Balloons poured out from the ceiling of the RNC venue Thursday night as former President Trump wrapped his first major speech since Saturday’s assassination attempt.

Trump was joined onstage by his wife, former first lady Melania Trump and his family members who sat in the family box with him including Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump and Kai Trump.

Trump’s newly-tapped VP nominee, JD Vance, also joined the Trump family on stage a few minutes later. The duo will next appear together for their first joint rally in Grand Rapids, MI on Saturday. It will be Trump’s first rally since the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, exactly one week later.

Former President Donald Trump
said Thursday from the Republican National Convention that countries holding Americans hostage will pay a “very big price” if the hostages are not returned and he takes back the White House.

Trump’s remarks came as he discussed wars that have broken out in recent years, drawing a sharp contrast between his four years in the White House and that of the Biden administration.

“The entire world, I tell you this: We want our hostages back. And they better be back before I assume office or you will be paying a very big price.”

“With our victory in November, the years of war, weakness and chaos will be over,” he added. “I don’t have wars. I had no wars other than ISIS, which I defeated. But that was a war that was started. We had no wars. I could stop wars with a telephone call.”

Several Americans were taken hostage amid Hamas’ invasion of Israel in Oct. 2023.

Former President Donald Trump recognized Sam Brown, the Republican nominee for Senate in Nevada who served in the U.S. Army was wounded by an IED explosion.

Trump’s remarks about Brown came Thursday during his speech at the Republican National Convention, where he forcefully condemned the Biden administration’s rocky withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

“We have never had a humiliation like that,” Trump said of the withdrawal. “Thirteen heroic U.S. service members were tragically and needlessly killed. Forty-five others were horrifically wounded, nobody ever talks about them. No arms, no legs, face explosions, horrifically horrifically wounded.”

“And by the way, we have a man in this room who’s running for the U.S. Senate from a great state, Nevada, named Sam Brown, who paid the ultimate price,” he added.

Trump urged Nevada voters to vote for Brown, who he described as a “real hero,” this fall.

“He paid the biggest price probably ever paid by anybody that is running for office, and I think he’s going to do great. He’s running against the person that is not good, not respected, a total lightweight. … He’s a real hero, a really great person. And he’s running. I hope that everybody gets out and votes for Sam Brown.”

Brown was deployed in 2008 to Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he was injured. He is running against incumbent Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., in the state’s Nov. 5 general election.

As former President Trump’s
speech is still underway in Milwaukee, WI, veteran Democratic strategist and DNC member Maria Cardona told Fox News Digital: ”This is a god-awful speech.”

“One of the worst speeches Trump has ever given,” she said. “Rambling, incoherent, super low energy, weird bizarre asides, I’m actually really surprised it is this bad. And of course, the requisite lies lies lies and absolutely no new tone.”

Throughout Trump’s speech, he recounted Saturday’s harrowing assassination attempt survival and discussed key Republican platform issues: illegal immigration, inflation, and ending the Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas wars.

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump went back to the now infamous chart that he said “saved” his life when he turned to look at it the moment a would-be assassin opened fire on him at a Pennsylvania rally.

“Less than four years ago, I handed this administration the strongest border in American history, but you can see on the chart that saved my life… that was the chart that saved my life,” Trump said at the Republican National Convention Thursday as the chart showing illegal immigrant crossing flashed onto the screen behind him.

The chart, which shows illegal crossings steadily declining during Trump’s years in office and then skyrocketing over the last few years, was also shown at the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania last week moments before shots rang out. Trump turned to look at the chart just before bullets began to fly, a move that may have prevented the bullet from impacting more than just his ear.

“Oh there it is, that’s pretty good, wow,” Trump said after noticing the chart was now on the screen at the RNC. “Last time I put up that chart I never really got to look at it. Without this chart, I would not be here today.”

Despite Former President Trump’s planned speech not mentioning President Biden’s name at all, Trump went off script Thursday night and mentioned the current president twice.

“
If you took the ten worst presidents in the history of the United States, think of it, [if you] added them up, they will not have done the damage that Biden has done,” Trump said on the last night of the RNC as he formally accepted the party’s presidential nomination. 

“They will not have done the damage that Biden has done — only going to use the term once — Biden. I’m not going to use the name anymore,” Trump said. “Just one time.”

The former president also took a swipe at Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, calling her “crazy Nancy.” Trump recalled her tenure as Speaker of the House in 2019, when his son was subpoenaed by the House Judiciary Committee.

“Don last night was incredible,” Trump said of his son, Donald Trump Jr. “He went through so much trouble. They got subpoenaed more than any people, probably in the history of the United States. Every week they get another subpoena from the Democrats. Crazy Nancy Pelosi, the whole thing just boom, boom, boom. They’ve got to stop that because they’re destroying our country.”

Former President Donald Trump
vowed to “drive down prices” on day one if he’s elected in the 2024 presidential election, telling a roaring crowd at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee that “people can’t live like this.”

“We must get economic relief to our citizens. Starting on day one, we will drive down prices and make America affordable again. We have to make it affordable. It’s not affordable,” he said.

People can’t live like this,” he added.

Trump said the election on Nov. 5 “can’t come fast enough.”

Trump, reflecting on rising costs, also talked about how young Americans can’t get financing to buy homes.

“Under this administration, our current administration, groceries are up 57%, gasoline is up 60 and 70%. Mortgage rates have quadrupled. And the fact is, it doesn’t matter what they are because you can’t get the money anyway. You can’t buy houses. Young people can’t get any financing to buy a house. The total household costs have increased on average of $28,000 per family under this administration. Republicans have a plan to bring down prices and bring them down very, very rapidly.”

“By slashing energy costs, we will in turn reduce the cost of transportation, manufacturing and all household goods. So much starts with energy,” he added.

America was introduced to another of former President Trump’s grandchildren Thursday when his granddaughter, Carolina Trump, was spotted sitting on his lap during the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee.

The moment came as Trump’s son, Eric Trump, was delivering his RNC address.

Carolina is the youngest daughter of Eric and Lara Trump, who serves as co-chair of the Republican National Committee.

Carolina’s time in the spotlight comes just a day after another Trump granddaughter, 17-year-old Kai Trump, addressed the RNC in her first public speech.

Kai is the daughter of Donald Trump, Jr. and his ex-wife, Vanessa Trump.

Former President Trump gave an update on condition of the victims of the would-be assassin’s bullets over the weekend, while saying he has raised more than $6 million for them in the last several days.

Firefighter, father and husband Corey Comperatore was killed during the rally Saturday. Trump held a moment of silence during his speech Thursday night.

“Tragically, the shooter claimed the life of one of our fellow Americans, Corey Comperatore, and seriously wounded two other great warriors, David Dutch and James Copenhaver,” Trump said. “I spoke to all three families of these tremendous people—our love and prayers are with them, and always will be.”

Trump had Comperatore’s uniform on stage with him.

“I am very proud to say that over the past few days, we’ve raised $6.3 million for the families of David James and Corey,” Trump said, revealing another check for $1 million.

“When speaking to the family, I told them, I said, well, I’m going to be sending you a lot of money, but it can’t compensate,” he said. “They all said the same thing. You’re right, sir, we appreciate so much what you’re doing, but nothing can take the place in the case of Corey and the other two, by the way, they were very, very seriously injured.”

Trump said that Dutch and Copenhaver are now “doing very well.”

“They’re going to be okay.”

Former President Donald Trump took a moment to praise his wife Melania during his Republican National Convention speech on Thursday.

“On this journey, I am deeply honored to be joined by my amazing wife, Melania,” Trump told the crowd in Milwaukee during an emotional speech.

He then referred to her letter to America, in which she called for unity in the wake of the assassination attempt against her husband.

“I am thinking of you, now, my fellow Americans,” she wrote. “Dawn is here again. Let us reunite. Now.”

The former president praised the letter.

“And Melania, thank you very much. You also did something really beautiful. A letter to America calling for national unity. And it really took the Republican Party by surprise. I will tell you, it was beautiful,’ he said.

“Some very serious people said that we should take that letter and put it as part of the Republican platform. That would be an honor, wouldn’t it?”

Former President Trump praised Secret Service agents who protected him during Saturday’s assassination attempt in his highly anticipated RNC speech Thursday night, amid growing calls for Secet Service Director Kimberly Cheatle to resign over what lawmakers call severe security failures that led to the attempted assassination of Trump over the weekend.

“Bullets were continuing to fly, as very brave Secret Service agents rushed to the stage, and they really did they rushed,” Trump said Thursday night. “It was great people at great risk, I will tell you, and pounced on top of me so that I would be protected.”

The furious criticism of the agency comes as Republicans and some Democrats are demanding answers from the Secret Service over the circumstances surrounding the attempt on Trump’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday. The shooter has been identified as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, and the FBI is investigating his specific motive.

Cheatle has agreed to comply with a subpoena from House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer. She has called the shooting “unacceptable” and “something that shouldn’t happen again.”

“The buck stops with me,” she told ABC News. “I am the director of the Secret Service, and I need to make sure that we are performing a review and that we are giving resources to our personnel as necessary.”She has also faced criticism for comments she made talking about a “sloped roof” that caused a safety issue.

Fox News Digital’s Julia Johnson contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump, describing his attempted assassination attempt, tells the RNC that he isn’t supposed to have been at the convention — a statement with which the crowd disagreed.

Trump was describing the moment a gunman attempted to kill him last week in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“I’m not supposed to be here tonight,” an emotional Trump told the crowd in Milwaukee.

“Yes you are,” the crowd chanted in response. “Yes you are.”

Former President Trump
delivered his highly anticipated speech on Thursday night as he accepted the Republican Party’s presidential nomination on the convention’s final evening. The emotional speech came after his decision earlier in the week to abandon his original 20-page speech due to Saturday’s attempted assassination.

“So many people have asked me what happened, and therefore, I’ll tell you what happened,” Trump said. “And you’ll never hear it from me a second time, because it’s too painful to tell.”

As such, Trump began recounting the events from Butler, Pennsylvania over the weekend where the gunman, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, opened fire. The shot narrowly missed, hitting the former president’s skull and instead pierced his right ear while he was turning to look at one of his immigration charts displayed on a screen at the event.

“In order to see the chart, I started to turn to my right, and was ready to begin a further turn, which I’m lucky I didn’t, when I heard a loud whizzing sound and felt something hit me, really hard, on my right ear,” Trump recalled. “I said to myself, ‘Wow, what was that—it can only be a bullet,’—and moved my right hand to my ear, brought it down, and my hand was covered with blood, just blood all over the place. I immediately knew it was very serious, that we were under attack, and in one movement, proceeded to drop to the ground.”

“There was blood pouring everywhere, and yet, in a certain way I felt very safe, because I had God on my side,” Trump continued. “The amazing thing is that prior to the shot, if I had not moved my head at the very last instant, the assassin’s bullet would have perfectly hit its mark, and I would not be with you tonight.”

Despite shots ringing out at the crowded rally, attendees did not “run for the exits or stampede,” Trump noted, but instead “tens of thousands of people stood by and didn’t move an inch. In fact, many of them bravely, but automatically, stood up looking for where the sniper would be, and then began pointing at him.”

Because of this, Trump said, “many lives were saved.”

“But that isn’t the reason they didn’t move—the reason is that they knew I was in serious trouble, they saw all of the blood, and thought I was dead, and they just didn’t want to leave me, and you can see that love written all over their faces,” he said.

“I am not supposed to be here tonight,” Trump said, as the crowd shouted back, “Yes you are.”

“I stand before you in this arena only by the grace of almighty God,” Trump said. “In watching the reports over the last few days, many people say it was a providential moment.”

“The crowd was confused because they thought I was dead,” Trump said. “And there was great great sorrow. I could see that on their faces as I looked up. They didn’t know I was looking out they thought it was over. When I could see it I wanted to do something to let them know I was okay. I raised my right arm looked at the thousands and thousands of people that were breathlessly waiting and started shouting, ‘fight, fight, fight.’

Then, Trump recounted the moment the iconic fist-in-air photo was snapped by Associated Press photojournalist, Evan Vucci, as he was being carried off the stage surrounded by Secret Service.

“Once my clenched fist went up, high into the air, the crowd realized I was okay, and roared with pride for our country, like no crowd I have ever heard before,” Trump said. “For the rest of my life, I will be grateful for the love shown by that giant audience of patriots that stood bravely on that fateful evening in Pennsylvania.”

Former President Donald Trump paid tribute to firefighter Corey Comperatore, who was killed in last week’s assassination attempt on Trump, calling the Pennsylvania father a “fine man.”

“Tragically, the shooter claimed the life of one of our fellow Americans, Corey Comperatore, and seriously wounded two other great warriors.. David Dutch and James Copenhaver. I spoke to all three families of these tremendous people—our love and prayers are with them, and always will be,” Trump said. ” Corey, a highly respected former fire chief… was accompanied by his wife Helen… and two precious daughters. He lost his life selflessly acting as a human shield to protect them from flying bullets… what a fine man he was.”

Trump then walked over to Comperatore’s firefighting helmet and jacket that were placed on the stage next to the former president as a tribute before asking for a moment of silence.

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for others,” Trump said. “This is the spirit that forged America in her darkest hours, and this is the love that will lead America back to the summit of human achievement and greatness.”

Former President Donald Trump took the stage Thursday on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention, where he formally accepted the party’s nomination for President of the United States.

“Together we will launch a new era of safety, prosperity and freedom for citizens of every race, religion, color and creed. The discord and division in our society must be healed. We must heal it quickly. As Americans, we are bound together by a single fate and a shared destiny. We rise together or we fall apart.”

“I am running to be president for all of America, not half of America, because there is no victory in winning for half of America,” he added. “So tonight, with faith and devotion, I proudly accept your nomination for president of the United States.”

Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship calls former President Donald Trump a “fighter” in his speech to the Republican National Convention.

“I’m telling you what I know, and I know President Trump,” White said. “I know President Trump is a fighter. I’ve been saying this since 2015. Now look at what’s happened over the last ten years.”

White is said to be a longtime friend and vocal supporter of the former president, and his speech comes after an assassination attempt against Trump last week.

“We have all seen it with our own eyes,” White said. “I’m in the tough guy business and this man is the toughest, most resilient human being that I’ve ever met in my life.”

“The higher the stakes, the harder he fights. And this guy never, ever gives up.”

President of the UFC, Dana White –– a longtime friend and vocal supporter of Trump — sang the former president’s praises Thursday night, just moments before Trump is scheduled to take the stage and deliver his first major speech since the assassination attempt over the weekend.

“In my mind, the course choice is clear,” White said. “But this election, we all get to choose. I know I’m going to choose strength and security. I know I’m going to choose opportunity and prosperity. I know I’m gonna choose real American leadership and a real American bada–.”

Eric Trump, one of Trump’s three sons, took the stage on day four of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where he reminded Americans of his father’s accomplishments in the White House.

“He decided to leave behind the comforts of an unbelievable business empire — to leave behind everything he had ever built — to answer the call to serve our nation,” he said. “Unlike his predecessor, it was not a decision born out of necessity.”

Speaking about the many achievements he had during his time in the White House from 2016 to 2021, Eric Trump declared Trump is ready for another four years.

“My father made the United States safe. Our borders were closed. There was peace in the Middle East,” he said.

Eric said his father had been “ruthlessly silenced, slandered and attacked by a corrupt administration.”

He also declared his father showed “unwavering courage” following the assassination attempt at a rally last weekend.

Speaking directly to his father, Eric said, “You wiped the blood off your face and you put your fist in the air in a moment that will be remembered as one of the most courageous acts in the history of American politics. You shouted, ‘Fight, fight, fight!'”

As one of the lead up speakers to former President Trump’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, Eric Trump recounted how he watched as his father was struck by a would-be assassin’s bullet in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday evening.

Addressing his father directly, Eric said, “The whole world saw your strength as you stood up, you wiped the blood off your face, and you put your fist in the air, in a moment that will be remembered as one of the most courageous acts in the history of American politics you shouted, ‘fight, fight, fight!'”.

With that the thousands of delegates and guests in Fiserv auditorium joined in a prolonged chant of “fight, fight, fight” for more than 20 seconds.

Melania Trump
, former President Donald Trump’s wife, has arrived at the 2024 Republican National Convention where her husband will officially accept the Republican nomination tonight.

While first lady, Melania created the “Be Best” anti-bullying campaign which she intended to focus on the well-being of children, social media use and opioid abuse.

On Saturday, during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a lone gunman hiding on a rooftop nearby shot at the former president and struck his ear.

Melania Trump released a statement following the attempted assassination which referred to the shooter, Thomas Michael Crooks, 20, as a “monster” and called on the country to come together.

“When I watched that violent bullet strike my husband, Donald, I realized my life, and Barron’s life, were on the brink of devastating change,” Melania wrote.

“To the families of the innocent victims who are now suffering from this heinous act, I humbly offer my sincerest sympathy,” she added. “Your need to summon your inner strength for such a terrible reason saddens me.”

Corey Comperatore, 50, died at the rally from a fatal gunshot wound. He was struck while shielding family members. Two other rally attendees were critically injured.

Former President Donald Trump will tonight declare the ongoing crisis at the southern border “the greatest invasion in history” as he promises to solve the crisis if elected in November.

“The greatest invasion in history is taking place right here in our country—they are coming in from every corner of the earth, not just from South America, but from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East—they’re coming from everywhere, and this administration does nothing to stop them,” Trump will say according to prepared remarks.

“They are coming from prisons and jails, from mental institutions and insane asylums, and terrorists at levels never seen before. Meanwhile, our crime rate is going up, while crime statistics all over the world are plunging,” he will say. “That’s because they’re delivering their murderers, drug dealers, terrorists, and criminals of all shapes and forms, into the United States.”

“We have become a dumping ground for the world, which is laughing at us,” he will say.

“Tonight, America, this is my vow: I will not let these killers and criminals into our country. I will keep our sons and daughters safe,” he will say.

Fox News Digital spotted Republican National Convention (RNC) attendee Sara Brady sporting a custom dress she created herself to honor former President Trump after the failed attempt on his life last week.

The red dress features the word “vote” in all capital letters on top with “2024” and “America’s comeback” written across the bottom.

It also depicts an illustrated version of the now-famous photo by the New York Times’ Doug Mills that shows Trump triumphantly pumping his fist in the air as he was surrounded by Secret Service agents after he was shot last weekend at his Butler, Pennsylvania campaign rally.

Brady called the photo “iconic and legendary.” She said she had partially created her dress already when the news of the shooting broke, and was inspired to add the image when she saw it.

Brady estimated it took her “eight to ten hours” to put the dress together.

Wrestling legend Hulk Hogan sparked loud cheers from RNC delegates Thursday night when he tore off his shirt to reveal a red Trump-Vance campaign tank-top underneath, shouting, “enough was enough.”

“What happened last week when they took a shot at my hero, and they tried to kill the next the next president of the United States,” Hogan shouted. “Enough was enough, and I said let Trumpamania run wild brother, let Trumpamania rule again, let Trumpamania make America great again!”

Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, was one of the first speakers of the night as the audience waited patiently for former President Donald Trump to come out and accept the nomination for president for the third consecutive time.

“He’s going to win in November, and we’re all going to be champions again when he wins,” Hogan later said, adding he’s known Trump for more than 35 years.

“He’s always been the biggest patriot,” he said.

Fox News Digital’s Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump has signed the paperwork to officially accept the Republican nomination for the presidency.

Images show him signing the paperwork in Milwaukee ahead of his address to the Republican National Convention later this evening.

The speech will mark the end of the party’s four-day convention, during which Trump announced JD Vance as his running mate.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told Fox News Digital that he’s looking for former President Trump to deliver a “message of optimism and hope” during his RNC speech.

“I’m really looking forward to his speech tonight
. I think millions of Americans that may have written him off before are going to be giving him a second look, and I think they’re gonna like what they see,” Scalise said.

He added that the GOP was “widening” its tent.

“You can see with this convention, there’s a lot of unity and frankly a lot of Democrats are looking for another place to go. They don’t like their own nominee or their vice president. And President Trump’s had a great message of optimism and hope, and I think you’re gonna hear that tonight. And I think our party is going to continue to grow and bring in new people,” Scalise said.

Former President Trump arrived at the final night of the 2024 Republican National Convention and walked out to AC/DC’s “Back In Black” to a rowdy crowd.

Former first lady Melania Trump, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, among other Trump family members, are expected in the family box tonight as the former president takes the stage for the highly anticipated speech.

Also sharing the box with the Trump family is country music star Jason Aldean and his wife, Brittany Aldean.

The Aldean duo has been vocal Trump supporters for years. After the assassination attempt on Trump last weekend, Aldean posted to Instagram to show his support and well-wishes for “45”.

“This is what a Warrior looks like!,” Aldean wrote in his caption attached to a photograph of Trump with blood on his face and a stiff arm raised to the crowd of campaign rally attendees in Butler, Pennsylvania. “@realdonaldtrump we are thinking about u and praying for you and your family. God has a bigger plan for you, my friend, and I think we all know what that is by now.”

The “She’s Country” singer concluded, “My heart goes out to the victims’ families as well. They are the ones left to pick up the pieces of this cowardly act.”

Volunteer firefighter, Corey Comperatore, 50, died during the assassination attempt, shielding his family from bullets and two others were injured at the rally.

Brittany Aldean shared the same photograph to her own account and wrote, “They done messed up now.”

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

Trump campaign senior adviser Alina Habba took the stage at the Republican National Convention for emotional remarks, recounting the time the former President made her hand over her phone to a supporter.

Habba told the audience that she was walking the streets of Manhattan when a Trump supporter shouted out “God bless you and President Trump!”

“Little did that man know that I was on the phone with the president himself,” Habba recalled. “And he immediately asked me to pause, give the man my phone, and spent time speaking to him and thanking him for his support.”

Habba became emotional as she discussed her support for Trump, telling the crowd that the former president “loves the American people and he loves this country.”

“The left has tried to demolish President Trump, but there is no bulldozer big enough or strong enough to remove the legacy that has built or the future he is creating,” she said.

Delegates and guests attending the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Wisconsin are making predictions about President Biden’s political future amid reports he is closer to exiting the 2024 presidential race.

Fox News Digital spoke with multiple RNC attendees outside the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, the site of the convention, and most felt Biden would ultimately drop his re-election bid, but that it would matter little when the votes are finally counted.

“I think [former President] Trump’s going to mop the floor with anybody they put up,” one attendee said, adding that it seemed Biden was “on the way out the door.”

“I don’t think it really matters. I think whoever they have, their bench is kind of shallow and weak right now.”

Rev. Lorenzo Sewell, a senior pastor at 180 Church in Detroit, took the stage on Thursday at the Republican National Convention, where he declared God performed a “millimeter miracle” in the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump.

“You can’t deny the power of God on this man’s life. You can’t deny that God protected him. You cannot deny that it was a millimeter miracle that was able to save this man’s life,” he said. “Could it be that Jesus Christ preserved him for such a time as this?”

Sewell’s remarks drew a roaring applause from those in attendance at the convention.

He continued, “Could it be that when we prayed for him, when he came to the round table in Detroit, that Jesus asked, and he received, that we sought him and then he found protection? Could it be that the king of glory, the Lord God, strong and mighty, the God who is mighty in battle, protected Donald Trump because he wants to use him for such a time as this?”

Prior to his speech, Sewell told Fox News Digital that Trump is different from previous GOP presidential candidates who couldn’t resonate with Black voters because “he’s not a typical politician.”

“He was willing to come to a community that most Republicans would not come to. President Donald Trump, I think him being a New Yorker, I think it serves him well, right? Him having that cultural awareness and cultural intelligence, where in cities like mine, Detroit, where it’s so polarizing in terms of the Black and white vote,” he said.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blasted President Biden on the final night of the Republican convention in Milwaukee over his “incompetent pullout” from Afghanistan that occurred nearly three years ago.

“As an Army veteran, I want to speak to everybody who served in Afghanistan,” Pompeo told delegates assembled in the key Midwestern battleground state of Wisconsin. “I’m disgusted by the Biden administration’s incompetent pullout from that country.”

“To those of you who served there, know this. Know that your service was honorable, that you saved American lives, and that the Pompeos love and admire you for what you did for America. Thank you and God bless each and every one of you.”

In 2021, the administration’s hasty decision to withdraw troops from Afghanistan as the Taliban took control of the country in a matter of days led to heightened security risks and challenges. During the final evacuation efforts from Kabul airport, several incidents during this period endangered evacuees and U.S. military personnel, including a suicide bombing outside the airport in August 2021 that claimed the lives of 13 U.S. service members.

Pompeo then laid blame on Biden for war in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas as some Americans are still being held hostage by the Islamist militant group since Oct. 7, 2023.

“The second war in Gaza — President Biden won’t even talk about the fact that Americans are still being held there by the Iranian regime,” Pompeo said. “Contrast that with what we did when Americans were wrongfully held. President Trump sent me to North Korea to bring home three American pastors. We brought them home. We brought them home along with dozens of other hostages. And we did so without paying one single penny to the terrorists.”

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.

The family former fire chief Corey Comperatore, who was killed Saturday as gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on Former President Trump has shipped his firefighter gear to Milwaukee, Wis., to be laid on the stage just before Trump’s highly anticipated RNC speech.

Sources told Fox News that the gear includes Comperatore’s helmet and jacket.

Firefighters and a procession of law enforcement vehicles accompanied Comperatore’s casket ahead of the slain firefighter’s wake on Thursday in Laube Hall in Freeport, Pa.

Comperatore, a 50-year-old Sarver resident and volunteer firefighter, died on Saturday shielding his family from gunfire meant for the former president at his rally in Butler, Pa.

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. 

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.

Fox News Digital’s Christina Coulter and Kellianne Jones contributed to this report.

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.

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.

Internal debate over plans to re-nominate Biden as the 2024 presidential nominee is threatening to rupture the Democratic Party.

Democratic lawmakers and candidates across the country fear that Biden’s plummeting support since his disastrous performance at the first presidential debate will have ramifications for down-ballot elections.

Party leaders have been considering plans to nominate Biden as soon as next week, ostensibly due to concerns that the Aug. 17 date for the Democratic National Convention comes after Ohio’s ballot deadline.

Fox News Digital’s Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this update.

A majority of Democrats say that Vice President Kamala Harris would do a good job if promoted to the presidency should President Biden drop out of the 2024 election.

A new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about 6 in 10 Democrats believe Kamala Harris would do a good job in the top slot. About 2 in 10 Democrats don’t believe she would, and another 2 in 10 say they don’t know enough to say.

Since Biden’s debate debacle on June 27, many Democrats have privately and even openly looked to Harris to step in and succeed Biden as the party’s presidential nominee, believing she has a better chance against GOP nominee Donald Trump. For her part, Harris has remained completely loyal to Biden, being one of his toughest defenders in the aftermath of the disastrous debate performance.

Black adults were more likely than Americans overall to say Harris would do well.

Americans outside the Democratic Party were more skeptical of how Harris would perform in the Oval Office. Only about 3 in 10 Americans say Harris would be a good president. Nearly half said Harris would not do a good job, and 2 in 10 say they don’t know enough to have an opinion. 

The Associated Press contributed to this update.

Democratic Party insiders are telling reporters that President Biden will make a “major announcement” about the future of his presidential campaign in the coming days, as soon as this weekend, according to The Hill.

Biden faces intense pressure to drop out of the 2024 election. Congressional Democratic leaders including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. and House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. have reportedly told Biden directly that a majority of lawmakers in the party don’t believe he can defeat Trump in November.

Major party donors share those concerns and have threatened to withhold funds from the Biden campaign should the president continue as the Democratic nominee. 

Some party members have already crafted a transition plan to help Vice President Kamala Harris take over if Biden should drop out, including those who worked on former President Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaign, The Hill reported. 

White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates denied that Biden has any intention of dropping out. 

“False,” he said in a one-word statement on The Hill’s reporting. 

Ex-MSNBC host Keith Olbermann called for CNN to fire one of their most prominent political commentators for juxtaposing former President Trump and President Biden in a way that put the Republican in a positive light.

In the weeks following Biden’s widely criticized performance in the presidential debate, the president’s supporters have feuded with his critics who are calling for him to step down in lieu of another candidate.

In the past week, Trump narrowly avoided death by an attempted assassin while Biden caught COVID-19, a pair of events CNN’s Van Jones addressed Wednesday night. 

“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,” the former Obama adviser said.

Olbermann shared the clip on X, tagged CNN in the post and wrote, “HEY @CNN Fire this a–hole/moron/ Trumpsucker @VanJones68 TONIGHT. Your remaining 837 viewers will accept no less.”

Fox News Digital’s Alexander Hall contributed to this update.

Showing no public signs that President Biden will withdraw from the 2024 election, the Biden campaign swiped at former President Trump and his running mate Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, as the GOP convention wrapped up.

“Over the course of the last four days, Republicans have offered their vision for the country. And now it’s never been more clear that Americans will face a stark choice, a contrasting vision for this country,” Biden principal deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks emphasized.

“The Biden-Harris ticket who’s focused on uniting the country, creating opportunity for everyone, and lowering costs or the Trump-Vance one – with a harmful agenda of taking away Americans’ rights, hurting the middle class, and making life more expensive – all while benefiting the ultra-rich and greedy corporations benefit,” Fulks argued.

Trump’s convention address comes less than two months after he was convicted of 34 felony counts in the first criminal trial of a former or current president in the nation’s history. But the Supreme Court ruled on the issue of presidential immunity – a question stemming from charges brought against Trump by Special Counsel Jack Smith. The high court ruled that a president is immune from “official acts.” Trump is using that Supreme Court precedent in an effort to overturn the verdict and appeal. 

A judge delayed Trump’s possible sentencing until September. 

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

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., called on President Biden to exit the presidential race on Thursday night with the blessing of Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., making him the second Senate Democrat to do so. 

“Montanans have put their trust in me to do what is right, and it is a responsibility I take seriously. I have worked with President Biden when it has made Montana stronger, and I’ve never been afraid to stand up to him when he is wrong,” he said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “And while I appreciate his commitment to public service and our country, I believe President Biden should not seek re-election to another term.”

Tester told Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., about his plan ahead of time. Schumer then told him to do what he thought was best, a source with knowledge of the situation told Fox News Digital. 

The Montana senator is in one of the most competitive races in 2024 as he attempts to keep his seat in a state that has voted twice in favor of former President Trump. 

Tester’s race is rated a “Toss Up” by non-partisan political handicapper the Cook Political Report. It is accompanied in the category by three other competitive races in Ohio, Nevada, and Michigan. 

He will face off against the Republican Senate candidate in Montana, former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, in November. 

Fox News Digital’s Julia Johnson contributed to this update.

People close to President Biden are “furious” that a pressure campaign calling for him to step aside is picking up speed, according to reports. 

Biden is self-isolating in Rehoboth, Delaware, after testing positive for COVID-19. 

“Lots of anger toward some donors for talking of $ drying up if he doesn’t quit, toward what they see as muted support from Pres. Obama, and toward Dem leaders who one source says are ‘hiding’ behind statements,” CBS News reporter Robert Costa posted on X. “If they want him out, they’ll have to push, source adds.”

Costa added that Biden feels “disrespected” but that no one has figured out “an effective way to quiet this drift of nervous Democrats away from Biden and know many Dems want Biden to just break at some point soon.”

Multiple Democrats have come out in recent weeks to call for Biden to exit the race amid questions about his health. 

Sources told Fox News that Biden’s COVID-19 diagnosis has forced him to slow down for a period of reflection. 

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this update.