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For China, Trump rally shooting is more evidence of America's demise

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For China, Trump rally shooting is more evidence of America's demise

In China, the message of former President Trump’s assassination attempt was clear: Just another sign of its biggest rival’s inevitable decline.

The Global Times, a Communist Party-run tabloid, wrote that the shooting Saturday in Pennsylvania was a symptom of an increasingly divided and disorderly nation.

A cartoon from the publication titled “Democracy in Danger” depicted a wave of water labeled “political violence” rising to overtake the Statue of Liberty.

In this Saturday, June 29, 2019, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Osaka, Japan.

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(Susan Walsh/Associated Press)

“Such violence is likely to become more frequent as the country is further polarized,” the paper wrote. “The shooting also exposed the high degree of instability and unpredictability of U.S. politics, further triggering doubts among its allies over Washington’s leadership.”

On Saturday, a gunman opened fire at a Trump rally, killing one attendee and striking the former president’s right ear. The gunman, whose motives remain under investigation, was shot and killed by Secret Service agents.

Across much of the world, the attack was greeted with shock, horror and expressions of sympathy. But many U.S. enemies and rivals were quick to say it symbolizes the dwindling power and hypocrisy of American democracy and global leadership.

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Chinese predictions of America’s decline aren’t new. In 1991, Wang Huning, a senior leader of China’s Communist Party, published a book titled “America Against America,” recounting his time in the U.S. and what he saw as the flaws of capitalism and democracy that undermined the country’s future.

At that time, the U.S. was firmly seen as a world leader in economic development and international diplomacy, while China was just beginning to engage in global affairs. But as China’s influence and economic power have grown, so have tensions between the two nations.

Under President Xi Jinping, who has encouraged nationalism and increased internet and media censorship, such narratives of America’s demise have become more prevalent. Discord in the U.S. over the past few years has only bolstered China’s case.

Chinese security personnel guard on duty at the entrance to Jingxi Hotel

Chinese security personnel guard on duty at the entrance to Jingxi Hotel where the Communist Party’s Central Committee is holding its third plenum in Beijing, China, Monday, July 15, 2024. China’s ruling Communist Party is starting a four-day meeting Monday that is expected to lay out a strategy for self-sufficient economic growth in an era of heightened national security concerns and restrictions on access to American technology.

(Ng Han Guan / Associated Press)

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During the pandemic, China touted its ability to contain the spread of the virus, in contrast to surging infections in the U.S., as an example of its superior governance. Chinese commentators have also pointed to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, Black Lives Matter protests, mass shootings and perceived weaknesses of this year’s two presidential candidates as further evidence of the shortcomings of Western democracy.

“These kinds of incidents, this kind of political violence, fits with that narrative that America is a failing political system,” said Pradeep Taneja, senior lecturer on Asian politics at the University of Melbourne. “A weaker America, a divided America, that’s good for China.”

China is facing a host of domestic issues, including a stagnating economy, declining birth rates and growing malaise among its middle class. In the last couple years, the number of Chinese migrants arriving at the U.S. border has surged, after undertaking dangerous journeys through Latin America in hopes for economic opportunity and political freedom.

However, a Global Times report said that the Chinese public’s perception of America has turned more negative over the past several years. In a 2021 survey by the state-run outlet, 8.1% of respondents believed China should “look up to the West,” compared to 37.2% five years prior.

In the U.S., unfavorable views of China have grown even more sharply, polls show.

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Fewer Chinese young people see the U.S. as more attractive alternative, said Mallie Prytherch, a researcher with the Centre on Contemporary China, who did a 2022 survey of Chinese college students.

“Just because they had been disillusioned by the Chinese system did not mean they saw the Western systems as something they wanted,” she said.

Xi, who took office in 2013, has presented China as an alternative style of global leadership to what he sees as Western hegemony, strengthening ties with U.S. adversaries like Russia and North Korea and courting the friendship of other countries in the Asia-Pacific through trade and diplomatic visits.

In this photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President

In this photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during an event to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in Shenzhen in southern China’s Guangdong Province, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020. President Xi Jinping promised Wednesday new steps to back development of China’s biggest tech center, Shenzhen, amid a feud with Washington that has disrupted access to U.S. technology and is fueling ambitions to create Chinese providers.

(Zhang Ling/Associated Press)

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Chinese officials have said little about the shooting. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Xi had extended his sympathies to Trump and was following the situation. But the assassination attempt was widely discussed on Chinese social media, where even high-profile academics propagated conspiracy theories of the gunman’s motives. Many agreed that the shooting would likely boost Trump’s chances at winning reelection.

There is likely no beneficial outcome for China come November, as both Trump and President Biden have sought to prove themselves hard-line negotiators in the deteriorating U.S.-China relationship. Analysts said that while Trump is more unpredictable than Biden, his election could also undermine America’s alliances with other countries, giving China an opportunity to strengthen its own foothold in regions like Asia and the Middle East.

“They’re putting forward this idea that there is this deep internal division in the U.S. that really affects its ability to be a leader on the world stage,” Prytherch said. “From an American point of view, this is a moment in history. But in China, this is just another act of violence in America.”

Special correspondent Xin-yun Wu in Taipei contributed to this report.

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Trump stirs GOP primary drama with visit to Massie’s Kentucky home turf

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Trump stirs GOP primary drama with visit to Massie’s Kentucky home turf

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President Donald Trump is taking his feud with Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., to the libertarian lawmaker’s home turf on Wednesday.

Trump is expected to hold an event in Hebron, Kentucky, on Wednesday, the Republican Party of Kentucky announced on social media Monday. It’s located in the northern part of the state’s 4th Congressional District, which Massie represents.

Massie’s primary rival, Ed Gallrein, will attend the Hebron event, his campaign confirmed to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, while deferring all other questions on the matter to the White House.

Massie himself will miss the event due to a previously scheduled official engagement, his spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

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KHANNA AND MASSIE THREATEN TO FORCE A VOTE ON IRAN AS PROSPECT OF US ATTACK LOOMS

President Donald Trump will be visiting Rep. Thomas Massie’s congressional district on Wednesday. (Win McNamee/Getty Images; Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

When asked about the visit, White House spokeswoman Liz Huston told Fox News Digital, “President Trump will visit the great states of Ohio and Kentucky on Wednesday to tout his economic victories and detail his Administration’s aggressive, ongoing efforts to lower prices and make America more affordable.”

The president has thrown his considerable influence behind Gallrein to unseat Massie after the GOP lawmaker publicly defied Trump on multiple occasions.

MASSIE, KHANNA TO VISIT DOJ TO REVIEW UNREDACTED EPSTEIN FILES

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Massie most recently was one of two House Republicans to vote to stop Trump’s joint operation in Iran with Israel, though the legislation was successfully blocked by the majority of GOP lawmakers and a handful of Democrats.

Ed Gallrein, left, seen with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House. (Ed Gallrein congressional campaign)

He was also one of two Republicans to vote against Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” last year.

Trump in turn has hurled a slew of personal attacks against Massie, including calling him “weak and pathetic” in a statement endorsing Gallrein in October.

“He only votes against the Republican Party, making life very easy for the Radical Left. Unlike ‘lightweight’ Massie, a totally ineffective LOSER who has failed us so badly, CAPTAIN ED GALLREIN IS A WINNER WHO WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN,” Trump posted on Truth Social at the time, one of numerous criticisms targeting the Kentucky Republican through the years.

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He called Massie the “worst Republican congressman” in July amid Massie’s bipartisan push to force the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release its files on Jeffrey Epstein.

Then-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, and Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, during a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

But Massie has so far appeared to defy political gravity despite making political enemies out of both Trump and House GOP leaders.

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He handily defeated multiple primary challengers in 2024 and 2022, despite public feuds with Trump, and has served his district since 2012.

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Gallrein is a retired Navy SEAL and farmer who launched his campaign days after Trump made his endorsement. Their primary election day is May 19.

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California Democrats launch pricey polling effort to winnow crowded gubernatorial field

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California Democrats launch pricey polling effort to winnow crowded gubernatorial field

As anxiety mounts among California Democrats about the potential of a Republican being elected governor, the state party will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on polling to assess the viability of the sprawling field of candidates hoping to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to plans released Tuesday.

The move comes after nearly every Democratic candidate refused party leaders’ call last week to withdraw from the race to avoid splitting the vote in the June primary — an outcome that could lead to a Republican being elected to statewide office for the first time in two decades.

“Candidates have filed, and now they’ve got the opportunity to showcase their viability, their path to win. I want to simply ensure that everybody has information to fully understand the current state of the race,” said Rusty Hicks, the leader of the California Democratic Party.

As campaign season ramps up, the series of six polls will allow “candidates, supporters, the media, voters, anyone and everyone to have a clear understanding of what is or is not happening in this particular race,” he said.

The filing deadline to appear on the June 2 ballot was Friday. Three days earlier, Hicks released an open letter urging candidates who did not have a path to victory to withdraw from the race. Of the nine prominent Democrats who had announced runs for governor, only one heeded his call: former state Assembly Majority Leader Ian Calderon.

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That means the eight other candidates’ names will appear on the ballot, regardless of whether they decide to later drop out. And that creates the possibility of a Republican winning the race because of how California elections are decided.

The state has a voter-approved top-two primary system, under which the two candidates who receive the most votes in the June primary advance to the November general election, regardless of party.

Two prominent Republicans will appear on the ballot: former conservative commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. Even though Democratic voters outnumber Republicans nearly 2 to 1, and the state’s electorate last elevated Republicans to statewide office in 2006, it is mathematically possible for Democrats to splinter the vote, allowing the two GOP candidates to advance.

Under such a scenario, not only would Republicans be guaranteed the leadership of the nation’s most-populous state, but Democratic voter turnout also would probably be depressed in November, potentially affecting down-ballot races such as those that could determine control of Congress.

Hicks’ call last week prompted concerns among candidates of color, including former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and state Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, that the effort was aimed at every nonwhite candidate in the race.

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The state party chairman responded that his letter was not aimed at any specific candidate.

“It’s not something I lose sleep over,” Hicks said when asked about the racial claims. But he added that the voter surveys will be conducted by Los Angeles-based Evitarus, the state’s only Black- and Latino-led full-service polling firm, and will oversample historically underrepresented communities: Latino, Black and Asian American voters.

Hicks said the polling will cost “multiple six figures” but did not specify the exact amount.

The first poll will be released on March 24, and then five additional surveys will come out every seven to 10 days until voters start receiving mail ballots in early May.

“We’re putting this forward to ensure everyone is armed with the information they need to clearly have an eyes-wide-open assessment of where the state of the race currently is between now and when ballots land in the mailboxes of voters,” Hicks said.

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Trump reveals top issues GOP should focus on to secure midterms victory: ‘I’ve never been more confident’

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Trump reveals top issues GOP should focus on to secure midterms victory: ‘I’ve never been more confident’

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President Donald Trump outlined five key items he believes will tip the upcoming midterm elections in the GOP’s favor — if Republicans can muscle them through Congress.

“No transgender mutilation surgery for our children,” Trump told an audience at the Republican Members’ Issues Conference. “Voter ID, citizenship [verification], mail-in ballots, we don’t want men playing in women’s sports.”

It’s the best of Trump. Those are the best of Trump. This is the number one priority, it should be, for the House,” Trump said.

Trump’s exhortations to Republican lawmakers come as the GOP wages an uphill campaign to hang on to a controlling majority in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. He framed his legislative priorities as a way for Republicans to capitalize on popular demands within the GOP base that would increase their chances of preserving a Republican governing trifecta.

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President Donald Trump gestures as he boards Air Force One before departing Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, on March 1, 2026. (Mandel Ngan / AFP via Getty Images)

HOUSE REPUBLICANS PUSH ELECTION OVERHAUL WITH VOTER ID, MAIL-IN BALLOT CHANGES AHEAD OF MIDTERMS

Currently, Republicans hold just four more seats than Democrats in the House of Representatives.

The GOP holds six more than Democrats in the Senate.

To keep the numbers in their favor, Republicans will need to beat historical trends. In the vast majority of past cases, parties that capture the White House in presidential elections face blowback in the midterms. Notably, the last time a majority party gained seats in both chambers of Congress in the midterms came under the Bush administration in 2002, following devastating attacks on the World Trade Center.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, left, and President Donald Trump shake hands during an Invest America roundtable in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, District of Columbia, on June 9, 2025. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

REPUBLICANS, TRUMP RUN INTO SENATE ROADBLOCK ON VOTER ID BILL

Trump said he believes Republicans have a shot at bucking the trend come November if they focus on his list.

“It’ll guarantee the midterms,” Trump said of his legislative priorities.

Republicans have already taken strikes towards two of them through the SAVE America Act, a piece of legislation that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and cast a ballot. That bill cleared the House last month for a second time in the 119th Congress.

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Its future is uncertain in the Senate, where Republicans would need the assistance of seven Democrats to overcome the 60-vote threshold to defeat a filibuster. Democrats, for their part, believe the legislation would disenfranchise voters who cannot readily provide documented proof of citizenship through a passport, REAL ID, or birth certificate. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. has promised a vote on the package despite its long odds. 

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, talks with a guest during a “Only Citizens Vote Bus Tour” rally in Upper Senate Park to urge Congress to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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Several members have introduced bills on transgender issues, although none of them have cleared either chamber.

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I’ve never been more confident that if we keep these promises and deliver on this popular agenda, the American people will stand with us in overwhelming numbers, just as they did in 2024,” Trump said.

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