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August 22, 2024

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Oprah Winfrey makes surprise DNC appearance to rail against man she once considered running for office with

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Legendary talk show host Oprah Winfrey made a surprise appearance at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, when she slammed former President Trump and his vice president 24 years after she suggested he would make a good president.

‘We know all the old tricks and tropes that are designed to distract us from what actually matters,’ Winfrey told the crowd at the United Center. ‘But we are beyond ridiculous tweets and lies and foolery. These are complicated times, people, and they require adult conversation. And I welcome those conversations because civilized debate is vital to democracy, and it is the best of America.’

In another veiled shot at Trump, Winfrey said, ‘Now, there’s a certain candidate that says if we just go to the polls this one time, that we’ll never have to do it again. Well, you know what? You’re looking at a registered independent who’s proud to vote again and again and again because I’m an American. And that’s what Americans do. Voting is the best of America.’

Winfrey also took aim at Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, who faced criticism over comments about ‘childless cat ladies.’

‘When a house is on fire, we don’t ask about the homeowners’ race or religion,’ Winfrey said. ‘We don’t wonder who their partner is or how they voted no. We just try to do the best we can to save them. And if the place happens to belong to a childless cat lady. Well, we try to get that cat out too. Cause we are a country of people who work hard for the money. We wish our brothers and sisters well. And we pray for peace.’

Shortly after Winfrey criticized him, the Trump campaign posted a thank-you letter Winfrey wrote in 2000 suggesting that he would be a good president.

‘Too bad we’re not running for office,’ Winfrey wrote. ‘What a team!’

‘I might have thought it back then,’ Winfrey said in a 2023 interview. ‘I might have thought it 23 years ago.’

Oprah told the crowd in Chicago that she is ‘telling the truth’ when she says ‘values and character matter.’

‘Most of all,’ Winfrey said, ‘in leadership and in life, you know, this is true, that decency and respect are on the ballot in 2024. And, and just plain common sense over loyalty to any individual.’

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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Economy

Kamala Harris to accept presidential nomination on final night of DNC

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CHICAGO — Vice President Harris will formally accept the Democrat presidential nomination Thursday night in a historic moment after President Biden won the 2024 Democrat primaries but later suspended his campaign due to internal party pressure. 

Harris is expected to address the Democratic National Convention (DNC) during a primetime Thursday night address. 

By the end of the night, the Democrat presidential ticket will be solidified with Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and then it will be off to the general election against Republican nominee former President Trump and his VP pick, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio. 

Harris delivered surprise remarks on Monday night to kick off the DNC in Chicago, praising Biden and saying ‘we are forever grateful to him.’ 

‘Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation and for all you will continue to do,’ Harris said Monday. ‘We are forever grateful to you. Thank you, Joe.’

Harris said Democrats are ‘united by our shared vision for the future of our country.’

‘And this November, we will come together and declare with one voice as one people, we are moving forward,’ she said Monday. ‘With optimism, hope and faith so guided by our love of country, knowing we all have so much more in common than what separates us, let us fight for the ideals we hold dear and let us always remember when we fight, we win.’

Just over a month ago, Biden was considered the presumptive Democrat presidential nominee, having won each primary race. 

However, after a disastrous debate performance against Trump in June, Democrats mounted a pressure campaign for Biden to suspend his re-election bid.

Biden eventually gave in and dropped out of the race. He swiftly endorsed Harris, his vice president, to take his place as the Democrat nominee.

Biden addressed the convention Monday night and handed the reins of the party to Harris.

Speaking in front of the jam-packed United Center arena, the president declared, ‘America, I gave my best to you.’ 

‘Selecting Kamala was the very first decision I made before I became, when I became our nominee, and it was the best decision I made my whole career,’ Biden said. ‘She’s tough, she’s experienced, and she has enormous integrity, enormous integrity.’

He added, ‘Her story represents the best American story.’

He then asked the crowd, ‘Are you ready to vote for freedom? Are you ready to vote for democracy and for America? Let me ask you, are you ready to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz for president and vice president of the United States?’

Harris has spent the week campaigning, holding events across the country. She also unveiled her first big-ticket proposal to raise revenues this week, upping the corporate tax rate.

The Harris campaign said the vice president is proposing to raise the rate that major businesses pay from 21% to 28%, describing it as a ‘fiscally responsible way to put money back in the pockets of working people and ensure billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share.’

The announcement this week comes as Harris is beginning to offer details on how she would govern if she is elected president and how she would try to pay for expensive ideas she proposed last week, including expanding the child tax credit, easing the cost of homeownership and lowering medical debt.

Meanwhile, ahead of Harris’ formal acceptance of the Democrat presidential nomination, the vice president drew support from major Democrats – beyond Biden – and top Hollywood stars.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised Harris, invoking her famed ‘glass ceiling’ line.

‘On the other side of that glass ceiling is Kamala Harris raising her hand and taking the oath of office as our 47th president of the United States,’ said Clinton, who in 2016 became the first female to win a major party presidential nomination.  

Harris also drew praise from former President Obama, former first lady Michelle Obama and former President Clinton, among others.

Her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, said he was ‘so proud of how you’re stepping up for all of us.’

‘That’s who she is. Whenever she’s needed, however she’s needed, Kamala rises to the occasion,’ Emhoff said. ‘She did it for me and our family. Now that the country needs her, she’s showing you what we already know: she’s ready to lead, she brings both joy and toughness to this task, and she will be a great president who we will all be proud of.’

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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Economy

‘Star Wars’ actor Mark Hamill weighs in on Kamala Harris’ chances of victory

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‘Star Wars’ actor Mark Hamill is among the big names in Chicago this week to celebrate Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepting the presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) this week.

Hamill told Fox News Digital on the way to a VIP event on Tuesday evening that he is ‘very confident’ Harris will beat former President Trump in November.

The Hollywood star, known best for playing Luke Skywalker in the science-fiction saga, briefly chatted with fans and media and stopped to take photos with Democrat fans in attendance.

When asked what he thought of President Biden’s Monday evening farewell speech, Hamill said, ‘I’m speechless. It was fantastic.’

Hamill has long been one of Biden’s most high-profile supporters and an active critic of Republican presidential nominee former President Trump.

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison posted a TikTok video alongside Hamill on the first night of the convention where the actor invoked his ‘Star Wars’ past.

‘In the movies, I fought against make-believe evil. But we’re at a time in history where we’re fighting against real evil,’ Hamill said. ‘So, I beg you, please don’t go to the orange side.’

It was followed by Harrison posing with a blue lightsaber.

Hamill shared the video on X and wrote, ‘My message to Jaime Harrison: The Force is strong with [the Harris-Walz campaign] & the Democratic Party…My message to MAGA: Go FORCE Yourself.’

The actor notably defended Biden in the days after his disastrous performance in the late June presidential debate on CNN, which eventually precipitated Biden’s ouster by fellow Democrats worried he would lose to Trump in November.

‘One off night doesn’t change the fact that [Biden] is the most legislatively successful [U.S. president] in our lifetime. One off night also doesn’t change the fact that the former guy is a convicted felon, serial liar & adjudicated rapist who is unfit for ANY office. Period,’ Hamill wrote on X.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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Economy

GOP veteran-lawmakers drop scathing ‘stolen valor’ letter to Walz as Trump camp rips ‘Freakish Timothy’

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The Trump campaign distributed a letter Thursday from dozens of veterans serving in Congress hitting back at Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz over claims of ‘stolen valor.’

Journalists were handed the letter condemning Walz, as the Minnesota governor has battled back against questions about the timing of his retirement from military service. In an announcement of the letter, the Trump campaign dinged the Democrat as ‘Freakish Timothy.’

Walz, who joined the Nebraska National Guard as a teenager and also later served for Minnesota, met his 20-year requirement in 2001.

During that time, he was reportedly deployed to arctic Norway, before reenlisting after 9/11. He was also deployed to Italy to supplant other troops being shifted to Afghanistan, according to NPR.

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, the senator from Ohio, and others have criticized Walz for retiring only months before his unit was deployed to Iraq in 2005.

The letter was led by retired Army sergeant Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., and signed by other servicemembers-turned-lawmakers including Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Rick Scott, R-Fla., Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Reps. Brian Babin, R-Texas, Jennifer Kiggans, R-Va., Jim Banks, R-Ind., Greg Lopez, R-Calif., Cory Mills, R-Fla., Scott Perry, R-Pa., Barry Moore, R-Ala., Jack Bergman, R-Mich., and Don Bacon, R-Neb.

In the letter, the lawmakers call the office of vice president ‘a position that requires the trust of the American people and a solemn commitment to duty on behalf of the United States of America.’

‘As veterans who have served our nation, we feel compelled to address your egregious misrepresentations and urge you to come clean to the American people.’

Going on to reference allegations of stolen valor, the letter continues:

‘You have stated you are ‘damn proud’ of your service, and like any American veteran should be. But there is no honor in lying about the nature of your service. Repeatedly claiming to be a ‘retired command sergeant major’ when you did not complete the requirements was not honorable.’

‘Nor was it honorable to claim to carry weapons ‘in war’ when you had not served in war, and abandoning the men and women under your leadership just as they were getting ready to deploy was certainly not honorable either.’

The letter closes with a collective vote of no confidence for Walz:

‘… Until you admit you lied to [America’s veterans], there is no way you can be trusted to serve as vice president.’

At a separate press conference, Mast noted how Steve Nikoui – father of a Marine killed in President Joe Biden’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal – became so angry and frustrated that he shouted out during this year’s State of the Union.

Mast added that Vice President Kamala Harris went along with the Afghanistan plan and praised it herself.

‘Because, not only has Biden gone through now four years and not said a word [about] Afghanistan, he has never said his son’s name. He’s never said any of the 13 servicemembers’ names.’

‘It’s one thing to lose your men or women in combat, that happens, but to lose it due to incompetence and to literally idiotic and asinine decision-making out of that White House is something we as a veterans community, and certainly me, as long as I’m in this position and I have a breath, will never let them forget. and [Harris] owns it.’

‘She owns it. She was proud of it. She bragged about it.’ 

Fox News Digital reached out to Vance for further comment on the letter, as he had previously critiqued Walz on the matter and also served in uniform.

William Martin, a spokesman for Vance, said veterans nationwide are ‘furious with Tim Walz’ lies about his military record.’

‘Even Walz’ superior office and the chaplain of his regiment have explicitly condemned his decision to abandon his unit when they were deployed to Iraq,’ Martin said.

He added Walz has the opportunity Thursday night to apologize for ‘years of stolen valor’ during his scheduled DNC speech.

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS
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