Ella Emhoff feels ‘trauma’ returning to NYC polling station where she voted for Harris
Former Vice President Kamala Harris’ stepdaughter, Ella Emhoff, shared with her Instagram followers on Tuesday that she felt “a little trauma” while on her way to vote in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary. Emhoff revealed that she was voting in the same polling station where she had cast her ballot for her stepmother, who ultimately suffered a crushing defeat in Nov. 2024. “You know, I’m feeling a little trauma walking to the same polling station that I did to vote for Kamala. And you know, I’m just feeling a lot of hope,” Emhoff said in a video posted to her Instagram story that has since expired. REPUBLICANS USE MAMDANI BOMBSHELL VICTORY OVER CUOMO AS AMMUNITION TO BLAST DEMOCRATS AS EXTREMISTS In the second part of the video, Emhoff sported an “I Voted” sticker and said she was “feeling a huge mix of emotions,” adding that it was “spectacular seeing New York come together in this way and rally behind Zohran.” Emhoff was among several celebrity guests — including “Sex and the City” star Cynthia Nixon and actor Kal Penn — at Zohran Mamdani’s watch party. ERIC ADAMS WARNS ZOHRAN MAMDANI IS A ‘SNAKE OIL SALESMAN’ AFTER DEM SOCIALIST’S NYC MAYORAL PRIMARY WIN While the results of the primary are unofficial, Mamdani claimed victory, and the other frontrunner in the race, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, conceded. Emhoff endorsed Mamdani in May in a video apparently filmed at Brooklyn Steel, a music venue in New York City, where Mamdani was holding an event. “I’m passing the phone to the next mayor of New York City, who’s going to make New York happier, healthier and more affordable,” Emhoff says in the video, which was a play on the “passing the phone” social media trend. In the past month, Emhoff promoted Mamdani on her social media. In one post, she made a list of “big reminders,” including urging New Yorkers not to rank Cuomo and to vote for Mamdani instead. Mamdani has faced heavy criticism from Republicans who see him as being a radical and from those who have accused him of being an antisemite. His proposals, such as implementing free public transit, creating a network of city-owned grocery stores and instituting free universal childcare for children from ages 6 weeks to 5 years. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., criticized Mamdani, saying that “a radical, Defund-the-Police, Communist, raging antisemite will most likely win the New York City Democrat mayoral primary.” The New York City Board of Elections is set to release the official primary results on July 1, according to Fox 5.
Bernie Moreno wants Senate to call for Nobel Peace Prize to go to Trump
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, wants President Donald Trump to win the Nobel Peace Prize. The lawmaker is introducing a resolution Wednesday that declares the U.S. Senate “calls on the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award President Donald John Trump the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize,” “urges all peace-loving nations to join in that call” and “expresses its deepest appreciation to President Trump for bringing an end both to the nuclear program of Iran and hostilities related thereto in only 12 days.” President Barack Obama was awarded the prize in 2009, less than one year after taking office. TRUMP NOMINATED FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE OVER IRAN-ISRAEL CEASEFIRE DEAL “Obama won the Nobel, then he killed hundreds of civilians and did nothing to stop Forever Wars,” Moreno declared in a post on X. “Now President Trump did what neocons said couldn’t be done—destroying Iran’s nuclear facilities & securing a ceasefire. It’s time to formally nominate him.” Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter, R-Ga., who is running for U.S. Senate, also nominated Trump for the award this week. TRUMP ANNOUNCES HISTORIC IRAN AND ISRAEL CEASEFIRE AGREEMENT TO END ‘12 DAY WAR’ In a nomination letter, the congressman said he was nominating Trump “in recognition of his extraordinary and historic role in brokering an end to the armed conflict between Israel and Iran and preventing the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism from obtaining the most lethal weapon on the planet.” TRUMP SAYS IRAN WON’T BE BUILDING BOMBS ‘FOR A VERY LONG TIME’ “His leadership at this moment exemplifies the very ideals that the Nobel Peace Prize seeks to recognize: the pursuit of peace, the prevention of war, and the advancement of international harmony,” Carter’s letter declared. Fox News’ Tyler Olson contributed to this report
Iran, Israel and US agree that Islamic Republic nuclear sites were ‘badly damaged’ despite leaked intel report
President Donald Trump’s historic precision strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites Saturday hit their targets and “destroyed” and “badly damaged” the facilities’ critical infrastructure — an assessment agreed upon by Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Israel and the United States. “Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei told Al Jazeera. TRUMP SAYS US WOULD STRIKE AGAIN IF IRAN REBUILDS NUCLEAR PROGRAM Israel’s Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said its assessment is that Iran’s nuclear program has been “significantly damaged,” while Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission described the U.S. strikes as “devastating.” “The devastating U.S. strike on Fordo destroyed the site’s critical infrastructure and rendered the enrichment facility inoperable,” Israel’s Atomic Energy Commission said. “We assess that the American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, combined with Israeli strikes on other elements of Iran’s military nuclear program, has set back Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons by many years.” It added: “The achievement can continue indefinitely if Iran does not get access to nuclear material.” TRUMP THRASHES CNN AS ‘GUTLESS LOSERS’ FOR COVERAGE OF US STRIKES ON IRAN And as for the United States, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan “Razin” Caine said that initial battle damage assessments indicate that “all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction.” “More than 125 U.S. aircraft participated in this mission, including B-2 stealth bombers, multiple flights of fourth and fifth generation fighters, dozens and dozens of air refueling tankers, a guided missile submarine, and a full array of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft, as well as hundreds of maintenance and operational professionals,” Caine said in a press briefing. And Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that “given the 30,000 pounds of explosions and the capability of those munitions, it was devastation underneath Fordow.” HEGSETH SAYS FBI IS CONDUCTING INVESTIGATION INTO LEAK OF INTEL REPORT ON STRIKE AGAINST IRAN “Any assessment that tells you otherwise is speculating with other motives,” Hegseth said. The agreement on the assessment of damage between the United States, Israel and Iran comes amid a report that cited leaked low-confidence intelligence from one intelligence agency that suggested the U.S. strikes did not destroy Iran’s nuclear sites. A Defense Intelligence Agency source told Fox News that the “low confidence” assessment was based on just “one day’s worth of intelligence reporting.” More intelligence has been gathered in the days since through other sources and methods, according to the source. “This is a preliminary, low-confidence report and will continue to be refined as additional intelligence becomes available,” the Defense Intelligence Agency said. “We are working with the appropriate authorities to investigate the unauthorized disclosure of classified information.” And Secretary of State Marco Rubio blasted the report and said that Iran’s nuclear program “today looks nothing like it did just a week ago.” “That story is a false story, and it’s one that really shouldn’t be re-reported because it doesn’t accurately reflect what’s happening,” Rubio said. “Everything underneath that mountain is in bad shape.” Rubio also added that “there is no way Iran comes to the table if somehow nothing had happened.” TRUMP LASHES OUT AT ISRAEL AND IRAN WITH PROFANITY FOR BREAKING CEASE-FIRE “This was complete and total obliteration. They are in bad shape,” Rubio said. “They are way behind today compared to where they were just seven days ago because of what President Trump did.” Even the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi assessed that “very significant damage is expected to have occurred.” “At the Esfahan nuclear site, additional buildings were hit, with the US confirming their use of cruise missiles,” he said, according to prepared remarks for the International Atomic Energy Agency. “Affected buildings include some related to the uranium conversion process,” he said. “Also at this site, entrances to tunnels used for the storage of enriched material appear to have been hit. At the Natanz enrichment site, the Fuel Enrichment Plant was hit, with the U.S. confirming that it used ground-penetrating munitions.” Meanwhile, Trump has been in the Netherlands at the NATO Summit, where he was met with praise from allies on his “decisive” action in Iran. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte praised Trump as a “man of strength” and a “man of peace” during Wednesday’s summit. “I just want to recognize your decisive action on Iran,” Rutte said at the start of his joint remarks with the president. “You are a man of strength, but you are also a man of peace. And the fact that you are now also successful in getting this ceasefire done between Israel and Iran — I really want to commend you for that. I think this is important for the whole world.” The president on Wednesday declared that the United States would strike Iran again if the country attempts to rebuild its nuclear program.
Democratic congressman hurls profanity-laced message at Stephen Miller
A Democratic lawmaker hurled profanity at White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller on Wednesday, going on to imply that Miller is a Nazi. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wisc., made the statement on social media in response to some of Miller’s commentary on New York City. Miller was discussing democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani’s victory in the Democratic primary for New York City’s mayoral election, saying unchecked immigration was a major contributor to the city’s leftward slide in recent years. “NYC is the clearest warning yet of what happens to a society when it fails to control migration,” Miller wrote. Pocan chimed in: “Racist ****. Go back to 1930’s Germany.” WHAT MAMDANI IS PLEDGING TO DO IF HE BECOMES NEW YORK CITY’S NEXT MAYOR Pocan weighed in on Mamdani’s win multiple times, lashing out at another user who claimed the democratic nominee, who is Muslim, supports “Sharia Law.” “I love watching MAGA nut jobs spinning total bull**** to overcome blatant racism and xenophobia,” Pocan responded to the post. “People want progressive populism that focuses on making their lives better, not redistribution of wealth from working people to the wealthiest. Trumpism is on the decline.” Republicans have capitalized on Mamdani’s victory as evidence of the extremism of the current Democratic Party. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) was among the first to make the connection. “The new face of the Democrat Party just dropped, and it’s straight out of a socialist nightmare,” they wrote in an email. Aiming to tie House Democrats to Mamdani, NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella argued that “every vulnerable House Democrat will own him, and every Democrat running in a primary will fear him.” Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, a top ally of President Donald Trump who is seriously considering a run for Empire State governor next year, also pounced. Stefanik claimed that “a radical, Defund-the-Police, Communist, raging Antisemite will most likely win the New York City Democrat Mayoral primary.” Vice President JD Vance also weighed in, writing, “Congratulations to the new leader of the Democratic Party” in a post on Blue Sky, a social media platform frequented by progressives. Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Texas the latest state with a law banning foreign adversaries from buying real estate
Texas has become the latest state to cement a ban on land and property purchases by individuals or entities from adversarial nations. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 17 into law over the weekend, prohibiting countries identified as security threats in the intelligence community’s 2025 Annual Threat Assessment, from acquiring “real property” in the state. The countries include China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, and the bill identified “real property” as agricultural land, commercial or industrial properties, residential properties and land used for mining or water use. Amid heightened global tensions, there has been an increased appetite for protecting foreign asset acquisitions in the United States. However, these efforts have been criticized by some for being overly broad, arbitrary and potentially discriminatory. ISRAEL’S DRONE STRIKES IN IRAN SHOW WHY US MUST HALT CHINA’S LAND GRAB: EXPERTS In response to Abbott’s signing of S.B. 17, the nonprofit Asian Americans Advancing Justice said it was “outraged” at the legislation that the group said “creates an overly broad net that places innocent foreign nationals at risk of racial profiling.” A similar defense was made by Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs after she vetoed a bill seeking to stop Chinese land and property purchases in the state, noting the bill lacked “clear implementation criteria,” which opened the door for “arbitrary enforcement.” Hobbs, following backlash over her veto, subsequently described the bill as “a watered-down, weak-on-China bill,” noting it allowed the communist country to purchase land near military bases for up to three years at a time, and followed up this month with her own version of the bill. Texas’s bill exempts U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. Individuals legally residing in the United States wishing to purchase a primary residence are also exempt, as well as leaseholders of less than a year. The Texas attorney general is authorized through the new legislation to investigate potential violations of the new law, which would be a felony. The law will go into effect on September 1. DEM GOVERNOR RIPPED AS ‘TOTAL DISGRACE’ AFTER VETOING BILL LIMITING CHINESE LAND OWNERSHIP NEAR MILITARY BASES Proponents of measures like the one in Texas have cited efforts by countries like China to purchase land and property near major U.S. military bases. However, it is not just land either, it is assets too. China has a strong foothold in the U.S. drone market with many law enforcement agencies using Chinese-made DJI drones. The country has also faced scrutiny for building solar converters in the U.S. that can be tapped for espionage efforts, its increasing footprint in U.S. maritime ports and penetration of other critical infrastructure. Texas’s bill follows a high-profile incident earlier this month when two Chinese nationals were arrested for attempting to smuggle a dangerous biological pathogen into the United States. “Chinese companies purchasing American land, particularly near sensitive strategic and military sites, is not a coincidence. The CCP is blatantly attempting to base espionage efforts, and potentially worse, right in our backyard, and it’s up to states act accordingly,” said Michael Lucci, the CEO and founder of State Armor Action, a conservative group with a mission to develop and enact state-level solutions to global security threats. “Governor Abbott and the Texas legislature are right to ban foreign adversaries from purchasing land in their state. More and more states should follow their lead.” RICKETTS, FETTERMAN TEAM UP FOR CRACKDOWN ON CHINA’S ATTEMPTS TO PURCHASE US FARMLAND Per the Committee of 100, which tracks state and federal bills in the United States that restrict property ownership by foreign entities, 25 states have passed bills that restrict foreign property ownership as of Monday. That is up from 22 states as recently as March, per the committee. Meanwhile, according to the committee’s tracking, 15 bills pertaining to this issue are being considered at the federal level as well. On Monday, Republicans in Congress introduced a bill aimed at increasing oversight of foreign farmland purchases, which would add the U.S. Agriculture Secretary to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). It would also compel the U.S. Department of Agriculture to report to CFIUS any purchase of domestic agricultural land by foreign adversaries who pose risks to national security. State-level bills aimed at increasing scrutiny of foreign land and asset acquisitions from adversaries appear imminent in New Hampshire and North Carolina, if their governors grant them approval.
New York Democrat says mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani ‘too extreme to lead’
A moderate House Democrat from New York is criticizing New York City’s presumptive Democratic nominee for mayor, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. “Socialist Zohran Mamdani is too extreme to lead New York City. His entire campaign has been built on unachievable promises and higher taxes, which is the last thing New York needs,” Rep. Laura Gillen, D-N.Y., said in a statement Wednesday. “Beyond that, Mr. Mamdani has called to defund the police and has demonstrated a deeply disturbing pattern of unacceptable antisemitic comments, which stoke hate at a time when antisemitism is skyrocketing. He is the absolute wrong choice for New York.” It’s the first pushback from a Democratic official to Mamdani’s stunning victory in the first round of New York City’s ranked choice voting primary tally. REPUBLICANS USE MAMDANI BOMBSHELL VICTORY OVER CUOMO AS AMMUNITION TO BLAST DEMOCRATS AS EXTREMISTS Mamdani far outpaced former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the first round, winning 43.5% of the vote compared to Cuomo’s 36.4%. Cuomo announced he would bow out of the primary but left it an open question whether he would join current New York City Mayor Eric Adams in running as an independent in the race. The former governor, whose own issues include accusations of sexual harassment that derailed his time in Albany, told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo that he is not ruling out running again in November. CUOMO CONCEDES IN NYC DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY FOR MAYOR, CONGRATULATES AOC-ENDORSED MAMDANI Gillen is a Long Island Democrat who unseated former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., in the 2024 elections. She’s been known to break from her own party on issues like law enforcement and illegal immigration during her brief time in Congress so far. Gillen is also breaking from Democratic leaders in her criticism of Mamdani, a 33-year-old self-proclaimed democratic socialist whose platform includes city-owned and operated grocery stores. Both House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in public statements on Wednesday that they had spoken to Mamdani since his victory. “He ran an impressive campaign that connected with New Yorkers about affordability, fairness, & opportunity,” Schumer said. Jeffries’ statement said, “Assemblyman Mamdani ran a strong campaign that relentlessly focused on the economy and bringing down the high cost of living in New York City.” Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s campaign for comment on Gillen’s criticism.
Trump DHS sues entire bench of federal judges in Maryland district court over automatic injunctions
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is suing all 15 judges on the Maryland federal bench, arguing the court’s policy of automatically pausing certain immigration cases that come before it is unlawful. Attorneys for the Trump administration argued to the very court they are suing that the policy, imposed through an order the court issued in May, is an “egregious example of judicial overreach.” “A sense of frustration and a desire for greater convenience do not give Defendants license to flout the law,” the attorneys wrote in a filing Tuesday. “Nor does their status within the judicial branch.” The Maryland court’s standing order requires clerks to immediately enter temporary administrative injunctions in cases brought by alleged illegal immigrants who are challenging their detention. US JUDGE BLASTS TRUMP LAWYERS FOR 11TH-HOUR TACTICS IN MS-13 DEPORTATION CASE The automatic injunctions in these cases, known as habeas corpus cases, temporarily bar the DHS from deporting or changing the legal status of the immigrant in question for two business days. In its order, the court said it did this out of scheduling convenience to make sure the “status quo” is preserved when a case is filed. The order cited a higher volume than usual of cases involving detained immigrants who are attempting to prevent the government from keeping them detained or deporting them. “The recent influx of habeas petitions concerning alien detainees purportedly subject to improper and imminent removal from the United States that have been filed after normal court hours and on weekends and holidays has created scheduling difficulties and resulted in hurried and frustrating hearings in that obtaining clear and concrete information about the location and status of the petitioners is elusive,” the court order stated. The Trump administration also asked the court in a follow-up motion that all the judges-turned-defendants recuse themselves from the case and bring in an outside judge to take over or transfer the case to a different court district. JUDGE ON WARPATH PRESSES TRUMP DOJ ON ABREGO GARCIA DEPORTATION, ANSWERS LEAVE COURTROOM IN STUNNED SILENCE The unusual lawsuit comes as President Donald Trump‘s mass deportation agenda encounters roadblocks involving individual immigrants using legal avenues afforded to them through U.S. immigration laws to raise challenges and appeals to their deportations. In Maryland, Judge Paula Xinis, who is now one of the named defendants in the new case, ordered the Trump administration to return to the United States a Salvadoran national named Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to a prison in El Salvador in March before he was returned months later to face trafficking charges. The case became the first known instance of the Trump administration erroneously deporting an illegal immigrant before affording him legally-required due process.
Rubio cracks up at Trump’s reaction to NATO leader calling president ‘daddy’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio cracked up laughing when President Donald Trump gave his reaction to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte calling the commander in chief “daddy” earlier Wednesday. During their bilateral meeting in The Hague, Netherlands, Trump discussed the U.S.’ role in brokering a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Iran, saying both countries were like “two kids in a school yard” who “fight like hell” for a short time before “it’s easier to stop them.” Rutte interjected, “Then daddy has to sometimes use strong language.” Trump had used profanity in front of reporters outside the White House before boarding Marine One on Tuesday, saying about Israel and Iran that they “have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f— they’re doing. ” At a subsequent press conference Wednesday, Rubio broke into hysterics when a reporter from Sky News asked Trump about the remark. TRUMP LASHES OUT AT ISRAEL AND IRAN WITH PROFANITY FOR BREAKING CEASE-FIRE The reporter reminded Trump that Rutte, “who is your friend.… He called you daddy.” “Do you regard your NATO allies as kind of children?” the reporter asked. Trump responded lightheartedly, and Rubio could be seen standing next to him starting to smile and laugh. “No, he likes me. I think he likes me. If he doesn’t, I’ll let you know. I’ll come back, and I’ll hit him hard. Okay?” Trump said jokingly. “He did. He did it. Very affectionate,” Trump added of Rutte. “‘Daddy, You’re my daddy.’” The reporter pressed on with a more serious tone, as Rubio continued to laugh. “Do you regard your NATO allies, though, as kind of like children?” she said. TRUMP THRASHES CNN AS ‘GUTLESS LOSERS’ FOR COVERAGE OF US STRIKES ON IRAN NATO leaders on Wednesday committed that the member states would contribute 5% of GDP annually to defense and security obligations by 2035. “You’re obviously appreciative of that,” the reporter said. “But do you hope that actually they’re going to be able to defend themselves, defend Europe on their own?” “I think they’ll need help a little bit at the beginning, and I think they’ll be able to,” Trump said. “I think they’re going to remember this day and this is a big day for NATO. You know, this was a very big day.” “It’s been sort of an amazing day for a lot of reasons, but also for that,” Trump added, referencing how the greater contributions were decades in the making. Trump claimed it was not possible until he came along. The reporter pressed, “Do you think they can do it without you, though in the future? Can they do more states?” “I mean, you have to ask Mark,” Trump said, concluding the press conference. The president had noted earlier that the only NATO member that did not agree to hike its defense contribution was Spain.
Zelenskyy pointedly thanks Trump, America for Ukraine support months after Vance’s jab about lack of gratitude
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked President Donald Trump after they had a talk Wednesday at the NATO summit in the Netherlands — months after Vice President JD Vance called out Zelenskyy for not voicing more gratitude for U.S. support for Kyiv as it battles Moscow. When Zelenskyy visited the White House in February he sparred openly with Trump and Vance in the Oval Office over engaging in diplomacy with Russia to end the conflict, prompting Vance to ask the Ukrainian leader if he’d “said thank you once this entire meeting.” But on Wednesday Zelenskyy made sure to thank Trump and the U.S. in a post on X following their meeting in The Hague. “We covered all the truly important issues. I thank Mr. President, I thank the United States. We discussed how to achieve a ceasefire and a real peace,” Zelenskyy said in a post on X on Wednesday. “We spoke about how to protect our people. We appreciate the attention and the readiness to help bring peace closer. Details will follow.” JD VANCE STEPS INTO THE SPOTLIGHT DEFENDING TRUMP’S FOREIGN POLICY IN OVAL OFFICE DUSTUP WITH ZELENSKYY Trump, Vance and Zelenskyy’s infamous Oval Office meeting in February started after Zelenskyy challenged Vance’s statements that diplomacy was the correct avenue to end the conflict. Zelenskyy questioned the value of diplomacy, noting that Russian President Vladimir Putin has broken other agreements in the past. “What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about?” Zelenskyy said. “What do you mean?” Vance said, “I’m talking about the kind of diplomacy that’s going to end the destruction of your country.” “Mr. President, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media,” Vance said. “Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president for bringing it, to bring it into this country.” TRUMP SAYS ZELENSKYY CAN ‘COME BACK WHEN HE IS READY FOR PEACE’ AFTER FIERY WHITE HOUSE EXCHANGE Following the tense exchange, Trump announced a halt to peace negotiations and said that Zelenskyy could return to the White House when he was “ready” for peace. Just after leaving the White House, Zelenskyy issued a post on X thanking the U.S., Trump, Congress and the American people for backing Ukraine. Although Zelenskyy and Trump continued to exchange harsh barbs at one another following the Oval Office visit, they’ve subsequently spoken over the phone and met in person at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City during Pope Francis’ April funeral. WHERE ZELENSKYY IS HEADED FOLLOWING TENSE WHITE HOUSE EXCHANGE WITH TRUMP, VANCE Meanwhile, Trump said Wednesday that his administration has not been able to finalize a peace deal with Ukraine and Russia, claiming that both leaders have been more challenging to work with than expected. “Vladimir Putin has been more difficult,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “Frankly, I had some problems with Zelenskyy. You may have read about him, and it’s been more difficult than other wars.” Still, Trump said that his meeting with Zelenskyy went smoothly, and that he would be speaking to Putin as well. “He’s very nice, actually,” Trump said of Zelenskyy. “A little rough at times. He couldn’t have been nicer. I think he’d like to see an end to this.”
Trump critic JB Pritzker expected to launch Democratic re-election bid for third term as Illinois governor
Democratic Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expected to announce on Thursday that he’ll seek a third four-year term steering the blue Midwestern state, a source with knowledge confirmed to Fox News. The billionaire governor, a member of the Pritzker family that owns the Hyatt hotel chain and who has started several of his own venture capital and investment startups, is expected to make his announcement in Chicago before traveling to Springfield, Illinois’ capital city. Illinois, which is the nation’s sixth most populous state, does not have term limits for statewide officials. However, there has not been a three-term governor in the state in over three decades, since GOP Gov. Jim Thompson won four terms as governor in the 1970s and 1980s. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING AND OPINION ON JB PRITZKER Pritzker has become one of his Democratic Party’s most vocal critics of the sweeping and controversial moves by President Donald Trump during the opening months of his second tour in the White House. “We’ve got to be ready for the fight,” Pritzker said in an interview with Fox News Digital in April. PRITZKER ON HOT SEAT AS ILLINOIS GOVERNOR FACES OFF WITH CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS ON CAPITOL HILL The 60-year-old governor argued that the nation is “in a constitutional crisis” and that “we have too many people who are ill-affected by the policies of the Trump administration.” Pritzker, who has taken steps to “Trump-proof” his solidly blue state, told reporters earlier this year, “You come for my people, you come through me.” 21 DEMOCRATS WHO MAY TRY TO SUCCEED TRUMP IN THE 2028 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION Pritzker is seen as a potential contender for the Democrats’ 2028 presidential nomination – and the launch of his 2026 gubernatorial re-election campaign is not expected to derail him from potentially running for the White House. He was a high-profile campaign surrogate in the 2024 cycle on behalf of former President Joe Biden, as well as former Vice President Kamala Harris after she replaced Biden as the Democratic Party’s nominee last summer. Those efforts brought Pritzker to Nevada, a general election battleground state and an early-voting Democratic presidential primary state, and New Hampshire, which for a century has held the first-in-the-nation presidential primary. Additionally, Pritzker’s return to New Hampshire this spring, to headline a major state Democratic Party fundraising dinner, sparked more speculation about a possible 2028 presidential run.