‘Wokest hospital in America?’: Top hospital hit with blistering ad exposing ‘political agenda’
FIRST ON FOX: Consumers’ Research, a leading non-profit dedicated to consumer information, is launching a campaign targeting the Cleveland Clinic over what it says is a history of the organization prioritizing woke politics over patients.
The campaign, dubbed “Cleveland Clinic Exposed”, asks the public whether the clinic is “the wokest hospital in America” and will involve an ad titled “Exposed,” which will run in Ohio during the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors game on Wednesday.
“Is Cleveland Clinic the wokest hospital in America?” the 30-second ad asks. “They prioritize care based on skin color. Perform child sex changes. Push transgender propaganda on vulnerable kids. Insert DEI into everything they do.”
“And spend millions on climate activism. The CEO admits it: Healthcare is only a part of their mission. Cleveland Clinic. Focused on a political agenda. Not what’s best for patients.”
TRUMP ORDER RESTRICTING SEX-CHANGE PROCEDURES FOR MINORS IN LINE WITH ‘DO NO HARM,’ DOCTOR SAYS
The ad campaign will also be featured on ClevelandClinicExposed.com, and mobile billboards will be seen outside the Ohio state capitol building, Cleveland Clinic main campus and the Florida state capitol building.
Additionally, a targeted digital campaign and a “woke alert” is being sent out calling on the clinic to “stop injecting politics into patient care.”
“Attention Floridians,” one of the alerts states. “Cleveland Clinic opened a sex change clinic in your backyard.”
TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER RESTRICTING ‘CHEMICAL AND SURGICAL’ SEX-CHANGE PROCEDURES FOR MINORS
The ad, in part, references a letter from Cleveland Clinic’s CEO suggesting that providing healthcare services is not the sole focus of the organization.
“Providing high-quality healthcare is only a part of our mission,” Cleveland Clinic CEO Tom Mihaljevic wrote in a post on the hospital’s website.
“We have an obligation to uplift the many communities we call home. We must improve our neighbors’ wellbeing, quality of life and opportunities to succeed. We must operate in sustainable ways that are good for our planet. We must embrace diversity, champion human rights and lead with humility and inclusiveness.”
Cleveland Clinic has faced accusations of promoting a “woke” agenda in the past, including a complaint filed by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty alleging, “race-based discrimination and segregation of patients.”
The Cleveland Clinic’s website also contains several posts promoting climate initiatives, including a plan for “greening” its operating rooms.
In 2022, the Cleveland Clinic hired Jacqui Robertson as chief of diversity and inclusion, and announced in a post that has since been deleted that she will “lead efforts that will further diversity and inclusion across the health system.”
Robertson stated in a 2023 interview, “I don’t believe that diversity and inclusion should ever be a standalone strategy. It has to be embedded in everything that we do. And so that’s our processes, that’s our metrics.”
In a June 2023 post that also appears to have been deleted from the Cleveland Clinic website, the clinic explained “How To Support a Child Who’s Questioning Their Gender Identity.”
Also in June 2023, the clinic put out a press release labeling racism as a “public health crisis.”
“Cleveland Clinic is committed to addressing structural racism and bias in our community,” the organization said in a December 2020 press release announcing a plan to “join a coalition of 37 of the largest U.S. employers, to train, hire and promote one million Black Americans into family-sustaining jobs with opportunities for advancement.”
CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Despite past press releases and statements on the Cleveland Clinic’s website highlighting its agenda, a Cleveland Clinic spokesperson pushed back against the campaign.
“The advertisement contains false statements, and we are concerned there are serious inaccuracies in their claims. Our services are available for everyone, and we do not discriminate based on race, gender or any other category,” the spokesperson said.
“By its own shocking words and deeds, Cleveland Clinic has quite possibly become the wokest hospital in America,” Will Hild, Consumers’ Research executive director, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “The clinic’s leadership alarmingly proclaims that DEI ‘has to be embedded in everything that we do.’ Such a sentiment plagues the entire hospital system and should frighten every patient in need of its services.”
“From unethical race-based care to transgender mutilation surgeries on kids to bowing at the altar of climate extremism, Cleveland Clinic seems hell-bent on satisfying every woke fixation while cost-reduction for patients is a distant afterthought. It is wrong when any company prioritizes woke objectives over its consumers, but it is especially disturbing when the perpetrator is a medical facility and consumers are patients. Cleveland Clinic must reverse course, shun woke radicalism, stop spending resources in the wrong places, and make affordable quality care its only focus.”
Secretary Hegseth addresses potential for Ukraine NATO membership, pre-2014 borders
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth told allies at NATO headquarters Wednesday that “returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective,” as President Donald Trump is working to bring an end to the war.
Hegseth, speaking to the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Belgium, also said “stark strategic realities prevent the United States from being primarily focused on the security of Europe” because the U.S. is focusing on “securing our own borders” and “deterring war with China in the Pacific.”
“President Trump has been clear with the American people — and with many of your leaders — that stopping the fighting and reaching an enduring peace is a top priority,” Hegseth said about Ukraine, noting that the war is approaching its third anniversary.
“He intends to end this war by diplomacy and bringing both Russia and Ukraine to the table. And the U.S. Department of Defense will help achieve this goal,” Hegseth continued. “We want a sovereign and prosperous Ukraine. But we must start by recognizing that returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective. Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering.”
JD VANCE, TREASURY SECRETARY SCOTT BESSENT TO MEET WITH ZELENSKYY AS TRUMP TEAM SETS SIGHTS ON RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR
In early 2014, Russia first invaded Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula before annexing the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin then launched a larger military conflict with Ukraine in 2022, which remains ongoing.
“A durable peace for Ukraine must include robust security guarantees to ensure that the war will not begin again,” Hegseth said Wednesday. “The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement. Instead, any security guarantee must be backed by capable European and non-European troops.”
“If these troops are deployed as peacekeepers to Ukraine at any point, they should be deployed as part of a non-NATO mission and not covered under Article 5. There also must be robust international oversight of the line of contact,” he continued. “To be clear, as part of any security guarantee, there will not be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine.”
ZELENSKYY CALLS TRUMP’S TERMS ACCEPTABLE FOR SECURITY PARTNERSHIP
Trump, during an interview with Fox News’ Bret Baier on “Special Report,” said “tremendous progress” has been made over the last week when it comes to a Ukraine-Russia peace deal.
“They have tremendously valuable land in terms of rare earth, in terms of oil and gas, in terms of other things. I want to have our money secured because we’re spending hundreds of billions of dollars,” Trump said about Ukraine. “And, you know, they may make a deal. They may not make a deal. They may be Russian someday, or they may not be Russian someday.”
“I told them that I want the equivalent, like $500 billion worth of rare earth. And they’ve essentially agreed to do that. So at least we don’t feel stupid. Otherwise, we’re stupid,” Trump added. “I said to them, we have to, we have to get something. We can’t continue to pay this money, you know.”
In an interview this week with The Guardian, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “There are voices which say that Europe could offer security guarantees without the Americans, and I always say no” and that “Security guarantees without America are not real security guarantees.”
Hegseth also said he is in Brussels today to “directly and unambiguously express that stark strategic realities prevent the United States from being primarily focused on the security of Europe.”
“The United States faces consequential threats to our homeland. We must — and we are — focusing on securing our own borders,” he said. “We also face a peer competitor in China with the capability and intent to threaten our homeland and core national interests in the Indo-Pacific.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“The U.S. is prioritizing deterring war with China in the Pacific, recognizing the reality of scarcity, and making the resourcing tradeoffs to ensure deterrence does not fail,” Hegseth added. “As the United States shifts its attention to these threats, European allies must lead from the front.”
Officials at Warren’s pet project agency dismissed despite telling media the opposite
FIRST ON FOX: Three leaders at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) were placed on administrative leave Tuesday, Fox News Digital confirmed.
CFPB’s Chief Legal Officer Mark Paoletta placed Lorelei Salas, the CFPB’s supervision director, and Eric Halperin, the agency’s enforcement chief, and Zixta Martinez, the agency’s deputy director, on administrative leave, an agency spokesperson told Fox News Digital Tuesday.
The departures come after acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russ Vought, told employees of CFPB on Monday to not report to work and to “get approval in writing before performing any work tasks.” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent briefly served as acting CFPB director before Vought earlier in February, and had also told staffers to halt their work “unless expressly approved by the Acting Director or required by law.”
The agency spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Halperin defied Bessent’s order and resigned in response to being placed on leave Tuesday. Halperin was made aware of his leave via an email and responded six minutes later that he was resigning, the New York Post reported earlier Tuesday.
RUSS VOUGHT, TAPPED AS CFPB’S ACTING DIRECTOR, DIRECTS BUREAU TO ISSUE NO NEW RULES, STOP NEW INVESTIGATIONS
“I write to provide notice of my resignation… Since the building is closed, please provide instructions on how to return my equipment,” Halperin reportedly responded to the email. “Thank you for the opportunity to serve. It was an honor.”
Salas also “sent out an email blast” in response to the notification she also was placed on leave, but did not officially file her resignation, the spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
RUSSELL VOUGHT CONFIRMED TO HEAD GOVERNMENT’S LEADING BUDGET OFFICE AFTER DEMS HOLD 30-HOUR PROTEST
The pair is claiming to reporters that they resigned, as opposed to being placed on leave, to “try and save face,” the agency spox added.
When approached for comment, a spokesperson for Salas and Halperin told Fox Digital that the Trump administration was working to “sideline” government employees.
“As we’ve seen many times already, Trump and Musk are trying to sideline dedicated public servants who won’t go along with their plans to break the law,” the spokesperson said. “CFPB staff have a responsibility to protect consumers, and that includes upholding longstanding laws on the books.”
Both Halperin and Salas have ties to left-wing billionaire George Soros’ nonprofit, the Open Society Foundation, a CFPB press release from 2021 shows. Halperin served as a senior advisor to Open Society Foundations’ U.S. Program, his biography in a CFPB press release states, while Salas received a government fellowship from the Open Society Foundations.
FEDERAL WORKERS’ UNION FILES LAWSUITS TO STOP VOUGHT, DOGE ACTIVITY AT CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION BUREAU
The CFPB is an independent government agency charged with protecting consumers from unfair financial practices in the private sector. It was created in 2010 under the Obama administration following the financial crash in 2008.
The Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, has been investigating various federal agencies in February in search of finding and eliminating government overspending, fraud and corruption.
On Friday, Musk posted a message on X, reading, “CFPB RIP,” building anticipation that the agency was the next to face investigation.
Protests have since been staged outside of the of CFPB headquarters in Washington, including Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who originally proposed the agency, declaring on the streets, “We are here to fight back.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“This is like a bank robber trying to fire the cops and turn off the alarm just before he strolls into the lobby,” Warren told the crowd on Monday.
“The financial cops, the CFPB, are there to make sure that Elon’s new project can’t scam you or steal your sensitive personal data,” Warren said. “So Elon’s solution, get rid of the cops, kill the CFPB.”
Cause of deadly Arizona plane crash revealed, deceased pilot identified
Officials in Arizona have revealed that a landing gear failure caused the private jet owned by Vince Neil – the lead singer of Mötley Crüe – to rapidly skid off a runway and slam into a parked private jet on Monday, killing its co-pilot.
Three other people were injured in the collision at Scottsdale Airport, including a second pilot as well as Neil’s girlfriend Rain Hannah and her friend. A fifth person who was in the parked jet refused medical attention. Neil was not on the plane.
“According to initial reports, the Learjet’s left main landing gear failed upon landing, leading to the collision,” the City of Scottsdale said in a statement on its website. “Airport operations staff and emergency personnel from Scottsdale Fire Station 609 responded to the scene within one minute of the collision.”
VIDEO SHOWS SPEEDING JET OWNED BY MÖTLEY CRÜE’S VINCE NEIL PLOW INTO PARKED PLANE
Wheels belonging to the Learjet could be seen around 100 yards away from the crash site, per Fox 10 Phoenix.
The deceased pilot was named as 78-year-old Joie Vitosky, the Scottsdale Police Department said. He was certified as a flight engineer since 1978 and a pilot since 2019, according to FAA records.
Vitosky was originally from Okemah, Oklahoma, and joined the Marine Corps in his early twenties because he wanted to fly, his ex-wife Ann Vitosky told the Associated Press. He became a Marine Corps aviator and flew helicopters in Vietnam in 1969, she said. After spending over a decade with the Marine Corps, he started flying Learjets.
She said he died doing what he loved, and he would probably be happy to go the way he did. “His passion was flying,” she said.
MÖTLEY CRÜE’S NIKKI SIXX SAYS WYOMING MOVE HAS BEEN ‘FANTASTIC’: ‘CAN’T THINK OF A PLACE I’D RATHER BE’
She said the two share three children and four grandchildren.
Dramatic video footage shows the Learjet skidding along the tarmac at high speed with its nose pressed against the concrete before it careens off the runway and then barrels towards a bigger parked private jet, an Israel Aircraft Industries Gulfstream 200.
The out-of-control Learjet then strikes the side of the parked Gulfstream with such force that the front of the bigger jet lifts and moves forward a couple of feet.
The incident took place at 2:39 p.m. local time, the city said.
WATCH: Video shows aftermath of crash involving plane belonging to Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil
“I am extremely grateful to the first responders and airport operations staff on scene today for their swift action and service,” Scottsdale Aviation Director Gary P. Mascaro said in a statement. “We offer our deepest condolences to those affected by this tragedy.”
Scottsdale Fire Capt. Dave Folio said a person was trapped in Neil’s jet after the crash, but rescuers were able to free them from the wreckage. The person was transferred to a trauma center in critical condition.
Hannah suffered five broken ribs, per TMZ. The two passengers also had dogs on the plane that survived the incident.
The two aircraft were separated by rescue crews later on Monday. Images from the scene show the cockpit area of the Learjet almost completely caved in on its left-hand side with a red tarp over it.
Eyewitness Gordan Johnson, who has worked for 35 years in aviation, told Fox 10 that he saw the front landing gear collapse and then watched the jet slide off the runway to the left.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The plane was coming from Austin, Texas when it crashed. The jet is registered to Chromed in Hollywood, Inc – a Wyoming-based company – that lists Neil as its director, according to records reviewed by Fox News Digital.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it is investigating the crash.
Scottsdale Airport announced the runway was reopened at 10:38 p.m. on Monday.
Contents inside mystery Chinese spy balloon shot down in 2023 finally revealed
A Chinese spy balloon that floated across the U.S. before being shot down off the South Carolina coast in 2023 was carrying technology from at least five American companies, according to a report published Monday.
Among the equipment recovered from the balloon were a satellite communication module, sensors and other sophisticated surveillance equipment, some of which was housed in a foam cooler, Newsweek reported, citing two sources with direct knowledge of a U.S. military technical analysis.
The FBI declined to comment on the report when reached by Fox News Digital.
The Chinese spy balloon flew from Alaska to the East Coast, where it was shot down by the military over the Atlantic Ocean on Feb. 4, 2023.
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO … THE INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE CHINESE SPY BALLOON
Beijing claimed it was a weather balloon, though an investigation by U.S. intelligence agencies found the balloon was used for spying. Information captured by the spy balloon is not believed to have been successfully relayed to Beijing.
The identification of U.S.-made technology inside the balloon raises questions about commercially available equipment that can be sold to, or in some cases resold, to America’s adversaries.
The sources, who spoke to the outlet on condition of anonymity, said a short burst messaging module called Iridium 9602 was among the tech equipment recovered. The device is produced by Virginia-based global satellite communications provider Iridium.
Jordan Hassim, Iridium’s executive director for communications, told the outlet that the company doesn’t condone the use of its radios or modules “being used in ways they shouldn’t be.”
CHINESE SPY CRAFT USED AMERICAN TECH TO COLLECT PHOTOS, VIDEOS
“There’s no way for us to know what the use is of a specific module,” Hassim said. “We need to know the module specifically. For us, it could be a whale wearing a tag tracking it, it could be a polar bear, an explorer hiking a mountain.”
If the company learned one of its devices was being misused, Hassim said it would immediately work with partners such as the U.S. government to disable it.
CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The sources said the four other U.S. companies whose parts were identified in the balloon were Texas Instruments, Omega Engineering, Amphenol All Sensors Corp. and Onsemi. Equipment from STMicroelectronics of Switzerland was also recovered and identified.
Healthcare workers threaten Israeli man, claim to have killed Jews in their care
Two Australian healthcare workers are being investigated after threatening to kill an Israeli man on camera, claiming they had previously killed Jews in their care.
The man and woman, who said they were doctors, spoke with the man via Chatrouletka, a website where strangers are matched internationally to have conversations.
After the Israeli man revealed his nationality, the female worker said “it’s Palentine’s country, not your country you piece of s—,” according to the video.
JEWISH CHILDREN, TEENS VIOLENTLY ATTACKED IN LONDON: ‘STREETS ARE NO LONGER SAFE’
As the Israeli man asked for peace, the conversation escalated, and the woman said “when the time comes, I want you to remember my face, so you can understand that you will die the most disgusting death.”
The pair went on to say they would not treat the man and would kill him if he came to their hospital.
The man in scrubs said “you have no idea how many Israelis came to this hospital and…,” while sliding his arm across his neck in a throat-slashing motion.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns confirmed the two individuals are workers at Bankstown Hospital.
Minns and Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the pair were identified quickly and were “stood down” by NSW authorities.
“They have rightly been referred to the NSW Police for criminal investigation,” Albanese wrote in a statement Tuesday on X. “Individuals found to have committed criminal antisemitic acts will face the full force of our laws.”
Albanese described the comments as “vile,” and condemned the healthcare workers’ actions.
“The antisemitic video circulating today is disgusting,” he wrote. “The footage is sickening and shameful. These antisemitic comments, driven by hate, have no place in our health system and no place anywhere in Australia.”
A synagogue was fire-bombed in Melbourne on Dec. 6, which authorities are now investigating as a likely terrorist attack. Other reports indicate cars have been set aflame and buildings have been vandalized in Sydney Jewish communities.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) has reported more than 2,000 antisemitic incidents in Australia since Palestinian militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Data was collected between Oct. 1, 2023 and Sept. 30, 2024.
In a news conference on Tuesday, Alexander Ryvchin, ECAJ co-chief executive officer, said members of the community have felt unsafe at Australian hospitals.
COLUMBIA GROUP’S ANTISEMITIC NEWSPAPER DRAWS OUTRAGE FROM NY LAWMAKER, AS UNIVERSITY INVESTIGATES
“Hospitals are a place where people should never feel unsafe,” Ryvchin said. “It’s the exact contrary. People should feel entirely comfortable that they’ll be treated based on their condition and humanity, not in the way that we saw in that video.”
He added the incident was the “tip of the iceberg,” and he believes there are many Australians with the same ideology.
“Antisemitism has sadly taken root in Australia, and we need to expunge it root and branch,” Ryvchin said. “There need to be consequences.”
On Wednesday, Australia enacted a hate crimes bill imposing minimum mandatory penalties for certain hate-related crimes, including six years for terrorist offenses, three years for financing terrorism and one year for displaying hate symbols.
“There have been similar instances of such behavior in Sydney and Perth where perpetrators have been convicted and given only a token fine,” the ECAJ wrote in a statement posted on its website. “That is also unacceptable because perpetrators come to regard such fines as merely the cost of “doing business” and not as a real deterrent.”
Though it has faced more intolerance, the Jewish population of Australia is substantially smaller than the Muslim population, which accounts for 3.2%, according to previous reporting. Jews account for just 0.4% of the population.
The Australian Federal Police was previously tasked with conducting an operation that would “focus on threats, violence, and hatred” targeting the Jewish community, Fox News Digital reported.
In addition, the prime minister allocated $25 million, about $15 million in the U.S., beginning in 2022 to increase security for Jewish organizations, according to a Reuters report. He also took a stand against hate speech and banned the Nazi salute.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
SNL alum considered himself a devout Democrat — until he got a call from Trump
Joe Piscopo was an “old Blue Dog Democrat” in 2016 when he received a phone call from Donald Trump’s presidential campaign team.
The “Saturday Night Live” alum, who had been longtime pals with “The Donald,” was asked to do a speech at the Tampa fairgrounds. At the time, the celebrity businessman was running for president.
In his new memoir, “Average Joe,” the comic and actor wrote that he knew that publicly supporting Trump would be “the forever death knell, the nail in my coffin in Hollywood.”
JOE PISCOPO SHOWS ULTIMATE SIGN OF RESPECT BY ATTENDING TRUMP’S TRIAL: ‘I’M A GUY OF LOYALTY AND FRIENDSHIP’
Piscopo, now 73, told Fox News Digital he has zero regrets about supporting Trump, even if it meant getting shut out of Hollywood.
“I made the right move, but boy, they don’t want to hear it out in Hollywood,” said Piscopo.
“Now, I don’t care. The country’s in such a mess. And Donald Trump is doing such a great job at this point… It’s not idolization of anybody. It’s not me going gaga over anybody. It’s the right thing for America. And Donald Trump tapped into what’s right for America.”
“I know, from knowing him all those years, that he loves his country more than anything else,” Piscopo shared. “So yeah, I supported him, and they’ll shut you down in Hollywood. But that’s OK… I did what’s right in my heart.”
In his book, Piscopo wrote, “I thought it was best for the country that Hillary [Clinton] did not become president.” His stance on Trump’s political rival never changed.
“I don’t hate Hillary,” Piscopo explained to Fox News Digital. “I found Hillary rather charming when I met her. [My conservative friends] go, ‘Joe, you can’t say that!’ But she was. When she was the first lady, I chatted with her. She couldn’t have been more charming. There’s no hate there. But [I felt] Donald as president could be cool.”
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
“Look, Donald Trump tapped into something that was missing in America, and that is the people,” he continued. “It was ‘We, the people.’ People may not like to hear it, but he was so on message with this… All the politicians in Washington… they’ve forgotten.
“Even folks in my old party, they just didn’t care about it… When people asked, ‘You’re going to vote for Donald Trump?’ I said, ‘Unapologetically, yes.’”
Piscopo may have had hesitations initially about switching parties, but his mind was forever changed when he agreed to give that speech. He described arriving at the Tampa fairgrounds and witnessing “roughly 20,000 people” just waiting to hear Trump speak.
Piscopo was stunned.
“It’s like a rock concert,” he told Fox News Digital. “I [couldn’t] believe it. This is ‘The Donald.’ So now I’m going over my speech. It wasn’t a comedy… Let’s bring manufacturing back. Let’s believe in blue-collar workers. Let’s help out the inner cities – all the things I believe in.
WATCH: ‘SNL’ ALUM JOE PISCOPO DETAILS HIS FRIENDSHIP WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP
“I’m reading it [and] my back is to all the people and all the action going on. And then I hear the loudspeakers say, ‘And now, let’s all join together and say the Pledge of Allegiance.’ I go, ‘Pledge of Allegiance? Who does that anymore?’ I automatically put my hand over my heart, and I pledged allegiance to the flag. And everybody’s saying it. The Florida Highway Patrol – everybody.”
“Look, I’m too old to idolize anybody,” he shared. “I just know [Donald] was right for the country. And I don’t like when somebody’s bashed when they shouldn’t be, when I see the reality of it all.”
In his book, Piscopo wrote that witnessing the “hope and joy” of the crowds that day convinced him he made the right choice.
“It’s ironic that it took a billionaire from New York City to tap into the heart of these decent, hardworking folks and seem to honestly understand what they stood for,” he wrote. “That someone cared enough about the regular men and women of this great country.”
“I never looked back,” he added.
In 2017, Trump claimed his place as America’s 45th president.
Piscopo described Trump as “a loyal friend,” someone who has “a real soft side,” he insisted.
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
“I’ve known Donald Trump for a hundred years,” the New Jersey native told Fox News Digital. “He was always respectful. He was always kind. He’s the guy when we would go, ‘We’re going to Atlantic City,’ and what does Donald Trump do? He’d send a jet up… How respectful is that? He didn’t have to send a jet. I could have driven down two hours away. [But] it’s Trump-style… It was the best of times. It really was.”
“He was ‘The Donald,’ and I was ‘Jersey Joe,’” Piscopo chuckled. “That’s how I know Donald Trump. He would do charities all the time. They’d go, ‘Joe, could you go to the Trump National Bedminster, and can you do a charity?’ I’d go, ‘Sure, let’s go raise some money.’ And it was always for charity. And who would show up? Donald and [his wife] Melania. Every single time.
“And [every time] he was warm, he was funny. He would remember everybody’s name. He’ll say, ‘How’s your uncle John?’ ‘Remember that guy you told me about? How is he doing?’ That’s the real Donald Trump. And you’re looking back, and you’re going, ‘Wow, we’ve got to let America see that.’”
Piscopo wouldn’t only support Trump at the polls. In 2024, he showed up at Manhattan Criminal Court during Trump’s hush money trial as a sign of loyalty and friendship.
“When he went through that whole political persecution and the madness… and everything wrong about the political persecution of Donald Trump, I went to the courtroom,” he said.
“I wanted to protest political persecution. But I [also wanted] to support my friend Donald Trump… It’s friendship. It’s loyalty. It’s not forgetting who you are, where you’re from. That’s the Donald Trump I know. And if someone doesn’t see it, I feel sorry for them because they’re missing out on a great thing.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In November 2024, Trump was elected the 47th president of the United States. His win against Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman of color to lead a major party ticket, marked the second time he defeated a female rival in a general election.
“I feel sorry for the people who don’t want to listen and are going to hate,” Piscopo reflected. “I didn’t hate Hillary. I didn’t hate Biden. I didn’t hate Obama. The hate’s got to be put aside. You just embrace the goodness that is there.”
Justin Baldoni makes stunning claim about Blake Lively’s civil lawsuit
Justin Baldoni alleges Blake Lively’s intentions in filing a civil rights complaint instead of a lawsuit “were deliberate.”
Lively, 37, initially filed a complaint against Baldoni with the California Civil Rights Department Dec. 21, accusing Baldoni of sexual harassment while working on “It Ends With Us.” She also claimed that after raising concerns, he, along with a crisis PR team, orchestrated a retaliation campaign aimed at ruining her career.
Baldoni, 41, launched a website that included an amended version of his $400 million defamation lawsuit against his co-star and her husband, Ryan Reynolds, which included an updated suit and timeline of events to counter claims she was sexually harassed on set of the drama for which he served as director.
BLAKE LIVELY VS. JUSTIN BALDONI: EVERYTHING TO KNOW
In his amended lawsuit, Baldoni claimed, “Lively never intended to file a civil lawsuit, which would have triggered the Wayfarer Parties’ right to discovery, including obtaining evidence and deposing Lively under oath. By the time Lively actually filed a lawsuit against the Wayfarer Parties, the damage to the Wayfarer Parties was done by virtue of Lively’s months of colluding with the New York Times on a false and malicious narrative unshielded by any privilege. Make no mistake: these actions were deliberate.”
Celebrity attorney Christopher C. Melcher exclusively told Fox News Digital Baldoni had “a very good reason” to make the claim that Lively’s actions were intentional.
“Because it was just a request for the government to investigate and not a lawsuit against Baldoni, he had no right to subpoena witnesses or force Blake or Ryan to sit for a deposition,” Melcher said. “The suspicion is that she leaked this request for investigation to the media with all of these text messages on there so that she could garner public sympathy but not be exposed to any scrutiny for her allegations.”
JOHNNY DEPP’S ATTORNEY WARNS BLAKE LIVELY, JUSTIN BALDONI FACE ‘REAL DANGER’ IN UPCOMING TRIAL
Months after speculation of on-set issues between Baldoni and Lively, the “Gossip Girl” actress filed a complaint Dec. 21, making allegations of sexual harassment, retaliation, intentional affliction of emotional distress, negligence and more.
Melcher specified the importance of Baldoni stating Lively “never intended to file a civil lawsuit” in his amended lawsuit shared online.
“Ordinarily, if somebody makes a false statement against somebody, it’s defamation, and you can get sued,” Melcher said. “But if the statement is made in a lawsuit or in contemplation of an immediate suit being filed, it is protected under the litigation privilege – that’s Civil Code, Section 47.
“So, California Civil Code, Section 47 says statements made by a party in the course of a lawsuit are not defamatory, they’re not actionable. You can’t sue for defamation. And that’s been interpreted to mean, ‘OK, well, literally, if you’re filing tomorrow, and you’re maybe given a press release or demand letter, you can be covered under that umbrella that has to be immediately contemplated.’
“So, this ‘never intended’ is the code word for him saying that the leaks to the press are not covered by this litigation privilege because they were not made in the context of a lawsuit, and so that’s what gives him the right to sue. Otherwise, he would be blocked.”
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, gave more insight into filing a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department.
“Before you file a sexual harassment lawsuit in California, you have to file a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) and obtain a right to sue letter,” Rahmani told Fox News Digital. “This is the state’s equivalent of the EEOC, except they enforce California state law instead of federal law. Just because you file a complaint with the CRD doesn’t mean you have to file a lawsuit. You can use the CRD’s internal investigation process instead.
“There is the possibility that Lively never intended to file a lawsuit and just wanted to file a complaint with the CRD and have the New York Times run the story to ruin Baldoni’s reputation.”
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
On Dec. 31, Lively filed a federal suit shortly after Baldoni filed his own $250 million defamation suit against The New York Times, which he claimed published an article “rife with inaccuracies, misrepresentations, and omissions.”
“Nothing in this lawsuit changes anything about the claims advanced in Ms. Lively’s California Civil Rights Department complaint, nor her federal complaint, filed earlier today,” Lively’s representatives told Fox News Digital at the time.
The “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” actress alleged in her federal filing that Baldoni, the Wayfarer Studios film production company and a handful of associates were involved in a “carefully crafted, coordinated, and resourced retaliatory scheme to silence her, and others, from speaking out.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“This case is obviously as much about the court of public opinion as it is the courtroom,” Rahmani added. “Lively may have been trying to scare Baldoni with the CRD complaint or send him a message. The communications between Lively and her publicists will be very revealing. Was this just a PR move that backfired, or was it really the precursor to filing a lawsuit?”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Lively’s representatives for comment.