Texas Weekly Online

Pro-life advocate says Trump victory is ‘huge’ for Catholic voters: ‘Morality matters’

Pro-life advocate says Trump victory is ‘huge’ for Catholic voters: ‘Morality matters’

Catholic voters were the biggest winners in the 2024 election, the head of a pro-life group said. “The victory is huge for Catholic voters. Trump handily won the Catholic vote,” Shawn Carney, founder of 40 Days For Life, told Fox News Digital.  “I know the Al Smith Dinner gets a lot of attention for that. That certainly wasn’t a wise move for [VP Harris] to not go to that. But I think it’s more than just dressing up in a dress or a tuxedo and going to a fundraiser. We Catholics always get the impression from, frankly, the Biden-Harris administration that they hated Catholics, and they hate religion. “We see what they’ve tolerated, in some cases, encouraged what’s happened to the Jews. We saw the DOJ target Catholics and target pro-lifers. And you just got that sense that they didn’t like or respect Catholics.” 7 STATES VOTE TO PROTECT ABORTION RIGHTS, 3 KEEP RESTRICTIONS IN PLACE According to exit polling by Fox News on election night, Catholics across the country swung nine percentage points in Trump’s favor, with Trump winning Catholics by 10 points. Catholics were evenly split between President Biden and Trump in 2020, with 50% favoring Trump to 49% favoring Biden. ABORTION ‘ON THE BALLOT’ IN 10 STATES THIS ELECTION, BUT IT MIGHT NOT MATTER While the Catholic swing exceeded expectations on the national level, the margin of Catholic voters favoring Trump was even larger in some of the most critical swing states. In Pennsylvania, which has 19 electoral votes and was considered the most important swing state by both candidates, Catholics make up a quarter of the electorate. According to Fox exit polling, Catholic voters in Pennsylvania favored Trump by a 13-point margin of 56% to 43%.  Catholic voters in two of the next largest swing states — North Carolina (16 electoral votes) and Michigan (15 electoral votes) — voted in Trump’s favor by 17 and 20 percentage points, respectively. Trump also won over Wisconsin Catholics by 16 percentage points, helping to deliver the state’s 10 electoral votes to the former president. Carney said Harris “ran on abortion,” pointing to the social issue as the candidate’s downfall. “Kamala ran on abortion, and she celebrated abortion,” he said. “Her campaign was depressing at best. “Latinos are against abortion. Catholics are against abortion. And even the liberal Catholics who are going to vote Democrat who may tolerate abortion, they don’t want it shoved down their throats,” he said. “Her barbaric approach to celebrate something that the Catholic Church adamantly teaches against was one of her many downfalls.” DESANTIS CLAIMS VICTORY OVER FLORIDA ABORTION, MARIJUANA AMENDMENTS AS SUPPORTERS CELEBRATE: ‘PRAISE GOD’ Carney said many Catholic voters were “uncomfortable” with the left “celebrating abortion.” “I think the other thing that they’ve ignored that Catholics in America still care about, no matter what you hear, is that morality matters,” he said. “And it doesn’t matter how liberal or conservative a Catholic is. There’s still a moral objectivity to it that makes people uncomfortable when it’s celebrated by somebody running for president.” Carney said other top issues were freedom of speech and freedom of religion. “There’s no doubt that Catholics were looking at free speech. And a lot of people have criticized Donald Trump for many of his stances. He’s waffled on abortion at certain times,” he said. “But, by far, he’s been the most pro-life president ever, and he’s been the most pro-free speech president we’ve ever had.” Carney pointed to Trump advocating on behalf of the Little Sisters of the Poor incident after the religious organization was taken to court for not providing contraception. “There definitely was that sentiment that, ‘Look, if they’re going to go after Trump, if they’re going to go after Catholics, if they’re going to go after pro-lifers, it’s only a matter of time until they find something in our life that they don’t like or disagree with, and they come after us,’” he said. “This was a huge free speech victory for Catholics because the Biden-Harris administration, for the first time, Obama never did this. Clinton never did it. George W. Bush never did it,” he said. “They targeted religious people, particularly Catholics, based on religion and the fact that they had the power to do so. “And you can’t target Catholics and expect them to vote for you.”

New York Democrat rips ‘far left’ for Trump victory: ‘Ivory-towered nonsense’

New York Democrat rips ‘far left’ for Trump victory: ‘Ivory-towered nonsense’

A Democratic congressman from New York recently blamed progressives for President-elect Trump’s victory this week, arguing that far-left causes actually disenchant certain voters. Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., claimed that his party has “alienated historic numbers” of minority voters in an X (former Twitter)  post on Wednesday. Torres, a vocal supporter of Israel, pointed fingers at pro-Palestinian protests as one of the causes – as well as the movement to defend police. “Donald Trump has no greater friend than the far left, which has managed to alienate historic numbers of Latinos, Blacks, Asians, and Jews from the Democratic Party with absurdities like ‘Defund the Police’ or ‘From the River to the Sea’ or ‘Latinx,’ Torres wrote. “There is more to lose than there is to gain politically from pandering to a far left that is more representative of Twitter, Twitch, and TikTok than it is of the real world,” the Democrat added. “The working class is not buying the ivory-towered nonsense that the far left is selling.” MONTAGE: LIBERAL MEDIA PUNDITS PREDICTED KAMALA HARRIS VICTORY Torres’ comments came in the aftermath of the initial 2024 election results, which found that Vice President Harris had less favorability among Latino and Hispanic voters than President Biden did in 2020. According to a Fox News Voter Analysis, Biden garnered 63% of Latino support in 2020 while Harris only had 54% this year. Another Fox News Voter Analysis found that support for Trump among Latino and Hispanic voters jumped from 35% in 2020 to 41% in 2024. HARRIS WILL NOT SPEAK FROM HOWARD UNIVERSITY ON ELECTION NIGHT AS PLANNED The shift came days after the Trump campaign was criticized for hosting comedian Tony Hinchcliffe at a high-profile Oct. 27 rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The comedian made an inflammatory joke about Puerto Rico being a “floating island of garbage,” prompting an outcry. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., attempted to use Hinchliffe’s joke as an opportunity to sway the Latino community shortly after he uttered the remark. “That’s just what they think about you,” the congresswoman said during a Twitch stream. “It’s what they think about anyone who makes less money than them. It’s what they think about the people who serve them food in a restaurant. It’s what they think about the people who, who fold their clothes in a store.”

Biden says selecting Harris as running mate was ‘best decision I made’ after VP’s concession speech

Biden says selecting Harris as running mate was ‘best decision I made’ after VP’s concession speech

After Vice President Kamala Harris’s speech on Wednesday conceding her loss to President-elect Trump in the 2024 race, President Biden issued a statement saying that selecting Harris as his running mate was the “best decision” he made. In a written statement, Biden said Harris stepped up to lead a “historic campaign” under “extraordinary circumstances.” Harris’ campaign, Biden said, “embodied what’s possible when guided by a strong moral compass and a clear vision for a nation that is more free, more just, and full of more opportunities for all Americans.” SIMONE BILES CALLS FOR BIDEN TO ‘MAKE THINGS SHAKE’ BEFORE LEAVING OFFICE AFTER TRUMP BLASTS HARRIS Biden said selecting Harris was the first decision he made after he became the nominee for president in 2020. “It was the best decision I made. Her story represents the best of America’s story. And as she made clear today, I have no doubt that she’ll continue writing that story,” Biden said.  GOP CHALLENGER UNSEATS REP. SUSAN WILD IN PENNSYLVANIA The statement came shortly after Harris told supporters at her alma mater, Howard University, that she had lost her race against Trump.  “The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for,” Harris said. “But hear me when I say, the light of America’s promise will always burn bright, as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting.” Harris had planned to address Wednesday’s audience on Election Night with a more upbeat message to deliver.  Instead, when Harris took the stage, she looked out at a sea of American flags and notably forlorn faces. She was flanked by 30 American flags.