Netanyahu reportedly irked by VP Harris’ Israel comments after their WH meeting
The White House on Friday is pushing back against reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is upset with Vice President Kamala Harris over her remarks on the war that he believes could jeopardize a hostage and ceasefire deal – with one aide telling Fox News, “I don’t know what they’re talking about.”
The reported diplomatic flare-up comes after Netanyahu both met with President Biden and Harris in Washington on Thursday, ahead of his meeting today with former President Trump at Mar-a-Lago. An Israeli official told Axios that Netanyahu was unhappy with Harris mentioning civilian deaths in Gaza and the “dire humanitarian situation there.”
The official added that, in their view, Netanyahu was irked with Harris speaking about a hostage and ceasefire deal as a way to end the war outright, when Israel wants to be able to resume fighting after one is implemented.
“When our enemies see the U.S. and Israel are aligned it increases the chances for a hostage deal and decreases the chances for a regional escalation,” the Israeli official told Axios. “When there is such daylight it pushes the deal further away and brings a regional escalation closer. We hope that Harris’ public criticism of Israel won’t give Hamas the impression that there is daylight between the U.S. and Israel and as a result make it harder to get a deal.”
NETANYAHU TO MEET WITH TRUMP AS ISRAELI LEADER LOOKS TO REKINDLE RELATIONSHIP
One Israeli official also said to Axios that “Harris’ statement after the meeting was much more critical than what she told Netanyahu in the meeting.”
But an aide for Harris told Fox News this morning that “I don’t know what they’re talking about.
“President Biden and Vice President Harris delivered the same message in their private meetings to Prime Minister Netanyahu: it’s time to get the ceasefire and hostage deal done. And this is what the Vice President said publicly as well,” the aide said.
“The public comments tracked with her previous comments on the conflict. She started with underscoring rock-solid support for Israel and then expressed concern about civilian causalities and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as she always does,” the aide added. “The meeting between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Vice President Harris was serious and collegial.”
BIDEN JOKES HE WAS ‘12’ WHEN HE FIRST MET ISRAELI PM GOLDA MEIR DURING NETANYAHU VISIT TO WHITE HOUSE
In her remarks Thursday, Harris said she told Netanyahu that she “will always ensure that Israel is able to defend itself, including from Iran and Iran-backed militias such as Hamas and Hezbollah.”
“I also expressed with the Prime Minister my serious concern about the scale of human suffering in Gaza, including the death of far too many innocent civilians. And I made clear my serious concern about the dire humanitarian situation there,” she continued.
“It is time for this war to end, and end in a way where Israel is secure, all the hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can exercise their right to freedom, dignity and self-determination,” Harris also said, adding that “thanks to the leadership of our president, Joe Biden, there is a deal on the table for a ceasefire and a hostage deal” and “as I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done.”
Former Trump national security aide John Ullyot told ‘Fox & Friends First’ on Friday that Harris’ remarks have shown she has “taken over from Biden.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“It is clear that what happened with Kamala Harris is that number one, she has her hand now firmly on the tiller. There is no question – she was the only one who made a [on-camera] statement,” Ullyot said. “Bibi met with Biden and he also met with Harris, but Harris is the only one who walks out, she got the flags behind her. She is definitely pushing her agenda now and she has taken over from Biden. But look, the policies are the same.”
New study pokes holes in theory Trump may not have taken a bullet
PITTSBURGH – A new look at the attempted assassination of former President Trump at a July 13 campaign rally found that the first of eight bullets fired by gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks likely struck the Republican candidate in the ear, according to a new report.
The New York Times reported Friday that its own analysis of bullet trajectory, video, audio and photo evidence “strongly suggests” that the gunman’s first shot “grazed” Trump’s ear.
In all, at least three of the shots came close to seriously injuring the former president, according to the paper’s analysts.
Trump, who was photographed from multiple angles bleeding from the right side of his head moments after the failed attempt on his life killed one of his supporters and seriously hurt two others, has said since the night of the attack that it was a bullet that struck him.
TIMELINE: TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
However, investigators have suggested it may have been debris.
“There’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear,” FBI Director Christopher Wray testified during a House hearing this week.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
However, the director’s statement prompted a fiery response from Trump himself earlier in the week, when he blasted Wray on his social media platform Truth Social.
FBI WANTS TO INTERVIEW TRUMP AFTER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: SOURCE
“FBI Director Christopher Wray told Congress yesterday that he wasn’t sure if I was hit by shrapnel, glass, or a bullet (the FBI never even checked!), but he was sure that Crooked Joe Biden was physically and cognitively ‘uneventful’ – Wrong!” wrote Trump, who nominated Wray for the directorship back in 2017.
SECRET SERVICE TURNED DOWN LOCAL DRONE ‘REPEATEDLY’ AHEAD OF TRUMP JULY 13 RALLY: WHISTLEBLOWER
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Thursday told NBC News evidence showed it was a bullet that went through Trump’s ear and that Wray had “a credibility problem.”
“We’ve all seen the video we’ve seen the analysis we’ve heard it from multiple sources in different angles that a bullet went through his ear,” Johnson said. “I’m not sure it matters that much.”
OFFICER REPORTED MAN AT TRUMP RALLY WITH RANGEFINDER 30 MINS BEFORE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: SOURCE
The FBI told Fox News Digital Thursday its priority was learning more about the reclusive would-be assassin, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, and his motive.
“Since the day of the attack, the FBI has been consistent and clear that the shooting was an attempted assassination of former President Trump which resulted in his injury, as well as the death of a heroic father and the injuries of several other victims,” a spokesperson said.
CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“FBI Director Wray provided extensive congressional testimony on Wednesday about the FBI’s investigation. This was a heinous attack and the FBI is devoting enormous resources to learn everything possible about the shooter and what led to his act of violence.”
However, the FBI’s Shooting Reconstruction Team was still examining evidence from the scene – including recovered bullet fragments.
Crooks fatally struck 50-year-old Corey Comperatore and critically wounded David Dutch, 57, and James Copenhaver, 74.
Fox News’ Peter Doocy presses White House on claims that Harris was never ‘border czar’
Fox News’ Peter Doocy grilled White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre over recent claims that Vice President Kamala Harris never served as “border czar” Thursday.
“Border czar” is an informal title widely granted to Harris in 2021 when President Biden appointed her to handle the “root causes” of illegal immigration. Doocy pressed Jean-Pierre on why the White House was attempting to distance Harris from the border crisis.
Doocy quoted several Democratic talking points claiming that Harris was “never appointed border czar. There is no such position. It doesn’t exist.”
“Why are Democrats so sensitive about the vice president and the border?” Doocy asked. “Do you think that the border would be less of a talking point now if there was less migration to the border, say, if somebody had addressed ‘root causes’ of migration sooner?”
AXIOS HIT WITH COMMUNITY NOTE AFTER CLAIMING HARRIS WAS NEVER ‘BORDER CZAR’
“[Border apprehensions] are down by 55%. Not because of Republicans and what they did. It’s because of what this president and this vice president did,” Jean-Pierre responded.
“We are going to debunk the false characterization of the vice president. She was not a border czar. And it’s not just us. Independent fact-checkers have said the same thing — that that did not exist, and that is not true,” she added.
Harris was widely dubbed the “border czar” after President Biden tasked her in March 2021 to address the root causes of mass migration from Central and South America.
In July 2021, she introduced a five-point general strategy to combat the “root causes” of illegal immigration. The plan did not include specific policies, but instead called for “diplomacy, foreign assistance, public diplomacy, and sanctions” to “establish a fair, orderly, and humane immigration system.”
The document emphasized the “push” factors of migration, including natural disasters in Central America, poverty, hunger, and gang violence, each of which contributes to people leaving their homes in search of a better life in America.
MSNBC, CNN LEFT ‘BLOWN AWAY,’ WITH ‘CHILLS’ AFTER HARRIS’ FIRST CAMPAIGN SPEECH: ‘JUMPING OUT OF MY SEAT’
“In Central America, the root causes of migration run deep — and migration from the region has a direct impact on the United States,” Harris said at the time. “For that reason, our nation must consistently engage with the region to address the hardships that cause people to leave Central America and come to our border.”
Republican critics of the Biden administration’s policies tend to emphasize “pull” factors — U.S. policies that incentivize illegal immigration by offering amnesty, protection from deportation, job opportunities, entitlement and other benefits to migrants. These push and pull factors work together and have led to an unprecedented number of people attempting to cross the southern border illegally in recent years.
NEW YORK TIMES SPINS KAMALA HARRIS’ PAST WORD SALADS AS ‘CELEBRATORY ARTIFACTS’ WITH CANDIDACY UNDERWAY
Customs and Border Protection agents encountered nearly 2.5 million persons attempting entry along the Southwest border in fiscal year 2023, an all-time record.
Harris’ endeavors secured more than $5 billion in private investments for Northern Triangle nations, but the number of illegal immigrants to the U.S. has set new records each year since Biden put her in charge of the issue. Border apprehensions from those countries have dropped from 700,000 in FY 21 to less than 500,000 in FY 23, although it is unclear the extent to which that drop is connected to those root cause strategies.
GOP critics have derided the vice president for only making one brief visit to the U.S.-Mexico border in June 2021 to El Paso, Texas, where there are comparatively fewer encounters.
While the Biden administration has rejected “border czar” as an unofficial title for Harris’ role, the term was used by her critics and even embraced by multiple news organizations, at least until she ascended to the top of the ticket.
Axios went viral Wednesday with its report about the “border confusion” that has haunted Harris, telling readers “the Trump campaign and Republicans have tagged Harris repeatedly with the ‘border czar’ title — which she never actually had.”
However, critics cited Axios’ own reporting from 2021 saying that Biden had appointed Harris “border czar.” Axios later added an editor’s note stating, “This article has been updated and clarified to note that Axios was among the news outlets that incorrectly labeled Harris a ‘border czar’ in 2021.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“The propaganda press working so hard to erase the fact that Kamala Harris was put in charge of the border shows not only what a vulnerability her role in the border is but also what a huge vulnerability her general incompetence is,” The Federalist editor-in-chief Mollie Hemingway reacted on X.
The debate over Harris’ roles and responsibilities as it pertains to the border comes as the House of Representatives voted along bipartisan lines to condemn Harris’ handling of the issue. Six Democrats joined all Republicans in voting for the measure, which passed 220-196.
Although border encounters have decreased dramatically in recent months, CBP sources tell Fox News the number of “known getaways,” migrants who evade apprehension, has surpassed 200,000 this fiscal year.
James Carville plays ‘skunk at the garden party’ on Dem elation over Harris
After weeks of warning Democrats that the American people wanted something new in place of President Biden, campaign veteran James Carville cautioned them not to get cocky about their new choice.
After Biden stepped aside under pressure and Vice President Kamala Harris rapidly ascended to become the presumptive nominee, many Democrats had a noticeable honeymoon season over their new candidate, but Carville warned that it’s not time for them to celebrate just yet.
“I have to be the skunk at the garden party. This is too triumphalist, OK?” Carville said on MSNBC. “Everybody’s giddy. I look at the coverage and it’s great. If I had to write a play about what I think, it’d be entitled, ‘The Icepick Cometh,’ OK? Get ready, they’re coming. All right? And it’s good. Everybody should feel good and liberated and everything else. But if we don’t win the election, we haven’t done anything.
“This kind of giddy elation is not going to be very helpful much longer ’cause that’s not what we’re going to be faced with.”
BIDEN MAKES BIZARRE CALL IN TO HARRIS HEADQUARTERS HOURS AFTER DROPPING OUT OF RACE
Carville, known for masterminding Bill Clinton’s 1992 election victory, made a boxing reference referring to the medical assistant who aids a boxer in breaks in a match.
“I think the Vice President, to put it in athletic terms, needs a really good cutman on the corner because she’s getting ready to get cut,” he said.
He said that polls indicate that Harris is doing better in the polls, but warned not to take too much stock in polling.
FLASHBACK: SEE HOW KAMALA HARRIS ANSWERED WHEN SHE WAS CONFRONTED IN 2020 AS ‘THE MOST LIBERAL SENATOR’
“It’s still the same country. All right? It might be a different mood, and all I’m saying is good. Bang your helmets against the locker, it’s fine,” he said. “But still, when you go out there, you’re facing Alabama. Just get ready because these Republicans, you’re right, they got caught off guard, but they’re going to get their sea legs and we’re having to get a campaign, a whole campaign started.”
He reiterated the purpose of his commentary to the host and guest and argued, “All I’m doing is saying watch out people, don’t get too far out there. If we don’t win this, all this good feeling is going to evaporate and be all for naught and that’s what I kinda think my role is right now.”
Carville had also spoken about Harris’ campaign on The Don Lemon Show, arguing that “right now, she’s doing well, very well,” but warning that the best day of her campaign is already behind her as the election heats up.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“This is the best day that she’s going to have for the rest of the campaign, they’re coming,” he said. “They were hit real bad, they were confused, but they’re getting un-confused now and Democrats have got to get ready.”
New poll shows where Trump-Harris race stands in key battleground state
A new survey reveals that former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are tied in a crucial state, despite the former president’s previous lead by nearly two digits.
A Detroit News WDIV-TV survey, conducted after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race, found that Trump and Harris are tied with 41% support in Michigan, while 6% of Michigan voters remain undecided.
The polling results reflect a major shift in support since a January survey revealing that Trump was leading Biden in the state by 8 points.
“This is as close as close can be,” Glengariff founder Richard Czuba said alongside the polling results.
HARRIS EDGES CLOSER TO TRUMP IN NEW POLL CONDUCTED AFTER BIDEN’S WITHDRAWAL
About 10% of respondents said that they are backing the state’s Natural Law Party candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a factor that Czuba says could decide the election.
TRUMP QUICKLY MOVES TO DEFINE HARRIS AS ‘MORE LEFT THAN BERNIE SANDERS’
“The reality is nobody should issue a poll in Michigan that does not include Kennedy because he is a major factor here,” Czuba said. “He’s leading among Independents, and in Michigan, we all know that’s who decides the election. And they’re being divided, not by two, but by three now, so that really scrambles the equation.”
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has been floated as a potential running mate for Harris, though the governor has stated that she would not run and would not leave her home state. The results found that a Harris-Whitmer ticket gave the Democrats a slight boost of 3 points in a hypothetical general election matchup against Trump and Sen. J.D. Vance.
Michigan voted Republican in every election from 1972 through 1988, but the state turned blue for six straight presidential elections from 1992 through 2012.
Trump narrowly won the battleground state in the 2016 presidential election against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but he was defeated in the following cycle by Biden.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The Glengariff Group/The News and WDIV-TV survey was conducted from July 22 to July 24 with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Major Paris rail system hit by ‘arson’ as trains canceled ahead of Olympics opening ceremony
A major rail system in France has been massively disrupted ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremonies later today.
Société Nationale des Chemins de fer Français (SNCF) tweeted Friday morning that “Following this massive attack aimed at paralyzing the high-speed line network, a large number of trains were diverted or canceled.”
Jean-Pierre Farandou, the CEO of SNCF, told reporters Friday the attacks on the rail system included “arson” and intentionally damaging cables. The state-run rail line said it doesn’t know who’s behind the attacks.
2024 PARIS OLYMPICS: EVERYTHING TO KNOW ABOUT OPENING CEREMONY
Trains to and from Paris will ultimately be affected, and SNCF said approximately 800,000 travelers could feel the effect.
“Affected travelers will be contacted by email or SMS. We ask all travelers who can to postpone their trip and not to go to the station,” the rail line continued.
SNCF called the attacks on the three railway lines — the Atlantic, North and East — “an attack on France.”
Farandou said rail cables, which are there for safety, became damaged and will need repair.
“Therefore we have to pull them back together one by one, reconnect all these cables and test them. It’s a question of security. We have to make sure we test them so when trains are back up and running, they are safe,” Farandou said.
FOX NEWS SPORTS HUDDLE NEWSLETTER: PROUD ATHLETES REPRESENTING US HEAD TO PARIS FOR OLYMPICS
Farandou said that for one of the fires, two destinations were hit, adding that it was “a premeditated, calculated, coordinated attack” that indicates “a desire to seriously harm” the French people.
In addition to the French population, this will be a busier-than-normal weekend and two weeks with spectators from around the world flocking to France for the Games, the first in Paris in 100 years since the city hosted the 1924 Games. Paris also hosted the 1900 Games.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
French sports minister Amélie Oudéa-Castera said Olympic organizers would “ensure the proper transport of all delegations to the competition sites.”
The Opening Ceremony will be on the Seine River beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET, the first kickoff to a Summer Olympics that won’t be held in a stadium setting.
There have been no reports of injuries.