President-elect Donald Trump made a campaign promise to pardon people implicated in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, The Hill reported. With Trump's decisive win on Election Day, these defendants are eager to see him fulfill that promise.
At least 1,500 people were charged in the unrest at the Capitol while protesting the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Of those, 143 were put on house arrest, while another 645 were sent to prison.
At a rally in Wisconsin on Sept. 7, Trump promised that he would "rapidly review the cases of every political prisoner unjustly victimized" by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris' regime. "And I will sign their pardons on day one, I will sign it on day one," he added.
After the unrest at the Capitol, President Joe Biden's Justice Department launched a crusade against these ordinary Americans caught up in the protest. The agency spent years and wasted resources in what The Hill called "the largest and most complex prosecutions in the agency’s history."
The DOJ claimed that hundreds of people involved that day were insurrectionists and the worst kind of criminals, regardless of the nature of the activity they engaged in. Now, they're hoping Trump makes good on the promise to free them, as Democrats will surely object.
One of those protesters included Jenny Cudd, who received two months of probation after being convicted for entering and wandering around the government building. Cudd was a business owner who helped her community, but was hunted down by the government.
Following Trump's decisive victory, Cudd took to X, formerly Twitter, to express her hopes. "It means the world to all of us J6ers to know that what we did was not in vain — and all of the pain and suffering and the families torn apart and the lives destroyed was not done in vain," Cudd said.
"And we’re all really excited that we’re about to get presidential pardons," she added. While some of those prosecuted were part of so-called extremist groups, many were people like Cudd who just wanted their voices heard.
The riot on Jan. 6 was not a productive way to protest and shouldn't have unfolded as it did. However, the ugliest part of the day was what Democrats like former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi attempted to do with it.
According to CNN, footage of Pelosi that day showed that she was bent on pinning the entire situation on Trump. While her senior aide bounced off ideas for a speech for her, Pelosi stopped him when she included a call for Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund to resign.
"I think our focus has to be on the president. Let’s not divert ourselves," Pelosi said. It was only two days later that Pelosi opened an impeachment inquiry against Trump, The New York Times reported at the time.
"The actions taken to date by the president have seriously violated the Constitution," Pelosi said of Trump. She claimed that he "must be held accountable — no one is above the law."
The incident on Jan. 6 was not one of the nation's best days. However, the fact that the government has doggedly pursued the people involved in minor infractions while pinning an entire insurrection narrative on Trump is disgraceful. These people deserve to have their cases reviewed for pardon, even if it makes the Democrats go insane.
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (R-HI) said she was happy to "play a small part" in helping former President Donald Trump get elected president this week, Breitbart reported. Gabbard, previously a Democrat, became a Republican in October and joined Trump on the campaign trail.
During the 2020 presidential election, Gabbard ran as a Democrat against the crowded field. By August of this year, she endorsed Trump as a president who didn't "start any new wars" and "took action to de-escalate and prevent wars."
On Wednesday, Gabbard gushed about her experience campaigning with Trump. She accompanied the heartfelt words on her post to X, formerly Twitter, with a photo of the two smiling together at one of his rallies.
I offer my heartfelt thanks and aloha to President Donald Trump for allowing me to play a small part in his victorious campaign to Make America Great Again. It has been a great honor and privilege to get to know @realDonaldTrump, a kind and courageous person who sincerely desires… pic.twitter.com/mI3JYB5AC8
— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) November 6, 2024
Gabbard thanked the president-elect for the opportunity to help him on his way to victory. "I offer my heartfelt thanks and aloha to President Donald Trump for allowing me to play a small part in his victorious campaign to Make America Great Again," she began in her post.
"It has been a great honor and privilege to get to know @realDonaldTrump, a kind and courageous person who sincerely desires the best for the American people — and indeed for all the people in the world. It is my great hope that the American people will loudly condemn any efforts by those who did everything they could to sabotage his previous presidency to try and do it again," Gabbard added.
In October, Fox News reported that Gabbard had joined Trump on stage in Greensboro, North Carolina, to cement her link to Trump and the GOP. "I'm proud to stand here with you today, President Trump, and announce that I'm joining the Republican Party," she announced from the stage.
"I am joining the party of the people," she added. Perhaps Tulsi's decision to make that announcement in the swing state helped push Trump over the edge.
As of Thursday evening, the New York Times reported that Trump won North Carolina by 200,000 votes. Having a former Democrat switch parties and endorse him was potentially a powerful deciding factor for many voters.
Although the 2024 election was Gabbard's first time officially campaigning for Trump, she indirectly helped him eventually beat Vice President Kamala Harris by reminding the public of her record during the Democratic primary of 2020. Gabbard went after Harris and effectively ended her first presidential run, which almost certainly impacted her second as Harris was shown to be dishonest.
While debating Harris, Gabbard delivered what would be the kill shot to the then-senator's presidential hopes. "Senator Harris says she’s proud of her record as a prosecutor and that she’ll be a prosecutor president," Gabbard began, according to CNN.
"But I’m deeply concerned about this record. There are too many examples to cite, but she put over 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it when she was asked if she ever smoked marijuana," the then-Democratic senator went on.
“She blocked evidence – she blocked evidence that would have freed an innocent man from death row until the courts forced her to do so. She kept people in prison beyond their sentences to use them as cheap labor for the state of California," Gabbard charged.
There's no doubt that Gabbard's remarks about Harris reverberated through to the 2024 campaign. Now, she gets to bask in the afterglow of a Trump victory that was made possible in part to her help.
Attorneys for Sean "Diddy" Combs requested a gag order on a witness who claims there is video evidence of the rapper "victimizing" eight of his A-list friends, including two who were "underage," The Blast reported. The artist and producer is on trial for sex trafficking and other crimes.
Combs and his attorneys attempted to prevent witnesses from speaking about their testimony and evidence outside of the courtroom. One of those witnesses was longtime friend and Alter Ego Records CEO Courtney Burgess.
He has been sharing with the press about evidence and testimony, including that he has knowledge of video evidence of Combs' alleged crimes possibly involving minors. Burgess claims to either possess or have seen the footage on flash drives that Combs' girlfriend, Kim Porter, provided.
The footage was allegedly taken from hidden cameras in the home. Attorneys for Combs have dismissed these allegations as nothing more than an "extortion scam," and are seeking to shut down these discussions with a court order.
Burgess has been asked to turn over any video or photographic evidence to the grand jury. He has shared that the footage he received from Porter, with whom Combs shares four children, includes two male celebrities who "underage" at the time of the filming being victimized.
Disturbingly, these videos also purportedly show that the people were acting impaired, as if drugged or drunk, while engaged in the activity. Burgess claims that Combs, who has has known for more than 30 years, wasn't always like this.
"At the time, I guess he was ambitious. Then from ambitious [he] went to doing anything And then [he] from doing anything to didn't care about nobody - who he could beat," Burgess said of his longtime friend.
"And then he ended up turning into Lucifer. And today, I'm looking at him - I know you all call him Diddy or Puffy - I call him Lucifer," Burgess added.
Combs is currently behind bars at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. He is facing charges such as racketeering, transportation to engage in prostitution, and disturbing allegations of sex trafficking.
The latest attempt at a gag order comes after another request was denied late last month, USA Today reported. One of the arguments came from an attorney for one of Combs' alleged victims.
Lawyer Douglas Wigdor argued that his client, Cassie Ventura, had a right to speak about her experience as a victim. Ventura has already settled her lawsuit over abuse, rape, and sex trafficking at the hands of Combs last year.
The attorney said that a gag order "inappropriately silence victims who are proactively seeking justice through the civil justice system." Wigdor also believes that Ventura has a right to rebut statements made about her in the press.
"The relief Mr. Combs seeks is particularly inappropriate given that his family and representatives have themselves made extrajudicial statements to garner the exact attention he claims he wants to diminish. These survivors and their attorneys should not be silenced and prevented from pursuing their claims publicly, or from speaking their truth, during the pendency of Mr. Combs’s criminal case," Wigdor added.
Combs' alleged victims deserve to have their say, especially if their names are being dragged in the press. The music mogul has a mounting list of allegations against him, and these feeble attempts to silence alleged victims will do nothing to help Combs in the end.
Hunter Biden complained about his massive legal bills at a high-end Hollywood party last week, Page Six reported. One guest overheard President Joe Biden's son lament that he has "$18 million in legal bills" and "cases hanging over my head."
The younger Biden has been rubbing elbows with the rich and fabulous in Los Angeles at cocktail parties. It turns out his favorite topic of discussion is his legal woes, which have turned into a financial nightmare.
The president's son was convicted of tax evasion to the tune of $1.4 million in September. He is awaiting sentencing, which should come in the next two months.
Meanwhile, Hunter Biden has also had to defend himself against federal weapons and drug charges after a bitter divorce and custody dispute. The financial fallout seems to be the only thing the 54-year-old wants to discuss now.
Hunter Biden has been sharing his complaints with A-listers in Los Angeles. "Hunter Biden was trying to explain his history and problems to guests at a party in LA," a source close to the matter shared with the gossip section of the New York Post.
"'I have $18 million in legal bills, and… my cases hanging over my head.’ He also talked a lot about his Ukraine and Russia connections saying, ‘all these stories were set-ups,'" the unnamed guest shared about Hunter Biden's choice of party chatter.
Even as he spews these complaints about a situation of his own making, Hunter Biden has become a fixture at such parties. "Oy vey, he’s become a very popular guest in the super-rich Hollywood cocktail party circuit where hosts are happy to have President Biden’s son in the room," the source said.
Until recently, entertainment attorney Kevin Morris was bankrolling Hunter Biden's defense. However, a person close to the matter told Politico in May that Morris has nothing left to lend the younger Biden now.
"The reason Kevin got involved financially in the first place was that he could see that no one was going to help Hunter. Now, four and a half years later, there’s still no help — and now Kevin is completely tapped out. So just when Hunter is facing two criminal trials starting in a few weeks, he has no resources. It’s pretty dire," the source said.
Although Morris can no longer help Hunter Biden, it seems he's not without assistance from a surprising ally. After President Biden had sworn not to pardon his son, former President Donald Trump said he was open to the idea if he should win on Election Day.
"I wouldn't take it off the books. See, unlike Joe Biden, despite what they've done to me, where they've gone after me so viciously ... And Hunter's a bad boy," Trump said late last month when asked about the possibility.
"There's no question about it. He's been a bad boy. But I happen to think it's very bad for our country," Trump said of jailing Hunter Biden.
With Joe Biden leaving office in a little more than two months, Hunter Biden will be without the protection of his father's powerful position. His legal and financial woes could just be beginning, but Trump's generosity may be the thing that saves him from what his Hollywood friends can't.
When hurricanes Helene and Milton hit Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee in recent weeks, Republicans worried that the dismal conditions would keep voters from getting to the polls.
But the larger impact of the hurricanes on the latest jobs report may be much worse for Democrats than any loss of votes from the residual hurricane damage, and former President Donald Trump was quick to label the economy "a disaster" based on the terrible numbers.
Only 12,000 jobs were created in October, far lower than the 100,000 expected by experts and the lowest in four years. Besides the hurricanes, the port strike and other labor problems are being blamed.
“What timing, four days before the election, they have among the worst numbers ever in history,” Trump said. “It is hundreds of thousands of jobs less than it should be.”
“I stand here as the only candidate who can rescue our economy from total obliteration,” he said at the rally. “The economy is now a disaster.”
Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said right away that "this jobs report is a catastrophe and definitively reveals how badly Kamala Harris broke our economy."
"Working families are being ripped off by the Harris-Biden economic agenda. Kamala broke the economy. President Trump will fix it," Leavitt claimed.
He and Democrat nominee Vice President Kamala Harris both held rallies in Milwaukee County on Friday. Both reportedly drew about 12,000 attendees, although Harris had to feature rapper CardiB in order to get that many people to come.
Many attendees at Trump's rally wore garbageman outfits in reaction to a comment from President Joe Biden that Trump supporters are "garbage."
“I don’t want your money. I want your damn vote,” Trump said during the rally. “The fate of the nation is in your hands.”
The stock market didn't react to the lower numbers, which bolsters the claims that it was an artificially low number for the reasons given above.
But Trump used it to drive home his point that his opponent and her administration have not done a good job on the economy, which is true even if the number is temporary.
Unemployment was the same at 4.1% despite the low job numbers.
Polling indicates that Tuesday's race is on a knife's edge, with Trump ahead by less than 1 point in many crucial swing states.
With just days to go before the Nov. 5 presidential election, the world is watching and waiting with great anticipation, knowing that the eventual winner could reshape America's approach to global affairs.
As the Washington Post explains, government officials across Europe are carefully monitoring the trajectory of the race, declaring their preparedness in the event of a victory for former President Donald Trump.
With Trump having already served four years in the Oval Office, European leaders have suggested that they already have a general sense of what to expect should he secure another term.
According to the Post, policymakers abroad “know the diplomatic dance required, and they are crafting various contingency plans on security and trade.”
Even so, the outlet adds, many on the continent and elsewhere remain worried about Trump's positions on NATO, the potential imposition of stiff tariffs, and a potential American withdrawal from the Paris climate accords.
Adding to the concerns of some in Europe, is a marked lack of cohesiveness and stability among leaders of several key countries, a contrast to Trump's first term, when then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel held sway.
A politically weak Emmanuel Macron in France, the coalition fractures experienced by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and the swift decline in domestic popularity suffered by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are all factors that could hinder a unified approach to a Trump presidency, the Post says.
While much of the discussion in Europe has centered on a potential Trump return, the prospect of a Kamala Harris presidency has also triggered notable uncertainty among some officials.
Though Harris has characterized NATO and American obligations to it as “ironclad,” some European leaders have their doubts, speculating that her potential administration would turn more of its focus toward Asia.
Notable to many, according to the Post, is the fact that Harris' national security advisor, while voicing support for ongoing support for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, has also called for a “more realistic” relationship between the U.S and its European allies.
The bottom line, according to Michael Stempfle of the German Defense Ministry, is that leaders are “not sitting here like a rabbit caught in headlights” and that preparations are underway for whichever presidential candidate prevails next week.
Increasingly, however, it appears that many are anticipating a Trump win, with European Union officials working on potential retaliatory tariff actions, negotiation approaches, and offers to increase American imports during his tenure.
Perhaps most anxious about the American election outcome, however, are the leaders of Ukraine, who have relied on the Biden administration's seemingly unending willingness to write checks in support of the continued conflict with Russia, particularly given Trump's emphasis on ending the war swiftly through negotiated settlement, as the Guardian reports.
A senior government official inside the Ukrainian government said, “We are worried about Trump,” and given that President Volodymyr Zelensky sat for a meeting with the former president in late September – well in advance of the election – it appears that he, too, is anticipating an imminent need for some adjustment in his relationship with the United States.
The Arizona Superior Court ruled that Maricopa County must provide the names of 218,000 voters who registered to vote without proof of citizenship, Just the News reported. Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes admitted that a glitch allowed for the error but was cagey about releasing a full list.
Conservative public interest group America First Legal brought the lawsuit against Fontes after he failed to furnish the list of voters affected. The organization argued that his office intentionally held back on releasing the list.
This came after a public records request was rejected, suggesting that Fontes was unwilling to share the information as required by law and necessitating further legal action. The court sided with the AFL in Thursday's ruling.
The secretary of state's office must turn over the names one day before Election Day. "Defendants shall release to Plaintiff no later than noon on Monday, November 4, 2024, any other datasets, compilation of information, lists, or communications from MVD containing personally identifying information (PII) about Affected Voters," the court said.
This case underscores an ongoing struggle for citizens who feel disenfranchised by voters on the rolls who are ineligible. James Rogers, AFL senior legal counsel, blamed Fontes for undermining trust by not doing something once he knew about the problem.
"A majority of Arizonans no longer trust the election system of our state. One of the reasons is the lack of transparency from our state’s elected officials," Rogers said in a statement following the ruling.
"When Secretary Fontes discovered the glitch that allowed 218,000 individuals to register without providing proof of citizenship, he should have immediately shared the list of affected individuals with Arizona’s county recorders, who are in charge of verifying the citizenship of voters. Instead, he has jealously guarded the list, refusing to share it with anyone," Rogers charged.
"This suit was about restoring transparency and ensuring that county recorders can do their jobs by verifying the citizenship of voters. It is unfortunate that Secretary Fontes so aggressively opposed our common-sense efforts to help restore trust in our state’s election system," Rogers added.
"This was a case we never should have needed to file," Rogers said. This glitch impacted so many registrations because the state's voting system requires proof of U.S. citizens to register to vote in Arizona elections but has no requirement for federal elections, allowing some to cast only ballots in national elections.
According to the Arizona Gazette, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer claims that despite the glitch, "the vast majority of these voters are United States citizens who can provide documented proof of citizenship." He added that citizens who lie about their eligibility are subject to perjury laws.
Still, this insistence that elections are secure and fair in the face of evidence to the contrary is what fuels suspicion. Former President Donald Trump and his supporters have been railing against this since the 2020 presidential election.
Last week, Trump pointed out that in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state, fraudulent ballots were showing up, demonstrating exactly the kind of activity that could sway an election. NBC News reported his remarks but downplayed the significance of the fraud.
"Really bad 'stuff.' WHAT IS GOING ON IN PENNSYLVANIA??? Law Enforcement must do their job, immediately!!! WOW!!!" Trump posted to his Truth Social.
The voting system needs a serious overhaul, but there's no appetite for it from the leftists who likely benefit. These ineligible people in Arizona and elsewhere should not be casting ballots in American elections.
Melania Trump said her husband from the latest onslaught of accusations that former President Donald Trump praised Adolf Hitler, USA Today reported. The former first lady said on Fox&Friends Tuesday that her husband "is not Hitler" while promoting her New York Times bestselling memoir.
The ridiculous narrative resurfaced after former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly told the media that the former president made positive remarks about Hitler and the Nazi regime while in office. Kelly revealed this only in the final days of the 2024 presidential election.
During an interview on the Fox News program, Melania Trump set the record straight as the Trump family is forced to split with the media narratives. "He’s not Hitler, and all of his supporters, [they’re] standing behind him because they want [to] see [the] country successful, and we see how — what kind of support he has," she said.
During the interview, Melania Trump countered the reports by the New York Times and The Atlantic. "He loves his country, and he wants to make it successful and to — for all of the people," the former first lady said.
"You know, he — he loves people, and he wants to make this country great again," she added. Earlier in the interview, Melania Trump said she believes her husband has a solid chance of winning on Election Day.
"I feel it's kind of the same like 2016, the support out there. It's incredible. It's just, people see what's going on in the country and what kind of leadership they want," Melania Trump said.
"They want prosperity. They want American dream coming back, so that's what we will decide on November 5th," the former first lady shared.
In the past, Melania Trump broke with the rest of the Trump family as only a background figure. However, that has changed as the 2024 presidential election draws nearer, including an appearance on behalf of her husband at his rally at Madison Square Garden this week.
The final push before Election Day has brought the left back to its trusty Trump-is-Hitler narrative. The impetus for revisiting it came from Kelly, who Donald Trump said he had fired due to incompetence, Newsweek reported.
The former president said Kelly was "the dumbest of my Military people" who was "incapable of doing a good job; it was too much for him, and I couldn't stand the guy, so I fired him like a 'dog,'" Trump said on his Truth Social last year. Perhaps this explains Kelly's sudden recollection of something Donald Trump supposedly uttered several years ago.
According to the leftist news outlets, Trump said, "I need the kind of generals that Hitler had. People who were totally loyal to him, that follow orders."
The report named Kelly as one of "two people who heard him say this." Kelly was Trump's chief of staff between 2017 and 2019 and most certainly would have an ax to grind with this former boss.
This entire controversy seems fabricated from start to finish. Nevertheless, it demonstrates that Melania Trump is a class act in the face of cruel attacks from her family's enemies.
The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled Tuesday that Hennepin County election officials unlawfully appointed election judges who review absentee ballots, KSTP-TV reported. The court sided with the GOP claim that it didn't "appoint any election judges from the Republican Party of Minnesota’s dedicated list" as the law stipulates.
The Hennepin County Absentee Ballot Board has until Nov. 1 to comply with Chief Justice Natalie E. Hudson's ruling. The board "must appoint election judges from the Republican Part List and may appoint Republican-affiliated election judges not appearing on that list only after it has exhausted the candidates on the list."
Hennepin County Elections Director Ginny Gelms claimed that they went outside of the list to find judges with experience in signature verification, CBS News reported. She believed this was in line with the aim of the statute.
"We had believed that we were doing what we were supposed to do according to the law. But I respect the Supreme Court, and we're going to do what they told us to do," Gelms promised.
Tuesday's decision was a win for the original petitioners, including the Republican Party of Minnesota, Minnesota Voters Alliance, Richard Sutter, Marlene Stoick, and Karen Attia. The legal filing, dated Oct. 15, named Gelms, Hennepin County, and county auditor Daniel Rogan.
Rogan claimed that the county had "exhausted the list" of GOP judges before appointing the ones at the center of the controversy. In a statement Tuesday, he noted that the court disagreed with the state on that point but none of the others in the complaint.
"Today, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued an order on narrow grounds, holding that Republican-affiliated election judges may not be appointed to the Hennepin County Absentee Ballot Board until Hennepin County has exhausted the Republican Party List. The Court denied all of the petitioners’ other claims for relief," Rogan said in a statement.
"Importantly, the Court recognized the county’s ballot board was operating with party balance," he added. "This year, Hennepin County cities exhausted the list and needed to recruit thousands of additional election judges who are not on the major political party list," Rogan went on.
"Based on the Supreme Court’s order, the county cannot rely on exhaustion by its cities but must contact residents on the major political party list directly. Hennepin County will send an email to individuals on the major political party list tomorrow to recruit election judges for the county absentee ballot board," Rogan's statement said.
Certifying absentee or vote-by-mail ballots has become a major issue as the method becomes more common. Matching signatures and ensuring people casting ballots can legally do so has proven difficult.
However, recent attacks on ballot drop boxes highlight another vulnerability when the election process goes beyond in-person voting. A spate of attacks on drop boxes has destroyed hundreds of votes in the Pacific Northwest, CNN reported.
Police are looking for a suspect who has set fire to a total of three boxes in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington. Some of the ballots have been recovered, while others are being sent a replacement.
@ClarkCoWA Auditor Greg Kimsey has released photos and updated information on the damaged ballots from the Oct. 28 drop box fire. Elections staff have been able to identify 488 damaged ballots retrieved from the ballot box. pic.twitter.com/53cyLFNFqK
— Clark County WA (@ClarkCoWA) October 30, 2024
With all the potential pitfalls and proven problems with absentee and vote-by-mail, it's time to reconsider whether expanding access to this type of voting was wise. Republicans notched a win in Minnesota, but it's only one of countless problems with the system.
A Democratic campaign staffer was caught on leaked video supporting open borders, Fox News reported. Kevin Oyakawa, who is working on two hotly contested campaigns this year, is heard saying, "Open the f---ing border; I don’t give a s--- who comes in here."
Democrats often attempt to sound pragmatic about illegal immigration. They typically speak about the humanitarian aspect or the morality of kicking out people in the U.S. illegally.
However, Oyakawa spilled the truth about Democrats' philosophy while speaking on a video to a volunteer. "We don’t need border patrol but, [the] issue with even talking about immigration here in Ohio is that it’s a losing issue for Democrats here, for like no f---ing reason other than people’s pure racism," Oyakawa claimed in the video.
Oyakaway is employed by the Ohio Coordinated Campaign, which aims to "re-elect [Sen.] Sherrod Brown, Congresswoman Emilia Sykes, and other down-ballot Democratic candidates." This comes as both Democrats struggle in their respective races.
Social media accounts for Oyakawa show that he has been actively canvassing for Sykes and Brown while sharing this view earlier this month. In a since-deleted post to Facebook, Oyakaway claimed he was "responsible for leading a team of field organizers on day-to-day operations of the campaign" in Summit and Stark counties in Ohio.
A photo on the page shows him with Sykes and other campaign volunteers captioned, "Just another guy who is active in the Resistance." This could not be worse for Sykes, who is struggling to retain her seat against a Republican who hammered her over illegal immigration.
While she won her first term with a comfortable five-point margin in 2022, former President Trump handily won parts of Ohio's 13th Congressional District in 2020. Her office released a statement to Fox News in the hopes of limiting the fallout.
"Congresswoman Emilia Sykes has worked to deliver increased funding to help secure our border and stop the flow of illegal drugs like fentanyl. She also cosponsored the bipartisan Dignity Act that would address border security and infrastructure, all while her opponent Kevin Coughlin uses the border to play politics," the statement said of her Republican opponent, former Ohio state Sen. Kevin. Coughlin.
Brown's campaign spokesperson, Matt Keyes, similarly downplayed Oyakawa's remarks. "While Sherrod supports the bipartisan border security bill backed by border patrol agents and has worked with both parties to secure our southern border and keep Ohioans safe from fentanyl by cracking down on the chemical suppliers in China and drug cartels in Mexico, Bernie Moreno opposes these efforts because he isn’t looking out for Ohioans," Keyes said of the Democrat's GOP opponent for U.S. Senate.
Meanwhile, Republicans are turning this issue into political gold. "Ohioans are already aware of Emilia Sykes’ dangerous open border policies, and now we see what she and her team support behind closed doors," Coughlin said.
"It’s bad enough that Ohio communities are suffering from fentanyl and crime flowing over our borders, but her team has no remorse. And she calls anyone who disagrees with her 'racist,'" Coughlin added.
"It's disgusting, and Emilia Sykes should condemn this immediately," he concluded. Reagan McCarthy, communications director for Moreno, ripped Brown similarly.
"Sherrod Brown's staff is saying the quiet part out loud: Ohio Democrats would rather keep the border open and continue to allow millions of illegals to enter our nation rather than secure the border and protect our communities," McCarthy told Fox News Digital. Brown's race with Moreno is consider a "toss-up" heading into Election Day.
Democrats dance around the issue, but it's clear from how they govern that they want unchecked illegal immigration. Unfortunately for them, Oyakawa did not have the good sense to keep that fact hidden under platitudes.