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Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., touted GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s “youth,” on Sunday and went after former President Trump’s age ahead of this week’s New Hampshire primaries, highlighting moments when Trump named Haley instead of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., while speaking about Jan. 6 during a rally over the weekend. 

Norman, one of the few elected officials from South Carolina backing former South Carolina Gov. Haley, appeared on “Fox News Sunday,” stressing how Haley, at age 52, is 25 years younger than the 77-year-old Trump. “His policies were great. What he did was great for the country, particularly with what Biden is doing now,” Norman said of Trump, explaining why he’s now supporting Haley instead. “But it’s time for a change – I think the youth – Nikki just turned 52. She’s 25 years younger than Donald Trump.”

“I’m sorry,” he continued. “When you have a president, like, the pressures they’re going to be facing, when you see what they’re going to have to do to attract new talent into the Congress, in the Senate, you’ve got to go to work doing that. Nikki will do that. And, to the other big thing that people need to know, Donald Trump can only give you four years. It’s like a football team can only play half of the game. It’s going to take eight years to get this country straight. But Nikki’s youth and the fact is, she can give eight years. And I would also make the argument is really three years, because the last year of a term is political, like you’re seeing now. And President Trump is going to be tied up in, you know, legal fights.” 

Norman argued that the only reason Trump is criticizing Haley now is “because she’s gaining in the polls and she, he knows, she is a serious threat. And it’s a two-person race now.” 

Trump has argued that with Haley as president, the country would see eight years of war and has called her a globalist. 

TRUMP MIXES UP NIKKI HALEY WITH NANCY PELOSI AT NEW HAMPSHIRE RALLY

“That’s just political talk,” Norman said, noting how Trump chose Haley to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. “Donald Trump knows that. The same thing, you know, he got her confused yesterday with Nancy Pelosi on Jan. 6 with the National Guard. And I would say 25 years ago, he wouldn’t have made that mistake, but he kept saying, Nikki Haley did this, you know, with the National Guard. He was talking about Nancy Pelosi. And that’s another example of, you know, he wouldn’t have made that mistake if he was younger.” 

Trump, while referring to the crowds at a rally in Concord, New Hampshire, Friday, brought up Haley when mentioning the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. 

“By the way, they never report the crowd on Jan. 6, you know, Nikki Haley. Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, you know, they did, you know, they destroyed all of the information and all of the evidence. Everything deleted it. Destroyed all of it. All of it because lots of things – like Nikki Haley is in charge of security. We offered 10,000 people, soldiers, National Guard. So whatever they want, they turned it down. They don’t want to talk about that. These are very dishonest people. But when I look over here, I am so honored. They said this is a quaint area, area of the state, but it’s quaint. We got a lot of people in this room, this an all time record,” Trump said, prompting applause. 

Trump has long accused Pelosi of refusing National Guard support at the Capitol a day before the riot. 

TRUMP: ALMOST EVERYBODY IN SOUTH CAROLINA HAS ENDORSED ME

Yet after the apparent mix-up, conservative voices on X championed the move. 

“Trump just got the entire media to finally admit Nancy Pelosi was in charge of security on Jan 6,” Jack Posobiec, senior editor of Human Events, wrote to his 2.4 million followers. 

At another rally Saturday in Manchester, New Hampshire, Trump stressed how, “almost every politician from South Carolina is endorsing me,” while surrounded by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, the state’s lieutenant governor and other senior statewide officials, including the state’s attorney general, treasurer and House speaker, as well as U.S. Reps. Joe Wilson, William Timmons and Russell Fry on stage. 

Campaigning elsewhere in the Granite State on Saturday, Haley had gone after Trump’s mental fitness, pointing to remarks he made on Friday. 

“They’re saying he got confused, that he was talking about something else, he’s talking about Nancy Pelosi,” Haley said Saturday, as she campaigned in Keene, New Hampshire. “He mentioned me multiple times in that scenario. The concern I have is – I’m not saying anything derogatory – but when you’re dealing with the pressures of the presidency, we can’t have someone else that we question whether they’re mentally fit to do this… We can’t.”

Speaking at a Bloomberg News forum on Saturday in Manchester, Haley campaign manager Betsy Ankney referenced Haley’s remarks and said Trump “made a pretty apparent gaffe last night.” “It’s a distinction without a difference. It’s Nikki and Nancy,” Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita said to reporters Saturday night. “What’s the difference?”

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At his rally Saturday night in Manchester, Trump said he took a cognitive test and “aced it.”

A day earlier, Sen. Tim Scott, who ended his own 2024 bid in November and was appointed to the Senate by Haley in 2012, endorsed Trump over Haley in a rousing call-and-response speech of his own in New Hampshire. Since entering the race nearly a year ago, Haley has advocated for “mental competency tests” for older politicians, a swipe at both Trump and President Biden. At age 81, Biden has drawn increasing concern over his mental and physical fitness, even from members of his own party raising eyebrows about his public appearances. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX: Animal welfare groups are calling on the Biden administration to address a large number of abandoned pets at the southern border.

Fox News Digital obtained photos and videos of pets in Colony Ridge, Texas, from animal advocacy group Boots on the Ground that were reportedly abandoned by migrants, including some that appear severely neglected or injured.

Scores of animals have been abandoned at the U.S.-Mexico border as illegal immigrants flood into the country in record-breaking numbers. 

Immigrants who are apprehended by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are often forced to leave their animals behind because animals are not allowed inside federal processing centers. 

AS HISTORIC NUMBERS OF MIGRANTS CROSS THE BORDER, THEIR DOGS ARE OFTEN ABANDONED ALONG THE WAY

Chase Scott, spokesperson for Big Dog Ranch Rescue (BDRR), a dog rescue group, told Fox News Digital the “number of abandoned dogs along the border is in the thousands,” and the Biden administration is “doing virtually nothing” to address the situation.

Scott said BDRR “can lead this effort” but needs “donations or help from FEMA to address this issue.” He called on FEMA to provide “a dozen spay [and] neuter vans to stop the overpopulation” and “transport and medical supplies,” so they “can heal and rescue the dogs and get them into loving homes.”

“We need to act now before this becomes completely out of control,” Scott said.

“Colony Ridge is a huge migrant shanty town with starving dogs trying to eat chickens and livestock, so the migrants shoot them and attack them with machetes. The local communities are heartbroken and overwhelmed. They are turning into a Third World [country] with roaming packs of dogs.”

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT POPULATION SOARS UNDER BIDEN: GOVERNMENT DATA

Scott said BDRR is heading to McAllen, Texas, this weekend on a rescue mission for the abandoned dogs after having gone to the Texas border city of Eagle Pass last year.

Scott said the dogs in McAllen, Texas, “are being fed” by the National Guard, “but with the cold fronts, the situation is dire,” and BDRR will be rescuing the dogs there first.

After McAllen, Scott said BDRR will head “into the primary area with the largest issue,” adding “ground zero is Colony Ridge.”

BORDER NUMBERS FOR DECEMBER BREAK MONTHLY RECORD, AS BIDEN TALKS AMNESTY WITH MEXICO

Bianca Gracia, president of Latinos for America and Latinos for Trump, told Fox News Digital what “is happening at Colony Ridge with the abandoned and abused dogs who are voiceless is a tragedy caused by elected officials’ open border policies.

“We are asking America to step up and help us rescue these voiceless furry friends from a life they did not choose.”

Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) told Fox News Digital it has received reports that it’s not just dogs and cats being abandoned. Animals like guinea pigs have been left too.

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES

Catie Cryar, spokesperson for PETA, told Fox News Digital that abandonment “is awful — no matter which side of the border it occurs on.”

“PETA has received reports that animals as varied as guinea pigs and small dogs have actually been brought in by people entering the U.S. from Mexico, but we know that the border processing facilities don’t allow it,” Cryar said.

“We have also heard of an informal network of people on the Mexican side who are looking after animals who have been denied entry,” she added. “Many animals are a cherished, integral part of the family and, just like children, should not be separated from that family.

“PETA is calling on the Biden administration to allow animals into the U.S. if they are vaccinated or can be quarantined.”

The White House referred Fox News Digital to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) when asked for comment.

“CBP follows CDC guidance with respect to the admission of dogs and other pets into the country,” a spokesperson for CBP said. “If the pet’s owner is an inadmissible noncitizen in DHS custody and an animal’s owner does not transfer possession to family or friends, U.S. Customs and Border Protection works with local officials from animal health services, such as a local humane shelter, to see if there can be placement for the animal while its owner remains in custody.”

Fox News Digital also reached out to FEMA and the National Guard for comment.

MAYORKAS TELLS BORDER PATROL AGENTS THAT ‘ABOVE 85%’ OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RELEASED INTO US: SOURCES

The shocking photos and footage obtained by Fox News Digital show the harsh reality faced by the dogs and other animals abandoned by their owners as they enter the U.S. at the southern border.

The footage depicts abandoned animals in the migrant community of Colony Ridge, Texas, a collection of subdivisions outside Houston.

Colony Ridge is a controversial locale, having made headlines after being sued by the federal government for allegedly hooking Latino buyers up with seller-financed mortgages to set them up for defaulting on their loans.

Colony Ridge CEO John Harris told Fox News Digital in a statement that “Colony Ridge has done everything conceivably possible to rid the problem of stray dogs and cats and animals throughout the area.

“We have donated consistently $20,000 a year to help solve the problem to the local group that kind of helps spay and neuter and house these animals,” Harris said. “So, we are doing our part without question.”

Harris noted that Liberty County, which houses Colony Ridge, is a “rural area” that doesn’t have an animal control group, and that if one goes “anywhere in a rural county in America, and especially here in Texas, you’re going to have stray dogs and cats and other animals.”

“That’s just a fact,” Harris said. “But we are doing everything we possibly can to curb the problem.”

Harris also said “90%” of Colony Ridge residents “come from Harris County,” 40 miles to the south.

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“The animal issue is not an immigrant issue. It’s an issue that stems from bad owners who need to understand how to care for their animals,” Harris said. “We are providing that education and going above and beyond what is needed to help resolve this problem.”

The Community Property Owners Association of Colony Ridge told Fox News Digital that This is Houston, a nonprofit organization, has been assisting in the new development since 2021 due to Liberty County not having animal control services.

MANCHESTER, N.H. – With two days to go until New Hampshire’s Republican presidential primary, two new polls indicate former President Donald Trump remains the commanding front-runner, with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley behind by double-digits, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis a distant third.

Trump, who is running a third straight time for the White House, stands at 50% support in a University of New Hampshire/CNN poll released Sunday morning. 

Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, grabbed 39% support. And DeSantis, once the clear runner-up to Trump in most polling, was at 6%.

Trump’s 11-point lead over Haley in the new survey is up from a seven-point advantage in the previous UNH/CNN poll, which was conducted earlier in the month.

HALEY TURNS UP THE HEAT ON TRUMP AS SHE TRIES TO CLOSE THE GAP IN THE NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY

Meanwhile, the former president grabbed 55%, according to a daily tracking poll released Sunday morning by Suffolk University, the Boston Globe and NBC10 in Boston.

The former president’s support edged up two points from Saturday’s tracking poll.

Haley stood at 36%, with her support unchanged from the previous day. And DeSantis pulled in 6% support, edging down a point over the past 24 hours.

Both polls were conducted entirely after Trump scored a convincing victory in Monday night’s low-turnout Iowa caucuses, the first contest on the GOP presidential nominating calendar.

TRUMP RUNNING MATE SPECULATION SWIRLS AHEAD OF NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY

A poll from Saint Anselm College that was also conducted after the Iowa caucuses also indicates Trump with a lead in the mid-teens over Haley and DeSantis in single digits in New Hampshire.

Meanwhile, a new survey released Friday from Marist College indicates Haley performing better against President Biden than either Trump or DeSantis in hypothetical general election matchups in November in New Hampshire, which is a key battleground state.

The survey indicates Haley edging Biden by three points, while the president tops Trump by seven points and DeSantis by nine points. Haley repeatedly emphasized on the campaign trail that she would perform better against Biden in the general election than Trump would fare against the president.

TIM SCOTT ENDORSEMENT OF TRUMP LATEST SIGN GOP CONSOLIDATING AROUND FORMER PRESIDENT

Both new surveys indicate Trump dominating among registered Republicans, with Haley grabbing majority support among independents, who are known as undeclared voters in New Hampshire. Independents can vote in either major party’s contest, and have long played an influential role in the state’s storied presidential primary.

“We need big margins, “Trump urged his supporters as he spoke at a rally Saturday night in Manchester, which is New Hampshire’s largest city. “Because we have to send real unity as a message.” 

But the former president’s campaign appeared to be tempering expectations.

“A win is a win,” Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita told reporters ahead of the rally. “A win by five, a win by six, a win by seven.”

And LaCivita argued that Haley should end her campaign if she doesn’t win on Tuesday, saying “she should drop out.”

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But Haley campaign manager Betsy Ankney told reporters on Saturday that they’re moving full speed ahead to South Carolina, which holds the next major contest in the GOP presidential nominating calendar, on Feb. 24.

Ankney said Haley will hold a large event in her hometown of Charleston, South Carolina on Wednesday, the same day that the campaign will launch a $4 million statewide ad blitz.

The Suffolk University poll questioned 500 likely Republican presidential primary voters in New Hampshire on Friday and Saturday, with an overall sampling error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

The UNH/CNN survey was conducted January 16-19, with 2,348 New Hampshire adults questioned. The poll’s overall sampling error is plus or minus two percentage points.

The UNH/CNN survey also polled the state’s Democratic presidential primary. 

Sixty-three percent of those likely to vote in the Democratic contest said they would write in President Biden’s name, with Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota at 10% support and self-help author Marianne Williamson at 9%.

With New Hampshire holding an unsanctioned Democratic presidential primary, the president declined to place his name on the ballot. 

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

The infamous “Access Hollywood” tape will not be presented to New York jurors tasked with considering a defamation case against former President Donald Trump leveled by writer E. Jean Carroll.

Carroll’s attorney, Roberta Kaplan, revealed that the jury would be presented with neither the tape nor two other women who accused Trump of abuse. The revelation means Trump’s testimony in the case is likely to arrive sooner than expected, possibly Monday, one day before the Republican primary in New Hampshire.

Kaplan argued that she wants the trial to remain “focused” on Carroll’s accusations, not Trump’s other alleged sex crimes.

The new trial comes after a federal jury in New York City decided last year that Trump was not liable for rape but was liable for sexual abuse and defamation. The former president has been ordered to pay Carroll $5 million.

TRUMP CANNOT ASSERT PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY IN E JEAN CARROLL DEFAMATION LAWSUIT, APPEALS COURT RULES

Carroll, 80, alleged that Trump raped her at the Bergdorf Goodman department store across the street from Trump Tower in Manhattan sometime in 1996. According to Carroll, the two had a chance run-in at the store, where Trump was shopping for a gift for “a girl.” She said he asked for her advice, and the two shopped together before he pushed her into a dressing room and assaulted her.

MELANIA TRUMP ANNOUNCES PASSING OF ‘BELOVED’ MOTHER: ‘WE WILL MISS HER BEYOND MEASURE’

Trump denied the claim repeatedly, leading Carroll to sue him for defamation, arguing that his denial had harmed her reputation.

Carroll plans to testify about the damage to her career and reputation that resulted from Trump’s public statements. She seeks $10 million in compensatory damages and millions more in punitive damages.

MELANIA TRUMP SPENDS CHRISTMAS WITH AILING MOTHER, MISSING MAR-A-LAGO CELEBRATION

Trump announced his own plans to testify in a post on social media last week.

“I should be in New Hampshire, campaigning and fighting for our Country, and I will be later today, but for now I had to spend time in a Federal Courthouse with a Trump Hating, Radical Left Judge, on a case that is another politically biased WITCH HUNT — ONE DAY AFTER IOWA, AND JUST AHEAD OF THE IMPORTANT NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY,” Trump wrote. “THIS HOAX, WHICH THE ‘BULLY’ JUDGE CHOSE TO HAVE AS TWO TRIALS INSTEAD OF MERGING INTO ONE, IS A DISGRACE, AND EVERYONE KNOWS IT. His former Law Clerk(?) is on the other side.”

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Carroll’s is one of many legal hurdles facing Trump ahead of the 2024 election. He also faces four indictments on charges stemming from Florida, New York City, Georgia and Washington, D.C.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report

New York City Mayor Eric Adams vetoed a controversial city council bill that would require police officers to document every “investigative encounter” with the public. 

At a press conference Friday, Adams said the proposed legislation, known as Intro. 586-A or the “How Many Stops Act,” could slow NYPD response times, undermine community-oriented policing, and add tens of millions of dollars in overtime to the NYPD budget. Namely, he took issue with how the proposed legislation would force New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers to spend more time filling out reports after Level 1 interactions with the public instead of patrolling the street and keeping the public safe.

“As young men, my brother and I were beaten by the police in the basement of a local precinct, but I turned my pain into purpose and joined the police force to effect change from within the system. And, in my time as a police officer and throughout my career in public service, I have fought for transparency and against abusive policing tactics that targeted communities of color. While Intro. 586 has good intentions behind it, the bill is misguided and compromises our public safety,” Adams said in a statement.

“Our administration supports efforts to make law enforcement more transparent, more just, and more accountable, but this bill will handcuff our police by drowning officers in unnecessary paperwork that will saddle taxpayers with tens of millions of dollars in additional NYPD overtime each year, while simultaneously taking officers away from policing our streets and engaging with the community,” he siad. “That is why I am vetoing this legislation today. I ask my colleagues in government to please work with our administration to improve public safety because New Yorkers want their police out on patrol — taking criminals off our streets and keeping them safe.”

DANIEL PENNY’S ATTORNEY CONFIDENT HE WILL BE ‘FULLY EXONERATED’ AFTER JUDGE DENIES MOTION TO DISMISS CHARGES

Adams cited serial stabbing suspect 27-year-old Jermain Rigueur, accused of at least five stabbings within about a week, arguing the bill would impede such quick arrests, FOX 5 reported. 

The bill, co-sponsored by New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams, passed the council in December. It would require the NYPD to log and report basic information on level one, two, and three investigative encounters between the police and civilians. Officers would report on the race, age, and gender of the person approached, any factors leading to the interaction, and its outcomes. But NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban countered that the NYPD is already the country’s “most intently watched, deeply scrutinized, and openly transparent law enforcement agency,” saying the measure vetoed by Adams “is an overreach that would result in the unintended consequence of literally slowing down the city’s progress.” 

NYC MAYOR BUILDS HEFTY LEGAL WAR CHEST TO BATTLE FBI INVESTIGATION

“Each day and night, NYPD officers carry on the dangerous, critical work of fighting crime on the streets. Terrorist plots have also been thwarted, and there is a renewed commitment among our rank and file to further build trust and strengthen relationships in every community,” Caban said in a statement. “These vital efforts will continue — and must continue, unimpeded by bureaucratic time-wasting tasks — because that is what New Yorkers expect and deserve.”

“On our watch, there is a continuation of lower overall crime, including a reduction in bellwether indicators like murder, burglary, and assault. We just ended a year in which NYPD officers reduced shooting incidents citywide by a factor not seen in nearly 30 years,” Caban added. “And as of this week, index crimes in New York City have dropped another 5 percent compared to last year — and an incredible 74 percent from three decades ago.” 

At a press conference of his own, Williams accused Adams and the NYPD of being “fearmongers who mislead the public.” 

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He and other councilmembers say the bill is meant to address the “longstanding inequities” faced by Black New Yorkers. 

“The fact that Mayor Adams is getting his Trump on right now makes this even more difficult than it has to be,” Williams said, according to FOX 5. 

Adams also vetoes a separate city council bill aimed at banning solitary confinement. 

Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Mn, blasted President Biden as “unelectable and weak” during a campaign event in New Hampshire, where Biden is set to skip the first Democratic presidential primary this week.

Phillips is challenging Biden in the Democratic primary, and New Hampshire represents his top opportunity. Biden chose to skip the state’s primary entirely after New Hampshire declined to give up its first primary slot to South Carolina.

While Biden supporters are organizing a write-in campaign to prevent Phillips from securing a win, he still says he hopes to secure upward of 20% of the vote.

“Sadly it’s going to demonstrate that our incumbent president is unelectable and weak and I think it’s going to show this country that there’s a candidate here who can actually do here what has been promised for generations,” Phillips told reporters at a campaign event.

BIDEN CHALLENGER DEAN PHILLIPS WIPES REFERENCE TO ‘DEI’ FROM CAMPAIGN WEBSITE

“If you listen to the voters, people feel he’s at a stage of life that makes it incompatible to leading the free world. And the same is true of Donald Trump,” he added.

DEAN PHILLIPS SAYS HE HAD A ‘VERY DIFFICULT EPISODE’ WITH FRIEND RASHIDA TLAIB OVER ISRAEL’S RIGHT TO EXIST

Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang endorsed Phillips in New Hampshire last week, saying Biden’s aged candidacy was stifling the Democratic Party.

“If you want to run for president, your time is right now. In this time of need, only one person decided to place his country above his professional aspirations,” Yang said. “That is the man I am proud to endorse tonight as the next President of the United States: Dean Phillips.”

DEMOCRAT DEAN PHILLIPS ATTACKS BIDEN FOR TRYING TO UPEND TRADITIONAL PRIMARY ELECTION PROCESS

While Yang was complimentary of Biden, he ultimately said that the party will struggle to “reinvent grandpa.”

“He is a substantial, accomplished president. I campaigned for him in 2020. I endorsed him,” Yang said of Biden. “He’s a good man, a true public servant and a great American. He was the right candidate four years ago. He is not the right candidate for 2024.”

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Polls have repeatedly shown in recent months that overwhelming majorities of Americans, and even Democrats, believe Biden is too old to lead effectively in a second term.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Californian businessman and philanthropist Kyle Kirkland spoke to Fox News Digital recently about his decision to enter the field of nearly a dozen candidates vying for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s vacated House seat, pointing to the border crisis and the restrictive economic regulations that he blames for unfortunately driving talent from the Golden State. 

Billing himself a “media underdog” among those running in the March 15 nonpartisan primary for California’s 20th district, Kirkland is the owner of Club One Casino and president of the California Gaming Association, the trade group for what amounts to a $5.6 billion industry impacting about 30,000 workers in the state. He said that although he’s relatively unknown nationally, he enjoys a strong local base of supporters who personally know of his decades-long reputation as a “highly effective business person,” namely in Fresno County and the Central Valley. 

“I’m not a career politician,” Kirkland told Fox News Digital. He said voters want solutions to the high cost of living, crime, the border crisis, inflation, and government regulation amid Washington’s “grandstanding.” 

In a district former President Trump largely carried in 2020, and that McCarthy represented from 2007 until his resignation in 2023, Kirkland explained what it means to him to be running as a Republican in what’s considered a heavily red area of the widely blue state of California. Though the most populous state, California lost the second-highest number of residents in the nation last year, ranking behind only New York in population exodus. And Kirkland says the migrant crisis and California’s business climate are to blame. 

“I often joke to people that I live in a red state in the middle of a blue state, right? I’ve been in California now for three decades,” Kirkland told Fox News Digital. “I’m very proud of my roots back east and have brought those values with me to California. I think California has some real challenges… in terms of, you know, messaging that they’re giving to business and messaging that they’re giving to people. We need to keep talent in this state. And the way our economy works now is it’s very easy to work from other areas.”

KEVIN MCCARTHY TO RESIGN FROM CONGRESS AFTER BEING OUSTED AS HOUSE SPEAKER

“Talent is exiting the state. And I think it’s important for us to recognize that we need – California needs to keep talented people, certainly a lot of talented folks in the state,” he said. “It’s routine for me to be talking to our friends. And they’ve said, oh, I moved to Texas. I moved to Georgia. Oh, I moved to Florida. I’m in South Carolina now. Right. And California needs to recognize that it needs to be California for all Californians and not just, you know, throw open the borders, let everyone in unchecked, you know, and hope for the best.” 

“I think what’s most important for California to understand is, hey, listen, people, businesses in the state want to know that it’s going to be a friendly environment to them. Where it can be regulated — but there’s a difference between regulation and suffocation,” Kirkland further explained. “And I think that’s what a lot of people feel certainly in the business community that, you know, there’s 900 new bills every year, and they’re probably well-intentioned but probably not well-read and thought through, and they’re dumped upon the business community to try to sort out with, you know, plaintiffs lawyers looking over their shoulder. And that’s a very challenging environment to operate our businesses. So, I’m bullish on California, but we’d be naive to think that, you know, smart people are looking at saying, hey, is there a better opportunity elsewhere?” 

While grateful to Trump for showing non-career politicians there’s a path to get involved,” and holding “deep respect for Kevin McCarthy,” Kirkland said he wanted to focus on the current race, championing his “unique background” compared to other primary opponents. 

He’s worked with very large and visible companies, noting how he started his career at Bain & Company, around the same time Mitt Romney was at the consulting firm. In the 1980s, Kirkland said he worked in management consulting for global manufacturers analyzing oil fields during a challenging time for the energy industry. He then took on health care clients and transitioned to finance, working for a Beverly Hills firm very visible on Wall Street. Later, he moved into entrepreneurship, founding a “little fledgling music company,” with a partner that they built through acquisitions, including the global piano company, Steinway & Sons. 

He said he turned that venture into a company that operated on six continents with 2,500 employees and was the longest running chairman who wasn’t named Steinway. When he sold it, he said the company had the highest product quality and profitability in its history. 

From his work transforming the gaming industry from a struggling sector in California to now bigger than that of Nevada, Kirkland says he knows first hand what it’s like to deal with California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his administration.  

CALIFORNIA GOV. NEWSOM TO HOLD SPECIAL ELECTION TO REPLACE FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER MCCARTHY IN MARCH

As for the border, Kirkland said he’d bring his “ability to look at complex problems” and be “very realistic” in his approach, while avoiding the “bickering” seen in Washington. 

“I mean, it’s chaos, right? A direct result of the Biden administration’s policy of, you know, pulling down the no vacancy sign and putting up with basically saying, hey, free buffet, come on in. And what happened was exactly what you’d expect to happen as a business person, where it went from 400,000 folks a year trying to come to the United States to 2.2 million and is overwhelming the borders,” Kirkland said. “I believe in lawful immigration. I think it’s important for the United States, certainly important for the agricultural community and the economy. A lot of folks are here lawfully, legally, and you know, again, to pursue the American dream. I’m all for that. At our core, we’re all immigrant based, right?”

“But very clearly, voters are saying we want it to be legal. We want it to be fair. It’s fundamentally unfair to let folks in unlawfully and then give them access to free health care and housing and, you know, food and cellphones or whatever, when, you know, most folks are making or struggling to make ends meet,” he continued.

“And we have in our existing infrastructure, we have housing shortages, we have an overtaxed healthcare system, in the state of California, depending on who you ask, it’s a $30 to 60 billion budget deficit. I think it’s unfair, and people definitely feel that, to say, hey, listen, we want to be humane, but we have to be realistic.” 

Noting the California Gaming Association pays about half a billion in local taxes annually to benefit largely underserved communities, he stressed how the “hypocrisy” of COVID-19-era lockdowns impacted business in the state. He also took a swipe at Newsom for flouting restrictions to attend indoor dinner parties while telling everyday Californians not to gather.

“Throughout [the pandemic] we were consistently negotiating with Governor Newsom’s administration on our ability to open what parameters we could take. I also pushed back against what I think is the inequity there, frankly — the government’s saying certain industries are allowed to operate and others of us aren’t, you know, that seemed very arbitrary to a lot of us that were shut down and struggling to make ends meet,” he said. “But more than anything, it was the inequity of some of these things. I’m very big in fairness. The hypocrisy. Hey, listen, if you’re asking me to wear a mask and not participate in outings, don’t shop at French Laundry with your friends, you know, with your mask off, enjoying $1,500 person dinners, right?” 

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Kirkland contrasted himself with some of the other primary candidates, namely California assemblyman Vince Fong, a former McCarthy staffer. Kirkland explained that he hasn’t built a career in politics to earn him the bigger endorsements. Fong, who McCarthy endorsed as his potential predecessor, as well as Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux and teacher and small business owner David Giglio have received the most attention so far in the primary contest. After March 15, two finalists, regardless of their party, will move forward to the May 21 special election. 

Also a board member of the Fresno Chaffee Zoo, and founder of the Kirkland Foundation, an animal rescue that aims to help reduce overpopulation, Kirkland, a Harvard and Stanford graduate, said this next stage of him entering the political realm represents a “natural extension” of him trying to make a difference. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Pro-life advocates may have faced political setbacks across the country since Roe v. Wade was overturned, effectively granting states the ability to regulate abortion.

As thousands gathered in the snow Friday on the National Mall ahead of the march around the Capitol to the Supreme Court, many called for a continued expansion of the pro-life cause to include policies and programs to help mothers and families, not just work on legal battles.

“It’s important that we not just combat the harm of abortion that it’s causing our patients, but also recognize why women are oftentimes seeking abortion and do something about that,” Christina Francis, CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), told Fox News Digital on the sidelines of the March for Life Friday.

But some pro-life activists in the health profession told Fox News Digital they see other wins since the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson overturned nearly 50 years of Roe precedent. Doctors and medical professionals are rejecting messages from advocates for abortion.

PRO-LIFE DEMONSTRATORS BRAVE DC SNOW FOR 2024 MARCH FOR LIFE

“We definitely have seen a growth in our membership in the last two years, especially right after Dobbs. We had a huge increase in membership,” Francis said.

AAPLOG’s medical student and resident fellowships increased from about 200 to around 400 since the 2022 Dobbs decision, and total membership increased from 7,000 to around 7,500. In the past decade, the group tripled in total membership.

Some new members join AAPLOG due to feeling left behind by the pro-choice stances of the major medical institutions, according to Francis.

“What they’re realizing now is that we are under active attack, I would say … not just from pro-abortion advocates, but from our major certifying bodies,” Francis said.

“Many of them are seeing the veil has been lifted, I think, on the true position of some of our major medical associations.”

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), according to Francis, has acted inconsistently with many OB/GYNs’ beliefs about providing quality health care.

In August 2023, ACOG Interim President Christopher Zahn wrote in a letter to The Washington Post expressing the belief abortion access should not be limited. 

“Abortion is safe. It improves and saves lives, and it must be available without restrictions, without limitations and without barriers — just as any other critical part of health care,” Zahn wrote. 

PRO-LIFE GROUPS HAMMER ‘TWISTED ATTEMPT’ BY DEMOCRATIC AGS TO ‘HINDER’ PREGNANCY CENTERS FROM HELPING WOMEN

“I think that many physicians are seeing now how radical that position is,” said Francis. “Maybe they’re not exactly in the same position I am on abortion, but they recognize that there should at the very least be some limitation, and there should be safeguards put into place for women’s safety and to ensure that they’re in good care. We really are seeing a lot of physicians and other medical professionals wake up to what’s been going on in our profession for quite some time.”

ACOG last year released a fact sheet that dismissed as misinformation some pro-life terms — particularly the claims that abortion defenders want abortion to be legal to the point of birth. 

“‘[A]bortion up until birth’ or ‘abortion after birth’ are examples of derogatory language used by opponents of abortion access that is not based in facts. Neither is accurate, and neither uses clinically appropriate language,” ACOG’s website states.

ACOG also says abortion later in pregnancy is rare and indicates that “something has gone terribly wrong regarding the patient’s health or the pregnancy.”

Viewing abortion as something involving a single patient, according to Francis, is one of the issues driving medical practitioners to question the major health groups that insist abortion is health care.

PRO-LIFE VOTERS REVEAL HOW THEY REALLY FEEL ABOUT TRUMP’S STANCE ON ABORTION

“We know that induced abortion is not health care. It ends the life of one of our patients, and it significantly harms our other patients,” said Francis. 

“They need to point out the extreme, radical nature of what [Democrats] will do if they get into office and have the majorities in the House, Senate and the White House. It’ll be abortion until birth. In debates, when facing down your Democratic opponent, make him or her defend that.”

— Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J.

“This abortion fight is it’s not just Planned Parenthood clinics and the pregnancy centers, it is in health care today,” said Chris Faddis, president of Solidarity HealthShare. 

“The health care system is pushing people more and more towards early fetal testing, so they can push people to abortions and their children into, you know, Planned Parenthood for regular female care, so they can get them on birth control and a board of patients and those things,” Faddis said.

AHEAD OF MARCH FOR LIFE, MISSISSIPPI UNVEILS MOBILE APP TO HELP PREGNANT MOMS

Concerned Women for America President Penny Nance told Fox News Digital a priority for the pro-life movement must be expanding ways for struggling pregnant women and mothers to get assistance, be it public or private.

“We know the No. 1 reason a woman chooses abortion is that she isn’t supported,” said Nance.

One proposal is a national clearinghouse where a pregnant woman can search her zip code for resources near her — not just medical, but financial assistance, help with bills and food or employment. The idea is similar to a program in Mississippi that launched in the past year to collect public assistance and nonprofits into one searchable database.

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March for Life has also been a political advocacy group, and in light of recent setbacks at the ballot box for abortion issues, pro-lifers have urged pro-life politicians not to avoid the issue, but to put Democrats on the defensive.

“They need to point out the extreme, radical nature of what [Democrats] will do if they get into office and have the majorities in the House, Senate and the White House. It’ll be abortion until birth. In debates, when facing down your Democratic opponent, make him or her defend that,” said Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J.

A protester at a Donald Trump rally in New Hampshire was immediately escorted out after interrupting the event and trying to join the former president onstage.

“Who is this? Is this a friend,” Trump asked during a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire on Saturday night. 

Video from the rally showed a man who was wearing a black sweatshirt, reading “Kelly’s Roast Beef,” who yelled indecipherable phrases at the former president.

“Get out of here. Get out of here,” Trump yelled. “You can throw him out.”

ASA HUTCHINSON SHARES SUPPORT FOR NIKKI HALEY AHEAD OF NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY, SAYS TRUMP TRYING TO ‘DIVIDE’

According to video from the rally, as Secret Service personnel and local Manchester police approached the agitator, the man looked like he was about to grab his jacket, but turned to walk quickly towards the stage.

A Secret Service member, who was stationed beneath the staircase, stopped the protester in his tracks and the man was promptly arrested.

As the man was being escorted out of the arena, Trump supporters booed and chanted, “USA, USA” at the protester.

“Well, now we know that politics is getting serious, so now we know we’re getting serious,” Trump said as the protester was being escorted out. “Now he’s just a disturbed person.”

The Republican presidential frontrunner said that protesters are only interrupting because “we’re leading,” alleging that billionaire George Soros pays the protesters at the rallies.

“Remember that this used to happen all the time. But now, probably, we’re really now in the political season,” Trump said. “And a lot of those guys, by the way, are paid by Soros. So these people, you know, are troublemakers.”

TRUMP MIXES UP NIKKI HALEY WITH NANCY PELOSI AT NEW HAMPSHIRE RALLY

“This is only happening because of all the weaponization, because we’re leading,” he continued.

Trump, who is running a third straight time for the White House, grabs 52% support among those likely to vote in next Tuesday’s New Hampshire GOP presidential primary, according to a Friday poll released by Suffolk University, the Boston Globe and NBC10 in Boston.

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Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, stands at 35%, with her support edging up two points since Wednesday’s survey.

DeSantis remained a distant third at 6% for the second straight day.

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

Former President Trump joked about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis “short circuit[ing]” during a tense interview on “Your World” Friday.

“Ron DeSanctimonious short circuits when confronted with the fact he didn’t win a single county in Iowa,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

The former president posted an interview that Fox News host Neil Cavuto conducted with DeSantis.

TIM SCOTT ENDORSES DONALD TRUMP AHEAD OF NEW HAMPSHIRE’S PRIMARY

“You look at Iowa. Um, you know, we did it, right?” DeSantis said during the program. “I mean, we got the endorsement of the governor. We won the debates, the Miami debate, the Newsom debate, the NewsNation debate, the CNN debate. We did televised town halls, you know, got a great response.”

“But you didn’t win a single county, right?” Cavuto responded. “I mean… You didn’t win a single one. You visited them all, to your credit, but you didn’t win a single one.”

“But I also had, I mean, you know, how many people would have been able to handle $50 million in ads?” DeSantis fired back. “How many people would have been able to handle all the headwinds we did? I mean, we had a very uphill battle.”

“We dug in and we executed, and we did run hard. We did do well,” he added.

On Saturday, DeSantis abruptly canceled two Sunday appearances planned for NBC’s “Meet the Press” and CNN’s “State of the Union” with Jake Tapper, and is headed to New Hampshire for Tuesday’s presidential primary. 

RON DESANTIS ARGUES TIM SCOTT ENDORSEMENT OF DONALD TRUMP IS ‘A BLOW’ TO NIKKI HALEY 

“The media hits were canceled due to a scheduling issue and will be rescheduled,” DeSantis press secretary Bryan Griffin posted on X.

At his Saturday night rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, Trump took the opportunity to criticize the DeSantis.

“In short, if you want a losing candidate who puts America last, vote for either one of them: Nikki Haley or Ron DeSantis,” Trump said to the crowd. 

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Fox News Digital reached out to the DeSantis campaign for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson contributed to this report.

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

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis canceled two TV appearances scheduled for Sunday due to a scheduling issue, his campaign confirmed Saturday. 

“The media hits were canceled due to a scheduling issue and will be rescheduled,” DeSantis press secretary Bryan Griffin posted on X, formerly Twitter.

He added that the GOP presidential candidate DeSantis will be, “traveling Sunday morning with the campaign and has public events scheduled Sunday evening through Tuesday” in New Hampshire, where the nation’s first 2024 primary will be held.

TRUMP MAINTAINS MASSIVE LEAD IN NEW HAMPSHIRE DAYS AHEAD OF FIRST PRIMARY: POLL

The governor was expected to appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and CNN’s “State of the Union” with Jake Tapper on Sunday, but both shows confirmed on X that the campaign had canceled. 

RON DESANTIS ARGUES TIM SCOTT ENDORSEMENT OF DONALD TRUMP ‘IS A BLOW TO NIKKI HALEY’ 

The cancelations were due to a “last-minute schedule change,” NBC reported, adding that DeSantis was planning to travel from South Carolina to New Hampshire to get at least one Granite State event on Sunday. 

Trump’s campaign manager retweeted news about DeSantis’ cancelations, joking “The end is near…” suggesting it was a sign his presidential campaign was nearly over. 

DeSantis placed a distant second to former President Trump in Iowa on Monday, losing to him by 30 points. 

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DeSantis narrowly edged out former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in Iowa, but trails her by nearly 30 points in New Hampshire in polling averages (34.2% to 5.2%), according to 538.

CONCORD, N.H. – Former President Donald Trump told supporters in the closing days ahead of the New Hampshire primary that he likely will not choose 2024 Republican nomination rival Nikki Haley as his running mate.

“She is not presidential timber,” Trump said of Haley as he spoke at a Friday night rally in New Hampshire’s capital city. “Now, when I say that, that probably means that she’s not going to be chosen as the vice president.”

At the same rally, the former president landed the endorsement of Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who ended his own White House bid in November.

“It’s time for us to unite our party so that we make sure that the only target we’re talking about is firing [President] Biden. Our country can’t take four more years. I’m not sure we could take ten more months,” Scott argued in a Fox News interview following the Trump rally. “The best way for us to get rid of Joe Biden as our president is to unite our party now behind Donald Trump.”

TIM SCOTT ENDORSES DONALD TRUMP AHEAD OF NEW HAMPSHIRE’S PRIMARY

Although his presidential campaign failed to ignite, Scott remains very popular with Republican primary voters, and his endorsement had been heavily coveted by the remaining GOP candidates.

Scott downplayed running-mate talk as he dropped out of the race two months ago.

But a source in the senator’s political orbit told Fox News on Saturday that Scott hasn’t ruled out serving as Trump’s vice presidential nominee, if Trump locks up the nomination in the weeks ahead.

RON DESANTIS ARGUES TIM SCOTT ENDORSEMENT OF DONALD TRUMP IS ‘A BLOW’ TO NIKKI HALEY 

“I wouldn’t be surprised if Scott remains in the conversation for running mate,” the source added.

With Trump crushing the competition in Monday’s Iowa caucuses — an important first step for the former president in his bid for the GOP nomination — buzz over whom he’d name as his running mate is increasing.

Besides Scott, speculation is also swirling around GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, the fourth-ranking House Republican and a fierce Trump supporter and ally on Capitol Hill.

Stefanik spoke at Friday night’s rally and made multiple campaign stops on behalf of Trump on Saturday.

“I would be proud to serve in a Trump administration in any capacity,” she told Fox News.

HALEY TURNS UP THE HEAT ON TRUMP AS SHE TRIES TO CLOSE THE GAP WITH THE GOP FRONT-RUNNER

There was also running mate buzz on Friday surrounding Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, who campaigned on behalf of Trump in Kingston, New Hampshire.

“The best place for me is to actually be an advocate of the agenda in the United States Senate,” Vance told reporters regarding the potential to serve as running mate. 

But he added, “Certainly, if the president asked, I would have to think about it, because I want to help him.” 

The running mate spotlight is also shining on a couple of other GOP politicians who have campaigned with or on behalf of Trump in recent weeks. The list includes South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. 

Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, who remains neutral in the GOP nomination race, is also seen as a potential running mate.

Trump dropped a provocative bomb earlier this month when he said during a Fox News town hall in Des Moines, Iowa, “I know who it’s going to be.”

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But despite that bombshell, few in his political orbit have a good feel for whom Trump is leaning toward as his running mate.

Veteran Republican strategist Ryan Williams noted that “Trump prizes loyalty and fealty above everything else when it comes to his supporters.”

And Williams said that timing is crucial, noting that “if you want to be considered for the VP slot, now is a good time to come out and campaign and support him before the nomination race is officially settled.”

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

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson endorsed Nikki Haley on Saturday ahead of Tuesday’s Republican primary in New Hampshire.

“Anyone who believes Donald Trump will unite this country has been asleep over the last 8 years,” Hutchinson wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Trump intentionally tries to divide America and will continue to do so. Go @NikkiHaley in New Hampshire. #FITN.” 

Hutchinson’s support of Haley comes less than a week after he dropped out as a presidential candidate after he failed to gain any traction in the Iowa caucuses. 

NIKKI HALEY SUGGESTS TRUMP MAY NOT BE ‘MENTALLY FIT’ TO BE PRESIDENT AFTER HE SEEMS TO CONFUSE HER WITH PELOSI

Former presidential candidates Vikek Ramaswamy and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., have already endorsed Trump. 

Hutchinson is the first former 2024 candidate to endorse Haley. 

NIKKI HALEY STILL HAS ‘VERY SIGNIFICANT’ MOMENTUM AHEAD OF NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY: JUDD GREGG

Hutchinson has been sharply critical of Trump before and was booed last year after he said in front of a Republican crowd that it was likely Trump would be found guilty of a felony before the election was over. 

He also said earlier last year that Trump should drop out of the race after he was first indicted on criminal charges, saying that it would be a “sideshow and distraction” during the election.

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Haley placed a narrow third in Iowa to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis but is polling second in New Hampshire to Trump who also won Iowa. Trump, however, won Iowa by 30 points and has a double-digital lead in New Hampshire. 

Former South Carolina Gov. and Republican candidate for president Nikki Haley on Saturday suggested that former President Trump may not be “mentally fit” after he seemed to confuse her with ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., while discussing the Jan. 6 riot. 

“Last night Trump is at a rally and he’s going on and on, mentioning me multiple times as to why I didn’t take security during the Capitol riots. Why I didn’t handle Jan. 6 better. I wasn’t even in D.C. on Jan. 6. I wasn’t in office then,” Haley told supporters at a rally in Keene, New Hampshire, in anticipation of the state’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary Tuesday.

She continued, “They’re saying he got confused, that he was talking about something else, he’s talking about Nancy Pelosi. He mentioned me multiple times in that scenario.” 

She said she didn’t want to say anything “derogatory” about Trump, “but when you’re dealing with the pressures of the presidency, we can’t have someone else that we question whether they’re mentally fit to do this. We can’t,” she added, referring to suggestions that President Biden isn’t mentally fit. 

TRUMP SAYS HALEY ‘PROBABLY’ NOT HIS CHOICE FOR VICE PRESIDENT

While speaking in Concord, New Hampshire, Friday evening, Trump told his crowd, “By the way, they never report the crowd on Jan. 6. Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley. Do you know they destroyed all of the information, all of the evidence, everything, deleted and destroyed all of it?”

TRUMP MAINTAINS MASSIVE LEAD IN NEW HAMPSHIRE DAYS AHEAD OF FIRST PRIMARY: POLL

“All of it, because of lots of things, like Nikki Haley is in charge of security,” he mistakenly said about Jan. 6. “We offered her 10,000 people, soldiers, National Guard, whatever they want. They turned it down. They don’t want to talk about that. These are very dishonest people.”

Biden’s campaign was quick to post the clip on it’s X, formerly Twitter, “rapid response channel, with the caption: “Haley reacts to Trump’s delusional and confused rant last night where he suggested that she was Speaker of the House on January 6: He got confused. I question if he’s mentally fit.” 

With three days left until the Republican primary in New Hampshire, Haley and Trump have stepped up attacks against each other. 

Haley finished a narrow third to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in Iowa, but has surged past him in polling for the Granite State, although Trump maintains a double-digit lead in most polls. 

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Haley, 52, has repeatedly presented herself as a younger, fresher alternative to Biden, 81, and Trump, 77, and said there should be a mental fitness test for anyone holding office who is over 75. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Haley and Trump campaigns for comment. 

President Biden’s embattled U.S. special envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, who was suspended last year and is under investigation by the FBI, is slated to teach a course about the Israel-Palestine conflict at Yale.

Malley will teach a class called “Contending with Israel-Palestine” this semester, which will take “an in-depth look at important questions surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” according to a report from Yale Daily News.

The class is limited to 18 students, according to the outlet, and is available to both undergraduate and graduate students. Students reportedly had to arrange a meeting with Malley and take part in an interview prior to their enrollment for the course, which will consist of 13 weekly discussions and assigned readings.

“In the wake of Oct. 7, I questioned whether it still made sense or whether it would be best to wait,” Malley said, according to the school newspaper. “Ultimately, I concluded, in coordination with the School, that it had become even more important to try to create an environment where students could learn more about this topic and engage with others in thoughtful, respectful conversations.”

BIDEN’S SUSPENDED IRAN SPECIAL ENVOY ONCE PUSHED ENGAGEMENT WITH HAMAS, HEZBOLLAH TERROR GROUPS

Readings for the course, as reported by the outlet, will include “excerpts from Theodor Herzel, Mahmoud Darwish, John Mearsheimer, Benjamin Netanyahu and others, while primary source documents include excerpts from Israeli law, the Religious Zionist party platform, the Palestinian National Charter and the 2017 Hamas charter.”

In teaching the course, Malley said he is “well aware of how polarized and even toxic debates around Israel-Palestine can be” and noted that he is “well aware of the fact that we all have biases and prejudices, myself included.”

“I’m trying to take steps as best I can to address that. [Students] don’t need to conceal or change their own – just to listen and try to understand their peers,” he added.

Malley, who has served as the special envoy to Iran since January 2021, is currently on leave from his position while under investigation by the FBI for allegedly mishandling classified documents. He was placed on leave by the State Department last June amid an investigation into his security clearance.

Malley played a significant role in the Biden administration’s efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement. In 2018, then-President Donald Trump opted to kill the deal and reimpose sanctions on Iran.

Asked about the status of the investigation, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital in an October statement that “Rob Malley remains on leave, and we have no further comment. The Department does not comment on individual security clearances.”

Malley also has a history of being sympathetic to the way certain terrorist groups — including Hamas and Hezbollah — operate, and encouraged the U.S. to engage in talks with the groups.

BIDEN’S IRAN ENVOY ROBERT MALLEY PLACED ON LEAVE AMID SECURITY CLEARANCE INVESTIGATION

After working in the Clinton administration, and prior to his service with Biden, Malley spoke with officials from Hamas and also penned a 2006 Time Magazine piece, “The U.S.’s policy in the Middle East is flawed. Here’s how to fix it,” in which he wrote, “Today the U.S. does not talk to Iran, Syria, Hamas, the elected Palestinian government or Hezbollah. . . . The result has been a policy with all the appeal of a moral principle and all the effectiveness of a tired harangue.”

The U.S. government has classified Iran’s regime as the world’s worst international state sponsor of terrorism and designated Hamas and the Lebanese-based Hezbollah movement as terrorist organizations. Iran’s regime aided Hamas, according to Israel’s government, in its slaughter of Israelis and Americans in southern Israel on October 7.

In a 2009 documentary interview, Malley said that it was “a mistake to only think of them in terms of their terrorist violence dimension,” referring to Hamas, Hezbollah and the Sadrist Movement in Iraq, noting that they “are social and political movements, probably the most rooted movements in their respective societies.”

“There’s so much misinformation about them. . . . I speak to them, and my colleagues speak to them [Hamas], and now we may disagree with them, but they have their own rationality . . . none of them are crazies,” Malley said in the film, titled “Cultures of Resistance.” Malley was the program director for the Middle East and North Africa division of the International Crisis Group.

He also said Hamas “has a charity organization, a social branch; it’s not something you can defeat militarily either, and people need to understand that.”

When Fox News Digital asked the State Department spokesperson last fall whether Malley had defended or promoted Hamas, they responded, “The United States government designated Hamas as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in 1997.”

The foreign espionage allegations against Malley and his Iran team have elevated concern about his contacts with Hamas due to its coordination with Iran to launch a scorched earth war against the Jewish state.

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Dan Diker, the president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, has criticized Malley by saying he “is a fellow traveler of the Iranian regime and a loyalist of the Iranian regime and defends Hezbollah and Hamas.”

Diker added, “Malley led us into this ISIS-like alley that the Jewish people have not seen since the Holocaust.”

Fox News’ Benjamin Weinthal and Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON D.C. – Pro-life voters are not overjoyed with former President Trump’s comments on abortion late last year, but some still plan to vote for him if he wins the Republican nomination.

At the 2024 March for Life rally in Washington, D.C., Fox News Digital spoke with voters who were torn over his recent comments.

Trump was vocally pro-life throughout his presidency, but he drew backlash after telling MSNBC in September that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ six-week ban on abortion was “a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.”

“I mean, ‘DeSanctus’ [DeSantis] is willing to sign a five-week and six-week ban,” the former president told the outlet. “I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.”

“I would sit down with both sides, and I’d negotiate something, and we’ll end up with peace on that issue for the first time in 52 years,” Trump added.

YOUTH VOTE ON ABORTION COULD SURPRISE BOTH SIDES

One voter at the March for Life told Fox News Digital that there should be no “compromise” when it comes to abortion.

“While Trump was an amazing president for the pro-life movement. We have seen, unfortunately, that he seems to want to compromise on the abortion issue, and we think that it is never okay to compromise on killing innocent children,” a young voter told Fox News Digital. “And that’s what abortion is. And so if I could talk to President Trump right now, I’d maybe ask him what he’s thinking.”

PRO-LIFE LEADER ANTICIPATES MAJOR VICTORIES DESPITE RECENT BALLOT INITIATIVES EXPANDING ABORTION ACCESS

Another individual said that Trump’s comments on his opponent’s six-week ban were “very heartbreaking” and will “probably affect how I vote.”

“It definitely makes me wonder what his actual opinions on abortion are, versus like if he’s just saying these for votes,” one voter told Fox.

While some pro-lifers are concerned over the comments, other rally-goers believe Trump is pro-life, and they will continue to support his third bid for the presidency.

“Overall, with other policies and things, I think I would still vote for Trump,” one woman told Fox.

Another individual suggested that while some candidates may support earlier bans on abortion, six weeks might be difficult for a candidate to push on the national stage.

“I think Trump is pro-life. I think we’ll stick with his vote,” another pro-Trump voter told Fox. “But politically speaking, you know, six weeks is a hard push. You know, my ultimate goal is [a] total ban on abortion. That’s what I would like. But politically speaking, you got to take one step at a time. And I think it’s where Trump is coming from.”

One individual said that his actions on abortion while president speak louder than his recent comments.

“It’s really the actions that matter most. And we can see from Trump’s presidency that his actions were pro-life, like, he got Amy Coney Barrett into the Supreme Court. And I think his actions speak louder than his words.”

PRO-LIFE DEMONSTRATORS BRAVE DC SNOW FOR 2024 MARCH FOR LIFE

The Trump campaign touted the former president’s pro-life record — particularly appointing Supreme Court justices who ultimately overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, returning abortion restrictions to states —  in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“President Trump’s unmatched pro-life record speaks for itself,” said Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung. 

“He appointed strong Constitutionalist federal judges and Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, which others have tried to do for over 50 years. He ended taxpayer-funded abortions, reinstated the Mexico City Policy that protects life abroad, and took many other actions to defend the unborn,” Cheung said.

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Cheung noted that pro-life advocacy group Susan B. Anthony List called Trump “the most consequential in American history for the pro-life cause.

“Throughout these unprecedented successes, President Trump has always advised fellow Republicans that they must learn to talk about this critical issue the right way and remind voters that it is Democrats who are the extreme ones on abortion, not Republicans, despite the left’s attempt to paint it that way,” Cheung added. 

“Joe Biden and virtually every Democrat in Congress is on the record supporting on-demand abortion up until the moment of birth, and after birth, as well as using American tax dollars to fund the killing of the most vulnerable. That’s why millions of pro-life Americans will vote to send President Trump back to the White House,” he said.

Georgia special prosecutor Nathan Wade, the alleged paramour of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, bought plane tickets in her name, according to a court filing.

Attorneys for Wade’s estranged wife, Joycelyn Wade, filed court documents on Friday that included 2022 bank statements showing purchases of flights to Miami and San Francisco. 

The statements, which were obtained by Fox News, show that Wade bought round-trip tickets for himself and Willis to Miami in October 2022, which also included a third ticket for someone named Clara Bowman on the same day from Houston to Miami. Another round-trip ticket to San Francisco for Wade and Willis was purchased in April 2023, documents show.

Joycelyn Wade’s attorneys, who seek to have Willis deposed for her divorce from Nathan Wade, argued that there “appears to be no reasonable explanation for their travels apart from a romantic relationship.” 

FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS ATTEMPTS TO QUASH SUBPOENA RELATED TO ALLEGED MISCONDUCT

Willis is caught in a political firestorm over allegations that she engaged in an improper relationship with Nathan Wade, whom she hired to lead the prosecution of former President Donald Trump and 18 others for their alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.

Willis has been subpoenaed to give a pretrial deposition in the divorce case on January 23, but in a Thursday court filing, she argued that the subpoena should be quashed. Her attorney, Cinque Axam, has argued that Joycelyn Wade has “conspired with interested parties in the criminal Election Interference Case to use the civil discovery process to annoy, embarrass, and oppress District Attorney Willis.”

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Axam accused Joycelyn Wade of “obstructing and interfering” with the district attorney’s ongoing case against Trump.

In their response on Friday, Wade’s attorneys denied that she is using the deposition to “harass” Willis, but “rather to seek pertinent information from her husband’s paramour regarding her relationship with Plaintiff and the extension to the Plaintiff’s financial involvement in the same.”

GEORGIA TRUMP PROSECUTOR FANI WILLIS FACES HEARING ON ALLEGED MISCONDUCT

While the bank records show that Nathan Wade purchased plane tickets for himself and Willis, they do not provide direct evidence of an affair — although Willis has not directly denied a romantic relationship.

The affair allegations surfaced last week when Trump codefendant Michael Roman’s lawyer accused Willis and Nathan Wade of engaging in an improper relationship and mishandling public money in a separate court filing. Roman’s lawyer, Ashleigh Merchant, did not provide evidence of the alleged relationship between Willis and Wade but pointed to proof in Wade’s divorce case.

Merchant alleges that Willis’ purported relationship with Wade created a conflict of interest and that she benefited financially from the relationship in the form of lavish vacations the two took using funds his law firm had received for working on the case.

County records show that Wade has been paid nearly $654,000 in legal fees since January 2022, an amount authorized by the district attorney, or Willis in this case.

GEORGIA DA FANI WILLIS CLAIMS ‘IMPROPER’ RELATIONSHIP ACCUSATIONS ARE BASED ON RACE

Wade’s bank statements show more purchases, including two $1,387 and $1,284 payments for a Royal Caribbean cruise, which were made on the same day, October 4, 2022, that Wade bought the airline ticket to Miami in Willis’ name. Other expenses between October 2022 and May 2023 were for Atlanta tour operator Vacation Express, the Hyatt Regency Aruba Resort and the Norwegian Cruise Line, and for the DoubleTree by Hilton Napa Valley – American Canyon. 

Joycelyn Wade claimed that the bank statements show that “Ms. Willis was an intended travel partner for at least some of these trips as indicated by flights he purchased for her to accompany him.” 

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“It is regrettable that Ms. Willis has filed such an inflammatory Motion, which has left Defendant with no other choice than to respond forcefully and with supporting evidence in a case that is very personal in nature,” the filing states.

Fani Willis and Nathan Wade did not immediately respond to requests for comment. 

Fox News’ Samantha Daigle; Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom, Brian Flood and Brandon Gillespie; and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

With three days to go until New Hampshire’s Republican presidential primary, a new poll indicates former President Trump remains the commanding frontrunner, with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley behind by double-digits, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis a distant third.

Trump, who is running a third straight time for the White House, grabs 53% support among those likely to vote in Tuesday’s New Hampshire GOP presidential primary, according to a daily tracking poll released Saturday morning by Suffolk University, the Boston Globe and NBC10 in Boston.

HALEY TURNS UP THE HEAT ON TRUMP AS SHE TRIES TO CLOSE THE GAP IN THE NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY

The former president’s support edged up one point from Friday’s tracking poll.

Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, stands at 36%, with her support edging up a point from Friday’s survey.

DeSantis, once the clear runner-up to Trump in most polling, pulled in 7% support, up one point over the past 24 hours.

The poll was conducted Thursday and Friday evenings, entirely after Trump scored a massive victory in Monday night’s Iowa caucuses, the first contest on the GOP presidential nominating calendar.

TRUMP SAYS NIKKI HALEY ‘HAS NO CHANCE’ AHEAD OF NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY: ‘MAGA IS NOT GOING TO BE WITH HER’

A poll from Saint Anselm College that was also conducted after the Iowa caucuses also indicates Trump with a lead in the mid-teens over Haley and DeSantis in single digits in New Hampshire.

Meanwhile, a new survey released Friday from Marist College indicates Haley performing better against President Biden than either Trump or DeSantis in hypothetical general election matchups in November in New Hampshire, which is a key battleground state.

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The survey indicates Haley edging Biden by three points, while the president tops Trump by seven points and DeSantis by nine points. Haley repeatedly emphasized on the campaign trail that she would perform better against Biden in the general election than Trump would fare against the president.

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

The Secretary of State in Maine is appealing to the state’s top court in her case aiming to keep former President Donald Trump off the ballot.

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows announced Friday an appeal to the state’s Supreme Judicial Court, asking for a ruling on her previous decision to remove Trump from the ballot.

“Like many Americans, I welcome a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in the Colorado case that provides guidance as to the important Fourteenth Amendment questions in this case,” Bellows said.

MAINE SUPERIOR COURT ISSUES A STAY ON STATE’S DECISION TO BAR TRUMP FROM PRIMARY BALLOT

Trump appealed Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ ruling earlier this month, but the court on Wednesday said it will not consider the matter until the high court issues its own decision in a related case out of Colorado, saying it would be “imprudent” for the court to rule on it before then. 

But Bellows is asking Maine’s top court to preemptively rule on the legality of disqualifying the former president beforehand.

“In the interim, Maine law provides the opportunity to seek review from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court – which I requested today. I know both the constitutional and state authority questions are of grave concern to many,” Bellows said of her continued efforts.

MAINE RESIDENTS ‘OVERWHELMED’ AT PROSPECT OF BECOMING A ‘TRANSGENDER SAFE HAVEN,’ STATE LAWMAKER SAYS

She added, “This appeal ensures that Maine’s highest court has the opportunity to weigh in now, before ballots are counted, promoting trust in our free, safe and secure elections.”

In December, the Colorado Supreme Court disqualified Trump from appearing on the state’s ballots in 2024.

The disqualification, which was made under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, is related to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

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“We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” the court’s majority wrote. “We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”

Following Colorado’s decision, more than a dozen states have challenged Trump’s eligibility to appear on election ballots for the primary or general elections.

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman and Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.