Undecided Latino voters grill VP Harris during town hall — the top 5 moments
Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday took questions from Latino voters at a town hall in Nevada, where she was pressed for specifics on her proposals on immigration, the economy and more.
Harris faced about a dozen questions during the roughly hour-long event hosted by Univision, where she sought to win over this key demographic group with just 26 days to go before Election Day. The Democratic nominee pointed to her record as vice president and swung ferociously at her opponent, Republican former President Donald Trump, but she was light on specifics on her plans for the country.
Here are the highlights:
VOTERS IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATES GIVE TRUMP AN EDGE OVER HARRIS ON THIS TOP TIER ISSUE: POLL
Harris pushes back on Trump attacks over hurricane response
In the first question of the night, a voter from Tampa asked Harris about rumors that the Biden-Harris administration did not do enough to respond to Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Former President Trump, the Republican nominee, has fanned those rumors, claiming at a recent rally that President Biden’s response to the storms was “the worst hurricane response since Katrina,” invoking the heavily criticized federal response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Harris defended the Biden administration, accusing critics of “playing political games” and insisting claims the response was inadequate are “just not accurate.” She said she has been working with people on the ground in Georgia, North Carolina, Florida and other southeastern states to get Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) resources to people in need.
“Another piece of work that I’ve been doing, it’s based on my years of being an attorney general in California, is telling those corporations and those companies that during crisis and emergencies jack up prices,” Harris said. “I’ve seen it happen before, that we’re watching them and at a moment of desperation for these individuals and families, whether it be to be able to get temporary shelter at a hotel for gas prices, for even airline tickets, that we’ll be watching if they’re jacking up prices to make sure they’ll be serious consequence. And that’s the kind of work I will do going forward.”
TRUMP CHARGES HURRICANE RESPONSE ‘WORST SINCE KATRINA’ AS BIDEN ARGUES TRUMP ‘ONSLAUGHT OF LIES’ MUST ‘STOP’
On immigration, Harris won’t say how she’d be different than Biden
Voters pressed Harris for specifics on her plans for immigration and how her policies would differ from President Biden’s.
In her answer, Harris pointed to her recent trip to visit the border in Arizona and her law enforcement career as a prosecutor and California attorney general to show she’s serious about border security.
“I will put my record up against anyone in terms of the work I’ve always done, and it will always be to ensure we have a secure border,” she said.
Harris also criticized Trump for leading Republican opposition to a bipartisan border security deal that was endorsed by the National Border Patrol Council in February. She claimed the bill would have sent 1,500 additional Border Patrol agents to the border and provide law enforcement resources to combat fentanyl trafficking.
Republicans say the border bill provided too many benefits to illegal immigrants, like work permits and taxpayer-funded attorneys, and would have funded sanctuary city jurisdictions that do not cooperate with immigration enforcement.
Harris said there is a “false choice” between a secure border and humane immigration policy. But she did not explain how her policies would be different from Biden, who also supported the border bill.
DEM STRATEGISTS FRET HARRIS ‘SUGAR HIGH’ IS OVER: ‘IF YOU’RE NOT NERVOUS, YOU’RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION’
Emotional moment as woman asks about health care
An emotional moment came when a Las Vegas woman, Ivett Castillo, told Harris that she recently lost her mother before she could get her immigration status legalized.
“She was never able to get the type of care and service that she needed or deserved,” Castillo said, holding back tears. She asked how Harris would help illegal immigrants who “have to live and die in the shadows.”
Another voter, Francisco Medina of San Diego, California, told the vice president that despite his insurance coverage through the Defense Department, he had to cross the border into Mexico to receive treatment. He asked how she would improve the medical system.
“I firmly and deeply believe that healthcare is a right, and should be a right and not just a privilege of those who can afford it or have access to it easily,” Harris said.
She pointed to the Biden administration’s efforts to strengthen the Affordable Care Act and cap prescription drug prices as a starting point for what she’d do as president.
“The work we have done has been about capping the cost of prescription medication for seniors at $2,000,” she said. “My intention as president of the United States is to make that available for not just seniors, but for everyone.”
Trump-leaning voter confronts Harris on leaving Biden behind
At one point during the town hall, a self-described independent voter said he was leaning towards voting for Trump because Harris did not win the Democratic nomination through the normal primary process.
“I’m a little confused,” said Mario Sigbaum, of Santa Monica, California. “Being a candidate without going through the normal process – that is primary elections or through a caucus – that really caught my attention.” He demanded an explanation for how Biden was “completely destituted.”
Harris thanked him for being “candid.” She called Biden’s decision to withdraw from the election amid mounting pressure from the Democratic Party “one of the most courageous a president could make” and said he “put country above his personal interest.”
“He made that decision, he… within that same period of time supported my candidacy and urged me to run,” Harris said. “He and I have been partners for the last four years as his vice president to him as the president. And I am honored to have earned the Democratic nomination.”
She went on to say there is a “huge contrast” in this election and asserted Trump would be a “dictator on day one,” calling the situation “unprecedented” with “support for democracy” on the ballot.
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Harris can’t say three nice things about Trump
In the closing moments of the town hall, one voter asked if Harris could name three virtues of her Republican opponent. She could not.
“I think Donald Trump loves his family and I think that’s very important,” she said. “But I don’t really know him to be honest with you. I only met him one time on the debate stage. I’d never met him before.”
Harris came up short searching for two other virtues. Instead, she criticized Trump for taking an “us versus them” approach and using divisive language.
“I don’t think that’s healthy for our nation, and I don’t admire that.”
Whitmer slammed for mocking Catholics with bizarre Harris campaign video
A video showing Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D., feeding a kneeling “feminist” podcast host a Doritos chip while wearing a Harris/Walz cameo campaign hat, prompted questions and criticisms on Thursday.
Author and filmmaker Liz Plank shared the video on her Instagram account “feministabulous” showing Whitmer feeding her a Doritos chip while she is kneeling.
“If he won’t, Gretchen Whitmer will,” a caption under the Instagram video post reads. “Chips aren’t just delicious, the CHIPS Act is a game-changer for U.S. tech and manufacturing, boosting domestic production of semiconductors to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers! Donald Trump would put that at risk.”
She also shared the video on TikTok with the caption, “new interview with big gretch just dropped!”
MICHIGAN GOV. WHITMER SAYS PEOPLE SHOULDN’T ‘GIVE A DAMN’ IF TAYLOR SWIFT IS FRIENDS WITH BRITTANY MAHOMES
The video made waves on social media with critics blasting Whitmer as mocking Catholics.
“Let’s be clear what’s happening in this video,” former Trump advisor Tim Murtaugh posted on X. “Gov. Whitmer of Michigan is pretending to give communion to an leftist podcaster on her knees, using a Dorito as the Eucharist while wearing a Harris-Walz hat. Do they want ZERO Catholic votes for Harris?”
However, some tied it to a TikTok trend of people feeding one another. Earlier this week, a trend called “Feeding Someone” with videos showing friends and partners feeding food to one another. Some videos amassed millions of views.
“This is a tiktok trend that has absolutely NOTHING to do with Catholicism…this is quite a stretch,” conservative social media influencer Amala Ekpunobi wrote on X.
When asked for comment, a political aide for Whitmer told Fox News Digital, “the governor’s social media is well known for infusing her communications with pop culture.”
The aide added, “This popular trend has been used by countless people, including Billie Eilish, Kylie Jenner, and Stephen Colbert, and the fact that people are paying attention to a video promoting President Biden’s CHIPS Act proves it’s working. Republicans want to distract from the fact that Democrats have invested billions of dollars into local economies to create a record number of jobs and bring supply chains back from overseas, while Donald Trump’s policies would kill these jobs and send them back to China.”
Plank also said the video was part of the social media trend and told “weirdos” to “chill out.”
The video posted by Plank was used to promote Whitmer’s appearance on her podcast called Chip Chat that was published Thursday on YouTube.
HARRIS CAMPAIGN DISTANCES ITSELF FROM ’60 MINUTES’ EDIT: ‘WE DO NOT CONTROL CBS’S PRODUCTION DECISIONS’
During the podcast, the two discussed former President Trump, abortion, and men who are undecided about Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
“What would you say to a man who feels like he can’t vote for a woman, he can’t vote for Kamala Harris?” Plank asked.
“We deserve and need a commander-in-chief who is tough,” Whitmer responded. “We’re going to have to deal with the worst of the worst bullies around the globe. From Vladimir Putin to Chinese leadership to what’s happening in North Korea. We’ve got to have a tough commander-in-chief, not someone who kowtows … or who is on an ego trip.”
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Plank applauded the Democratic governor for her “superhuman” leadership in the state.
The Harris-Walz campaign did not immediately respond for comment.
Donor gets the last laugh after pulling his millions from Ivy League alma mater
After halting donations to his alma mater last year, a former University of Pennsylvania donor has redirected $5 million to Israeli universities instead, citing the Ivy League institution’s refusal to address antisemitism on campus.
David Magerman, a venture capitalist and philanthropist, has reallocated millions in donations to universities in Israel after witnessing the anti-Israel protests and antisemitism that has permeated U.S. college campuses in the months following October 7, he told Fox News Digital.
Magerman said he will give $1 million grants to five institutions of higher learning across Israel, including Tel Aviv University, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Bar-Ilan University and Jerusalem College of Technology.
He also revealed that he intends to donate to additional Israeli causes in the coming months. His donations will support programs for English-speaking students to learn academic Hebrew and integrate into STEM degree programs in Israel.
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA GRAPPLES WITH DONOR CRISIS AFTER ‘PALESTINE WRITES’ EVENT CAUSES UPROAR
Magerman said he hopes his contributions will give Jewish-American students who are considering moving to Israel more options to study abroad after growing weary of campus life in the U.S.
“My plan is to redirect my philanthropic efforts going forward largely to Israel,” he told Fox News Digital. “I don’t see much value generated by giving to American universities. I think that liberal colleges in America are flawed institutions that are doing a poor job of preparing students for the real world.”
Asked what his message is to other prominent Jewish donors still contributing to Ivy League schools, Magerman said pointedly, “stop.” He said it’s naive to believe that elite U.S. universities are “reformable.”
“They’re fulfilling the mission they want to fulfill. Their goal, it seems, is to indoctrinate their students to question the validity of Western civilization, to question the value of the Founding Fathers and to criticize Western society. I don’t think that’s what these philanthropists believe and I don’t think that they should be donating money to support propagating that ideology.”
UPENN JEWISH STUDENTS FEARED FOR THEIR SAFETY UNDER OUSTED PRESIDENT
Still, Magerman said Jewish students that are either currently enrolled at an Ivy League university or have dreamed of applying should not let bad actors prevent them from pursuing a degree.
“If their best outcome is by going to Columbia, or Penn, or Harvard, they shouldn’t let antisemites stop them,” he said.
But, he added, “I think they should re-evaluate whether that’s the best place for them to learn … whether I would be well served going to an institution where clearly the administration, in large part the faculty and in large part the student body, don’t want me there. Is that really the environment you want to go to learn subject matter that you can learn online or abroad or at different colleges across the U.S.?”
“Why subject yourself to this environment just so you can get that name on your diploma?” he continued.
Magerman said employers and company executives largely agree with the sentiment, adding that they now place less of an emphasis on hiring Ivy League graduates than in the past.
“I think their eyes have been opened to the mentality of some of the graduates of these schools and what they’ve been learning,” he said.
‘FEELING THREATENED:’ JEWISH STUDENTS AT NEW YORK PROTESTS SPEAK AGAINST ANTISEMITISM, REFLECT ON OCTOBER 7
A UPenn student told FOX 29 last December that his fellow fraternity members “don’t even feel comfortable walking outside our house wearing their kippahs just because they don’t know if they’re going to be harassed.” A separate student said her friends have collectively decided not to apply to the elite university over fears of facing hostility over their Jewish identity.
Days after the October 7 massacre, Magerman sent a letter to UPenn announcing that he was cutting ties with his alma mater for not taking a bolder stance against antisemitism in the wake of the terrorist attacks carried out against Israel. After donating roughly $10 million over the years, Magerman said he was “ashamed” to be associated with the university.
“You have shown me who you are. My only remaining hope is that all self-respecting Jews, and all moral citizens of the world, dissociate themselves from Penn,” the letter, dated last October 15, said.
As anti-Israel protests and encampments emerged at major universities across the country, other prominent donors followed suit.
Apollo CEO Marc Rowan, who donated $50 million to UPenn in 2018, called on other donors at the time to send $1 checks with the hopes of forcing a change in leadership at the university. He urged all Jewish donors to “close their checkbooks.”
Ross Stevens, founder and CEO of Stone Ridge Asset Management, pulled his donation estimated at approximately $100 million shortly thereafter, writing in a letter that the school’s “permissive approach to hate speech calling for violence against Jews and laissez-faire attitude toward harassment and discrimination against Jewish students would violate any policies or rules that prohibit harassment and discrimination based on religion,” Axios reported.
HARVARD WHISTLEBLOWER POINTS TO ‘UNDISGUISED CALLS FOR THE MURDER OF JEWS’ AFTER LAUNCH OF FEDERAL PROBE
The outrage began after the school hosted a Palestinian literary festival on campus which included speakers with a history of antisemitic comments, including calls for “death to Israel.” Many donors reached their boiling point when the university failed to, in their view, immediately condemn Hamas’ barbaric attack and later failed to take sufficient action to protect Jewish students and address anti-Israel protests on campus, which many say blurred the lines between free speech and outright antisemitism.
The outrage and halt in donations eventually led to the resignation of UPenn President Liz Magill. Magill also took heat for her widely panned testimony before the House Education and Workforce Committee last year in which she refused to outright say that antisemitic chants and calls for the genocide of Jewish people violate the school’s code of conduct.
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In a press release from Tel Aviv University released this week, Magerman said he hopes that redirecting donations to Israeli institutions “will be a catalyst for others to do the same.”
The University of Pennsylvania did not respond to a request for comment.
Martha Stewart dishes up marriage bombshell in new documentary
Martha Stewart is getting real.
The lifestyle guru admitted in the trailer of her new Netflix documentary “Martha” that she had an affair during her decades-long marriage to her only husband, Andrew Stewart.
“Young women, listen to my advice, if you’re married and your husband starts to cheat on you, he’s a piece of s—,” the 83-year-old said in the trailer. “Get out of that marriage.”
“Didn’t you have an affair early on?” a producer can be heard saying to the home and garden maven.
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“Yeah, but I don’t think Andy ever knew about that,” Stewart answered.
The new documentary covers Stewart’s marriage, her rise in the lifestyle industry and her legal woes.
“What does it mean to be the first female self-made billionaire in history?” Stewart asks herself rhetorically at the beginning of the trailer before laughing.
She added in the trailer that she was “considered crazy” as her career came together, “but it worked.”
MARTHA STEWART, 81, LANDS SPORTS ILLUSTRATED COVERS AS SHE POSES IN DARING SWIMSUIT
“I’m strict, and I’m demanding, and I’m all those good things that make a successful person,” she added.
Someone in the trailer said that while those qualities were great for a businessman, Stewart was labeled a “b—-.”
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“All of that did inspire me tremendously,” Stewart admitted of being called a b—-.
“I don’t think Andy ever knew about that.”
Stewart, a former model, worked as a stockbroker and then began a catering business in the 1970s that led to her first cookbook, “Entertaining,” in 1982. More cookbooks followed, and she began to make TV appearances.
Her magazine, Martha Stewart Living, published its first issue in the winter of 1990.
But at the height of her success in 2004, she was charged and found guilty on several counts, including conspiracy, securities fraud and obstruction of justice. She served five months in a minimum security federal prison.
“I was a trophy for these idiots,” Stewart claimed in the documentary. “I was dragged into solitary. No food or water. Those prosecutors should have been put in a Cuisinart and turned on high.”
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She said that after she got out of prison, she had to “climb out of a hole” professionally, but in her mid-80s, the lifestyle icon continues to stay relevant, from her friendship with Snoop Dogg and posting thirst traps on social media to the continued success of her brand.
“What is more important? A marriage or a career?” she posited in the documentary.
After a producer told her, “You tell me,” Stewart answered, “I don’t know.”
“The cookie cutter house and the cookie cutter life was not for me,” she said in the trailer. “I could’ve just been a miserable, has-been housewife, but I didn’t let that happen to myself, and I’m so happy I didn’t.”
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The former couple married in 1961 and divorced in 1990. Their only daughter, Alexis, 59, has followed in her mother’s footsteps as a radio and TV host, including for her mother’s brand.
Stewart admitted the divorce was hard for her, in a 2020 interview with People magazine.
“Getting divorced was a terrible thing for me, because we were the first to divorce in my family,” she said. “And that we haven’t spoken since the divorce is even more painful. But I’m very strong, and I’m very motivated to get on with life.”
“Martha” is available to stream on Netflix on Oct. 30.
Blue state CEO sued over pro-Trump sign nets ‘epic win for free speech’
A 100-foot “Vote for Trump” sign now lights up part of a city’s skyline in upstate New York after a judge vacated an order to prevent its display.
Sticker Mule CEO Anthony Constantino, who installed the sign on the repurposed Fownes glove factory building in Amsterdam, New York, hailed the judge’s order as an “epic win for free speech.” Last week, the city’s Democrat mayor had sought a court order to cover up the sign, alleging it violated city code.
Constantino hosted an event on Monday to celebrate the first lighting of the sign in a show of support for former President Trump, the Republican presidential nominee. He told Fox News Digital that “maybe 3,000 or so” people attended, including UFC star Henry Cejudo.
“It blew past expectations,” Constantino said. “We didn’t know what was going to happen. Everybody loved the event, it was all smiles. We had Democrats and Republicans there, and everyone was really happy with what we did.”
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Up to a half hour before Monday’s event, it was unclear whether the sign would be uncovered at all, the CEO said.
City officials, including Democrat Mayor Michael Cinquanti, have said the sign violates code because it “presents a dangerous distraction and impacts traffic flow,” especially at night when it is illuminated.
A code enforcement officer alleged in court documents that Sticker Mule was informed it would need a permit and several variances to install the sign in August, but the company never responded before the sign went up Oct. 1.
The city initially succeeded in obtaining a temporary restraining order to prevent the sign from being “displayed” or “illuminated.” But as of Monday afternoon, Constantino’s legal team convinced state Supreme Court Judge Rebecca Slezak to lift the injunction, per a court order shared with Fox News Digital.
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“The judge ruled that she did not have jurisdiction to continue the restraining order because the initiating paperwork did not meet the standards required to commence a suit in New York state,” Sticker Mule attorney Sal Ferlazzo told Fox News Digital. “Moreover, she found the city did not demonstrate any safety concerns related to the structure of the sign or to its visibility from the public highways.”
Constantino defended the sign as an expression of free speech and said his company has a right to express political views.
“President Trump has really done great things. He’s a great human. He’s done great things for the world. And he doesn’t deserve all the hate directed at him, and his supporters don’t deserve it either,” he said.
Cinquanti did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. The mayor has denied allegations of political bias against the pro-Trump sign and said it could be a dangerous distraction for drivers in town and on the New York State Thruway, where it is visible.
For now, the sign will stay.
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“The city code part of it is still outstanding, and whatever happened in court is probably still in a dynamic, changing environment,” Amsterdam police spokesperson Lt. Joseph Spencer told the Daily Gazette Family of Newspapers. “We’ll know whenever legal counsel gives the next best guidance.”
Constantino told Fox News Digital he hopes his “Vote for Trump” sign becomes “sort of a landmark” in Amsterdam that signifies the fight for free speech. The CEO is not sure what is next in the legal case involving his sign – “I leave the lawyers with all the legal stuff” – but predicted his team would ultimately prevail.
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As for the future of the sign, Constantino indicated it will be a permanent feature in Amsterdam even after the election.
“We put the sign up; we thought it was going to be a temporary sign. But based on our response and based on the negativity coming out … whatever happened locally with the local politicians and also the outpouring of love for the sign, the outpouring of love for President Trump, I think we want to keep it up forever now.”
Tech titan unveils self-driving car for the ‘glorious future’: ‘That’s what we want’
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has unveiled a new self-driving vehicle called the Robotaxi, declaring at an event in California that “it’s going to be a glorious future.”
The 2-seat car, which has no steering wheel or pedals, is expected to be available by 2026 and cost under $30,000, according to Musk.
“As you can see, I just arrived in Robotaxi, the Cybercab,” Musk told an audience after getting out of one of the vehicles at Warner Bros. Studios outside Los Angeles.
“You see a lot of sci-fi movies where the future is dark and dismal, where it’s not a future you want to be in… We want to have a fun, exciting future that if you could look in a crystal ball and see the future, you’d be like, yes, I wish I could be there now. That’s what we want,” Musk said.
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The Robotaxis will drive with the help of AI and cameras, while charging will be inductive.
“With autonomy you get your time back,” Musk said.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 219.62 | -19.15 | -8.02% |
“I think the cost of autonomous transport will be so low that you can think of it like, individualized mass transit. The average cost of a bus per mile for a city… is about a dollar a mile, whereas the cost of Cybercab, we think probably over time, the operating cost is probably going to be around $0.20 a mile,” he added.
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Musk said the driverless car experience is Tesla “trying to give you a sense of what cities will be like in the future.
“And, when you get in, you’ll see, like, it’s really quite a wild experience to just be in a car with no steering wheel, no pedals, no controls. And it feels great,” he said.
Musk also announced a self-driving Robovan during the event, but provided fewer details.
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“Now can you imagine going down the streets and you see this coming towards you? That would be sick. So this can carry up to 20 people and it can also transport goods,” he said.
CBS News in turmoil as multiple controversies erupt at the network
CBS News is in disarray, facing multiple controversies irking everyone from former President Trump and his supporters to pro-Israel viewers and media professionals in the process.
CBS first sparked confusion by airing two different answers to the same question about Israel in its “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, replacing a clip from the Democratic nominee that aired on “Face the Nation” Sunday when the interview package aired in a primetime special on Monday. That same day, CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil was shamed by colleagues for being too tough on a pro-Palestinian author during an interview that reportedly didn’t sit well with the network’s Race and Culture unit.
The two issues have resulted in negative attention for the network, but Fox News contributor Joe Concha feels at least the editing controversy can be quietly put to bed if CBS chooses.
“It’s very simple if you’re CBS News … release the entire interview on CBSNews.com and let everybody see it from start to finish without any edits or jump cuts. Release the unedited transcript while you’re at it,” Concha told Fox News Digital.
CBS ’60 MINUTES’ AIRS TWO DIFFERENT ANSWERS FROM VP HARRIS TO THE SAME QUESTION
“But, CBS only released the transcript of the edited portion of the interview,” Concha added. “Why is that? The same news division that screams about the importance of transparency is being anything but transparent here.”
Harris was mocked by conservatives when footage of her offering a lengthy “word salad” was aired by CBS on Sunday’s “Face the Nation” to promote the “60 Minutes” sit-down, when Bill Whitaker asked why it seemed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t listening to the United States. However, the vice president’s lengthy answer didn’t make the version that aired on Monday night on “60 Minutes” and a shorter, more focused answer to the same question was shown instead. It appeared to be two different parts of one lengthy Harris response.
Conservative Media Research Center founder Brent Bozell pointed out that CBS has found itself in hot water for questionable edits in the past.
In 2016, former President Bill Clinton said his wife, then-candidate Hillary Clinton, “frequently” suffered spells of dehydration during an interview with then-anchor Charlie Rose, before correcting himself and saying “rarely, but on more than one occasion.” However, “CBS Evening News” edited out the word “frequently” when it aired the Clinton interview, explaining it was for time purposes.
More recently, “60 Minutes” came under fire in 2021 for suggesting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, R., gave the Publix grocery store chain preferable treatment to offer the coronavirus vaccine based on its donations to his PAC.
“The only way to clear this up is to release the full video and identify who was responsible for this deception,” Bozell told Fox News Digital. “CBS and the individuals behind this need to be held accountable. How is this not a direct campaign contribution, an effort to help her presidential race?”
Former President Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, have also publicly called for CBS to release the full video. Trump even called for CBS to lose its license over “election interference.”
It started when Whitaker asked Harris why it seemed like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wasn’t listening to the United States.
“Well Bill, the work that we have done has resulted in a number of movements in that region by Israel that were very much prompted by, or a result of, many things, including our advocacy for what needs to happen in the region,” Harris responded in the “Face the Nation” version.
When CBS aired the interview on Monday night, it aired a different answer to the exact same question.
“We are not going to stop pursuing what is necessary for the United States to be clear about where we stand on the need for this war to end,” Harris said.
CBS News has not released the unedited tape. The Harris campaign dismissed any notion that it asked for the rambling answer to get cut.
“We do not control CBS’s production decisions and refer questions to CBS,” the Harris campaign told Fox News Digital.
Former CBS News staffers are reportedly calling on the network to launch an external probe into the ongoing “60 Minutes” controversy.
“I think there should be an outside investigation,” a former CBS News journalist told The New York Post on Thursday. “Obviously, there’s a problem here. If they care about journalistic integrity, they would conduct an investigation or release the full transcript.”
As pressure builds for CBS News to publish the unedited interview to determine if producers were purposely cleaning up Harris’ “word salad” or simply cutting a long-winded answer for time, the Dokoupil ordeal continues to generate even more negative publicity.
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The saga began last week when Dokoupil interviewed author Ta-Nehisi Coates about his book, “The Message,” which describes in part his travels “to Palestine, where he sees with devastating clarity how easily we are misled by nationalist narratives.” The Jewish CBS News anchor irked liberal colleagues by bluntly stating that it read like something you would find in “the backpack of an extremist,” and pressing Coates on whether he believes Israel has the right to exist. The book is heavily anti-Israel and has been criticized for omitting significant context about Palestinian terrorism and the Jewish state’s extraordinary security situation.
At a company conference call on Oct. 7, CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon and editorial chief Adrienne Roark rebuked Dokoupil, infuriating staffers whose values don’t align with their colleagues who complained about Dokoupil in the first place.
CBS leadership reassured offended staff members that following a review, they had concluded that the interview did not meet the company’s “editorial standards,” the Free Press reported, which obtained audio of the staff meeting.
Paramount Global chair Shari Redstone, who oversees CBS’ parent company, defended Dokoupil this week during a panel discussion, saying he had done a good job. So did CBS chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford, who spoke up for him at the editorial meeting.
“It sounds like we are calling out one of our anchors in a somewhat public setting on this call for failing to meet editorial standards for, I’m not even sure what,” Crawford said.
“I thought our commitment was to truth. And when someone comes on our air with a one-sided account of a very complex situation, as Coates himself acknowledges that he has, it’s my understanding that as journalists we are obligated to challenge that worldview so that our viewers can have that access to the truth or a fuller account, a more balanced account,” Crawford added. “To me, that is what Tony did.”
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Dokoupil eventually expressed regret for the interview causing tumult, but not for his line of questioning, according to the New York Times.
A longtime CBS insider told Fox News Digital they were appalled by the way network honchos handled the situation.
“They’re literally chiding a reporter for doing the journalistic thing while encouraging everybody, apparently, to do the journalistic thing with literally no self-awareness,” the CBS News insider said.
The insider said many longtime CBS News employees feel its journalism started to suffer when the company went “full DEI,” referring to the diversity, equity, and inclusion push that has rocked corporate America in recent years.
“If you listen to that stupid call, which everybody was just outraged by … the corporate speak they use, ‘We hear you,’ and all that stuff, it doesn’t sound like a news division. It sounds like a creepy DEI organization,” the insider said.
“People are mad, there is a huge outcry,” the insider said. “Prior to the Tony stuff, I had just been hearing chatter about the DEI hires and promotions that makes no sense in terms of merit.”
Puck media reporter Dylan Byers called it a “fast-metastasizing, five-alarm s–tshow” that has polarized CBS News in a piece that suggested Dokoupil found himself in hot water for asking questions that were not cleared by the network’s Race and Culture unit.
“Last Tuesday, while the CBS News leadership was consumed with the network’s vice presidential debate, the issue was elevated to the network’s Race and Culture unit, which was formed in the summer of 2020, amid the George Floyd reckoning, and determines whether the ‘tone, content, and intention’ of any segment or package are suitable for the network’s air,” Byers reported.
“The unit, led by Alvin Patrick, determined that while Dokoupil’s questions and intentions were acceptable, his tone was not,” Byers added. “Meanwhile, the network’s Standards and Practices division, led by Claudia Milne, determined that Dokoupil had not followed the preproduction process wherein questions are run through Race and Culture and Standards and Practices.”
The CBS News Race and Culture Unit has “a four-pronged role at CBS News and Stations as a reviewer, an incubator, a producer and a library,” according to the CBS website. The unit sees its primary role as a reviewer to “ensure all stories have the proper context, tone and intention.”
The New York Times previously reported that Dokoupil ultimately had to meet with both the CBS News standards and practices team and the Race and Culture Unit.
The Free Press reported Wednesday that Mark Memmott, CBS News’ senior director of standards and practices, had emailed all employees in late August telling them to “be careful with some terms when we talk or write about the news” regarding the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Included on his list of controversial terms was “Jerusalem.”
“Do not refer to it as being in Israel,” Memmott wrote, according to The Free Press.
CBS News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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All this comes on the heels of the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate, where CBS News anchors Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan were panned for fact-checking Vance after the network announced that it would not allow live fact-checking.
“Almost every question was designed to make Republicans look bad, slanting Trump’s views on childcare. And yet Vance seemed to take it all in stride. And he really, I think, with most questions, really showed his humanity and also his knowledge of the issues,” Fox News host Laura Ingraham said at the time.
The debate failed to lift ratings for “CBS Evening News” despite O’Donnell being front and center.
Tom Fishman, CEO of Builders, a nonpartisan organization that seeks to overcome toxic polarization plaguing America, feels the CBS controversies underscore declining American trust in the media.
“With more and more Americans feeling skeptical of political bias in news reporting, there is a big opportunity for the media to build back trust by demonstrating a commitment to telling us not just what we want to hear, but also what we need to hear, even if that information challenges our existing views. And if their work is questioned, leaders may find it necessary to offer greater transparency as a means of continuing to build that trust back,” Fishman told Fox News Digital.
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Swing state’s Democrats deliver massive blow to Harris, say Trump offers better policies
Both Republican and Democratic voters in the swing state of Pennsylvania are slamming the state of the economy with less than a month left before the presidential election.
Most voters Fox News Digital spoke to in the lakeside town of Erie, Pa., disclosed that rising prices and a “tough” economy were personally affecting them and their lifestyles. They also discussed whether they believe Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Trump would be the best leader to improve things.
“The economy is tough. I don’t see it getting any better,” said Henry, a lifelong resident of Erie who became homeless during the Biden-Harris administration.
“I don’t wanna really say it, but I’ve been homeless for two years,” he said as he fished in the city’s local Bayfront area near Lake Erie.
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Pennsylvania is one of the most hotly contested battleground states, with both Harris and Trump virtually tied in state polling.
The race might hinge on which way Pennsylvania votes, a direction heavily swayed by parts of the state like Erie County, which is considered a “historically must-win county” for presidential candidates.
Erie went for Trump in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020, who both went on to win Pennsylvania those years. Every White House winner the past four elections has carried Pennsylvania as well.
While Erie voters appeared split on who they want for president, most indicated to Fox they shared similar feelings about the economy, which, according to Fox News polling, is the top voting issue for state residents.
Brad from Erie told Fox that “housing prices especially” have been a struggle for him.
“I’ve been looking for a house since COVID and it was extremely difficult. House prices are up 50% so – if not higher,” he said. When asked if he’s being pinched by inflation and higher grocery prices, he replied, “Yeah, just like every other blue-collar person.”
“I believe it’s affecting everybody,” local resident Toni said.
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Bill from Erie said he believes the economy is “getting better” but admitted he is being affected by it. “Yeah, a little bit. Yup,” he said when asked.
Diane, who works for an insurance company in the city, said she feels the economic strain, though she expressed gratitude that she still has a good job.
When asked if the economy was affecting her, she replied, “Oh sure. I mean, certainly not to the point that it is [affecting] a lot of people. I’m very fortunate. I have a job and it’s a good one … But my husband is retired, so we are living on pretty much one income. But we’re able to do it.”
Erie resident Matt said that although he believes the “economy itself is relatively strong,” he admitted he feels the effects of inflation. “I think inflation is an issue, especially with the cost of groceries and everything like that,” he told Fox, adding that he’s had to adjust.
“I know we had to basically be a little bit smarter with our spending in regards to something as simple as what you’re buying at the grocery store, um, and had to cut back on things and make adjustments, but other than that, we’ve been OK.”
Glenn, who recently moved back to Erie from Texas, said the economy was the issue he’s most concerned about in this election. He said he believes it’s doing “better” now than it has been in recent years, though he said it’s not really affecting him.
“Fortunately, I retired on a real high salary,” he added.
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These voters then answered whether they believed Trump or Harris would be a better candidate to strengthen the economy, with most admitting they’d trust Trump on the topic, even if some weren’t going to vote for him in November.
Bill told Fox he was going to vote for Harris this cycle, but admitted he thinks Trump would deliver a better economy. “Probably Trump on that issue,” he said when asked. “Probably Trump.”
Toni, who indicated she was leaning toward voting Harris, admitted Trump might have the edge on the economy as well.
“Hopefully Harris, but I don’t know, because Trump really did put a lot of money out there when he was elected and stuff like that,” she told Fox News Digital.
Mike and Matt, both professed Harris supporters, said they’d trust her to fix the economy over Trump.
Glenn viewed the issue similarly, declaring “absolutely,” when asked if he believed Harris would better deliver on the economy. “I just don’t trust Trump, period,” he added.
Henry told Fox, “I would put my trust towards Trump than I would somebody that’s already ruining the economy, just as an American citizen.”
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“Oh, Trump for sure,” Diane said. “For one thing, he’s a businessman and he understands [the economy]. And Harris just seems to have no policies whatsoever.”