VP Harris throws label on Trump during campaign event in critical swing state
PITTSBURGH — Vice President Harris on Sunday appeared to label former President Trump a “coward” during a stop Sunday in the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania.
Speaking to a crowd of staff, volunteers and supporters at a campaign field office in Beaver County, just outside of Pittsburgh, the vice president contrasted her leadership style with that of Trump, who’s long been known for his in-your-face campaign rhetoric, including insulting his rivals, as he’s flamed the politics of division.
“This campaign is about a recognition that, frankly, over the last several years there’s been this kind of perversion that has taken place, I think, which is to suggest that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down. When what we know is the real and true measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up,” Harris said.
Then, apparently pointing toward Trump without mentioning her presidential election rival by name, Harris said “anybody who’s about beating down other people is a coward.”
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Responding, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung pointed to the lack of a major news conference or media interview by Harris in the four weeks since she replaced President Biden at the top of the Democrats’ 2024 ticket.
“The Kamala campaign – liars, frauds, and cowards. She can’t even do a sit-down interview or press conference – not even with a friendly outlet – because she’s scared to death of being exposed for the coward and fraud that she is,” Cheung said in a statement to Fox News.
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The stop in Rochester, Pennsylvania, was the first by Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, after they kicked off a campaign bus tour at nearby Pittsburgh International Airport earlier in the afternoon.
The barnstorming tour through western Pennsylvania by Harris and Walz and their spouses, second gentleman Doug Emhoff and Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz, came on the eve of the kickoff of the Democratic National Convention, which is being held in Chicago.
With 19 electoral votes up for grabs, Pennsylvania is the largest prize among the seven battleground states that will likely decide the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.
HARRIS AND TRUMP TRADE FIRE IN BATTLE FOR THE BLUE WALL STATES
“We’re winning by a lot in Pennsylvania,” Trump declared on Saturday as he held a rally in Wilkes Barre in the northeast corner of the Keystone State.
But an average of all the polls conducted in Pennsylvania since Harris replaced Biden at the top of the Democrats’ national ticket four weeks ago indicates it is all tied up.
Both campaigns have been placing plenty of emphasis on the state.
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Harris made Philadelphia her first stop of her first battleground state swing after announcing Walz as her running mate.
And Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, will hold separate events focusing on the economy in Pennsylvania on Monday.
Trump’s granddaughter announces which university golf team she’ll be joining
Donald Trump’s eldest granddaughter, Kai, announced her commitment to play golf at the University of Miami on Sunday.
Kai, the daughter of Don Jr. and Vanessa, said she was “beyond excited” to announce her decision.
“I would like to thank my mom, Vanessa, and my dad, Don, for always supporting me through my journey. I would also like to thank my great team for getting me to this point,” she wrote on Instagram.
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The 17-year-old is well aware she’s gotten a chance to play at once-in-a-lifetime golf courses throughout her young career, and she thanked her grandfather for that.
“I would like to thank my Grandpa for giving me access to great courses and tremendous support,” she wrote.
“I would also like to thank my entire family for always encouraging and pushing me to be the best person I can possibly be. I would like to thank my friends for always cheering me on. Last but not least I would love to thank Coach Janice and Coach Jim for giving me this opportunity. I am supper [sic] excited to be a cane and represent the University of Miami. Gooo Canes!”
Kai Trump gained much popularity during the Republican National Convention, when her father said she wanted to speak shortly after the assassination attempt against her grandfather.
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“He calls me during the middle of the school day to ask how my golf game is going and tells me all about his, but then I have to remind him that I’m in school and I’ll have to call him back later,” Trump’s granddaughter told a raucous crowd in Milwaukee.
“On Saturday, I was shocked when I heard that he has been shot, and I just wanted to know if he was OK,” she said, describing the events after the attempted assassination of the former president.
“A lot of people have put my Grandpa through hell, and he’s still standing,” the teenager added.
“Grandpa, you are such an inspiration and I love you,” Kai said. “The media makes my grandpa seem like a different person. But I know him for who he is. He’s very caring and loving. He truly wants the best for this country. And he will fight every single day to make America great again. Thank you very much.”
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Kai took to Instagram to express her admiration for her grandfather’s unwavering will to wrangle the U.S. political system for the people. She wrote, “We love you Grandpa. Never stop fighting!”
Liberal columnist finally uses the one word Dems won’t to describe Biden’s forced exit
New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd deemed President Biden’s ouster a “coup” orchestrated behind the scenes by powerful Democrats on Sunday.
“Even though it was the right thing to do, because Joe Biden was not going to be able to campaign, much less serve as president for another four years, in a fully vital way, it was a jaw-dropping putsch,” Dowd wrote.
The president announced he would be dropping out of the race for the White House at the end of July, following weeks of pressure from top Democrats, who had reportedly called on him to bow out in private. Top Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Chuck Schumer and more have repeatedly denied they were involved in a “coup” to push Biden out.
“At some point, when the polls cratered, Democratic mandarins decided to put the welfare of the party — and the country — ahead of the president’s ego, and stop catering to his self-regarding fantasy that he was the only one who could beat Donald Trump,” Dowd continued.
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Dowd noted that Pelosi and others have revealed they haven’t been able to speak to Biden since he bowed out.
“One of the most ruthless and successful tacticians in congressional history seemed sheepish about knifing her pal, and conflicted over whether to take credit. Biden must have thought,” the columnist added.
Pelosi has also heaped praise on the president, despite what appears to be a fractured relationship, and recently suggested Biden belonged on Mount Rushmore.
“Kamala can’t be thrilled that Obama, Pelosi and Schumer hesitated to endorse her because they wanted more moderate rivals to compete in an open mini-primary. And Biden and Harris staffs are also tetchy, as Kamala layers on her own people,” Dowd wrote.
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Biden immediately endorsed Vice President Harris to take his place at the top of the ticket, as other prominent Democrats, such as Pelosi and the Obamas, waited a little bit to endorse the VP.
“Those who pushed out Biden should be proud,” Dowd wrote. “They saved him and their party from a likely crushing defeat, letting Trump snake back in and soil democracy.”
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Former Biden chief of staff Ron Klain spoke with CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Wednesday and said he disapproved of the coup against Biden.
“I think that was wrong,” Klain said, arguing that Biden had fairly secured the nomination through the democratic process and was set on winning the White House again.
Man sends hilariously incriminating text to cop on accident — and gets a response
A Gulfport, Mississippi, police officer gave a hilarious response after someone accidentally texted him to get together to “smoke.”
The Gulfport Police Department shared the text exchange between a random person and one of the department’s officers who used his sense of humor when someone sent a message to the wrong person.
The text conversation began at about 10 p.m. on Friday with the initiator asking who he thought was a friend what they were up to.
“Chillin, hbu [how about you],” the officer wrote.
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“Wanna smoke,” the random person asked.
The officer responded to the invitation, writing, “I don’t think I’m going to be able to smoke with you.”
The person responded back, “Bruh, we smoke all the time.”
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The officer informed the person they likely had the wrong phone number, but the person persisted.
“Bruh, stop cappin [lying or joking],” the person wrote.
Rather than continue the exchange, the officer took a picture of himself holding his police badge and sent it to the person.
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“No cap [lie or joke],” the officer wrote.
Along with sharing the screenshots of the text exchange, the department offered some advice to the public on Facebook.
“Pro tip: Before you send the text, double-check the number. Nothing like a wrong number text to really spice up someone’s day,” police wrote.
The post garnered some attention on social media, with one user writing, “Literally, I would’ve changed my number THAT MOMENT!!!”
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Another user wrote, “The [way] I would have thrown my phone across the room when I got that picture! I would have been scared to pick it back up for the rest of the day! I’m second hand embarrassed for this person.”
Most dominant group that once filled churches now fleeing religion in droves
Women are leaving churches in droves after previously being the dominant group that filled them, according to a report.
“Women are less inclined to be involved with churches that don’t want us speaking up, that don’t want us to be smart,” Mojica Rodríguez, the daughter of a pastor who was raised attending church frequently, said, according to AOL.com.
Rodriguez, 39, earned a master’s degree in divinity. The Nashville-based author eventually left the church due to its views on women.
“We’re like the mules of the church – that’s what it feels like,” she continued.
CHRISTIAN GROUPS SEE NEED IN CHANGING APPROACH TO DEAL WITH HISTORIC DECLINE IN AMERICANS’ CHURCH ATTENDANCE
Several studies in AOL.com’s article point to the decline of church attendance and disaffiliation with religion.
The church’s views of women are of concern to Gen Z, far more than previous generations, as religious institutions maintain the belief that women can’t serve in leadership roles in the church, the Survey Center on American Life reported.
According to AOL.com, “As with Mojica Rodríguez, some fume over gender hierarchies, the inability of women to serve in influential positions, or expectations of chastity placed upon girls. Others, they say, struggle with their church’s positions on reproductive and/or LGBTQ rights.”
The American Enterprise Institute reported in April that women outnumber men among young adults leaving the religion across four generations. Especially among Gen Z women, 54% of Gen Z adults who left their religion were women compared to 46% of men.
Americans identifying as Christian has dropped significantly over the past 30 years, data has shown. According to the Pew Research Center, 63% of Americans identified as Christian in 2020, a decline from 90% of Americans identifying as Christian since the 90s.
Furthermore, a Gallup poll released this year showed that only “three in 10” U.S. adults attend church once a week or almost once a week. This represents a significant decline from attendance 20 years ago, when 42% of U.S. adults would still attend church regularly.
The drop-off doubled in the last decade, where regular church attendance, which was at around 38% percent between 2011 and 2013, plummeted to 30%.
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Gallup noted this decline is represented not just among Christian denominations, but in nearly all faiths in the United States.
As women leave the church, it could pose harsh consequences for the church since they are the largest demographic filling the pews, former evangelist Sheila Wray Gregoire noted. She added that women tend to flock to volunteer opportunities and involve their families in church as well.
Gregoire told AOL.com that the church wouldn’t survive without women. Having studied Christian marriage in the U.S. and Canada for 17 years, she explained further that women are “the ones responsible for getting children out of bed and going to church.”
“Women do the majority of the work that keeps the church going,” Gregoire said.
“They’re the ones staffing the Sunday school, making sure potlucks happen or that people are supported when they have an illness or are having a baby. The church is not going to survive without women.”
Daniel A. Cox, director of the Survey Center on American Life, pointed to “cultural dissonance” with young women as drivers of leaving the church.
“There’s a cultural dissonance with young women being told you can do anything and then being told, well, generally, yes, but when it comes to our place of worship there’s restrictions,” Cox said.
“That’s another challenge that these places are wrestling with,” he added.
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As women leave the church, researchers are citing women prioritizing career goals and delaying marriage and parenthood, AOL.com reported.
“Why would you want to be at a place where your voice doesn’t matter?” Gregoire said.
She went on to say, “It’s hard when you grow up with a deep, personal faith and then the church you’re in treats you as less than. It’s like having the rug pulled out from under you.”
Dem who once blamed Jews for ‘climate manipulation’ while driving through snow arrested
The FBI arrested a Washington, D.C., city councilman on Sunday, though the circumstances surrounding the matter are not yet clear.
City Council President Phil Mendelson confirmed that fellow council member Trayon White Sr. was arrested on Sunday afternoon.
“I’ve talked to several people. I can confirm he was arrested around 2 o’clock by the FBI,” Mendelson told a WTTG reporter. “I’m anxious to get more details to understand what is the situation. … You all know as much as I know.”
Fox News has reached out to the FBI Washington field office, which declined to comment at this time.
DC COUNCIL MEMBER WHO SAID JEWS CONTROL WEATHER RUNNING FOR DC MAYOR
White made national headlines in March 2018 when he suggested that Jewish financiers control the weather. The claim came as he filmed himself driving through downtown Washington in the snow and ranted about “climate manipulation.”
“And D.C. keep talking about, ‘We’re a resilient city.’ And that’s a model based off the Rothschilds controlling the climate to create natural disasters they can pay for to own the cities, man,” he said in the now-deleted video. “Be careful.”
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The Rothschilds, a European Jewish banking family descended from Mayer Amschel Rothschild, have been the subject of antisemitic conspiracy theories for centuries, including that they control the world’s financial institutions and manipulate world events to their benefit.
White initially defended his comments, saying, “The video says what it says,” but he later apologized to the Jewish community.
In addition to his comments about the Rothschilds, White also tweeted at prominent antisemitic Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan in 2013 and said he was “honored” to share a birthday with Farrakhan, adding, “I must respect his intelligence, will, & boldness.”
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White would later come under fire in 2018 after it was reported that he donated $500 to a Nation of Islam convention in Chicago where Farrakhan attacked “powerful Jews” as his enemy and made other disparaging comments.
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“I am not resigning, I’m not backing down, I’m not discouraged, I’m not depressed, so run all the media stories you want because my people are going to support me,” White said at the time when faced with backlash.
Archaeologists unearth 13,000-year-old skull of long-extinct creature in the Midwest
Archaeologists in Iowa have unearthed an ancient mastodon skull in pristine condition, which they hope will provide clues about human interaction with the ancient animal.
The bones were excavated earlier this month from a creek bank in Wayne, taking nearly two weeks to complete. The eroding site was first brought to the attention of Office of the State Archaeologist, Iowa (OSA) in 2022.
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Radiocarbon dating showed that the mastodon is around 13,600 years old, which corresponds to when humans occupied the area.
OSA will closely examine the bones to determine if there is any evidence of human activity, like cut marks.
“We’re really hoping to find evidence of human interaction with this creature – perhaps the projectile points and knives that were used to kill the animal and do initial butchering,” said John Doershuk, director and state archaeologist at OSA. “There’s also potential evidence on the bones themselves – there could be identifiable cut marks.”
Mastodons were large mammals similar to elephants that roamed North America from around 3.5 million years ago to around 10,500 years ago.
Iowa Archeology said the mastodon skull was the “first-ever well-preserved mastodon (primarily the skull) that has been excavated in Iowa.”
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The mastodon bones will become part of a new exhibit at the Prairie Trails Museum once conservation and analysis is complete at the University of Iowa.