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Harris and Trump court voters outside of their base

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Harris and Trump court voters outside of their base

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump sought to appeal to voters outside of their natural bases of support in a series of interviews Wednesday, a reflection of how tight the presidential contest is with less than three weeks until election day.

In the most combative interview since Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee, she discussed border policy, taxpayer-funded benefits for transgender prisoners and President Biden with Fox News’ Bret Baier on his program “Special Report.”

Harris, who has repeatedly been asked where she differed with Biden during their tenure, has struggled to provide examples without being disrespectful to the man who chose her to be his running mate. She offered her clearest answer on the matter during the interview.

“Let me be very clear, my presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency, and like every new president that comes into office, I will bring my life experiences, my professional experiences, and fresh and new ideas,” Harris said. “I represent a new generation of leadership. I, for example, am someone who has not spent the majority of my career in Washington, D.C.”

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Trump sought to appeal to Latinos and women during appearances on Univision and Fox News.

During a town hall in front of an all-women audience in Georgia, the former president was questioned about championing the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned the federal right to abortion and its impact on reproductive services such as in vitro fertilization.

After falsely claiming wide agreement among legal scholars for the issue of abortion rights being returned to the states, Trump declared himself “the father of IVF.”

Trump said he learned from Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), whom he described as “just a fantastically attractive person,” about the impacts on fertility treatment.

“And within about two minutes, I understood it. I said, ‘No, no, we’re totally in favor of IVF,’” Trump said, adding that he put out a powerful statement and the entire Republican Party came out strongly in favor of access to fertility treatments. “We want fertilization.”

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The presidential candidates’ appearances in front of disparate audiences reflect the tightness of the presidential race, and how both are trying to increase their support among groups that are traditionally less likely to support them.

Harris’ half-hour interview with Baier, her first formal sit-down with the cable channel, took place amid a media blitz by the Democratic nominee, and was testy at times. Fox News’ chief political anchor frequently interrupted Harris as she responded to his questions, and frequently referred to her as “ma’am” rather than “vice president.”

But Harris struggled when pressed on positions she had previously taken about issues such as allowing undocumented immigrants to receive driver’s licenses, free college tuition and free healthcare.

“Listen, that was five years ago, and I’m very clear that I will follow the law,” she said. “I have made that statement over and over again, and as vice president of the United States, that’s exactly what I’ve done.”

Pressed with a follow-up question about her previously expressed support for using taxpayer dollars to fund gender transition care for prison inmates, Harris argued that a similar policy existed during Trump’s tenure. She accused Trump of fearmongering with ads about the issue.

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The Trump campaign painted Harris’ appearance on Fox as a victory for the Republican.

“Kamala Harris’ interview with Bret Baier was a TRAIN WRECK. Kamala was angry, defensive, and once again abdicated any responsibility for the problems Americans are facing,” spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. “She couldn’t give a straight answer to a single question because she has no answers.”

Harris sought to turn several questions to Trump’s fitness for office, repeating her increasingly frequent characterizations of him as unfit and unstable.

Donald Trump speaks during a Univision town hall on Wednesday in Doral, Fla.

(Alex Brandon / Associated Press)

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“The American people have a concern about Donald Trump, which is why the people who know him best, including leaders of our national security community, have all spoken out … and have said he is unfit and dangerous and should never be president of the United States again, including his former vice president,” she said.

Earlier in the day, Harris spoke at Washington Crossing Historic Park in Bucks County, Pa., a suburb of Philadelphia that will be key to determining who wins the battleground state. It’s the site of George Washington’s historic crossing of the Delaware River on Christmas night in 1776 alongside 2,000 troops en route to a significant victory in Trenton, N.J., during the American Revolution.

Underneath a red banner reading “Country over party,” Harris appeared alongside several Republicans, including former Reps. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, Barbara Comstock and Denver Riggleman of Virginia, Jim Greenwood of Pennsylvania and former Trump administration official Olivia Troye.

Harris said she was joined by more than 100 Republicans from across the nation who are supporting her campaign.

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“Now, in a typical election, you all being here with me, would be surprising. But not in this election. Because at stake in this race are the democratic ideals that our founders, and generations of Americans, have fought for. At stake in this election is the Constitution itself,” she said. “We are here today because we share a core belief: that country must come before party.”

A spokesperson for Harris said the event with Republicans and the Fox News interview are aimed at independents and Republicans who backed candidates such as former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley who may be open to supporting the vice president’s candidacy.

“We feel like like we definitely achieved what we set out to achieve in the sense that she was able to reach an audience that is probably been not exposed to the arguments she’s been making on the trail and she also got to show her toughness in standing tall against a hostile interviewer,” spokesman Brian Fallon told reporters aboard Air Force Two on a Wednesday evening flight between Trenton and Milwaukee.

Harris’ campaign has seized upon comments Trump made this week about using the military to go after “enemies from within” in the United States. The former president reiterated his stance, citing Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) as examples.

“They are marxists and communists and fascists,” Trump said on Fox News. “These people, they’re so sick, and they’re so evil. If they would spend their time trying to make America great again, we would have — it would be so easy to make this country great. But when I heard about that, they were saying, I was, like, threatening. I’m not threatening anybody. They’re the ones doing the threatening. They do phony investigations. I have been investigated more than Alphonse Capone. He was the greatest gangster.”

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Also on Wednesday, Trump faced sharp questions about his views on immigration, the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, climate change, his handling of the pandemic and other issues during a Univision town hall with Latino voters in Florida. One Republican explained his concerns about the former president before saying he wanted to give him an opportunity to earn his vote back.

“Maybe we’ll get your vote,” Trump replied, according to the New York Times. “Sounds like maybe I won’t, but that’s OK too.”

Mehta reported from Los Angeles and Bierman from Washington Crossing.

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Video: Trump Says ‘Only Time Will Tell’ How Long U.S. Controls Venezuela

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Video: Trump Says ‘Only Time Will Tell’ How Long U.S. Controls Venezuela

new video loaded: Trump Says ‘Only Time Will Tell’ How Long U.S. Controls Venezuela

transcript

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Trump Says ‘Only Time Will Tell’ How Long U.S. Controls Venezuela

President Trump did not say exactly how long the the United states would control Venezuela, but said that it could last years.

“How Long do you think you’ll be running Venezuela?” “Only time will tell. Like three months. six months, a year, longer?” “I would say much longer than that.” “Much longer, and, and —” “We have to rebuild. You have to rebuild the country, and we will rebuild it in a very profitable way. We’re going to be using oil, and we’re going to be taking oil. We’re getting oil prices down, and we’re going to be giving money to Venezuela, which they desperately need. I would love to go, yeah. I think at some point, it will be safe.” “What would trigger a decision to send ground troops into Venezuela?” “I wouldn’t want to tell you that because I can’t, I can’t give up information like that to a reporter. As good as you may be, I just can’t talk about that.” “Would you do it if you couldn’t get at the oil? Would you do it —” “If they’re treating us with great respect. As you know, we’re getting along very well with the administration that is there right now.” “Have you spoken to Delcy Rodríguez?” “I don’t want to comment on that, but Marco speaks to her all the time.”

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President Trump did not say exactly how long the the United states would control Venezuela, but said that it could last years.

January 8, 2026

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Trump calls for $1.5T defense budget to build ‘dream military’

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Trump calls for .5T defense budget to build ‘dream military’

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President Donald Trump called for defense spending to be raised to $1.5 trillion, a 50% increase over this year’s budget. 

“After long and difficult negotiations with Senators, Congressmen, Secretaries, and other Political Representatives, I have determined that, for the Good of our Country, especially in these very troubled and dangerous times, our Military Budget for the year 2027 should not be $1 Trillion Dollars, but rather $1.5 Trillion Dollars,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday evening. 

“This will allow us to build the “Dream Military” that we have long been entitled to and, more importantly, that will keep us SAFE and SECURE, regardless of foe.” 

The president said he came up with the number after tariff revenues created a surplus of cash. He claimed the levies were bringing in enough money to pay for both a major boost to the defense budget “easily,” pay down the national debt, which is over $38 trillion, and offer “a substantial dividend to moderate income patriots.”

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SENATE SENDS $901B DEFENSE BILL TO TRUMP AFTER CLASHES OVER BOAT STRIKE, DC AIRSPACE

President Donald Trump called for defense spending to be raised to $1.5 trillion, a 50% increase over this year’s record budget.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The boost likely reflects efforts to fund Trump’s ambitious military plans, from the Golden Dome homeland missile defense shield to a new ‘Trump class’ of battleships.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget found that the increased budget would cost about $5 trillion from 2027 to 2035, or $5.7 trillion with interest. Tariff revenues, the group found, would cover about half the cost – $2.5 trillion or $3 trillion with interest. 

The Supreme Court is expected to rule in a major case Friday that will determine the legality of Trump’s sweeping tariff strategy.

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CONGRESS UNVEILS $900B DEFENSE BILL TARGETING CHINA WITH TECH BANS, INVESTMENT CRACKDOWN, US TROOP PAY RAISE

This year the defense budget is expected to breach $1 trillion for the first time thanks to a $150 billion reconciliation bill Congress passed to boost the expected $900 billion defense spending legislation for fiscal year 2026. Congress has yet to pass a full-year defense budget for 2026.

Some Republicans have long called for a major increase to defense spending to bring the topline total to 5% of GDP, as the $1.5 trillion budget would do, up from the current 3.5%.

The boost likely reflects efforts to fund Trump’s ambitious military plans, from the Golden Dome homeland missile defense shield to a new ‘Trump class’ of battleships. (Lockheed Martin via Reuters)

Trump has ramped up pressure on Europe to increase its national security spending to 5% of GDP – 3.5% on core military requirements and 1.5% on defense-related areas like cybersecurity and critical infrastructure.

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Trump’s budget announcement came hours after defense stocks took a dip when he condemned the performance rates of major defense contractors. In a separate Truth Social post he announced he would not allow defense firms to buy back their own stocks, offer large salaries to executives or issue dividends to shareholders. 

“Executive Pay Packages in the Defense Industry are exorbitant and unjustifiable given how slowly these Companies are delivering vital Equipment to our Military, and our Allies,” he said. 

“​Defense Companies are not producing our Great Military Equipment rapidly enough and, once produced, not maintaining it properly or quickly.”

U.S. Army soldiers stand near an armored military vehicle on the outskirts of Rumaylan in Syria’s northeastern Hasakeh province, bordering Turkey, on March 27, 2023.  (Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images)

He said that executives would not be allowed to make above $5 million until they build new production plants.

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Stock buybacks, dividends and executive compensation are generally governed by securities law, state corporate law and private contracts, and cannot be broadly restricted without congressional action.

An executive order the White House released Wednesday frames the restrictions as conditions on future defense contracts, rather than a blanket prohibition. The order directs the secretary of war to ensure that new contracts include provisions barring stock buybacks and corporate distributions during periods of underperformance, non-compliance or inadequate production, as determined by the Pentagon.

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Newsom moves to reshape who runs California’s schools under budget plan

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Newsom moves to reshape who runs California’s schools under budget plan

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday unveiled a sweeping proposal to overhaul how California’s education system is governed, calling for structural changes that he said would shift oversight of the Department of Education and redefine the role of the state’s elected schools chief.

The proposal, which is part of Newsom’s state budget plan that will be released Friday, would unify the policymaking State Board of Education with the department, which is responsible for carrying out those policies. The governor said the change would better align education efforts from early childhood through college.

“California can no longer postpone reforms that have been recommended regularly for a century,” Newsom said in a statement. “These critical reforms will bring greater accountability, clarity, and coherence to how we serve our students and schools.”

Few details were provided about how the role of the state superintendent of public instruction would change, beyond a greater focus on fostering coordination and aligning education policy.

The changes would require approval from state lawmakers, who will be in the state Capitol on Thursday for Newsom’s last State of the State speech in his final year as governor.

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The proposal would implement recommendations from a 2002 report by the state Legislature, titled “California’s Master Plan for Education,” which described the state’s K-12 governance as fragmented and “with overlapping roles that sometimes operate in conflict with one another, to the detriment of the educational services offered to students.” Newsom’s office said similar concerns have been raised repeatedly since 1920 and were echoed again in a December 2025 report by research center Policy Analysis for California Education.

“The sobering reality of California’s education system is that too few schools can now provide the conditions in which the State can fairly ask students to learn to the highest standards, let alone prepare themselves to meet their future learning needs,” the Legislature’s 2002 report stated. Those most harmed are often low-income students and students of color, the report added.

“California’s education governance system is complex and too often creates challenges for school leaders,” Edgar Zazueta, executive director of the Assn. of California School Administrators, said in a statement provided by Newsom’s office. “As responsibilities and demands on schools continue to increase, educators need governance systems that are designed to better support positive student outcomes.”

The current budget allocated $137.6 billion for education from transitional kindergarten through the 12th grade — the highest per-pupil funding level in state history — and Newsom’s office said his proposal is intended to ensure those investments translate into more consistent support and improved outcomes statewide.

“For decades the fragmented and inefficient structure overseeing our public education system has hindered our students’ ability to succeed and thrive,” Ted Lempert, president of advocacy group Children Now, said in a statement provided by the governor’s office. “Major reform is essential, and we’re thrilled that the Governor is tackling this issue to improve our kids’ education.”

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