Vice President Harris spoke to the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in Philadelphia on Tuesday, about a month after former President Trump spoke to the same group and made waves when he questioned Harris’ race.

The event marks Harris’ first solo interview with the national media. It was held at NPR’s Philadelphia station, WHYY, and was moderated by three Black journalists, including Eugene Daniels of Politico Playbook, WHYY’s Tonya Mosely and TheGrio’s Gerren Keith Gaynor. The stop marked Harris’ 13th visit to the Keystone State this year.

During his July interview with the NABJ in Chicago, Trump drummed up a firestorm of criticism when he said, “I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So, I don’t know. Is she Indian or Black?”

Harris was not asked to respond to those remarks from Trump on Tuesday, but she did slam the former president for what the moderators described as racially charged rhetoric about Haitian migrants in a small Ohio town eating people’s pets.

OHIO AG EYES ‘CREATIVE’ PATH TO GET ‘MISHANDLED’ SPRINGFIELD MIGRANT CRISIS IN FRONT OF FEDERAL JUDGE

“It’s harmful, and it’s hateful and grounded in some age-old stuff that we should not have the tolerance for,” Harris said of the rumors being circulated by Trump. “We’ve got to say that you cannot be entrusted with standing behind the seal of the president of the United States of America, engaging in that hateful rhetoric that, as usual, is designed to divide us as a country.”

When asked by one of the moderators if this case of “irredeemable racism” deserved some sort of federal response to help the community heal, Harris sidestepped the question.

Meanwhile, Harris also sidestepped whether she would sign or veto a bill establishing a federal committee to study reparations for the Black community. Harris said she “thinks” a federal reparations commission will be taken up by Congress and, therefore, she won’t need to use her power as president to study the matter at the federal level.

Harris also spoke about the Black vote on Tuesday and took a far different approach than President Biden did in 2020. 

“If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black,” Biden said while campaigning for the presidency in 2020. Harris, however, said Tuesday that she expects to have to “earn” the Black vote, particularly Black men. “I think it’s very important to not operate from the assumption that Black men are in anybody’s pocket.”

MARYLAND GOVERNOR SAYS DEMS MUST EARN SUPPORT OF BLACK VOTERS AS TRUMP SEES SURGE IN POLLS: ‘NOT MONOLITHIC’

Beyond race-focused topics, the interview included remarks from Harris about her economic plan, abortion, support for Israel – which she said has the right to defend itself – and gun control.

“The United Sates of America absolutely has a role” in aiding Israel’s right to self-determination, Harris said during Tuesday’s interview. 

On gun control, Harris was resolute that she and her running mate, Democrat Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are both gun owners – something that came as news to voters during last week’s presidential debate. “We’re not trying to take anybody’s guns away from them, but we do need an assault weapons ban,” she said. Previously, as a presidential candidate in 2019, Harris said she thought a mandatory gun buyback program run by the federal government was “a good idea.” However, Harris’ campaign has said she no longer supports such a program.

Harris added that she does support universal background checks for those seeking to legally obtain a firearm. When one of the moderators pointed out that most handguns are purchased illegally, Harris pointed to the need to eradicate “gun show loophole[s].”

“We need to address each entry point in the issue,” Harris insisted.

KAMALA HARRIS WANTS TO HAVE IT BOTH WAYS ON CRIME. NO WONDER AMERICANS DON’T FEEL SAFE

Later, the moderators turned to the second assassination attempt made on Trump’s life over the weekend. Harris indicated that she spoke to Trump after the close call to check on him.

“I am in this election, in this race, for many reasons, including to fight for our democracy. And in a democracy, there is no place for political violence,” Harris said. “We can and should have healthy debates and discussion and disagreements but not resort to violence to resolve those issues.”

Harris was asked a follow-up question about her confidence in the Secret Service to protect her, with Harris responding in the affirmative.

“Not everybody has Secret Service. And there are far too many people in our country right now who are not feeling safe,” she said. “I mean, I look at Project 2025, and I look at, you know, the Don’t Say Gay laws coming out of Florida. Members of the LGBTQ community don’t feel safe right now, immigrants or people with an immigrant background don’t feel safe right now. Women don’t feel safe right now. And so, yes, I feel safe. I have Secret Service protection, but that doesn’t change my perspective on the importance of fighting for the safety of everybody in our country.”

A Chinese diplomat who has repeatedly praised the Chinese Communist Party is still fulfilling his role as the consul general of China’s New York Consulate despite conflicting narratives from the Biden State Department and New York’s Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul about the diplomat no longer being in his role.

Hochul said during a press conference almost two weeks ago that she supported Huang Ping being expelled from New York after he was referenced dozens of times in an indictment involving one of her former top aides and said that she was “informed” by the State Department that he was “no longer in the New York mission.”

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller contradicted Hochul’s comments hours later, saying the “consul general was not expelled” and that Ping “reached the end of a regularly scheduled rotation in August” and rotated out of the position. However, a Fox News Digital review of Ping’s social media shows that he hasn’t left the position in New York and is still pictured throughout the New York consulate’s website.

“Consul General Huang Ping is performing his duties as usual,” a consulate spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “He will leave his post as planned after completing his term. We strongly oppose any malicious associations, defamation, and smearing of Chinese diplomatic and consular personnel. We call on the media to adhere to journalistic ethics.”

DEM GOVERNOR REVEALS CCP OFFICIAL WITH DEEP TIES TO HER OFFICE ‘NO LONGER’ IN ROLE AMID FORMER AIDE’S ARREST

Ping, who has been the consul general of China’s New York Consulate since 2018 and has repeatedly called the CCP a “great party,” posted photos at the Chinese consulate in New York on his X account Tuesday, saying, “We celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China with nearly 700 Chinese Americans and students, enjoying the traditional Chinese culture and cuisine.”

China expert and author Michael Sobolik, a senior fellow in Indo-Pacific studies at the American Foreign Policy Council, sounded off on the Biden State Department in a statement to Fox News Digital for not punishing Ping and allowing him to stay in his post.

“Huang Ping frequently coordinated with Linda Sun as she sought to advance Beijing’s interests in New York. That activity crosses a line and deserves appropriate retaliation to deter future attempts to influence American public servants,” said Sobolik, who wrote the book “Countering China’s Great Game: A Strategy for American Dominance.”

“The State Department’s hesitancy to decisively punish Huang makes America more vulnerable to Beijing’s malign influence,” he added.

FORMER AIDE TO NEW YORK GOV. HOCHUL, WHO IS ACCUSED OF BEING CHINESE SPY, WENT ON A TOUR OF THE WHITE HOUSE

Hochul’s former deputy chief of staff, Linda Sun, and her husband, Chris Hu, were arrested earlier this month, and Sun was charged “with violating and conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling, and money laundering conspiracy,” according to a Department of Justice press release. 

Fox News Digital previously exposed Ping’s ties to Hochul, but the unsealed indictment shed light on the close working relationship between Sun and Ping.

The unsealed indictment revealed that a speechwriter for then-Lt. Gov. Hochul wanted to mention the “Uyghur situation,” in China for her 2021 Lunar New Year message, but the plight of the minority group being persecuted by the Chinese government was ultimately omitted after Sun overruled the speechwriter. The indictment says Sun revealed to Ping what the speechwriter wanted to include, but insisted that she would not let her boss mention Uyghurs after admitting that she was “starting to lose her temper” with the speechwriter.

HUANG PING, ‘PURVEYOR OF CCP PROPAGANDA,’ JOINS SCHUMER, TOP NEW YORK DEMS AT CHINESE NEW YEAR PARADE

Ping appeared to chalk up the speechwriter’s suggestion as a clueless American who had never visited China and that U.S.-China relations could “sour” because of “people like the speechwriter,” the indictment said, prompting Sun to concur that the speechwriter had never visited China. Ping would go on to post Hochul’s Lunar New Year message days later on his Facebook page, which did not mention Uyghurs.

The indictment also claimed that Sun repeatedly used her government positions in the Cuomo and Hochul administrations to block “representatives of the Taiwanese government” from meeting with high-ranking New York government officials, including Hochul and Cuomo, and would then boast about her actions with Chinese officials, including Ping.

In one instance, she texted a Chinese official in the fall of 2020 to say she “almost had a heart attack when we referred to Taiwan as a country” and let the official know that she “had the press team correct it immediately,” according to the indictment.

These positions are espoused by Ping in a podcast that Fox News Digital previously reported on.

HOUSE GOP PRESSES HOCHUL ON ALLEGED CCP AGENT’S INFLUENCE IN NEW YORK, INCLUDING SECRET CHINESE POLICE STATION

In return for Sun allegedly acting on behalf of the Chinese government in her government roles, the indictment also lists several gifts she and her husband received from Chinese officials, including luxury tickets to concerts and other New York-based events and travel benefits, and Ping gifted Sun’s parents with Nanjing-style salted ducks prepared by his chef. 

The indictment also listed the “facilitation of millions of dollars in transactions for the PRC-based business activities of Sun’s husband,” which the indictment says was used to purchase real estate property in Manhasset, New York, for $3.6 million, a $1.9 million condo in Honolulu, and other luxury purchases, including a 2024 Ferrari.

Ping’s social media post on Tuesday wasn’t the only post he has sent out in New York since Hochul’s press conference and when the indictment was unsealed on Sept. 4. The following day, Ping attended the China Institute’s Blue Cloud Gala at the Plaza Hotel in New York, according to a social media post on Sept. 6, saying, “We need such vision, courage, faith and solidarity for deeper people-to-people ties between our two countries.”

On Sept. 9, Ping posted photos from the 90th birthday party for Dr. James C. Hsiung, who Ping called, “an outstanding scholar and tenured professor of NYU.” The birthday party appeared to be located at the Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel in New York, according to the name of one of the boardrooms.

Fox News Digital has reported extensively on Ping’s relationship with Democratic politicians at the state and local levels in New York and Pennsylvania, two of 10 states that are covered by the consulate’s jurisdiction. In addition to meeting with politicians, he has been a guest at the Empire State Building, New York Stock Exchange, Conde Nast and several universities, including UPenn, Harvard, Tufts and Princeton.

He has also attended several Chinese parades in New York and has been spotted cozying up to New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Sun’s attorney Jarrod Schaeffer previously told Fox News Digital that he and Sun are “troubled by aspects of the government’s investigation.”

“We are disappointed by the filing of these charges, which are inflammatory and appear to be the product of an overly aggressive prosecution,” Schaeffer said. “As we said today in court, our client is eager to exercise her right to a speedy trial and to defend against these accusations in the proper forum — a court of law.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department and Gov. Hochul’s office.

Vice President Kamala Harris declined to say whether she supports a commission to study reparations, despite being behind such legislation in Congress. 

She suggested Congress should take the lead on studying the history of racism and the potential need for reparations, not the White House. 

During a conversation with members of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Tuesday in Philadelphia, the Democratic presidential nominee said when asked whether she would create such a committee: “We just need to speak truth about history. In spite of the fact that some people are trying to erase history and try and teach our children otherwise, we need to speak truth about the generational impact of our history, in terms of the generational impact of slavery, the generational impact of of redlining, of Jim Crow law, I could go on and on.”

“I think Congress ultimately will have the ability to do this work,” Harris said. 

NYC COUNCIL PASSES SLAVERY REPARATIONS LEGISLATION 

Racial justice groups and some Democrats have been pushing President Biden for years to establish a national reparations commission by executive order – so far to no avail.

“We ask with no apologies for an executive order to be in place,” the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, said in December 2022. Her milestone legislative proposal was a bill that would have established a commission to study reparations. “I want for once an acceptance of the history, of the journey that African Americans have taken, to be an accepted reality in America.”

Liberal cities and states have launched their own efforts to give reparations to Black Americans. Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., introduced a proposal last year to pay $14 trillion to compensate for what she believes are racist government policies that created a wealth gap between White and Black people.

Harris, meanwhile, pivoted to her own proposals she believed would boost African Americans. 

“Part of what we can do right now is, for example, what I’m talking about in terms of building an opportunity economy, which is addressing explicitly the obstacles that historically and currently exist, and dealing with them, student loan debt, medical debt, bias and home appraisals. What we need to do in terms of dealing with an issue that I have championed for years, Black maternal mortality, which is the fact that Black women are three to four times more likely to die in connection with childbirth than other women.”

PROTESTS ERUPT AT CALIFORNIA STATE CAPITOL AFTER PAIR OF REPARATIONS BILLS SHELVED

The vice president was also asked about Black men who are considering voting for former President Trump.

“I think it’s very important to not operate from the assumption that Black men are in anybody’s pocket,” Harris responded. 

“Black men are like any other voting group. You gotta earn their vote. So I’m working to earn the vote, not assuming I’m going to have it because I am Black, but because the policies and the perspectives I have understand what we must do to recognize the needs of all communities.”

FIRST ON FOX: Senate Republicans condemned a forthcoming United Nations General Assembly vote that, if successful, would label the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) posture in Gaza and the West Bank as an “unlawful presence” and demand that the country leave the territories within six months. 

“This proposal introduced by the Palestinian delegation, ahead of the United Nations’ General Assembly, is an absolute disgrace that rewards terrorism. It is a clear insult to the Jewish people and anyone who understands history,” Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Vice Chairman Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said in a statement that was signed onto by 28 other Republicans. 

Signers included Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member James Risch, R-Idaho, and Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism Co-Chair James Lankford, R-Okla. 

REPUBLICANS BLOCK DEM-BACKED IVF BILL REVIVED BY CHUCK SCHUMER

A draft of the proposal by the Palestinian Authority reportedly cited the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and its nonbinding opinion issued in July, which declared that Israel’s presence in the Palestinian territories as well as its actions were in violation of international law, per the Associated Press. 

A UN General Assembly vote is expected on the resolution on Wednesday, according to reports. 

GOP DEMANDS TRUMP HAVE ‘SAME LEVEL’ SECRET SERVICE PROTECTION AS BIDEN AFTER 2ND ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

“As we approach the one-year anniversary of the barbaric terrorist attack by Hamas and affiliated Palestinian terrorist groups against innocent Israeli civilians, which involved murder, mutilation, and sexual violence, the international community must unequivocally unite against this evil, one-sided effort to delegitimize Israel,” the Senate GOP statement said.

Oct. 7, 2024 will mark one year since the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel that left about 1,200 dead and hundreds taken to Gaza as hostages. 

TOP SENATE DEMOCRAT ‘ANGRY’ OVER BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN ‘STONEWALLING’ AFTER TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS

Since then, Israeli and Hamas forces have continued to fire on one another, and the former has launched several targeted strikes against targets as well as hostage recovery missions. Attempts by the U.S. and neighboring Middle Eastern countries to facilitate a ceasefire agreement have yet to result in an end to the war. 

“Instead of proposing biased and counter-productive initiatives, which will do nothing to advance a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, the international community must focus its energy and resources on ensuring Hamas and other terrorist groups are completely destroyed,” the GOP statement continued. “We must remain firm to ensure every single hostage held by these terrorists is safely returned to their loved ones.”

DEMS POUR $25M INTO GROUND GAME AS GOP INCHES CLOSER TO SENATE MAJORITY

If the proposal passes the UN General Assembly, which consists of 193 members, it would not be legally binding or have any enforcement mechanism. However, it would reflect global opinion regarding the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. 

There are no vetoes during a General Assembly vote, further differentiating it from one in the 15-member UN Security Council. 

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest political news from Washington, D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. 

Here’s what’s happening…

– New poll indicates who has the edge in key battleground state

– Top House Committee threatens Biden admin over border docs…

– GOP senators demand heightened security over second Trump assassination attempt…

A top Senate Democrat blasted the Biden-Harris administration for “stonewalling” in response to requests for information on the assassination attempts on former President Trump and the potential failures of the U.S. Secret Service. 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) within the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was “almost derelict in its duty by resisting our requests for documents, evidence and information that are necessary to investigate.”

The Democrat reiterated his disappointment in the department, and added that he has become “angry” that DHS has not been more “forthcoming.” …Read more

EQUAL PROTECTION: GOP senators demand heightened security for Trump after 2nd attempt on his life …Read more

‘HORSE IN THE HOUSE’: Woman who once lived next door to Trump suspect Ryan Routh says he was ‘weird’ …Read more

‘PERSONAL VENDETTA’: How investigators are digging into would-be Trump assassin’s motive …Read more

LIFE IN PRISON?: Florida to pursue more charges for Trump assassination attempt suspect …Read more

WHALE OF A TALE: Agency opens investigation into RFK Jr. over alleged beachside butchery …Read more

LOST IN SPACE: Watchdog group sues for NASA emails with ‘Space Czar’ Harris, Boeing as astronauts linger in orbit …Read more

AGGRESSIVE ACTION: Top House committee threatens Biden admin over Harris border docs …Read more

‘MENTALLY DERANGED’: GOP members of Congress accuse liberal PAC of bizarre texting scheme posing as allies …Read more

LONG LIST: Democrats have repeatedly used violent rhetoric against former president: ‘Time to put Trump in a bullseye’ …Read more

CALLING A VOTE: Speaker Johnson moves forward on House measure to stop government shutdown with add-on to prevent non-citizen voting …Read more

DEBATE DUD?: Only fraction of Harris or Trump supporters say debate caused them to reconsider their vote: poll …Read more

DANGLING ENDORSEMENT: Last major union yet to endorse in Harris-Trump showdown nears final decision …Read more

MOST IMPORTANT BATTLEGROUND: New poll indicates whether Harris or Trump has the edge in the most important battleground …Read more

‘FULL-SPEED AHEAD’: Gov Sanders hits campaign trail as top surrogate for Trump in key battleground state …Read more

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH: Obama reportedly looking to bring in young voters for Harris with TikTok appearances …Read more

‘CHOICE IS SIMPLE’: Trump camp tabulates how much Americans will pay if tax cuts expire …Read more

‘FIVE OR SIX’ A WEEK: Haitian influx causing one major safety concern among Springfield residents …Read more

PLUMMETING NUMBERS: Migrant border encounters returning to Trump era levels: CBP …Read more

‘CRAZY IDIOT’: Foreign fighters in Ukraine recall would-be Trump shooter Ryan Routh as a ‘wack job’ with ‘messiah complex’ …Read more

CCP CRACKDOWN: China cracks down on exporting minerals for US weapons …Read more

CALIFORNIA SCHEMING: California GOP pushes back on bill that would give unemployment benefits to illegal immigrants …Read more

GREAT WALZ’S CHINA: Walz pick for state board was reportedly Chinese party member …Read more

ALL ‘HOAXES’: Ohio governor contradicts Dem narrative with revelation about Springfield bomb threats from ‘overseas’ …Read more

Subscribe now to get the Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

The suspect in the second failed Trump assassination attempt, Ryan Routh, may have relied on “poor man’s surveillance” to target the 45th president as he waited about 12 hours outside the golf club before his arrest on Sunday.

Bill Stanton, a former NYPD officer and an executive protection expert, spoke with Fox News Digital on Tuesday regarding security failures surrounding the second attempt on Trump’s life. Authorities have not yet confirmed how Routh knew Trump would be on that golf course Sunday afternoon, with Stanton saying the suspect may have employed a laser focus on Trump — which he called “Forrest Gump focus” in a nod to the classic 1994 movie — and simply Googled Trump’s frequent non-campaign activities to stake out a location.

“If you have someone with like, this Forrest Gump focus… he could have done a journeyman’s research on Google,” Stanton said, and simply searched, “Where does Trump usually go when he’s home in Florida?” before heading to Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach. 

“If I’m that guy, I’m doing that, and then I’m going to do a poor man’s surveillance,” Stanton said, explaining the suspect would keep his eyes peeled for Trump’s caravan to roll up to the course. 

HOUSE DEM LEADER RAILS ‘WE MUST STOP’ MAGA AMID NEWS OF 2ND TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT 

“I’m guessing [Trump] has a lead car. I’m guessing he has his main car and then the chase car. So that’s a little motorcade. That’s at minimum three cars, not to mention the advance car. So that’s about four vehicles right there, and [Routh] could have guessed it,” Stanton said of Routh likely monitoring the club for Trump’s motorcade ahead of the attempt. 

News broke Sunday afternoon that Trump had been safely escorted from the course at his Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach after reports of gunfire in his vicinity. Trump was not injured during what is being investigated as a likely assassination attempt, with the suspect identified as a 58-year-old man from Hawaii, Ryan Wesley Routh. 

Federal authorities on Monday released charging documents related to Routh’s charges stemming from the suspected assassination attempt, and found Routh’s phone was located near the golf club for about 12 hours, beginning at 1:59 a.m. Sunday until approximately 1:31 p.m. that same day. 

“Agents requested T-Mobile, on an emergency basis, to provide law enforcement with information pertaining to Routh’s mobile phone usage. Those records indicated that Routh’s mobile phone was located in the vicinity of the area along the tree line from approximately 1:59 AM until approximately 1:31 PM on September 15,” the charging document reads.

WOULD-BE TRUMP ASSASSIN RYAN ROUTH CAMPED UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS FOR 12 HOURS: COURT DOCS

Routh was arrested shortly after 1:30 p.m. Sunday, after he allegedly pointed an AK-47-style rifle through a chain-link fence towards where Trump was playing golf. U.S. Secret Service protecting the president on the golf course noticed the muzzle of the rifle and fired at the suspect. 

Despite no confirmation from authorities on how Routh knew Trump’s whereabouts, Trump’s love of golf has been well documented across his political career.

TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT SUSPECT LAUGHS, SMILES DURING FIRST COURT APPEARANCE IN FLORIDA

Trump frequently golfs over holidays and on weekends when he is not on the campaign trail. Left-wing media outlets criticized Trump during his presidency for playing rounds of golf, including keeping running tabs on the number of days he spent on the course and comparing the stats to how often former President Barack Obama frequented the green. 

Routh’s location near the golf course was additionally revealed in a New York Post exclusive this week to be a common paparazzi hang out. 

Stanton explained that every person is a creature of habit, but that it’s up to the Secret Service to accommodate Trump’s schedule. 

“It’s not the protected — in this case, former President Trump — to be told what he can and cannot do. It is up to the Secret Service to accommodate the will and travels of President Trump, not the other way around. The tail doesn’t wag the dog. The dog wags the tail,” Stanton, the author of 2019 book “Prepared Not Scared: Your Go-To Guide for Staying Safe in an Unsafe World,” said. 

“We are all creatures of habit, especially when you’re in your home. We think we’re not. The same way Google does predictives, we’re like that in the real world: We go get our coffee. We go to the gym, yada yada yada. Now it’s just a little bit more esoteric with Trump because he’s all over the place,” Stanton said.

Trump spoke to Fox Digital on Monday and blamed rhetoric promoted by Democrats, namely President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, for the attempt on his life Sunday. 

“[The suspect] believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it,” Trump said in the interview. “Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out.” 

RYAN ROUTH, ARMED MAN ARRESTED AT TRUMP GOLF COURSE, POSTED PROLIFICALLY ABOUT TRUMP, POLITICS 

“It is called the enemy from within. They are the real threat,” Trump added. 

Stanton added in a comment to Fox Digital that the U.S. is facing a “perfect storm of heightened political rhetoric” that can cause people to become “self-radicalized.”

“You have these keyboard warriors. It’s like a drug. They go out, and they spew all their hate and venom online,” he said. “[The internet] has allowed these people, for them to stew in their own psychosis. And then, when that drug doesn’t become enough, now you see it going from like ‘The Matrix’ from the cyber world into the real world.”

Stanton added that the attempt could have been far worse if it had been carried out by trained professionals or a “super villain” who not only could have gotten as close to Trump as Routh, but also leveled an “unfortunate touchdown” against the 45th president.

“This mentally ill individual [Routh] who, by all standards is essentially — using an old school term — a loser, is able to get within a couple of 100 yards. Think about if you had an organized team of two or three,” Stanton warned.

The security expert called for Trump to receive the “highest levels” of security, but not full presidential protection, as that would entail stopping air traffic and shutting down major highways. 

TRUMP BLAMES BIDEN-HARRIS ‘RHETORIC’ FOR LATEST ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, SAYS HE WILL ‘SAVE THE COUNTRY’ 

“We see trillions of dollars getting thrown around, and you’re telling me you can’t add enhanced personnel on someone who’s already been targeted,” Stanton said.

Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s national press secretary, told Fox News Digital that the 45th president has repeatedly called on the federal government to provide additional protection, while lauding the agents who protected Trump on Sunday. 

“President Trump is grateful to his personal protective USSS detail who acted swiftly and courageously during yet another assassination attempt. President Trump has repeatedly requested more resources to protect him,” she said.

Fox News Digital pored through Routh’s likely social media accounts Sunday evening, and found he repeatedly posted about Trump, the war in Ukraine, the 2020 election, as well as Trump’s assassination attempt in July during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. 

WITNESS SAW TRUMP ASSASSINATION SUSPECT FLEE BUSHES, TOOK PHOTO OF GETAWAY CAR

“You and Biden should visit the injured people in the hospital from the Trump rally and attend the funeral of the murdered fireman. Trump will never do anything for them….show the world what compassion and humanity is all about,” Routh said in a reply message to Harris’ X account on July 17, for example.

In another X post published on April 22, Routh appeared to quote a commonly used phrase by the Harris campaign, declaring, “DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose.”

“Your campaign should be called something like KADAF. Keep America democratic and free. Trumps should be MASA …make Americans slaves again master. DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose. We cannot afford to fail. The world is counting on us to show the way,” the account posted ahead of Biden dropping out of the race in July and Harris ascending to the top of the Democratic ticket. 

Routh also declared on X during the 2020 election cycle that Trump was his “choice” in 2016, before completely backtracking during the 2020 election.

Fox News Digital reached out to the FBI and Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office for any information regarding how Routh knew Trump would hit the course on Sunday, but did not immediately receive replies. The Secret Service referred Fox Digital to the FBI when approached with the same inquiry. 

FAILED TRUMP ASSASSIN’S VANTAGE POINT WAS NO SECRET – PAPARAZZI HAVE STAKED OUT TREE LINE FOR YEARS

Routh was arrested in his car on I-95 after authorities issued a BOLO, also known as a “be on the lookout” alert, to law enforcement agencies on Sunday afternoon. 

Routh was brought to federal court on Monday morning, when he was seen laughing and smiling ahead of his first court appearance in the case.

He faces charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Authorities said he could be hit with additional charges. 

Routh will face a bond hearing on Sept. 23 and will be arraigned on Sept. 30. 

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this story.

The Biden administration is moving to reinstate a Trump-era rule that lifted endangered species protections on gray wolves in the U.S.

Wolves were delisted from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) under President Trump in 2020, returning management of gray wolf populations to state and tribal wildlife professionals, according to a press release from the Department of Interior.

However, a federal judge reversed Trump’s decision in 2022 after environmental groups sued the Department of the Interior over the delisting, reinstating protection for the species.

Gray wolves are currently protected under the ESA as “threatened” in Minnesota and “endangered” in the remaining states, except for those in the Northern Rocky Mountain region, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. However, a new filing by the Biden administration suggests that the Trump-era ruling should be reinstated.

WOLVES REINTRODUCED IN COLORADO BLAMED FOR REPEATED ATTACKS ON LIVESTOCK

Attorneys with the Justice Department filed a motion with the 9th U.S. District Court of Appeals on Friday to reverse the court’s decision on the Trump-era delisting and lift ESA protections on gray wolves.

WASHINGTON OFFICIALS WILL VOTE TO REMOVE GRAY WOLF FROM ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST

The filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco claimed that the court was wrong in overturning the Trump-era ruling on the species. 

“The district court misunderstood the ESA’s clear mandate and compounded that error by imposing its own views of the science,” court documents read. “Its decision invalidating the rule should be reversed.”

The Biden administration claimed in its 87-page filing that gray wolves no longer meet ESA standards of protection in that they are no longer considered “endangered” or “threatened.”

Court documents referenced the 2020 ruling from Trump’s Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service that delisted the wolf species.

“After that thorough analysis, the Service concluded that no configuration of gray wolves was threatened or endangered in all or a significant portion of its range. That analysis was well-reasoned and well-supported by the administrative record,” the brief reads.

The move comes just months after a group of 20 House Republicans sent a letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Director Martha Williams, urging the Biden administration to remove protections for the gray wolf, citing sometimes life-threatening conflicts with ranchers and farmers.

In February, FWS rejected requests from conservation groups to restore protection for gray wolves across the Northern Rocky Mountain region. 

Most recently, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers passed legislation in April to end federal protection for gray wolves and remove them from the endangered species list. 

Ohio’s Republican attorney general is blasting the federal government over the developing migrant crisis in Springfield, Ohio, and says his office has begun the process of trying to get the issue in front of a federal judge.

“I’ve asked my staff to take a look at the law and put their creative hats on to see if there’s a way we can get in front of a federal judge to review this situation,” Ohio AG Dave Yost told Fox News Digital during an interview. “I mean, think about this. If it could happen to Springfield, it could happen to any town in America. There has to be some kind of limit to the federal government’s authority to simply continue letting people in and allowing them to run free in the country and congregate in a place like Springfield that’s not prepared to handle it.”

Yost told Fox News Digital that the federal government has “completely mishandled” Springfield, where between 15,000 and 20,000 Haitian migrants have settled in the town of 60,000 and many of those migrants have come to the U.S. with temporary protected status, allowing them the ability to live and work in the U.S. for a limited amount of time.

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Yost says the federal government has not properly coordinated resettling those migrants with the town and it is therefore “stressing the schools, the health care system, and the safety net” and said that at least 4,000 Haitians are receiving government assistance.

“What I’m hearing from the people of Springfield is, first of all, we need help with our town as it’s not set up to take 20,000 people to stay here for a long time,” Yost said. “And I understand that there’s also some frustration in the city because they’re goodhearted people, they’ve tried to be kind, they’ve tried to be supportive of folks that are clearly fleeing a terrible situation in Haiti, but they feel like they’re being left to handle it on their own and I don’t blame them.”

Fox News Digital asked Yost what he hopes the federal government will do in the future to avoid issues like this. 

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“Well, for starters, they need to keep track of people once they’re in the country,” Yost said. “The notion that we’re going to release somebody on a temporary basis, whether that’s on parole or temporary protection or whatever bureaucratic ‘gobblese’ they’re using this week, they ought to know where these folks are, make sure that they can get to court on their court date and if they’re not supposed to be here, that they can be sent home.”

“I don’t see any evidence that they know that. If they do know that, they’re not sharing it with local communities who need to know to be able to plan their response. I would argue, though, that there has to be a limiting principle. What if they just decided that the 8 to 12, I mean, estimates vary, but there’s millions of people that came into the country in the last four years,” Yost continued. “Can you just put all of them in Ohio and basically double our population? There has to be a limiting principle here. And we’re looking for a way to get this in front of the court.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Lee contributed to this report

Republicans blocked a Democrat-backed bill on in vitro fertilization (IVF) from proceeding on Tuesday, which has already failed in the upper chamber. 

The bill failed to garner the 60 votes necessary in the procedural vote, failing 51 to 44.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced he was scheduling an additional vote on the measure in a letter to senators on Sunday.

“As our national debate on reproductive rights has continued to unfold, we have seen the Republican Party’s nominee for president claim to be ‘a leader in fertilization’ and come out in support of expanding access to IVF by requiring insurance companies to cover IVF treatment — a key provision included in the Right to IVF Act,” Schumer wrote.

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“So, we are going to give our Republican colleagues another chance to show the American people where they stand.”

Schumer’s decision to bring the bill back to the Senate floor comes after former President Donald Trump vowed to mandate insurers to cover IVF, as he emphasized his support of the procedure. 

“I’m announcing today in a major statement that under the Trump administration, your government will pay for — or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for — all costs associated with IVF treatment,” Trump said at a Michigan event last month. “Because we want more babies, to put it nicely.”

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Under the IVF bill, which was introduced by Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., “A group health plan or a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance coverage shall provide coverage for fertility treatment, if such plan or coverage provides coverage for obstetrical services.”

This would extend to nearly all insurers, as obstetrical coverage is considered a routine inclusion. 

In June, nearly all Senate Republicans voted the measure down during a key procedural vote, preventing it from getting the 60 necessary votes to advance. 

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Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Katie Britt of Alabama proposed their own IVF bill later in the summer, which they said would prevent bans on the procedure but allow for commonsense regulation. That measure was blocked from being voted on when Cruz made a unanimous consent request to proceed with it. It has not been slated for a traditional vote by Schumer, either. 

At the time, Cruz and Britt also led a statement that was signed by the entire Republican conference, reiterating their support of IVF. 

Ahead of the cloture vote on Tuesday, Cruz and Britt once again sought to proceed to a vote on their bill by way of unanimous consent. However, their request was objected to. 

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., also led a bill designed to promote IVF earlier this summer, which was bicameral and introduced in the House by Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla. His measure sought to decouple Health Savings Accounts (HSA) from health insurance plans and raise the contribution limits for families to assist in paying for expenses such as IVF. 

The Florida senator similarly sought to advance his bill to a vote on Monday night, making a request for unanimous consent. This was objected to by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.

Scott said he wouldn’t speak about private conversations with Trump when asked by Fox News Digital ahead of the vote if they had discussed the former president’s IVF proposal, but he reiterated, “I’m very supportive of IVF, and we’ll see what Schumer brings up.”

Pressed on the component to mandate insurers to cover the procedure, he said he would see what’s written in the bill. 

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Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., who is running for Republican Senate leader in November, said he hadn’t discussed the IVF proposal with Trump but perhaps some of his colleagues had. 

“Obviously, it’s an idea that’s out there that we’re having discussions about. But, we’ll react to it if and when it happens, if that’s the direction Schumer decides to go,” he told Fox News Digital after Schumer announced the scheduled vote. 

Asked about mandating private insurance coverage for a procedure, which isn’t a traditionally conservative position, Thune said, “I guess that’s the conversation we’re going to have to have.”

“Obviously, it’s something that our nominee has come out in support of, but there are lots of mandates that are imposed on insurance companies, which raise rates,” he explained. 

“Every Republican is for IVF. I don’t know of any Republican that isn’t,” he said. “The question of whether or not insurance ought to cover it is another issue that we need to talk about.”

Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, told Fox News Digital Monday that she would “be honored to serve” in a potential Trump administration.

If tapped, Gabbard expressed her desire to work in a position where she can make the greatest impact, particularly in areas related to foreign policy or national security. Gabbard is an active-duty military veteran who completed two tours in the Middle East, and currently serves as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves. 

“I feel I can make the most impact in these areas of national security and foreign policy, and work to bring about the changes that President Trump talks about,” Gabbard said Monday evening from a campaign fundraising event in Atlanta, Georgia. Gabbard added that bringing an end “to the influence of the military industrial complex,” working to prevent World War III and bringing the U.S. back “from the brink of nuclear war” would be among her priorities. War should be a “last resort,” Gabbard said. She has also supported former President Trump’s plans to end the war in Ukraine.

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Gabbard spent time as the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee between 2013 and 2016, and previously supported candidates like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, and President Biden. However, blaming a shift within her former party that she has not agreed with, Gabbard became increasingly friendly with the GOP before leaving the party and eventually joining Trump’s transition team last month. 

“There are a lot of people who I meet in a lot of different places every day who are former Democrats, or people who are leaving the Democratic Party,” Gabbard said Monday. “People who recognize the same things that I have and experienced the same things that I have and realize that the Democratic Party of today doesn’t stand for them, doesn’t stand for freedom, it doesn’t stand for civil liberties… doesn’t stand for peace.”  

The former Democratic congresswoman has been outspoken against what a Harris administration could do to peace around the world and, on Monday, she slammed Democrats – including Vice President Kamala Harris – for what she described as their refusal to engage in diplomacy with U.S. adversaries. 

“President Trump did in his last administration what President Obama refused to do, what President Biden refused to do, what Kamala Harris has made clear she refuses to do – which is to go out and do that tough work that a president and commander in chief has to do in diplomacy,” Gabbard said. “Not just hanging out with your friends, and your allies, and your partners, but actually going out and talking to your adversaries.”

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Gabbard argued that peace will remain elusive until the leaders in the White House are willing to do this sort of diplomacy. She also slammed Harris for escalating the war in Ukraine and being “flippant” about the chances of a nuclear disaster.

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“The longer this war goes on and the more that Kamala Harris and Joe Biden and the neocons of Washington continue to escalate this war, the greater risk we are of a potential nuclear war, World War III,” Gabbard said on Monday. “It is unconscionable and unacceptable that Kamala Harris and others who are continuing to escalate [the war in Ukraine] are so flippant about the reality of nuclear war.”