Politics
Trump taunted over speculated RFK Jr endorsement: 'Weird as hell'
![Trump taunted over speculated RFK Jr endorsement: 'Weird as hell' Trump taunted over speculated RFK Jr endorsement: 'Weird as hell'](https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/08/Trump-rfk.jpg)
FIRST ON FOX: Former President Trump is being preemptively attacked by Democrats over a speculated endorsement from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. following his expected presidential campaign suspension.
On Friday morning, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) unveiled four billboards targeting Trump over the potentially looming endorsement.
“Weird as hell,” the billboards say, featuring photos of Trump, his running mate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and Kennedy.
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Trump and RFK Jr. are being targeted together by the DNC. (Getty Images)
The signs debuted in battleground state Arizona, where Trump has a scheduled rally with a “special guest,” and in Chicago, Illinois, where the Democratic National Convention wrapped on Thursday.
Kennedy’s presidential campaign notably announced an address to the nation on Friday, also in Arizona.
One of the Chicago billboards will be at the city’s Trump International Hotel, with the goal of people viewing it as they depart after the convention.
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![JD Vance, Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/08/1200/675/billboard.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
The DNC unveiled a billboard tying Trump and Vance to RFK Jr. (Democratic National Committee)
The paid advertising campaign is the DNC’s first featuring Kennedy since President Biden’s suspension of his re-election bid.
The Trump and Kennedy campaigns did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication.
“MAGA Republicans elevated RFK Jr.’s sham candidacy as a tool to mislead voters and hurt Democrats, and RFK Jr.’s exit is an admission their gambit failed,” wrote Ramsey Reid, who oversees the DNC’s effort against third-party candidates, in a memo obtained first by Fox News Digital.
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![Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/06/1200/675/GettyImages-2154524763.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Kennedy is speculated to be ending his campaign. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Reid revealed that the party’s data on Kennedy showed their efforts paying off and his favorability dropping throughout the campaign.
“As voters have learned about RFK Jr.’s unsavory and reckless past, ties to MAGA donors, and MAGA-lite positions on abortion bans and January 6th pardons, his support has dwindled to make him a near-negligible factor,” Reid wrote.
“The little support that remains is soft, split across ideologies, and disproportionately among lower propensity voters,” he continued. “With no meaningful base of support and sky-high negatives among Democrats, RFK Jr.’s threat to VP Harris was neutralized.”
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![Candidate and former President Donald Trump](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/08/1200/675/djt.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Trump will hold a rally in Arizona with a special guest. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
Further, Reid claimed, if Trump accepted Kennedy’s endorsement, he would “own all of RFK Jr.’s baggage.” On top of that, “he would presumably have to appoint him and that baggage to a major position in his government.”
Kennedy’s campaign has not confirmed the reports that he plans to drop out or that he will subsequently endorse Trump.
In a Fox News Poll earlier this month, Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in a head-to-head match-up, 50% to 49%. But with the inclusion of third-party candidates, including Kennedy, Trump and Harris were tied at 45% each nationally. Kennedy received 6% in the poll.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
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Politics
Celebrities and Notable Faces in the Crowd at the Democratic Convention
![Celebrities and Notable Faces in the Crowd at the Democratic Convention Celebrities and Notable Faces in the Crowd at the Democratic Convention](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/08/22/multimedia/2024-08-20-dnc-vips-index/2024-08-20-dnc-vips-index-facebookJumbo-v6.jpg)
Thousands of Democrats — delegates, party members, politicians and celebrities — filled Chicago’s United Center this week to nominate Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota for president and vice president. Here are some of the notable people spotted in the arena.
Thursday
Ms. Harris accepted her party’s nomination, speaking about her middle-class roots and calling for unity with a “new way forward.” Before she spoke, members of her family took turns at the lectern, including her sister Maya, niece Meena and step-daughter Ella. Several celebrities were spotted in the crowd.
Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman
Maya Harris, Tony West and Meena Harris
Vice President Harris’s grand-niece Gov. Tim Walz and his children, Gus and Hope
Padma Lakshmi, television personality
Sheryl Lee Ralph, actor and singer
Wednesday
The convention’s third night featured speeches by several up-and-coming party stars, former President Bill Clinton and a surprise appearance by Oprah Winfrey. After several guests highlighted Mr. Walz’s average-Joe persona and background as a football coach, he officially accepted the Democrats’ vice-presidential nomination.
Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota helped to introduce Mr. Walz before he took the stage, emphasizing his Midwestern roots.
Mr. Walz’s wife and children: Gwen, Gus and Hope Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts
Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona and former Rep. Gabby Giffords of Arizona
Julian Castro, former HUD secretary, and Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas
Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota
Tuesday
Several Democratic governors, including J.B. Pritzker from the convention’s host state of Illinois, were seated with their delegations during a ceremonial roll call. A playlist of songs and a performance by the rapper Lil Jon soundtracked the night.
Before speeches by the former first lady Michelle Obama and former President Barack Obama capped the evening, Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman, spoke about how Ms. Harris took on the role of “Momala” to his children, Cole and Ella.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois
Mr. Emhoff’s daughter, Ella, and parents, Barbara and Michael
Cole, Mr. Emhoff’s son, and his wife
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan
Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland
Gov. Tony Evers of Wisconsin
Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky
Rep. Maxine Waters of California
Monday
The convention’s first night featured remarks by Hillary Clinton and a torch-passing speech by President Biden. “America, I gave my best to you,” he said, reciting a phrase from the song “American Anthem” by Gene Scheer. Several members of Mr. Biden’s family were among the crowd, and audience members held up signs reading, “Thank you Joe.”
Nancy Pelosi, a key figure in pushing for Mr. Biden to exit the race, held up a “We [Heart] Joe” sign.
Jill Biden, the first lady
President Biden’s grandchildren
Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California
Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania
Gov. Gavin Newsom of California Senator Chuck Schumer of New York
Rep. Lucy McBath of Georgia
Politics
As the DNC's (wrongly) rumored 'special guest,' Beyoncé, and pop fandom, stole the show
![As the DNC's (wrongly) rumored 'special guest,' Beyoncé, and pop fandom, stole the show As the DNC's (wrongly) rumored 'special guest,' Beyoncé, and pop fandom, stole the show](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/d367cba/2147483647/strip/true/crop/6000x3150+0+425/resize/1200x630!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fc6%2F59%2Fb64dcf004884bee1ee269fe91765%2F1472058-la-pol-dnc-mjc978.jpg)
Odds are, she’ll sing for Kamala Harris at some point.
In January 2013, she performed the national anthem at President Obama’s second inauguration; in November 2016, she sang “Formation” at an 11th-hour rally for Hillary Clinton. And she’s already blessed Harris’ use of her song “Freedom” as a 2024 campaign anthem (and sent Donald Trump a cease-and-desist for using the same tune in a social media video).
Harris even came onstage to a recording of “Freedom” at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday, shortly before accepting her party’s nomination for president.
But despite the increasingly fevered assurances that rippled across the internet in the lead-up — including from the expert gossip-mongers at TMZ, who are almost never wrong — the one and only Beyoncé did not show up in the flesh to perform at Chicago’s United Center.
At 7:01 p.m. Pacific — two hours and change after TMZ posted an exclusive claiming the pop superstar would appear at the convention — the Hollywood Reporter quoted Beyoncé’s rep saying that the singer “was never scheduled to be there” and that the “report of a performance is untrue.”
Within minutes, the disappointment washed over social media — which kind of made you feel bad for the pop star who had shown up in Chicago.
Taking the stage with her 13-year-old daughter, Willow, Pink sang a touching acoustic rendition of her song “What About Us,” which is one of those nifty pop tunes that can be about either a broken romantic relationship or (provided you squint just a little) a nation of people demanding better from its leaders.
“What about us?” Pink and her daughter sang, accompanied by an acoustic guitarist and three backing vocalists. “What about all the times you said you had the answers?”
When Willow took a verse on her own, Pink slipped her right arm behind her daughter’s back as though to steady her before the crowd of thousands — a celebrity tasked with a political mission, yes, but also a mom determined to protect her child.
Yet when CNN’s cameras cut to the audience inside the United Center, folks looked listless, as though Pink was merely an opening act to be endured ahead of the promised main event.
And who could blame them?
Beyoncé — oh, you thought I meant the vice president? — is without doubt the most thrilling live entertainer of her generation: a one-woman power plant of vocal and physical talent capable of lighting a place up and burning it down in just a few minutes flat.
So what are we to conclude by the fact that she didn’t show up?
If you’re inclined to give Democrats the benefit of the doubt, you could say the DNC was seeking to avoid overshadowing Harris on her big night — that the party believes enough in her message that it trusted viewers to care more about her than the celebs she attracted.
To be clear, Pink is a major pop figure, a reliable live act who fills stadiums year after year (as indeed she did in October at SoFi Stadium and likely will again next month at Dodger Stadium). But she’s not an object of parasocial obsession like Beyoncé or Taylor Swift, to name another music megastar who defied rumors that she might show up Thursday night.
By booking Pink — as well as the Chicks, who sang a charming (if fairly pitchy) “Star-Spangled Banner” to open the evening’s proceedings — the DNC seemed to be putting faith in the old-fashioned idea that music can serve as a kind of neon light to draw interest to the real matter at hand.
But that’s not how pop fandom of the highest order really works today, when blind obedience to one’s chosen icon supersedes all other considerations. And by allowing speculation to run rampant regarding Beyoncé and Swift, the Democrats showed a crucial misunderstanding of the way music operates in the lives of the voters they’re hoping to target.
Who started the rumors that Beyoncé would perform Thursday night? Who declined to shut them down before they took over the DNC’s real narrative? (After the convention ended, TMZ paraphrased the lyrics of Bey’s “Texas Hold ’Em” on X: “We gotta lay our cards down, down, down … we got this one wrong.”)
As I said, Beyoncé will probably sing for Harris before election day. Hopefully when it happens for real, you won’t feel that much closer to understanding how people get sucked into QAnon.
Politics
Kerry Washington Knows TV Politics. Now She’s Hosting a Real Party.
![Kerry Washington Knows TV Politics. Now She’s Hosting a Real Party. Kerry Washington Knows TV Politics. Now She’s Hosting a Real Party.](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/08/22/multimedia/22ELECTION-LIVE-KERRY-WASHINGTON-01-wmgk/22ELECTION-LIVE-KERRY-WASHINGTON-01-wmgk-facebookJumbo-v2.jpg)
When “Scandal” debuted on ABC in 2012, Kerry Washington became the first Black woman to play the leading role in a network drama in almost 40 years. The show was a hit, particularly with Black viewers. At one point, more than 10 percent of Black households tuned in weekly to see Ms. Washington play a hard-charging Washington lawyer.
On Thursday, Ms. Washington — known to fans of the show as Olivia Pope — stepped into the real-life political spotlight as the fourth and final host of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Tony Goldwyn, Ms. Washington’s “Scandal” co-star, was the first host. Ana Navarro, a Republican commentator, and the actress and comedian Mindy Kaling filled the role on the intervening days.
On “Scandal,” Ms. Washington’s Olivia Pope character captivated audiences with her political acumen, striking intelligence and flawless professional style — crisp suits, elegant wraps, red-soled Louboutin heels.
After the show went off the air in 2018, Ms. Washington increased her own political activity. She told The Hollywood Reporter last year that she was inspired in part by how the character shaped the audience’s feelings about politics and activism.
“People wanted this imaginary character to fix their problems, and I felt like this was a moment of real disconnect because we’re living in a democracy; we’re the people who hold the power to unlock the change that’s most important, but we keep passing that power off to characters on television,” Ms. Washington said.
Last year, she started a nonprofit, the KW Foundation, to support civic engagement. On several occasions, she has taken to social media to encourage her followers to register to vote, often with messages sure to grab the attention of “Scandal” fans. In one, she posted what she said was information about a “Scandal” movie. The link actually redirected to a voter registration website.
Thursday marks the third time Ms. Washington has spoken at a political convention. In 2012, she delivered remarks at former President Barack Obama’s second nominating convention, and in 2020 she was one of several celebrities to emcee President Biden’s virtual convention.
Ms. Washington has been an enthusiastic convention attendee this week, posing for photos with Mr. Goldwyn, Oprah Winfrey and various politicians including Representative Nancy Pelosi, Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland and former President Bill Clinton.
Ms. Harris and Ms. Washington have met before, when Ms. Washington visited the White House last year. It’s not clear what they discussed, but in an apparent nod to her tenure as a (fictional) D.C. operative, Ms. Harris posted a photo to social media with the caption “Welcome back to the White House.”
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