Harris and Walz are not the only ones making awkward gaffes on the campaign trail
While Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz have drawn backlash over awkward moments during the presidential race, their surrogates have not escaped criticism for their own gaffes.
In addition to Walz saying he is “friends with school shooters” and Harris calling North Korea “an alliance,” their campaign surrogates have mispronounced the vice president’s name, called Tim Walz “Tom,” told males they are misogynists, attempted to imitate former President Trump, accidentally supported his policies and more.
“Not sure we’ve ever seen such a colossally inept campaign like the one run by Kamala Harris,” Fox Business “Evening Edit” anchor Elizabeth MacDonald said last week.
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Former President Clinton, for example, committed many of those gaffes.
During the Democratic National Convention, he was blasted for mispronouncing Harris’ name, referring to her as “Camel-la.” Last week, Clinton continued his gaffes when he confused a crowd of North Carolinians with a very dry imitation of Donald Trump, suggesting at the same time the former president might send him to a “supermax” prison for life. The former Democratic president struck again that same week with yet another gaffe when he suggested college nursing student Laken Riley would still be alive if the Biden-Harris administration secured the border properly.
“You had a case in Georgia not very long ago, didn’t you? They made an ad about it, a young woman who had been killed by an immigrant,” Clinton said from Georgia. “Yeah, well, if they’d all been properly vetted that probably wouldn’t have happened.”
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Critics roundly mocked the former Democratic president and chimed in following the comments about Riley, pointing out that Clinton was “right.”
Meanwhile, former President Obama received some backlash of his own after his latest gaffe earlier this month at a campaign event in Pittsburgh. Speaking to a group of Black men, Obama insisted to them that men “just aren’t feeling the idea of having a woman as president.”
“Barack Obama — we’re not sexist or misogynist. We’re disappointed and sick of the bullsh—,” responded former professional basketball player and U.S. Senate candidate in Minnesota Royce White.” DO NOT vote for me because I’m Black. Vote for me because you have enough self-respect to think.”
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Another Harris campaign surrogate, Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, has not escaped criticism either. During the Democratic National Convention, Evers awkwardly stammered through his state’s roll call vote after declaring he was “jazzed as hell” that all but a single delegate in his state voted for Harris. More recently, Evers referred to Harris’ vice presidential running mate Tim Walz as “Tom” during a Labor Day stump speech for Harris.
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This week, Maria Shriver, the former first lady of California, was also lumped into the cadre of gaffe-prone Harris camp supporters. The moment came when she was moderating a town hall event in Michigan with Harris and former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney. Shriver told the audience at the event that only “predetermined” questions would be allowed to be asked.
“Are we going to be able to ask a question?” asked a woman in the audience.
“You’re not, unfortunately,” Shriver replied. “We have some predetermined questions, and, hopefully, I’ll be able to ask some of the questions that might be in your head. I hope so.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign but did not receive a response by press time.
Judge makes significant ruling in Navy veteran’s defamation case against CNN
The judge in a high-stakes defamation lawsuit against CNN ruled on Tuesday that U.S. Navy veteran Zachary Young “did not act illegally or criminally” despite what the network reported on air.
Young alleges that CNN smeared him and his security consulting company, Nemex Enterprises Inc., by implying it illegally profited when helping people flee Afghanistan during the Biden administration’s military withdrawal from the country in 2021. Young believes CNN “destroyed his reputation and business by branding him an illegal profiteer who exploited desperate Afghans” during a Nov. 11, 2021, segment on CNN’s “The Lead with Jake Tapper.”
Judge William S. Henry ruled in documents obtained by Fox News Digital that “Young did not act criminally or illegally,” and CNN statements about operating in a black market were “of and concerning Young.” Judge Henry also said CNN citing Sharia law to defend the notion that Young acted illegally is “a bridge too far.”
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The CNN segment at the center of the suit, which was shared on social media and also repackaged for CNN’s website, began with Tapper informing viewers that CNN correspondent Alex Marquardt discovered “Afghans trying to get out of the country face a black market full of promises, demands of exorbitant fees, and no guarantee of safety or success.”
Tapper tossed to Marquardt, who said “desperate Afghans are being exploited” and need to pay “exorbitant, often impossible amounts” to flee the country. Marquardt then singled out Young, putting a picture of his face on the screen and saying his company was asking for $75,000 to transport a vehicle of passengers to Pakistan for $14,500 per person to end up in the United Arab Emirates.
“Prices well beyond the reach of most Afghans,” Marquardt told viewers.
No other people or companies were named other than Young, who alleged that CNN, using the terms “black market,” “exploit” and “exorbitant,” inaccurately painted him as a bad actor preying on desperate people.
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CNN lawyers argued that there are multiple definitions of this term “black market,” and Young “did not know if he was operating legally or illegally, and that his actions implicated Taliban or Sharia law violations.”
The judge ruled that “Young did not act criminally or illegally,” and “to the extent that Defendants argue Taliban or Sharia law may have been violated, this is a bridge too far.”
“First, there is nothing in the record to suggest that any Taliban or Sharia law which would restrict the movement of persons (especially women) within or out of Afghanistan was properly enacted, adopted or recognized law to even suggest that evacuating individuals from Afghanistan was a criminal or illegal activity. In fact, the only information contained in the record suggests that formal adoption of any rules restricting travel within or out of Afghanistan did not occur until 2024 – almost three years after the publications in this case,” the judge ruled.
“Further, Defendant did not plead the application of any foreign law to this case. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Defendant’s corporate representative acknowledged that Defendant’s reporting did not uncover illegal or criminal activity committed by Young,” the judge continued. “Accordingly, there is no dispute as to material fact that Young did not act illegally or criminally.”
CNN TURNS OVER INTERNAL DOCUMENTS AS PART OF HIGH-STAKES DEFAMATION SUIT
The court also ruled that statements about the “black market” were “of and concerning” Young.
“The Segment that aired in this case include a chyron containing the term ‘black market.’ While Young was the only individual that was identified by name and photo during the Segment and it would be entirely plausible for a viewer to conclude that Defendant was suggesting Young was operating in a black market, the piece vaguely referenced other individuals providing extraction services and did not specifically state that Young was a black-market operator. On this basis, the Court finds that there is an issue of fact as to whether any statements or references of ‘black market’ were of and concerning Young,” the judge wrote.
CNN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A civil trial is scheduled to begin on Jan. 6, 2025, in front of Judge Henry in the Circuit Court for Bay County, Florida.
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Vulnerable House Dem doesn’t mince words about who is to blame for border crisis
A House Democratic incumbent running in a tight race is touting his agreement with Republicans about President Biden’s responsibility on the border crisis.
Rep. Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., released a new ad his campaign called his “closing message” emphasizing his willingness to break from his own party.
“My first commander in the Army always said, ‘You’re not doing your job right if you don’t piss a few people off.’ I guess you could say I took his advice,” Ryan began in the minute-long clip.
“Even my own party — when I stood with Republicans and demanded Biden take action to secure our border. It’s a mess. He needs to clean it up.”
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He then accused Republicans, including his opponent Alison Esposito, of walking in lockstep with former President Trump.
“Their loyalty is to big donors and Trump. The only flag I pledge allegiance to is the one I wore on my shoulder in combat,” Ryan said.
Esposito campaign manager Ben Weiner blasted Ryan in response, “Pat Ryan has been an open-border, pro-sanctuary proponent his entire career.”
“This is a lame attempt from Pat Ryan to run away from his pro-illegal migrant record two weeks before an election. Pat Ryan is wrong on all the issues. He has voted against lifting the SALT Cap, supports the radical Green New Deal, and thinks New Yorkers will not recognize that he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Hudson Valley voters know the real Sanctuary Pat and won’t be fooled,” Weiner told Fox News Digital.
Weiner also pointed out that Ryan signed an order in 2019 as Ulster County executive stopping local agencies from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Local reports from the time suggest Ryan did halt most cooperation of county employees with ICE, but the Mid Hudson News reported his order “avoids controversial ‘Sanctuary’ language,” and the Daily Freeman reported it did not stop law enforcement from working with immigration agents investigating crimes.
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New York’s 18th Congressional District includes part of New York City’s northern suburbs and is anchored by the city of Poughkeepsie. It also includes West Point Military Academy, Ryan’s own alma mater.
Republicans, whose 2022 House majority win was driven by victories in the Big Apple’s suburbs, have eyed Ryan’s seat as a prime pickup opportunity.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates his seat D+2.
Esposito is a 25-year veteran of the New York Police Department (NYPD).
Her own campaign emphasized the border in a recent ad warning her district is “paying the price of an open border.”
“DC politicians are funding illegal immigrants. Who’s fighting for us?” she asked.
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Her campaign also created a website using the “Sanctuary Pat” label to point out Ryan taking softer stances on the border in the past.
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But the issue has become a political lightening rod in this election.
What’s long been a hot-button issue for Republicans has now become a metric of moderation for Democrats who are working to appeal to middle-ground voters.
The paradigm shift shows the effects the border crisis has had on cities and towns throughout the country, with apprehensions between ports of entry at the U.S.-Mexico border hitting record levels under the Biden administration.
Sanctuary city announces sweeping changes to migrant shelter system
Chicago is shutting down its migrant-only shelter system and merging it with the city’s traditional homeless shelter system.
The Windy City is also closing its “landing zone” for migrants where newly arrived migrants get shelter placements and other resources. The landing zone will close at the end of 2024 and is now only open from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m., as opposed to also being open overnight.
The moves come as the number of migrants arriving in the Windy City continues to drop. At its peak in late-December, the city was housing about 14,900 migrants, but that has fallen to around 5,000, per reports.
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The overhaul will see 3,800 beds added to the city’s current homeless services system of 3,000 legacy beds in a new strategy being labeled as the One System Initiative (OSI). The new strategy aims to streamline operations and reduce the high cost of operating the migrant shelters, which have stretched the city’s budget.
“We are shifting to a more cost-effective, equitable, and strategic approach that addresses homelessness for all who need support in the City of Chicago,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a press release announcing the plan on Monday. “This transition is in line with the sharp decline in migration to Chicago and our current budget realities.”
The press release states that the OSI is a “unified sheltering system to serve all Chicagoans” which will take effect by the new year.
Johnson took a swipe at Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott who began busing thousands of migrants to the Windy City in 2022 because of its sanctuary city status as Texas struggled to cater to an unprecedented surge of migrants arriving in the Lone Star state under the Biden-Harris administration.
“We fought back and showed the world just how welcoming we can be,” Johnson said at a press briefing, per WTTW.
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“The efforts at the Texas border by Republican Governor Greg Abbott were meant to destabilize welcoming cities like Chicago, but the city responded with community care in welcoming nearly 50,000 new arrivals,” the press release states. “The Johnson Administration is proud of the City agencies, community partners and government entities who successfully responded to an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.”
Chicago has received more than 50,000 migrants throughout the current crisis, many of them families, according to CBS.
With the city still housing nearly 5,000 people in its migrant shelters, concerns are being raised that there will not be enough beds for migrants once the new system is in place and the sharp Chicago winter bites. But migrants who get into a homeless shelter will no longer face evictions.
Johnson had attempted to raise $100 million by hiking taxes on properties worth more than $1 million in his “Bring Chicago Home” ballot measure, which ultimately failed.
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The crisis has so far cost Chicago taxpayers nearly $200 million since the crisis began and the city is facing a $982.4 million shortfall in 2025, according to WTTW.
“Instead, we can only encumber what our budget allows,” Johnson said, per WTTV. “But imagine the increase in our capacity if Bring Chicago Home had passed.”
“Could this lead to people on the street? Look, I’ll be remiss if I did not acknowledge the financial straits that we are experiencing right now and the impact that that’s going to have on this mission,” Johnson said.
CNN analyst rips Biden’s ‘lock him up’ comments about former President Trump
CNN legal analyst Elliot Williams argued on Wednesday that President Biden’s comments about locking up former President Trump were “profoundly stupid.”
“More than anything else. It was such a profoundly stupid thing for the president to say. Here‘s why: It played directly into the central point that Donald Trump and folks around him have made, which is that the country has this overweening Justice Department top-down from the president going after its rivals. Now, that’s not true,” Williams said.
“Merely articulating it even as an accident, he gave fire to that nonsense,” he added, before arguing that criticism of it was somewhat unfair compared to what Trump has said about his political opponents.
Biden said at an event in New Hampshire on Tuesday, “I know this sounds bizarre. It sounds like if I said this five years ago, you’d lock me up. We got to lock him up.” However, the president quickly added, “politically lock him up. Lock him out. That’s what we have to do.”
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The other panelists dismissed the comments, again making the case that everything Trump had said was much worse.
“He clarified his remarks. He, you know, he said lock him out and, politically, I think, he, he said those remarks, but he pretty quickly clarified it. It wasn’t hours later,” former Biden press secretary Kendra Barkoff said during the discussion. “I think the fact that people are jumping on it is pretty ironic given the fact that we just saw clips of Donald Trump saying… ‘maybe she‘s on drugs,’ maybe this I mean, the fact is this is what Donald Trump makes stuff up day in and day out.”
Jonathan Alter echoed her argument and said there was always “whataboutism with this crowd.”
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The president was in Concord for an official event to highlight his administration’s efforts to lower health care costs and prescription drug prices. Minutes later, speaking at a political gathering at the New Hampshire Democratic Party headquarters, Biden was reiterating his longstanding argument that Trump, if re-elected, would be a threat to the nation’s democracy.
“Our democracy is at stake,” Biden said. “Think about it. Think about what would happen if Donald Trump wins this election.”
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Biden’s remarks went viral, as Axio reporter Alex Thompson said that a former Biden administration official, noting this could be politically unhelpful to Vice President Kamala Harris, texted him, “we gotta lock Joe up.”
Former Democratic presidential candidate announces she’s switching teams at Trump rally
Former Democratic candidate for president and independent Tulsi Gabbard formally announced she is joining the Republican Party at a Trump rally on Tuesday.
The rally was held in Greensboro, North Carolina, a key swing state in the upcoming election.
Gabbard recently joined the Trump campaign as an honorary co-chair for the former president’s transition team alongside Robert F. Kennedy Jr., another former Democrat.
TULSI GABBARD SAYS SHE WOULD BE ‘HONORED’ TO JOIN A POTENTIAL TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
Gabbard cited her admiration for President Trump’s leadership “to transform the Republican Party and bring it back to the party of the people and the party of peace” in part for her decision.
“I’m proud to stand here with you today, President Trump, and announce that I’m joining the Republican Party. I am joining the party of the people,” said Gabbard.
“The party of equality. The party that was founded to fight against and end slavery in this country. It is the party of common sense and the party that is led by a president who has the courage and strength to fight for peace,” added Gabbard.
“Thank you very much, Tulsi. That’s great. Wow, that was a surprise,” said Trump. “That was really, she’s been independent for a long time. That’s a great thing. A great honor. Thank you very much, Tulsi.”
FORMER DEMOCRAT TULSI GABBARD ENDORSES TRUMP IN THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE
Tulsi Gabbard served as a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2013 through 2016 before resigning to officially endorse Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) for president.
Gabbard, who ran in 2020’s presidential election as a Democrat, took on then-candidate Kamala Harris with force at a primary debate, tearing apart her career as a prosecutor and California attorney general.
At the time, Gabbard called out Harris’ for prosecuting numerous marijuana-related cases to convictions and her impact on the cash bail system in California.
Ultimately, Gabbard left the Democrat party in 2022, declaring herself an independent. In the time since, she has started her own podcast and spoken at conservative events.
Gabbard represented Hawaii’s 2nd District in Congress from 2013 through 2021 as a Democrat. She serves in the U.S. Army Reserves with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
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Representatives for Tulsi Gabbard did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Meta oversight board puts foot down with tech giant for censoring Harris-Walz meme
Meta’s oversight board ruled against the company’s decision to censor a Facebook meme mocking Vice President Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
The board announced the decision on Wednesday, warning Meta that it was engaging in “overenforcement” of its anti-harassment and bullying policies. The meme in question superimposed the faces of Harris and Walz over a poster for the movie “Dumb and Dumber.”
The post, made in August, made it appear as though Harris and Walz were pinching one another’s nipples through their clothing. The user who shared it included some derogatory emojis above the post, but did not offer written commentary.
Meta initially removed the post under its rules against “derogatory sexualized photoshop or drawings.” The oversight board says Meta reinstated the post when the board took up the case, clarifying that they did not consider the action depicted to be “sexual activity.”
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“The Board highlights the overenforcement of Meta’s Bullying and Harassment policy with respect to satire and political speech in the form of a non-sexualized derogatory depiction of political figures,” the board wrote in its ruling. “It also points to the dangers that overenforcing the Bullying and Harassment policy can have, especially in the context of an election, as it may lead to the excessive removal of political speech and undermine the ability to criticize government officials and political candidates.”
Oversight Board co-chair Michael McConnell told Fox News Digital that the vast majority of the body’s rulings are in favor of keeping or restoring controversial posts.
“Protecting social media users’ right to free speech is a core principle for the Oversight Board,” McConnell said in a statement. “Platforms should be a place where political debate and discussion can flourish, particularly during elections, protests, and other social movements. The Board will continue holding Meta accountable to ensure its policies and enforcement are applied fairly.”
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The ruling comes more than a month after Meta’s board declared that the anti-Israel slogan, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” is not hate speech. The board argued that certain uses of the slogan can express “solidarity with Palestinians” without “calling for violence or exclusion.”
The ruling pertained to three separate uses of the phrase in posts on Facebook, and the board noted that none of the posts “glorify or even refer to Hamas.”
“In upholding Meta’s decisions to keep up the content, the majority of the Board notes the phrase has multiple meanings and is used by people in various ways and with different intentions,” the board’s announcement reads.
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The decision conflicted with certain groups who argue the phrase is inherently antisemitic. The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) notes on its website that the phrase inherently calls for the removal of the state of Israel.