Former President Trump arrived at the Republican National Committee on Thursday, ahead of his speech later tonight.

Trump arrived to loud applause and to the sound of AC/DC’s “Back in Black”

Trump is expected to address the convention before it ends later tonight in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

WWE Hall of Fame wrestler Hulk Hogan joined Fox News Channel’s “Special Report” on Thursday, saying he was “tired of remaining silent” and that the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump “rattled” him.

Hogan is slated to deliver brief remarks Thursday evening at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“I can’t wait. This is gonna be like body slamming [Andre] The Giant at Wrestlemania,” Hogan told host Bret Baier amid the convention’s fourth and final day.

Hogan, asked about his appearance at the 2024 RNC, said he got “tired of remaining silent.”

“You know, I sat back and watched the borders collapsed, I watched the economy collapse,” he said. “I watched the price of gas, the price of food, everything, just do an upside down flip.”

Hogan also weighed in on the assassination attempt of Trump that took place last Saturday in Butler, Pennsylvania, saying it moved him to speak out in favor of the former president’s presidential campaign.

“When they took a shot at my hero, Donald Trump, I realized I couldn’t be silent anymore. You know, I had to step up, I had to be a real American just like all of these real Americans here and Donald Trump. I have a voice, too, and I want people to know it’s time to talk. It’s time not to be silent anymore,” he said.

Hogan said he was “rattled” when he learned of the attempted assassination of Trump.

“It rattled me to my core when this happened,” he said. “When I saw him stand up with that fist in the air and the blood on his face, as a warrior, as a leader, I realized that’s what America needs. I knew it all along, I was just afraid to speak out.”

Hogan described Trump as the “leader that [America] needs to get back on track,” insisting he’s the “same man he was 35 years ago.”

“He loves this country, he loves his family, he loves everybody in America, and the reason some people have a different view of him because of what they write about him in the press. That’s not who he is,” he said.

Former President Donald Trump’s oldest grandchild, Kai Trump
, spoke on day 3 of the Republican National Convention. She told Fox News Digital about the conversation she had with her grandpa following the speech.”I was a little nervous,” Kai said.

“He said I did amazing and he was very proud of me,” she added. “It was just a nice heart-to-heart moment afterwards.”

Kai, 17, took the stage after her dad, Donald Trump Jr., introduced her to tens of thousands of RNC attendees.

“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,” Kai said during her RNC speech.

“Grandpa, you are such an inspiration and I love you,” she added. “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.”

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

MILWAUKEE – Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas is looking for tough talk on border security from Donald Trump as the former president delivers his 2024 GOP nomination acceptance speech tonight at the Republican National Convention.

“Obviously, I want to hear him be very strong on border security. Very strong on fighting inflation. Cast a broad-based vision on how America will be restored .. what he’s going to do to make America great again,” Abbott emphasized in an interview with Fox News Digital.

Abbott, who addressed the convention on Wednesday night, emphasized that “people across the country, they’re fired up and angry about what’s going on on the border. They’re looking for people who will fight for them.”

The governor, who’s tangled numerous times with President Biden over security at the nation’s southern border, highlighted that “I’ve been the tip of the spear fighting back against Joe Biden’s open border policies and they want fighters like that.”

“That’s also why this issue is so pivotal in this election. It’s one of the reasons why Donald Trump is going to win. Inflation and the open border. What’s happened with Joe Biden’s open borders is destroying the country and the people here and across America, they want change and they will get that change,” Abbott argued.

Pointing to last weekend’s unsuccessful assassination attempt against Trump, the governor noted that the former president “has a unique opportunity to bring the country together. Especially in the aftermath of the horrific attempted assassination on him. He has a position nobody else has, and that is to rise above that and use that as a strategy to bring together all Americans behind a common cause that a majority of Americans agree with.”

Arizona Cardinals 
safety Budda Baker is encouraging voters to do their “research” after being stunned by MSNBC host Joy Reid’s suggestion that President Joe Biden recovering from COVID-19 is a “sign of strength” similar to former President Donald Trump surviving an assassination attempt. 

The six-time Pro Bowler shared the clip on social media Wednesday, adding that it “takes the cake.”

Okay this is the last one for the day. Just please do your research this year. Don’t let anybody steer you away just do the research yourself and make a decision,” he wrote in a post on X. 

“This one right here takes the cake. A man that gets almost assassinated by [a] bullet vs a man that gets Covid. Lord please no WWIII.” 

Vivek Ramaswamy, businessman, entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate has been an active GOP member on the 2024 RNC floor all week.

“The Trump campaign, the Trump movement and the Republican Party isn’t afraid of anything the other side puts up,” Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital.

Ramaswamy first endorsed former President Trump as his preferred GOP candidate in January when he removed himself from the campaign trail and his been an avid supporter ever since.

“We’re confident in our value proposition for the American people,” said Ramaswamy. “The reality is, it’s a shame, though, that the Democrats haven’t been transparent, and frankly, much of the media along with them, covering up for Biden’s cognitive deficits.”

Politicians are calling for President Joe Biden to step down as the Democratic candidate amid a poor performance at the first presidential debate between Trump and Biden. Yesterday, the Biden administration revealed the president has been diagnosed with COVID-19 for the third time.

“The truth is, I believe we can be most successful when we don’t focus on their shenanigans,” he said. “Let’s focus on us. That’s how we win this.”

Calls for additional border security and mass deportation of 
illegal immigrants were again on display at the Republican National Convention’s third night, as the ongoing crisis at the border remains a top political issue.

Signs of “Mass Deportation Now!” were seen on the convention floor, and the point was hammered home by former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) chief Tom Homan, who said that a new Trump term would bring new enforcement measures and more deportations.

“I’ve got a message to the millions of illegal aliens that Joe Biden has released in our country in violation of federal law: You better start packing now,” Homan said to cheers from the crowd.

Former President Trump
had campaigned heavily on restricting illegal immigration and building a wall along the southern border in 2016, and his supporters say the strategy worked. President Biden took office, reversing many of Trump’s policies, and has since been hit by a historic crisis at the southern border that has smashed records. 

The Biden administration has said it has been trying to solve what it says is a hemisphere-wide crisis, but needs funding and immigration reform from Congress, something it blames Republicans for blocking.

Outside the Republican National Convention perimeter, there are vans hitting President Biden on funding Israel.

“1982: Reagan made Israel stop bombing Lebanon. 2024: Sleepy Joe gave Israel $20 billion,” one van says.

“Instead of helping our veterans, Biden gives Israel $55 million a day,” another says.

Israel is currently in a war with Hamas, which began in October 2023 when the terror group launched an attack against Israel.

Kai Trump, the eldest grandchild of former President Trump and daughter of Donald Trump Jr., made the decision to speak at the Republican National Convention after her grandfather survived a brush with death last week.

“She called me on Monday and just said, ‘You know, I feel really strongly about this, I want to speak at the convention,'” said Trump Jr., who appeared alongside Kai on “The Story With Martha MacCallum” Thursday. “I’m like, are you sure? That’s not an easy first speech venue, and she’s like, ‘I’m sure.’”

During her appearance on “The Story,” Kai reflected on her speech, which was one of the highlights of a packed Wednesday night at the convention in Milwaukee, as well as her relationship with her grandfather.

“I spend a lot of time with him,” she said. “I see him every single weekend at the golf course.”

The former president’s granddaughter argued that the image of Trump in the media is not “really him,” arguing that to her, he’s just a “normal grandpa.”

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Michael Lee.

MILWAUKEE — The Rev. Lorenzo Sewell, who will deliver a speech to Republicans at the RNC on Thursday night, spoke to Fox News Digital about why Black voters are gravitating toward former President Trump despite some denials from Democrats.

“The increase is happening,” Sewell said about the shift in Black voters toward Trump despite some Democrats, including Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson this week, downplaying the shift.

“When President Donald Trump came to our church last month, you could see Black people there. We know the increase is happening beyond a shadow of a doubt, because in my church, I saw with my own eyes rappers, preachers, teachers, those who aren’t necessarily affiliated with the church, come and listen to President Donald Trump. So, we know it’s happening.”

A
USA Today/Suffolk University poll released last month found that support for Biden among Black voters has dropped roughly 20 percentage points in the swing states of Michigan and Pennsylvania since the last election.

Fox News polling showed that Biden led Trump by 64 points with Black voters in July 2020. Today, Biden’s lead has shrunk to 42.

When asked by Fox News Digital what makes Trump different from previous GOP presidential candidates who couldn’t resonate with Black voters, Sewell said, “He’s not a typical politician.”

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller.

Highly placed sources told Fox News’ Bret Baier that the former president’s highly anticipated speech tonight in Milwaukee will run for over an hour and will avoid mentioning “Biden” entirely.

Several times Trump will refer to the “current administration” or the “current leadership,” but does not reference Biden’s name, according to the sources.

Sources say the speech will “lay out the case for the ticket” and several parts will focus on unity in the wake of Saturday’s assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.    

“We don’t know who the nominee will be at this point,” a source said, referring to questions within the Democratic Party about whether President Biden should be pushed to step down from running for re-election amid concerns over his mental and physical capacity to campaign and govern.

Former President Trump is set to officially accept the Republican Party’s nomination for president Thursday night, joined on stage by several family members, including his wife, former first lady Melania Trump.

After narrowly surviving Saturday’s assassination attempt, Trump indicated earlier in the week that he had scrapped a 20-page speech he originally planned to deliver, opting instead for a different message of unity on the RNC’s final night.

EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is urging former President Trump to emphasize unity in his speech at the Republican National Convention (RNC) on Thursday night.

Mace, a Trump ally and unofficial surrogate for his campaign, suggested she wanted to see a plan from Trump to not only appeal to all factions of the GOP but voters outside of it as well – especially groups that traditionally do not vote Republican.

“I want to hear him unifying the party, unifying the nation, especially in the wake of the attempted assassination on Saturday,” Mace told Fox News Digital in an interview after her own RNC speech.

Trump is taking the RNC stage on Thursday to formally accept the GOP nomination for president for 2024. 

ESPN host Stephen A. Smith defended celebrity model Amber Rose on Wednesday for her viral speech supporting former President Trump at the Republican National Convention.

Smith praised Rose for her remarks, saying the issues she brought up, like the economy and inflation, resonate with most Americans. He also slammed her online detractors.

“Y’all kick rocks with that,” Smith said during an episode of “The Stephen A. Smith Show.”

Rose, a former Hollywood liberal who once dated rapper Kanye West, was invited to the RNC in Milwaukee to share her own personal story of becoming a Trump supporter.

During the brief address, she detailed how her Trump-supporting father once challenged her to research the former president’s statements and policies outside the media lens, as she had been convinced he was a racist. She recounted how she took up his challenge and became a Trump fan.

“I realize Donald Trump and his supporters don’t care if you’re Black, White, gay or straight, it’s all love. And that’s when it hit me, these are my people. This is where I belong,” she told the RNC crowd, which included the former president and running mate JD Vance.

This is an excerpt of an article by Fox News’ Gabriel Hays.

Speaker Mike Johnson is expressing confidence that Republicans have enough momentum to win the White House in November – no matter who the Democratic presidential candidate is.

“As President Trump has said, he was, they had sort of prepared in the mindset that they would run against Biden, but it doesn’t matter. I mean, if they put Kamala Harris
 at the top of the ticket, she’s the co-owner of all the policies, it’s not any better,” the Louisiana Republican told Fox News Digital in a Thursday interview.

“It doesn’t matter who they run. Anybody that they would put in that place – this election is not about personalities, it’s about policies and what it means to people.”

It comes as Democratic pressure continues to build on President Biden to drop his re-election bid.

The 81-year-old president is facing calls to duck out of the race after his disastrous debate performance last month. It’s brought out concerns that Biden may not have the physical or mental stamina to run for office nor hold it for another four-year term.

Johnson, who has long accused Biden of not having the mental acuity to hold office, would not say whether the president should leave office right now. But he pointed out that even senior Democrats are apparently moving behind the scenes to push Biden off the 2024 ticket.

“Look, it’s for him to determine. They’re in real turmoil. On the other side, you hear in the last 24 hours, I’m told that [Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries] have all pretty well indicated that he – told him, I guess, or at least implied publicly that he should… not run for re-election,” Johnson said. 

Read the full exclusive by Elizabeth Elkind on Fox News Digital.

MILWAUKEE — Republican Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn doubled down on her demand for Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to answer questions about the assassination attempt against former President Trump.

“Director Cheatle can run, but she can’t hide. If she has time to sweet-talk folks in a luxury suite at the RNC, she has time to answer how the Secret Service’s failures resulted in President Trump’s near-assassination,” Blackburn told Fox News Digital on Thursday. “The last thing she should be doing is celebrating herself while rank-and-file agents are working around the clock to provide security in Milwaukee.”

During the third night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday, Blackburn and fellow GOP Sens. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., James Lankford, R-Okla., and Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., confronted Cheatle over the security failures to prevent an assassination attempt on Trump’s life at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.

“Stonewalling,” Barrasso can be heard yelling at Cheatle as she walks through the convention center.

“This was an assassination attempt, you owe the people answers, you owe President Trump answers,” Blackburn said.

Cheatle was in a luxury box at the RNC viewing speakers as they took the stage in the lead-up to Ohio Sen. JD Vance’s first speech since he was announced as Trump’s running mate.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Emma Colton.

Kai, the granddaughter of former President Trump and Donald Trump Jr.’s daughter, asked if she could speak at the RNC, despite not having an original time slot in the program Wednesday night, Trump Jr. said on “The Story with Martha MacCallum,” Thursday afternoon.

“She’s with him every weekend,” Trump Jr. told host Martha MacCallum. “They talk about golf every day.It’s funny, so they have this great relationship. And she called me on Monday and just said ‘you know, I feel really strongly about this. I want to speak at the convention,’ I was like, ‘Are you sure? Like that’s not a standard easy first speech venue.'”

“And she’s like, ‘I’m sure,’ — so I called my dad,” Trump Jr. recalled.

Trump enthusiastically agreed, and Trump Jr. gave some of his speaking time to Kai, he said.

Kai, who joined her father in the interview, reiterated that the former president is a “normal grandpa” whom she golfs with every weekend. She also defended her grandfather from mainstream media critics, adding “it’s frustrating when you see people painting him as an image that he’s not.”

MILWAUKEE – The Democratic National Convention is set to be a week of “chaos and confusion” following President Biden’s disastrous debate performance that opened the floodgates to calls for him to bow out of the race, and the assassination attempt on former President Trump, Illinois Republican Rep. Darin LaHood told Fox News Digital.

“This dump Biden movement, it builds every single day… Democrats know they can’t win with Joe Biden on the ticket. Now that’s a problem for them. We need to stay focused and disciplined with President Trump’s message and JD Vance’s message,” LaHood told Fox News Digital from the Republican National Convention
 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

“I think it’s going to be chaos and dysfunction,” LaHood said of what he expects out of the DNC. “Let me just contrast that with Milwaukee. I’ve never seen a convention or unity or activism or energy in the first two days of this convention.”

The Democratic National Convention will kick off next month in LaHood’s home state of Illinois, starting on Monday, Aug. 19, in Chicago. The Democratic Party is in the midst of an election freefall, as elected Democrats, including California Rep. Adam Schiff, continue calling for Biden to bow out of the race due to concerns over his mental fitness to face Trump this year.

“While the choice to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden’s alone, I believe it is time for him to pass the torch,” Schiff said in a statement this week. “And in doing so, secure his legacy of leadership by allowing us to defeat Donald Trump in the upcoming election.”

Biden is urged to drop out ahead of the DNC, when delegates will officially nominate their pick for the 2024 presidential election.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Emma Colton.

The Biden campaign says that a tweet which started “I am sick” in a play of Biden’s COVID diagnosis, but then mushroomed into a fundraising appeal — and drew mockery from conservatives online — actually performed really well for the campaign.

The two post thread, read “I am sick” followed by “of Elon Musk and his rich buddies trying to buy this election. And if you agree, pitch in here.”

Spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said that the tweet “was the second best raising social post for the Biden campaign in more than a year!”

Dana White is the president of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). He received the title in 2001 when his childhood friends, Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, purchased the MMA fighting promotion for $2 million and named White head of the organization.

In 2023, White doubled down on his title and became the CEO of the UFC.

White is often regarded as a successful businessman as, under his stewardship, the UFC grew to be worth upward of $11 billion, according to Forbes.

Dana White
 is the president of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). He received the title in 2001 when his childhood friends, Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, purchased the MMA fighting promotion for $2 million and named White head of the organization. In 2023, White doubled down on his title and became the CEO of the UFC. White is often regarded as a successful businessman as, under his stewardship, the UFC grew to be worth upward of $11 billion, according to Forbes.

Rachel Maddow and other top MSNBC hosts have been using an LED screen to cover the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee from the liberal network’s studio in New York City, according to a report.

Maddow, who has been leading the network’s coverage of the GOP convention this week, has repeatedly appeared on air with the backdrop of the convention behind her, leading casual viewers to assume she was on the ground in Milwaukee. But Maddow and many of her colleagues, including Nicolle Wallace, Jen Psaki, Joy Reid and other MSNBC anchors have not been inside the convention hall or even in the same city, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

“Instead, they were broadcasting from a studio in Midtown Manhattan, as a live feed of the convention floor was projected onto an LED screen behind them,” the Times report reads.

“The arrangement — which several veteran television news producers described as unorthodox — has created something of a trompe l’oeil effect. A casual glance at the screen would suggest that MSNBC’s top anchors were covering the convention in person,” the article continues, using a French phrase referring to highly realistic-looking but visually deceptive artwork.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Yael Halon.

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, gave his first speech since receiving the Republican Party’s nomination for vice president on Wednesday, and it could offer a look into his future role on the presidential campaign trail. 

The “Hillbilly Elegy” author mentioned his home state of Ohio 12 times during his remarks. “We gotta chill with the Ohio love. We gotta win Michigan too here,” Vance, an Ohio State University alumnus, said to the crowd.

The second most-mentioned states were Michigan and Pennsylvania, with both being talked about by Vance six times.

Kentucky was
also a significant state for Vance, as he spent a portion of his childhood there with his grandmother, “Mamaw.” The state, which differs from the others as it traditionally votes red, was also mentioned by the Republican four times.

With President Biden
self-isolating at home for COVID-19, VP Harris hit the campaign trail to counter the RNC programming in North Carolina on Thursday — just hours before former President Trump is scheduled to formally accept the Republican Party’s presidential nomination.

While defending abortion rights and the administration’s prescription drug policies, Harris sharply criticized Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, newly tapped as Trump’s VP nominee, for his RNC speech on Wednesday night.

“In recent days, they’ve been trying to portray themselves as the party of unity. But here’s the thing, if you claim to stand for unity, you need to do more than just use the word,” Harris said
Thursday. “But with the selection of his running mate this week, Donald Trump is also trying to distract people. He wants to direct attention away from his record and his Project 2025 plan to suggest that he and his running mate are going to prioritize the middle class. But we are not buying it.”

Portrayed as a blueprint for a future Republican administration to restructure many parts of the U.S. government, Project 2025, also known as the Presidential Transition Project, launched in April 2023 by a handful of Heritage Foundation directors, is not associated with Trump’s campaign.

“I have no idea what it is,” Trump said of Project 2025 on “The Faulkner Focus.”

“It’s a group of extremely conservative people, [they] got together and wrote up a wish list of things, many of which I disagree with entirely,” said Trump in a sitdown that was taped ahead of Saturday afternoon’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he was shot in the ear in a failed assassination attempt. 

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Heckman contributed to this report.

Democratic 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is slamming signs seen at the Republican National Convention which called for a mass deportation policy if former President Trump is re-elected.

“A mass deportation policy would rip apart American families and devastate our economy,” she said.

“It’s also such a centerpiece of the Republican Party agenda that they had literal signs made,” she added.

Signs of “Mass Deportation Now!” were seen on the convention floor, and the point was hammered home by former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) chief Tom Homan, who said that a new Trump term would bring new enforcement measures and more deportations.

“I’ve got a message to the millions of illegal aliens that Joe Biden has released in our country in violation of federal law: You better start packing now,” Homan said to cheers from the crowd.

MILWAUKEE — EXCLUSIVE: Alina Habba, an attorney and legal spokesperson for former President Donald Trump, is taking on a major new role that she hopes will help accomplish the “critical” task of sending him back to the White House this November.

Habba is now serving as a senior adviser to Trump’s re-election campaign, a promotion that comes after she gained national recognition in her legal role, which saw her win in court for the former president more than any of his other attorneys despite having only been on his team since 2021.

Fox News Digital sat down with Habba ahead of Trump’s highly anticipated speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where she discussed her new role and gave a preview of what the former president will say to the audience of delegates and supporters who, earlier this week, cheered his triumphant return following a failed assassination attempt.

“Moved, I think, is the best word for it. I was moved,” Habba said when asked how she felt seeing Trump, sporting a bandage on his wounded ear, enter the convention hall on Monday night to massive cheers and applause. “I think America could see it’s a different President Trump today.”

“I never in my life thought I would live through that, let alone live through it and say, ‘That’s also my friend.’ And that’s been very difficult for me,” she said. “It’s traumatic, but I’m proud of him.”

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Brandon Gillespie.

A well-connected advisor and fundraising coordinator for President Biden’s campaign is reportedly warning that donations are at risk of drying up, according to reports. 

Film producer and Democratic insider Jeffrey Katzenberg reportedly spoke with Biden in a private meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Wednesday. 

During the meeting, Katzenberg allegedly told the president that major donors were likely to cut funding due to concerns about the campaign’s viability, according to a report from Semafor.

Following the report, Katzenberg released a statement saying the characterization was inaccurate and that the two had “talked about everything from the convention to new ads.”

“And by the way, we will raise the money we need to run a winning campaign,” he added.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for clarification on the nature of the conversation.

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance on Thursday spoke about his personal experiences with Christianity and the importance of social conservatism.

Vance gave a speech at the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s God & Country Breakfast, where he attempted to quell concerns that the Republican Party is drifting away from religious and socially conservative voters.

“There has been a lot of rumbling in the past few weeks that the Republican Party of now and the Republican Party of the future is not going to be a place that’s welcoming to social conservatives. And really, from the bottom of my heart, I want to say that is not true,” Vance told the audience.

He added, “Social conservatives have a seat at this table, and they always will, so long as I have any influence in this party.

And President Trump, I know, agrees.” The Republican Party has softened many of the social policy pillars within its platform, including the traditionally sacrosanct issue of abortion.

The Trump campaign is responding to the latest reports on the rising chorus of calls from top Democrats for President Biden to end his re-election bid.

A Trump campaign official told Fox News, “When you look at what we’ve done with this convention, we’ve demonstrated to the American people that not only is the Republican Party unified but we have a unifying vision for the entire country with President Trump’s agenda and plan for America well established.”

“At the same time, the Democrats can’t even figure out who their nominee should be,” the person said.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this update.

The cost of buying a house has surged in recent years, as high mortgage rates and rising home prices put ownership out of reach for many Americans.

The problem is even worse for the millions living in key battleground states that could determine the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.

New findings from Redfin show the combination of steep mortgage rates and elevated home prices has pushed the median monthly housing payment for homebuyers in swing states to an all-time high of $2,161 – a 92% increase from the 2020 election.

Home prices in those states have also skyrocketed over the past four years, climbing nearly 40% to a record high of $316,063.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Megan Henney.

Wrestling legend Hulk Hogan and UFC president Dana White, two prominent figures in the sports world, will take the stage in support of former President Trump on the final night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Thursday, Fox News has learned. 

Reports last week said White, a longtime friend and vocal supporter of the former president, is set to speak just before Trump is expected to formally accept the GOP presidential nomination.

Support from White on Thursday follows his strong reaction to the assassination attempt on the former president that took place over the weekend at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. 

“I’ve been saying this forever about this guy,” White said Monday during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.” 

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj.

MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski seemed pessimistic on Thursday on President Biden continuing his election bid, admitting that he “may or may not be” the Democratic presidential nominee.

Brzezinski seemed resigned to prominent Democratic lawmakers’ push to replace Biden on the 2024 ticket to give them a better chance of beating former President Trump. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who wields considerable influence and power in the Democratic Party, has been reportedly working behind the scenes on the effort and told Biden personally that he can’t win.

“I trust Joe Biden’s abilities. I also trust Nancy Pelosi’s political acumen. Nobody knows politics more than her,” Brzezinski said on Thursday. A strong supporter and longtime friend of Biden’s, Brzezinski has previously been strongly defensive of him staying in the race.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Gabriel Hays.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is questioning Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle’s decision to appear at the Republican National Convention (RNC) on Wednesday night, as House GOP leaders push for accountability for the security failures that led to the attempted assassination of former President Trump.

“I’m not sure what she was doing here. Why would she walk around when she’s under so much scrutiny?” Johnson told Fox News Digital in an interview at the RNC in Milwaukee. “I don’t understand her decision-making process, and I don’t think she’s fit to lead at this critical time.”

The embattled Secret Service director was seen in the RNC venue on Wednesday, where she was confronted by several Republican senators who have been dissatisfied with her answers thus far on what happened last weekend.

Johnson, for his part, is the highest-ranking official so far to call for Cheatle’s resignation in the wake of the deadly rally shooting in Butler, Pa. last weekend. 

Read the full story from Elizabeth Elkind here.

GOP Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance shard a heartfelt moment in his speech Wednesday night about his mother, Bev Vance, sitting in the crowed and celebrating 10 years of sobriety.

“Our movement is about single moms, like mine, who struggled with money and addiction but never gave up,” Vance said from the stage.

“And I’m proud to say that tonight my mom is here ten years clean and sober. I love you, mom.”

The audience erupted in applause and stood to their feet chanting “JD’s mom.”

“And you know, mom, I was thinking — it’ll be ten years officially in January of 2025. And if President Trump’s okay with it, let’s have the celebration in the White House,” Vance added.

Vance detailed his challenging upbringing surrounded by struggles with addiction in his memoir published in 2016, Hillbilly Elegy.

Actor Dean Cain caught up with Fox News Digital at the Republican National Convention and remarked on how he feels about former President Donald Trump, especially since the assassination attempt on Saturday.

“The stuff that President Trump has been through, from the constant attacks when he ran for president in 2016, to the entire time through his presidency, and then when he reannounced,” Cain said. “All the law fair against him and, now, the assassination attempt. I don’t know what it is, but I’d like to bottle it and have it at home.”

The “Lois and Clark” actor added, “I’ve never seen a single individual take so many incoming attacks and remain so positive. He’s a remarkable human being and he’s got my full support.”

In 2023, Cain told Fox News Digital he left California for Nevada because of the cost of living and a California bill that would require judges to consider a parents’ stance on gender identity in custody battles.

On Wednesday night, Ohio senator JD Vance took center stage at the Republican National Convention to formally accept the nomination for vice president.

“I pledge to every American, no matter your party, I will give you everything I have to serve you. And to make this country a place where every dream you have for yourself, your family and your country will be possible once again,” Vance said.

The author of the bestselling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, also promised that he will be “a vice president who never forgets where he came from.”

Pundits and commentators took to X with their take on his remarks. National Review political correspondent Jim Geraghty said Vance “masterfully delivered an amazing speech” even though he disagreed with some tenets of the content.

“Vance’s speech was Obama-esque in its ability to take ideas that are controversial or divisive and make them sound full of common sense,” Geraghty said.

Political commentator Camryn Kinsey posted on X, “As someone from Kentucky who grew up in a struggling single-parent household during my early childhood, JD Vance’s RNC speech truly resonated with me.”

“His words were relatable, funny, personable, and genuinely authentic,” she said.

Beverley Hallberg of the District Media Group graded the speech “a C+.”

“The copy itself was a bit clunky since it shifted between serious and light throughout, & he struggled to navigate the delivery switches,” she noted “The Mammaw stories were gold, and he is most comfortable when talking policy.”

Ex-Obama adviser David Axelrod warned Wednesday that President Biden
 is no longer “in the position to win” in the wake of the assassination attempt against former President Trump on Saturday.

“This is inexorable and I don‘t say this with any pleasure at all because I worked with Joe Biden. He‘s served this country well for most of his life,” Axelrod said on CNN live at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.  

“But this is not the coda that he wants on his career. And I think that’s what people are telling him, that he can help improve the chances of winning a race that he says is existential, but the way he has to do it is to exit,” Axelrod continued. 

“There will be a discussion about whether it‘s the vice president [Kamala Harris] or not [as his replacement]. She certainly is the likely candidate, maybe not the certain candidate. But what is certain, is he is not in a position to win this race any longer.”

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Yael Halon.

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, gave his first speech since receiving the Republican Party’s nomination for vice president on Wednesday.

The Hillbilly Elegy author mentioned his home state of Ohio 12 times during his remarks. “We gotta chill with the Ohio love. We gotta win Michigan too here,” Vance, a the Ohio State University alumni, said to the crowd.

The second most-mentioned states were Michigan and Pennsylvania, with both being talked about by Vance six times.

Kentucky was also a significant state for Vance, as he spent a portion of his childhood there with his grandmother, “Mamaw.” The state, which differs from the others as it traditionally votes red, was also mentioned by the Republican four times.

Vance further referenced pivotal midwestern battleground state Wisconsin, where the Republican National Convention is currently taking place, three times.

His heavy emphasis on these Rustbelt states comes as former President Trump has already signaled his intent to use Vance to his advantage in midwestern swing states.

“[Trump] just said, look, I think I’ve got to go save this country. I think you’re the guy who could help me in the best way,” Vance recalled Trump’s phone call to him on Fox News’ Hannity.

“You can help me govern, you can help me win, you can help me in some of these Midwestern states like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and so forth,” he said Trump told him.

MILWAUKEE – Political woes stacking up against the Biden administration will “absolutely” injure the campaign of longtime Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, according to his Republican Senate competitor, Dave McCormick. 

“I think right now, what’s becoming clear is that this is an election that’s a choice between strength and weakness at the top of the ticket, and strength and weakness between myself and Sen. Casey,” McCormick said, saying that Biden’s record in office will “absolutely” hurt Casey’s campaign.

“The fact remains that 80% of Pennsylvanians think the country is going in the wrong direction. These pocketbook issues, like sky-high inflation, 20% rise in prices, 60% of Pennsylvanians live paycheck to paycheck. And it’s because of the bad decisions and policies of Casey and Biden – spending, the war on energy, the wide open border, 4,000 fentanyl deaths last year for Pennsylvanians,” McCormick said. 

McCormick is an Army combat veteran and former CEO of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, who served as the Commerce Department’s Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security as well as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs under former President George W. Bush’s administration.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Emma Colton.

Social media commentators and journalists criticized President Biden for appearing to forget Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s name and only referring to him as a “Black man” in a recent interview, although others said the moment was being misread.

Biden has participated in a series of media appearances after his poor debate performance last month led to calls for him to withdraw from the race. 

“It’s all about treating people with dignity,” Biden said in an interview with Black Entertainment Television (BET). “I named the secretary of defense, a Black man.” 

“I named Ketanji Brown,” he added, referring to his appointment in 2022 of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Jeffrey Clark.

Panelists Elizabeth Pipko and Lauren Wright analyze JD Vance’s speech during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on “Fox News @ Night.”

“He talked about his very compelling and famous background. He was very loyal to Trump, while also showing a command of the issues and these really smooth communication skills that I think will serve him well,” Wright told Fox of Vance’s speech.

Wright added that she believes Trump doesn’t “need a lot of help,” but that there is “a lot of excitement” following the former president announcing Vance as his running mate.

“This convention was not about politicians, not about the media, elite, this was about the people,” Elizabeth Pipko told Fox News of the GOP convention. “It’s about showing people that this administration has left the people behind.”

Pipko said that the Biden-Harris campaign
is “about raising money, it’s about campaigning, it’s about lying about who’s in charge, its about messaging and rhetoric, and not about policies that actually do the job for the people.”

As Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump embarks on a campaign to win back the White House, he has laid out an economic vision that includes lower taxes, less regulation and steeper tariffs on China and other countries. 

Trump is in Milwaukee this week for the Republican National Convention, and is set to take the stage Thursday night.

Ahead of his keynote speech, here is everything that voters need to know about Trump’s economic agenda for a second term in office.

The coming election is particularly consequential because whichever party voters select to control the White House and Congress next year will determine the fate of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Enacted in 2017 by Republican lawmakers and Trump, the law drastically overhauled the nation’s tax code, including reducing the top individual income tax bracket to 37% from 39.6% and nearly doubling the size of the standard deduction. However, those changes to the individual section of the tax code are poised to sunset in 2025, meaning that many taxpayers – including those who earn less than $400,000 – will face steeper levies if the law is not extended.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox Business’ Megan Henney.

Decorated 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, which was themed, “Make America Strong Once Again,” as he recalled poignant war experiences and enduring patriotism.

“It hurts my heart to see what our current president and vice president have done to the country I love so well,” Pekrul said of President Biden. “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 the greatest nation in the history of the world” and said that when he came back from war in Europe, he “kissed the ground” and thanked God for his return.

RNC delegates gave Pekrul a standing ovation and chanted, “USA,” while former President Trump, who has been in attendance each night of the convention since Monday, smiled and applauded. 

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Jamie Joseph.

UFC president Dana White and wrestling legend Hulk Hogan are expected to take center stage Thursday night ahead of former President Donald Trump, Fox News has learned.

White over the weekend posted about Trump in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s assassination attempt during a rally in Pennsylvania.

White posted an iconic image of a bloodied Trump being escorted offstage following the shooting and called him an “American bad a–.”

President Biden tested positive for COVID-19, the White House said on Wednesday.

Biden was in Las Vegas, Nevada for several campaign events when the diagnosis was revealed and they were subsequently canceled.

Reporters shouted questions to the president as he boarded Air Force One, asking how he felt and if he was experiencing symptoms. Biden told them he feels “good,” giving a thumbs up.

“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,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. “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-19 diagnosis comes as Biden faces a skeptical Democratic Party, with some pushing the 81-year-old president to drop out of the race, fearing he can’t defeat former President Trump in November.

California delegates for the Democratic Party are reportedly in disarray as debate over the president’s chances of re-election threatens to tear the party apart.

Private group chats across multiple social media platforms have been set up to facilitate discussion among the delegates, who almost universally worry that a second Biden term is an impossible sell to voters, according to Politico.

A cache of messages was reportedly leaked to the outlet — only the latest in a deluge of leaks from inside the Biden administration and the wider Democratic Party.

“Obviously, the first step would be that President Biden steps down of his own accord and frees his delegates,” DNC delegate Susan Bolle posted in a Facebook group discussing the issue. “We should discuss this. This is a painful experience on every level, but we play an outsized role in history this election. This cannot be left to chance.”

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Timothy H.J. Nerozzi.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis discussed his speech at the Republican National Convention and Democrats calling on President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race during an appearance on “Hannity.”

“I sure hope he holds on to the nomination, because I think they’re working to move him out” DeSantis told Fox News at the RNC. “We want to run against Joe Biden. Partially because we want to hold him accountable for his failure, but he also can’t get the job done.”

DeSantis, a former 2024 presidential candidate, delivered remarks during the second day of the RNC. The Governor slammed Biden throughout his speech, comparing his presidency to the film “Weekend at Bernie’s.”

The Governor also said that Biden remaining in office “has been a total fraud on the American people.”

“Having a president who is not in possession of his faculties, that is the threat to democracy,” he told Fox, adding that “I think we’ve got to be prepared that they are gonna put someone else in.”

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, spoke ahead of a Faith and Freedom breakfast in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Thursday after his remarks accepting the vice presidential nomination on Wednesday night.

As the lawmaker reflected on preparing for his Republican National Convention speech, he shared a “miracle” that occurred for him in the lead up to his remarks.

“We think about miracles. We think about Moses parting the Red sea,” he said. “But one of the really deep beliefs I have is that there are all of these small little miracles. And if you look for them, you actually see them.”

He then told attendees about how he woke up the morning of his speech in the middle of the night and was unable to fall back asleep. “I’m bored, alone, anxious, and thoughts are racing through my head a mile a minute,” Vance described.

“I finally just say, Jesus, please help me,” he said, adding that its the last thing he recalls before waking up.

Vance compared his experience to the movie Pulp Fiction, wherein a character named Jules says “I felt the touch of God.”

BETHEL PARK, Pa. – A local GOP volunteer who helped set up and later attended former President Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last weekend, said he and other activists raised concerns the night prior about the venue’s security.

Zach Scherer, a volunteer firefighter from Chicora – a short drive northeast of the Butler Farm Show – told Fox News Digital on Wednesday he was also in the third row behind Trump on the risers at the moment the former president was injured and fellow firefighter Corey Comperatore was killed.

“Friday night; I’ll take it back a day — there was a group of us that had volunteered on the Trump campaign to do rally set up, which included setting up the barricades, the stage set-up and other things that were needed to make sure this was a successful event,” Scherer said.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Charles Creitz.

MSNBC host Joy Reid suggested on Wednesday that President Biden recovering from COVID-19 is a “sign of strength” similar to former President Trump surviving an assassination attempt.

“These two men are both elderly. Donald Trump is an elderly man who, for whatever reason, was given nine seconds to take an iconic photo-op during an active shooter situation. Weird situation, we’ll figure that out one day,” Reid said during MSNBC’s live coverage of the Republican National Convention.

Reid added that the media is portraying Trump surviving the assassination attempt and shortly returning to the campaign by appearing at his party’s convention as a “sign of strength.”

“This current President of the United States is 81 years old and has COVID, should he be fine in a couple of days, doesn’t that convey exactly the same thing? That he’s strong enough – older than Trump – to have gotten something that used to really be fatal to people his age. So, if he does fine out of it and comes back and is able to do rallies, isn’t that exactly the same?,” Reid said.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Joshua Q. Nelson.

Variety’s chief film critic suggested on Wednesday that Sen. JD Vance may have risen to become former President Trump’s vice-running mate “thanks to Hollywood’s help.” 

The 2020 Netflix adaptation of Vance’s “Hillbilly Elegy” memoir surged to the top 10 most-watched list after Trump announced on Monday that the Ohio senator would be his running mate for the 2024 presidential race.

The book, as well as the film, recounts Vance’s upbringing in a small Ohio town plagued with addiction and poverty before eventually graduating from Yale.

“It was that dimension of Vance’s narrative that clearly attracted director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer — both self-avowed liberals, who may have created a monster by legitimizing his origin story, much as ‘The Apprentice’ producer Mark Burnett did by giving Trump a reality TV spotlight back in 2004,” Variety’s chief film critic Peter Debruge wrote. 

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital’s Lindsay Kornick.

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. In an interview with the Washington Examiner on Sunday, Trump said “honestly, it’s going to be a whole different speech now,” adding that he was given “a chance to bring the country together.”

This is an excerpt from an article by Paul Steinhauser and Brooke Singman.

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.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Julia Johnson.

Hosting the Republican National Convention (RNC)
 is expected to pay off big for Milwaukee.The visitor’s bureau for the Wisconsin city says the convention is expected to bring an estimated $200 million economic boost to the area, based on studies of previous conventions in other cities, and the final figure for Milwaukee could be even higher given the high inflation the country has seen since 2020.

The RNC said ahead of the convention that upwards of 50,000 guests from across the country would flock to the gathering, including delegates, who officially nominated former President Trump as the GOP’s 2024 nominee for president, with Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate.

And it’s not just Republican diehards who came for the event. 

Visit Milwaukee CEO Peggy Williams-Smith told FOX Business in an interview Wednesday that reporters are everywhere, spending money just like other visitors.

“I would say for every regular attendee wanting to go to the convention, there are two journalists, and I think that number has spiked after the events of Saturday,” Williams-Smith said, referring to the assassination attempt on Trump over the weekend.

She reiterated, “You can’t go anywhere without running into someone with a press badge.”

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox Business’ Breck Dumas.

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson held his daily news briefing Thursday morning ahead of the fourth and final day of the Republican National Convention.

“The city’s preparation and performance has gone pretty smoothly,” he said.

Johnson thanked thousands of law enforcement and volunteers from “all across the country” and said he was briefed by the emergency operations center with respects to the convention and “was told again it was a very uneventful evening.”

The mayor said two incidents near the convention activity led to seven arrests. Both took place east of the river, just outside of the security perimeter. Two people were arrested for fights in the first situation. The second incident involved disorderly behavior outside a bar that ultimately led to five arrests, Johnson said. The mayor added that there was one “convention related arrest” of a person who allegedly stole tickets and then attempted to sell those tickets and that individual has since been taken into custody.

Overnight, Milwaukee police were involved in an exchange of gunfire
“that was completely unrelated to the convention,” Johnson said. It happened at approximately 10:30 p.m. four miles northwest of the convention and involved a person wanted for a shooting two days ago who fired a gun at police. Police returned fire and that individual was wounded, the mayor said.

“This is not a common occurrence in Milwaukee,” he added.

Trump is to address the RNC in a highly anticipated speech Thursday night.

“Now I’ve got some major political differences with the former president and as he speaks what will be going on in my mind is the contrast with his policies that he’ll put forward and those of President Joe Biden,” Johnson told reporters. “The Biden-Harris administration has delivered investments in people. President Joe Biden has tackled serious problems and he’s done it with real solutions.”

MILWAUKEE – Sen. JD Vance, former President Donald Trump’s running mate in the 2024 race for the White House, struck a populist tone as he formally accepted the Republican Party’s vice presidential nomination Wednesday night, pledging he will be a vice president who “never forgets” where he came from.

Delivering his acceptance speech two days after Trump named the 39-year-old Ohio senator as his running mate, Vance said the GOP convention marked a “celebration of what America once was, and with God’s grace, what it will soon be again.”

“It is a reminder of the sacred duty we have to preserve the American experiment, to choose a new path for our children and grandchildren,” he added.

Vance – who described the Republican Party as being “united in our love for this country and committed to free speech and the open exchange of ideas” for the next four years – reflected fondly on his upbringing in a “small town where people spoke their minds.”

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News’ Kyle Morris and Paul Steinhauser.

Gold Star father Herman Lopez and his wife Alicia spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention and honored the 13 service members who lost their lives during the Afghanistan withdrawal
ordered by President Biden in August 2021.

The service members — 11 Marines, one Navy corpsman and one soldier — were killed in the Abbey Gate bombing outside of the Kabul airport.

“Alicia and I are here to say the names of all 13 servicemembers who lost their lives at Abbey Gate,” Lopez said.

He went on to read the 13 names of those killed.

The individuals included Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, Cpl. Daegan W. Page, Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, Navy Hospital Corpsman Max Soviak, Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss and their son, Cpl. Hunter Lopez.

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, was seemingly ready to be cast into America’s political spotlight after she spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention on Day 3 of the event in Milwaukee.

“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.

This is an excerpt from an article by Fox News Digital’s Gabriele Regalbuto.

University of North Carolina fraternity brothers joined Republicans at the 2024 RNC.

The group of students made headlines earlier this year when they protected the American flag from hitting the campus ground during a protest where anti-Israel agitators tried to replace Old Glory with a Palestinian flag.

“When a mob tried to take down the American flag on our campus, we knew we couldn’t let that happen,” said Alex Johnson, UNC fraternity brother. “We stood guard, we held it up and we did not let it fall.”

Johnson was joined by a group of his frat brothers who stood behind him each carrying a flag.

Johnson went on, “It was all about respect, not just for the cloth, but for everything that the flag stands for. Too many people have sacrificed everything for it.”

He concluded, “The least we could do is to keep it flying and tonight we are proud to honor our flag again.”

Former President Donald Trump announced in a post on Truth Social Monday, the first day of the 2024 Republican National Convention, that he selected Ohio Sen. JD Vance as his running mate for the upcoming election in November.

On the third night of the RNC, Vance gave a speech accepting the nomination and encouraging Americans to vote for the Trump, Vance ticket.

“I stand here humbled and I am overwhelmed with gratitude to say, I officially accept your nomination to be Vice President of the United States of America,” Vance said.

The crowd roared in applause and began chanting “JD, JD, JD,” as Trump looked on and clapped with the room full of Republicans.

After weeks of speculation regarding who Trump would choose, Vance was chosen by the former president and has received much support for his selection since.

Trump is slated to conclude the RNC tonight with a speech of his own.

Sen. Josh Hawley
, R-Mo., said Thursday that U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle was not prepared for a briefing with lawmakers on Wednesday, adding, “it did not go well.”

Hawley, a member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, joined “Your World” host Neil Cavuto on Thursday to discuss the assassination attempt on former President Trump, among other things.

The senator told Cavuto he would recommend the Secret Service overhaul their security procedures to “actually start keeping the president safe,” whether sitting or past.

The comments came after a man was able to climb on top of a roof near a presidential rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he got a clear shot of Trump and nearly assassinated him on Saturday.

Lawmakers met with Cheatle on Wednesday, though according to Hawley, shd did not actually brief them on what happened on Saturday.

“She was present on the call, but didn’t do hardly any briefing. When she did try to answer a question or two, it did not go well,” Hawley said. “She was not well prepared. This needs to be done in public. Bottom line, we need public hearings.”

Based on what he knows now, Hawley said the Secret Service “totally botched this.”

“They did not have appropriate manpower. They did not take appropriate precautions. They allowed that shooter to get up on the roof,”  Hawley said. “They allowed him to take the shot. I mean, this is outrageous. Leadership should be changed.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, called on local Pennsylvania law enforcement authorities on Thursday to provide security details, along with audio and video recordings, connected to the attempted assassination of former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania last Saturday.

Grassley sent letters to Butler and Beaver counties, as well as the Pennsylvania State Police, seeking information as he investigates what he calls a “catastrophic security failure” that took place during the July 13 rally.

The senator requested law enforcement officials provide all video and audio recordings in their possession made before, during and after the rally, and other things like documents spelling out the security assignments, delegations of authority, cooperative agreements between the various agencies, and security planning for the Trump rally.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., who had an encounter with Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, says she wants the head of the agency to provide information about the attempted assassination on former President Trump in a timely manner.

“Director Cheatle’s excuse for not giving us information about the assassination attempt on President Trump is that she didn’t run it,” Blackburn said in a video she posted to X. “Well, we know she was not running it, but what we do know now is that she is running away from giving answers. And the main thing is there was an attempt on President Trump’s life. There are answers the American people deserve. We want her to provide the answers for us and to do it in a timely manner.”

On Wednesday night, Blackburn and other lawmakers spotted Cheatle at the RNC and demanded answers on the Secret Service’s handling of providing protection for Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in which a shooter was able to get a clear shot of the president before opening fire and grazing his ear with a bullet.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Blackburn said she was “appalled” to learn the Secret Service knew about the threat on Trump before he walked on stage.

“I have no confidence in the leadership of Director Cheatle and believe it’s in the best interest of our nation if she steps down from her position,” Blackburn said.

Fox News Digital’s Rebecca Rosenberg contributed to this report.

The cellphone of the shooter who attempted to assassinate former President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania contained photos of former President Trump, President Biden and other officials, according to sources.

The Associated Press reported that two people familiar with the probe who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Thomas Matthew Crooks’ cell phone not only contained photos of Trump and Biden, but also Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray.

Investigators are searching for clues to understand why Crooks opened fire on Trump at the rally on Saturday.

The FBI is investigating the shooting as a possible act of domestic terrorism but have not yet found a clear ideological motive.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Robert O’Brien, ex-national security adviser for the Trump administration said America also dodged a bullet when a shooter nearly killed former President Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, according to reports.

O’Brien reportedly told the Deseret News during an interview on Thursday morning that the Secret Service must be held accountable for not having enough agents at the presidential rally over the weekend.

While he praised agents who placed themselves between the president and flying bullets, the leadership of the agency “has some answering to do.”

O’Brien told the publication he was sad when he first heard Trump had nearly been killed, though he also said he was not surprised.

“The left has demonized him so much over the past six years,” O’Brien said. “If you’re a deranged young person, and you think you can be a hero for stopping Hitler and saving America, that’s what this rhetoric leads to.

“America dodged a bullet, not just President Trump,” O’Brien added

He also told the publication if the bullet found its mark, “it would have torn the country apart,” making it “difficult, if not possible to stitch it back together.”

Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., says he has serious concerns about how the Secret Service handled the threat leading up to the attempted assassination of former President Trump.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Moran said he spoke with FBI Executive Assistant Director of the National Security Branch this week, during which he received an update on the ongoing investigation into the attempted assassination.

“I have serious concerns about how the Secret Service handled the threat on the President’s life in the moments leading up to the attack,” Moran said. “I indicated to the director that an investigation done by the Secret Service alone on their own failure to protect the President would not be acceptable. The American people deserve a full account on where the breakdown in security occurred and they deserve to know the facts soon.”

Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., detailed a Secret Service briefing given to senators on Wednesday about the recent assassination attempt against former President Trump, saying there was “virtually no information” provided. 

“It’s infuriating,” he told Fox News Digital in an interview.

“The director of the Secret Service did admit there were mistakes and gaffes,” he added, referring to Kimberly Cheatle.

Click here to read more on Fox News Digital.

Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said his encounter with Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday night, looks more dramatic on video than it actually felt at the time.

During the RNC, several lawmakers came face-to-face with Cheatle and demanded answers surrounding the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania that nearly led to the assassination of former President Trump.

Cramer was a guest on “The Story” with Martha MacCallum on Thursday when he was asked what goes through his mind when he sees a video of the encounter that made the rounds on social media.

“Well, first of all, it looks more dramatic than it felt at the moment because at the moment we were just trying to exercise a little bit of responsibility and try to shed some light on a lot of questions that are being asked around the country and around the world from somebody who should have the answers but has not been forthcoming providing them,” Cramer said. “This is the first time I’ve actually seen this footage. So, having lived it, it didn’t seem that big a deal at the time.”

The senator said it was frustrating because he stops and talks to everyone who asks him questions, even in the hallways of the Capitol building and with the press corps.

Cramer was stunned that someone who is directly responsible for answering questions from Congress would not talk to the lawmakers at the RNC, who were asking, what he said, were “some of the most obvious” and simple questions.

At one point, Cheatle even said they should go into another room, which Cramer believed is what they were going to do, but she ran and fled the lawmakers into a room with her security team.

“It’s such a moment when, really, the restoration of confidence in the Secret Service…requires her to be forthcoming with information,” Cramer said.

James “Jim” Copenhaver, one of the two victims who were critically wounded during the assassination attempt against former President Trump on Saturday, said in his first official statement after the incident that the events over the weekend were both “tragic” and “completely unnecessary.”

Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township, Pennsylvania, is still hospitalized but was recently upgraded from critical to serious condition after he was wounded by gunfire at Trump’s rally in Butler.

“The events that transpired on Saturday, July 13, 2024 at the rally were tragic and completely unnecessary. No person should be fearful to express their support for a candidate or attend an event,” Copenhaver said. “My unwavering support for President Trump will continue and I am happy and unafraid to support him on his way to becoming the 47th President of the United States of America.”

President Trump spoke with Copenhaver’s family, as well, and once up to it, Copenhaver looks forward to speaking with the former president.

Fox News’ Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.

Former President Trump wanted to attend the public viewing for the man who was shot and killed during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, but was told no by the Secret Service.

Fox News confirmed that Trump had wanted to attend the public viewing for Corey Comperatore, a firefighter who shielded his family from flying bullets during a Trump rally on Saturday and ultimately died.

But the Secret Service told Trump not to attend the wake due to an inability to secure the densely wooded area nearby.

On Thursday, firefighters and a procession of law enforcement vehicles accompanied the casket of 50-year-old Comperatore.

Uniformed military personnel were seen securing a perimeter around Laube Hall in Freeport on Thursday morning, checking the roof and surroundings of the building ahead of a vigil for Comperatore.

Thursday’s public viewing, scheduled to take place between 2 and 4 p.m. and from 6 to 8 p.m., caused road closures for the large preceding fire truck procession.

Fox News’ CB Cotton and Christina Coulter contributed to this report.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., called on President Biden
to provide “absolute transparency” and that his administration provides daily updates on the investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday.

Scott sent a letter to Biden, carbon copying Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, saying there is a lot of information about the attempted assassination of Trump floating around, adding that people naturally assume the worst when there is a lack of transparency.

“I write today to urge you and your administration to take every action necessary to share updates with President Trump, Congress and the American people, and answer questions about what happened, who is being held accountable and how we make sure it never happens again,” the senator from Florida wrote. “Now is the time for absolute transparency and accountability.”

Scott pressed the president for his administration to provide answers that U.S. Senators and Americans are demanding regarding the shooting, from the government, calling on Biden to take daily action to show accountability.

He asked the president to have Wray, Cheatle and Mayorkas to hold a daily public press conference, sharing updates and answers to questions from Americans.

“It is a miracle that President Trump is alive and well, but absolutely inexcusable that the deranged would-be assassin had a direct line of sight to the former president and the leading candidate for President of the United States,” Scott wrote. “It is imperative that the American people know that the U.S. government is answering questions and holding people accountable for the failures that led to this totally preventable tragedy.”

Scott told Biden he expects an immediate response with answers to a number of questions he posed to him and his administration.

The FBI declined to attend a hearing with the House Homeland Security Committee next week, on the events leading to a shooting during a presidential campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, that nearly claimed the life of former President Trump.

Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green confirmed the FBI declined to attend the hearing, scheduled for next week.

FBI Director Christopher Wray is still expected to testify before the House Committee on the Judiciary on Wednesday, July 24.

Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and members of the Committee on the Judiciary sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray saying they had learned the Secret Service was understaffed at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania because the agency was covering a NATO summit in Washington, D.C.

Jordan posted a copy of the letter on X Thursday, which was dated July 18, 2024.

The committee is conducting oversight of the attempted assassination of Trump on July 13 as well as investigative actions taken by the FBI ahead of, and after the shooting.

“Information provided to this Committee raises serious questions about the thoroughness of the security planning by local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies in support of President Trump’s campaign rally,” the letter read. “Law enforcement overlooked a number of vulnerabilities prior to and during the event in Butler, Pennsylvania, allowing an assassin to shoot a President, murder an attendee, and critically wound two others. This tragedy demands a full and transparent investigation.”

After the incident, the Secret Service cleared the scene and the FBI began its investigation.

The letter also points out information learned through whistleblowers on the matter.

“Whistleblowers have disclosed to the Committee that the [Secret Service] led two briefings regarding the July 13 campaign rally on July 8, 2024, with the Western Pennsylvania Fusion Center (WPFC) and other stakeholders, to discuss the upcoming, unrelated visits by President Trump and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden,” the letter read. “The [Secret Service] Special Agent in Charge, Tim Burke, reportedly told law enforcement partners that the [Secret Service] had limited resources that week because the agency was covering the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Washington, D.C. FBI personnel were present at those briefings.”

A source tells Fox News that former President Trump has met with Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle in Milwaukee — the site of the Republican National Convention — following last weekend’s shooting at a rally in Pennsylvania.

The meeting on Wednesday was described by the source as short.

Cheatle has been facing calls to step down from her position following the attempted assassination against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday.

When Cheatle appeared at Republican National Convention on Wednesday, she was confronted by several senators demanding answers.

Fox News’ Alexis McAdams contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is questioning Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle’s decision to appear
at the Republican National Convention (RNC) on Wednesday night, as House GOP leaders push for accountability for the security failures that led to the attempted assassination of former President Trump.

“I’m not sure what she was doing here. Why would she walk around when she’s under so much scrutiny?” Johnson told Fox News Digital in an interview at the RNC in Milwaukee. 

“I don’t understand her decision-making process, and I don’t think she’s fit to lead at this critical time.”

The embattled Secret Service director was seen in the RNC venue on Wednesday, where she was confronted by several Republican senators who have been dissatisfied with her answers thus far on what happened last weekend.

Johnson, for his part, is the highest-ranking official so far to call for Cheatle’s resignation in the wake of the deadly rally shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, last weekend. 

Retired Secret Service agent Mike Matranga told ‘America’s Newsroom’ on Thursday that the Trump rally shooting is a “catastrophic failure of communications.”  

“The last five days, the director or upper administration of the Secret Service failing to even address the American people or to point the finger solely at the local law enforcement is just not right,” Matranga said. “The American people deserve better, the former President deserves better, the individuals who were harmed and the individual who succumbed to his injuries deserves better. 

“At the end of the day we just need to say what it is, this is a catastrophic failure of communications,” Matranga added. “We have known this for decades, that we rely too heavily on our local counterparts to do the jobs that we are designed to do.” 

“This is a catastrophic failure – any other explanation beyond that is just completely asinine,” Matranga concluded. 

BUTLER, Pa. – The Trump rally shooter searched “major depressive disorder” before he nearly killed the former president, FBI director Chris Wray told Congress, according to reports.

Investigators uncovered the medical search on Thomas Matthew Crooks’ cellphone, along with the times and dates of the Democratic and Republican national conventions and photos of Trump and President Biden, The New York Times reported. 

Crooks appears to be on good terms with his parents, who are both counselors, but they weren’t part of his daily life, according to The Times. 

Wray revealed the investigators’ findings during Wednesday’s congressional hearing, where he said the FBI has conducted 200 interviews and combed through 14,000 images on Crooks’ phone.

Despite the voluminous investigation, there is still no definitive motive for Saturday’s attempted assassination in Butler, Pennsylvania, Wray told lawmakers during a hearing Wednesday. 

Lackawanna County commissioners have announced that they have “indefinitely suspended Community Relations Manager Rick Notari” over “an inappropriate comment he made on social media following the assassination attempt Saturday against former President Donald Trump.” 

“Lackawanna County’s government serves all of its residents regardless of their political affiliations,” Commissioner Matt McGloin said in a statement. “An attempt on a former president, and current presidential candidate’s life, is a time for the country to come together to condemn political violence, rather than deepen existing divisions through inappropriate commentary on social media.” 

Lackawanna County is in northeastern Pennsylvania and includes the city of Scranton. 

The Scranton Times-Tribune is reporting that Notari wrote on X “It’s a shame the guy missed” in response to a post that sports commentator Rich Eisen made regarding the shooting. 

The family of Corey Comperatore, the 50-year-old volunteer firefighter who was shot and killed over the weekend at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania, has released a statement Thursday calling his death “unthinkable.” 

“Corey Comperatore was our beloved father and husband, and a friend to so many throughout the Butler region. He was a local leader and veteran, a former fire chief, and a committed Christian who found peace and joy through our church. He loved and cared for us, his family,” the statement says. 

“Our family is finding comfort and peace through the heartfelt messages of encouragement from people around the world, through the support of our church and community, and most of all through the strength of God. We thank the countless people who have prayed for us throughout the past week. We deeply appreciate your kindness,” it continued. 

“We ask for your continued prayers and privacy as we mourn and adjust to the realities of Corey’s unthinkable passing,” the statement added. 

Helen Comperatore, Corey’s widow, wrote on Facebook this week that Trump has called her and was “very kind.” 

Thomas Matthew Crooks, the 20-year-old would-be assassin who opened fire on former President Donald Trump’s Pennsylvania campaign rally Saturday, hid the weapon in advance, according to a Secret Service source.

It was not immediately clear where he hid it, however. By the time agents spotted him on the roof, he was already holding it.

“We went from golf range finder to AR-15, and now we have to fill in the gap,” the source told Fox News.

When authorities first observed Crooks carrying a golf range finder Saturday, he was perceived as a “person of interest” but not a “threat,” authorities said Thursday.

Range finders were not banned from rally events at the time, but authorities are expected to review the list of items that are not allowed.

He did not become an official threat until he was seen with a weapon.

Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report.

The director of the Secret Service has agreed to testify at an upcoming House hearing probing the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump.

The House Oversight and Accountability Committee subpoenaed Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to appear in front of Congress as part of the open investigation into the
Trump-rally shooting, claiming the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Secret Service “failed to provide assurance regarding your appearance” as reasoning.

Cheatle has since agreed to comply with the subpoena, the committee announced Wednesday evening.

“Americans demand and deserve answers from Director Cheatle about the attempted assassination of President Trump and the Secret Service’s egregious failures,” the GOP-led committee wrote on X after Cheatle agreed to appear.

Bloomberg is reporting that documents it received from the Secret Service reveal that agents responded to dozens of potential threats against former President Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. 

The documents highlighted repeated incidents in which people gained unauthorized access to the property while Trump was there, according to Bloomberg. 

But the report says it doesn’t appear any of the people that got into Mar-a-Lago posed an immediate threat to Trump and many were charged with trespassing and resisting arrest, while others were sent to local mental health facilities. 

In one instance in 2018, an 18-year-old college student showed up at Mar-a-Lago while Trump was there and was allowed through a Secret Service checkpoint following a screening. 

A document stated that the individual “was on the property for approximately 10 minutes and posted multiple Snapchat videos, one of which was titled ‘Sneaking into Trump club is like taking candy from a baby.’” 

That student later was questioned and told agents “he wanted to explore and was curious” before being “sent on his way,” the document continues. 

But the individual eventually was charged with entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds, Bloomberg reports. 

In another 2018 case, a man was arrested for criminal trespassing after showing up at Mar-a-Lago telling the Secret Service that he “wanted President Trump to sign an executive order to release six trillion dollars he believed he was owed for his marketing strategy associated with the production of a video game rental idea,” according to a document obtained by Bloomberg. 

“He believed President Trump was holding his money hostage in an attempt to collect a percentage of his earnings and insisted President Trump should be executed through the Executive Branch for his actions,” the document added. 

CNN’s Van Jones said the differences between former President Trump and President Biden couldn’t be starker after Biden came down with COVID-19 Wednesday.

The political commentator took part in a panel covering the Republican National Convention as news broke about the president testing positive for COVID-19 and having to quarantine. This announcement came as more and more high-profile Democrats have reportedly called on Biden to leave the presidential race.

Biden’s diagnosis showed a clear sign of weakness compared to the former president recently surviving an assassination attempt, according to the former Obama adviser.

“There are a lot of people who want Biden to stay in. A lot of those people pointing out that still grassroots love Joe Biden, but everybody doesn’t agree. But today is a terrible day. If you pull back and look at this thing: strength versus weakness. A bullet couldn‘t stop Trump. A virus just stopped Biden,” Jones said.

Trump shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks was perceived by the U.S. Secret Service as a “person of interest,” not yet a “threat” after law enforcement saw him acting suspiciously and determined he had a golf range finder, according to Secret Service Spokesman Anthony Guglielmi.   

Crooks was only identified as a threat when he “retrieved the weapon” and climbed onto the roof, according to Guglielmi, who adds that a threat requires, “a different protocol and a different course of action than a person of interest.” 

Guglielmi maintains that it was only once Crooks retrieved his weapon and got on the roof that he was identified as a threat. 

Soon after that Butler Township police officers confronted Crooks on the roof and he pointed his weapon at one of them, who then dropped off the roof. 

Crooks then fired on former president Trump and was taken out by a Secret Service counter sniper. 

Fox News’ Jake Gibson and David Spunt contributed to this report.

Fox News has been told that Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle flew to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee to make a “courtesy connection” with the Secret Service on the ground there after the assassination attempt against former President Trump in Pennsylvania. 

The convention organizers were aware that Cheatle was there and told senators – and later four of them were captured on video confronting Cheatle: John Barrasso of Wyoming, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota and James Lankford of Oklahoma. 

After being pursued by the senators – who told her that they owe the people and the president “answers” — Cheatle finally said to them “this is not the venue.” 

In addition, Fox News has learned that Cheatle was on a Senate call yesterday where FBI Director Christopher Wray briefed lawmakers on the investigation into Saturday’s shooting, although she was not billed as being a participant. 

Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on ‘Mornings with Maria’ on Thursday that he is ready to call on President Biden to fire Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the U.S. Secret Service. 

“I’m prepared this morning to call on President Biden to fire Director Cheadle. Yesterday I said that she should resign,” Johnson said. “It’s clear that she has no intention to do so. But the oversight here, the mistakes, the ineptitude, whatever it is, was inexcusable.  

“We almost lost the life of a former president. And I think there has to be accountability. And it begins at the top. This is ridiculous,” Johnson added. 

Cheatle so far has resisted calls from lawmakers to resign from her position. 

“Continuity of operations is paramount during a critical incident and U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has no intentions to step down. She deeply respects members of Congress and is fiercely committed to transparency in leading the Secret Service through the internal investigation and strengthening the agency through lessons learned in these important internal and external reviews,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement late Wednesday. 

Fox News’ Scott McDonald contributed to this report. 

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., told FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on ‘Mornings with Maria’ on Thursday that lawmakers “really are going to get to the bottom of this” when it comes to the Secret Service’s handling of Saturday’s Trump assassination attempt. 

The interview unfolded after Republican senators confronted Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, telling her that they owe the people and the president “answers.” 

Video shows Sens. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and John Barrasso, R-Wyo., confronting Cheatle in Milwaukee. Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., were also involved. 

“Stonewalling,” Barrasso can be heard yelling at Cheatle as she moves through the convention center. 

“I’m glad that they were trying to get answers from her,” Donalds said Thursday. 

“We really are going to get to the bottom of this. And I will also say we have members on the other side of the aisle who are taking this just as seriously… I mean, you have Democrat members who want to get to the bottom of this just as much as Republicans,” he added. 

Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

The 20-year-old loner who attempted to assassinate former President Trump on Saturday had an account on the encrypted Discord app, a sign that he preferred anonymous interactions to real-world relationships, experts told Fox News Digital.

A spokesperson for the platform confirmed that Thomas Matthew Crooks had an account and that it had been deactivated by Discord after the assassination attempt that wounded Trump and killed a rally attendee.

“It was rarely utilized, has not been used in months, and we have found no evidence that it was used to plan this incident, promote violence or discuss his political views,” the spokesperson said. “Discord strongly condemns violence of any kind, including political violence, and we will continue to coordinate closely with law enforcement.”

Fox News learned late Wednesday that Crooks wrote an ominous message on the gaming platform Steam, “July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds.” His laptop also had searches in early July for Trump, Biden, when is DNC convention, and July 13 Trump rally.

Retired FBI agent and behavior analysis expert Jim Clemente said the Discord community is especially popular with gamers and that Crooks’ usage comes as no surprise.

“It’s encrypted, so it does provide a level of privacy and anonymity,” he said. “So, somebody who might feel disenfranchised, a loner who felt bullied, those kinds of people, it’s very common for them to spend more time online interacting with others rather than the real world because their experiences with the real world are so negative.”

A former SWAT commander balked at the “audacity” of Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle blaming the “sloped roof” for not positioning snipers on the building where Thomas Crooks opened fire at Saturday’s rally for former President Trump.

Gene Petrino, who served as the SWAT commander for Florida’s Plantation Police Department for 26 years and is an expert on active shooter incidents, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday that Cheatle’s “sloped roof theory” was “shocking.”

He added that there were clearly more favorable spots for snipers to scope out the venue in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Crooks killed one man and injured three others, including Trump.

“That building in particular has a sloped roof at its highest point,” Cheatle said in an interview with ABC News. “And so, you know, there’s a safety factor that would be considered there that we wouldn’t want to put somebody up on a sloped roof… the decision was made to secure the building from the inside.”

“This site plan should have identified that roof as a major vulnerability,” Petrino said, “but there was no one there to protect it.” 

“The audacity for her to say that there was an issue with the sloped roof when her men were already on a sloped roof,” he said, referring to published photos of other Secret Service snipers perched on sloped roofs in the vicinity. 

Petrino also said he was puzzled by an apparent lack of drone surveillance at the rally, and questioned why snipers hadn’t been stationed at a water tower that “would have had a vantage point of all the roofs,” which is visible in aerial photos of the area surrounding the rally site.

BETHEL PARK, Pa. – A former classmate of would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks says the 20-year-old gunman was quiet with a small friend group, noting that she would never have pegged him for his actions at the Trump rally.

Sarah D’Angelo, a nursing student, shared with Fox News Digital her scant interactions with Crooks as the pair attended school together for eight years and shared a homeroom classroom at Bethel Park High School.

D’Angelo painted a portrait of Crooks’ personality, interests and perception at the school.

“He had a small friend group,” D’Angelo said. “He wasn’t a loner but was not the most popular kid in the class.”

The 20-year-old’s political leanings have been a hot topic, with people pointing to his Republican voter registration and others pointing to his $15 campaign donation to a progressive political action committee. 

D’Angelo said Crooks did not reveal his political affiliation in class, even as the classmates shared an American politics class in high school.

“We had [an] American politics class. It was half a year during senior year,” she said. “And he never made any of his political views outward.”

An executive security expert ripped Secret Service chief Kimberly Cheatle for failing to protect former President Trump on Saturday, saying the agency needs to clean house, especially after her “sloped roof” excuse. 

Bill Stanton, who has worked in the field for four decades, took aim at Cheatle’s assertion that agents passed on manning a nearby roof used by shooter Thomas Crooks because it was sloped.

The would-be assassin climbed to the roof of the building and squeezed off several rounds that injured Trump and killed rally attendee Corey Comperatore. Two others were critically wounded.

“Her explanation that it was dangerous that the roof was pitched to me is the equivalent of a school child saying that the dog ate their homework,” Stanton said. “How does that pass muster for anybody, regardless of political affiliation?” 

Stanton said Trump was inches from certain death and that Cheatle would have been squarely to blame.

“God forbid that bullet was 1 inch over to the right, and it actually killed our former president,” he said. “Was that the excuse she was going to give, that the roof was too pitched, and she still has a job?”

Dr. Houman Hemmati, speaking on ‘Fox News Live,’ said former President Trump “avoided, narrowly, getting an injury to the facial nerve which is a nerve that branches out right from where the ear is and innervates the muscles of the face, including the mouth and the eye lids and where the cheeks are.” 

Hemmati said the nerve is “involved in smiling and just being able to keep your face up.” 

“I was looking [at Trump] very closely at the convention, it looks like he is able to smile normally, everything is working just fine,” Hemmati continued.  

“It looks like a chunk of his ear may be missing, which is probably why he is covering it at this point,” Hemmati also said, describing Trump’s injuries after being shot on Saturday during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. “It may need some reconstructive surgery, but I think that is going to be mostly cosmetic in President Trump’s case.”

BETHEL PARK, Pa. – A local GOP volunteer who helped set up and later attended former President Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last weekend, said he and other activists raised concerns the night prior about the venue’s security.

Zach Scherer, a volunteer firefighter from Chicora – a short drive northeast of the Butler Farm Show – told Fox News Digital on Wednesday he was also in the third row behind Trump on the risers at the moment the former president was injured and fellow firefighter Corey Comperatore was killed.

“Friday night; I’ll take it back a day — there was a group of us that had volunteered on the Trump campaign to do rally set up, which included setting up the barricades, the stage set-up and other things that were needed to make sure this was a successful event,” Scherer said.

“We did a walk through at 7 PM on Friday night, and we raised multiple concerns with the state GOP staff about parking, about security issues we saw, where there were a lack of barricades at.”

“And all of our safety concerns that we that we brought up on Friday evening were strictly turned down and there were no answers given to any of our questions or concerns about security in that matter,” he added.

Scherer said he has volunteered for at least 20 other Trump rallies and that whenever security or logistics concerns were brought to party or law enforcement officials, they were rectified by the time the event began.

“We always saw the change in place the day of the rally. And [Butler] was the first one that I saw no changes made from Friday night to Saturday morning when we got there at 7:30 [AM].”

Fox News has learned that U.S. senators were told during an all-member briefing on Wednesday, July 17, that former President Trump’s would-be assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, wrote a threatening message on a gaming platform ahead of his shooting.

On “Steam,” a popular platform where gamers purchase games and communicate, Crooks allegedly wrote: “July 13 will be my premiere, watch as it unfolds.”

When investigators reviewed the laptop, they found a few searches in July of: Trump, Biden, when is DNC convention, and July 13 Trump rally.

Investigators found no evidence of a particular ideology on the laptop, which the FBI believes is notable, and nobody in interviews reported Crooks discussing politics.

The senators learned that the suspect had two cell phones. The primary phone was recovered from the scene along with a remote transmitter. A secondary cell phone was found at the home, it had only 27 contacts. The FBI is in the process of tracking down and interviewing those people.

Fox News Channel Senior White House Correspondent Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report.

U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle’s office sent a statement late Wednesday that said she will not step down as the agency’s director after top Washington lawmakers have called for her removal following an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

“Continuity of operations is paramount during a critical incident and U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle has no intentions to step down. She deeply respects members of Congress and is fiercely committed to transparency in leading the Secret Service through the internal investigation and strengthening the agency through lessons learned in these important internal and external reviews,” Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi stated.

The remark came on a day when Cheatle took part in a briefing with U.S. Senators regarding the attempted assassination of Trump at his rally in Butler, Penn., last Saturday.

GOP Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and John Barrasso of Wyoming confronted Cheatle at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Wednesday to demand the director to answer questions about the agency’s leadership.

Blackburn said that Cheatle would not answer their questions, telling the Republican senators it was not the time or place. Blackburn also tweeted Cheatle escaping the senators as they questioned her at the convention.

“This was after we’ve been through a conference call today where the questions queue got cut off,” Blackburn said. “But I’ve got a message for her: she can run but she can’t hide because the American people want to know how an assassination attempt was carried out on former President Donald Trump.”

Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz, Aishah Hasnie and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.