letter argued that America needs a leader who is “oriented towards a brighter, solutions-oriented future.” “America needs stable leadership, achieved through actual character rather than world-class TV editing. That’s why we will be voting for Vice President Kamala Harris on November 5th.” While conceding their First Amendment rights, Todd told Fox News Digital she regarded it as a “betrayal of the way they went after his character and just how disingenuous they were for the opportunity that he gave them.” “You have to remember we filmed this … 20 years ago. So, we’ve known him on and off for a very long time. And nothing they say in that letter is consistent with the man that any of us know,” Todd said. “So, we just felt that we needed to come out publicly and say that that is not the majority opinion of those who were on the show. We’re grateful for the opportunity. We’re grateful for what he’s done for our country. And we stand in support of Donald Trump.” The Apprentice debuted in 2004. It ran for 15 seasons.
House Republicans accuse White House of releasing ‘false transcript’ of Biden’s ‘garbage’ remarks
EXCLUSIVE: House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer accuse the White House of releasing a false transcript of President Biden’s remarks in which he apparently referred to supporters of former President Trump as “garbage,” warning that the revision could violate the Presidential Records Act. Fox News Digital obtained a letter Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Comer, R-Ky., sent to White House counsel Edward Siskel Wednesday afternoon in which they demand records relating to the remarks and the transcript are preserved. “In less than one week, the American people will determine the winner of the 2024 presidential election. They will choose between two candidates: President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. President Biden — marred by unpopular policies, scandal, and apparent cognitive deterioration — has chosen not to pursue a second term in office,” they wrote. “President Biden, however, has continued to play a prominent role in Vice President Harris’s campaign and, indeed, is the most powerful mouthpiece for the Biden-Harris Administration’s policies and views that Ms. Harris presumably seeks to continue under a hypothetical Harris-Walz Administration.” BIDEN CALLS TRUMP SUPPORTERS ‘GARBAGE’ DURING HARRIS CAMPAIGN EVENT AS VP PROMISES UNITY AT ELLIPSE RALLY Stefanik and Comer pointed to Biden’s remarks Tuesday night, saying, “Americans were rightfully insulted, then, when President Biden, seeking to boost Ms. Harris’ presidential campaign, referred to an enormous swath of the country as “floating … garbage.” “President Biden’s vindictive words were unsurprising, given his previous statements regarding people who choose not to vote for his preferred candidate,” they wrote. “Unsurprising too were the White House’s actions after he said them.” Stefanik and Comer said the White House, “instead of apologizing or clarifying President Biden’s words,” sought to “change them (despite them being recorded on video) by releasing a false transcript of his remarks.” “The move is not only craven, but it also appears to be in violation of federal law, including the Presidential Records Act of 1978,” they wrote. “White House staff cannot rewrite the words of the President of the United States to be more politically on message.” The letter comes after President Biden spoke during a Zoom call with Voto Latino, one of the largest Latino voter and civic outreach organizations in the U.S. Tuesday. Biden was asked about a comment made Sunday during a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden in which comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” Biden replied, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.” The White House has since denied that Biden called Trump supporters “garbage” and claimed the comment was taken out of context. The White House, on Wednesday, released a transcript of Biden’s remarks. The official White House transcript says, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.” White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates sought to clarify Biden’s remarks, saying, “The president referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage.’” TRUMP CALLS FOR SUPPORTERS TO ‘FORGIVE’ BIDEN IN SHOW OF UNITY AFTER PRESIDENT CALLS SUPPORTERS ‘GARBAGE’ And the president tweeted in the same vein. “Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage—which is the only word I can think of to describe it,” Biden posted to X. “His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That’s all I meant to say. The comments at that rally don’t reflect who we are as a nation.” Now, Vice President Kamala Harris is seeking to distance herself from the remarks, but she’s also defending the president, saying he “clarified his comments.” “But let me be clear, I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for,” Harris said. Harris, referring to her Tuesday night speech from the Ellipse near the White House, reiterated Wednesday how voters will decide “who we are as a nation and whether we are going to be a nation of people who attempt to unify and break through this era of divisiveness, or are we going to be a nation of people who have a president stewing in the Oval Office over his enemies list. ‘TREATED YOU LIKE GARBAGE’: TRUMP USES BIDEN CRITICISM AS RALLYING CRY IN BATTLEGROUND NORTH CAROLINA “You heard my speech last night and continuously throughout my career,” Harris said. “I believe that the work that I do is about representing all the people, whether they support me or not, and as President of the United States, I will be a president for all Americans whether you vote for me or not.” The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. In their letter to White House counsel, Stefanik and Comer wrote, “Though President Biden’s relevance continues to diminish, his words continue to matter, even as they become increasingly divisive and erratic.” Stefanik and Comer demanded the White House “retain and preserve all documents and internal communications regarding President Biden’s statement and the release of the inaccurate transcript.” “We also demand that the White House issue a corrected transcript with the accurate words,” they wrote. Trump, at a rally in North Carolina Wednesday, said Biden and Harris have “treated our whole country like garbage.” “My response to Joe and Kamala is very simple: You can’t lead America if you don’t love Americans,” Trump declared. “And you can’t be president if you hate the American people, and there’s a lot of hatred there.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
Trump camp takes victory lap following election case legal win in battleground state
The Trump campaign notched a legal victory on Wednesday, when a Pennsylvania court issued an injunction extending mail-in ballot applications by one day following a lawsuit from the Trump campaign. “PENNSYLVANIA LAWSUIT VICTORY We just won the Trump Campaign/RNC lawsuit against Bucks County, PA. We will now have extended early in-person mail-voting through November 1st — three extra days. We will keep fighting. Go vote! Stay in line!” Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley posted to X on Wednesday. Fox News Digital obtained a copy of the injunction, which detailed that the Bucks County Board of Elections violated the Pennsylvania Elections Code when officials turned voters away on Oct. 29 after 5 p.m. as they attempted to apply and obtain mail-in ballots before the deadline. VOTER REGISTRATION PROBES LAUNCHED IN CRUCIAL KEYSTONE STATE COUNTIES AMID CLAIMS OF POTENTIAL FRAUD The Bucks County Court of Common Please ruled that voters who wish to apply and obtain a mail-in ballot are able to do so before the close of business on Nov. 1. Bucks County is a key area of the battleground state, nestled outside of Philadelphia in the suburbs. “We have heard that we won this lawsuit, and Bucks County has extended pre-Election Day voting through November 1. This is a landmark victory that will allow our voters to cast those votes pursuant to Pennsylvania law. The RNC will leave no stone unturned in ensuring a fair, accurate and secure and transparent election, not just for Republican voters, but for all voters,” Whatley added during a press call on Wednesday. TRUMP, HARRIS MAKE FINAL PITCHES TO VOTERS IN HIGH-STAKES BATTLEGROUND STATE IN FINAL DAYS OF CYCLE Trump sued the Bucks County Board of Elections on Tuesday, claiming officials turned away voters who were waiting in line to apply in-person for a mail ballot. When the 5 p.m. deadline hit, the voters still in line were denied the opportunity to apply and ordered to leave, according to the suit. ‘PULLING AN ALVIN BRAGG’: LEFT-WING DA’S ‘FLIMSY’ SUIT AGAINST ELON MUSK’S $1M GIVEAWAY SLAMMED BY EXPERT “This is a direct violation of Pennsylvanians’ rights to cast their ballot – and all voters have a right to STAY in line,” the Trump campaign said in a statement. The Republican National Committee and Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick’s campaign had joined the lawsuit against Bucks County’s BOE. Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt also celebrated the legal history during a call with the press on Wednesday. “Just two days ago, a Trump supporter was arrested in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, for encouraging voters to stay in line, and we have seen multiple other instances of voters being turned away early in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. That’s why last night, the Trump campaign and the RNC we filed a lawsuit against Bucks County to provide more early voting opportunities, and we just won that lawsuit just about 30 minutes ago,” Leavitt said. “We have engaged in more than 130 election integrity lawsuits across the country this cycle. Our goal is to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat, and we are going to continue to fight for that until the last ballot is counted. Today’s big victory really represents a defeat for the Democrats’ voter suppression efforts. They are seeing the early voting numbers from Republicans in key states across the country, and we are very much again, focused on securing the vote for all Americans,” she continued. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
‘No such promise’: Johnson blasts Dem accusations he vowed to end ObamaCare as ‘dishonest’
EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., are not promising to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as part of the Republicans’ policy plan for 2025, the House GOP leader suggested to Fox News Digital. “Despite the dishonest characterizations from the Harris campaign, the audio and transcript make clear that I offered no such promise to end ObamaCare, and in fact acknowledged that the policy is ‘deeply ingrained’ in our health care system,” Johnson told Fox News Digital. “Still, House Republicans will always seek to reduce the costs and improve the quality and availability of health care for all Americans. Anyone who has been a patient or known a loved one who has struggled with health issues understands why this is so important.” It comes amid a barrage of accusations from Democrats that Republicans want to end the ACA, popularly known as ObamaCare. SPEAKER JOHNSON RIPS ‘LACK OF LEADERSHIP’ IN BIDEN ADMIN’S HELENE RESPONSE: ‘ALARMED AND DISAPPOINTED’ “This is not President Trump’s policy position,” Trump national press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital. “As President Trump has said, he will make our health care system better by increasing transparency, promoting choice and competition, and expanding access to new affordable health care and insurance options.” A spokesperson for Johnson told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that the speaker’s position “is in line with President Trump’s.” Trump himself has not proposed a detailed health care platform for the 2024 race. A video of Johnson saying to voters in Pennsylvania, “Health care reform is going to be a big part of the agenda” if Republicans win the White House and Congress, went viral on Tuesday. Toward the end of the clip, shared with NBC News, someone can be heard asking, “No ObamaCare?” Johnson appeared to repeat the question, “No ObamaCare?” and then explained, “The ACA is so deeply ingrained, we need massive reform to make this work, and we’ve got a lot of ideas on how to do that.” JON STEWART ADMITS HE FINDS WIDELY CRITICIZED TRUMP RALLY COMEDIAN FUNNY “If you take government bureaucrats out of the health care equation, and you have doctor-patient relationships, it’s better for everybody, more efficient, more effective. That’s the free market. Trump is going to be for the free market,” Johnson said. “We want to take a blowtorch to the regulatory state.” Democrats interpreted Johnson’s remarks as affirming Republicans will end ObamaCare and seized on the moment. “Health care is on the ballot this November. Speaker Mike Johnson is making it clear – if Donald Trump wins, he and his Project 2025 allies in Congress will make sure there is ‘no ObamaCare.’ That means higher health care costs for millions of families and ripping away protections from Americans with preexisting conditions like diabetes, asthma or cancer,” Harris campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said Tuesday evening. That was followed by a similar statement by House Democrats’ campaign arm on Wednesday morning. “Take it from Mike Johnson himself, the choice before voters this election is clear: Democrats who will fight to lower health costs and expand access to affordable health care or Republicans who want to raise the cost of medicine and deny health insurance to millions of Americans,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) spokesperson Viet Shelton said. CLUB FOR GROWTH POURS $5M INTO TIGHT HOUSE RACES AS GOP BRACES FOR TOUGH ELECTION Johnson’s spokesperson told Fox News Digital “the characterization of his remarks by the Harris campaign is false and not substantiated by the audio.” “Harris’ desperation now has her lying about Speaker Johnson,” the spokesperson also said, adding that the evidence makes “clear that the Speaker made no such promise.” Republicans tried and failed to repeal the ACA during Trump’s first term in office. A vote in the then-GOP-controlled Senate in 2017 failed when three Republican senators – including, notably, the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. – voted with Democrats against doing so.
Illegal Immigration status revealed in shooting of Jewish man in Dem-controlled city
The suspect charged with shooting a Jewish man multiple times on his way to a Chicago synagogue last week is a Mauritanian illegal immigrant who was released into the U.S. last year, Fox News has confirmed. Four law enforcement sources say that Sidi Mohamed Abdallahi, a Mauritanian national, was apprehended in Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector in March 2023 and was released into the U.S. Police say he attacked the 39-year-old male victim on Saturday morning in Chicago’s West Rogers Park neighborhood. Police said that the suspect was identified less than 30 minutes after the shooting, at which point he allegedly shot at responders before police “returned fire, striking the offender.” The victim, who was wearing traditional Jewish clothing, survived the attack. JEWISH COMMUNITY ‘SHAKEN’ AFTER CHICAGO MAN SHOT ON WAY TO SYNAGOGUE, ATTACKER FIRED AT POLICE Police said they recovered a weapon from the scene and that Abdallahi was “placed into custody, transported to an area hospital and subsequently charged accordingly.” Abdallahi is facing 14 felony counts, including six counts of attempted murder. Mauritania is a majority Muslim country in northwest Africa. The Department of Homeland Security deems illegal immigrants from Mauritania as “special interest aliens” due to security concerns, and they are supposed to receive additional DHS vetting. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had initially told Fox News Digital that it had no interaction with him. Law enforcement sources say that there is detainer request on Abdallahi — a request that he is transferred to ICE custody in the event of his release — but that “sanctuary” policies in Cook County, Illinois, prohibit local authorities from cooperating with it. Local Jewish leaders believe this was a targeted hate crime, but no hate crime charges have been filed as of now. There has been a significant increase in Mauritanian arrivals, putting pressure on towns like Lockland, Ohio, where more than 3,000 migrants have arrived in the village of 3,500. A Washington Post analysis in June found that over 15,000 residents from Mauritania came to the U.S. last year, a 2,800% increase over 2022, when just 543 arrived. The incident taps into ongoing concerns about the potential for terrorists to come across the southern border, amid the massive numbers of migrants who have come across during the border crisis. SCATHING REPORT REVEALS BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN HAS RELEASED DOZENS OF MIGRANTS ON TERROR WATCHLIST INTO U A House report in August found that of the more than 250 illegal immigrants on the terrorist watchlist who were encountered by Border Patrol at the southwest border between fiscal years 2021 and 2023, DHS released at least 99, with at least 34 others in DHS custody but not yet removed from the U.S. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE The staff interim report also found that immigration judges granted bond to at least 27 migrants on the watchlist who entered illegally, and that Border Patrol has encountered tens of thousands of migrants from countries that could present national security risks — including 2,134 Afghan nationals, 33,347 Chinese nationals, 541 Iranian nationals, 520 Syrian nationals and 3,104 Uzbek nationals. “That does not include the untold numbers of potential terrorists that evaded Border Patrol to enter the United States as part of nearly 2 million ‘gotaways’ since the beginning of the Biden-Harris Administration,” the report says. That threat from foreign nationals hit the headlines this month when authorities announced the arrest of an Afghan national, accused of plotting an Election Day terror plot, who had been paroled into the U.S. amid the hasty U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.
‘Treated you like garbage’: Trump uses Biden criticism as rallying cry in battleground North Carolina
Former President Trump said the Biden-Harris administration has treated the American people and “our whole country like garbage,” claiming that it’s now clear what President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris “really think of our supporters.” Trump held a rally Wednesday afternoon in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, just a day after Harris made her final pitch to voters in a speech from Washington, D.C. The vice president’s address was quickly overshadowed by Biden’s remarks during a Zoom call with Voto Latino on Tuesday. BIDEN CALLS TRUMP SUPPORTERS ‘GARBAGE’ DURING HARRIS CAMPAIGN EVENT AS VP PROMISES UNITY AT ELLIPSE RALLY During the call with the group, which is one of the largest Latino voter and civic outreach organizations in the U.S., Biden was asked about a comment made Sunday during a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden in which comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” Biden replied: “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.” The White House has since denied that Biden called Trump supporters “garbage” and claimed the comment was taken out of context. During the rally Wednesday, Trump said Harris has been “comparing her political opponents to the most evil mass murderers in history, and now, speaking on a call for her campaign last night, Joe Biden finally said what he and Kamala really think of our supporters.” “He called them garbage – and they mean it, even though, without question, my supporters are far higher quality than crooked Joe and Lyin’ Kamala,” Trump told supporters. But Trump said he had a response for the president and vice president. “My response to Joe and Kamala is very simple: You can’t lead America if you don’t love Americans,” Trump declared. “And you can’t be president if you hate the American people, and there’s a lot of hatred there.” TRUMP CALLS FOR SUPPORTERS TO ‘FORGIVE’ BIDEN IN SHOW OF UNITY AFTER PRESIDENT CALLS SUPPORTERS ‘GARBAGE’ Trump said Harris is “not fit to be president of the United States.” “She doesn’t have the intellect, the stamina, or that special quality that real leaders must have to lead. We know what that is. It’s a special power,” he said. “Joe Biden, his comments were the direct result of Kamala and Tim Walz.” Trump decried Biden’s “decision to portray everyone who isn’t voting for them as evil or subhuman.” “They’re not subhuman. I look at it, you are not subhuman, and we know it’s what they believe, because look how they’ve treated you,” Trump said. “They’ve treated you like garbage… You know what the truth is? They have treated our whole country like garbage, whether they meant to or not, because they’re grossly incompetent people, and they’ve destroyed our country.” Trump also blasted Harris and the Democrats for their insults of Republicans “for the past nine years.” “Kamala and her party have called us racists, bigots, fascists, deplorables, irredeemable Nazis, and they’ve called me Hitler,” Trump said. “You know, many years ago, I had a father, a great guy, was a strong guy, a legitimate guy, strong. But, you know, he always used to tell me, ‘Never use the word Nazi. Never use the word Hitler.’ Now we’re called Nazis, and I’m called Hitler. I’m not Hitler.” Trump reflected on his father, saying, “He’s looking down. Well, my mother, I know she’s looking down. My father’s a little questionable because he was a little rough. I think he’s looking down… He’d say, ‘Can you imagine? That’s what they’re calling my son? I told him for years, literally never use the term ‘Nazis,’ ‘Hitler.’ Now they’re using it on us.’ It’s unbelievable.” Trump added: “They’ve bullied you, they’ve demeaned us, they’ve demonized us and censored us… and weaponized the power of our own government against us.” Harris on Wednesday responded to Biden’s remark, defending the president and saying he “clarified his comments.” “I think that, first of all, he clarified his comments, but let me be clear, I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for,” Harris said. Harris, referring to her Tuesday night speech from the Ellipse near the White House, reiterated on Wednesday how voters will decide “who we are as a nation and whether we are going to be a nation of people who attempt to unify and breakthrough this era of divisiveness, or are we going to be a nation of people who have a president stewing in the Oval Office over his enemies list?” “You heard my speech last night and continuously throughout my career,” Harris said. “I believe that the work that I do is about representing all the people, whether they support me or not, and as president of the United States, I will be a president for all Americans whether you vote for me or not.” Harris told reporters she spoke with Biden Tuesday night but his “garbage” comment did not come up during their conversation. “He did call me last night, but this didn’t come up,” Harris said. Meanwhile, in North Carolina, Trump pitched voters, vowing to “end inflation. I will stop the massive invasion of criminals into our country. And I will bring back a thing called the American Dream.” “Our country will be bigger, better, bolder, richer, safer and stronger than ever before,” he said. “And this election is a choice between whether we will have four more years of gross incompetence and failure, or whether we’ll begin the greatest four years of the history of our country.”
Biden’s ‘garbage’ remark being used by down-ballot GOP candidates in closing voter pitch
Republicans in tight Senate races less than a week ahead of Election Day are pouncing on President Biden calling supporters of former President Trump “garbage” in a final push to rally support for down-ballot GOP races. Pennsylvania Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick released a campaign ad Wednesday showing video footage of Biden’s remarks, followed by footage of his incumbent competitor, Sen. Bob Casey, heaping praise on Biden. “Donald Trump has no character. He doesn’t give a damn about the Latino community,” Biden said during a campaign call at the White House Tuesday. “Just the other day, a speaker at his rally called Puerto Rico a floating island of garbage. “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.” ‘VINDICTIVE’: DEMOCRAT IN TIGHT SENATE RACE BLASTED BY GOP RIVAL FOR SWIPE AT MCDONALD’S AFTER TRUMP VISIT The McCormick ad showed Biden’s remarks and video showing Casey praising Biden as a man of unparalleled “integrity.” “Clean up their mess on Nov. 5. Vote Republican. Vote Dave McCormick,” a voiceover in the ad says. Biden’s comments set off a lightning storm of criticism from Republicans nationwide, with some comparing it to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” comment during a fundraiser during her failed 2016 campaign, which was viewed as likely undermining her campaign. “We are not garbage. We are patriots who love America,” Sen. Marco Rubio said at a Trump rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Tuesday. FLASHBACK: ARIZONA DEM SENATE CANDIDATE CALLED TRUMP VOTERS ‘DUMB’: ‘WORST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD’ The White House has attempted to backtrack Biden’s comment, saying it was in reference specifically to remarks made during Trump’s massive Madison Square Garden rally Sunday evening. Comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, host of the popular podcast “Kill Tony,” sparked backlash after he cracked a joke hours ahead of Trump taking the stage at Madison Square Garden that Puerto Rico is a “floating island of garbage.” The White House attempted to walk back the president’s comments Tuesday evening. Administration spokesman Andrew Bates told Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich Biden’s remark “referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage.’” Biden added in a follow-up clarification on X he was referring to the comedian’s rhetoric, not Trump supporters across the board. “Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporters at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage — which is the only word I can think of to describe it,” Biden wrote in a post on X. “His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That’s all I meant to say. The comments at that rally don’t reflect who we are as a nation.” TRUMP, HARRIS MAKE FINAL PITCHES TO VOTERS IN HIGH-STAKES BATTLEGROUND STATE IN FINAL DAYS OF CYCLE “Sen. Casey respects all Pennsylvanians regardless of how they vote,” Casey campaign spokesperson Maddy McDaniel told Fox News Digital when approached for comment about McCormick’s ad. The National Republican Senatorial Committee also unleashed on Biden’s comments, pointing to four Democrats in tight races against Republican challengers — Montana Sen. Jon Tester, Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is running for the Senate in Arizona — for previous negative comments about Trump supporters. TRUMP MAKES FRIES AT PENNSYLVANIA MCDONALD’S: ‘I’VE NOW WORKED FOR 15 MINUTES MORE THAN KAMALA’ The NRSC compared Biden’s remarks to Baldwin saying in 2016 that Republicans were failing a “moral test” for their Trump support and Gallego claiming in 2016 that Trump’s campaign “drew out the worst people in the world.” “These Democrats have spent years attacking Donald Trump and his supporters as deplorable and racist, even calling them ‘the worst people in the world.’ Now that they’re shamelessly pandering for support from Trump supporters, voters need to know if they will condemn Joe Biden’s disgusting remarks or fall in line yet again,” NRSC spokesman Philip Letsou said in comment about the four Democrats. The Trump campaign also condemned the remarks, claiming Biden and Vice President Harris not only “hate President Trump,” they also “despise” his millions of supporters. VOTER REGISTRATION PROBES LAUNCHED IN CRUCIAL KEYSTONE STATE COUNTIES AMID CLAIMS OF POTENTIAL FRAUD “President Trump is backed by Latinos, Black voters, union workers, angel moms, law enforcement officers, border patrol agents and Americans of all faiths, and Harris, Walz and Biden have labeled these great Americans as fascists, Nazis and, now, garbage. There’s no way to spin it: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris don’t just hate President Trump, they despise the tens of millions of Americans who support him. Kamala does not deserve four more years. President Trump will be a president for ALL Americans,” Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in comment. McCormick joined “Fox & Friends” Wednesday, where he condemned Biden’s rhetoric and demanded an apology. “Any time you call half of Americans garbage, because half the population is supporting President Trump, I think this is the kind of divisive rhetoric that we need to get out of politics. I think it’s terribly polarizing. And, so, not only has President Biden, Kamala Harris and Bob Casey had policies that have hurt more than half of Americans with skyrocketing prices, the fentanyl crisis. Now, they’re actually showing disrespect for him. So I hope the president will apologize for that,” McCormick said while speaking to Fox News from a diner in Gap, Pennsylvania, Wednesday. “I think it shows how they really feel about people that support President Trump,” he said. Harris also distanced herself from Biden’s remarks Wednesday, saying her final pitch speech to voters in Washington, D.C., Tuesday reflected that she would govern all Americans if elected, no matter their political party. “I think that, first of all, he clarified his comments, but let me be clear. I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for,” Harris said. “You heard my speech last night and continuously throughout my career,” Harris said. “I believe that the work that I do is about representing all the people
Second Texas doctor sued for providing gender-affirming care to minors
These are the first cases under a law prohibiting doctors from providing puberty blockers or hormone therapy to help minors transition.
Texas buys two ranches near the border, including a huge property next to Big Bend National Park
A Starr County property was purchased to build border wall, while Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said the state has many options for a sprawling ranch in West Texas.