Politics
Gavin Newsom, during his speech at the Vatican on climate change, accuses Trump of 'open corruption'
Gov. Gavin Newsom accused former President Trump of “open corruption” in a speech Thursday at a climate summit of Catholic officials and international leaders, elevating his criticism of the Republican leader in the hallowed halls of the Vatican.
The California governor referenced news stories alleging that Trump recently solicited campaign donations from oil executives and at the same event vowed to walk back climate protections if elected in the 2024 presidential contest.
“He openly asked them for $1 billion to roll back the environmental progress of the Biden administration, environmental progress that we’ve made over the course of the last half century,” Newsom said. “Open corruption. A billion dollars to pollute our states, to pollute our country, and to pollute this planet and roll back progress.”
The governor spoke at a three-day “From Climate Crisis to Climate Resilience” summit organized by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
Newsom said he decided to call out Trump by name at the international gathering of governors, mayors and policy experts because he felt stories about Trump’s meeting with oil executives didn’t get enough attention.
“It’s an expression of my sincerity about how serious I take this moment and how consequential it is,” the governor said about the possible negative effects on climate change if Trump returns to the White House.
His comments were also strategic. Climate change isn’t necessarily driving American Catholics to the polls, but drawing attention to an accusation of pay-to-play political corruption might resonate more with Pope Francis’ supporters in the U.S. More than 50 million Americans identify as Catholic.
Newsom’s appearance is likely to elevate his position as a climate leader on a world stage.
Gov. Gavin Newsom attends the “From Climate Crisis to Climate Resilience” summit.
(Gregorio Borgia / Associated Press)
With temperatures and carbon emissions rising worldwide, the aim of the conference is for local and state governments to share best practices about fighting climate change and adapting to hotter temperatures, rising seas and a more volatile environment.
Parts of Newsom’s talk matched the tenor of a critique of the oil industry he delivered last fall at the United Nations Climate Ambition Summit in New York.
“It’s because of the burning of gas, the burning of coal, the burning of oil,” Newsom said at the Vatican. “We have the tools. We have the technology. We have the capacity to address the issue at a global scale and they’ve been fighting every single advancement and we have got to call that out.”
Bob Salladay, Newsom’s top communications advisor, said his candid assessment earlier in New York of the industry, which he said was playing everyone for fools, caught the attention of the Vatican and is one of the reasons he was invited to speak at the climate summit.
The setting of his speech, in a carpeted auditorium at the Vatican that typically houses gatherings of bishops, drew a stark contrast to the marbled floors and renaissance murals that lined the walls and ceilings of Clementine Hall, where Newsom spoke with Pope Francis on Thursday morning.
In an address to government leaders and climate scientists in Clementine Hall, Pope Francis cast the destruction of the environment as an offense against God.
“This is the question: Are we working for a culture of life or for a culture of death?” Pope Francis said.
Newsom and his wife, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, sat in the second row of the audience in an Apostolic Palace near St. Peter’s Basilica.
A pope’s body is placed in the hall for private visitation upon his death. It’s also the same room that former President Obama visited in 2009.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul greets Pope Francis on Thursday in Vatican City.
(Riccardo De Luca / Associated Press)
Pope Francis called the refusal to protect the most vulnerable who are exposed to climate change caused by human activity a “grave violation of human rights.”
He said around 1 billion people in wealthier nations “produce more than half the heat trapping pollutants” of the world. Poorer people, he said, contribute less than 10% and suffer 75% of the resulting damage.
Pope Francis also took a shot at fossil fuel companies.
“An orderly progress is being held back by the greedy pursuit of short-term gains by polluting industries and by the spread of disinformation, which generates confusion and obstructs collective efforts for a change in course,” Francis said.
The governor called the pope’s address “remarkable.”
“I knew what I was going to say already, but he said it before I said it,” Newsom said.
After Francis’ speech, Newsom and Siebel Newsom walked along an aisle of ornate stone tiles to the front of the room, where the governor briefly spoke with the leader of the Catholic Church. The governor said the pope commended his administration’s work on the death penalty.
The governor said he was struck by the pope’s support for what Newsom described as a difficult decision to issue a moratorium on the death penalty and close California’s execution chambers in 2019.
At the time, more than 700 people were on death row. Newsom met with families of some of the victims who had been killed by the inmates.
“It was nice that he brought up the issue and thanked California for the direction we’re going,” Newsom said.
Newsom’s action ran counter to the expressed will of California voters, who over the previous six years had rejected two statewide ballot measures to repeal the death penalty.
A procession of attendees also greeted the pope, who took time to shake hands with every person in the room.
The pope signed a planetary compact after his speech, which Newsom and other government leaders also signed Thursday.
Wade Crowfoot, California’s Natural Resources secretary, described the compact as an unprecedented agreement among international governors, mayors, Indigenous leaders and scientists to work together to confront climate change with a focus on resiliency and equity.
Crowfoot and Lauren Sanchez, Newsom’s top climate advisor, also participated in hours of meetings at the conference on Wednesday.
Newsom is hosting a state climate summit in Southern California this fall as a continuation of the work at the Vatican conference. The state will be inviting local leaders and experts from California.
“We’re taking the torch of subnational leadership back to California, where it belongs, to convene scientists, local governments and leaders to tackle the climate threat that is the existential crisis of our time,” Sanchez said.
Some environmentalists in California said Newsom’s rhetoric on the global stage is not entirely matched by his actions at home. Though Newsom has championed many environmental measures and has waged a battle with oil companies as governor, he proposed cutting $3.6 billion for climate-related programs to help address the state budget deficit.
Susan Stephenson, executive director of a religious environmental advocacy organization called Interfaith Power and Light, took issue with a recent decision by Newsom’s appointees on the California Public Utilities Commission that she said would slow the use of rooftop solar power.
“He’s saying a lot of the right things,” Stephenson said. “And it is not matched by the urgency of action that we need as climate change is worsening.”
Newsom has also received criticism from some Republicans for traveling abroad instead of staying home to focus exclusively on California’s problems.
That was not the sentiment of a Democratic couple from Riverside who saw Newsom and his wife on a tour of the Roman Forum after the speech. They said they were surprised to see the governor in Rome.
Walter and Susan Davis said they believe in climate change and support the governor coming to deliver the speech, which they called “a real reason.”
“That’s what I’m talking about,” Walter Davis said.
Times Sacramento Bureau Chief Laurel Rosenhall contributed to this report.
Politics
Trump announces to crowd he 'just took off the last bandage' at faith event after assassination attempt
Former President Trump announced to a crowd Friday night he “just took off the last bandage” from his ear after an attempted assassination nearly two weeks ago.
The Believer’s Summit, hosted by Turning Point Action in West Palm Beach, focused on reaching voters of faith. Dr. Ben Carson, former HUD Secretary, preceded the former president.
“And we want to thank each and every one of the believers in this room for your prayers and your incredible support. I really did appreciate it,” Trump said.
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“Something was working. That we know. Something was working. So, I thank you very much. And I stand before you tonight, thanks to the power of prayer and the grace of Almighty God,” he added.
“As I think you can see, I’ve recovered well. And, in fact, I just took off the last bandage off of my ear.”
Former President Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, speaks at Turning Point Action’s Believers Summit in West Palm Beach, Fla., July 26, 2024. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)
The crowd roared with applause as the former president gestured to his injured ear.
“I just got it off,” he clarified. “I took it off for this group. I don’t know why I did that for this group, but that’s it. I think that’s it.”
Trump’s speech included attacks against his presumptive Democratic opponent, Kamala Harris, calling the vice president “a bum.”
“Three weeks ago, she was a bum, a failed vice president and a failed administration with millions of people crossing. And she was the border czar. Now they’re trying to say she never was,” the former president said.
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“If radical liberal Kamala Harris gets in and, by the way, there are numerous ways of saying her name, they were explaining to me. … I said, don’t worry about it.
“Doesn’t matter what I say. I couldn’t care less if I mispronounce it or not. I couldn’t care less.”
Dr. Ronny Jackson, the former White House doctor, released a letter earlier Friday offering an update on Trump’s health after the assassination attempt July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Former President Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, speaks at Turning Point Action’s Believers Summit in West Palm Beach, Fla., July 26, 2024. (Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)
“I want to reassure the American people and the rest of the world that President Trump is doing extremely well,” Jackson said.
“He is rapidly recovering from the gunshot wound to his right ear. I will continue to be available to assist President Trump and his personal physician in any way they see fit and will provide updates as necessary and with the permission of President Trump.”
“What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle,” the FBI confirmed Friday to Fox News Digital.
Trump and running mate JD Vance, the Ohio senator, are scheduled to appear for a campaign rally in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Saturday.
Politics
From Let's Go Brandon to Let's Go Brenda. Trump merch sellers say they'll be just fine after Biden exit
Vincent Scuzzese runs a store in New Jersey named Let’s Go Brandon.
Yes, that Let’s Go Brandon, the pro-Trump mantra gracing Scuzzese’s merchandise — shirts, flags, mugs, makeup compacts and more. There’s a Let’s Go Brandon adult coloring book (subtitle: “The Story of the WORST President in U.S. History”). And for the athletic, a 32-inch Let’s Go Brandon skateboard.
So, what happens now that “Brandon” himself has dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed his second-in-command, Vice President Kamala Harris?
A rebrand.
Scuzzese’s shelves now offer merch with a new motto: Let’s Go Brenda.
“My sales are going nuts,” said Scuzzese, 59, who opened his store in a strip mall off Route 37 in Toms River, N.J., two years ago. “Biden dropped out, but Kamala has the same views — even worse views. She’s more socialist.”
After Biden quit the race Sunday, social media quickly filled with jokes about warehouses full of rotting, deeply discounted anti-Biden merch and Let’s Go Brandon flags flying at half-staff. One meme includes an altered photo of a marquee sign for a different Let’s Go Brandon store; the memester added a fake banner for Spirit Halloween, the seasonal retailer that pops up in empty stores.
But the folks selling anti-Biden swag say they will be just fine, thank you very much.
“Dear Liberal Snowflakes, We appreciate your fan emails and phone calls voicing your concerns in regards to our now ‘useless inventory’ since the Sleepy Joe dropout. We understand that liberals don’t have an IQ of even two digits and have no idea how printing businesses work,” the website for the Let’s Go Brandon Online Shop read on Thursday.
Even if Let’s Go Brenda — the female version of Brandon — catches on, the original slogan doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.
The crass catchphrase, which began as a sort-of-but-not-really inside joke among supporters of former President Trump, became so ubiquitous that the Republican National Committee sells its own Brandon-branded beverage koozies, bumper stickers and grilling irons.
“It was a way to signal to other MAGA people that they’re in the club and to signal to the liberals in the community that they’re not welcome,” said Tim Miller, a former RNC spokesman, who left the GOP in 2020 and is now a Trump critic.
“I’m sure there will be plenty of anti-Kamala slogans,” Miller said. But Brandon “might stick around,” he said, like Trump’s Make America Great Again slogan and MAGA acronym, as well as the red hats.
The Let’s Go Brandon jeer came from a viral video of NASCAR driver Brandon Brown being interviewed in October 2021 by an NBC reporter after winning his first Xfinity Series race at the Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama.
In the crowd, people chanted, “F— Joe Biden!” The reporter, apparently trying to cover up the obscenity, suggested they were yelling, “Let’s go, Brandon!”
Let’s Go Brandon is an anti-Biden slogan seen on countless flags, shirts and merchandise across the country.
(Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The taunt later inspired pro-Biden memes with a laser-eyed alter ego of the president called Dark Brandon. Although Biden embraced the image and his campaign sold its own Dark Brandon swag, the meme never came close to overtaking Let’s Go Brandon.
Or, for that matter, the vulgar acronym FJB — it means what you think it means — which adorns countless flags and bumper stickers across the country.
Outside the Thunder-Rode motorcyle accessories shop on Route 66 in Kingman, Ariz., owner Jack Alexander flies a flag with an anti-Biden expletive. He’s got some inside, too. They sell well, he said.
For now, he has no plans to get rid of them. Alexander said it does not make sense “to spend a lot of money” on new merch before the party’s nomination becomes official at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month.
“We don’t think Harris is going to make it past the convention,” Alexander said. “We feel there’s going to be a war within the Democratic Party because of the non-election process that put her where she is.”
In New Jersey, Scuzzese said sales at the Let’s Go Brandon store have been through the roof since the failed assassination attempt against Trump during a July 13 rally in Butler, Penn. That night, Scuzzese said, he was so busy that he kept his store open long past closing time.
“Before he got shot, people were afraid to wear his hat and put his flags on their house,” Scuzzese said. Afterward, “they were coming in and buying hats and saying, ‘I’m not taking this hat off. I’m wearing it proudly. I hid it for long enough.’”
Scuzzese quickly hawked shirts with the iconic photo of a bloodied Trump raising his fist in front of the American flag. And his Let’s Go Brenda shirts were on the shelves within two days of Biden quitting the race.
Despite Biden’s exit, Scuzzese has no plans, at least for now, to change the name of his business.
And the Let’s Go Brandon phrase itself?
“At least until the election,” Scuzzese said, “it ain’t going nowhere.”
Following the protests at Union Station by anti-Israel agitators defacing federal property in protest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress, a Park Police union is pushing back against criticism that only a few arrests were made.
Thousands of Hamas-sympathizing agitators descended on Washington, D.C., Tuesday, at one point defacing federal monuments with phrases in support of the terrorist group responsible for the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, saying, “Hamas is coming.”
Twenty-three people were arrested at the protests, but some have suggested that number should have been higher.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., posted on X, “How many more times are they going to allow leftist degenerates who support terrorism and hate America to vandalize property and attack police? There should have been hundreds of arrests today in D.C. not just 23.”
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The Columbus Memorial Fountain at Union Station during an anti-Israel protest on the day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington July 24, 2024. (Reuters/Seth Herald)
But the U.S. Park Police Labor Committee is pushing back.
“Our officers on the ground did everything they could to protect life and property. In fact, despite having only 29 officers available to mitigate damage — 29! — with no additional help from the Department of the Interior, we processed several arrests for charges ranging from assault on a police officer to destruction of government property,” Kenneth Spencer, chairman of the United States Park Police Fraternal Order of Police, said in a statement.
“That’s why it’s so disheartening to hear some members of Congress and members of the media, many of whom describe themselves as ‘champions’ of law enforcement, suggesting that officers gave protesters a ‘pass’ or that insufficient arrests were made.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. Anyone who truly cares to understand the problem would see that our officer staffing crisis is at the root of our agency’s mission readiness. A small unit of 29 officers arrested 10 individuals while being assaulted by a mob of thousands. We simply did not have the staffing or resources to accomplish a mass arrest operation.”
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An anti-Israel demonstrator sprays graffiti on the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain at Union Station on the day of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington July 24, 2024. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
At least one demonstrator, whose face was covered, was spotted by Fox News carrying what appeared to be the flag of the terrorist group Hamas while others were heard shouting “Allahu Akbar.”
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Anti-Israel demonstrators burn an effigy depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside Union Station on the day of Netanyahu’s address to a joint meeting of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington July 24, 2024. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
The White House condemned the protests Wednesday evening, calling the chaos “disgraceful.”
“Identifying with evil terrorist organizations like Hamas, burning the American flag or forcibly removing the American flag and replacing it with another is disgraceful,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a comment to Fox News Digital Wednesday evening.
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