Politics
Military experts reject Harris' claim of 'no US soldiers in combat zones' as misleading
Critics have offered a fact-check on Vice President Kamala Harris’ claim that the U.S. has “not one member of the United States military who is on active duty” in a combat zone “for the first time this century,” indicating that the statement is misleading.
Harris made the claim in Tuesday’s debate with former President Trump. While her phrasing left room for interpretation, it is clear that there are U.S. troops in harm’s way around the globe.
“As of today, there is not one member of the United States military who is on active duty in a combat zone in any war zone around the world, the first time this century,” Harris said during the Presidential Debate on ABC.
The Pentagon told Fox News Digital service that members are stationed in various dangerous locations but noted that those deployments are made by the Executive Branch and not due to wars declared by Congress.
“An aspect of military service includes serving in locations where hostile actions may occur,” a Defense Official said. “Those locations are designated by executive order and/or the Secretary of Defense.”
I BELIEVE PENNSYLVANIA WILL ‘MAKE THE DIFFERENCE’ IN 2024 ELECTION: REP: MADELEINE DEAN
“However, it’s important to note that just because a service member is in one of these locations does not mean they are engaged in war,” the official added. “The U.S. is not currently engaged in a war and does not have troops fighting in active war zones anywhere in the world.”
Vice President Kamala Harris went viral with her response to a question about how she would bring down prices, in an interview with Philadelphia’s 6 ABC anchor Brian Taff. (Screenshot/6 ABC Philadelphia)
Mark Montgomery, senior director for the Center on Cyber and Tech Innovation at the Foundation for Defense of Democracy, told Fox News Digital that the U.S. has “quietly shut down designations of war zones over the past few years.”
“I would ask: Is anyone getting combat-related hazardous duty pay?” Montgomery added. “The answer is yes,” and noted Syria as an example.
JESUS MARQUEZ ON TRUMP’S CHANCES IN BATTLEGROUND STATE: ‘ABSOLUTELY WE CAN TAKE NEVADA’
The Pentagon did not comment on whether troops in countries such as Syria, Jordan or Iraq or on other bases around the Middle East have received hazardous duty pay over the past 10 months as Iran has backed proxies including the Houthis and Hezbollah.
A transfer case is unloaded during the dignified transfer ceremony of the remains of three U.S. service members killed in the drone attack on the U.S. military outpost in Jordan, at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware, on February 2, 2024. (Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
Hazardous Duty Pay is distributed at a monthly rate of $225 and is payable to a member who is subjected to hostile fire, explosion of hostile mines or other hostile action while performing duty in a hostile fire area, exposed to a hostile fire event or killed, injured or wounded by hostile fire or explosion, according to Military.com.
Military members serving in Lebanon have been eligible for hazardous duty pay since 1983, while those in Syria have been eligible since 2003 and 2014 for land and air combat, respectively. Iraq has remained an eligible region since 1990.
Robert Greenway, former senior director for the National Security Council (NSC) during the Trump administration, noted that the U.S. has “continuously” deployed troops to combat zones since the 1991 Gulf War.
HARRIS-TRUMP SHOWDOWN: GOP CHAIR VOWS ‘WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE THE RESOURCES’ TO WIN IN NOVEMBER
“The assertion is especially egregious, as she is the current VP and should know that we recently conducted a raid in Syria killing a senior ISIS commander, several U.S. troops had to be medically evacuated after another raid against ISIS in Syria,” Greenway told Fox News Digital. “Several servicemembers were wounded in Iraq when Al Asad Airbase was attacked by Iranian sponsored terrorists less than a month ago, and our ships are under near-daily attack in the Red Sea.”
This picture taken on January 4, 2024, shows a view of the headquarters of Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) paramilitaries in Baghdad, which was targeted on the same day by a U.S. strike. (Ahmad al–Rubaye/AFP via Getty Images)
“A current VP unaware of our military operations in combat overseas is a dereliction of duty,” Greenway added.
The U.S. has roughly 2,500 troops in Iraq alone, although Iraqi officials this week revealed that they have worked out a tentative plan for the U.S. to withdraw most of its troops by 2025 and leave a residual force, The Washington Post reported.
“The first phase will begin this year and continue until 2025, while the second phase will conclude in 2026,” Iraqi Defense Minister Thabit al-Abbasi said during an appearance on television.
President Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction to Pope Francis on Saturday, granting one of the nation’s highest honors to a figure he called “the People’s Pope.”
“Pope Francis, your humility and your grace are beyond words, and your love for all is unparalleled,” Mr. Biden wrote on X. “You are a light of faith, hope, and love that shines brightly across the world.”
Mr. Biden honored the pontiff during a weekend in which he was scheduled to meet with the pope in person at the Holy See. The president, however, canceled the three-day trip to Italy to coordinate the federal response to raging wildfires in Los Angeles, according to a White House statement.
Rather than the usual award ceremony, in which the president places the award around the neck of the recipient, Mr. Biden posted on X an image from the Oval Office in which a military aide presented the medal. The White House announced the honor after Mr. Biden spoke to Pope Francis on Saturday and informed him of the award.
It was the first time during Mr. Biden’s term that he had awarded the medal “with distinction,” a more prestigious version of the honor. Mr. Biden received the recognition from President Barack Obama in 2017. Other recipients include Pope John Paul II and Colin L. Powell.
Mr. Biden, a Catholic, has seen Pope Francis as an admired ally on the global stage and turned to him as a sounding board, and the pope has lobbied for Mr. Biden to use his presidential power during his final weeks in office.
Last month, Pope Francis called Mr. Biden and asked him to commute the sentences of those on federal death row. Days later, Mr. Biden used his clemency power to soften their sentences to life in prison without the possibility of parole, sparing their lives.
A citation included in the White House announcement for the award said that Pope Francis was “unlike any who came before.”
“His mission of serving the poor has never ceased,” the statement read. “A loving pastor, he joyfully answers children’s questions about God. A challenging teacher, he commands us to fight for peace and protect the planet. A welcoming leader, he reaches out to different faiths.”
Mr. Biden awarded the honor days after bestowing the Presidential Medal of Freedom to 18 leaders of the political, financial and celebrity establishment.
Former Vice President Mike Pence revealed his brief exchange with President-elect Trump, which was caught on camera at former President Carter’s state funeral.
The pair have not been seen publicly together since leaving the White House in disagreement over the 2020 election results. At the service at the National Cathedral, Pence stood up to shake Trump’s hand, and they appeared to exchange pleasantries.
Former second lady Karen Pence, who was seated next to her husband, did not stand up or acknowledge Trump.
JIMMY CARTER MEMORIAL: SUSPECT ACCUSED IN CAPITOL HILL SECURITY BREACH DURING TRUMP VISIT IDENTIFIED
In an interview with Christianity Today, Pence said he “welcomed” the opportunity to speak with Trump.
“He greeted me when he came down the aisle. I stood up, extended my hand. He shook my hand. I said, ‘Congratulations, Mr. President,’ and he said, ‘Thanks, Mike,’” Pence said.
Former Vice President Al Gore, left, watches as former Vice President Mike Pence, center, shakes hands with President-elect Trump before a state funeral service for former President Carter at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., Jan. 9, 2025. (Mandel Ngan/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Pence also recalled one of his final conversations with Trump in 2021, when he told Trump he would continue to pray for him. Trump responded, “Don’t bother,” the outlet reported.
“I said, ‘You know, there’s probably two things that we’re never going to agree on. … We’re probably never going to agree on what my duty was under the Constitution on Jan. 6.’ And then I said, ‘And I’m never going to stop praying for you,’” Pence told Christianity Today. “And he said, ‘That’s right, Mike, don’t ever change.’”
He said he kept his word.
RFK JR. SAYS HE PLANS TO ALSO MEET WITH DEMS IN BID TO GET CONFIRMED AS TRUMP HHS HEAD
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaks before former President Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, at a campaign event, Nov. 1, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
While the two appeared to remain cordial at the service for Carter, Pence told the outlet he doesn’t think Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is the right fit to manage Health and Human Services and was concerned about former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard serving as national intelligence director.
Fox News Digital reached out to Trump and Advancing American Freedom, a public policy advocacy organization founded by Pence, for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this article.
President-elect Donald Trump has not responded to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s invitation to tour California’s fire damage, Newsom said Saturday afternoon.
Newsom sent a letter on Friday inviting the incoming president to California to meet with fire victims, survey the devastation in Los Angeles County and join him in thanking first responders. The invitation, which the governor’s office said was emailed to Trump’s team, marked a slight change in tone in the political battle between Newsom and Trump, with Newsom imploring Trump not to politicize the tragedy.
Newsom delivered an acid-laced reply when asked Saturday whether he expected Trump to respond to the invitation.
“He’s an incoming American president,” Newsom told a reporter Saturday as he stood on a Los Angeles airport tarmac in front of a hulking CalGuard Black Hawk helicopter. “I would expect any leader of the free world, the most powerful person in the United States of America, to respect the pleas of 40 million Americans that happen to live in the state of California, hundreds of thousands of people that are still evacuated and a recovery effort that includes, right now, cadaver dogs to look for human remains, to be here for the American people at a time of emergency and a time of recovery.”
Trump’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger echoed Newsom’s call with her own invitation to Trump on Saturday, imploring the incoming president to stand with county residents as they rebuild.
A catastrophic cluster of fires has wrought unprecedented destruction on the greater Los Angeles area in recent days, leveling thousands of structures and killing at least 13 people. The rebuilding effort will cost billions and test relationships at all levels of government.
President Biden, who has a close relationship with Newsom, has pledged that the federal government will cover 100% of disaster assistance costs to California for the next 180 days. But Biden leaves office on Jan. 20, and the recovery effort will likely sprawl for years to come.
Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks with reporters at LAX on Saturday.
(Carlin Stiehl / For The Times)
Newsom whose term in office ends in 2026, is widely seen as eyeing the White House. As governor, Newsom took advantage of the state’s position as the liberal antithesis to Trump to elevate his own national profile during the president-elect’s first term.
The war of words between the two men on social media and in news headlines gave Newsom an opportunity to define himself as a fighter for Democratic values that he argued the Trump regime sought to erode. Newsom and California similarly gave Trump a chance to call out the follies of Democratic rule, endearing the president to his own base.
Less than 36 hours after Trump won the 2024 presidential election, Newsom called a special session of the Legislature to give the California Department of Justice an extra $25 million to wage legal battles against the incoming administration.
The special session immediately reignited the California versus Trump narrative from four years ago, though Newsom has attempted to downplay any political motivation and said his experience proved the need to prepare to protect environmental policies, abortion access and other state priorities.
When asked Saturday whether he regretted calling the special session and publicly reigniting tensions with the incoming president, Newsom emphatically pushed back.
“Our preparing for the inevitable — which is an assault on our values, our diverse communities — we would be absolutely remiss not to prepare for that,” Newsom said, citing the myriad lawsuits the state litigated with Trump during his tenure and prior threats to withhold disaster assistance from the people of California.
But he also suggested that he worked as closely with Trump during the COVID-19 pandemic as any Democratic governor in America, taking the slightly more measured approach that he has put forth. During the president-elect’s first term, Newsom and Trump also maintained a friendly behind-the-scenes relationship, which appears to have since dissipated.
Newsom has forcefully pushed back on right-wing attacks on social media in the wake of the fires on social media in recent days and launched a website Saturday to actively debunk misinformation about the fire. The site refutes claims from Fox News that California cut its firefighting budget and shoots down allegations in social media posts about the state mismanaging forest lands.
#6 Nebraska takes down #4 Minnesota, winning the first big ten dual of the year
LETTER: Nevada House Democrats buck their party
Thomas M. “Tom” Estona
New Mexico routs San Diego State, and it’s The Pits
New Jersey lottery player wins $1 million in Saturday’s Powerball
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
Why Marjorie Taylor Greene was ‘kicked out’ of the Freedom Caucus according to Rep. Buck
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
Video: Community L.A. Fire Brigade Steps In to Help Evacuate Residents
Pence reveals words exchanged with President-elect Trump at Carter funeral
Soldiers' arrest 'evidence' of North Korean involvement in Ukraine war
USDA report finds Boar's Head listeria outbreak was due to poor sanitation practices
Los Angeles Geared Up for Fire Risk, but Fell Short
-
Politics1 week agoNew Orleans attacker had 'remote detonator' for explosives in French Quarter, Biden says
-
Politics1 week agoCarter's judicial picks reshaped the federal bench across the country
-
Politics1 week agoWho Are the Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom?
-
Health6 days agoOzempic ‘microdosing’ is the new weight-loss trend: Should you try it?
-
World1 week agoSouth Korea extends Boeing 737-800 inspections as Jeju Air wreckage lifted
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25822586/STK169_ZUCKERBERG_MAGA_STKS491_CVIRGINIA_A.jpg "Meta is highlighting a splintering global approach to online speech")
Technology3 days agoMeta is highlighting a splintering global approach to online speech
-
World1 week agoWeather warnings as freezing temperatures hit United Kingdom
-
News1 week agoSeeking to heal the country, Jimmy Carter pardoned men who evaded the Vietnam War draft