Former President Donald Trump’s campaign charged Vice President Kamala Harris with pushing “dangerous” rhetoric that it said is “directly to blame” for fostering the kind of political climate that led to two assassination attempts on the former president’s life.

“She continues to stoke the flames of violence all in the name of politics,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said, after Harris compared Trump to Adolf Hitler from the steps of her home yesterday at the U.S. Naval Observatory.

Trump was not the only critic of Harris’ rhetoric. Former third-party candidate-turned-Trump surrogate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., argued that the remarks comparing Trump to Hitler “inspires assassins.”

DEMOCRATS HAVE REPEATEDLY USED VIOLENT RHETORIC AGAINST FORMER PRESIDENT: ‘TIME TO PUT TRUMP IN A BULLSEYE’

“This type of rhetoric is dangerous to the life of Donald Trump and our Democracy as we know it,” the Mississippi Republican Party said. Meanwhile, Jacob Helberg, an adjunct fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that as a person of Jewish descent with ancestors who endured the Holocaust, he thought it was a “disgrace” for Harris to compare Trump to Hitler.

“These dangerous rants by Kamala Harris, comparing President Trump to Hitler and calling him a fascist, are inciting more hate and vitriol, and ultimately leading to political violence against President Trump,” said Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La. Scalise. Scalise is the second-highest ranking Republican in the House and also survived an assassination attempt during a congressional baseball game in 2017. 

“It has to stop. This is extremely reckless and dangerous, and we have seen its consequences time and time again. How many more assassination attempts will it take before Democrat leaders tone down their rhetoric?”

Colin Reed, a Republican strategist and former campaign manager for former Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown, said it was “ironic” that Harris’ closing pitch heading into the election compares the former president to Hitler, following “all the summer rhetoric about needing to lower the temperature and cool the discourse has fallen away.”    

“So much for the campaign of joy and vibes,” Reed said.

Harris’ decision to invoke Hitler while talking about Trump follows a report from The Atlantic that chronicled comments from Trump’s former chief of staff, John Kelly, who recounted a moment working under the former president when he lauded Hitler for doing “some good things.” Kelly also reportedly said that working with Trump showed him that the former president met the definition of a “fascist,” which both the White House and Harris subsequently said they agreed with. 

‘NOT AMERICAN’: RURAL AND URBAN VOTERS IN CRUCIAL BATTLEGROUND STATE ALARMED BY VIOLENT POLITICAL RHETORIC

Meanwhile, Harris’ remarks come after her critics already warned the Democratic presidential candidate that her party’s rhetoric was contributing to the environment that has led to two assassination attempts on Trump’s life. 

“The recklessness of the hateful rhetoric constantly aimed at Trump by his political opponents, even after he was shot at a rally in Pennsylvania in July,” said New York Post columnist Miranda Devine.

“No one has tried to kill Kamala Harris in the last couple of months, and two people have tried to kill Donald Trump. I say that’s strong evidence that the left needs to tone down the rhetoric and cut this crap out, somebody is going to get hurt,” said Trump’s vice presidential running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio.

The calls for the left to tone down the rhetoric mirror calls for Republicans to do the same following the 2012 shooting of former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords. Giffords was targeted at an event for constituents by a deranged gunman and shot in the head. The gunman murdered six people and injured 12 others – including one of Giffords’ staffers.

THERE’S A LOT OF ‘EXTREME RHETORIC’ ON BOTH SIDES: JOSH KRAUSHAAR

South Carolina’s Rep. James Clyburn, the former number two ranking Democrat in the House, said following the shooting of Giffords, “We’re living in a time that all of us should begin to take stock of how our words affect people, especially those who aren’t very stable.”

Some Democrats pointed their finger at Sarah Palin, the former Republican governor of Alaska and onetime vice-presidential candidate, citing an online “target map” which featured stylized crosshairs over vulnerable electoral districts, including that of Giffords and others in the Democratic Party.

“We need to put the guns down. Just as importantly, we need to put the gun metaphors away and permanently,” MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann penned in a 2011 op-ed.

The University of Michigan conducted research following the Giffords shooting on how charged political messaging can inflame violent attitudes, particularly among those predisposed to be aggressive in daily life. “The results presented here clearly refute the claim that violent political rhetoric is without negative consequences,” a Michigan political science researcher said at the time.

“Last year, some Republican politicians used Second Amendment references (remember Sharron Angle and ‘Second Amendment remedies’ if Harry Reid didn’t lose) and revolutionary talk to express how angry they were about the state of their country. They strongly and vehemently rejected the charge, from Democrats, that they were encouraging an atmosphere of violence,” political journalist David Weigel recounted for the left-leaning Slate Magazine after the Giffords shooting. “When Giffords’ opponent held a fundraiser and pitched it as ‘help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office, shoot a fully automatic M-16 with Jesse Kelly,’ Democrats saw the specter of violence, and Republicans saw political posturing.”

As concerns over election integrity remain a contentious issue ahead of the 2024 presidential election, a new national poll shows that most Americans support having photo identification as a requirement to vote in elections.

A Gallup Poll released Thursday shows that 84% of respondents favor requiring a photo ID, while 83% support providing proof of citizenship when registering to vote for the first time. The poll noted that voter attitudes toward these issues were similar to those seen in its July 2022 poll.

Thirty-six states currently request or require voters to show IDs when they go to the polls.

In July, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which aims to ensure only American citizens vote in federal elections, with the support of only five Democrats.

HOUSE PASSES BILL REQUIRING VOTERS TO PROVE CITIZENSHIP IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS

While the bill made it through the House floor, it faces strong opposition from Democrats in the Senate, which has yet to vote on the legislation. President Biden has also said he would veto the bill.

Among the states that don’t require voters to present ID is California, where Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in September signed legislation banning local governments from requiring voters to present an ID at the ballot box.

MILLIONS OF VOTERS HAVE ALREADY CAST BALLOTS FOR NOV. 5 ELECTION

The Gallup poll comes as millions of early in-person and mail-in ballots have begun pouring in across the country.

As of Thursday afternoon, more than 25 million ballots have been cast nationwide.

Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, a Republican, announced on Tuesday that six non-citizens had been indicted for allegedly illegally voting in past elections, including during years of presidential contests. 

Special prosecutors in Yost’s office presented seven cases to county grand juries last week, resulting in six indictments. The seventh case, involving an Oberlin College student who allegedly illegally voted in Ohio and Washington in 2018, was presented to a Lorain County grand jury. But the local grand jury instead issued a “no-bill” indictment and declined to charge the individual, according to Yost’s office. 

Of the six others who were indicted, there was 68-year-old Ramesh Patel, of North Royalton, who lacked U.S. citizenship when he allegedly voted in 2014, 2016 and 2018 elections. Yost’s office said Patel was indicted in Cuyahoga County on one count of illegal voting, which is a fourth-degree felony. 

Though his arraignment was scheduled for Nov. 1, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley, a Democrat, later announced on Wednesday that Patel had died in December 2022. 

TEXAS AG SUES BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN FOR NOT VERIFYING CITIZENSHIP OF 450K ‘POTENTIALLY INELIGIBLE’ VOTERS

“In Cuyahoga County, we have a policy of only indicting living individuals,” O’Malley said, according to FOX 8. “In Cuyahoga County, we also have a history of prosecuting individuals who commit voter fraud.” 

The five other cases involved legal permanent or otherwise lawful residents who are not U.S. citizens. 

Lorinda Miller, 78, of Hudson, was indicted in Summit County on two counts of illegal voting. 

The state attorney general’s office said Miller is a legal permanent resident but lacked U.S. citizenship when she allegedly voted in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Nicholas Fontaine, 32, of Kent, was indicted in Portage County on one count of illegal voting. 

Fontaine is a legal permanent resident but lacked U.S. citizenship when he allegedly voted in 2016 and 2018, according to Yost’s office. His arraignment is scheduled on Dec. 2.

JORDAN SUBPOENAS BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN FOR COST OF HOUSING ILLEGAL MIGRANTS AT TAXPAYERS’ EXPENSE

The remaining three were indicted in Franklin County. 

Ahmed Aden, 35, of Columbus, was indicted on one count of illegal voting. State special prosecutors say he is a legal permanent resident who lacked U.S. citizenship when he allegedly voted in 2008 and 2020. 

Van Thuy Cooper, 53, of Hilliard, was indicted on one count of illegal voting. Another legal permanent resident, she too lacked U.S. citizenship when she allegedly voted in 2016 and 2020. 

And Maria Dearaujo, 62, of Columbus, was indicted on one count of illegal voting. A lawful resident, Dearaujo lacked U.S. citizenship when she allegedly voted in 2016 and 2018, according to Yost’s office. 

“The right to vote is sacred,” Yost said in a statement. “If you’re not a U.S. citizen, it’s illegal to vote – whether you thought you were allowed to or not – you will be held accountable.”

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the state must count provisional ballots for voters whose mail-in ballots were rejected or improperly filled out in a 4-3 decision that could provide thousands of voters in the state with a second chance to cast their vote.

The ruling is the latest in a string of defeats for Republicans, who have filed nearly 100 election-related court challenges in recent weeks in what they say are legal challenges aimed at preventing voter fraud through absentee and mail-in ballots. 

Many of them have been filed in swing states considered pivotal for either candidate to win the presidency.

In Pennsylvania, the RNC had appealed a lower court decision that allowed voters who mistakenly sent their mail-in ballots without an inner “secrecy” envelope to cast in-person provisional ballots at their local polling location.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld that decision in a 4-3 vote, siding with a lower court that had ruled that a local election board in Butler County had been wrong this year when they disqualified provisional ballots cast by several residents in the 2024 primary election. 

THE 1.6M VOTERS WHO COULD DETERMINE THE US ELECTION DON’T CURRENTLY RESIDE IN THE COUNTRY

Writing for the majority, Justice Christine Donohue said provisional ballots exist as a “failsafe” for eligible voters in Pennsylvania to protect against disenfranchisement.

The court noted that provisional votes can be counted only after a person’s eligibility to vote and the rejection of their mail-in ballot are confirmed. 

“Counting Electors’ provisional ballots, when their mail ballots are void for failing to use a Secrecy Envelope, is a statutory right,” Donahue wrote, adding that the rule in question is “intended to alleviate potential disenfranchisement for eligible voters.”

It is unclear how many residents in Pennsylvania will be impacted by the decision, and the Republican Party did not immediately respond to Fox News’s request for comment.

Still, the decision comes as Democrats have sought to position themselves as the party that supports free and fair elections, seizing on Republican lawsuits as a means of disenfranchising voters.

To wit, they have invested some six figures in a voter registration campaign to help mobilize U.S. residents living abroad. In the U.S., party efforts seek to educate voters in key swing states on how and when to vote.

They also praised the decision in a statement Thursday, with a Democratic Party official and a spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign describing the court’s ruling as a rejection of “bogus legal claims.”

“While Republicans try to block your vote, Democrats are protecting it and standing up for the principle that every eligible voter has a right to make their voice heard, no matter how they vote,” they told Fox News Digital in a joint statement. And this ruling reaffirms that principle.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub. 

A new intelligence report says Iran will keep trying to kill former President Donald Trump regardless of the outcome of the election – and U.S. adversaries will continue trying to undermine confidence in the election even after Nov. 5. 

A partially redacted report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), released Tuesday, found that “efforts by Iran to assassinate former President Donald Trump and other former U.S. officials” are “likely to persist after voting ends, regardless of outcome.”

In September, Trump’s campaign said that intelligence officials warned the Republican candidate of “real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him.”

The U.S. has gone to unprecedented lengths to protect the former president from retaliation from Iran for the killing of General Qassem Soleimani. 

Both Trump and his high-level officials who ordered the strike in 2020 have faced death threats from Iran, which also recently hacked Trump’s campaign and tried to peddle information to Democrats and the media.

TRUMP CAMPAIGN SEEKS INCREASED SECURITY AS ELECTION DRAWS NEAR, INCLUDING MILITARY AIRCRAFT AMID IRAN THREATS

Some $150 million per year has also gone to protecting officials like former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, former head of U.S. Central Command, according to Politico. 

The report also said that Iran prefers Vice President Kamala Harris and will focus efforts on stopping Trump, and that Russia prefers Trump and will continue to attack Harris. 

“Moscow and Tehran may also see an opportunity to continue pushing content favoring their preferred outcome,” the report said. “For instance, Russian influence actors have pushed negative messaging about VP Harris and publicly alleged conspiracy theories about her elevation to the top of the ticket. Iranian cyber actors may try to publish content denigrating former President Trump.”

The report also warned that China, Iran and Russia are “better prepared to exploit” elections this year due to “lessons drawn from the 2020 cycle.”

Those exploitations could amount to information operations, cyber threats and physical threats of violence. They are expected to conduct influence operations until the next president is sworn in, to undermine confidence in the results. 

BIDEN WARNED IRAN THAT KILLING TRUMP WOULD BE AN ACT OF WAR: REPORT

China, the report said, is likely to focus its efforts on down-ballot congressional races. 

The report found foreign actors “will probably refrain from” trying to alter the vote count since vote casting machines are not connected to the internet and 97% of voters live in precincts with paper records and a paper audit trail — and doing so could prompt Washington to retaliate. 

But U.S. adversaries took lessons from the drawn-out vote counting process in 2020. 

“Many of these countries did not have a full appreciation for the various election processes that happen after polls close, and now that they have greater awareness of the significance, they have greater ability to attempt to disrupt them,” an ODNI official told reporters. 

Intelligence officials have routinely warned that Beijing, Moscow and Tehran would be working overtime to sow division and undermine confidence in the U.S. governing system in an election year, and especially in the days leading up to Election Day. 

The official noted that intelligence linked Moscow to a recent unfounded claim circulating on social media about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz sexually assaulting a student while he was a high school teacher. 

In June, undercover FBI agents met with a Pakistani man who was looking to hire hit men to assassinate a U.S. politician, according to documents unsealed in August. They arrested the man, Asif Merchant, 46, on July 12, the day before Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania, rally.

In 2022, the Department of Justice charged a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps with attempting to kill former national security adviser John Bolton.

FIRST ON FOX: More than a dozen Texas Republicans, from the governor to members of the U.S. House, slammed Vice President Kamala Harris’ planned visit to the border state Friday, telling Fox News Digital the visit is “one of the dumbest political decisions” they’ve seen. 

“‘Border Czar’ Kamala Harris can come all the way to Houston where Jocelyn Nungaray was killed by Tren de Aragua gang members that she let into the country, yet she can’t be bothered to visit Jocelyn’s family or even say her name. Kamala Harris and her open border policies have allowed over 11 million illegal immigrants and dangerous criminals like TdA into our country, putting every American’s life at risk,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told Fox News Digital. 

“President Donald Trump has shown real leadership on the border, with successful border policies that decreased illegal immigration to the lowest level in decades. While Kamala Harris refuses to take real action on this crisis, Texas will continue to step up with our historic border mission until we have a partner in the White House to make America secure again.” 

Harris will travel to the red state just 10 days ahead of Election Day, and she is expected to speak about the state’s abortion policies after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Abortion is a hallmark of the Harris campaign, including Harris saying she supports eliminating the filibuster in an effort to pass a law restoring abortion access nationwide. 

HARRIS STUMBLES ON THE BORDER WHEN PRESSED ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: ‘IS A BORDER WALL STUPID?’

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick slammed Harris’ trip to Texas as “one of the dumbest political decisions I’ve ever seen.” 

“Kamala Harris coming to Texas for a rally is one of the dumbest political decisions I’ve ever seen. She and Colin Allred are not going to win in Texas. I’m glad she is spending the day in Texas instead of campaigning in a swing state with only a few days left in the election. I hope she stays longer. Donald Trump is going to be the next president because the voters are fed up with the Harris-Biden regime and the chaos they’ve created,” Patrick said. 

Harris will be joined by Democratic Senate candidate Colin Allred, who is making a long shot run to unseat longtime Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. 

Cruz slammed his Senate opponent in comments to Fox Digital, saying Allred and Harris share the same “radical policies.”  

“Colin Allred is Kamala Harris. They have spent the last four years working hand-in-hand against Texans and the American people with their radical policies, whether those be pushing to allow boys in girls’ sports, allowing dangerous illegal aliens to come into our country or trying to destroy the oil and gas industry in Texas,” Cruz said. 

TEXAS AG SUES BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN FOR NOT VERIFYING CITIZENSHIP OF 450K ‘POTENTIALLY INELIGIBLE’ VOTERS

“Colin and Kamala share an agenda, and now they’ll share a stage for all Texans to see.”

As illegal immigration spiraled in 2021, the Biden-Harris administration’s first year in office, President Biden announced Harris would lead the effort to determine the “root causes” of immigration. The administration pointed to issues such as climate change, poverty and violence driving migrants to the U.S. 

The media and Republicans dubbed Harris the “border czar” shortly after, with the White House rejecting the title. The title, however, has continued years later, including Texas Republicans this week using the title to slam Harris ahead of her visit. 

“Millions of migrants have illegally entered our country on Border Czar Kamala Harris’ watch, so it’s no surprise that she’d rather talk about anything but her abysmal track record on the border. If she can’t control the border, how can she run the country? We’ve never had a more secure border than under President Trump, and he will put a stop to this when he takes office. Nov. 5 can’t come soon enough,” Texas Sen. John Cornyn said. 

OBAMA CLAIMS TRUMP ‘DID NOT SOLVE’ IMMIGRATION ‘PROBLEM.’ THE NUMBERS TELL A DIFFERENT STORY

“Harris’ last-ditch effort to appear serious on border security is more than laughable, it’s dangerous. If she were serious, she would’ve acted as a legitimate ‘Border Czar.’ Instead, she imported over 20 million illegals into our communities where they’re rewarded with government benefits, leaving U.S. citizens to be raped and murdered by violent illegal criminals,” Rep. Ronny Jackson said. 

“Harris admitted that she’s pro-mass amnesty and has gone so far as to support taxpayer-funded transition surgeries for detained illegals. She is the ultimate panderer, and, if elected, will continue her open-border policies. Texans, including our incredible Latino community, do not trust her, which is why they’re projected to turn out in record numbers to vote for Trump.” 

‘UTTER BETRAYAL’: NEW REPORT REVEALS DHS OFFICIAL USED SOCIAL MEDIA TO PROMOTE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

Nineteen Texas leaders submitted comments to Fox News Digital slamming Harris’ planned visit, with a handful citing girls and women who have been murdered in recent years, allegedly at the hands of illegal immigrants.  

“Harris should visit Houston, but not to campaign. She should come to apologize for purposefully allowing Texas border counties to be overrun and allowing young Houstonians like Jocelyn Nungaray to be murdered by the people she allowed in,” Rep. Dan Crenshaw said. 

Twelve-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray was sexually assaulted and murdered by strangulation when two illegal immigrants in their 20s allegedly lured the young girl under a bridge before killing her in June. 

“Instead of coming to Texas to ask for our votes, Kamala should be asking for our forgiveness. Especially from the family of Jocelyn Nungaray and the countless others devastated by her administration’s open border policies. For four years, she has ignored Texans and the deadly crisis she has created at our southern border,” Rep. Roger Williams said. 

“Her negligence as Border Czar contributed to the tragic deaths of Americans, including Jocelyn Nungaray, who was killed by two illegal aliens from Venezuela. Young women like Laken Riley, Jocelyn Nungaray and Rachel Morin would be alive today if Kamala Harris had taken her responsibilities seriously,” Rep. Wesley Hunt added. 

Harris’ event will kick off Friday evening in Houston, with reports surfacing that she will be joined by musician Beyoncé, who is originally from Houston. 

The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the Texas Republicans’ comments on her upcoming visit. The campaign also did not respond to a request for confirmation regarding whether Beyoncé will join the rally. 

Harris joined a CNN town hall Wednesday evening outside Philadelphia, where moderator Anderson Cooper pressed the vice president about her border policies, including whether she supports a border wall after calling the wall “stupid” when it was championed by Trump during his administration. 

MIGRANTS CAUGHT AT BORDER BUSED, FLOWN OUT OF SAN DIEGO IN POSSIBLE ‘COVER UP’ BEFORE ELECTION: OFFICIAL

“Let’s talk about this compromise bill that you want to pass if you are elected. You said that’s going to be a priority. It includes $650 million in funding for the border wall. That’s something Republicans wanted, that was part of the compromise. Under Donald Trump, you criticized the wall more than 50 times. You called it ‘stupid, useless, and a medieval vanity project.’ Is a border wall stupid?,” Cooper asked Harris. 

“Let’s talk about Donald Trump and that border wall,” Harris said while laughing. “So, remember, Donald Trump said Mexico would pay for it. Come on, they didn’t. How much of that wall did he build? I think the last number I saw was about 2%. And then when it came time for him to do a photo op, you know where he did it? In the part of the wall that President Obama built.”

“But you agreed to a bill that would earmark $650 million to continue building that wall,” Cooper pressed. 

“I pledge that I am going to bring forward that bipartisan bill to further strengthen and secure our border. Yes, I am, and I’m going to work across the aisle to pass a comprehensive bill that deals with a broken immigration system,” Harris responded. 

“So you don’t think it’s stupid anymore?” Cooper continued. 

“I think what he did and how he did it was … did not make much sense because he actually didn’t do much of anything. I just talked about that wall, right? We just talked about it. He didn’t actually do much of anything,” she responded. 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton railed against Harris in comments to Fox Digital ahead of her visit, saying she and Biden “intentionally dismantled every successful Trump border policy to let in as many aliens as possible” starting on their first day in office. 

“Now, Kamala wants to come to Texas and talk about border security after four years of destroying American communities. If she wanted a secure border, why did I have to sue her administration dozens of times to force them to follow federal immigration laws? We’re fighting Kamala’s destructive open borders doctrine in the courts because she has unlawfully weaponized power to make our country more dangerous instead of keeping Americans safe,” Paxton said. 

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“Now, Texas is fighting Kamala’s obvious effort to allow noncitizens to vote illegally in American elections. We need to end the insanity, secure the border, restore the rule of law and put American citizens first again by re-electing President Trump.” 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance questioned the Left’s collective outrage at Green Party nominee Dr. Jill Stein being on the November ballot while saying they appear to want the opposite for now-former fellow third-party candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

“The Jill Stein thing is interesting, because the Democrats will attack Jill Stein while at the same time they’re trying to keep Bobby Kennedy on the ballot, even though Bobby Kennedy has already endorsed Donald J. Trump,” Vance said at a Wisconsin rally this week.

In 2016, Stein was dubbed a “spoiler” against Hillary Clinton, as her vote total exceeded the Democrat’s deficit in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.

“I think the Democrats, if they’re worried about spoilers, they ought to look in the mirror because Bobby Kennedy had a hell of a lot more support than Jill Stein ever did, and they’re trying to prevent him from getting off the ballot,” Vance said.

The Ohio senator quipped that the best person to vote for in November remains Trump, “and the second-best person to vote for is anyone not named Kamala Harris.”

Kennedy has launched litigation in several states to remove his name from the ballot since dropping out, as prior to his Trump endorsement, Democrats had themselves filed multiple lawsuits to keep him off the ballot. 

JILL STEIN CALLS OUT BIDEN’S GAFFES

That attitude appeared to change after Kennedy’s campaign ended.

A spokesperson for progressive PAC “MoveOn” told Politico that Kennedy is “manufacturing scenarios that throw the ballot counting process of multiple states into disarray” at “Trump and MAGA’s direction.” 

Stein, a physician from Fall River, Mass., ran for president on the Green Party line in 2012, 2016 and 2024. The party nominated self-described “ecosocialist” Howie Hawkins III in 2020. 

As of late, Stein has been lambasted for continuing her quixotic candidacy as the race again narrows like it did in 2016.

In September, the Democratic National Committee branded Stein a Russian “useful idiot,” similar to how Clinton labeled now-Republican former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard a Kremlin asset.

According to the anti-Trump conservative publication “The Bulwark,” the “useful idiot” barb was the first time since 2023 that Democrats have prominently mentioned Stein.

A DNC spokesman told the outlet that Stein has “parrot[ed] Kremlin talking points and [was] propped-up by bad actors in 2016,” and is “at it again.”

“A vote for Stein is a vote for Trump,” the spokesman said.

RFK JR DENOUNCES ‘SPOILER’ LABEL

Meanwhile, the New York Times wrote a lengthy piece this week chronicling the controversy around Stein’s bid.

It cited a heckler in New York who asked her feelings about being “personally responsible for actually bringing Donald Trump into power.”

It also anonymously quoted one of Stein’s adult children as saying, “For her political activities, she does not have the support of her family.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., blistered Stein in a social media video, saying, “All you do is show up once every four years to speak to people who are justifiably pissed off. . . . You’re not serious. It does not read as authentic, it reads as predatory.”

Left-wing MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell claimed on Monday that Trump rose to power “thanks to the Electoral College and Jill Stein,” before playing a Harris ad in which Stein’s face transitions into Trump’s – and another Democratic ad highlighting recent Trump praise of Stein due to her pulling votes from Democrats.

O’Donnell also reprimanded a Stein volunteer in Michigan who previously voted for Clinton and Biden but had enough of the proverbial binary choice in elections.

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The Times separately reported that “Democratic operatives” have been trying to aid ballot access for far-right Constitution Party nominee Randall Terry, for reasons similar to Republicans who laud Stein.

Stein’s frequent refrain in support of her third-party bid has long been: “Forget the lesser evil, fight for the greater good.”

Stein told Fox News Digital on Thursday that Democrats’ “smear campaign is the best publicity we could ask for.”

“Their attack dogs have been opening doors for us since DNC chair Jamie Harrison came for us on Twitter, AOC lectured us on Instagram, Democratic operative Angela Rye tried to ambush us on The Breakfast Club, and just the other day the DNC was exposed for attempting to dictate to [talk show host] Tavis Smiley a set of attack questions they wanted him to challenge me with on his show.”

Stein said that Harris could win back her base by pledging to “end the genocide with a weapons embargo to Israel now.”

“But apparently she prefers killing Palestinian children to winning the election. No amount of lies and smears will distract from the simple truth that Americans revile this bipartisan genocide,” Stein said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the DNC for comment but did not hear back by press time. 

LAS VEGAS – The election results in Clark County, Nevada, will play a critical role in deciding which presidential candidate takes home the state’s 6 electoral votes in a county where independent voters and party switchers could make the difference.

There are roughly 1.4 million active registered voters in Clark County, Nevada, including about 450,000 Democrats, 350,000 Republicans and more than 500,000 voters who identify as nonpartisan, Independent, or Libertarian, which makes up about 70% of the voters in the state of Nevada.

Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton won Clark County by 10 points in 2016, and President Biden won by about the same margin in 2020. The Democratic candidates won Nevada overall those years by less than three points, and former Presidnet Donald Trump’s ability to narrow the gap in Clark County will play a key role in his chances to become the first Republican to win Nevada since former President George W. Bush in 2004.

Union workers employed by hotel casinos in Las Vegas, who work for unions that typically endorse and canvas for Democrats, play a significant role in Clark County elections.

TRUMP WITH SLIGHT EDGE OVER HARRIS IN THIS CRUCIAL WESTERN BATTLEGROUND: POLL

Fox News Digital spoke with two of those union members earlier this month, when both said that housing costs are a key issue for them.

“I will be a first-time home buyer. I want to keep my son in a house…I don’t want to be rent to rent, that’s one of the biggest issues right now here I would say in Nevada,” Lino Paredes, a member of the Culinary Workers Union which endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, said, adding that he supports Harris’ proposed program to help with down payments for houses. 

“And then, with these prices, you know, price gouging from these corporations. They’re not helping us at all, so we’re asking, and we’re looking for someone that is willing to help…she’s a very talented woman, and so I think that she will lead this country.”

Nevada GOP Chair Michael McDonald recently told Fox News Digital that the enthusiasm for the Republican ticket in Nevada, specifically Clark County, is more than he has ever seen and suggested that Trump will be successful courting union voters with his platform that includes eliminating taxes on tips. 

‘SHE HASN’T DONE ANYTHING’: NEVADA VOTERS FRUSTRATED WITH BIDEN-HARRIS BORDER POLICY AS ELECTION LOOMS

“I think the energy has risen,” McDonald said. “You could call for a rally, you’re talking about 5,000 people who get turned away because there’s just no room. You’re talking about people that when you call for volunteers, they’re all over the place. Our walkers, we don’t have just members. We have teams that are going out which we’ve never seen before.”

Jon Ralston, CEO and editor of The Nevada Independent, told Spectrum News 1 that Trump’s position on taxing tips could be significant in Clark County.

“Trump is really using that as his signature issue here,” Ralston said. “If he can penetrate past the leadership, into the rank-and-file, and divide them a little bit, that could cut down the Democratic margin in Clark County and that’s how he could win the state.” 

“And you know, the Democrats, they have union workers that are being paid to walk out as volunteers. And we have teams now that you’ve never seen before. So the energy and enthusiasm is right in our wheelhouse.”

Early voting in Nevada began last weekend, and the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that out of the voters who cast their ballots on the first day in Clark County, 49.2% were Republicans, 30.5% were Democrats and 20.2% were Independents. 

On Thursday, Ralston reported that Republicans have a statewide early voting lead of 17,000 in Nevada, with Democrats leading in Clark County by just under 7,000.

In addition to the presidential race, Clark County will also play a key role in determining who the next senator of Nevada is, as incumbent Jacky Rosen faces a challenger from Republican war veteran Sam Brown. 

Fox News Digital recently reported that Brown has narrowed the gap with Rosen with less than two weeks to go before Election Day. 

“The number-one issue that folks have been worried about for the last couple of years has been the economy and how this Biden-Harris economy has put so much pressure on individuals, on families,” Brown recently told Fox News Digital at an event with GOP Sen. John Kennedy in Las Vegas.

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The Hispanic vote is also expected to play a large role in determining the success of both presidential candidates in Clark County.

Democratic campaigns and affiliated groups have poured nearly $3.5 million into Spanish language TV ads in Nevada, far surpassing the money Republicans have spent on similar ads, NBC News reported.

“They’re crucial at every level of the ticket,” Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha told the outlet regarding the Hispanic vote.

Polling shows Trump making historic gains with Hispanic voters compared to previous Republican candidates. Fox News Digital spoke to attendees at a pro-Trump Latino outreach event in Clark County earlier this month, and several Hispanic voters discussed how illegal immigration is an important issue for them.

“Between the drugs, the human trafficking, and now the millions of illegal immigrants that we have crossing over that we have not vetted or that have actually been charged for murder in other countries,” Lydia Dominguez, a Clark County resident, told Fox News Digital. “So it’s alarming what’s happening at the border.”

The Real Clear Politics average of polling between Trump and Harris shows Trump with a slim lead of less than a percentage point as both candidates and their surrogates have made multiple trips to Nevada in recent weeks. 

Next month, North Carolinians will decide whether “only” U.S. citizens are eligible to vote in future state elections.

House Bill 1074, referred to as the “Citizen Only Voting” amendment, would clarify the state’s constitution to read that “only a citizen” is allowed to vote in the Old North State.

North Carolina law currently reads that “every person born in the United States and every person who has been naturalized, 18 years of age, and possessing the qualifications set out in this Article, shall be entitled to vote at any election by the people of the State, except as herein otherwise provided.”

While the state already does not allow noncitizens to vote, proponents say the amendment establishes confidence in elections amid the ongoing immigration crisis.

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The amendment, if passed, would adjust the wording to say that “only a citizen of the United States who is 18 years of age and otherwise possessing the qualifications for voting shall be entitled to vote at any election in this State.”

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“Ensuring that only U.S. Citizens in North Carolina can vote is a critical step that is needed in order to have confidence in our elections,” North Carolina GOP Chairman Jason Simmons wrote in a press release after the amendment was officially placed on the 2024 ballot. 

Other supporters of the amendment say it is a matter of prevention.

“Democrats in far-left cities and states are doing everything they possibly can to allow noncitizens to vote in elections. The best defense we can mount against these attacks on democracy is to empower the people of North Carolina to amend their own constitution to state that only U.S. citizens shall vote in our elections,” State Sen. Brad Overcash, R-Gaston, said of the amendment.

However, the amendment has received pushback from critics who say it is “an unnecessary and anti-immigrant tactic that will further marginalize North Carolina’s immigrant communities.”

“As an immigrant to North Carolina who went through the grueling process of naturalization so that I could become a citizen and participate in democracy by voting, I fear that this proposed change in the language of our constitution is a stepping stone to further disenfranchising and disempowering us and our communities,” said Jasmina Nogo, staff attorney with the Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project at the NC Justice Center.

Over a million ballots have already been cast in North Carolina after early voting started on Oct. 17.

Former registered Democrats in Pennsylvania who now support former President Donald Trump predict a wave of traditional Democrat voters quietly pulling the ballot box lever for the Republican ticket over Vice President Kamala Harris in the key battleground state this year. 

“This is Lackawanna County, okay. This is Scranton. This is where Joe Biden was born. This is where Robert Reich was born. Hillary Clinton has ties here with her family. This was a deep, deep blue county. But, when you walk into the poll, I think a lot of these people are going to are going to think twice and think, ‘well, nobody knows how I’m voting — which is the way it’s supposed to be – I’m going with Trump,'” registered Independent voter David Kveragas told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview this week. 

Kveragas is a resident of the battleground county of Lackawanna, which is nestled in Pennsylvania’s Wyoming Valley and has traditionally voted blue, last throwing its support behind a Republican in 1984 during President Ronald Reagan’s blowout election when he won each state except Washington, D.C., and Minnesota — the home state of Reagan’s competitor that year, former Vice President Walter Mondale.

The county has trended right in recent elections, however, teeing up a heightened election battle that will likely help determine how the key battleground state will swing come Nov. 5.

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Fox News Digital spoke with three Lackawanna County residents who were all previously-registered Democrats who now full-heartedly support Trump, despite initial hesitance and even outright disapproval during his first presidential run in 2016. 

Susanne Green is a former Democrat who even previously worked for Planned Parenthood in Washington, D.C., as the abortion provider’s financial manager and now supports Trump and is actively involved as a volunteer for the campaign. 

Green said that she also anticipates her left-leaning neighbors and friends will quietly vote for Trump. 

“They may be registered Republican or Democrat or independent, but they have told me privately, ‘Susanne, I’m not going to put a sign in my yard. I don’t want everybody to know who I’m voting for, but I’m going to vote for Trump,'” Green told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview this month. 

Vince Sardo, a retired firefighter and former union boss of the Dunmore Firefighters IAFF Local 860, told Fox News Digital in a separate interview he also believes many of his Democrat friends and neighbors will vote for Trump without fanfare or changing their political affiliation. 

“I have many friends that are registered Democrats, I’m not going to mention names, but some of them are Democratic leaders in communities, and they’re voting for Trump,” the formerly longtime registered Democrat told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview.

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Political eyes are locked on Pennsylvania as the state that will likely determine the outcome of the election. Trump and Harris have both repeatedly zigzagged the state campaigning in recent weeks, while voter registration for the state released this week shows sizable shifts benefitting the GOP in the final stretch of the election cycle. 

Following the close of voter registration in Pennsylvania on Monday, the Democratic Party accounts for nearly 44% of registered voters compared to the GOP’s 40% but has seen its advantage over Republicans dwindle this year. 

President Biden won the state in 2020 by 1.17 percentage points​. That year, Democrats had a larger margin of registered voters compared to their Republican counterparts, at 4.2 million to 3.5 million. The data show that Democrats had a registration advantage over Republicans by 685,818 voters during the election that Biden won by 80,555 votes.

The GOP has whittled down that lead this year to a 297,824 margin. When comparing registered voters this election year to 2020, Democrats face a net loss of 257,281 voters, while Republicans have a net gain of 428,537 registered voters. 

More than double the number of previously registered Democrats changed their party affiliation this cycle compared to the number of registered Republicans who left the party: 54,668 registered Democrats changed their party affiliation compared to 25,634 Republicans, Pennsylvania Department of State data shows.

“I don’t think it’s going to be quite as close as they’re saying. I mean, both sides are going to say that because you always play like you’re behind. That just goes with campaigning. I just see too much momentum for Trump. We won’t know that night, because in Pennsylvania we’re so slow,” Kveragas said. 

Fox News Digital spoke with the three Pennsylvania voters about their voting history and found that each individual had deep ties to the Democratic Party before registering as a Republican – or in Kveragas’ case, registering as a Republican in the 1990s, before registering as an Independent when Mitt Romney was at the top of the GOP presidential ticket in 2012. 

Green told Fox News Digital that she was raised in a Catholic, Democratic household in Pennsylvania, similar to many people across the commonwealth back in the 1960s and 1970s. She argued that the Democratic Party of her youth had morphed into the left-wing party that she described as “radical.” 

“It meant that you were a patriot,” Green told Fox Digital of what it meant to be a Democrat back in the 1970s. “That was a time when there was the bicentennial and everything was red, white and blue. There was, you know, happy patriotism … It was about doing what was right for your country. It was living together in harmony.”

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Green registered as a Democrat as a young adult and spoke with Fox Digital about her employment with Planned Parenthood as its financial manager in Washington, D.C., in 2000. 

“Safe, legal and rare. Which was the advertisement at the time when I worked at Planned Parenthood. That abortion should be safe, legal and rare. And I believe that I still feel that way today. I did find out when I worked there that there were people from all affiliations who would make contributions to Planned Parenthood. Many people were Republicans … and I found out at that point it was called Republicans for Choice, which is actually a very large movement now,” Green said, noting that she has never been a hard-line supporter of abortion but believes there should be exceptions such as in the case of rape, incest or life of the mother. 

The 2016 election spurred Green to rethink her support of the Democratic Party, pointing to Donna Brazile when she worked as a CNN commentator and fed debate questions during the primary process to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s campaign. 

“I didn’t feel that there was a change until, I would say, until Hillary Clinton was running. And I did see a change at that time. And I recall getting ready to vote in the primary … I think I was living in Virginia at the time, and finding out that she had colluded with, I think, with the chairman of the DNC to obtain the questions for the debate against Bernie Sanders and perhaps others. And I thought, ‘that’s not right. That’s not something anybody should be doing,'” she said. 

Green voted for Trump in 2016 and is now volunteering for the campaign in Lackawanna County. 

For Sardo, he switched political teams and voted for Trump in the 2020 election. 

“Just towards the end of my career, I retired in 2019 … as far as the way I looked at it with the Democratic Party, they just started going way too far left for me,” Sardo said. 

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In addition to disagreeing with COVID-19 directives and mandates in the 2020 era, Sardo said he has a “major issue” with how parents speaking out about trans issues were characterized as “domestic terrorists.”

“I had a major issue, I really did with, you know, parents that were kind of protesting against drag shows and elementary centers and kids mutilating their body. And then they became domestic terrorists because they’re at school board meetings. You know, just just crazy stuff that was going on. Men in women’s sports. I mean, really, come on,” he said. 

“I really started looking at, you know, the morality. And I think that was the turning point for me is being a God-fearing type person and finding my spirituality again because it was lost younger in my life. But, I just couldn’t go along for the ride anymore with, you know, the way things were going with the Democratic Party going that far left,” he said. 

Sardo said that in his social circles of union workers and longtime Democrats, he is seeing big changes regarding how they will vote this election. 

“I’m seeing a huge change. I have a lot of local friends because I was a union leader and then down in Harrisburg. And then when I came back, I was asked to help on Lackawanna County elections. I’ve helped on a commissioner race, and I’ve helped on local races in my community, my town, my borough. And I have a lot of people that are on Democratic committees and Democratic leadership roles in our community that are voting for Trump,” he said. 

Sardo added that he believes many Democrats will not change their party affiliation despite supporting Trump, citing the commonwealth’s closed primary process, which only allows voters to cast ballots for primary candidates in their registered party. 

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Kveragas is a registered Independent voter and was no fan of Trump’s until he saw the 45th president’s policies put into action. 

“I didn’t vote for Trump [in 2016]. I voted against Hillary Clinton, who I paid a lot of attention to. I knew that we would be in deep trouble, especially coming out of the Obama years if we let her get in,” he said. 

“I actually had a letter in the Wall Street Journal in May of ‘16 because he was complaining about how the primaries work. And I said, you know, he can step out of the primary at any time if he doesn’t like the system, you know, he can just leave. So I was not a Trump supporter even going into the election,” he said. 

The tide began to change for Kveragas when Trump was in office, and he saw improvements to the economy and peace across the world. 

“He started cutting taxes. He started cutting regulations. The economy improved greatly. My retirement accounts, etc., were going up. We had peace. There were no new wars, no new real foreign incursions. We still had Afghanistan, but he was getting that as much under control as he could. I’m not big on foreign affairs, but he did the Abraham Accords, which was amazing. I mean, anyone else would get the Nobel Peace Prize for that. He got Arab countries to recognize Israel for the first time in their history. He went to South Korea. He went to North Korea and negotiated to get the remains of our soldiers lost in that war. And I had three uncles who served in Korea. So that’s important to me there. He brought them back. He finally got that settled,” Kveragas said. 

For the trio of former Democrats who now support Trump, they all reported more or less the same: The Democratic Party has shifted harder to the left, leaving many Democrats finding refuge with Trump. 

“It’s so, so radical right now. I am shocked that there are still so many people who feel that, or don’t realize, what direction the ship is about to go in. I mean, if the Democrats … win I am afraid for our country. I’m literally afraid for our country,” Green said. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.