JD Vance honors his mom in first major address as GOP VP at RNC; Don Jr., Kai Trump speak
The 2024 Republican National Convention begins Day 3 on Wednesday. On Day 1, former President Trump officially received the Republican nomination. On Truth Social, he announced Ohio Sen. JD Vance would be his running mate.
Coverage for this event has ended.
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Ohio Sen. JD Vance, the Republican Party's nominee for vice president, took to the stage of the Republican National Convention and laid out his argument to send Former President Donald Trump back to the White House, giving the audience a look back at his upbringing while hitting themes of economic populism aimed at the working class.
"Together, we will protect the wages of American workers," Vance said, arguing that another Trump administration would stop letting the Chinese Communist Party build "their middle class on the backs" of American citizens.
Vance promised not to import foreign labor, not to "cater" to Wall Street, and not to buy foreign energy.
Vance also touched on Trump's "America First" agenda, promising to make allies pay their fair share for world peace instead of betraying "the generosity of the American taxpayer."On foreign policy, Vance promised that the administration would send service members to war "only when we must."
"But as President Trump showed with the elimination of Isis, when we punch, we will punch hard," Vance said.
Vance also gave the audience and introduction to his family and his upbringing, crediting is grandmother for saving being his "guardian angel" while honoring his mother and her 10 years of sobriety.
"It's about single moms like mine, who struggle with money and addiction but never gave up," Vance said as his mother sat watching in former President Donald Trump's Friends and Family box for the speech. "I am proud to say that tonight my mom is here, 10 years clean and sober. I love you, mom."
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GOP voters praised former President Donald Trump's choice of Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate at the Republican National Convention.
"He's young, energetic, he's been under attack, and of course, anyone associated with President Trump is going to be attacked," Mary from Hawaii told Fox News Digital in Milwaukee, site of the 2024 RNC. "He's been battle-hardened. So I think it's a good pick."
Vance, 39, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022. The former Marine Corps combat correspondent graduated from Yale Law School and rose to fame after writing the bestselling 2016 memoir "Hillbilly Elegy" about his Appalachian childhood.
Paul from Buffalo, New York, has been a Vance fan ever since reading his book.
"At the time when I read it, I had no idea that he was ever going to enter politics, much less have this meteoric rise," he said, adding that he trusts Vance to advocate for the "America First agenda" and believes the Ohio native has his "finger on the pulse of working class" concerns.
Ed from Zanesville, Ohio, was happy to see one of the "hometown boys" picked.
"He understands the average American," Ed said. "And he understands what's been happening to our economy."
Those who dislike Trump were not keen on his choice for VP.
"I have absolutely no interest in JD Vance or anyone that Donald Trump would pick to be his vice president," Michael from New Jersey said.
Ellen called Vance a "Trump clone" and said that at least former Vice President Mike Pence had a "different view of the Republican Party than Donald Trump."
Fox News' Kira Mautone and Hannah Ray Lambert contributed to this report.
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Five days after surviving an assassination attempt, former President Trump on Thursday will formally accept the GOP presidential nomination during the culminating moment of the 2024 Republican National Convention.
The shooting, at Trump's rally Saturday in western Pennsylvania where one spectator was killed, along with the gunman, instantly impacted the tone and message of the convention, and altered the former president's address.
The Trump campaign has said this week that the former president - following his brush with death - will use his speech to call for unity in the face of tragedy instead of criticizing his political adversaries.
Trump, in an interview Sunday with the Washington Examiner, said "honestly, it’s going to be a whole different speech now."
"It is a chance to bring the country together. I was given that chance," he emphasized.
And in an email to supporters on the eve of his address, Trump said "I will lay out my vision to UNITE OUR COUNTRY AND MAKE IT GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!"
The push for party unity was on display during the first three days of the convention, with former GOP presidential rivals Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley - who battled Trump in a contentious primary season - delivered speeches from the podium in support of the former president.
Fox News' Paul Steinhauser and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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As the Republican National Convention continues and preparations are made for remarks from former President Trump on Thursday, here is a look back at his two previous addresses at the conventions in 2016 and 2020:
Following an unpredictable Republican presidential primary race in 2016, Trump made his debut at the RNC in Cleveland. In his speech, Trump decried political correctness, telling attendees, "It is finally time for a straightforward assessment of the state of our nation. I will present the facts plainly and honestly. … We cannot afford to be so politically correct anymore."
Much of his remarks emphasized his vision for returning the U.S. to law and order, particularly as it relates to crime and the southern border.
Trump talked about crimes perpetrated by illegal immigrants as he pushed for a more secure border, starting a trend that has continued, with Republicans emphasizing heinous crimes allegedly committed by suspects who entered the country illegally.
"One such border-crosser was released and made his way to Nebraska. There, he ended the life of an innocent young girl named Sarah Root. She was 21 years old and was killed the day after graduating from college with a 4.0 grade point average, No. 1 in her class," he told listeners.
Trump's 2016 remarks would preview what much of his presidency would go on to look like, with a strong emphasis on illegal immigration.
In 2020, after Trump had served in the role of commander in chief for several years, his remarks began to focus on a different subject. By this point, the country was in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and a vaccination had yet to be made available. Due to the pandemic, many speeches were even delivered remotely.
"In recent months, our nation and the entire planet has been struck by a new and powerful invisible enemy. Like those brave Americans before us, we are meeting this challenge," then-President Trump said. "We are delivering lifesaving therapies and will produce a vaccine before the end of the year or maybe even sooner. We will defeat the virus, end the pandemic and emerge stronger than ever before."
Fox News' Julia Johnson contributed to this report.
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People attending the Republican National Convention were observed wearing ear patches as a show of solidarity for former President Trump, who is wearing a patch on his ear after sustaining injuries to his ear when he survived an assassination attempt.
This comes after Saturday's shooting at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where gunman Thomas Mathew Crooks opened fire and attempted to kill the former president.
REUTERS/Brian Snyder
Ohio Sen. and Republican candidate for Vice President JD Vance gave a touching nod to his mother, Beverly Aikins during his remarks at the Republican National Convention Wednesday.
"It's about single moms like mine, who struggle with money and addiction but never gave up," Vance said as his mother sat watching in former President Donald Trump's Friends and Family box for the speech. "I am proud to say that tonight my mom is here, 10 years clean and sober. I love you, mom."
Vance stepped aside and acknowledged is mother while the crowd belted out a chant of "JD's Mom! JD's Mom!"
Before running for Senate, Vance was best-known as the author of the bestselling memoir "Hillbilly Elegy," which details the Ohio senator's rural upbringing and his family history struggles with poverty and substance abuse.
Much of the book focused on his mother, who Vance recalled struggled with substance abuse and at times was aggressive at home. The dysfunction, Vance recalled, eventually caused him to be placed in the care of his grandparents, who became his primary caregivers.
Vance also paid tribute to his grandmother, saying she was his "guardian angel" growing up despite the economic struggles that plagued areas such as his hometown.
"Thanks to Mamaw, things worked out for me," Vance said.
Former US President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (L) acknowledges Beverly Vance (R), the mother of US Senator from Ohio and 2024 Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance, during the third day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 17, 2024. Days after he survived an assassination attempt Donald Trump won formal nomination as the Republican presidential candidate and picked Ohio US Senator J.D. Vance for running mate. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
The newly nominated vice presidential candidate JD Vance’s mother, Beverly Vance, gave birth to Vance in 1984 when she was 24-years-old.
As Vance documented in his bestselling book ‘Hillbilly Elegy’, his father walked out on his mother when he was a toddler and she began to struggle with substance abuse and addiction. Additionally, she would sometimes abuse her young son.
Ultimately, Vance was placed in the care of his grandparents who he described as union Democrats.
Beverly Vance has two children, JD, and his older sister Lindsey. Both children were raised in the southwestern Ohio city of Middletown.
Beverly, who worked as a nurse, was arrested when he was 12-years-old which he told People Magazine was a traumatizing experience.
“In that moment I just felt relieved and I thought to myself, ‘Alright I’m going to live another day,” said in an interview.
“I just wanted that situation to end and then I just broke down. I was just really sad and felt very lonely because I’m sitting in the back of this police cruiser, they just arrested my mom, the relief of having survived another day was gone and then I just wanted someone to come and take me away.”
Beverly Vance, who has been sober since 2014, was married a total of five times and Vance ultimately took his surname Vance from his grandparents.
Vance's mother was in attendance on Wednesday for his speech.
"Our movement is about single moms like mine who struggled with money and addiction but never gave up and I'm proud to say that tonight my mom is here ten years clean and sober," Vance said. "I love you, Mom."
Usha Chilukuri Vance, wife of Vice Presidential Nominee Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH), speaks on Day 3 of the Republican National Convention (RNC), at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., July 17, 2024. REUTERS/Mike Segar
Usha Vance, the wife of GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance, introduced her husband in a speech to the RNC on Wednesday night.
"I met J.D. in law school when he was fresh out of Ohio State which he attended with the support of the GI Bill," Usha Vance said. "We were friends first because, I mean, who wouldn't want to be friends with J.D.? He was then, as now, the most interesting person I knew -- a working class guy who had overcome childhood traumas that I could barely fathom to end up at Yale Law School. A tough marine who had served in Iraq, but whose idea of a good time was playing with puppies and watching the movie Babe."
Usha Vance described her husband as the "most determined person I knew with one overriding ambition to become a husband and a father and to build the kind of tight knit family that he had longed for as a child."
Usha Vance explained that her upbringing was very different than that of her husband but he "approached our differences with curiosity and enthusiasm."
"The J.D. I knew then is the same J.D. you see today, except for that beard, and, and his goals in this new role are the same that he has pursued for our family," Vance explained. "To keep people safe, to create opportunities to build a better life, and to solve problems with an open mind."
Vance said that it is "safe to say" that neither expected to find themselves in this position.
"But it's hard to imagine a more powerful example of the American dream."
Don Jr. on Day 3 of the RNC. Photo courtesy of Fox News Digital's Paul Steinhauser
Donald Trump Jr. reflected on his father's attempted assassination at his Pennsylvania rally over the weekend before introducing the Trump campaign's recently-tapped VP nominee, JD Vance, on night three of the RNC in battleground city Milwaukee, WI.
"And in that moment, my father didn't just show his character he showed America's character," Trump Jr. said, recounting Saturday's events. "When he stood up, with blood on his face, and the flag in the back, the world saw a spirit that could never be broken."
Trump Jr. also defended his father against the mainstream media, saying, "We won't ever forget the lies from left wing politicians from their allies in the media."
"You fully understand the extent they have gone to divide this great nation," he said. "They lied about Russia collusion. They lied about Hunter's laptop. They lied about Joe Biden's fitness for office."
"We can't live on nostalgia," Trump Jr. said. "Yes, America was great. But our greatest days are yet to come. Because no matter how far off that old photo may feel, it's not the end of our story. We're like that man who stood on that platform and felt the bullet pierce his flesh just days ago in Pennsylvania. He may have moved to the ground, but he stood back up and when he did, my father raised his fist into the air. He looked out at the crowd and what did he say?"
The crowd erupted in chants of "fight, fight, fight" after his remarks, echoing Trump's rallying cry on Saturday following the near-assassination attempt on him, where a bullet narrowly missed and grazed his right ear.
"And we will fight," Trump Jr. said. "We will fight. We will fight with our voices. We will fight with our tears. And on November fifth, we will fight with our vote."
"JD Vance is going to make one hell of a vice president," Trump Jr. concluded, as some delegates chanted "JD, JD, JD."
Ohio Sen. JD Vance, who was chosen as former President Donald Trump's running mate on the first day of the Republican convention, plans to tie President Biden's career in politics to the struggles of his upbringing during his Wednesday speech.
"When I was in the fourth grade, a career politician by the name of Joe Biden supported NAFTA, a bad trade deal that sent countless good American manufacturing jobs to Mexico," Vance will say. "When I was a sophomore in high school, a career politician by the name of Joe Biden gave China a sweetheart trade deal that destroyed even more good middle class jobs. And when I was a senior in high school, Joe Biden supported the disastrous invasion of Iraq."
Vance will argue that Trump opposed all of those policies, stances that eventually led to his run for president.
"Somehow, a real estate developer from New York by the name of Donald Trump was right on all of these issues while Joe Biden was wrong. Donald Trump knew, even then, that we needed leaders who would put AMERICA FIRST," Vance plans to say.
Former President Trump's granddaughter, Kai Trump, speaks during day three of the Republican National Convention on July 17, 2024. (Fox News Digital)
Former President Trump's granddaughter Kai Trump spoke at the RNC convention on Wednesday night and defended him against his critics.
"He calls me during the middle of the school day to ask how my golf game is going and tells me all about his but then I have to remind him that I'm in school and I'll have to call him back later," Trump's granddaughter told a raucous crowd in Milwaukee.
"On Saturday, I was shocked when I heard that he has been shot and I just wanted to know if he was okay," Trump said describing the events following the attempted assassination of the former president.
"A lot of people have put my grandpa through hell and he's still standing," the teenager added.
"Grandpa, you are such an inspiration and I love you," Trump said. "The media makes my grandpa seem like a different person. But I know him for who he is. He's very caring and loving. He truly wants the best for this country. And he will fight every single day to make America great again. Thank you very much."
WWII and D-Day veteran Sgt. William Pekrul, 98, received a standing ovation and loud cheers following his emotional RNC speech on night three of the RNC.
"It hurts my heart to see what our current president and vice president have done to the country I love so well," Pekrul said. "As we [get] pushed around by China, terrorists run wild in the Middle East and they let our own southern border get overrun."
Pekrul called "America is the greatest nation in the history of the world," and said when he came back from war in Europe, "I kissed the ground."
RNC delegates gave Pekrul a standing ovation and chanted "USA," while former President Trump smiled on and applauded.
Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and John Barrasso of Wyoming said Wednesday that they confronted Kimberly Cheatle, director of the U.S. Secret Service, "face to face" at the Republican National Convention.
In a video shared to social media, Barrasso said he and Blackburn sought "specific answers about what happened with President Trump in Pennsylvania and how that shooter was able to get off a clear shot when the FBI and Secret Service knew that there was a suspicious person an hour in advance of when the shooting occured."
Video of the confrontation was also shared on social media.
Blackburn added, "And they identified a potential threat at 5:51."
"She would not answer our questions. She wanted to say it was not the time or place. This is after we've been through a conference call today, where the question que got cut off," Blackburn added.
Blackburn also issued a message for Cheatle: "She can run, but she cannot hide because the American people want to know how an assassination attempt was carried out on former President Donald Trump.
Questions remain about how the 20-year-old shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, managed to climb on top of a building and open fire at former President Donald Trump and rally attendees in Butler, Pennsylvania, last Saturday.
Cheatle said in an interview Tuesday that her agency was "solely responsible" for the implementation and execution of security there.
U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle looks on during a press conference at the Secret Service's Chicago Field Office on June 4 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
She told CNN that no assets from the rally were diverted on the day Trump was shot, even though other events in the state required Secret Service protection.
"At that particular site, we divided up areas of responsibility, but the Secret Service is totally responsible for the design and implementation and the execution of the site," Cheatle said.
Cheatle, in a separate interview with ABC News, said the agency was aware of the security vulnerabilities presented by the building Crooks took a sniper's position on aiming at Trump.
Fox News' Brianna Herlihy contributed to this update.
Fox News' Brooke Singman caught up with Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn on the floor of the 2024 National Convention to discuss the impact the attempted assassination on former President Donald Trump had on the political event.
"There is an atmosphere of gratitude and appreciation and also a recognition that God really had his hand on Donald Trump on Saturday and spared his life," Blackburn said. "I think that sense of humbleness and appreciation that President Trump, the two nights that he has come, how impactful that has been to the American people."
Republican and Democratic politicians, business leaders, delegates and the American people took to social media to express their well wishes for Trump following the assassination attempt on Saturday in Pennsylvania."It is great that President Trump is doing well," Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., posted to X. "It was sad beyond measure that a rally attendee was killed and that others were wounded."
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., wrote to X, "Political violence is absolutely unacceptable."
He added, "I wish Donald Trump, and anyone else who may have been hurt, a speedy recovery."
REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
A group of University of North Carolina (UNC) frat boys who protected an American flag from anti-Israel agitators during a campus demonstration earlier this year received a warm welcome on Day 3 of the RNC as they each carried American flags.
"When the mob tried to take down the American flag on our campus, we knew we couldn't let that happen," one of the frat boys said at the RNC. "We stood guard, we held it up and we did not let it fall."
"Too many people have sacrificed everything for it," the student said. "Too many people have sacrified everything for it. The least we can do was keep it flying, and tonight we are proud to honor our flag again."
After enduring nearly an hour of screaming, slurring and flying objects, the fraternity brothers held up the fallen American flag until it could be restored in a display that many considered a heroic act of patriotism on May 1. A GoFundMe was started to throw a party for the fraternities involved, which raised over half a million dollars by the time donations closed.
Fox News Digital's Kendall Tietz contributed to this report.
Emma Colton (Fox News)
Family members of the 13 U.S. service members who lost their lives during the final days of the U.S. war in Afghanistan spoke at the Republican National Convention Wednesday.
Fox News' Emma Colton captured the emotional scene from the crowd, with most of the audience remaining on their feet as the Gold Star families made their remarks.
During the remarks, the names of each service member who died were read to the audience, with those in attendance shouting the names back in return.
Fox News' Brooke Singman took to the Republican National Convention perimeter in Milwaukee and spoke with attendees regarding their red, white and blue fashion choices.
"There's a lot of energy, a lot of fun and a lot of great outfits," Singman said.
One woman's ensemble, including her hat, were completely decked out in Trump and American pride-themed pins. She specified that she began her collection with one of Trump riding down the escalator in 2015 where the former president announced his bid to run in 2016. Some of the pins atop her hat read "Trump 2016", "Trump 2024", "Vets for Trump", "Tim Sheehy U.S. Senate" and "Adorable Deplorable", among others.
Sheehy is the GOP candidate looking to unseat Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester.
Another woman rocked Trump socks, red and white "Trump 2024" shoes and matching clothing and another woman wore a handmade yellow "political statement" dress which read "Don't Tread on Me." She added that she is wearing a different handmade dress for each day of the 2024 Republican convention.
An elderly man in a wheelchair stopped to tell Singman about his trappings which included a "Trump 2024" visor that donned Trump-esque hair which he jokingly said is all his.
"I borrowed it," the man said. "Don't tell him."
Photo of Rep. Carlos Gimenez at Day 3 of the RNC. Courtesy of Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind.
Florida Rep. Carlos Gimenez told Fox News Digital he’s “curious” to hear how former President Trump's RNC speech changed after he narrowly survived an assassination attempt at his Pennsylvania rally on Saturday.
“I expect…we're going to change the direction of this country, but we're going to do it in a unified way," Gimenez said. "I'm really kind of pumped up to try to listen to what he's gonna say. I've been hearing that he's changed his speech, that, the events of Saturday have changed him. And so I'm really curious as to how that's gonna come out.”
Trump indicated he had scrapped his original 20-page speech and "starting all over." He is expected to address the RNC on Thursday, the last night of the convention, where he will also formally accept the Republican Party's nomination to be their presidential candidate.
REUTERS/Mike Segar
Former acting ICE Director Thomas Homan took to the stage at the Republican National Convention Wednesday, slamming president Biden for his record on immigration.
"Biden is the first president in American history to come into office and unsecure the border. Who the hell does that," Homan, who took the stage to an enthusiastic ovation, said during his remarks.
Homan outlined the differences between former President Trump and President Biden on the border, arguing the under Trump illegal immigration was "cut by 90%, the lowest level in 45 years.
"Deportations rose to the highest levels ever, including historic numbers of illegal alien gang members and criminals," Homan said.
Homan also expressed support for Trump's plan to deport millions of migrants.
"I got a message to the millions of illegal aliens that Joe Biden's released in our country in violation of federal law. You better start packing now," Homan said.
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
East Palestine mayor Trent Conaway slammed the Biden-Harris administration over its scarce federal response to the disastrous train derailment in the town that occurred in January 2023.
"When the train derailed spilling flames and toxic chemicals to our town, we faced a disaster unlike we've ever seen," Conaway said at the RNC. "And in the chaos, we witnessed a clear contrast between leadership and incompetence. Our first responders didn't hesitate. They raced to the scene. They battled the flames and evacuated our citizens. And for that, I want to thank every one of them tonight.
"Unfortunately, the Biden administration's federal response was much different and constant. It consisted almost entirely of meetings and press events. They talked and talked, but they delivered little help. Then there was a clear difference between former President Trump and President Biden. For the longest time the White House was silent. And we never heard a word from Vice President Harris. I guess we weren't their type of folks, no Hollywood elites, or Wall Street billionaires that live in East Palestine, just hard working Americans."
"But Donald Trump cared," Conaway continued. "First he called to ask permission to visit, not wanting to intrude, and then he asked how we could help."
Biden finally visited East Palestine on the one-year anniversary of the incident. Biden was heavily criticized at the time of the derailment for never visiting the community in the weeks and months that followed.
Fox News Digital's Anders Hagstrom and Peter Doocy contributed to this report.
Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance's "America First" foreign policy positions are taking the spotlight as he prepares to deliver his first major primetime speech at the Republican National Convention Wednesday night.
Vance was announced as former President Donald Trump's running mate on Monday, and since, numerous politicians and media outlets, especially foreign ones, have begun sounding the alarm over what they describe as his "isolationist" policies, warning a Trump-Vance presidency might go so far as to abandon Ukraine amid its war with Russia.
"Trump's choice of running mate raises fears in Ukraine and EU," one BBC headline read, with the piece going on to cite a German politician claiming Vance was "more isolationist" and "unpredictable" than Trump.
The Washington Post wrote that Trump picked "a like-minded isolationist on foreign policy," while Politico wrote that Vance "spells ‘disaster’ for Europe and Ukraine."
CNN's Van Jones described Vance as "a horror on the world stage," warning "Ukrainians are now in deep trouble."
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Brandon Gillespie.
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Basketball player Enes Kanter Freedom is at the Republican National Convention and spoke to Fox News Digital's Liz Elkind about his experience.
“Well, it's my first time here. And I think, you know what's so amazing about this whole thing, so many people who cares and loves about freedom coming here, and just, it's literally like a big family, you know, that's why it touches my heart. It's been an amazing experience for the last two or three days."
He says he’s received a lot of good feedback from GOP lawmakers about his ambitions to run for Congress:
“Every time I see them, they keep asking me which district I'm going to run. And they're telling me to not not to run against them. And there they are pushing me to give them a promise. I know I got so many friends there and they're very supportive. So that definitely means a lot to me," he said.
President Biden has become more receptive to leaving the race, moving from arguing that Vice President Kamala Harris can't win to asking advisers if the vice president can win, according to a report from CNN.
Biden has faced growing calls to leave the ticket, with reports emerging Wednesday that Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have both privately urged the president to step aside over growing fears over his age and ability to beat former President Donald Trump in November.
Democrats have also become increasingly concerned that Biden's struggles as the top of the ticket could cost the party the Senate and an opportunity to flip the House.
Two Arizona ranchers showed the Republican National Convention the impact the border crisis is having on their property -- with footage of thousands of illegal immigrants moving through.
Sue and Jim Chilton are fifth generation ranchers from Arizona, along the southern border.
"On the screen you'll see footage from our ranch. Since Joe Biden took office our hidden cameras have recorded over 3500 drug packers and others dressed in camouflage. marching north through our ranch," he said.
"These are not asylum seekers. In looks like feels like an invasion because it is," he said.
"Every time Jim leaves the Ranch House, I have to worry that he won't come back alive," Sue said. "Our house has been broken into twice. A Border Patrol agent was shot by by drug smugglers on our ranch."
Danielle Del Valle/Getty Images for The Bob Woodruff Foundation
The 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has seen a number of performers in the days since the political event started.
Tonight, for Day 3 of the RNC, country music star Brian Kelley, formerly a member of Florida Georgia Line, will be entertaining Republican attendees.
The "See You Next Summer" singer posted to his Instagram on Tuesday informing his fans his next stop was Milwaukee. Fellow country musician Jason Aldean and his wife Brittany, avid supporters of Donald Trump, liked the post in support.
In February 2022, the FGL duo, which included Kelley and Tyler Hubbard, took a "break" before officially parting ways in September that same year.
Kelley is slated to perform at 8:20 p.m. Wednesday night and shared a live feed of the 2024 RNC to his Instagram story in promotion of the show.
A Nashville band named Sixville and singer-songwriter Chris Janson, have also performed in the first couple of days of the RNC.
Former director of the US Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Peter Navarro speaks on stage on the third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 17, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Former Donald Trump adviser Peter Navarro took the stage on day three of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he was greeted by a roaring crowd of Republicans.
"Yes, indeed. This morning I did walk out of a federal prison in Miami. Joe Biden and his Department of injustice put me there. Tonight, I'm here with you in this beautiful city of Milwaukee. I got a very simple message for you: If they can come for me, if they can come for Donald Trump, be careful, they will come for you," he told the crowd.
Navarro, who walked on stage to chants of "FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT," was released from a Miami prison Wednesday, hours before he spoke at the convention.
Navarro, 75, was convicted after being found in contempt of Congress and was sentenced to four months in a federal prison in Miami in March.
During his speech at the convention, Navarro urged support for Trump and warned that if he doesn't take back the White House this fall, then "their government" will "control us."
"If we don't control our government, their government will control us. If we don't control all three branches of our government -- legislative, executive and judicial -- their government will put some of us, like me and Steve Bannon, in prison," he said.
Navarro, outlining the differences between the presidencies of Trump and President Biden, said it's the "tale of two Americas."
"This is a tale of two Americas, and you know it wasn't this way when Donald Trump was president. I remember the days. I was there. In Trump's America, you were safe and our borders were secure. In Trump's America, you were more prosperous and you didn't have to choose between ... food on the table, medicine in the cabinet and a roof over your head. And in Trump's America, you didn't have to worry about being locked up for disagreeing with the government," Navarro told the Republicans.
"I went to prison so you won't have to. I am your wake-up call," he added.
Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries both agreed to push for the DNC to delay its roll call. (Getty Images)
Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer reportedly told President Biden in a "blunt one-on-one conversation" Saturday it would be best if he "bowed out of the race," according to an ABC report on X.
"Schumer's office wouldn't comment on the specifics of the conversation, telling me only, 'Leader Schumer conveyed the views of his caucus,'" ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl wrote.
The Senate majority leader's office issued a similar response obtained by Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
“Unless ABC’s source is Senator Chuck Schumer or President Joe Biden the reporting is idle speculation," a spokesperson for Sen. Schumer said. "Leader Schumer conveyed the views of his caucus directly to President Biden on Saturday.”
The news comes as the New York Democrat pushed for the Democratic National Convention's delay as questions persist about President Biden's 2024 candidacy due to concerns over his mental acuity, according to multiple sources.
Schumer spoke with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and both men agreed to urge the DNC to delay a virtual roll call planned for this month to officially nominate Biden, three sources told Fox News Digital.
It was revealed Wednesday that the DNC was delaying its nomination plans to August after significant pushback from party members toward an initial plan to nominate Biden later this month.
Fox News Digital's Paul Steinhauser and Julia Johnson contributed to this report.
X/@JoeBiden
The Biden campaign is using President Biden's COVID diagnosis to fundraise for his re-election campaign.
"I'm sick" a mysterious post on X from Biden's campaign account said.
Moments later came a follow up
"of Elon Musk and his rich buddies trying to buy this election. And if you agree, pitch in here."
Biden had been due to deliver remarks at the conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, but the speech was canceled.
"Earlier today following his first event in Las Vegas, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19. He is vaccinated and boosted and he is experiencing mild symptoms," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
"He will be returning to Delaware where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time. The White House will provide regular updates on the President’s status as he continues to carry out the full duties of the office while in isolation."
The COVID diagnosis follows remarks from a day earlier in which Biden said a medical condition could lead to him dropping out of the race.
"If I had some medical condition that emerged, if somebody, the doctors came and said you've got this problem, that problem," Biden told BET's Ed Gordon . "But I made a serious mistake in the whole debate and, look, when I originally ran, you might remember it, I said I was gonna be a transitional candidate. I thought that I would be able to move from this, to pass it on to somebody else. But I didn't anticipate things getting so, so, so divided."
'The Five' co-hosts preview Trump running-mate JD Vance's keynote speech at the Republican National Convention and continued calls from top Democrats for President Biden to step aside, with Fox News' Judge Jeanine arguing former President Donald Trump has been able to turn enemies into friends.
"Politics makes strange bedfellows, that's the history of how it works," Jeanine said. "You've got JD Vance, who criticized Donald Trump, Nikki Haley more than criticized Donald Trump, DeSantis criticized Donald Trump. Amber Rose criticized Donald Trump... Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio.... Donald Trump has been able to turn his detractors into his supporters. And now we have seen the Republican Party more united than it's even been. We're not even talking about Rhinos anymore, the Republican Party is solidly the MAGA Party."
Trump has had multiple former primary opponents speak on his behalf at the Republican National Convention, solidifying support around the former president ahead of his rematch with President Biden.
JD Vance, Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)
The Biden-Harris team emailed a rebuttal to the Trump-Vance campaign's tongue-in-cheek response to VP Harris's agreement to debate the newly-selected Republican VP on Wednesday.
“Donald Trump is the one whose campaign said he would debate 'anytime, anyplace' and who picked JD Vance specifically for his debating skills," the Biden-Harris clapped back in the email.
“Now suddenly right after a damning new leak showing his support for a nationwide abortion ban, Vance is backing off a debate against Vice President Harris, who has spent the last two years prosecuting the case on behalf of reproductive freedom," the email read. “This debate has been discussed for two months now. If JD Vance is unwilling to defend the Trump-Vance record on the debate stage, he should just say so.”
The campaign statement comes just minutes after White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed that President Biden has tested positive for COVID-19 and an hour after the Trump-Vance campaign sent out their initial response to Harris's request to debate.
“We don’t know who the Democrat nominee for Vice President is going to be, so we can’t lock in a date before their convention," Brian Hughes, senior campaign advisor for the Trump-Vance campaign, said in the email Wednesday afternoon.
"To do so would be unfair to Gavin Newsom, JB Pritzker, Gretchen Whitmer, or whoever Kamala Harris picks as her running mate," Hughes said.
Harris has already accepted the CBS News' invitation to debate Vance on August 12.
Fox News 'Democracy 2024' panelists Sarah Selip and Jonae Warte provided their takes on what could be an expected "high voltage showdown" between Ohio GOP Sen. JD Vance, former President Trump's running mate in the 2024 race for the White House, and Vice President Kamala Harris following the Republican National Convention.
An official debate between the pair of vice presidential candidates has yet to be set in stone, a point Selip brought up as she highlighted calls by Democrats for President Biden to step aside ahead of the November election.
"Here's the thing: Democrats are getting way too ahead of themselves with this here," Selip said. "Just this weekend, I mean even now, Democrats are circulating letters asking for Biden to resign. So, in a few weeks, we don't even know if Biden will be the nominee or who takes his place will bring Kamala with them."
"Otherwise, I think it would be very exciting," she continued. "JD Vance is a great performer, a great debater, a great lawmaker. He would crush it. He would wipe the floor with Kamala.
Warte, however, said she believes Harris would fare well in a debate against Vance.
"I have to agree with Sen. Warren that Vice President Harris will take it to Senator Vance," Warte said. "The reality of it is he's a young guy. Senator Vance hasn't been on the scene for very long, though we are very clear on where his position is, which is really not aligned with the American people and their values and ideas that are popular among most Americans."
"I think Vice President Harris is a very clear contrast here," she added. "She has a record, certainly with the Biden administration and understanding where her finger's on the pulse of the American people's ideas around healthcare, of their ideas around the economy."
Warte said she believes Kamala is "well prepared to take [Vance] on" and that she wouldn't "call this a true match-up."
Harris has already accepted a CBS News' invite to debate Vance on August 12. Vance has yet to accept a debate invitation.
Brian Hughes, senior campaign advisor for the Trump-Vance campaign, issued a tongue-in-cheek email response on Wednesday to Harris's invitation to debate JD Vance.
“We don’t know who the Democrat nominee for Vice President is going to be, so we can’t lock in a date before their convention," Hughes said in the campaign email. "To do so would be unfair to Gavin Newsom, JB Pritzker, Gretchen Whitmer, or whoever Kamala Harris picks as her running mate.”
Fox News' Jamie Joseph contributed to this update.
Parker Ali/The Daily Tar Heel
A group of fraternity brothers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who went viral for their patriotic defense of the American flag will attend Day 3 proceedings at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
The men made headlines in May when its members displayed admirable patriotism by preventing the American flag from touching the ground during a protest where anti-Israel agitators had attempted to take the Stars and Stripes off a campus flag pole and replace it with the Palestinian flag.
The fraternity brothers stood in the rain for nearly an hour with the U.S. flag held above their heads while anti-Israel protesters threw objects at them in protest.
A GoFundMe set up to throw a party celebrating the men raised more than $500,000.The young men received praise from around the country for their defense of Old Glory.
Texas Rep. Pat Fallon wrote a letter in salute of the young men and Seth Weathers, CEO of Ultra Right Beer Company, planned a party, "Frat Boy Summer Kickoff," for the gentlemen which was postponed due to universal attention.
Now dubbed "Flagstock 2024", the party is slated to be thrown on Labor Day. Country musician and Fox Nation “The Pursuit!” host John Rich applauded the students and offered to play a free show in their honor.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This post has been updated to clarify that the men belong to various fraternities at UNC.
(Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
President Biden has tested positive for COVID, the White House has confirmed.
Biden was due to deliver remarks at the conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, but the speech was canceled.
"Earlier today following his first event in Las Vegas, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19. He is vaccinated and boosted and he is experiencing mild symptoms," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
"He will be returning to Delaware where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time. The White House will provide regular updates on the President’s status as he continues to carry out the full duties of the office while in isolation."
The COVID diagnosis follows remarks from a day earlier in which Biden said a medical condition could lead to him dropping out of the race.
"If I had some medical condition that emerged, if somebody, the doctors came and said you've got this problem, that problem," Biden told BET's Ed Gordon. "But I made a serious mistake in the whole debate and, look, when I originally ran, you might remember it, I said I was gonna be a transitional candidate. I thought that I would be able to move from this, to pass it on to somebody else. But I didn't anticipate things getting so, so, so divided."
Fox News' Bill Hemmer is covering the 2024 Republican National Convention live from Milwaukee, Wisconsin as he did during the 2016 RNC eight years ago.
"What a difference eight years can make," Hemmer told Fox News Digital. "In 2016, many Republicans were hesitant in their support for Donald Trump and they were not on board the Trump train. In 2024, I would argue it's entirely different. Every Republican opponent that he vanquished during the primary season, they are here, they are on stage and showing their support."
Last night, on Day 2 of the 2024 RNC, former GOP candidates Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley threw their undoubted support behind the GOP presidential nominee and his vice presidential pick Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
"I would argue they are two-for-two for the first two nights here in terms of performance, and execution and we get ready to see if they can do it again on night 3 with JD Vance," Hemmer concluded.
Republican Senate candidate and ex-MLB star Steve Garvey says Rep. Adam Schiff's latest announcement for Biden to step down from the 2024 race "doesn't go far enough."
"Adam Schiff's call for President Biden not to run for re-election doesn't go far enough," Garvey said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. "It's not just about the next election; it's about the current governance. President Biden should resign immediately for the good of the nation."
Garvey argued that under Biden, the U.S. is facing "unprecednted international threats," and cited the Ukraine-Russia war and the Israel-Hamas conflict.
"Schiff not demanding his resignation imperils Americans at home and abroad every day," he said.
In a statement to Fox News Digital on Wednesday, Schiff argued that a "second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November."
Schiff and Garvey will face off in the November election to fill the California Senate seat of the late Dianne Feinstein.
MILWAUKEE – GOP Congressman Darrell Issa previewed what he expects to see in the foreign policy speeches on Wednesday night at the GOP convention and outlined what he believes a second Trump term will mean for the world.
"When I think about Trump foreign policy, Russia didn't gain an inch during his tenure, having taken Crimea under his predecessor, Obama," Issa, who sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday before Republicans took the stage in Milwaukee to talk foreign policy.
"I think about the fact that China did not aggressively go after Taiwan the way they are today, or the Philippines, where they're literally stealing fish out of the water by force. I think of the fact that the Houthis and Iran were not active and literally interrupting global trade. All of these things happened in the last three and a half years under a weak Biden administration, and they won't, didn't and won't happen under a Trump administration."
"Make America Strong Once Again" is the theme of the third day of the convention, where speakers will outline Trump’s foreign policy agenda and argue against Biden’s record.
Donald Trump Jr. spoke with Fox News Digital about what a reelection for his father in 2024 looks like.
"I think a Trump second term is going to look like the first term but accelerated," Don Jr. said. "I think with the knowledge, the experience that you've had four years in office, four years out of it, I think you can hire the right people. I think you're not going to be swayed by the people who aren't going to be great actors."
Don Jr. is an avid supporter of his father, former President Donald Trump, and while at the 2024 Republican National Convention clashed with liberal-leaning MSNBC for entertaining conspiratorial takes on Saturday’s assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
"I think that's also why they've gone after my father so much more aggressively," Don Jr. told Fox. "He knows how to get things done in Washington. He came as an outsider with no experience, no knowledge. It's so different now."
He concluded by saying, "I think he can execute so many of the policies that made us prosperous, that made us safe and I think he can do that much faster than ever before."
JD Vance, Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)
Brian Hughes, senior campaign adviser for the Trump-Vance campaign, issued a tongue-in-cheek email response to Vice President Kamala Harris's invitation to debate JD Vance:
“We don’t know who the Democrat nominee for Vice President is going to be, so we can’t lock in a date before their convention," Hughes said in the campaign email. "To do so would be unfair to Gavin Newsom, JB Pritzker, Gretchen Whitmer, or whoever Kamala Harris picks as her running mate.”
Harris called Vance, whom former President Trump chose as his running mate Monday, and congratulated him after the announcement in a voicemail.
"Vice President Harris reached out to Senator Vance and left a message to congratulate him on his selection, welcome him to the race and express her hope that the two can meet in the vice presidential debate proposed by CBS News," a Biden campaign official told Fox News on Monday.
The union for federal air marshals formally announced its endorsement for former President Trump on Wednesday.
"The Air Marshal National Council is proud to announce our endorsement of Donald J. Trump for President," the council said in a statement.
"President Trump you are the only one who can make our Homeland Security and Air Marshal Program great again," it said.
The union accuses the administration of running an "open border" policy and of weaponizing FAMs "for political purposes."
MILWAUKEE – GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance says his mission as he delivers his acceptance speech on day three of the Republican National Convention is simple.
Vance, the 39-year-old senator from Ohio whom former President Trump named as his running mate at the beginning of the week, on Wednesday night will address the roughly 2,400 delegates and thousands of other attendees packed inside Milwaukee's Fiserv Arena, and the millions of Americans watching the GOP convention from home.
"We're gonna get out there and try to fire up the crowd tonight," Vance said at a financial event hours before his prime time address at the convention.
The senator added that he would "make the case, a very easy case to make, but an important case to make, that we have got to re-elect President Donald J. Trump to the White House."
Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., penned a New York Times guest essay this weekend declaring his support for President Biden's re-election and calling on the Democratic Party to unite behind him. (Getty Images)
As the Democratic Party faces internal turmoil over their split support for President Biden as the Democratic presidential nominee, an unlikely ally -- Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. -- wants Biden to stay in the race.
"I have been critical of the Biden campaign—above and beyond the debate, which everybody understands was a disaster," Sanders said in an interview with the New Yorker magazine on Wednesday. "The truth of the matter is Biden’s record, in my view, is the strongest record of any President in modern American history. I don’t think they’ve done a particularly good job of getting that out."
Sanders, a staunch critic of continued aid to Israel -- which Biden supports -- amid Palestinian casualties, acknowledged "it's not enough to talk about what you’ve done in the last three and a half years," and urged Biden to focus on the solution to issues that are hurting everyday Americans.
"I’ve been extremely critical of this and I see it beginning to change now—it’s not good enough just to talk about what you’ve done in the last three and a half years. The American people are hurting. Sixty percent of our people live paycheck to paycheck," Sanders said.
The independent senator -- who typically aligns with Congress's progressive flank -- added that young voters are worried about "climate change" and "reproductive rights."
When asked if he thinks Biden can serve another four years amid concerns about his mental acuity, Sanders said he has "concerns about everything."
"And everybody should have concerns about everything," he said. "As a nation, we do a very poor job, both in Congress and in the media, of focussing on issues that impact the working class. So I would much prefer to have somebody who can’t put three sentences together who is setting forth an agenda that speaks to the needs of working-class people: raising the minimum wage, making it easier for workers to join unions, dealing with the existential threat of climate change, protecting women’s reproductive rights, building millions of units of affordable housing."
Journalist Curtis Wilkie, who has covered eight presidential campaigns and White House administrations, called on President Biden to drop out of the race in an op-ed for Mississippi Today, arguing it's become "painful to watch" the president he's known for decades.
"President Biden should never have sought a second term," Wilkie wrote.
Wilkie joins a long list of media outlets, reporters and Democrats who have called on Biden to drop out following a rocky debate performance.
"I have an unusual perspective on this discussion dominating American politics considering I’ve known Joe Biden longer than any reporter who ever covered him. I’ve witnessed over the years how the relentless demands of the presidency have ravaged other occupants of the White House. And I share with Biden the frailties of old age that grip us both and have begun to diminish our physical and cognitive powers," Wilkie wrote.
Speaking to Fox News Digital by phone on Tuesday evening, country star Lee Greenwood reflected on the electric experience of performing his classic song "God Bless the USA" and introducing former President Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention on Monday night, July 15, in Milwaukee.
"It's easy to say that I've done this before," Greenwood said, noting that while this is his sixth RNC, it's also the 40th anniversary of writing his iconic song and releasing it as a record.
"It's also the 40th anniversary of the Republican Party using ‘God Bless the USA’ with Ronald Reagan at the '84 RNC," said Greenwood. "But there were a lot of things that were different last night."
"The most important of all," he said as the second night of the convention gets underway, "is that we recognize that the assassination attempt on the president's life would have changed the entire world for us if President Trump had been killed," said Greenwood.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Maureen Mackey.
Adam Schiff and Steve Garvey will face off against one another in California's Senate election in November. (Getty Images)
Ex-MLB star Steve Garvey has outpaced his Democratic opponent, Rep. Adam Schiff, in fundraising from April to June for one of California's closely watched Congressional races.
"I'm for unity, common sense, compassion, and consensus building," Garvey said in a post on X Wednesday afternoon, just hours after Schiff told Fox News Digital he has called on President Biden to step down from the race.
"[Adam Schiff] is for division, vitriolic rhetoric, and hatred," Garvey's post read. "Californians deserve someone who is working towards unity and the best interests of the people.
Schiff raised $4.2 million in the second quarter, while Garvey raised $5.4 million. In the duo's previous financial report, Schiff narrowly outraised Garvey at $3.6 million compared to the baseball star's $3.4 million.
The winner of the Senate race will take the seat of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Schiff will take on Garvey, a Republican, in November. The race is considered "Solid Democratic" by nonpartisan political handicapper the Cook Political Report, giving Schiff an edge over his opponent.
Fox News Digital's Julia Johnson contributed to this report.
"Fox & Friends" co-host Lawrence Jones recalled the first conversation he had with former President Donald Trump the day after a gunman attempted to assassinate him at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
"I'm seeing all of the reports," Jones said. "It's horrific. Of course, at that moment, you worry about the man, not that he's the former president or the election coming up."
Jones said he was just waking up from a nap when his phone began ringing as people wondered whether he'd spoken to Trump family members yet.
"I had to put on the reporter hat," he said. "It was time to get on the air and start reporting on what we knew."Jones said when he spoke with Trump the day after the shooting Trump asked Jones how he was doing.
"I responded to him and I said 'I should be asking you the same thing,'" he told the former president. "He just wanted the audience to know, all of his supporters, the country to know that he loves them. I think that truly tells you about the man, is that in the moment that he was shot, he was concerned about the country."
Former President Trump could reach 330 electoral votes in 2024 and handily defeat President Biden, according to CNN’s John King.
King, the media network's chief national correspondent, cited new polls that found Biden’s approval rating and ballot number to be below 40 in most battleground states. He noted that it would be "very hard" for the president to turn around his numbers 16 weeks out from the election.
"Democrats are now worried, they think, I’m not saying this is going to happen, but what they’re saying is the president’s going to have to spend more time and more effort on places like Virginia because it is competitive," he said.
A new Virginia Commonwealth University-Wilder School poll shows Biden dropping from the 42% support he enjoyed in the last VCU-Wilder poll, released in January, to 36%.
The poll shows Trump leading Biden in Virginia by three percentage points as Republicans look to flip the state after Biden trounced Trump by 10 points in the Old Dominion State in 2020.
Republican Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, left, and Vice President Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE — Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance will "run circles" around Vice President Kamala Harris in a debate, Alabama Sen. Katie Britt told Fox News Digital in an interview at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Britt, a rising star in the GOP who delivered the official Republican rebuttal to President Biden's State of the Union address earlier this year, praised Vance ahead of his highly anticipated convention speech Wednesday night and predicted Americans would "love" him the moment they get to know him.
"I am excited to watch him debate Kamala Harris because it will not even be a contest. With all due respect to the vice president, our next vice president of the United States, JD Vance, is going to run circles around her. No doubt," Britt said.
"I am honored not only to call JD a colleague, but to call him a friend … The best part about it is we've gotten to know each other as people, and when the American people get to know JD Vance, they are going to love everything about him."
Britt later said Vance's life story of pulling himself up by his bootstraps and pushing through "unimaginable" circumstances was part of why he is "uniquely suited to push forward President Trump's agenda of secure borders, safe streets, stable prices, and really showing strength across the globe."
She described the feeling of seeing Trump enter the convention hall on Monday to stand alongside Vance for the first time since his attempted assassination over the weekend as "electric."
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Brandon Gillespie.
Senator JD Vance, a Republican from Ohio and Republican vice-presidential nominee, at a walkthrough during the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, on Tuesday, July 16, 2024.
Former President Trump's VP pick, Republican Sen. JD Vance, said during a luncheon at Discovery World in Milwaukee Wednesday afternoon that after the attempted assassination of the former president on Saturday, Trump "showed leadership."
"Was he mad and angry?" Vance said. "He called for national unity. He called for calm. He showed leadership, my friends -- the media keeps on saying they want somebody to tone down the temperature. Well, Donald Trump got shot and he toned down the temperature. That's what a real leader does."
Vance also hit on the importance of electing Trump, arguing that middle class families were better off financially under the Trump administration compared to President Biden.
The event, hosted by Log Cabin Republicans, comes just several hours before Vance is scheduled to speak Wednesday night at the RNC in Milwaukee. It was his first solo-political event outside of the convention since he was tapped by former President Trump to join the ticket for vice president on Monday.
Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Signage is displayed during a walkthrough of the Democratic National Convention on May 22, 2024, at the United Center. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
The Democratic National Committee is moving ahead with plans to formally nominate President Biden ahead of next month’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, despite a rising chorus of calls by some top Democrats on Capitol Hill to scrap a virtual roll call amid an intra-party debate over whether the 81-year-old president should end his re-election campaign.
DNC Rules Committee co-chairs Leah Daughtry and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, in a letter to committee members on Wednesday, announced they were pushing forward with the virtual roll call, which is being held due to a ballot access deadline in Ohio that’s 12 days ahead of the start of the August 19 convention.
But the letter, obtained by Fox News, assured DNC delegates that “no virtual voting will begin before August 1,” which is more than a week later than some reports suggested the roll call would take place.
And Daughtry and Walz highlighted that “we will not be implementing a rushed virtual voting process” and later in the letter reiterated that “our goal is not to fast track.”
Fox News' Alexis McAdams recounted her experience reporting live at the Trump assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
"We were on the media riser so, just about 100 feet back from where President Trump was speaking," she said. "He was talking about immigration and other main topics when all of a sudden you heard what sounded like fireworks or pop, pop, pop, pop."
A lone gunman, Thomas Michael Crooks, 20, fired at Trump from a rooftop nearby and shot him in the ear.
"We saw people take cover. We saw the Secret Service move in and we saw the former president go down behind that podium," McAdams said. "At that point, there was so much chaos, we really didn't know what to think."
McAdams said she wasn't aware of where the shots were coming from and herself, Fox News media team members and other professionals from news organizations took cover on the media riser.
"That's when we heard them say, 'Shooter down' and saw all of those law enforcement members move in," she recalled.
She described the chaos of the large crowd and the concerns for the safety and security of the former president as the shooter was about a football field away.
Two people in the crowd were wounded and one man, Corey Comperatore, a volunteer firefighter from Pennsylvania was shot and killed shielding his family from bullets.
"We're kind of just reflecting on all that here at the Republican National Convention now in Milwaukee," McAdams said. "This could have changed politics and has changed politics forever."
Republican vice presidential candidate, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) speaks during preparations for the second day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 16, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ( Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Republican Senator JD Vance is attending a luncheon at Discovery World in Milwaukee this afternoon hosted by Log Cabin Republicans - his first political event outside of the convention since he was tapped by former President Trump to join the ticket for vice president.
"We will celebrate our accomplishments heading into the 2024 election, including highlighting our Congressional Champions," a notice for the event reads.
"At this lunch, we'll hear from our leadership team to review our programs, discuss the 2024 Battleplan to take back the White House, the Senate and increase our majority in the House of Representatives," it says.
Former U.S. Ambassador Ric Grenell is listed as a special guest speaker.
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., issued a dire warning about the U.S. border crisis during an event at the Republican National Convention (RNC) on Wednesday.
"We have men from Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon crossing…our southern border," Scott said during a South Carolina GOP delegation breakfast.
"I believe we have sleeper cells in this nation as a result of Joe Biden."
"We've got to fire him," Scott added as the room applauded in response.
Scott's warning of terror threats at the border is not new – FBI Director Chris Wray told Congress in March that there is "no doubt" criminals have come across the southwestern border, though no specific threats were outlined.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio spoke at Day 2 of the 2024 Republican National Convention. The senator was previously floated as a possible running mate to Trump before the GOP nominee revealed Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his vice presidential pick.
During his speech, Rubio touched on the assassination attempt against former President Trump last weekend, specifically remembering Corey Comperatore, a campaign rally attendee fatally struck by one of the gunman’s bullets.
"Corey was one of the millions of ever day Americans who make our country great," Rubio said. "He wasn't rich, he wasn't famous. and the only reason why we know his name and story now is because last Saturday, he shielded his wife and daughter from an assassin's bullet and lost his life the way he lived it, a hero."
Rubio's remarks on the Pennsylvania man received a standing ovation from Republican convention delegates who began chanting "Corey, Corey, Corey."
Comperatore, 50, was a volunteer firefighter and described by his daughter as the best dad a girl could ever ask for.
President Trump will attend Comperatore’s funeral, the New York Post reported.
Schiff became the 20th Congressional Democrat to call on President Biden to drop out of the 2024 race. (Getty Images)
Powerful Democratic California Rep. Adam Schiff called on President Biden to drop out of the 2024 race on Wednesday.
"A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November," he said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Schiff was selected as one of the "top two" Senate primary winners in California. The winner of the Senate race will take the seat of the late Sen. Diane Feinstein.
Schiff will take on Republican candidate Steve Garvey, a former professional baseball player, in November. The race is considered "Solid Democratic" by non-partisan political handicapper the Cook Political Report, giving Schiff an edge over his opponent.
The House Democrat praised Biden's accomplishments while in office, claiming, "Joe Biden has been one of the most consequential presidents in our nation's history, and his lifetime of service as a Senator, a Vice President, and now as President has made our country better."
Read the full report by Julia Johnson on Fox News Digital.
About four in five Americans believe that the country is spiraling into chaos, according to a two-day poll.
The poll by Ipsos for Reuters was conducted after the assassination attempt on former President Trump at his rally in Pennsylvania and after Trump announced Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, as his vice presidential running mate at the start of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Monday.
About 80% of respondents agreed with the statement that "the country is spiraling out of control."
The poll found 86% of Americans are concerned about acts of violence throwing the country into chaos, while 56% are very concerned. According to the survey of 1,202 general population adults aged 18 or older in the United States, 57% said they are very concerned, and 87% said they are totally concerned that Americans will resort to violence instead of coming together peacefully to solve disagreements.
This is an excerpt of an article by Fox News Digital's Danielle Wallace.
A California mom moved the 2024 Republican National Convention crowd with her speech last night focused on open borders and the fentanyl crisis that has made its way across the nation.
"Like most teenagers, Weston wanted to fit in, and in a moment of peer pressure, he tried something that someone gave to him, and it took my baby's life," Anne Fundner said to thousands of RNC attendees.
"We did everything right," she said. "I had those conversations with him, and fentanyl still found my son."
On Feb. 27, 2022, Weston passed away.
Fundner told the crowd, "Our lives were shattered and our baby was gone."
"This was not an overdose. It was as poisoning," she said to the crowd, including former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, who sat in the family box. "His whole future, everything we ever wanted for him, was ripped away from him in an instant and Joe Biden does nothing."
Fundner went on to say she holds Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom and other Democrats who support open borders responsible for the death of her teenage son.
She received overwhelming support and applause from a tear-filled crowd.
Chuck Schumer
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., pushed for the Democratic National Convention's delay as questions of President Biden's 2024 candidacy persist, a source familiar told Fox News Digital.
Schumer spoke with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and both men agreed to urge a delayed convention despite initial plans to hold a virtual roll call to officially nominate Biden.
Fox News' Kelly Phares contributed to this report.
Supporters of former President Trump have adopted a new rallying cry in the wake of the assassination attempt this past weekend.Chants of "Fight! Fight! Fight!" could be heard throughout the stadium hosting the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The chant echoes Trump's own shout moments after being shot at his rally in Pennsylvania.Trump raised his fist and yelled in defiance as the Secret Service escorted him off the stage from his Butler rally.
The incident has become a heavy unifying force for the Republican Party, with even Trump's rivals in the party speaking on his behalf at the RNC.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who was the last remaining challenger to Trump in the GOP primary race, gave her full endorsement to the former president during a Tuesday night speech. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the second most popular figure in the party, also praised Trump in his own speech Tuesday night.
"You don’t have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him," Haley said. "Take it from me. I haven’t always agreed with President Trump. But we agree more often than we disagree."
REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
Former New Jersey governor and longtime Trump critic Chris Christie is calling on the GOP presidential nominee to lead the party in a "new direction" following Saturday's assassination attempt.
Christie published a guest essay in The New York Times on Tuesday about his desire for Republicans to move forward and former President Trump to "demonstrate the will to change."
"Mr. Trump, however, can demonstrate the will to change not just how we speak to one another but also how we act. This moment can confirm that our country is greater than any political party, but only if we work for it," Christie wrote.
"Mr. Trump has the opportunity to rein in some of the worst rhetorical impulses of the Republican Party at its convention this week. He can point the party and its leadership in a new direction in the wake of the assassination attempt against him."
Christie argued that harsher and more divisive language has resulted in "gridlock in Congress. Impeachments. Endless meaningless congressional hearings," and said this has caused a "catastrophization" of politics and our elections.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Elizabeth Heckman.
Adam Schiff
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., called on President Biden to drop out of the 2024 race on Wednesday.
“A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November," he said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Schiff is one of the two nominees who advanced after California's Senate primary. The winner of the November election will take the seat of the late Sen. Diane Feinstein.
He will take on Republican candidate Steve Garvey, a former professional baseball player, in November.
Donald J. Trump is often referred to as "President Trump" or "Mr. President," and has formerly been known as "Commander in Chief," "POTUS" and "45," as he was the 45th President of the United States. He has also enjoyed several other prominent titles.
However, before Trump was the leader of the free world, he was lovingly known as "dad" to five children, including Donald Jr., Ivanka, Eric, Tiffany and Barron, and "grandpa" to 10 grandchildren, beginning with the eldest, Kai.
Kai, 17, is seemingly ready to be cast into America's political spotlight as she is slated to speak at the 2024 Republican National Convention on Day 3 of the event in Milwaukee.
Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump's vice presidential pick, will also take center stage tonight.
Recently, the daughter of Don Jr. and Vanessa Trump, now divorced, was a regaled guest of Dana White's at the UFC 303 fight, which she attended opposite her dad. The Florida teen posed for photographs with White, the president of the UFC, former NFL superstar Aaron Rodgers and country music star Jelly Roll, among other A-listers.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Gabriele Regalbuto.
A top adviser to then-President Donald Trump, Peter Navarro, has been released from a Miami prison and is expected to speak at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night.
Navarro, 75, was convicted after being found in contempt of Congress and was sentenced to four months in a federal prison in Miami in March.
"I will walk proudly in there to do my time," Navarro said during a press conference before turning himself in. "I will gather strength from this: Donald John Trump is the nominee."
Navarro is set to speak in the 6 p.m. hour local time in Milwuakee on Wednesday night.
Navarro, who served as former President Trump's trade adviser, was the second Trump aide convicted of a misdemeanor contempt of Congress charge. Former White House adviser Steve Bannon previously received a four-month sentence but was allowed to stay free pending appeal by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, who was appointed by Trump.
President Biden in a recent interview addressed Black voters' "disenchantment" with his re-election bid.
Biden recently sat down for an interview with BET’s Ed Gordon in Las Vegas, which is scheduled to air in full Wednesday night.
In the third and final clip teased on Wednesday morning during "CBS Mornings," Gordan described a "disenchantment" felt among Black voters and asked the president to make his case to them.
"If I’m honest with you, the enthusiasm this time around is not the same as the last time you won. There is a certain disenchantment," Gordan told the president. "Detroit, Philadelphia, Atlanta are going to be deciding factors in that 270 you’ve got to get to. I’d like you to take a moment and tell Black America why they should turn out for you."
"Because they know where my heart is, they know where my head is," Biden responded.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Danielle Wallace.
Former Rep. Mike Rogers of Michigan, the clear front-runner in the August 6 GOP Senate primary in Michigan, says he thinks the GOP “is more unified now than I have seen it in a decade.”
In an interview Wednesday morning with Fox News Digital, Rogers emphasized that “people from different flavors of our party, the Republican Party, have come together.”
Looking ahead to Wednesday night’s address at the Republican National Convention by vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, Rogers said, “I hope we see a little bit of unity and why our appeal is to working families.”
“The Democrat Party is not your grandfather’s party anymore. It is coastal elite. The Republican Party is addressing issues for families whose paycheck doesn’t go to the end of the month,” Rogers argued. “I think [Vance's] going to talk about those things in terms that people who are struggling now know that help is on the way.”
Former Hillary Clinton campaign spokesperson Karen Finney blasted the Democratic Party for acting so afraid that they will lose the presidential election, stating that the attitude could be a self-fulfilling prophecy in November.
Finney, also a CNN commentator, warned a network panel on Wednesday morning that voters will pick up on this fear and be less inclined to vote for Democratic candidates.
"Voters are seeing us as losers," Finney lamented.
The former Clinton campaign official made the remarks while discussing new polling showing that President Biden is trailing former President Trump in multiple states crucial for winning the presidency in November.
She first noted how this election cycle was going to be a challenge, no matter what, saying, "Look, it was always going to be a tough map for Democrats."
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Gabriel Hays.
Former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines (L) testifies during a House Oversight Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services hearing on Capitol Hill December 5, 2023 in Washington, DC. The hearing focused on the Biden administration's proposed rule changes to Title IX to redefine the definition of sexual discrimination to include gender identity. (Getty Images)
Former NCAA athlete and "OutKick" contributor Riley Gaines will join a Tennessee representative at a Republican National Convention (RNC) luncheon, Fox News Digital has learned.
Rep. John Rose, R-Tenn., is hosting a luncheon for the Tennessee delegation on Thursday, where Gaines, a constituent in his district, will be in attendance as a special guest. Rose is rumored to be considering launching a bid for the Tennessee gubernatorial race in 2026.
Gaines first rose to prominence after sharing her story of being forced to compete against and eventually tying with biological male Lia Thomas in the women's NCAA 500-yard freestyle in 2022. The swimmer, host of "Gaines for Girls," quickly became an activist for speaking out against biological males participating in women's sports.
Gaines is one of many prominent political figures being featured at the 4-day major Republican event, where former President Donald Trump and running mate Sen. JD Vance of Ohio were officially named the 2024 GOP ticket.
President Biden has declared in an interview this week that his mental acuity is "pretty damn good" — despite numerous recent polls showing majorities of Americans thinking otherwise and raising concerns about his age.
"I’ve been doing this a long time. The idea I’m the old guy, I am. I’m old. But I’m only three years older than Trump, number one," Biden told NBC News. "And number two, my mental acuity’s been pretty damn good. I’ve gotten more done than any president has in a long, long time in 3½ years. So I’m willing to be judged on that."
"I understand. I understand why people say, 'God, he’s 81 years old. Whoa," Biden added. "What’s he gonna be when he’s 83 years old, or 84 years?' It’s a legitimate question to ask."
But a new national poll released this week by NBC News, which surveyed 800 registered voters between July 7-9, found that nearly 80% are concerned about Biden "not having the necessary mental and physical health to be a president for a second term."
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Greg Norman.
Jim Jordan and former President Trump
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, hasn't given much thought to who might replace Sen. JD Vance in the upper chamber if former President Trump wins.
The Ohio Republican told Fox News' Jamie Vera he hasn't thought about who should replace Vance if the Republican ticket defeats Democrats. "I'm focused on winning on November 5," Jordan said.
Jordan, an elected member of Congress representing Ohio, could be in consideration to take on the role if needed.
Gov. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, would be charged with appointing a replacement if JD Vance becomes vice president. Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who is also an Ohio resident, has said he'd be open to considering it if he was offered the Senate seat.
Jordan also said he expects a great speech from Vance on Wednesday night. "Just watch him...he's been phenomenal. And he's not afraid to go up against the lefties on...the mainstream media...and he does a great job every single time," he said.
Fox News' Jamie Vera contributed to this post.
1. Nikki Haley wins over the crowd
Former Ambassador and presidential contender Nikki Haley received a standing ovation at her main stage appearance from former President Trump – a signal of a desire for unity after bitter words were exchanged between the two on the campaign trail.
2. Ron DeSantis says America can’t afford another ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ presidency
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who also ran against Trump in the primary, got in a good dig against President Biden, telling the cheering crowd that the country "cannot afford four more years of a ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ presidency."
3. Mom whose son died of a drug overdose drew tears from the crowd
Anne Fundner, who lost her 15-year-old son to fentanyl poisoning, brought the crowd at the RNC to tears Tuesday night with her remarks focused on the importance of securing the border and stopping the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.
4. Brother of Morin family's somber reminder of the costs of illegal immigration
The family of a mother of five who was murdered, allegedly by an illegal immigrant, took aim at the Biden administration for having "opened our borders" to the man accused of killing her.
5. Baby Dog's predictions
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice brought special guest "Babydog" along with him for his address at the GOP convention. It was a move that erupted on social media as political onlookers rejoiced over the appearance of the English bulldog.
Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina, speaks during the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, on Tuesday, July 16, 2024. (Getty Images)
President Biden’s campaign argues that former President Trump’s final challenger in the GOP presidential primaries “lost her way” in endorsing Trump in a speech from Republican National Convention.
Former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who ended her White House bid over four months ago, said in her address to the convention on Tuesday night, “I’ll start by making one thing perfectly clear: Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period."
Biden principal deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks, reacting to Haley’s comments, told reporters Wednesday morning that “last night Nikki Haley lost her way” and charged that she “spewed MAGA extremist talking points.”
“It’s no surprise what Nikki Haley did last night. This is politics,” Fulks added.
Haley, who wasn’t originally invited to speak at the convention, was added in a show of GOP unity following Saturday’s assassination attempt against Trump at his rally in western Pennsylvania.
Haley and Trump waged a bitter two-candidate race from late January into early March before he swept the coast-to-coast Super Tuesday contests, which led to her suspension of her campaign. But Haley remained on the ballot in the ensuing primaries and continued to win up to 20% of the vote in a number of contests.
The Biden campaign is now making a pitch to disgruntled moderate and centrist Republicans who voted for Haley in the primaries.
Fulks argued that Haley supporters, "while they were voting for her in the primary, it’s more important to point out what they were voting against. They were voting against Donald Trump and an extreme MAGA agenda.”
‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ co-host Pete Hegseth toured Husco headquarters in Wisconsin to discuss some of the challenges that American manufacturers are currently facing.
"Our goal is for us to be able to grow regardless of if consumers want EVs or internal combustion engines," Husco CEO Austin Ramirez told Fox News. "We want to have a foot in both markets."
"The biggest challenge is when the government gets involved and they're subsidizing certain technologies like EVs that customers maybe aren't ready to buy and that creates some real hurdles," Ramirez said.
The Husco CEO previously testified in front of congress about the importance of the 2017 Trump-era tax cuts.
"Taxes are a huge part of it. We've got to have competitive taxes. In the US, we've got the most regressive tax regime in the world," he said, adding that the Trump-era tax cuts were "absolutely" beneficial to his business.
Republican National Committee Co-Chair Lara Trump speaks on Day 2 of the Republican National Convention (RNC), at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S., July 16, 2024. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)
On Day 3 of the Republican National Convention (RNC), attendees will hear from a wide-range of speakers, including members of Congress, Trump family members, and the vice presidential nominee, Ohio Sen. JD Vance. They include:
Rep. Brian Mast of Florida
Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina
Rep. Ronny Jackson of Texas
Ric Grenell, Former Acting Director of National Intelligence
Former Congressman Lee Zeldin
Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida
Callista Gingrich, former Ambassador to the Holy See
Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House of Representatives
Peter Navarro, former Director of the U.S. Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy
Rep. Monica De La Cruz R-Texas
Thomas Homan, former Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement
David Lara, business owner and community activist
Jim Chilton, fifth generation rancher from Arivaca, Arizona
Sarah Philips, petroleum engineer
Mayor Trent Conway of East Palestine, Ohio
Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota
Kellyanne Conway, former Counselor to the President
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida
Staff Sergeant David Bellavia Ret., Medal of Honor recipient
Scott Neil, Decorated War Hero & Founder, Horse Soldier Bourbon
Kimberly Guilfoyle, fiancée of Donald Trump Jr., TV news personality
Rep. Michael Waltz of Florida
Alicia Lopez and Herman Lopez, Cheryl Jules and Christy Shamblin. Gold Star Families
Performance: Brian Kelley, Country Music Artist, and the Holy Redeemer Church of God in Christ Choir. UNC Frat Boys
Shabbos Kestenbaum, Jewish American & Alumnus, Harvard University
Neutra Family, the family of Hamas a hostage are expected to speak about their son Omer who was kidnapped on October 7th and has been held as a hostage for 278 days now
Sergeant William Pekrul, Decorated War Hero, World War II and D-Day Veteran
Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. and his daughter Kai Trump
Usha Chilukuri Vance, wife of vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, will take the stage to introduce her husband.
Vance will deliver a speech Wednesday night to close the night, his first address to voters since being selected as Trump's running mate.
Former GOP candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis joined Republicans in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at the second day of the 2024 Republican National Convention.
The former Donald Trump competitor spoke to attendees and appealed to viewers in favor of the former president and ripped apart the Biden Administration for failures within the last four years.
"My fellow Republicans, let's send Joe Biden back to his basement and let's send Donald Trump back to the White House," DeSantis implored.
"Life was more affordable when Donald Trump was president. Our border was safer under the Trump Administration and our country was respected when Donald Trump was our Commander in Chief," he stated.Since Biden took office, Russia invaded Ukraine and Hamas, a terrorist organization, invaded Israel beginning with a terror attack on innocent civilians attending an outdoor concert on Oct. 7, 2023.
"Joe Biden has failed this nation," DeSantis went on. "As a veteran, I was appalled when 13 of our servicemembers were killed in Afghanistan due to Joe Biden's dereliction of duty."
On Aug. 26, 2021, 13 US servicemembers were killed outside of Hamid Karzai International Airport and Biden has since been heavily scrutinized for the withdrawal which killed American soldiers.
"As a citizen, as a husband and as a father, I am alarmed that the current President of the United States lacks the capability to discharge the duties of his office," DeSantis said.
"Our enemies do not confine their designs to between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. We need a Commander in Chief who can lead 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. America cannot afford four more years of a 'Weekend at Bernie's' presidency," he said before the crowd rang out in applause.
A new poll released on Wednesday found that 65% of Democrats say President Biden should drop out following his disastrous debate performance against former President Trump.
The AP-NORC survey – which was conducted July 11-15, mostly completed before the attempted assassination of Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania over the weekend – found that 7 in 10 adults, including 65% of Democrats, say Biden should withdraw and allow his party to select a different nominee.
Overall, 57% of adults say Trump should withdraw from the race and allow his party to name a replacement. But Trump is maintaining support from his party, with 73% of Republicans saying he should stay in the race.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This is an excerpt of an article by Fox News Digital's Danielle Wallace.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said that he would allow Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to finish his term at the helm of the central bank if he wins the November election.
"I would let him serve it out, especially if I thought he was doing the right thing," Trump said, according to a Bloomberg News interview that took place in June.
Powell's term as chair ends in May 2026, while his position on the Fed board continues until 2028.
Trump also warned that the Fed should not cut interest rates before the November election, which could give the economy – and President Biden – a lift. Wall Street widely expects the Fed to cut interest rates twice by the end of the year, with the first reduction coming in September.
"It's something that they know they shouldn't be doing," Trump said.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox Business' Megan Henney.
JD Vance
President Biden's campaign slammed former President Trump and his vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance as "Anti-choice" on Wednesday.
During a press call amid the Republican National Convention, Biden's campaign and the Democratic National Committee went after the newly-selected Trump running mate specifically.
"JD Vance is an anti-choice politician whose views on reproductive freedom and women's rights would take us back decades," claimed Biden campaign principal deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks. "He supports a nationwide ban on abortion and criticizes exceptions for rape, incest survivors, saying 'two wrongs don't make a right.'"
"In fact, he called rape and incest 'inconvenient.' And he wants women to stay in violent marriages," he added.
Trump named Vance as his vice presidential choice in a post on Truth Social on Monday as the RNC was kicking off in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Former US President Donald Trump, center, during the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, on Monday, July 15, 2024. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Former President Donald Trump is narrowly leading President Joe Biden, according to a new poll.
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted in the days after Trump was shot in the ear during a campaign rally Saturday, found that the former president leads Biden by two percentage points in a general election matchup, 43% to 41%.
The poll, released Tuesday, also found that the majority of registered voters are concerned over "chaos" in America. About 80% of registered voters said they believe that "the country is spiraling out of the control" after the assassination attempt on Trump.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online with a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points.
The survey was released on the second day of the Republican National Convention (RNC), where Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, were officially nominated as the GOP's candidates for 2024 election.
(Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Usha Vance, the wife of vice presidential candidate JD Vance, is expected introduce her husband on the main stage tonight at in Milwaukee before his primetime speech on day 3 of the Republican National Convention, Donald Trump, Jr. told CBS News.
It will be his first address since Trump announced Vance as his choice of running mate on Monday.
Usha Vance, née Chilukuri, born in 1986, was raised in San Diego, California, and attended Yale Law School, where she met the future Ohio senator, according to a report from the New York Times."We were friends, and I liked that he was very diligent," she told NBC News about how she met her husband in a 2017 interview.
"He would show up at 9 a.m. appointments that I would set up for us to start working on the brief together."
"The thing that I remember most about Usha is just how completely forward and comfortable with herself she was," the Ohio senator said of his wife during the interview. "(She was) so defensive about the things that she really cared about."
Fox News Digital Michael Lee contributed to this report.
Donald Trump Jr., discussed the process for his father making a running mate selection on Fox News, explaining the importance of chemistry.
"I think he has to find the right mix, the right chemistry. I mean, he's a big, sort of, chemistry guy to work with," former President Trump's son said.
"There's a lot of people, obviously, in politics, many on people's payrolls that sort of give, let's call it partial advice about things," he explained. "Or they, you know, tell you these sort of lies by omission to get what they want."
Trump Jr., said this prompted him to get "fairly involved" in the selection process.
Talking about Trump's ultimate choice of Sen. JD Vance, he said, "I've known the guy now for years."
He said he first thought Vance's story was incredible when his memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, came out in 2016.
Trump Jr., called Vance, "just the perfect pick."
"There is a chemistry with my father that I think is perfect," he added.
Fox News' Pete Hegseth asked voters how they feel about JD Vance being the vice presidential candidate during a 'Breakfast with Friends' in Delafield, Wisconsin.
When asked about Vance as a candidate, everyone in the room cheered and clapped.
A man named Jeff told Fox News that Trump choosing Vance as his running mate was "possibly the best pick he could have ever made."
"Smart, articulate, military man, self-made, from Ohio, swing state. It could not have been better. Young, energetic. What more do you want? Compare that to what else ie being offered," he said.
"He's amazing. He's a millennial, he's not bad on the eyes," another woman told Fox. "And he's going to make our country great with President Trump, I know it."
"I think he's gonna do well," one voter said.
Another woman told Hegseth that they "think its a great choice. I just saw his movie the other night and I really enjoyed the history of where he came from."
Trump's pick for Vice President, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) arrives on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 15, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Delegates, politicians, and the Republican faithful are in Milwaukee for the annual convention, concluding with former President Donald Trump accepting his party's presidential nomination. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance will focus heavily on his "powerful upbringing" during a speech at the Republican National Convention (RNC), sources tell Fox News.
Vance will be introducing himself to the nation for the first time as Trump's running mate Wednesday night, a crucial speech that could set the stage for the rest of his campaign.
The address will focus on his story as "a boy who grew up in poverty, with no father in his life, and a drug-addicted mother," a source with knowledge of the speech tells Fox.
A source in Vance's political orbit also told Fox News to "expect the speech to focus heavily on his bio and incredible life story and how that ties into the America First Agenda."
A source close to the Republican senator also said he will highlight his passion for a variety of issues, including "trade, immigration, ending endless wars, fentanyl and drugs, and how inflation hurts the poor the most."
Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this post.
The attempted assassination of President Trump shocked Americans on both sides of the aisle, with many seeing the close call as a time to reflect on the state of the nation and turn down the temperature of political rhetoric.
Fox News Digital spoke to Americans in New York City, Detroit, Washington, D.C., and Milwaukee, about their reaction to what happened, the way Trump handled the moment while under fire and their predictions about what the failed assassination means for the country.
Tom in Milwaukee told Fox News Digital that it is "really, really a sad thing" that the country has gotten to the point where somebody has to take a shot at the former president" and while he said he won't be voting for Trump in November, he was sorry to see it happen and would keep the former president in his prayers.
"I hope that the Republicans have a great convention here," he said of the Republican National Convention taking place in Milwaukee this week. He also noted Trump had indicated he would be taking a softer tone in his political rhetoric, "which we should all follow."
John from Milwaukee also described the weekend's assassination attempt by 20-year-old Pennsylvania native Thomas Matthew Crooks as a sad moment where violence came to fruition based on the way Trump has been discussed since 2015.
"A lot of the rhetoric that has been pushed out there and some people are reacting to it," he said. "It is not surprising, but it is a sad moment."
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Kendall Tietz, Nikolas Lanum, Amanda Cappelli, Joshua Q. Nelson, Kira Mautone, and Gabriel Hays.
A Trump campaign spokeswoman previewed newly-selected vice presidential nominee JD Vance's remarks at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday.
"Well, President Trump is the great American fighter. That's what I call him. ... And he has selected a fellow fighter in choosing JD Vance as his vice presidential nominee," said Caroline Sunshine, former President Trump 2024 campaign deputy communications director, on Fox News.
"JD Vance, obviously an extraordinary American with an incredible life story," she said.
Sunshine explained that Trump has always considered himself a fighter for "the forgotten men and women of America."
"JD Vance is from one of those communities," she pointed out. "He's from the Forgotten Men and Women of America. He understands some of the unique suffering that takes place in those communities viscerally."
She also noted Vance's past service in the Marines. "He, of course, answered the call to service after our country was attacked on 9/11, joining the Marine Corps. Once a marine, always a marine."
The campaign spokeswoman additionally stressed that while Vance has made comments in the past against Trump, he is a "convert" not a critic.
Rep. John James, R-Mich., responded Tuesday to "Late Show" host Stephen Colbert's joke mocking a line in his speech at the Republican National Convention.
While delivering a monologue about the RNC, the late-night comedian commented on James’ primetime address Monday night, showing a brief portion.
"America’s the greatest idea there’s ever been," James exclaimed in the clip."Greatest idea? Someone obviously hasn’t tried the Taco Bell Big Cheez-It Crunch Wrap Supreme. That’s a good idea," Colbert joked.
On Tuesday night, James responded by posting a video of himself trying a Taco Bell Big Cheez-It Crunch Wrap Supreme for the first time outside a local Taco Bell.
"Touché @StephenAtHome," James wrote. "Tried it... wouldn't go to war for it."
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Lindsay Kornick.
Vice President Kamala Harris said in a newly released video that former President Trump selected Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, as his running mate to be a "rubber stamp" for the Republican White House hopeful's "extreme agenda."
This comes ahead of Vance's acceptance speech on Wednesday at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Trump, now formally the Republican nominee for president, announced Vance as his pick for vice president on Monday.
"Trump looked for someone he knew would be a rubber stamp for his extreme agenda," Harris said in the video.
"Make no mistake: JD Vance will be loyal only to Trump, not to our country," she continued.
Harris and Vance spoke by phone after Vance's nomination in a brief and respectful conversation, Fox News' Alexis McAdams reports, after Harris left a congratulatory voicemail.
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital's Landon Mion.
Kip Tom, who is with Famers and Ranchers for Trump, joined 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss the upcoming farm fair at the Republican National Convention (RNC) and recall the "surreal" moment Trump was shot in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Tom was present at the campaign rally where Trump survived an assassination attempt, telling Fox News he is "still processing" the tragic events of that day.
Tom added that "we need to work hard to make sure we make agriculture great again."
"We want to continue to promote that food security is national security, yet under the Biden-Harris administration we continue to offshore many of our critical elements that we use to produce food, fiber, and energy to places like China, Russia, Belarus. We are weakening our own food security in our nation," Tom said. "At the same time we need to reinvest in infrastructure in our nation and make sure that our bioeconomy and our contributions to exports continue to grow."
Asked about Trump and running mate Sen. JD Vance, Tom told Fox that "it'll be great to have a president and vice president that are focused on agriculture and our food system."
President Biden reportedly lashed out at fellow Democrats on a group call Saturday, insisting that questions about his viability for a second term were ridiculous.
The president allegedly exploded on Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado during the call after Crow said "without a major change, we are facing a loss in November," according to NBC News.
"First of all, I think you're dead wrong on national security," Biden told Crow, according to a report from Puck News. "You saw what happened recently in terms of the meeting we had with NATO. I put NATO together. Name me a foreign leader who thinks I'm not the most effective leader in the world on foreign policy."
"Tell me!" Biden insisted during the outburst, according to the report. "Tell me who the hell that is! Tell me who put NATO back together! Tell me who enlarged NATO, tell me who did the Pacific basin."
Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, was thrust into the national spotlight this week after former President Donald Trump officially tapped him to be his running mate ahead of the November election.
Vance, 39, grew up in poverty in rural Ohio and went on to attend Yale Law School before he worked as a venture capitalist in San Francisco – a rags-to-riches story that he chronicled in his 2016 memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy."
Just a few years later, Vance used some of his Silicon Valley connections from his venture capital days – including right-leaning billionaire Peter Thiel – to make a foray into national politics.
Vance was elected to the Senate in 2022, with the help of more than $10 million in donations from Thiel. Since then, he has cultivated an identity on Capitol Hill as a staunch ally of Trump and has embraced many of the former president's populist economic policies.
Babydog is seen at the RNC
Babydog is one of three canines owned by Justice and his family. They also have two Boston terriers named Lucy and Ellie, according to the governor's campaign website for his U.S. Senate bid in November.
Babydog is an English Bulldog. Like most bulldogs, Babydog is white and tan and brown, with stubby legs and an abundance of folds around her face.
The friendly canine is four years old, but will be five in late October.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Justice made Babydog a mascot for his vaccination sweepstakes. A website was even set up to encourage vaccinations for coronavirus, titled "DoItForBabydog.wv.gov."
According to the West Virginia governor's official website, "Whether it be special appearances on the biggest of stages, like the Governor’s State of the State address, or simply meeting people and shaking paws in her travels, Babydog always makes everyone smile everywhere that she and the Governor go."
Gov. Doug Burgum, R-N.D., described the atmosphere of the Republican National Convention after the assassination attempt in an interview with Fox News' Jesse Watters.
"Monday night was unbelievable. Just 48 hours after we were a millisecond away from this week being in chaos and mourning, we had the president walk in here as the pinnacle of strength," he said.
According to Burgum, "you can feel that energy when President Trump walks in here."
"He transferred into everybody here. And I think he's transferred that energy to America," he added.
The governor also previewed what he expects from Trump's RNC remarks to Watters. "His message has always been powerful," he claimed. "But when he came out earlier this week and said he's tearing up a speech, he's going to talk about unifying America, I think America is so ready for that."
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice spoke during the second night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and his companion, a Bulldog named Babydog Justice, appeared on stage alongside him.
RNC attendees went wild for the dog and his political owner as they walked the convention floor together.Babydog, who often appears on Justice's social media accounts supporting and promoting his agenda, patiently waited on stage for Justice. She panned the scene from left to right with a big smile as she hung back awaiting his speech's conclusion.
Babydog's summer bucket list includes attending a campaign event, eating chicken nuggets, meeting new voters, traveling the Great State of West Virginia, taking car rides and earning constituents' votes, according to Justice's Instagram account.
In January, Babydog accompanied his owner as he filed the paperwork to guarantee former President Donald Trump will appear on the ballot in the Mountain State come November.
Let's Win for America Action co-chair Janelle King joined 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss the reaction to Nikki Haley's Republican National Convention (RNC) speech and why she believes Biden could still be ousted ahead of November.
"I thought Nikki Haley did exactly what she was supposed to do. Im not surprised whatsoever at the reaction as it relates to her going out there and giving Donald Trump a full endorsement," King told Fox.
"I think that president trump has a unique opportunity right now. Unfortunately it came a result of him almost risking his life, almost losing his life i should say," King said. "He has a unique opportunity to message to the people to pivot a little bit and to create this uniting force. this is an opportunity for the Republican party to stand in the gap, to show America that we understand what is going on."
King added that she believes Haley "did the best she could do" to unite her supporters for Trump during her speech at the RNC.
Former President Trump’s allies are looking at his selection of Sen. JD Vance as a key appeal to Midwestern voters – and some New York Republican lawmakers are hopeful it’ll give the GOP a boost in their own state as well.
House GOP lawmakers representing the Democratic stronghold state held a media event on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention (RNC) on Tuesday, a day after Trump named Vance as his running mate in the November election.
Reps. Nicole Malliotakis and Mike Lawler both pointed to Vance’s pro-union stances, which line up with policies that have won support in their districts as well.
Malliotakis pointed out that Teamsters Union President Sean O’Brien, who spoke at the RNC on Monday night, gave shoutouts to a handful of Republican lawmakers including herself, Vance and Lawler "as people who have been working with labor."
MILWAUKEE – Former President Donald Trump and the Republican Party continue defeating attacks thrown at them by the Democratic Party as the election season comes down to its final months, Wyoming's secretary of state told Fox News Digital from the Republican National Convention.
Democrats during the "last 110 days of this election [will] do everything they can to try to blunt our momentum. I think they're going to fail at that, because the American people see the record of this Biden administration and that it is just opposed to everything that the American people value," Republican Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
Gray is attending the RNC, where he is chairing the Cowboy State's delegation. Months before Trump officially became the GOP's nominee for president on Monday, Gray was battling Democrats on the legal frontlines as they worked to prevent the 45th president from even appearing on election ballots.
Gray said that despite repeated efforts by Democrats to tie Trump up in court cases, and efforts to prevent his name from appearing on the ballot, and the overall "weaponization" of government against conservatives, the GOP and former president have come out victorious.
Fox News' Brooke Singman spoke with a source close to Ohio Sen. JD Vance, former President Donald Trump's vice presidential pick, and informed Fox News Digital of the exclusive conversation.
"Senator JD Vance just hung up the phone with Vice President Kamala Harris," she said. "It's their first conversation since he was picked as President Trump's running mate. The two had a brief and respectful conversation, the source told me. The two said they're both looking forward to debating."
While there is no date set for a Vance versus Harris debate, the Republican duo will hold an indoor rally one week following the assassination attempt on Trump.
The rally on July 20 will be in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which is located around six hours from Butler, Pennsylvania, where a gunman opened fire on the former president and shot him in the ear.
Vance earned the vice presidential nomination Monday night, the first night of the 2024 Republican National Convention.
MILWAUKEE – Former New York Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin said he's "tired" of seeing Republicans verbally and physically attacked, arguing that anti-Trump and anti-GOP rhetoric has reached new highs across the years.
"The rhetoric has gotten so bad between, yes, the bullseye comment, remember Dan Goldman making a comment about how President Trump needs to be eliminated. Bennie Thompson wants to take away Secret Service protection. One of [Thompson's] aides was just complaining that the shooter Saturday evening had missed President Trump. I'm tired of seeing Republicans attacked like this," Zeldin told Fox News Digital during the Republican National Convention on Tuesday.
Zeldin was responding to President Biden backtracking on his comment earlier this month that "it’s time to put Trump in a bullseye," saying the remark was a "mistake" after a 20-year-old man in Pennsylvania attempted to assassinate Trump during a rally on Saturday evening.
Zeldin reflected that verbal and physical attacks against Republicans have been ongoing and heightening for years before a shooter tried to kill the 45th president.
FIRST ON FOX: President Trump is showing "real leadership" to "not just America, but the world" following the attempt on his life over the weekend — drawing a stark contrast between himself and President Biden, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said.
McCarthy spoke with Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention, nothing that while JD Vance is a strong pick for vice president, this election is "all about Trump and he is stronger than he has ever been."
"Seeing President Trump, talking to him the day after the shooting, I mean, it is unbelievable that he is alive," McCarthy said. "I think just in that sheer moment he taught, not just America, but the world, that he is a real leader."
McCarthy told Fox News Digital that in the past several days following the assassination attempt against Trump, he has spoken with numerous world leaders who have called to check in on the former president.
The widow of the volunteer firefighter who was shot and killed over the weekend at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania says the former president called her and was "very kind," a report says.
Helen Comperatore wrote on Facebook that Trump phoned her on Tuesday, three days after her husband Corey was struck with gunfire while trying to protect his family during the campaign event in Butler, according to the New York Post.
"He was very kind and said he would continue to call me in the days and weeks ahead," the widow reportedly wrote. "I told him the same thing I told everyone else. He left this world a hero and God welcomed him in. He did not die in vain that day."
Helen Comperatore told the New York Post on Monday that her husband’s final words were "get down!"
"He’s my hero," Helen Comperatore said to the newspaper from her home in Sarver, Pennsylvania. "He just said, ‘get down!’ That was the last thing he said."
"Me and the kids were all there as a family," she added. "He was just excited. It was going to be a nice day with the family.
Corey Comperatore, 50, was the former fire chief for the Buffalo Township Volunteer Fire Company. The department now has a memorial set up outside its firehouse featuring Comperatore’s uniform to honor who they described as a "brother, son, husband, father and friend."
This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News' Greg Norman
The 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution establishes the line of succession in regard to the president, the vice president, and the president’s cabinet. Ratified two years after President John Fitzpatrick Kennedy’s assassination, the 25th Amendment contains four sections.
Section 1 establishes that the vice president assumes command should the president be removed from office, dies, or resigns. Section 2 establishes that the president may appoint a vice president should the office become vacant. Section 3 declares that the president may temporarily grant the powers of the presidency to the vice president in anticipation of temporary incapacitation, like an upcoming medical procedure. Section 4 declares that the president may be deposed by the vice president and a majority of the cabinet should the president be unfit to complete the duties of office.
Section 4 has never been formally discussed or proposed, but there are several instances when it has reportedly been considered. During the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, there were reportedly talks of removing former President Donald Trump via the 25th Amendment. Additionally, after President Biden’s 2024 debate performance raised concerns over his mental capacity, talks of removing him via the 25th Amendment have grown in the popular discourse.
MILWAUKEE, WI - The spotlight will shine firmly on GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance on day three of the Republican National Convention.
Vance on Wednesday night will address the roughly 2,400 delegates and thousands of other attendees packed inside Milwaukee's Fiserv Arena, and the millions of Americans watching the GOP convention from home, in his first speech since former President Trump on Monday named the 39-year-old senator from Ohio as his running mate.
"This is clearly the most important speech of JD Vance's career," Dan Eberhart, an oil drilling chief executive officer and a prominent Republican donor and bundler who's attending the convention, told Fox News.
Trump, in making his greatly anticipated and high-stakes running mate announcement as the GOP convention kicked off in swing-state Wisconsin's largest city, will now share the ticket with one of his top supporters in the Senate and a one-time Trump critic who has transformed into a leading America First ally.
The former president and Vance teamed up on Monday and Tuesday nights in the family box above the floor of the GOP convention.
Vance, a former venture capitalist and the author of the bestselling memoir "Hillbilly Elegy" before running for elective office, on Wednesday night will appear on the podium to tell his story.
A source in Vance's political orbit told Fox News to "expect the speech to focus heavily on his bio and incredible life story and how that ties into the America First Agenda."
That story began with Vance growing up in a working-class family in a small city in southwestern Ohio. His parents divorced when he was young, and as his mother struggled for years with drug and alcohol abuse, Vance was raised in part by his maternal grandparents.
Vance, who lives in Cincinnati, moved to San Francisco after law school and worked as a principal in a venture capital firm owned by billionaire venture capitalist Peter Thiel, who later became a major financial supporter of Vance's successful 2022 campaign for the Senate.
This is an excerpt of an article by Fox News' Paul Steinhauser
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) will be held in Chicago from Aug. 19 through Aug. 22, just one month after next week's Republican National Convention.
Should President Biden remain in the race despite calls for him to step aside, he will likely accept the party nomination on Aug. 22, the final day of the convention.
Biden has vowed to remain in the race, but if he changes his mind, the party could decide to hold an open convention, which hasn't been done since 1968 following then-President Lyndon Johnson's decision to withdraw from the race.
An open convention would likely involve the party's delegates voting in rounds to select a new nominee, and could lead to a divide among party members or potential nominees seeking to take on former President Donald Trump in the November general election.
Experts largely believe Biden would retain enough delegates to remain the nominee if he decides not to withdraw from the race.
Throughout American history, political party conventions have become increasingly ceremonial formalities.
For the majority of primary elections, a winner is established well before the convention date, and therefore the party’s nominee for president is determined after the first round of voting. However, if a candidate does not receive a majority of primary votes during the primary elections, a candidate must be selected at an “open convention” by achieving a majority of delegate votes. While a handful of presidential candidates have been selected at open conventions, there has yet to be a true multi-round convention fight.
The last Democratic open convention was in 1984 when Walter Mondale was 40 votes short of a majority. However, there was little speculation of a contest as Gary Hart, Mondale’s chief rival, was backing Mondale in hopes of securing the vice presidential nomination.
The last Republican open convention was in 1976 between President Gerald Ford and California Gov. Ronald Reagan. Ford was backed by centrists and liberal Republicans from the northeast, whereas Reagan was backed by a coalition of western and southern conservatives, most notably, “Reagan’s Raiders” from the Texas delegation. While close, Ford ultimately won on the first ballot.
Dana Perino spoke with Fox News Digital on watching in-person as former President Donald Trump made his first public appearance since a gunman opened fire at a campaign event and attempted to assassinate him.
"There are few experiences in your life where you can feel the electricity coming from your toes all the way to the top of your head," she said. "The feeling of the charisma and the energy and the good will towards President Trump that the people in this room felt, and when he popped up on the jumbotron, which is just behind me, and you saw him for the first time, with a red tie and with a bandage on his ear, I think everybody in this room was like wow, look at that."
Perino added that it was just around 52 hours from when he had been shot and the crowd was chanting, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" as Trump said immediately following the attack on his life.
"It was pretty emotional," she said. "I think he was even emotional just taking in the moment. He had an expression of gratitude for all the people that were here. I think he also realizes he was this close to not being here. If he hadn't moved his head like that, he might not have been here."
Perino called it "a remarkable night" and said that she was moved by the evening.
Bonnie Cash/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Despite a rising chorus of calls from within the Democratic Party, President Biden has repeatedly said he's not dropping out of his 2024 election rematch with former President Trump.
But if Biden changes his mind and ends his bid amid serious questions over his mental fitness following his disastrous debate last month with Trump, the spotlight would instantly focus on the piles of cash the president's campaign has raised.
Since the launch of the re-election campaign over a year ago, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have hauled in hundreds of millions of dollars for their campaign and various fundraising committees that have split funds between Team Biden-Harris, the Democratic National Committee, and nearly every state Democratic Party across the country.
All of those groups combined had around $240 million cash on hand as of the end of June. The Biden campaign alone said it had over $90 million in its coffers at the end of May.
If the president drops out, the campaign funds could only stay with the campaign if Harris becomes the nominee.
But if someone else became the party's presidential nominee, the money would have to be refunded to donors.
Another option if Biden ends his bid and the vice president doesn't become the Democratic Party standard-bearer - the millions of dollars currently in the campaign coffers could be transferred to a federal super PAC, which could use the cash to pay for ads on behalf of the new Democratic national ticket.
But there is a drawback, as super PACs by law are forced to pay higher rates for ad time.
Former President Trump's pick to serve as his running mate on the Republican ticket this year, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, has been a staunch critic of the Biden administration's student loan handout as part of the White House's repeated efforts to cancel borrowers' debt.
President Biden campaigned on forgiving student loan debt derived from undergraduate tuition at two- and four-year public universities for borrowers earning up to $125,000 a year. His administration developed the handout plan in the first year and a half of his time in office, and he announced in August 2022 that he would move to cancel $10,000 per borrower and $20,000 for Pell Grant recipients.
Biden's plan encountered stiff resistance from Republicans, with several states filing legal challenges and Vance joining the ranks of its vocal opponents in his 2022 U.S. Senate race against Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan in Ohio.
"Forgiving student debt is a massive windfall to the rich, to the college educated, and most of all to the corrupt university administrators of America," Vance wrote in a post on X in April 2022. "No bailouts for a corrupt system. Republicans must fight this with every ounce of our energy and power."
"Thanks to Tim Ryan and Joe Biden, Ohio workers are paying off the loans of Harvard Law students. If this seems unfair and illegal, it's because it is," he added in an X post that August.
After his victory in the 2022 Senate race, Vance cosponsored a bill in the Senate that would have rejected the Biden administration's regulation for implementing the student loan handout using the Congressional Review Act. Although an identical bill passed both the House and Senate, it failed to override President Biden's veto.
The various legal challenges to the Biden administration's proposal eventually led to the handout plan being blocked by the Supreme Court in June 2023. However, the White House has continued its pursuit of a plan that will pass legal muster and has since issued more narrowly tailored proposals.
Vance has also looked to advance other reforms to other aspects of federal student loans, and to that end he sponsored a bill known as Domenic and Ed's Law in May.
This is an excerpt of an article by Fox Business' Eric Revell
Fox News' Brooke Singman gives the lowdown on Ohio Sen. JD Vance, former President Donald Trump's vice presidential pick in the 2024 elections.
Vance, 39, is a first-term senator from Middletown, Ohio. His wife, Usha Vance, née Chilukuri, was raised in San Diego, California, and attended Yale Law School as Vance did. The couple met while at Yale.
"His youth could represent a valuable demographic the GOP is hoping to woo," Singman said. "That's millennials and Gen Z."
Singman adds that Vance is a best selling author of the book "Hillbilly Elegy" which has seen a spike in sales since day one of the 2024 RNC when Trump revealed Vance as his running mate.
The book was turned into a movie produced by Netflix and starred Glenn Close, Amy Adams and Gabriel Basso the American actor who played Vance in the film.
Vance was selected after weeks of speculation as to who the VP pick could be. Doug Burgum, Tim Scott, Marco Rubio and Vivek Ramaswamy, among others, were floated as potential picks.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
While a comprehensive list of the Republican National Committee speakers had not been released by press time, several reports from around the country cited lawmakers and other political figures who were confirmed to be speakers at the Milwaukee forum.
Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., spoke during Tuesday's primetime spot.
The Indiana Capital Chronicle said Banks' prominent appearance is evidence of his rising-star status within the GOP.
The report cited Banks' working-class upbringing as a key aspect of his appearance.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, once an opponent of former President Trump during the campaign, spoke Tuesday during a prominent speaking spot. Another 2024 contender -- former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley -- also spoke in favor of Trump on Tuesday.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., a top Trump ally in the House and chairwoman of the chamber's Republican conference, spoke earlier in the day at the RNC.
Dr. Ben Carson following Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders late Tuesday night before Sen. Marco Rubio took the stage in support of Trump.
Earlier in the day, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice gave a speech with his dog, Babydog, by his side.
Teamsters President Sean O'Brien, whose union is otherwise reliably Democratic, spoke at the RNC on Monday night and UFC President Dana White also has been given time on stage.
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