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KJP slammed after Hurricane Helene over mixed messages on whether FEMA resources used for migrants

KJP slammed after Hurricane Helene over mixed messages on whether FEMA resources used for migrants

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre is facing heavy criticism after sending mixed messages on whether the Biden-Harris administration has been using FEMA resources to support migrants last week. Jean-Pierre flatly denied that FEMA resources were going to migrants in a press conference last week, but she stated the opposite when asked about the issue in the fall of 2022. “Former President Trump is accusing the Biden administration of using FEMA funding to support undocumented migrants.  How is the White House responding to that?” a reporter asked during a Friday press conference. “I mean, it’s just categorically false. It is not true. It is a false statement,” Jean-Pierre responded, going on to cite a Washington Post fact-check article on the subject. LAWMAKERS OUTRAGED OVER FEMA FUNDING CONCERNS Social media critics then compared her statement to comments made in 2022, where she appeared to explicitly state that FEMA resources were available to illegal immigrants. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ‘FAILED TO ACT’ IN HURRICANE HELENE AFTERMATH: REP. CORY MILLS She made the statement during a Sept. 16, 2022, press conference when Jean-Pierre was asked about assisting cities in handling the busloads of migrants being sent across the country from Texas. “FEMA Regional Administrators have been meeting with city officials on site to coordinate — to coordinate available federal support from FEMA and other federal agencies,” Jean-Pierre told reporters at the time. GEOGRAPHIC TERRITORY OF HURRICANE DISASTER IS ‘GIGANTIC’: REP JARED MOSKOWITZ “Funding is also available through FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter program to eligible local governments and not-for-profit organizations upon request to support humanitarian relief for migrants,” she added. Scrutiny on the Biden-Harris administration’s use of FEMA funds comes amid catastrophic flooding in North Carolina. Vice President Kamala Harris announced a $100 million package to support the state. Critics pointed out, however, that the package was much smaller than the $157 million in foreign humanitarian support Harris had announced for Lebanon the same day. “The people of Lebanon are facing an increasingly dire humanitarian situation. I am concerned about the security and well-being of civilians suffering in Lebanon and will continue working to help meet the needs of all civilians there,” she wrote on X. “To that end, the United States will provide nearly $157 million in additional assistance to the people of Lebanon for essential needs such as food, shelter, water, protection, and sanitation to help those who have been displaced by the recent conflict. This additional support brings total U.S. assistance to Lebanon over the last year to over $385 million,” she added. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Georgia’s Muslim voters opposing Harris, Trump in election over both candidates’ support for Israel

Georgia’s Muslim voters opposing Harris, Trump in election over both candidates’ support for Israel

A growing group of Muslim voters in Georgia say they will not back either Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump in next month’s election because of both candidates’ support of Israel amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Harris has said she supports Israel’s right to defend itself and would not withhold weapons from the country, but has also called for a ceasefire in Gaza, while Trump said recently he is Israel’s “protector” and reaffirmed his support for the Jewish state. In battleground Georgia, where Trump narrowly lost in 2020 to President Joe Biden, the Peach State could help determine whether Harris or Trump wins the presidency. The Muslim population in Georgia could also impact which candidate wins the state’s 16 electoral votes. Muslim voters across the country are virtually tied between Harris and Trump, with Harris only securing a single-point advantage, according to a recent poll by the Arab American Institute. KAMALA HARRIS’ SUPPORT WITH ARAB AND MUSLIM COMMUNITIES IN MICHIGAN IS ‘TENUOUS’: DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST Kristen Truitt, a Muslim American voter in Atlanta, has voted for Democrats in prior elections but now says the party will not have his support over its position on Israel. “Just to give unlimited funds and access to Israel, I think that is totally ridiculous,” Truitt told Fox 5 Atlanta. This comes just ahead of the one-year mark of the ongoing war in Gaza between Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists. The conflict began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel and took more than 250 hostages, which prompted retaliatory action from Israel’s military. The Hamas-run government’s Gaza Health Ministry estimates that more than 41,000 people have been killed in the conflict, although it does not distinguish between civilian and terrorist deaths. More than 1,500 people have reportedly been killed in Israel since the start of the conflict, with most of them being killed on Oct. 7 and its immediate aftermath. TRUMP SAYS ISRAEL SHOULD HIT IRAN’S NUCLEAR FACILITIES, SLAMMING BIDEN’S RESPONSE The growing group of Muslim voters in Georgia and across the country have said they will not vote for Harris or Trump due to both sides’ vocal support of Israel in its war in Gaza, and the conflict is now expanding to include Israel attacking Hezbollah terror targets in Lebanon. “What we’re trying to say is we should really do away with the logic of voting for the ‘lesser of two evils,’” Kareem Rosshandler, Georgia co-chair of the “Abandon Harris” campaign, told Fox 5. The “Abandon Harris” campaign group is urging Muslims to vote third-party to send a message to Republicans and Democrats that they need to earn the votes of the Muslim community. “I think the main one is to say that the Muslim community in the United States won’t be taken for granted,” Rosshandler said. Rosshandler said the group has already secured commitments from more than 10,000 Muslim voters to support third-party candidates. Some third-party candidates, including Libertarian Chase Oliver and the Green Party’s Jill Stein, have been critical of Israel’s war in Gaza. The loss of Muslim voters is expected to hurt Harris more than Trump, as the Republican candidate has previously struggled to secure Muslim votes. “That would essentially have a greater adverse impact on the Harris-Waltz ticket than it would on Trump-Vance,” Emory University assistant professor of law Alicia Hughes, who is also a voting expert, told Fox 5 Atlanta. “Trump, historically, has not been able to count on those votes.” Hughes also says that if Harris or Trump were more vocally critical of Israel, it may not help their election chances either. “There’s a great possibility that you would lose more from the change than you would actually gain,” she said.

New York company unveils 100-foot ‘Vote for Trump’ sign, gets sued by Democratic mayor

New York company unveils 100-foot ‘Vote for Trump’ sign, gets sued by Democratic mayor

A 100-foot wide “Vote for Trump” sign in upstate New York is stirring controversy after the City of Amsterdam claimed it’s a big, glowing code violation. Sticker Mule CEO Anthony Constantino told Fox News Digital he installed the sign on top of the old Fownes glove factory to symbolize the return of American manufacturing and what he calls “the triumph of the underdog against insurmountable adversity.”  “I think that’s what President Trump did. He triumphed against massive adversity. He’s still doing that with bullets flying by his head,” Constantino said. “And we triumph too. Nobody thought we could build a massive sticker company or a massive tech company in upstate New York.” But his company now faces adversity in the form of legal action by the City of Amsterdam to prevent the “displaying” and “illumination” of the pro-Trump sign, which is visible from the New York State Thruway.  TRUMP’S RETURN TO BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA, SITE OF FIRST ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, IS ‘GUTSY,’ SUPPORTERS SAY According to court documents, the sign violates city code because it “presents a dangerous distraction and impacts traffic flow,” especially at night when it is illuminated. Local officials allege Sticker Mule was informed it would need a permit and several variances to install the sign in August, but the company never responded before the sign went up Oct. 1. Constantino and his legal team contest the city’s claims. The CEO believes Amsterdam’s Democratic Party-endorsed independent mayor is anti-Trump and has vowed to fight a temporary injunction that requires the sign to be covered up. Amsterdam Mayor Michael Cinquanti did not respond to requests for comment.  Dressed in a black T-shirt that said “Trump For Peace,” Constantino describes Sticker Mule as “the internet’s fastest growing printing company” with 1,200 employees in 39 countries. His online business began by making stickers but has since expanded to print T-shirts, buttons and magnets and even operates its own online store platform, Sticker Mule Stores. He is proud to report that Sticker Mule has created nearly 1,000 manufacturing jobs in the U.S. over the past few years. “I like to move fast and do interesting things,” Constantino told Fox News Digital. Success in business gave him the means to reinvest in his hometown of Amsterdam, and the Fownes factory was one of several buildings he bought and restored, filling them with machines and workers.  FORMER NFL STAR AND TRUMP SUPPORTER ANTONIO BROWN JOINS VOTER REGISTRATION EFFORT IN KEY SWING STATE “Fownes was a glove manufacturer that left my hometown when I was 2 years old in 1984,” he said, explaining that Amsterdam was “decimated” by job loss when the factory, with its iconic “Fownes” sign, closed its doors.   “This Fownes sign for years symbolized American manufacturing going to China,” Constantino said. Now, the $150,000 “Vote for Trump” sign sits in its place, heralding a new era of American manufacturing jobs. The impossible-to-miss sign attracted “major interest,” according to Constantino. To celebrate its installation, his political action committee, StickerPAC, plans to host a “Trump Sign Lighting Party” Oct. 7 at 6 p.m. A news release about the event says UFC superstars Henry Cejudo, Kelvin Gastelum and Tracy Cortez will join Constantino to speak and support the “historic event.”  According to a representative for Constantino, House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is also expected to speak at the event. Stefanik’s office did not respond to a request for comment.  “The enthusiasm just went through the roof. We’ve got three UFC superstars that wanted to come see it. We’ve got people that want to come from all over the state of New York, people that want to fly in or drive in from all over the country, really, to see the sign get lit up,” Constantino said. ‘TIGHTEST RACE SINCE 2000’: HARRIS-TRUMP SHOWDOWN HITS FINAL STRETCH UNTIL ELECTION DAY But the festivities may be cut short by legal action from Amsterdam. On Oct. 3, the city code enforcer sent a notice of violation to Sticker Mule that gave the company two days to remove the “Vote for Trump” sign. The city also requested an injunction from the Supreme Court of the State of New York to prevent the sign from being displayed. “The affidavit claims, without evidence, that the city will suffer irreparable harm because the sign is a dangerous distraction for drivers due to its novelty and the fear that people will stop to take pictures of it,” said Sal Ferlazzo, general counsel for Sticker Mule. “The court, based solely on the city’s presentation and without any opportunity for me to respond, did initially grant a preliminary injunction and restraining order.”  A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 8 at 10 a.m. Until that time, the court ordered Sticker Mule to refrain from “displaying any sign and/or illumination of any sign on the roof of 26 Elk Street.”  On the advice of legal counsel, Sticker Mule has temporarily covered up the pro-Trump sign to comply with the court order. TRUMP-VANCE TICKET HAS DONE COMBINED 63 INTERVIEWS SINCE AUGUST COMPARED TO 24 FOR HARRIS-WALZ “I think it’s deeply disturbing,” Constantino said of the city’s action. “I brought nearly a thousand jobs to my hometown, which was decimated when the Fownes company and other companies left. And I’m trying to do something positive, exciting for the community.”  He suggested Mayor Cinquanti has “TDS” — Trump derangement syndrome — and is fighting the sign for political reasons. “They do know that they are in violation,” Cinquanti told The Daily Gazette. “They’ve been cited, and we’ll just let that play out as we would with any code violation.” The mayor, who according to the newspaper has previously called Trump his least favorite president in American history, insisted the city’s objections to the sign are about safety, not politics.  “I don’t care what the sign says, but distracting the attention of drivers on the freeway is something that needs to be looked at, and that’s what we’re doing,” he told the outlet.  “Any sign that represents a

Absentee voting kicks off in Maine

Absentee voting kicks off in Maine

Absentee voting in Maine is getting underway, with the state’s four Electoral College votes up for grabs and a number of other national, statewide and local races on the ballot. Maine is one of two states in the U.S. — the other is Nebraska — that does not use a winner-take-all system for all its electors. In the presidential race, two electors are given to the winner of the statewide popular vote, while one elector is awarded to Maine’s District 1 and District 2, respectively. Maine is one of several Democratic-leaning northeastern states. President Biden won here by about nine points in 2020, improving on Hillary Clinton’s margin four years earlier. And it hasn’t voted for a Republican at the statewide level since 1988. It is ranked Likely D on the Fox News Power Rankings. Like Nebraska, it also allocates its electoral votes by congressional district. The winner of the statewide tally receives two votes, with another vote for the winner of the presidential tally in each of its two districts. The small coastal 1st District is solid blue territory. The 2nd District, which is predominantly rural and represents almost all the land area of the state, leans conservative. Trump won the 2nd District by 7.4 points in his last race, and it’s ranked Likely R this cycle. The former president will look for a win here to get one step closer to the 270 electoral votes he needs to win the presidency. The same district is also home to a competitive House race. Maine’s 2nd District: Incumbent Rep. Jared Golden is one of five Democrats running in districts Trump won in the last presidential election (Golden won by 6 points). The former Marine made headlines this year when he said he “didn’t know” whether he would vote for Biden again and was one of the first Democrats to question Biden’s mental fitness. This time, he’s up against Maine State Representative and former NASCAR driver Austin Theriault, who says he wants “more balance and less extremism” in politics. This race is a Power Rankings toss-up. This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Maine. TRUMP CAN WIN ON THESE 3 KEY ISSUES, MICHIGAN VOTERS TELL FOX Absentee ballots are beginning to be sent to voters after clerks were required to have received printed ballots to be sent out by Saturday. Applicants do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. The state must receive a ballot application by Oct. 31, and that ballot must be delivered to county officials by Nov. 5. OBAMA TO CAMPAIGN FOR HARRIS IN PENNSYLVANIA, OTHER KEY STATES Maine counties offer early in-person voting, but the start date varies by location. Check the state’s website for more information. Residents may vote in person with an absentee ballot until the Thursday before Election Day. Maine residents can register to vote online or by mail through Oct. 15. They can also register in person during early voting and on Election Day.