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Riley Gaines says motherhood inspired her new children's book celebrating American exceptionalism
OutKick host Riley Gaines says her new children’s book, "1, 2, 3, We Are Free!," was born out of motherhood, telling Fox News Digital that the arrival of her daughter reshaped her sense of purpose and deepened her desire to teach the next generation about what makes America "the greatest nation in the world."
"Getting pregnant, it shifted my perspective a little, but I will never forget holding my daughter in my hands for the first time," Gaines told Fox News Digital. "My perspective shifted at that point to understanding like it is no longer about me … You subconsciously shift your perspective into wanting a safer, more fair, more righteous, more just, more moral country for your daughter to inherit."
Gaines, a former NCAA swimmer and women's sports activist, welcomed her daughter, Margot, in October. She recently released the new board book in partnership with Brave Books to celebrate America's 250th anniversary.
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Gaines said the book is aimed at families with very young children and is designed to teach kids how to count while also introducing them to themes of "faith, family and freedom."
"The intent is to teach them about America’s history, American exceptionalism and all the things that make America great," she added.
She believes that message is more important now than ever at a time when patriotism is declining and political violence is on the rise.
According to a June 2025 Gallup poll, only 41% of adults say they are extremely proud to be an American, while 17% are very proud to be an American, a nine-point drop from the year prior.
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"It’s really concerning to me, even look at the events of this past weekend where the wannabe Trump assassin, the third wannabe Trump assassin, was a school teacher. Think about that," Gaines said.
At the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner on Saturday, a gunman rushed through security at the Washington Hilton Hotel and opened fire before being subdued by the Secret Service. The suspect, Cole Allen, 31, from Torrance, California, was a tutor at a college prep center.
According to law enforcement, Allen shared a manifesto and social media posts outlining his intent to target President Donald Trump and other administration officials.
After dozens of educators across the country faced consequences for celebrating the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last fall, Gaines suspects there's a "concerning" percentage of teachers who also agree with the act of violence against the administration.
"They agree that at least in some way, shape, or form, it's justified," Gaines warned. "Those are the people who are entrusted with educating and shaping the minds of the youth, the most vulnerable, the most impressionable, the people who will dictate the future of this country for many, many generations."
"That is why I care. We have to be able to provide an alternative to that," she continued.
"Teachers, I think specifically, who are teaching kids to hate America, about America's roots and how it's evil and how it's deeply oppressive when the reality is, we are the most inclusive, the most diverse, the most opportunistic nation this world has ever seen as it currently stands," Gaines said. "So that's the message that we want to be able to communicate to my daughter and her generation."
Gaines’ book is currently being sold as part of a Brave Books bundle alongside new titles from Kirk Cameron and Dr. Ben Carson centered on America’s founding and values.
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Gaines is no stranger to experiencing political violence.
In 2023, she said she was assaulted by protesters at a Turning Point USA event where she spoke to students at San Francisco State University about her experience in her senior year of college competing against male swimmer Lia Thomas.
No arrests were made after the incident and the San Francisco Police Department said it had suspended the investigation in February 2024.
Former Vikings captain reacts to FBI raids on alleged Somali fraudsters in Minnesota
Former Minnesota Vikings captain and Minnesota Golden Gophers football star Jack Brewer has witnessed an arc of crime and punishment involving his state's Somali community.
After previously telling Fox News Digital that he saw alleged Somali fraudsters buy luxury sports cars during his playing career with the Vikings, Brewer witnessed the FBI conduct raids on the alleged Somali fraudsters at the center of a years-long Minnesota welfare fraud scheme.
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"Americans should celebrate today. Finally, we have an FBI that is actually sticking up for the poor in this country and stopping this corruption that’s happening in Minneapolis and the surrounding areas, where they’re robbing, literally robbing, the orphan, the widow, and those in poverty," Brewer told Fox News Digital later on Tuesday.
"Thank God Kash Patel and the federal government are stepping in, because they are the only ones who will even attempt to police this place. Minnesota will not police itself."
Federal authorities raided more than 20 locations, including childcare facilities, in Minneapolis on Tuesday as part of a sweeping fraud investigation into largely Somali-owned businesses, sources confirmed to Fox News.
Authorities executed 22 federal search warrants in Minnesota on Tuesday morning as part of the operation, which is not immigration-related.
The raids center on federal fraud investigations into largely Somali-owned businesses, including childcare facilities that registered their daycare with the state but were allegedly billing for care that was not provided.
"They prey on vulnerable people," Brewer said of the alleged fraudsters.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT MINNESOTA’S ‘FEEDING OUR FUTURE’ FRAUD AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S LATEST CRACKDOWN
"I believe they get into these networks and pass it on amongst each other — how to steal from the U.S. government and how to exploit the very people those programs were created to help. Those people are gross. They are robbing the people who need help the most and turning suffering into their own personal business model."
Brewer was a standout special teams player and team captain for the Minnesota Vikings. Signed as a free agent, he played 15 games in 2002, leading the team in special teams tackles and securing his first career interception against Green Bay. He was named team captain in 2003.
Prior to that, he was a standout safety and team captain at the University of Minnesota after transferring from SMU, earning First Team All-Big Ten honors and leading defensive backs in tackles in 2001.
"Minnesota is one of the most fatherless places in America, particularly because 28% of their households are single-family households, the vast majority being single moms. Minnesota is literally vulnerable to these schemes from all of these folks who have figured out how to manipulate the system, and they’ve created industries of corruption," Brewer added.
"Many liberal cities, but especially Minneapolis, have become completely lawless. They will not, by any means, police themselves — at the state level, the local level, or the city level. All they do is let people get away with crime after crime after crime, no matter if it’s violent crime or white-collar crime... What can you do to actually go to jail in Minnesota? If you look at it, they have some of the shortest prison sentences, they let people right out of jail, and it becomes a free-for-all. It is a complete free-for-all."
Minnesota has been under the spotlight for years for Medicaid fraud, including a massive $300 million pandemic fraud case involving the nonprofit Feeding Our Future. It drew renewed national attention in 2025 as convictions piled up and the state became a flashpoint in the Trump administration’s broader "war on fraud."
In 2022, during former President Joe Biden’s administration, 47 people were charged. As of December, 57 people have been convicted, either because they pleaded guilty or lost at trial. Most of the defendants are of Somali descent.
Fox News' Bill Melugin and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
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Vikings invite draft pick Caleb Banks to bring his pythons, Cane Corso and chameleon to Minnesota
When Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell introduced first-round pick Caleb Banks last Friday, he also took the time to introduce his new player's family and there were a lot of them -- his mom Mary, his brothers Trayvon and Jalen and his girlfriend Monique.
"It's not only just about our players," O'Connell noted, "but it's about their support systems and their families feeling a part of the organization that our great ownership lets us get to be a part of every single day."
Well, apparently the Vikings are also welcoming of their players' pets and that is important when it comes to Banks, because at some point he's moving to the Twin Cities with his two pythons.
And his Cane Corso.
And a chameleon.
And some birds.
And maybe a tarantula he wants to add to the menagerie.
Bring 'em all, the Vikings encouraged Banks when they selected him in the first round last Thursday.
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"You ready to go?" Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores asked Banks on the phone. "Let's get the dog, let's get the snakes, let's get the chameleon. Let's get everybody packed up. Bring them all.
"I know you're going to bring your best, too, so ... We're excited to get you here."
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Banks, who multiple NFL evaluators have referred to as a "beast" because of his physical prowess, shared his affinity for animals when he met with the Vikings at the NFL combine.
That was interesting to them. One must think the fact Banks is 6-foot-6 and 330 pounds, capable of a 32-inch vertical leap coupled with tremendous power on the interior defensive line, was of greater interest to the team.
But the openness to the pets apparently made Banks feel more comfortable with the Vikings.
"... It meant a lot to me because for you to say that on the phone," Banks said of the Flores conversation, "it shows how deep you care and you actually listen. I was excited. You know, he told me to bring my animals. I'm like, ok, I'm going to bring my animals in.
"Let's do it. Let's do it!"
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If you haven't gotten the drift by now, yes, Banks is a bit different. Just ask him.
"I'm different," he confirmed. "I got a crazy personality. I'm very goofy. I don't know if y'all can tell. I can just make a joke out of anything. I'm a great person. I love my animals. I got four of them. I'm probably going to have more.
"I used to skateboard. I do a lot of crazy things you probably wouldn't think somebody with 330 pounds and 6'6 would do, you know what I mean? So, I'm different, man. I'm a jack of all trades. You never know what you might get out of me."
So how did that personality translate to having an eclectic taste for exotic animals?
"It's a long story, man," Banks said. "When I was younger, somebody said, 'I like a koala bear.' Just making jokes. I didn't know what it was. This girl was like, 'Koala bears are cute.' I'm like, 'Oh, snap, all right, let me look into it.' Started learning about koala bears a little bit, learning where they were from.
"Then I fell in love with animals, and then when I had to go to college, they said, you got to pick something, like pick a major. I'm like, 'A major? Like, what's that?' So it's like something you like to do. What do you like to do? And I'm like, 'I love animals.'
Banks entertained the idea of studying zoology. And then he realized he'd better major in football first.
"I didn't have the time," he said. "It was a lot of work going to the zoo and being with animals, and you got football practice, and you got to be there. So that was hard."
Banks says his pets will move with him "in due time." And he might add to his collection.
"Probably some more snakes, a tarantula," he said. "I want some frogs. Probably another dog. I don't know, you never know what might happen. I'm going to surprise myself, honestly. I'm going to bring one to the facility, coach."
That would truly test how welcoming of Banks' pets the Vikings truly are.
House Republican from Florida announces he won't seek re-election this year
Republican Rep. Daniel Webster of Florida announced that he will not run for re-election this year.
"After much prayerful consideration and discussion with my beloved wife Sandy, I have decided not to seek re-election to the United States House of Representatives," he said, according to a Tuesday press release.
"It has been an honor and privilege to represent my beloved state in the U.S. House of Representatives. I’ve never taken for granted my responsibility to Florida’s hardworking taxpayers and families to advance common-sense reforms and principled policy. The time has come to pass the torch to the next conservative leader and spend more precious time with my wife, children and 24 grandchildren," he noted.
Webster has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since early 2011.
"Throughout my time in Congress, I have fought for legislative reforms that would restore a member-driven process and fiscal responsibility. To set an example, I have reduced my congressional salary and office budget every year, returning over $6 million in savings to the Treasury as a small but meaningful step toward restoring fiscal responsibility," the lawmaker said. "This has been the most member-driven Congress of my time, and we have made great progress in cutting spending year over year."
His retirement announcement came the day after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled a proposed new congressional map for the state.
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Should the state legislature, which holds a Republican majority in both the state House and Senate, approve the redrawing, it would then return to DeSantis to be signed into law and would apply to the 2026 midterms.
"Don’t do it. I’ve said it from the beginning," Punchbowl News reported Webster as saying last month. "I’ve been around enough reapportionments to know it’s a slippery slope."
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In a post on X, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, who is also the Sunshine State's former governor, responded to the congressman's retirement announcement by calling Webster "a hard worker and an American patriot" who "dedicated decades of his life to serving the great people of Florida," adding, "He’s a great friend who served our nation with pride. I’m grateful for all that we have accomplished together for our state and nation."
Fox News Digital's Preston Mizell contributed to this report
After no-hitter, Trevor Bauer says media pushed an old ‘bad teammate’ narrative
Trevor Bauer says even a no-hitter wasn't enough to stop the media from trying to turn the story negative.
The former Cy Young Award winner joined "Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich" on Tuesday and ripped what he described as a long-running media effort to paint him as a bad teammate, arguing that the same narrative popped up again even after one of the best outings of his comeback.
As Fox News Digital’s Scott Thompson reported, Bauer threw a seven-inning no-hitter for the Atlantic League's Long Island Ducks in a 13-0 win over the Lancaster Stormers on Sunday at Penn Medicine Park. It was just Bauer’s second start in the United States since 2021, and he walked one and struck out seven in a scheduled seven-inning game, as part of a doubleheader, against the Stormers.
But Bauer told Dakich the coverage around him rarely stays about baseball for very long.
"It doesn’t matter what I do," Bauer said. "It is going to be twisted negatively in some way and if they can’t twist it negatively, they’re just not going to talk about it or report it."
Bauer said that has been true for years, especially when it comes to how his relationships with teammates are discussed.
"I have this rep for being a bad teammate because of a story that came out in 2011 that wasn’t even true," Bauer said. "And so that’s followed me my entire career."
Bauer did not specify which 2011 story he was referring to. But the "bad teammate" theme has surfaced in prior coverage, including 2013 reporting that cited criticism from then-Arizona catcher Miguel Montero about working with Bauer during their time in the organization.
According to Bauer, that same theme showed up again after his no-hitter on Sunday.
"So much so that when I threw the no-hitter, my infielders celebrated with each other," Bauer said. "The story that some people are trying to push is that they didn’t even want to celebrate with me, that I’m such a bad teammate that they don’t want to celebrate with me, despite all the evidence."
Bauer then pointed to what happened next as proof that the full story looked very different.
"My teammates circled around me and dunked me with a Gatorade shower," Bauer said. "They all went and signed a ball from the no-hitter, which is really cool of them. Everyone on the team signed it."
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON'T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
To that point, USA Today posted a story about the no-hitter with the headline, "Trevor Bauer's Ducks teammates were hilariously unimpressed with no-hitter."
Yahoo Sports has an article on its website titled, "Trevor Bauer's extremely fake no-hitter won't have MLB teams knocking on his door."
That was part of a broader frustration Bauer expressed with how he believes stories about him are covered in general.
"There’s very few articles that ever get everything right," Bauer said. "I would say the majority of the time, a lot of it is omission too. They know something to be true and they just omit certain facts."
Bauer argued that some of the most important context is regularly left out.
"One of the worst ones is like, ‘Oh, he settled with his accuser out of court,’ and they leave it there," Bauer said. "Never mentioning that I never paid her a cent and she owes me hundreds of thousands of dollars. Like that puts a different context on settling something out of court."
He added, "They also never mention that I was never charged or never arrested."
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From Bauer’s point of view, that is not accidental.
"I think a lot of the articles are intended to be slanted a certain way," Bauer said. "They’re purposely inflammatory from a headline perspective to try to get clicks and then they don’t really reflect the situation accurately on purpose."
Bauer also acknowledged to Dakich that he has long been a polarizing figure, and he did not pretend that all of that happened by accident.
"I’m just polarizing in some ways," Bauer said. "A lot of it’s been intentional to try to draw attention to the sport of baseball and to try to market it and get more eyeballs on it."
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He added that part of generating attention is understanding what kind of personality gets people talking.
"I think for something to be interesting, you really need to have like a villain in a lot of ways," Bauer said. "And I have no problem playing that role."
Still, Bauer made clear there is a difference between being polarizing and being falsely framed. And after throwing a no-hitter, he clearly believes the attention should have stayed on the performance itself instead of immediately circling back to a narrative he says has followed him for at least 15 years.
Even when the result is undeniable, he says the story around him is already being written.
WATCH: Hearing erupts after Dem chair tries to sidestep GOP transgender sports bills: ‘They’re petrified’
A Pennsylvania hearing on transgender sports legislation erupted in chaos Monday, as Republicans accused Democrats of trying to sidestep votes on two related bills.
Pennsylvania became a focal point of the transgender sports debate in 2022, as UPenn swimmer Lia Thomas competed against female athletes including the University of Kentucky’s Riley Gaines. Since then, conservatives have sought to codify the separation of biological sexes in scholastic sports and public restrooms nationwide.
The top Republican on the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee told Fox News Digital that the scene captured on official video showed the Democratic chairman trying to "re-refer" two bills to the House Health Committee without fully explaining which bills he was citing.
Ranking member Rep. Rob Kauffman, R-Chambersburg, said that Republicans ultimately determined the two bills focused on separating scholastic athletes by biological sex and that Democrats resisted any debate before sending them to another committee to restart the process.
"It's fascinating. But the key is, in the legislative process, whether it be on the House floor or in any committee meeting, they'll say the number of the bill and then they'll give a title or brief description of the bill before anyone votes on it. You don't just call up a bill by number," Kauffman told Fox News Digital in a Tuesday interview.
House Judiciary Committee chairman Timothy Briggs was doing just that in a Monday hearing, Kauffman said.
Briggs, D-King of Prussia, sought to move two bills out of the committee quickly, announcing that all Democrats would vote to re-refer them while identifying the measures only by bill number.
Republicans said they were unaware of the bills’ contents because their titles were not read as Briggs tried to re-refer them to the House Health Committee.
Briggs asked the clerk to call the roll for the "sole purpose of referring [them] to the Health Committee" and added that "all Democrats will be voting ‘Yes’."
"Could we kinda know what the bills are?" interjected Kauffman, before someone in the gallery called out that they were related to transgender athletes in children’s sports.
HB 158 is the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act from Rep. Barb Gleim, R-Mechanicsburg, and HB 1849 is the related Dads Defending Daughters Act by Rep. Clint Owlett, R-Tioga.
Briggs sighed and began to speak before Kauffman continued.
"We can’t vote on a re-referral when we don't even know what the title of the bill is. Obviously, you don't want us to know what the title of the bill is," he said, chuckling as Briggs cut in that the committee is "running out of time."
Kauffman quipped that if he ever pulled such a move as chairman, Briggs’ caucus would have "lost your mind."
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After another pointed exchange between Briggs and Kauffman, the Democrat ordered the clerk to call the roll on the bills and then claimed aloud that some Republicans were refusing to vote.
One of those named, Rep. Stephanie Borowicz of Lock Haven, objected after learning the bills’ true identities:
"Now you’re deciding how we’re voting?" said Borowicz, who co-sponsored Gleim’s bill.
"We might as well be better off in the Russian Duma at this point," Kauffman added as Briggs plowed through their objections and tried to move past the two bills.
The blow-up showed that Democrats are "petrified of this issue [so much] that they broke legislative protocol, parliamentary norms and everything I’ve learned in this legislature in 20 years," Kauffman told Fox News Digital.
He said that if the bills were moved to another committee without first being voted out of his own, the parliamentary "clock" would restart and Democrats could continue moving the measures through committee without taking a direct vote on the underlying transgender sports issue.
Kauffman said the kerfuffle was indicative of the national debate over transgender sports, calling it an "80-90%" issue in favor of separating youth athletes by sex.
Kauffman added that Democrats will eventually have to confront the issue because the state Senate is advancing its own transgender sports bill, which will be taken up by the House.
"It's a mom and dad issue. It's a biological fact issue. So we're going to keep at it," he said, adding that critics are "cater[ing] to the far-progressive fringe" of their party and "generally don’t care what the people want."
Fox News Digital reached out to Briggs for a response to the situation.
A representative for the King of Prussia Democrat said he was "regrettably unavailable" for comment.
The clash came just weeks after a Republican lawmaker's attempt to define "woman" in a Women's Month resolution led Democrats to pull the commemoration.
Fox News Digital's Kiera McDonald contributed to this report.
Johnson scrambles as Trump, Senate Republicans pressure House to fund DHS
Congressional Republicans entered the record-breaking Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown united — 75 days later, and they are increasingly at odds over how to end it.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is now floating a change to the Senate’s DHS bill funding most of the department after declining to put the measure on the floor for more than a month.
The new demand comes as the department’s vital security role was spotlighted on Saturday when the Secret Service stopped a gunman from storming the ballroom where he allegedly planned to assassinate President Donald Trump and members of his Cabinet.
The Secret Service is among several agencies under the DHS umbrella that are currently operating without full-year funding. The assassination scare notably spurred Trump to demand that DHS funding, and the forthcoming budget reconciliation process, be wrapped up soon.
Now, Johnson’s new tactic is to modify the Senate bill, which he claims "has some problematic language because it was haphazardly drafted."
"We have a modified version that I think is going to be much better for both chambers," Johnson told reporters on Monday.
"It makes sure that we’re not going to orphan two of the primary agencies of DHS," he added. "We have to make sure that immigration law is enforced and that the border is safe and secure. Democrats don’t want to have any part of that, so unfortunately, we have to do that on our own."
But the White House, in a memo to House Republicans obtained by Fox News Digital, demanded that Johnson pass the Senate's bill as-is, and warned that unless the House took action, the remaining DHS funding would soon dry up.
"It is imperative that Congress immediately fund DHS and its critical operations to protect the homeland," the memo stated.
The Senate bill and a separate budget reconciliation bill funding immigration enforcement are part of a two-track approach that congressional Republicans are pursuing to end the funding lapse.
Johnson has long reflected the view of many in the GOP by voicing objections to the Senate bill because it zeroes out funding for ICE and CBP.
But Senate Republicans are frustrated with their House colleagues who continue to sit on the bill that would reopen most of DHS while teasing forthcoming modifications. Any substantial alteration to the bill outside a minor technical correction would kick the bill back to the Senate for reconciliation.
Trump has not weighed in on the Senate's partial DHS bill, but has urged the House to quickly approve the Senate-passed budget blueprint funding immigration enforcement.
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., noted that it had been nearly 30 days since he and the speaker put out a joint statement supporting the Senate’s funding bill.
"I guess my question is, what was the alternative? And that's what I said to them at the time, and you tell me, give me a better option, 'cause I'm open to ideas," Thune said Tuesday. "But I don't think anybody had one, and we had a bunch of agencies that weren't being funded."
Congressional Democrats have ripped Johnson for holding up the Senate bill, though Republicans note that Congress would not be in the funding stalemate if Democrats had agreed to a full-year spending bill for the department.
"Johnson can just take up the bill that was passed unanimously in the Senate and we'd be funding all of DHS except for ICE and CBP, and then we could work on that," Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-N.M., told Fox News on Tuesday.
"The fact that he has failed to do so is outrageous and it's on him that we are not paying the rest of DHS," she added.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats, who voted unanimously alongside Republicans twice on the funding deal, are scratching their heads about what exactly Johnson is trying to do.
Democrats have also signaled a possible return of the funding standoff that dominated the upper chamber for over a month.
"They’re just stuck so they come up with — we need some technical changes," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. "Hold up national security for technical changes? It’s absurd."
Alleged Trump assassination plot: Analysis shows 1 in 5 left-wing posts cry hoax, admin shreds ‘moron’ claims
After a gunman allegedly attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump at Saturday's White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, online conspiracy theories about the event spiked, according to a Washington Post analysis.
Cole Allen, 31, is in federal custody and has been charged with attempting to assassinate the president of the United States, transporting a firearm across state lines and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence after he allegedly charged a Secret Service checkpoint outside the room at the Washington Hilton Hotel where the dinner was being held.
President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, First Lady Melania Trump, Second Lady Usha Vance and members of the Trump administration Cabinet had settled in for the evening just minutes before Allen's alleged attack.
WHO IS COLE ALLEN? CALIFORNIA MAN NAMED AS SUSPECT IN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS' DINNER SHOOTING
The Washington Post's analysis says that one in five posts by "left-wing and liberal influencers and politicians" in the immediate aftermath of the attack claims that it was staged, a hoax or a "false flag."
Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, was perhaps the largest name among the conspiracy theorists, calling the incident "fake."
Other far-left influencers online made similar suggestions.
Morgan J. Freeman, a Hollywood director and producer — not to be confused with actor Morgan Freeman — simply wrote the word "STAGED" in all capital letters 132 times in a single X post Sunday afternoon. The post received 58,000 likes, was shared 9,400 times and was viewed 1.3 million times.
The prevailing sentiment among conspiracy posters is that the alleged assassination attempt would benefit the 47th president politically.
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"Anyone who thinks President Trump staged his own assassination attempts is a complete moron," Trump spokesman Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital.
Allen was a Democratic activist who attended at least one "No Kings" protest, and once donated $25 to ActBlue, the progressive digital fundraising platform, which was earmarked for Kamala Harris' 2024 presidential bid.
He sent communication to a family member before the alleged attack, according to authorities, rationalizing what he acknowledged was a mission that would likely severely harm or kill him.
He allegedly said his motivations were political, and painted himself as a savior of the oppressed. At points, officials said, he also noted that there were certain people he hoped wouldn't be caught in the crossfire.
Fox News Digital reached out to Crockett's office.
Trump ‘set the tone’ as King Charles 'commanded the space' at White House: experts
President Donald Trump was at his "very best" on Monday when he welcomed King Charles and Queen Camilla to the White House on Monday, an expert told Fox News Digital.
"Across both sides of the Atlantic people are holding their breath in anticipation of a thawing of political differences as King Charles weaves his conciliatory magic and President Trump standing in stature and praise for his royal visitors," royal broadcaster Ian Pelham Turner explained. "This was the president at his very best. His was quite an emotional speech, spoken at times with humor and passion."
He added that Britain still sees the U.S. as its "greatest ally," although political differences have caused a "strain on the special relationship."
Charles and Camilla arrived in Washington, D.C., on Monday afternoon and were met outside the White House by the president and first lady Melania Trump.
KING CHARLES' SPEECH 'UNIFIED' BOTH SIDES OF THE 'POLITICAL AISLE': FORMER MARGARET THATCHER AIDE
Turner called the "pomp and circumstance" of members of the U.S. military marching by as the president and king watched "glorious."
"Then surveying the troops and the quiet one hour behind the scenes private discussion enabled both men to speak openly but with grace and curtesy on both sides," he added.
British royals expert Hilary Fordwich noted that while Trump wasn’t "deferential, he hosted respectfully, which summed it up."
"President Trump made what seemed like an impromptu comment initially regarding the very ‘British weather’ to which" Charles "nodded and smiled, so that comic gesture went over well," she said.
While their greeting was mostly choreographed, Fordwich said the men managed more "impromptu moments."
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"At times they looked rather like naughty school boys chatting in the back of the class," Fordwich joked. "This came across as very natural and struck a brilliant balance between the dignity requisite during the ceremonial start versus their spontaneous chatter indicative of their unique personal warmth."
"While President Trump, confident and in command, certainly set the tone with guiding gestures," Charles "remained restrained, diplomatic and composed, adapting and following all of Trump's prompts, apropos for such an occasions," Fordwich said.
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Royal commentator Meredith Constant said that "seeing the Marching Bands play the anthems for both countries, which serve as a stark reminder of how intertwined the two countries are, is always moving."
Charles was also able to hold his own with Trump, she added.
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"I noticed during Trump's welcome address that even though he was standing and giving the speech, Charles commanded the space," she said. "He was seated behind Trump and looked very at ease, in his element, attending any world event with any world leader."
It reminded her that even though "his mother was the longest-serving British monarch, Charles was the longest-serving Prince of Wales and has a lot more experience than his less than three years on the job as king would suggest."
Charles addressed Congress on Tuesday and held a bilateral meeting with Trump before attending a state dinner hosted by the president at the White House.
He is expected to head to New York on Wednesday and lastly, go to Virginia for several events on Thursday.
The visit comes at a time when political tensions are high between the U.S. and U.K. due to the war in Iran.
GOP rising star demands abortion advocate name ‘favorite’ method in hearing clash
A House judiciary hearing in the House of Representatives grew tense on Tuesday when Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, pressed an American University scholar in graphic detail on which abortion procedure she would list as her favorite.
"What’s your favorite type of abortion?" Gill asked Jessica Waters, a senior scholar at the American University School of Public Affairs.
Waters, whose research focuses on "reproductive rights law," "abortion regulation," and "state control of reproductive decision-making," refused to answer.
"I’m an advocate for patients having access to the full realm of reproductive healthcare," Waters said.
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The moment — and the attention it immediately sparked online — highlights the continued priority of the abortion issue among Republican lawmakers and conservatives, and came during a hearing before the Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government.
Gill leaned into the gruesome picture often left behind by some of the procedures.
"The first kind is called a ‘suction abortion,’" Gill said.
"This is when the cervix is dilated and a strong suction, 29 times the power of a household vacuum cleaner, tears the baby’s body apart and sucks it through the hose into a container. Do you prefer that method?"
"I stand by my former testimony," Waters said.
Viewers on social media praised Gill, pointing out his resolve to hold Waters’ feet to the fire despite the terse exchange.
"This is the conversation Democrats refuse to have. It’s uncomfortable, it’s ugly, but it has to be said," Nick Craig, a political commentator from North Carolina, said in a post to X.
Derrick Evans, a former member of the West Virginia House of Representatives, highlighted the moment in a post of his own.
"Watch her squirm as he starts describing some of the abortion methods," Evans wrote.
"If you think congressional testimony is useless, just watch this masterclass," TPUSA spokesperson Andrew Kolvet said on X.
"Brilliantly done," conservative podcast host Matt Walsh wrote on X.
Despite Waters’ declining to answer his question, Gill continued to list additional abortion procedures.
"What about this one?" This one is called dilation and curettage. A sharp knife is inserted into the uterus, the baby’s body is cut into pieces and extracted often by suction. Do you prefer that method?" Gill asked.
Waters tried to divert the question.
"What I believe we are here to talk about today is the FACE Act," Waters said, referring to a piece of legislation making its way through committee.
"No, you’re a pro-abortion advocate — I’m asking you if you prefer the dilation and curettage method," Gill interjected.
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"I am an access to reproductive healthcare advocate. I would prefer to talk about the reason the committee called the hearing," Water said.
"Is it because it's uncomfortable? To talk about? It should be uncomfortable," Gill said. "I wouldn’t want to talk about this either if I were you."