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Trump endorses John James in Michigan governor race as GOP rival exits primary
President Donald Trump on Monday endorsed U.S. Rep. John James, who is running for governor in Michigan.
"It is my Great Honor to endorse America First Congressman, John James, who is running to become the next Governor of the Beautiful State of Michigan!" the president declared in part of a Truth Social post. "John James has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Governor of Michigan — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!"
James thanked Trump, calling him "The greatest President of my lifetime" in social media posts.
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After Trump issued the endorsement message on Monday, Michigan state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt dropped out of the Michigan Republican gubernatorial primary and endorsed James.
"This campaign has always been about the people of Michigan and standing with President Trump to defeat the Democrats in November. Today, I am suspending my campaign and proudly joining President Trump in endorsing John James as Michigan’s next Governor," Nesbitt declared within social media posts. "A divided primary only helps Democrats. It’s time to unite. I’m asking every one of you who supported this campaign to stand with me behind John James, roll up our sleeves, and deliver a Republican victory in November."
James responded to Nesbitt's move, asserting in part of a post on X, "When President Trump endorsed this campaign, Aric Nesbitt did exactly what a true Michigan CONSERVATIVE should do: He united behind the President and our mission to Save Michigan from the Libs and the RINOs destroying our Republic!"
FORMER DETROIT MAYOR BLOWS GOVERNOR'S RACE WIDE OPEN IN SURPRISE MOVE
Businessman Perry Johnson, who is also running in the Michigan Republican gubernatorial primary, suggested that the president had made the wrong move by backing James.
"President Trump received bad advice yet again. John James is a two-time statewide loser, and Michigan has already seen this movie before: Trump-backed statewide candidates like John James, Tudor Dixon, Matt DePerno, and Kristina Karamo all came up short when it mattered most," Johnson asserted in social media posts.
Former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, who is also running, asserted in a post on X, "Like @POTUS, I’ve won Michigan twice by building a coalition of working Michiganders who are sick of being screwed by the elites. I’m proud to have voted for President Trump in each of his last three elections, to have donated thousands of dollars to support his campaigns, and to have been hired to represent him as his election integrity lawyer in Michigan in 2024. I look forward to being President Trump’s favorite Governor when I win."
Jackie Kennedy was unimpressed by Buckingham Palace until Queen Elizabeth's advice changed everything: author
Queen Elizabeth II gave Jackie Kennedy a piece of advice that helped ease any awkwardness between the two iconic women.
The claim was made by Caroline Hallemann, author of "The Kennedys & the Windsors," which explores the two dynasties and how their paths crossed over the years. Hallemann noted that although the two women were hardly kindred spirits when they met, the monarch's words left a lasting mark on the first lady.
"There's a great quote that Queen Elizabeth allegedly said to Jackie during their 1961 meeting at Buckingham Palace," Hallemann told Fox News Digital. "Jackie had been talking about how she struggled a bit on a recent visit to Canada being in the public eye, being in the spotlight all the time."
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"The queen said, 'You learn to save yourself,'" said Hallemann. "And I think that interaction between them is quite telling because, at that moment, Jackie was still a new first lady. She was shining brightly and was making such an impact on the global stage. By contrast, Queen Elizabeth had not only been queen for several years but had known for many years that it would eventually be her future."
"And so, you learn to save yourself — this is for the long haul," Hallemann continued. "You can’t expend all that energy at once because you have to manage it. And I think that helps illustrate how the royals have managed fame."
According to Hallemann, the first lady accompanied her husband, President John F. Kennedy, to Buckingham Palace in June 1961. The visit was part of an overseas trip during which she spent time with her sister, Lee Radziwill, who lived in London with her husband, Prince Stanisław Albrecht Radziwiłł of Poland, and their infant daughter.
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While Kennedy was excited to meet the royals, she was reportedly disappointed that the palace wasn't as grand as she had hoped. In the book, Kennedy was reportedly "unimpressed by the drafty, aging building."
"You could almost imagine the wheels turning in her mind of how she would restore the White House, so that it wouldn’t disappoint visitors the way the palace had disappointed her," Hallemann wrote.
Kennedy’s friend, photographer and legendary gossip Cecil Beaton, wrote in his diaries that the first lady found the royals "tremendously kind and nice." However, "she was not impressed by the flowers, or the furnishings of the apartments at Buckingham Palace or by the queen’s dark blue tulle dress and shoulder straps, or her flat hairstyle."
Royal commentator Meredith Constant told Fox News Digital she was not surprised by the reported account.
"Like most Americans, Jackie had a much grander idea of the British monarchy in her head than the reality that was presented to her," said Constant.
"Interestingly, Jackie was at the D.C. welcome for then-Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip in 1951. Jackie was an inquiring camera girl for the Washington Times-Herald. One of the questions she reportedly asked photographers was if Princess Elizabeth was as pretty as her picture. You have to imagine she had Elizabeth and her life built up in her mind that the reality was somewhat deflating."
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There could have been another reason Kennedy was initially unimpressed. Hallemann wrote that initially, the Radziwills were excluded from the intimate visit as the couple had both been previously divorced.
"As the head of the Church of England, which frowned upon divorce and remarriage, the queen saw it as inappropriate to host the couple," Hallemann wrote. However, "eventually, after some back and forth, the queen relented."
Hallemann also wrote that Kennedy "couldn’t completely hide her disappointment with the selection of attendees present." While she was hoping to meet Princess Margaret and Princess Marina of Kent, whom the president had met when he lived in London before the war, the women weren’t in attendance.
"No Margaret, no Marina, no one except every Commonwealth minister of agriculture they could find," Kennedy reportedly told writer and "pseudo-stepbrother" Gore Vidal.
And Kennedy may have "silently and smilingly stolen the show," the book noted.
While the queen wore a voluminous gown paired with sapphires and diamonds, Kennedy wore a sleek ensemble. Her look was described as "modern and elegant," helping cement Kennedy's status as a style icon in the U.K.
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"The difference between the 'Queen of Fashion' and the Queen of England was that Jackie was brought up in a world of designers flocking to dress her," royal broadcaster Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital.
"The Queen of England wore simpler attire to reflect the period after the Second World War, when the country was still coming to terms with the cost. The queen did not want to be flamboyant. Instead, she wanted to connect with people. Elizabeth also followed the trend of army wives. Her shorter hairstyle was seen as functional by officers’ wives of the period."
Hallemann wrote that Kennedy allegedly told Vidal that while she found Prince Philip "nice but nervous," the queen was "pretty heavy-going" in being reserved and polite. When Vidal later told Princess Margaret this account, the royal retorted, "But that’s what she’s there for."
But there was one thing the women would bond over.
"Both ladies warmed to each other and bonded over their love of horses," British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard told Fox News Digital.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams agreed.
"[You have to remember], the queen and the first lady inhabited very different worlds," he said. "The Kennedys had an iconic glamour that was unique. But the queen represented an institution going back over 1,000 years. They had little in common."
But relations softened between the women due to time and tragedy. It's believed that the queen's advice on navigating fame stayed with Kennedy during the toughest moment of her life.
"Queen Elizabeth II is known to have admired Jackie’s resilience following the assassination of the president in 1963," British royal expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital. "She survived such a trauma, which would have destroyed most, with a public dignity, composure and class unmatched to this day."
"If there had been any sort of real or deep animosity, it is highly unlikely the queen would have gifted an acre of meadowland at Runnymede, legally ceded to the U.S. This was in May 1965, with Jackie and her two children standing beside the queen at the dedication."
In the book, Hallemann wrote that the queen was "shocked and horrified" by the president’s assassination and immediately reached out to the devastated first lady. She also wanted to attend Kennedy’s funeral, "but given that she was expecting, that wasn’t an option." Philip attended instead.
"The morning after [John F.] Kennedy's death, the tenor bell at Westminster Abbey tolled every minute between 11 a.m. and noon in the president's honor, and she ordered the royal court to observe a full week of mourning — a rare distinction for someone outside the royal family, and an American, no less," Hallemann wrote.
QUEEN ELIZABETH’S MOTHER WANTED HER TO MARRY ANOTHER MAN BEFORE PRINCE PHILIP: AUTHOR
During one private moment, Kennedy saw Philip playing with her son. "I’ve got one like that," he told the nanny.
Constant said that over time, the women developed a deep appreciation for one another.
"Both women discovered shared interests, but one of the biggest was projecting a particular image of their family," she said. "With President Kennedy’s assassination, Jackie became the queen of her own realm, thinking not just about the future, but how to preserve the past and the Kennedy legacy. It was a responsibility that both women took incredibly seriously."
"I think the queen grew to respect Jackie, and Jackie respected what the monarchy, or the illusion of monarchy, represented through her Camelot after Jack’s death," she added.
Charlie Kirk assassination suspect's lawyers mirror notorious killer's tactical delay strategy: fmr prosecutor
Tyler Robinson has spent over nine months dodging a plea in the Charlie Kirk assassination case, and a former federal prosecutor says he's following the same playbook as one of the most notorious murderers in recent memory with one goal in mind.
Robinson, 23, faces several charges after he allegedly shot and killed conservative icon Kirk at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025. He has yet to enter a plea, as an arraignment cannot be held until the preliminary hearing has been conducted in Utah. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 6-10.
Robinson's legal team has flooded the court with motions, successfully delaying the case at every chance they've gotten.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital that Robinson's defense is running the same playbook as one of the most notorious murderers in recent memory: Bryan Kohberger.
"Tyler Robinson hasn't entered a plea because the defense is filing a lot of pretrial motions to put the prosecution on its heels. Things like trying to disqualify the entire Utah County Attorney's Office, trying to get some of the evidence suppressed, trying to get a contempt order because the prosecutors violated the court's gag order. These are things the defense's doing to try to get the death penalty off the table," Rahmani said. "They're really taking a playbook from... how the lawyers in Idaho in the Bryan Kohberger case handled that litigation."
In Kohberger's case, he pleaded guilty in July 2025 to killing Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin on Nov. 13, 2022.
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During court proceedings for that case, Rahmani pointed out, Kohberger's defense team, led by Anne Taylor, had the strategy of "litigating everything" such as "venue, gag orders, disqualification, suppression, you name it."
WHAT WILL BE TYLER ROBINSON’S DEFENSE STRATEGY? EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON ACCUSED CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSIN
"What they want to do is file these legal motions because they know they have a better chance of arguing the law than the actual facts of this case and if they prevail on one or more of these motions or if the prosecution thinks that even if they win they may lose on appeal, because in death penalty cases, there are mandatory state and federal appeals," he said of both cases.
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Rahmani said that the strategy of filing motion after motion is also being done in hopes that prosecutors will eventually offer a plea deal.
"They're hoping that by filing motion after motion that the prosecution will offer a life without the possibility of parole deal. That of course would be something acceptable to the defense because saving Tyler Robinson's life would be a huge win," he added.
Judge Tony Graf Jr. dealt a blow to Robinson's defense on Monday, but pushed a more consequential decision to a new hearing that will be held on Friday.
Robinson's attorneys have accused prosecutors of violating a gag order in the case by discussing it outside the courtroom, and they have asked Graf to take the potential death penalty off the table as a result. Graf is expected to rule on that on Friday.
On Monday, Graf also denied a bid from Robinson's defense team to compel his former roommate and lover Lance Twiggs to testify during July's preliminary hearings.
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Prosecutors may use prerecorded testimony from Twiggs, however, in addition to other hearsay evidence during the preliminary hearing. Graf said that while the hearing is a "critical stage of the criminal process," it's not a trial.
Robinson's attorneys were attempting to block hearsay evidence, which includes prerecorded testimony from Twiggs, the medical examiner's report, federal DNA and ballistics report and more.
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One of Robinson's attorneys, Kathryn Nester, also represented Kouri Richins, who was convicted of poisoning her husband, Eric Richins, in March 2022. Richins would go on to write a children's book about grief after her husband's death.
She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in May after the trial took place in February and March.
In total, Richins' trial took place more than four years after her husband's death.
Fox News Digital's Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
As Tex-Mex chains close nationwide, Korean barbecue booms across America
As legacy Tex-Mex restaurants shutter their doors and Korean barbecue spots emerge across major American cities, an industry expert said the shift reflects changing consumer tastes rather than the decline of the cuisine.
"Tex Mex is a long-established American comfort food category — bold flavors, shareable, and often affordable or fast-casual," David Henkes, senior principal and head of strategic partnerships for Chicago-based food service consultant firm Technomic, told Fox News Digital.
"Korean barbecue is more interactive, premium-feeling and social," he went on. "It's exploding in popularity due to K-pop influence, social media shareability and demand for bold Asian flavors."
CHI-CHI'S ICONIC MEXICAN CHAIN RETURNING WITH CHIMICHANGAS, DEEP-FRIED ICE CREAM
While Korean barbecue restaurants are rapidly expanding, Henkes said the trend does not necessarily mean consumers are abandoning Tex-Mex.
"Tex-Mex has deeper penetration and mainstream roots, while Korean barbecue is probably newer and a bit trendier right now," he said.
On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina filed for bankruptcy protection last year, and Houston-based Pappas Restaurants bought the chain.
A menu overhaul and rebranding effort were not enough to revive On the Border, as Pappas recently announced that it has closed all company-owned locations, although a handful of franchises will remain open.
Meanwhile, in Portage, Michigan, south of Kalamazoo, local reports say a closed-down Moe's Southwest Grill has been replaced by K-upBop Laboratory, a Korean barbecue bowl restaurant.
Similar developments have been reported elsewhere, with new Korean barbecue concepts opening in cities ranging from Houston and San Antonio to Orlando, Tampa and Miami.
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Consumer analytics company Circana reported in 2024 that "South Korean restaurant locations in the U.S. [grew] 10% over the past year amid a surge in demand for Korean cuisine."
"The global Korean barbecue restaurant market was valued at $6.8 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $13.2 billion by 2034," according to market research firm DataIntelo.
"Korean barbecue restaurants offer a uniquely interactive and communal dining format in which diners grill marinated meats directly at their tables, creating an immersive experience that distinguishes the cuisine from conventional restaurant offerings," the firm reported.
"The format's inherent social appeal has resonated strongly with Gen Z and millennial consumers who actively seek out experience-led dining, driving footfall to Korean barbecue establishments at a rate that consistently outpaces average restaurant sector growth."
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The influence of South Korean culture on the rest of the world – known as the "Korean Wave," or "K-Wave," according to cultural experts – extends from food to films, beauty products and fashion trends.
Chains like KPOT and Hot Pot are driving the Korean barbecue trend, Henkes said.
"Still, I don't think it's a direct replacement [for Tex-Mex]," he added. "[It's] more like Korean food — and broader Asian and global concepts — are gaining ground as consumers seek novelty and experiences beyond the familiar 'big three' — Italian, Mexican, Chinese."
Henkes said the struggles of chains such as On the Border and Moe's appear to be tied more closely to company-specific, broader industry challenges than a widespread rejection of Tex-Mex food.
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"Casual dining more broadly is in a funk, and fast-casual as a segment remains the fastest-growing restaurant segment, so consumer shifts in spending continue," he said.
"We do classify chains like KPOT as full-service, but we're seeing broader strength in Asian and Mexican — which, admittedly, is a bit different from Tex-Mex, but still in the same broad genre — so it seems that both of these cuisine types remain pretty popular."
The National Restaurant Association's 2026 What's Hot Culinary Forecast reported that diners seek "comfort and nostalgia — with a twist." This means they crave food with a "global personality" and spicy, flavorful notes.
The trend may help explain why Korean barbecue and Tex-Mex can thrive simultaneously, as consumers increasingly seek familiar flavors alongside globally-inspired dining experiences.
That staying power may be one reason experts do not see Korean barbecue replacing Tex-Mex. Pew Research Center reported in 2024 that about 11% of American restaurants served Mexican food.
Trump gets major win against China in African rare earth minerals race
In what’s being hailed as a major win for the Trump administration against Chinese domination of the rare earth minerals market, the U.S. has supported an American company, Virtus Minerals, in developing two major mines producing cobalt and copper in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
This is claimed to be the first U.S. rare earth minerals acquisition in the African nation since President Trump announced the Washington Accord last December.
Historically, China has been the heavy lifter of these metals. The Strategic Studies Institute reported that 80% of the world’s cobalt is produced in the DRC — and 80% of that is controlled by China. Cobalt, used in a wide range of applications, from electric cars and mobile phones to military jets, is on the U.S. government’s list of critical minerals. Copper, also on the list, has traditional uses such as piping for plumbing, but is also needed in electronics and the automotive industry.
During December’s signing at the White House, Trump made clear the administration’s fight to curb Chinese domination of minerals and help American mining companies make a major impact in the DRC. "A great day for Africa, a great day for the world," Trump said. The accord also aims to bring an end to fighting between the DRC and Rwandan-backed forces, although the Rwandan-supported M23 rebel group have continued their hostile infiltration in the Eastern DRC.
American mining company Virtus is, with U.S. support, claiming to be "the first U.S.-owned operator back in the DRC in more than a decade", with its investment in Chemaf, a local cobalt and copper producer with two mining operations, one, Étoile, in Lubumbashi and Mutoshi, in Kolwezi. Together it’s planned the mines will produce a combined 75,000 tonnes of copper, and 20,000 tonnes of cobalt a year. The processing plants are currently under development and will come online next year.
The minerals will ultimately be exported to the west through the Lobito Corridor to a port in Angola. Lobito is the rail route the U.S. has backed with a $5 billion investment commitment, with, according to a Virtus statement, "the aim of obtaining a secure, auditable copper and cobalt supply chain for the U.S. and its allies."
THE WEST STILL DOESN’T GRASP THE DANGER OF CHINA’S RARE EARTH ENDGAME
Frans Cronje, president of the Washington-based Yorktown Foundation for Freedom, says the Virtus projects are significant because they show the administration is seriously trying to change the balance in a minerals battle with China.
He told Fox News Digital, "This development signals a more assertive United States effort to compete with China for access to Africa’s critical mineral base, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where cobalt and copper are strategically vital to global energy and defense supply chains."
Cronje added, "China has built deep structural dominance across much of Africa’s resource sector over the past two decades, but U.S.-backed initiatives such as this suggest a shift towards more direct engagement, rather than relying on Chinese-controlled supply routes. This matters because Africa’s vast resource endowment, combined with its geostrategic position along key Atlantic and Indian Ocean corridors, makes it central to future global economic and security competition."
A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "President Trump and Secretary Rubio remain firmly committed to supporting U.S. companies that seek to do business in the DRC."
"The United States government fully supports the efforts of Virtus Minerals," the spokesperson continued. "This acquisition serves as an initial flagship U.S. investment in the DRC, and sends a clear signal that the U.S. private sector interest is real and will catalyze further investment in alignment with the U.S.-DRC Strategic Partnership Agreement, which positions the DRC to play an integral role in the Trump Administration's global efforts to secure critical mineral supply chains."
The spokesperson added, "increased U.S. investment will create quality jobs for American and Congolese workers, foster skills development and support local communities that have long been exploited by the opaque systems constructed and perpetuated by adversarial foreign actors who have controlled the DRC's critical minerals sector."
Virtus holds 56 mining licenses in total in the DRC. Phillip Braun, Virtus Minerals CEO and Chemaf chairman, told Fox News Digital, "our first goal is to bring the Étoile and Mutoshi plants up to full production. From there, we will explore everything Chemaf's 56 mining permits have to offer — copper, cobalt and other metals like tungsten."
"None of this would be possible," Braun added, "without the strong partnership now growing between the United States and the DRC, and the support of leaders in both countries who saw what was possible. We look forward to bringing our two nations closer by building a steady, trusted supply of the minerals we depend on and supporting other American companies that want to invest in the DRC any way we can."
"A more active U.S. presence in these supply chains," Cronje continued, "would mark a significant rebalancing of influence on the continent, with implications not only for resource access but for broader geopolitical alignment in regions that are becoming increasingly contested."
Fox News Digital reached out to the DRC government for comment, but did not receive a response.
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MORNING GLORY: Is there anyone smart enough to put guardrails on AI?
Charles Krauthammer wrote so many extraordinary columns that to single out one as the most impactful would be presumptuous, unless qualified to be a statement of personal taste. There are probably as many most impactful of his writings as there are readers of Charles over the decades. So, this is a nomination in the category of essay most likely to recur in the mind as events march on.
The Krauthammer column that returns to my mind again and again is one he wrote for The Washington Post on December 29, 2011 and which he included in his carefully curated first collection of writings, "Things That Matter," a column under the title "Are We Alone In The Universe?"
It is a mere 15 paragraphs, which are all packed with information about physicists and astronomy, the "Fermi Paradox" and the "Drake Equation." In those 800 words Charles posed the question of why "we have found no evidence — no signals, no radio waves — that intelligent life does exist" out there somewhere in the cosmos.
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Charles references authorities such as "Carl Sagan (among others) [who] thought the answer" for the lack of ET’s outreach was "the high probability that advanced civilizations destroy themselves."
"In other words," Charles continued, "this silent universe is conveying not a flattering lesson about our uniqueness but a tragic story of our destiny."
"It is telling us," Krauthammer adds, "that intelligence may be the most cursed faculty in the entire universe — an endowment not just ultimately fatal but, on the scale of cosmic time, nearly instantly so."
Which brings us to the "AI" crisis — the artificial intelligence arms race.
AI itself informs me that "AI" entered into the lists of subjects to be discussed and debated in a structured fashion at a workshop at Dartmouth College in 1956. That is sufficiently far enough back in our ever-shortening news cycles to allow for not one but two "AI winters" — stretches of years when funding for research in the field dried up, partly out of fear and partly because profitability did not seem to around the corner.
My slippery grip on AI’s current trajectory depends upon John Ellis, whose morning newsletter "New Items" almost always includes summaries of some of the cascade of AI-related stories from around the world. Ellis edits the longer stories down to a paragraph or two, thus providing a summary that is accessible to the average news consumer and then a link to the full story for the curious.
A daily reader of "News Items" gets the same sense as that of the common dream of being behind the wheel of a speeding car that will not only not brake, but in which the accelerator is stuck on "floored."
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The Institute for Jungian Studies tells us that this is a "very common dream theme," and adds that the "message from the dream is clear: you need to slow down."
Fat chance of that when it comes to AI. There is money and power in the first to arrive at the Singularity.
Elon Musk declared on January 4 of this year: "We have entered the Singularity."
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A second Musk post followed hours later: "2026 is the year of the Singularity."
There are lots of definitions of the "Singularity," but a common, widely accepted one is the point at which AI surpasses human intelligence and can improve itself better than humans can.
Back to Krauthammer, who wanted to put some lift in the reader’s step, at least for that reader looking "to put the most hopeful face on the cosmic silence and on humanity’s own short, already baleful history with its new Promethean powers: Intelligence is a capacity so godlike, so protean that it must be contained and disciplined."
WHAT WOULD JESUS SAY ABOUT AI? ARE WE BUILDING ANOTHER GOLDEN CALF?
"Politics," Charles concluded, "is the driver of history," and politics "will determine whether we live long enough to be heard one day. Out there. By them, the few — the only — who got it right."
So it is up to us, citizens of the most powerful nation in history (as well as Xi Jinping and his minions.) Though Charles Krauthammer penned those words 15 years ago he was speaking to every crisis of the past, present and future. He was not musing on "AI" but rather on our collective capacity to reason together. His words from then illuminate the current debate on this most pressing topic.
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The "singularity," the "rise of the machines," big data controlling the battlefield in both the Russo-Ukraine War and our battle with Iran — all these phrases and facts dot-dash-dot out the same imperative: Get a grip on the wheel of "AI" or give yourselves over to a nightmare that doesn’t end well, and not just for us, but our children and grandchildren.
It seems destined to end in the silent cosmos with the most recent contender to survive lost in infinity of time and space. That’s not inevitable. Only extremely probable. The end of humanity doesn’t particularly disturb those with a certain religious conviction about God. There is a "plan" that believers hold to no matter what comes our way.
Even those profoundly confident of God’s infinite goodness must still ask what does God expect of mere mortals staring at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?
The answer: Don’t go there.
Hugh Hewitt is a Fox News contributor and host of "The Hugh Hewitt Show" heard weekday afternoons from 3 PM to 6 PM ET on the Salem Radio Network, and simulcast on Salem News Channel. Hugh drives Americans home on the East Coast and to lunch on the West Coast on over 400 affiliates nationwide, and on all the streaming platforms where SNC can be seen. He is a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel’s news roundtable, hosted by Bret Baier weekdays at 6pm ET. A son of Ohio and a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, Hewitt has been a Professor of Law at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law since 1996 where he teaches Constitutional Law. Hewitt launched his eponymous radio show from Los Angeles in 1990. Hewitt has frequently appeared on every major national news television network, hosted television shows for PBS and MSNBC, written for every major American paper, has authored a dozen books and moderated a score of Republican candidate debates, most recently the November 2023 Republican presidential debate in Miami and four Republican presidential debates in the 2015-16 cycle. Hewitt focuses his radio show and his column on the Constitution, national security, American politics and the Cleveland Browns and Guardians. Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump over his 40 years in broadcasting. This column previews the lead story that will drive his radio/ TV show today.
A tale of two parties: Trump, Mamdani put political clout on the line as four states hold primaries
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump are not on the ballot, but their sway over the Democratic and Republican parties will be tested Tuesday as New York, Maryland, Utah, and South Carolina hold primary elections and runoffs.
Trump, seemingly aiming to hedge his bets, made an 11th hour endorsement ahead of the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial runoff and is now backing both candidates in the showdown to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Henry McMaster.
Meanwhile, Mamdani is testing the limits of political power as he takes on the party establishment one year after sending political shock waves across the country with his New York City Democratic primary victory en route to winning election as mayor of the nation's most populous city.
The 34-year-old socialist mayor is backing a slate of candidates in the primary, including a trio of left-wing congressional contenders who are taking on the Democratic Party's old guard.
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At the top of this list is political organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier, the Mamdani-backed primary challenger taking on Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair, in New York’s 13th U.S. House District, which covers the northern third of Manhattan and a sliver of the Bronx. Chevalier, 32, says a victory on Tuesday could be the "domino" that falls and builds a "socialist power" nationwide.
The 71-year-old Espaillat, who has been in Congress for a decade, is supported by a slew of party leaders, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The mayor is also backing former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who ran against Mamdani last year in the crowded primary field but became one of his biggest backers. Lander is challenging incumbent Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman in the 10th Congressional District, which includes Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn. Goldman's supporters include former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
And in New York’s 7th, which covers parts of Brooklyn and Queens, Mamdani'endorsed state Assembly Member Claire Valdez, who is battling Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, who is backed by retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez.
Along with the mayor, Valdez and Avila Chevalier are also members of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Valdez has said voters are looking for Democratic candidates with moral clarity on Israel, and the three congressional primary races have focused in part on anti-Israel sentiment, with Mamdani recently referring to AIPAC, a top pro-Israel lobbying group, as "monsters."
"This is the team. This is our year. It’s up to all of us to get them over the finish line," Mamdani emphasized in a social media post ahead of a rally last week with the three candidates and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the longtime progressive champion and two-time Democratic presidential nominee runner-up.
And at the rally, Mamdani emphasized that the Democratic Party "must change."
'FULL-BLOWN BATTLE' BREWING IN DEM PARTY AS MAMDANI-STYLE CANDIDATES RISE IN KEY RACES
It's a risky bet for the mayor, which could end with Mamdani being crowned a kingmaker, or weakening his political powers.
The socialist has been a darling of the far left for a year and a half. But six months into his tenure as New York City mayor, he can also count former critics within the Democratic Party, including Hochul, as allies. And he's even earned praise from Trump.
Trump last year repeatedly claimed Mamdani was a "communist lunatic," but during an Oval Office meeting in November that grabbed plenty of national attention, the president lauded Mamdani as a "very rational person" who would do a "really good job."
Longtime Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo told Fox News Digital, "It's crystal clear that Mamdani understands power and how to leverage it."
"He remains incredibly popular, and it appears he also understands that may not always be the case. That's why I think you see him flexing his political muscle now. It's smart politics," added Caiazzo, a veteran of the 2016 and 2020 Sanders presidential campaigns.
The candidates Mamdani's backing, including some running for state legislative offices, are mostly showcasing the mayor's platform of focusing on affordability in a city with one of the nation's highest costs of living.
Mamdani's support for the trio of congressional candidates, along with Thursday's rally with Sanders, gives Republicans, who have long cast the mayor as a radical, more ammunition to use him as a cudgel as they work to hold their razor-thin House majority in this year's midterm elections.
"Zohran Mamdani’s socialist brand is as toxic as it comes," National Republican Congressional Committee National Press Secretary Mike Marinella told Fox News Digital.
"And during a time when Democrats don’t have a leader or a message, he’s exactly the kind of bogeyman we can use against Democrats to truly show who is leading their party and the crazy policies they all support."
In South Carolina, Trump on Friday took to social media to say that he was supporting longtime state Attorney General Alan Wilson as well as Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette in the battle for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.
"I can’t hurt one of them by only Endorsing the other, so, therefore, I am going to Endorse, for Governor of South Carolina, both Pam Evette and Alan Wilson!" Trump wrote, adding: "With either one you can’t go wrong."
The endorsement of Wilson appeared to be a move by Trump to cover his bases, because Trump was already backing Evette, who is also supported by McMaster, a longtime top ally of the president.
The South Carolina runoff had been viewed as the latest test of Trump's immense grip over the GOP and the power of his endorsements in Republican nominating contests.
And his decision to back both Evette and Wilson wasn't the first time he's made dual endorsements in the same Republican race. Most famously, Trump endorsed "ERIC" in the 2022 GOP Senate primary in Missouri, where the two major candidates were Eric Schmitt and Eric Greitens. Both candidates claimed the endorsement, with Schmitt ultimately winning the nomination.
In South Carolina, Trump endorsed Evette late last month, a week and a half before the gubernatorial primary.
Evette finished on top of a crowded field of contenders in the primary election, with Wilson second. The field also included Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, and multimillionaire businessman Rom Reddy. Since no candidate won a majority of the vote, as the top two finishers, Evette and Wilson advanced to the June 23 runoff.
Mace and Norman endorsed Wilson after failing to advance to the runoff. And Wilson was also backed — and joined on the campaign trail on the eve of the runoff by Sen. Ted Cruz, the conservative firebrand from Texas.
Mace, reacting to Trump's endorsement of both Evette and Wilson, wrote on social media, "LMAO," which is a common abbreviation for the phrase "laughing my a– off."
The runoff between Evette and Wilson turned combustible, and in last week's final debate, both candidates launched personal attacks and accused each other of lying and misrepresenting their records.
Wilson worked to contrast his tenure as attorney general with what he's argued is Evette’s largely ceremonial role as lieutenant governor. And he has spotlighted his experience as a combat veteran, prosecutor, and the state’s top law enforcement official.
Evette showcased herself as an outsider and a Trump-endorsed businesswoman, while casting Wilson as a career politician.
The power of the president's endorsement is also on the line in upstate New York, in the race to succeed retiring Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik.
Trump is backing first-time candidate Anthony Constantino, a businessman and former boxer, who is facing off against Robert Smullen, a retired Marine Corps colonel and New York assemblyman who has the backing of the state party.
Also on the primary ballot
Incumbent Rep. Jerry Nadler's decision to retire left his Manhattan district open for the first time since he was elected in 1992. Notable Democratic candidates in this crowded field include New York Assembly members Alex Bores and Micah Lasher, the late President John F. Kennedy's grandson Jack Schlossberg, and former conservative lawyer and onetime anti-Trump Republican George Conway. Nadler endorsed Lasher — a former congressional staffer.
Meanwhile, five Democrats are facing off in the primary in New York's 17th Congressional District, in New York City's northern suburbs and exurbs, with the winner facing off against GOP Rep. Mike Lawler in a key general election race that is one of a couple dozen that will decide if Republicans hold their razor-thin House majority.
In Utah, voters will nominate candidates for Congress using a new map that created a Democratic-friendly district in Salt Lake City, which upended reelection plans of the state’s all-Republican delegation.
And in Maryland, Democratic Gov. Wes Moore faces a longshot primary challenger as he runs for re-election amid speculation that he also has his eye on a potential 2028 presidential campaign.
Fox News' Sally Persons and the Associated Press contributed to this report
The Founding Fathers would sound the alarm on AOC, Mamdani and our slide into socialism
As a dramatically and shockingly decreased number of our fellow Americans prepare to celebrate the 4th of July and the 250th anniversary of the Republic created via the genius, courage and tremendous sacrifice of the likes of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, I believe there is no mystery as to what those Founding Fathers would say to the citizens of "The United States of America" of 2026. I truly believe they would scream out in unison: "You have all but lost the country we shed our blood, sweat and tears to create. This is your last chance to save it."
The reason as to why I believe they would scream out that warning is this: Five years ago, I began spending about one year of my life "living" in 1776. Literally, on the 4th of July 2021, I watched and heard multiple voices on the left speak about eliminating the 4th of July celebration; tearing down statues of our Founding Fathers; sandblasting their names off schools and buildings; and "canceling" their very existence.
From that fear and that year of my life came the book: The 56 – Liberty Lessons from those who risked all to sign The Declaration of Independence. A book which not only seeks to protect our Founding Fathers from cancellation, but which outlines how they would fight – and defeat – the left’s tyranny of today.
THE UNWINNABLE WAR AMERICA'S FOUNDING FATHERS FOUGHT AND WON CHANGED HUMAN HISTORY FOREVER
I believe that if Jefferson, Franklin, Adams and other Founding Fathers saw the America of 2026, they would search out the citizens who still believed in their vision and demand that we "snap out of it." They would articulate why the tyranny we face today is in many ways worse than the tyranny they fought in 1776.
Those heroic patriots would be stunned by the accession of socialist- and communist-embracing "leaders" such as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson and Maine Democratic senatorial nominee Graham Platner. Worse, they would be horrified by the results of recent polling showing that more than half of Americans under the age of 30 believe "democracy isn't essential to the country's identity."
Let that sink in for a moment. More than half of the young people who will soon take control of the reins of our nation don’t believe the foundational Tenet pushed by Jefferson, Franklin and Adams is essential. While chilling to so many of us, there is no doubt that a United States under socialist or even communist governance is a growing aspiration for the millions of our fellow citizens under the nation-destroying spell of AOC, Mamdani and Platner.
If our Founding Fathers could see the United States of 2026, they would be sickened by the realization that after the political assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, many of our fellow Americans from literally every walk of life either cheered that murder or rationalized it. More depressingly, they would learn of multiple polls showing an increasing number of Americans sanctioning the murder of political or business leaders they oppose.
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"How," those Founding Fathers might ask, "did the nation we created turn into such a cauldron of hate spiced with totalitarian dictates?" But I believe those men would just as quickly come to the conclusion: "All is not lost."
They would rightfully remind us that unless those bent on anarchism and totalitarianism imprison us or take our lives, they cannot take our voices. They cannot silence us.
We must now speak to the greatness of the Republic created by Jefferson, Franklin and Adams. We must speak to each other about why the values passed down from our Founding Fathers are so important. We need to remind ourselves why the rule of law matters and why believing in something larger than ourselves makes us a better people.
THE AMERICAN DREAM ISN’T DEAD, BUT EACH ONE OF US NEEDS TO HELP IT TO THRIVE
I have no doubt that if those who created our nation could address those on the left seeking to cancel them, they would deliver one simple message: "If our history is bad, let us condemn it and learn from it. If it is good, let us praise it and build upon it. But let us never ever cancel our shared American history."
To the rest of us, I believe our Founding Fathers would remind us of the line spoken by Benjamin Franklin when asked if our new nation was a monarchy or a republic? He immediately replied: "A Republic, if you can keep it."
Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams would tell us that to reverse such a destructive slide, we must first acknowledge its existence, its severity and how widespread it has become. Next, they would say that we must act. We must ring the alarm. They would remind us that starting around 1772, they created "Committees of Correspondence" to spread the word of the tyranny of the British crown.
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Our Founding Fathers would point out that 138 years after they created the "Committees of Correspondence," Teddy Roosevelt gave a speech at the Sorbonne in Paris titled: "Citizenship in a Republic." Remarks which became known as "The Man in the Arena." In the body of the speech, Roosevelt stressed what our Founding Fathers deeply believed:
"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood…who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
Jefferson, Franklin and Adams might look at the United States of 2026 accelerating toward a socialist future being pushed by the likes of AOC, Mamdani and Platner and tell us that we have arrived at the crossroads of "victory" or "defeat." That it is our turn to step up.
On this, the 250th anniversary of the greatest nation ever created, which road will we choose to walk? That blazed by our Founding Fathers, or the one which has led to the destruction of multiple nations in the past?
God bless the United States of America. A republic if we can keep it.
LIZ PEEK: The left says the American Dream is dead, but millions prove otherwise
On July 4th, Americans will celebrate the 250th birthday of our great nation. For two-and-a-half centuries, the United States has been a beacon to people everywhere seeking freedom – of religion, speech, assembly and others enumerated in the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to our Constitution.
The allure of America, and those promised rights, has never faded. Our country attracts millions of people each year who hope to live under that umbrella of freedom, and who want a shot at the American Dream.
What is the American Dream? The term was first coined in 1931 by historian James Truslow Adams, who wrote in his book "The Epic of America" about a society in which each person, no matter their parentage or origin, is free to pursue their dreams and ambitions, bound only by their own capabilities. That promise, articulated at the height of the Great Depression, when faith in the country was at rock bottom, was as true and uplifting then as it is now.
I have met hundreds of people who embody that promise: a cab driver from Egypt who arrived penniless in our country, but whose son is getting a master’s degree in engineering, or our doorman from China who barely speaks English, but whose daughter just became a doctor. I’ve talked to new immigrants from Cuba and Yemen and other repressive nations who delight in their newfound freedom, and who cannot understand how so many Americans don’t value the opportunities offered by our country.
AMERICA 250 EVENTS TAKING PLACE THIS SUMMER CALLED 'ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME' TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES
Those (mostly young) people have been persuaded by politicians on the left that the American Dream is dead. Progressive Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and his ideological sidekicks would have you believe that it is impossible to get ahead in the U.S. because the deck is stacked against you. On his 2025 "Oligarchy Tour," Bernie claimed the American Dream has "turned into a nightmare" and that "billionaires have rigged the system to avoid being accountable to us."
Democratic Socialist New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, accompanying Bernie on the stump, goes to the same dark place, telling audiences that the "right wing's entire political agenda …[involves] a politics that involves lying to and screwing over working and middle class Americans so that they can steal from our healthcare, Social Security, and veterans' benefits to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest and bailouts for their crypto billionaire friends."
Bernie and his cynical followers are having an impact. A recent Gallup poll commissioned by the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream found only 46% of Americans either "strongly agree" or "somewhat agree" with the idea that "everyone in this country has the opportunity to achieve the American Dream," down from 51% in 2024.
AOC’S BILLIONAIRE ATTACK SELLS GEN Z A SMALLER, SADDER AMERICAN DREAM
This is tragic, because it is that sense of boundless opportunity that has inspired the great entrepreneurs and innovations that continue to put the United States ahead of other countries. Elon Musk came to the United States from his native South Africa, by way of Canada, because he saw this country as the best place to build an electric vehicle business, and to reimagine space travel.
Sergey Mikhailovich Brin, co-founder of Google, came to the U.S. at the age of 6 from Russia because his father, a mathematics professor, feared growing antisemitism there. Sergey, who went to a public high school and then to the University of Maryland, is now an extremely wealthy man, having helped build the world’s foremost search engine.
There are countless examples of people with extraordinary talents coming to the U.S. with empty pockets and climbing to greatness. But there are also many, many ordinary people in our country who work hard to educate their children and to provide for their families and who also achieve the American Dream. Some of those inspiring stories are being published each day in the New York Post, at the behest of the Milken Institute.
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One remarkable story comes from a Hasbro executive, Matt Proulx, who was one of 13 kids, 11 of whom were adopted. His parents took in foster children – 250 over the years – many of whom were rescued from dire situations. His folks, even as his dad was dying, adopted three more children who were about to be split up and sent to different families; according to Matt, despite their rough childhood, "they’re actually thriving." As to the American Dream? "I live it every day. I literally had nothing. Came from dirt … but the house was always full of love."
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Does everyone have a shot at the Dream? Not entirely. If education is critical to unleashing the power of every individual, the failures of our schools gravely restrict the goal of universal opportunity. When more than half of Black kids in New York don’t learn how to read, that group will struggle to access the American Dream. Such shortcomings should cause universal outrage, but Democrat politicians sacrifice the wellbeing of – especially – minority kids they claim to care about in exchange for tens of millions of campaign dollars every year. Shame on them.
Why does the left want to undermine confidence in the American Dream? Because they want power, and they know that building and then overseeing a giant welfare state catering to those who have given up, grants them power. A nation of self-directed, independent and successful people will not turn to Bernie Sanders or the government for help, but a nation of people without hope will be content to feed at the trough of Uncle Sam.
Will the United States endure for another 250 years? Only if we fight for our nation’s original compact, where everyone works hard, helps grow the economy and supplies the funds to support those who legitimately cannot provide for themselves, whom former President Ronald Reagan called "the truly needy."
As we celebrate America’s birth with fireworks and bike parades, let us celebrate the values that have made her the envy of the world and that will guarantee her future, for another 250 years.