Texas Gov. Abbott to endorse Trump for 2024 GOP nomination when they team up Sunday near US-Mexico border
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas will endorse former President Donald Trump for their party’s 2024 nomination when the two team up Sunday near the U.S.-Mexico border, GOP sources in Texas confirm to Fox News. The former president will join the governor in Edinburg, Texas, for Abbott’s annual pre-Thanksgiving tradition of serving tamales to Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and Texas National Guardsmen deployed along the southern border under the governor’s Operation Lone Star program. Trump endorsed Abbott in 2021, as the conservative governor was gearing up for re-election and faced multiple primary challenges from the right. Abbott overwhelmingly won renomination in March of last year before comfortably defeating Democratic challenger former Rep. Beto O’Rourke last November to secure a third term steering Texas. GAME ON IN IOWA AS DESANTIS AND HALEY BATTLE FOR SECOND PLACE BEHIND TRUMP Abbott was grateful for Trump’s early endorsement last cycle, according to those in the governor’s political orbit, and he’s now apparently returning the favor. WITH CLOCK TICKING TOWARDS FIRST VOTES IN THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION RACE, THIS CANDIDATE REMAINS IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT Trump, who’s making his third straight White House run, is the commanding front-runner for the Republican 2024 nomination, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley currently vying for a distant second place in the polls. Trump’s lead expanded over the spring and summer as he made history as the first former or current president in American history to be indicted for a crime. Trump’s four indictments — including in federal court in Washington D.C. and in Fulton County court in Georgia on charges he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss — have only fueled his support among Republican voters. The former president’s trip to Texas to meet with Abbott near the border will spotlight the combustible issue of illegal immigration and border security. The issue’s long been top of mind for Republican voters, and GOP leaders and politicians for two and a half years have heavily criticized President Biden’s administration over the surge in border crossings by migrants. Trump has pledged, if he wins back the White House, to launch the largest mass deportation effort in American history, would reinstate travel bans as well as his 2019 “Remain in Mexico” program, which forced non-Mexican asylum-seekers aiming to enter the U.S. at the southern border to wait in Mexico for the resolution of their cases. Trump also said he’d seek to end automatic citizenship for children born in the U.S. to immigrants who entered the country illegally, an idea he proposed during his administration. Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign has slammed Trump’s “scary” proposals, arguing that it would violate the U.S. Constitution, the nation’s values, and the rights of immigrants. Border security has also long been a top issue for Abbott, who’s sparred repeatedly with the Biden administration. The Texas legislature, during a special session called by the governor, this week passed a controversial measure allowing state law enforcement officials to arrest suspected undocumented migrants. Democrats have pilloried the strict immigration bill. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Oregon Dem House candidate looks to ‘reclaim her sexuality’ after being outed as a Manhattan dominatrix
An Oregon Democratic congressional candidate is embracing her past and looking to “reclaim her sexuality” after a clip of her working at a Manhattan BDSM dungeon was leaked online earlier this year. Prior to being exposed for her past work in her 20s and 30s, Courtney Casgraux, a 41-year-old self-described international businesswoman who is seeking to represent Oregon’s 1st Congressional District in the House, worked as a dominatrix and charged clients an estimated $500 per hour. In an interview with the New York Post, Casgraux discussed how she felt when the video was released and how she’s using the incident to empower her campaign for Congress. “[I was] just panicking. . . . Then I was like, ‘Who did this?’ and I just started calling every single person that I pretty much knew from my past. . . . I was like hyperventilating, crying,” Casgraux, the single mother of a teenage son, recalled of how she felt when she found out about the video. PARENTS, KIDS SIDELINED AS PORTLAND TEACHERS’ UNION, DISTRICT REMAIN GRIDLOCKED AMID STRIKE: ‘SETTING US BACK’ A native of California, Casgraux returned to the BDSM industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, this time working at Donatella’s Dungeon — an S&M club located in Midtown Manhattan, according to the Post. Though she was never able to identify who was responsible for leaking the video, Casgraux told the outlet she believes someone was attempting to “shame” her. “To shame me for something that helped create the life that I have today where I have opportunity . . . made me really mad. Because it felt like an attack on women, not just an attack on me,” Casgraux said. Casraux is also expressing frustration with those that currently represent the Democratic Party on a federal level, saying she believes the party currently lacks “strong leadership.” In a statement to Fox News Digital, Casgraux said she does “not feel Democrats have strong leadership” and that those representing the party have “compromised the nation,” pointing specifically to President Biden. Casgraux also told Fox that she is surprised about the state of Congress when it comes to who can represent people throughout the country and who cannot. “Unfortunately, we live in a nation where there can be sex purchasers in Congress, but not still not sex workers,” she said. Despite the incident that rattled Casgraux, she is now attempting to win a seat in the House that’s currently held by Democrat Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, who’s seeking re-election to her post. Casgraux’s campaign has reportedly focused on abortion rights and reversing the decriminalization of certain drugs in Oregon. OREGON MOMS UNION SLAMS REMOVAL OF STANDARDIZED TEST FROM HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION REQUIREMENT: ‘NOT SURPRISING’ Casgraux, who the Post reported is looking to use the “outing” in an effort to “reclaim her sexuality,” recently created a Playboy profile where she can sell risqué pictures of herself for up to $150 each. Through the Playboy profile, Casgraux, who doesn’t receive compensation from Playboy, posts other material, such as an explanation of how Article 2 of the Constitution grants presidential powers and impeachment, as well as her views on challenges faced by American farms, according to the report. “Once [the video] came out and I got the Playboy page, I was like, ‘Oh my God, I feel like I can just be me.’ And I could say the things that I wanna say, and I can be funny and be tongue in cheek with things, and reclaim my sexuality,” she said of the experience thus far. The Post also reported that Casgraux’s campaign has only raised $757 from a total of 13 donors so far, but her persistence in the race remains. Casgraux explained that her campaign, which was launched in June, is about more than winning a seat in Congress. “If I can win, that’s incredible — let’s go to Washington . . . and we’ll make amazing legislation,” she told the outlet. “But there’s no losing if I can make one woman feel like there’s no shame in your past and what you have done. . . . You too can run for Congress.”
Biden says Palestinians ‘deserve a state of their own’ in call for two-state solution ‘free from Hamas’
President Biden on Saturday called for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestinians in the Middle East, but one that is “free from Hamas” as he put forward his plan for peace in the region in the wake of the Hamas terror attack against Israel. “The Palestinian people deserve a state of their own and a future free from Hamas,” he said. Biden used the op-ed in The Washington Post to argue that the world faces “an inflection point” in the Middle East, and stressed that the U.S. stands with Israel in the face of the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists. BIDEN SAYS ISRAEL WILL STOP FIGHTING IN GAZA WHEN HAMAS ‘NO LONGER MAINTAINS THE CAPACITY TO MURDER’ But he also said he was “heartbroken” by the images out of Gaza in the wake of the Israeli military response as it seeks to wipe out Hamas. Biden said the goal should now be to “break the cycle of unceasing violence.” “This much is clear: A two-state solution is the only way to ensure the long-term security of both the Israeli and Palestinian people. Though right now it may seem like that future has never been further away, this crisis has made it more imperative than ever,” he said. “A two-state solution — two peoples living side by side with equal measures of freedom, opportunity and dignity — is where the road to peace must lead. Reaching it will take commitments from Israelis and Palestinians, as well as from the United States and our allies and partners,” he said. “That work must start now.” He says that in order to achieve that, there must be certain principles as a foundation — including that Gaza cannot be used as a platform for terrorism, there can be no forcible displacement, no “reoccupation” or blockade and no reduction in the territory. “As we strive for peace, Gaza and the West Bank should be reunited under a single governance structure, ultimately under a revitalized Palestinian Authority, as we all work toward a two-state solution,” he said. “I have been emphatic with Israel’s leaders that extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank must stop and that those committing the violence must be held accountable. The United States is prepared to take our own steps, including issuing visa bans against extremists attacking civilians in the West Bank.” PRO-PALESTINIAN VIOLENT PROTEST ERUPTS OUTSIDE DNC HEADQUARTERS IN WASHINGTON DC, CAPITOL POLICE INJURED In the meantime, Biden rejected the idea of a cease-fire, saying that to Hamas “every cease-fire is time they exploit to rebuild their stockpile of rockets, reposition fighters and restart the killing by attacking innocents again.” “An outcome that leaves Hamas in control of Gaza would once more perpetuate its hate and deny Palestinian civilians the chance to build something better for themselves,” he said. Biden has been facing pressure from the left of his party for his pro-Israel support, with a number of Democrats demanding calls for a cease-fire. Biden on Wednesday, however, said that Israel’s military operation in Gaza will stop when Hamas “no longer maintains the capacity to murder, abuse, and do horrific things to the Israelis.”
Mayor Adams urges rich New Yorkers to step up as city buckles under financial costs of migrant crisis
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is urging the city’s richest to open their wallets to help the city weather a financial storm created by the ongoing migrant crisis, days after the city unveiled deep budget cuts. “This is a moment where it’s an all hands on deck moment,” Adams told a Police Athletic League lunch on Friday, according to the New York Post. “The way it goes, New York goes, America goes, but I’m going to need you more than ever to support many of these organizations like PAL, Robin Hood Foundation, and others,” he said. “A moment where our philanthropic interests must align with some of the gaps and services that we are seeing today.” NEW YORK CITY TO REDUCE POLICE NUMBERS, SLASH BUDGETS DUE TO BILLIONS SPENT ON MIGRANT CRISIS Adams also reportedly urged New Yorkers to “reach out to Washington, D.C.” and demand more support for the city, which he says is carrying a “national crisis.” The remarks came a day after the “sanctuary” city announced that it is reducing police numbers and slashing budgets in areas like education and sanitation. Adams announced a $110.5 billion budget, saying that cuts across all agencies were necessary with the city having spent $1.45 billion in fiscal 2023 on the migrant crisis and nearly $11 billion expected to be spent in 2024 and 2025. The New York Police Department will freeze hiring to bring numbers below 30,000 by the end of fiscal year 2025 from over 33,000. There will also be deep cuts to education, including the universal pre-kindergarten program, and sanitation. New York City has seen over 130,000 migrants come to the city since last year, part of the knock-on effect of the nearly three-year crisis at the southern border. It’s a small number of the more than 2.4 million migrant encounters at the southern border in FY 23, but Adams has warned that the crisis could “destroy” the city. The budget cuts drew fury from the city’s teachers and police unions. “This is truly a disaster for every New Yorker who cares about safe streets,” police union President Patrick Hendry said. “Cops are already stretched to our breaking point, and these cuts will return us to staffing levels we haven’t seen since the crime epidemic of the ‘80s and ‘90s.” NYC MAYOR ERIC ADAMS SAYS PARENTS MAY NEED TO HELP IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS AMID MIGRANT CRISIS “We cannot go back there. We need every level of government to work together to find a way to support police officers and protect New York City’s thirty years of public safety progress,” he said. New York City and other liberal jurisdictions, including Massachusetts and Chicago, have called for additional federal help with the numbers they are seeing. The Biden administration has pointed to more than $770 million it has given out to support communities taking in migrants in the last year and recommendations its teams of experts have made. It has also deployed personnel to help with authorizing work permits and to educate migrants on the immigration system, a DHS official said. Separately, the White House has requested an additional $14 billion in emergency funding for border operations, which includes an additional $1.4 billion in grants to help local governments and nonprofits. However, the crisis at the border continues. There were more than 249,000 migrant encounters in October, only slightly lower than the record high set in September. Fox News reported this week that there have been over 1,000 detected gotaways per day on average since the beginning of the fiscal year.
Sen. Mike Lee calls for investigation of J6 committee after tapes released: ‘Deliberately hid from us’
Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee is calling for an investigation into the now-defunct House January 6 committee, accusing former and current lawmakers who served on the committee of “deliberately” hiding some of the footage from the Capitol riots. Lee’s comments came after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., began releasing more than 40,000 hours of footage taken at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, when protesters angry about the 2020 election results entered the halls of Congress. Highlighting the release of the footage in a series of posts to X, formerly known as Twitter, Lee called into question the character of former Republican representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois. “Why didn’t Liz Cheney and Adam Kizinger ever refer to any of these tapes? Maybe they never looked for them. Maybe they never even questioned their own narrative. Maybe they were just too busy selectively leaking the text messages of Republicans they wanted to defeat,” Lee wrote in a post to the platform, which included a video that purportedly showed Capitol police officers facilitating the passage of protesters through the building that day. SPEAKER JOHNSON BEGINS RELEASING 40,000 HOURS OF JAN 6 FOOTAGE Cheney and Kinzinger, Lee wrote in another post to X, were “people who helped hide the J6 tapes” and “are cut out of the same cloth as those who will tell you that FISA 702 must be reauthorized without reforms—’because search warrants require too much effort.’” “We need to investigate the J6 committee,” he wrote in another post. Lee also took aim at the committee overall, as well as then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who appointed the select committee to investigate what took place at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. “Given the evidence they apparently suppressed, how much footage (and how many other records) do you think Nancy Pelosi and the J6 committee deliberately lost or destroyed?” Lee questioned in one post. In response to a Friday post by Cheney, which included “some January 6th video” of disgruntled protesters tangling with Capitol police, Lee wrote, “Liz, we’ve seen footage like that a million times. You made sure we saw that — and nothing else. It’s the other stuff — what you deliberately hid from us — that we find so upsetting. Nice try.” “P.S. How many of these guys are feds? (As if you’d ever tell us),” Lee added in his response to the former lawmaker. LEFT-WING ACTIVIST CHARGED IN CAPITOL RIOT AFTER SAYING HE WAS JUST THERE TO ‘DOCUMENT’ In another post, Lee wrote, “Taxpayer dollars funded the sham J6 committee.” The GOP senator also amplified a clip released Friday that shows an officer working inside the Capitol on January 6, 2021, who appeared uncuffed and released a protester. The protester could be seen in the clip giving a fist bump to what appeared to be another officer who was nearby at the time of his release. “I walk through these doors every day — several times a day. I’ve never seen this happen,” Lee wrote in response. In releasing the remaining footage from the Capitol on January 6, 2021, Speaker Johnson said in a statement: “When I ran for Speaker, I promised to make accessible to the American people the 44,000 hours of video from Capitol Hill security taken on January 6, 2021. Truth and transparency are critical.” Some video was made available to the public on Friday, with the bulk of it to be released gradually over time, Johnson said. Johnson said his decision to release the remaining footage “will provide millions of Americans, criminal defendants, public interest organizations, and the media an ability to see for themselves what happened that day, rather than having to rely upon the interpretation of a small group of government officials.” Johnson said that roughly 5% of the footage would likely be held back due to “sensitive security information related to the building architecture,” and that some faces would be blurred “to avoid any persons from being targeted for retaliation of any kind.” It is being made public through the House Administration Committee’s subcommittee on Oversight. Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
GOP lawmakers renew calls to ban TikTok after Usama bin Laden’s ‘Letter to America’ trend went viral
GOP lawmakers are renewing their call for the federal government to ban the Chinese-owned app TikTok after Usama bin Laden’s 2002 “Letter to America” went viral on social media and received sympathy from hundreds of young users. The letter, published by The Guardian but taken offline Wednesday, blamed U.S. policies for the Sept. 11 attacks. “We should ban it,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Sean Hannity Thursday. “It tracks everything you do on your phone. It tracks everywhere you go, every text message you send, every email you write, and it’s — all that information — all of it’s available to the Chinese Communist Party. “It’s an espionage tool. It’s a propaganda machine, and we ought to ban it.” ‘THE VIEW’ CO-HOST WARNS TIKTOK IS ‘CREATING A RADICAL YOUNG MOVEMENT’ IN THE US Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., called the app “toxic” in a post on X, formerly Twitter, Thursday. “It’s outrageous that Chinese Communist Party controlled TikTok is pushing terrorist propaganda on American kids,” Cotton wrote. “This toxic app should have been banned years ago.” TikTok users reacted to the letter, and some said it changed their worldviews. Others went as far as to say they realized bin Laden “was right.” Part of bin Laden’s letter blamed America for supporting the “Israeli oppression of the Palestinians” and “the occupation” in the Holy Land. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., condemned the trend on TikTok on Fox News Thursday, calling the sympathy “absolutely disgusting” and “further evidence that we need to ban TikTok or force a sale before a Chinese-controlled app, before the Chinese Communist Party, checkmates the free world by controlling the dominant media platform in America that can spread this dangerous, disgusting nonsense. “It is time for a ban or forced sale before it is too late.” USAMA BIN LADEN’S INFAMOUS ‘LETTER TO AMERICA’ AFTER 9/11 PROMOTED BY TIKTOK INFLUENCERS, GOES VIRAL After the trend gained some traction on TikTok, with 274 videos posted under the hashtag from Tuesday to Wednesday, a compilation of videos was uploaded again to X and gained over 35 million views, surpassing the 1.85 million views originally gained on TikTok. One TikTok influencer, Lynette Adkins, was banned from the app Friday morning after she shared a video of her reaction to reading the letter. She provided Fox News Digital with a statement. “I read the letter after some other creators shared it and was surprised because I never knew it existed,” Adkins said. “I posted it to my page so others could read it as well. “I did not share the letter to promote any form of hate or violence against anyone, nor do I agree with the extremism in it. I was just shocked by what I had read and wanted to have a conversation about it with my followers. I was 3 in 2001 and was always taught 9/11 happened because other people were jealous of our democracy in the U.S. “Now that I’m older and am able to learn about history beyond the narrative of mainstream media, I’m realizing that there is more to the story. I think we all deserve a right to access the information being presented to us and form our own conclusions without subscribing to extreme or radical ideologies. “The letter was taken off of The Guardian’s site after being on there for over 20 years. My TikTok was banned as of this morning, and many people who are sharing the letter are getting their videos removed as well. If we live in a true democracy, I think we should be allowed to have open and peaceful conversations about what’s happening in the world.” Montana is the only state to have passed legislation banning TikTok from all personal devices. More than 30 states have banned it from state-issued devices. And a bipartisan law drafted by Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and John Thune, R-S.D., introduced earlier this year would crack down on communication technologies developed by foreign adversaries like China and Russia. ISRAELI PM NETANYAHU WARNS AMERICA: ‘IF WE DON’T WIN NOW, THEN EUROPE IS NEXT AND YOU’RE NEXT’ “I will never look at life the same, I will never look at this country the same,” one user said. “Please read it, and if you have read it let me know if you are going through an existential crisis in this moment.” “It becomes apparent to me that the actions of 9/11 and those acts committed against the USA and its people, were all just the build up of our government failing other nations,” another user said. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP By Friday morning, the hashtag #lettertoamerica was removed from TikTok. “Content promoting this letter clearly violates our rules on supporting any form of terrorism,” a TikTok spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement. “We are proactively and aggressively removing this content and investigating how it got onto our platform. The number of videos on TikTok is small and reports of it trending on our platform are inaccurate. This is not unique to TikTok and has appeared across multiple platforms and the media.” A spokesperson for The Guardian previously told Fox News Digital, “The transcript published on our website 20 years ago has been widely shared on social media without the full context. Therefore, we have decided to take it down and direct readers to the news article that originally contextualized it instead.”
Ramaswamy blasts GOP rival DeSantis for ‘shameful’ ban of pro-Palestinian campus groups
Ron DeSantis’ move to shut down pro-Palestinian campus groups is receiving pushback both from civil libertarian groups and at least one 2024 presidential hopeful. Earlier this week, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit against the Florida governor’s administration arguing its demand for public universities to “deactivate” local Students for Justice in Palestine chapters is an attempt to “stifle” student speech protected by the First Amendment. A spokesperson for the governor stood by DeSantis’ decision in light of the lawsuit, saying he was right “to disband a group that provides material support to a terrorist organization.” But a DeSantis’ rival for the Oval Office, Vivek Ramaswamy, slammed the order as “utter hypocrisy,” while a libertarian-leaning group that fights for free speech on college campuses is also weighing in critically of the move. DESANTIS HIT WITH LAWSUIT OVER DEACTIVATION OF UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA PRO-PALESTINIAN GROUP “Free speech doesn’t just protect the ideas we love. It protects the ideas we hate,” Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital in a statement. “The idiotic college ‘pro-Palestine’ student groups are dead wrong to excuse genocidal attacks against Jews and spout disgusting antisemitism, but one of the things that makes us different from Islamic terrorists is we don’t silence dissent,” he said. On Oct. 24, Chancellor Ray Rodrigues of the state university system, in consultation with DeSantis, sent a memo to all state university presidents, noting that, after the deadly Hamas attacks that terrorists labeled Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, the National Students for Justice in Palestine (National SJP) released a “toolkit” that refers to Operation Al-Aqsa Flood as “the resistance” and said, “Palestinian students in exile are PART of this movement, not in solidarity with this movement.” Having identified at least two local SJP chapters active in Florida schools, Rodrigues ordered that, because of National SJP’s support of terrorism, those local chapters “must be deactivated.” FORMER ACLU PRESIDENT CAUTIONS THAT AMERICAN SELF-CENSORSHIP IS ERODING FREE SPEECH The chancellor anchored his “deactivation” order for the student groups with Florida law, which makes it a felony to “knowingly provide material support … to a designated foreign terrorist organization.” “Here, National SJP has affirmatively identified it is part of the Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a terrorist-led attack,” the chancellor said. The ACLU filed a lawsuit on behalf of an SJP chapter at the University of Florida (UF SJP), arguing the memo is “an attempt to stifle” students’ speech protected by the First Amendment and “fosters an atmosphere of mutual suspicion.” DESANTIS REJECTS DEMS’ CLAIM HE’S ACTING MORE LIKE PRESIDENT THAN GOVERNOR AFTER WEAPONRY SHIPPED TO ISRAEL “UF SJP is fully autonomous from both NSJP and other SJP chapters around the country. The Chancellor’s order provides no basis for attributing the speech of NSJP to Florida SJP chapters, including the UF SJP. Moreover, NSJP’s independent political advocacy — no matter its viewpoint — is fully protected by the First Amendment,” the ACLU said in a press release. “The deactivation order is an attempt to stifle student groups’ pro-Palestine advocacy on campus at a time when the Palestine–Israel conflict is a matter of vital public discourse and concern.” Ramaswamy called the memo “a shameful political ploy” by DeSantis “to ban the existence of pro-Palestinian student groups at Florida universities.” “It’s unconstitutional. It’s utter hypocrisy for someone who railed against left-wing cancel culture,” he said. “Conservatives should be allowed to criticize BLM or vaccine mandates, and crazy liberals should be able to criticize Israel or the West even if they’re dead wrong about it. If government can censor who can speak vs. not, the rest of it really doesn’t matter: We’re no different than those we pretend to fight.” Adam Steinbaugh, an attorney for the free-speech advocacy nonprofit Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), seems to agree, arguing “advocacy alone” does not amount to providing “material support.” “Public universities are bound by the First Amendment and cannot derecognize a student organization because of its protected expression,” said Steinbaugh. CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Advocacy alone is not material support for terrorism and cannot be the basis to sanction students organizations.” FIRE issued a previous warning in October when the memo was issued, saying “if it goes unchallenged, no one’s political beliefs will be safe from government suppression.” FIRE added there’s no indication from the letter that any action from Florida’s SJP groups “went beyond expression fully protected by the First Amendment.”
Pompeo slams Biden admin officials who signed dissent letter on Israel-Hamas: ‘Moral compass is broken’
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo unleashed a fiery response to Biden administration officials who signed on to a dissent letter over President Biden’s pro-Israel stance in its fight against Hamas terrorists — with the former top diplomat saying their moral compass “is broken.” “People who serve our country in any government institution, whether in the military or the State Department, swear allegiance to the United States and should commit to the mission of the President — elected by the American people — and his Administration,” Pompeo said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “If they are unable or refuse to do so, they should resign or face termination.” Hundreds of government officials from 40 departments and agencies within the administration signed an anonymous letter demanding a “cease-fire” and opposing the president’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war. BIDEN OFFICIALS REBEL AGAINST PRESIDENT ON ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR, SIGN DISSENT LETTER “We call on President Biden to urgently demand a cease-fire; and to call for de-escalation of the current conflict by securing the immediate release of the Israeli hostages and arbitrarily detained Palestinians; the restoration of water, fuel, electricity and other basic services; and the passage of adequate humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip,” the letter reads, in part. Biden and others have argued that a cease-fire would only benefit Hamas, who launched a brutal terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, in which militants murdered over 1,000 Israeli civilians. The administration has pushed for humanitarian pauses in fighting, which Israel has carried out. Pompeo said the dissent was a problem that plagued him during his time in office “when hundreds of State Department employees worked to subvert the mission of the Trump administration.” “Then as now, these dissenting staff fundamentally misunderstand their role and authority. Not a single American voted for them or their personal views on foreign policy. Their job is to serve the State Department as it executes the elected President’s foreign policy objectives to keep America safe,” he said. “To do otherwise is not just inappropriate; it is deeply at odds with our Constitutional order and subverts the will of the American people.” BIDEN ALLIES CONDEMN FAR-LEFT CALLS FOR CEASE-FIRE IN ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR: ‘AMERICANS REMAIN PRO-ISRAEL’ Apart from their general outspokenness about government policy, Pompeo argued that the staff “are also dead wrong.” “Their moral compass is broken,” he said. “It is absolutely right for America to back Israel in its war against the barbaric Hamas terrorists who committed the worst massacre against Jews since the Holocaust. Supporting Israel right now isn’t about politics. It’s about enabling the triumph of good over true evil,” he asserted. “Any staffer who fails to recognize this does not deserve the honor of serving the American people at the State Department or any other government agency.” Meanwhile, President Biden on Wednesday said he believes that Israel’s military operation in Gaza will stop when Hamas “no longer maintains the capacity to murder, abuse, and do horrific things to the Israelis.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Hamas said they plan to attack Israelis again and this is a terrible dilemma,” he said. Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
State of the race: Game on in Iowa as Haley battles DeSantis for second place behind Trump
DES MOINES, Iowa – EXCLUSIVE – He trails former President Donald Trump by at least 25 points in the latest polls in the state that leads off the Republican presidential nominating calendar, but Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis remains confident. “We’re going to win here. We have what it takes,” DeSantis vowed in a Fox News interview in Iowa’s capital city. The Florida governor spoke minutes before he sat down with former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and multi-millionaire biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy – two of his 2024 GOP White House rivals – in front of a large crowd of social conservative voters in a state where evangelicals play an outsized role in Republican politics. DeSantis is making a strong showing in Iowa central to his bid to defeat Trump, who remains the commanding Republican front-runner as he makes his third straight run for the White House. DESANTIS, HALEY, RAMASWAMY, GET PERSONAL AS THEY SIT SIDE-BY-SIDE But Haley, who’s enjoyed momentum in the polls in recent months thanks in part to well-received performances in the first three GOP presidential primary debates, has leapfrogged DeSantis for second place in New Hampshire – which holds the first primary and votes second in the Republican schedule – and her home state – which holds the first southern contest. Now, she aims to make a fight of it in Iowa, where she’s pulling even with DeSantis in some of the latest polls. “The momentum is real. The excitement is there. We’re going to keep working hard to win every Iowan’s vote. We’re not going to give up on Iowa,” Haley touted in a Fox News Digital interview Friday ahead of a town hall in Newton, Iowa. COULD THIS IOWA EVANGELICAL LEADER’S ENDORSEMENT PUT DENT IN TRUMP’S COMMANDING LEAD? With under two months to go until the January 15 caucuses, Haley returned to Iowa showcasing over 70 new Hawkeye State endorsements. And Haley is set to launch a $10 million ad blitz in Iowa and New Hampshire in two weeks. Asked what kind of finish she needs in Iowa, Haley responded, “we don’t look at it as what do we have to have. The way I look at it is, we’re not going to stop until we get every single person’s vote. That’s the focus.” But Haley, who only last month opened her headquarters in Iowa, is playing catch up with DeSantis, who been all-in on the Hawkeye State for months. Between his campaign and the DeSantis-aligned super PAC Never Back Down, the Florida governor has built up a formidable ground game. “We’re going to get the job done,” he pledged. In a major boost for DeSantis, the Florida governor landed the endorsement earlier this month of Gov. Kim Reynolds, who is very popular among Hawkeye State Republicans. Reynolds’ backing helped DeSantis alter a negative narrative. Reynolds is scheduled to spend Saturday campaigning with DeSantis at multiple stops in Iowa. DeSantis called the endorsement “a huge plus for us.” He’s also aiming to land the endorsement of Bob Vander Plaats, the president and CEO of The Family Leader, the influential social conservative group that hosted Friday’s presidential forum. Vander Plaats backed former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2008, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania in 2012, and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas in 2016 — all three of whom went on to win the Iowa caucuses, but failed to capture the GOP presidential nomination. When asked about winning the support of Vander Plaats, DeSantis told Fox News “we would love that endorsement…I think after this forum, that may be a time when they want to dig in.” WITH NINE WEEKS TO GO UNTIL THE FIRST VOTES IN THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION RACE, THIS CANDIDATE REMAINS IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT DeSantis, who earlier this year signed a six-week abortion ban into law in Florida, questioned Trump’s social conservative credentials and argued that “Haley has moved left on a lot of these issues, so I’m really the conservative choice at this point. I think the governor [Reynolds] endorsing me shows that. I think you’ll see us coalesce the support of conservatives on caucus night.” At the forum, Haley doubled down on comments on her stance on abortion that she made last week at the third Republican presidential debate, in which she urged Americans to find consensus when it comes to limiting abortions. Haley also reiterated that she is “unapologetically pro-life” and emphasized that “our overall goal is how do we save as many babies as possible and support as many moms as we can.” Nicole Schlinger, a longtime Iowa-based strategist with close ties to evangelicals, told Fox News that “this was the answer that I think Iowans were waiting for from Amb. Haley on life issues… I think that was very positive.” “Gov. DeSantis really came alive during the second half of this forum,” added Schlinger, who’s neutral in the GOP presidential nomination race. “This was a very pro-DeSantis crowd. He got the biggest applause.” A couple of hours before the presidential forum in Des Moines, Haley landed a surprise endorsement from another social conservative leader in Iowa. As Haley was taking questions from the audience at a town hall in Newton, Iowa, former state GOP executive director and former president of the Iowa Right to Life Marlys Popma stood to speak. “I was an undecided voter when I walked in here today, and I am no longer an undecided voter,” Popma said, as many in the crowd applauded. “I just want to tell Nikki that I wholeheartedly support you.” While Haley and DeSantis have repeatedly clashed in recent weeks as they battle for second place in the polls behind Trump, who remains the commanding front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, there were no fireworks at the Family Leader forum. Asked if it’s getting personal between her and DeSantis, Haley told Fox News “no, it’s not personal. I think Ron’s been a good governor. I think we’re both fighting to save our country. I
Trump leads Biden on these key issues by massive margin: poll
A new poll suggests that significantly more voters trust former President Donald Trump in handling the ongoing crisis at the southern border compared to President Biden — just as the U.S. remains wracked by a historic migrant crisis. The Marquette Law School Poll asked respondents who would handle immigration and border security better. Of those polled, 50% said Trump, 27% said Biden, 7% said about the same and 16% said neither. Respondents also believed Trump to be better on the economy by a 21-point margin. It also found him preferred on the Israel-Hamas war, foreign relations and Medicare and Social Security by just one point. Biden was preferred on abortion policy and climate change. TRUMP SAYS HE WILL CARRY OUT THE ‘LARGEST DOMESTIC DEPORTATION OPERATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY’ IF ELECTED The poll comes as the U.S. continues to face a migrant crisis now deep into its third year. There were more than 249,000 migrant encounters in October, the highest October on record. That comes after more than 2.4 million migrant encounters in FY23 — itself an annual record – and more than 600,000 gotaways. Republicans have hammered the Biden administration for its handling of the migrant crisis, blaming it on its policies — including the rolling back of Trump-era policies like the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) and border wall construction, as well as decreased interior enforcement. In the House, Republicans have passed a sweeping bill that would strictly limit asylum and increase border security measures — including resuming wall construction. But it has not received support from Democrats, which would be needed for it to pass the Senate. Republicans have also moved to impeach DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas — although a bid to do that failed in the GOP-controlled House this week. Trump, running for the presidency in 2024, has promised to carry out the “largest domestic deportation operation in American history” if elected. THOUSANDS OF CHINESE NATIONALS, GOTAWAYS AT THE SOUTHER BORDER SINCE OCT 1: SOURCES Meanwhile, the Biden administration has said it is dealing with a hemisphere-wide crisis, and is in need of resources and immigration reform legislation to fix what it says is a “broken” immigration system. It also says it is using a strategy of implementing “consequences” for illegal entry while broadening “legal pathways” for migration. It has called for the passage of legislation it unveiled in early 2021, which not only would have broadened immigration paths but also would have granted amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants already in the country. It has yet to pick up any Republican support. The White House recently requested an extra $14 billion in supplemental funding for “border operations.” That includes money for for migrant services and housing, anti-fentanyl technology and more border agents. A fact sheet put out by the White House stressed that the Biden administration’s strategy is “focused on enforcement, deterrence and diplomacy” that includes a massive expansion of “lawful pathways” into the U.S. “The request we have made of Congress today provides critically needed funding to equip the Department of Homeland Security with the people and tools it needs to prevent cartels from moving fentanyl through our ports of entry and to enforce our immigration laws in an orderly and effective way,” Mayorkas said in a statement. Meanwhile, the crisis has not only affected border communities but also cities and states deeper in the interior. New York City on Thursday announced deep budget cuts, including to policing and education, which it blamed on the billions it is spending on dealing with the more than 110,000 migrants that have come through the “sanctuary” city in the last year.