Category: USA Politics

A victim of violence inspired by a controversial far-left nonprofit told Fox News Digital he knew the man who shot-up his workplace was motivated by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) before the suspect confessed.

The SPLC has recently come under Justice Department scrutiny for allegedly funneling millions to extremist organizations that they told donors they were fighting — including funding events like KKK cross burnings and the infamous Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally in 2017.

Tony Perkins is the president of the Family Research Council (FRC), a conservative nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., that was labeled a “hate group” in 2010 by the SPLC for claims it was an anti-LGBT organization.

Just two years later, on Aug. 15, 2012, disaster struck.

Perkins was in a meeting when the building’s security system was triggered.

FOCUS ON THE FAMILY’S JIM DALY REJECTS SPLC ‘HATE GROUP’ LABEL: ‘THIS ISN’T HATE, IT’S THE LOVE OF CHRIST’

“The doors closed on our floor, and I heard some commotion, and so I ran out to see what it was, and was told that there was a shooting downstairs,” he recalled of the horrific incident in an interview with Fox News Digital.

He ran down the stairs into the lobby, and saw the carnage.

“By the time I got down there, the police had arrived, and so we saw Leo Johnson, who was our building manager, who was in a pool of blood,” said Perkins.

HOSTILITY AGAINST CHURCHES A ‘GROWING TREND,’ AS STUDY FINDS HUNDREDS OF ATTACKS ON U.S. CHURCHES IN 2024

Johnson had been shot by Floyd Lee Corkins II, then 28, who pulled a gun out of his bag upon entering the building. He got past security by telling them he was interviewing for a position as an intern. Corkins was also found in possession of two fully loaded 15-round magazines, a box of .9mm ammunition and 15 Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches.

The sandwiches were meant to be smeared on the faces of his victims, as Corkins also believed the Christian-owned restaurant chain was anti-gay.

“It was a shocking day for our staff, especially — there was glass and blood and bullet holes in our lobby,” said Perkins, who is also a pastor and former police officer.

POLITICAL VIOLENCE ON THE RISE. IS IT TIME FOR A NEW DOMESTIC TERRORISM LAW?

He said he never expected to see anything like that again after he finished his career in law enforcement.

Corkins was taken into federal custody immediately after the attack and charged with committing an act of terrorism while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed and interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition.

He is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to the charges in 2013.

In an interrogation video later released by FRC, investigators asked how the group came to be his target.

DOJ SAYS SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER FUNNELED $3M+ TO WHITE SUPREMACIST AND EXTREMIST GROUPS

“It was, uh — Southern Poverty Law lists, uh anti-gay groups,” Corkins said. “I found them online. I did a little bit of research, went to the website, stuff like that.”

The SPLC was recently indicted for allegedly funneling $4 million donor dollars into shell companies to fund extremist organizations they claimed they were fighting.

MIKE DAVIS: SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER: A TALE OF A RACISM SCAM

Perkins said the SPLC once legitimately fought groups like the KKK, but that they saw their business “drying up” in the 1980s and 1990s. So, according to Perkins, the group had to find a way to keep its legacy of fighting white supremacy alive.

“I think they began to peddle that legacy to those on the left … in particular, beginning around 2010, 2012, when there was a big effort to redefine marriage,” Perkins said. “They wanted to leverage that to help the left by going after conservative groups that were standing in the way, but they needed to hold on to those white supremacist extremist groups, to pin the conservative and Christian groups next to.”

Perkins believes that there wasn’t much of a white supremacy problem, but that it was politically expedient for the SPLC to pretend that there was.

FIRST ON FOX: SPLC’S LEGAL WOES GROW AS JIM JORDAN FIRES LATEST SALVO AT LEFT-WING GROUP

“It was like they were fattening them up, keeping them alive so that they could use them for their bigger political purpose, and that was to be able to help the left advance their agenda by marginalizing and silencing conservative groups,” he said.

Perkins told Fox News Digital he does not want the federal government to shut the SPLC down, but he hopes they’ll be forced to pay restitution for the harm he says they’ve caused.

FRC has had to pay $8 million out of pocket just for heightened security since the day of the shooting.

“So yes, they’re sitting on $750 million. Part of what I hope the government, the federal government, the courts get to is making them pay restitution to their victims.”

The SPLC did not return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

President Donald Trump wants Republicans to include his long-sought voter ID and citizenship verification legislation into a party-line package, but even the bill’s strongest backers don’t think it’s possible. 

Trump last week demanded that Republicans get to work on a third budget reconciliation package, cramming $350 billion in defense spending along with the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act into one bill. 

Republicans, fresh off passing their second reconciliation package to fund immigration enforcement for the remainder of the Trump era, were lukewarm at best on doing the process again, especially with little time left before the fast-approaching midterm elections. 

TRUMP’S PUSH FOR $350 BILLION ‘ARSENAL OF FREEDOM’ HITS GOP SKEPTICISM

But some see reconciliation, which would completely cut Democrats out of the process, as the only way to pass the SAVE America Act.

“It’s our only shot.
It’s the only shot,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said. “I just don’t think we have enough time. We burned a lot of time, and I’m not sure that we can agree on all the stuff to put in it. Not everybody is as easy to get along with as I am.” 

The problems facing the legislation are two-pronged. Senate Democrats have vowed to block it on the floor, meaning any hope of hitting the 60-vote filibuster threshold is impossible — and not every Republican is on board with the bill. 

“I support voter ID and support only American citizens voting, but Democrats are implacably opposed to it, and we don’t have enough Republicans to fill the gap,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said.
”So we should move on and focus on winning the midterms instead of fighting each other.”

SCHUMER SAYS DEMS WILL FIGHT VOTER ID PUSH ‘TOOTH AND NAIL,’ BALKS AT DHS ROLE IN ELECTIONS

Republicans have tried and failed several times now to pass the bill, even launching a quasi-floor takeover earlier this year to force debate on the matter. 

Still, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., acknowledged that “we don’t have the vote.” 

“Even if you confine it to just the two issues of photo ID and, you know, citizenship, in order to register to vote on those two issues, you take 60 votes in the Senate,” Thune said. “The only way you could get there is to undo or get rid of the legislative filibuster, and there aren’t even close to the votes here in the United States Senate in order to achieve that.”

Trying to put the bill into a reconciliation package, which can pass with a simple majority of votes, has its own issues beyond a vote count. 

The process is governed by the Byrd Rule, which dictates broadly that any item in reconciliation has to have a direct budgetary impact and can’t be pure policy. If a provision is ruled as being policy, it triggers the 60-vote threshold. 

REPUBLICANS FAIL TO ATTACH SAVE AMERICA ACT TO PARTY-LINE FUNDING PACKAGE

Republicans, including Kennedy, tried three separate times to include the SAVE America Act — or versions of it — into the latest reconciliation package. All three hit the 60-vote mark, and all but one failed to hit 50 votes.

Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, is one of the top backers of the SAVE America Act in the upper chamber and said that he has “been looking for every way possible to get the SAVE America Act passed.”

“And we are currently working on some options that could meet the standard to be part of the reconciliation process,” Husted said. “But I am in no way certain that we get it done, but we should try.” 

Those alternatives would likely be quite different than what the current bill looks like, which Trump has already asked Republicans to revamp to include policy unrelated to elections, like barring biological men from participating in women’s sports.

Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, the main driver of the SAVE America Act in the Senate, acknowledged that the bill was “policy, it’s non-budgetary. Therefore, SAVE America itself is not eligible for consideration in a third reconciliation.”

But he said a plausible pathway to getting at least an aspect of the bill through the Byrd Rule would be providing funding for states to issue an “Enhanced Real ID,” which shows proof of citizenship.

Then, lawmakers could pass a separate bill outside of reconciliation that would require proof of identity to register to vote in federal elections. But Lee, like many in the Senate GOP, was skeptical that a third reconciliation bill would even be an option. 

“The second reason is just, as a practical matter, I see no evidence that there is a viable path to a third reconciliation bill,” Lee said.
”I hope there is. I would love to be wrong on that. I want us to do that. I think we should do that. But the schedule that we’ve got, to my great disappointment, is not — It doesn’t accommodate any of it.”

Scandal-plagued Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner is facing even more scrutiny over posts he made on the online blogging platform Reddit, after a report surfaced fresh posts attributed to his old username, including one appearing to mock a teenage girl’s suicide attempt.

The New York Post reported Saturday that an account using Platner’s former Reddit handle, “P-Hustle,” responded to a 2012 post about a young girl’s failed suicide attempt. “A girl at my old high school tried jumping from a window because her cousin died the day before,” the post’s caption read. “These students saved her. I have hope.” The post showed the teenage girl hanging out a window, being held on by just her classmates from falling.

“Someone clearly isn’t trying hard enough,” the P-Hustle account responded.

TOP OFF-THE-WALL REDDIT POSTS HAUNTING GRAHAM PLATNER’S MAINE SENATE BID

The newly uncovered Reddit posts follow other inflammatory remarks Platner has made on the online blogging platform Reddit, including comments calling rural White Americans “racist and stupid,” posts pushing racial stereotypes about Black people, comments promoting political violence and remarks blaming victims of rape, among others.

The freshly uncovered Reddit post mocking a young girl’s suicide quickly drew criticism from Republicans and conservatives, including Maine State House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham, Maine Republican Party Executive Director Jason Savage and former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer.

“Graham Platner is clearly a person with deep and disturbing psychological issues that predate his military service and continue to this day,” Faulkingham told the New York Post.

“Yet another example of abject cruelty from Graham Platner,” Savage told Fox News Digital. 

“When someone tells you who they are, believe them,” he continued. “Platner has told us repeatedly. Sadly, this time he was mocking the pain of a young woman facing a terrible loss. If this doesn’t show you who Graham Platner is, what will?”

SEE IT: MAINE VOTERS SOUND OFF ON PLATNER’S DIVISIVE CAMPAIGN AS CRUCIAL PRIMARY NEARS: ‘HE’S A DISGRACE’

“Of all the rotten, troubling, and warped things Platner has done and said, his mocking encouragement of a young girl to commit suicide is the worst,” Fleischer reacted, questioning how “anyone” could support the Maine Senate candidate amid all the controversies he has been embroiled in.

“There is something seriously perverted and wrong with Graham Platner,” he added.

Platner’s activity on Reddit has been a focus of his campaign as far back as last year, amid his attempt to unseat GOP incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. His controversial posts have included comments disparaging police officers and rural White Americans, remarks about rape victims needing to take more responsibility, promotions of political violence, and praise for Hamas. In one post, Platner slammed a Purple Heart recipient who Platner argued “didn’t deserve to live,” blaming his return home on “poor marksmanship on the Taliban’s part.”

In one post from Sept. 1, 2020, Platner responded in a politics subreddit declaring that “White People Aren’t as Racist or Stupid as Trump Thinks.”

“Living in white rural America, I’m afraid to tell you they actually are,” Platner wrote of the people he is now seeking to represent in the U.S. Congress.

Platner had a history of promoting armed political action on Reddit as well, including writing that “an armed working class is a requirement for economic justice.” In a separate post, he argued that if people “expect to fight fascism without a good semi-automatic rifle, they ought to do some reading of history.” 

PLATNER’S BRUTAL ATTACKS ON ARMY SOLDIERS AS ‘FAT, LAZY’ REVEALED IN RESURFACED POSTS

“There are times in this world when, for the good of tolerance and humanity, you need to kill a motherf—er,” Platner also wrote on his now-deleted Reddit account in September 2013. “Sadly most people who are true believers in tolerance and humanity find that activity repulsive. Which I suppose is morally good, but pragmatically a shortfall.”

Meanwhile, in a 2021 Reddit post, Platner wrote that all cops are “bastards” and called himself a “communist,” though Platner later disavowed the remark about law enforcement and later said he has “an immense amount of friends” who are police officers and that they are “not all” bastards.

“I was [expletive] around on the internet at a time when I felt lost and very disillusioned with our government who sent me overseas to watch my friends die,” Platner said in a statement to CNN at the time. “I made dumb jokes and picked fights. But of course I’m not a socialist. I’m a small business owner, a Marine Corps veteran, and a retired s—poster,” the 41-year-old Platner added.

In another set of resurfaced Reddit posts, The Washington Post reported that Platner downplayed sexual assault concerns, including writing in a thread about rape-prevention underwear that “rape is a real thing,” but that people worried about assault should “take some responsibility for themselves” and not get so intoxicated that they wind up “having sex with someone they don’t mean to.”

The New York Post also reported this week that Platner praised a video recording Hamas terrorists shooting at Israeli soldiers and trying to kidnap one of them who was screaming for his life. Platner reportedly wrote in response to the 2014 combat footage on Reddit: “Looks like an all around well executed and successful small unit raid to me.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Platner and his campaign for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.

In his new book “Communion,” Vice President JD Vance reflected on the “childless cat ladies” jab he made while running for U.S. Senate in 2021, characterizing it as “one of the dumbest” remarks he has ever made, according to NBC News.

During a 2021 appearance on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Vance said, “We’re effectively run in this country, via the Democrats … via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made,” and who desire to make the rest of the nation “miserable too.”

He then pointed to then-Vice President Kamala Harris, then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., declaring, “The entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children. And how does it make any sense that we’ve turned our country over to people who don’t really have a direct stake in it?”

Harris has two adult stepchildren.

VICE PRESIDENT JD VANCE REVEALS HE HAS ‘SACRED TIME’ WITH HIS FAMILY FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS EVERY DAY

Buttigieg announced in an August 2021 post on X, “For some time, Chasten and I have wanted to grow our family. We’re overjoyed to share that we’ve become parents! The process isn’t done yet and we’re thankful for the love, support, and respect for our privacy that has been offered to us. We can’t wait to share more soon.” They adopted two children.

“Chasten and I are beyond thankful for all the kind wishes since first sharing the news that we’re becoming parents. We are delighted to welcome Penelope Rose and Joseph August Buttigieg to our family,” Buttigieg wrote in a September 2021 post on X.

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Vance addressed his controversial comment in his new book, according to NBC News.

“One of the dumbest things I ever said came when I argued that ‘childless cat ladies’ across the Democrat Party were running our country into the ground,” Vance wrote, according to the outlet.

“The comment caused two firestorms: the first when I made it, the second years later during a political campaign,” he noted. “It was a boneheaded comment, intentionally (and successfully) provocative rather than illuminating.”

Vance won election to the U.S. Senate in 2022 and took office in early 2023.

In 2024, then-former President Donald Trump tapped Vance as his running mate. Vance became vice president in early 2025.

According to NBC News, the vice president recognized that the remark was “enraging” and noted that it “had the added effect of distracting from the actual point I wanted to make, which was that our society is becoming pathologically hostile to having kids.” He indicated that he “could have made that point much more effectively, and with the benefit of showing a little charity to the many Americans who — some for reasons beyond their control —­ don’t have children.”

JD VANCE’S WIFE USHA DETAILS HOW CHARLIE KIRK’S DEATH INFLUENCED DECISION TO HAVE FOURTH CHILD

“When I consider the Church’s admonition to respect the dignity of every life, this was a clear moment where I failed,” Vance, who is Catholic, noted.

FIRST ON FOX: The FBI and its law enforcement partners disrupted an alleged plot targeting this weekend’s UFC Freedom 250 event in Washington, D.C., officials told Fox News Digital.

Five people were in custody as of Monday, and investigators identified 23 people as part of a potential network of plotters. The alleged plan involved using explosive-laden drones to hit buildings near the event, force a mass evacuation and steer crowds toward a pre-staged sniper team, officials said.

A “second wave” was then allegedly planned to storm the White House gate, according to officials.

The FBI first learned of the threat on June 10 and worked with partners to secure probable cause for an arrest in Cincinnati, where one suspect was taken into custody.

FROM RALLY GUNFIRE TO WHITE HOUSE SHOOTING, THREATS AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP CONTINUE TO MOUNT

Investigators later uncovered Signal chats in which multiple people allegedly discussed attacking the UFC event. An initial review of one suspect’s iPhone identified at least 23 Signal users discussing pre-operational activity, officials said.

Some of those involved allegedly planned to travel to Fredericksburg, Virginia, on June 12 or 13 to prepare for the attack.

One suspect allegedly told investigators the goal was to target “capitalist elites,” “billionaires” or politicians who received donations from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

The investigation stretched across at least 12 FBI field offices.

PBS AFFILIATE BOARD CHAIRMAN UNDER FIRE AFTER SAYING HE HOPES TRUMP SUFFERS STROKE

FROM RALLY GUNFIRE TO WHITE HOUSE SHOOTING, THREATS AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP CONTINUE TO MOUNT

FBI Director Kash Patel credited the FBI, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and law enforcement partners with acting quickly across multiple states to prevent the alleged attack.

“Thanks to the rapid action of this FBI, our partners, and the Department of Justice in a multi-state operation, multiple individuals are now in custody and allegedly planned attacks were stopped cold,” Patel said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Patel said the operation showed the FBI’s ability to respond quickly when threats emerge.

“While the result represented the best of investigative work, it was also nothing out of the ordinary for this law enforcement team,” Patel said. “We are built to detect, respond to, and bring to justice those who threaten the lives of American citizens — particularly during large gatherings like the historic UFC 250 fight. That’s exactly what we did here.”

“I want to thank our great agents and partners, this work remains ongoing, and we will continue to update the public as permitted,” Patel added.

The alleged plot targeted UFC Freedom 250, a high-profile White House event held on the South Lawn as part of President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday weekend.

The event drew an estimated 4,300 attendees, including about 1,200 active-duty service members, as 14 fighters from around the world competed inside a wire-mesh cage Sunday night.

The alleged plot comes amid a growing series of threats and security incidents involving Trump and senior administration officials, fueling heightened concerns about political violence.

Fox News Digital’s Christina Dugan Ramirez contributed to this report.

Newly released Pentagon and FBI records describe a series of orb sightings reported from the same area of the northeastern United States between at least October 2024 and June 2025, including one incident in which two witnesses reported seeing a glowing red sphere containing what appeared to be a basketball-sized “white plasma sun.”

The sightings are among dozens of records published through the Trump administration’s Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) Encounters, or PURSUE, a government-wide effort to declassify files related to UAPs. 

According to records released Thursday, an eyewitness in October 2024 reported observing a “plasma-like sphere” hovering above a pond at an estimated distance of roughly 2,700 feet. Investigators said the luminous object intermittently changed shape and brightness, at times appearing to separate into smaller points of light. A second luminous point hovered above the water and did not appear consistent with a surface reflection. The object remained generally stationary for approximately 45 minutes before disappearing.

The video was captured on an iPhone and later analyzed and authenticated by the U.S. government, according to the records. The FBI assessed the eyewitness as highly credible.

The release is the latest installment of the Trump administration’s Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters, or PURSUE, a transparency initiative launched after President Donald Trump directed federal agencies in February to review and declassify records related to unidentified anomalous phenomena. The program has produced a steady stream of files ranging from cases investigators believe may have conventional explanations to incidents that remain unresolved years later.

Fox News Digital attended a briefing with senior administration officials ahead of the release.

PENTAGON UFO FILES DESCRIBE ‘MOTHER ORB’ RELEASING SMALLER OBJECTS IN 2023 INCIDENT THAT REMAINS UNEXPLAINED

A second incident from the same general area occurred in July 2025, when a witness arrived home and noticed an intense bright light hovering below the tree line behind a residence. According to FBI interviews, the witness described the object as a red sphere roughly one meter in diameter containing a bright white center resembling a basketball-sized “plasma sun.”

A second witness separately came outside and reported seeing the same object. FBI records indicate the objects were estimated to be about 30 yards away and 20 feet to 30 feet above the ground.

Both witnesses said a second identical orb later appeared nearby. The objects moved together above the trees, changed altitude and direction, traveled in tandem and eventually appeared to merge into a single object before disappearing from view. The witnesses captured video footage of the sighting, and FBI agents later obtained photographs associated with the investigation.

According to the FBI, multiple reports and videos released through the latest tranche originated from the same general area in the northeastern United States.

Among the most significant cases included in the latest tranche was an unresolved 2023 incident near a sensitive national security site in the western United States involving six federal law enforcement agents who reported observing what they described as glowing orange “mother orbs” releasing smaller red objects into the night sky.

In a newly released assessment, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office said roughly 40% of the reported activity remains unexplained after analysts compared witness accounts against commercial and military flight logs, radar data, spatial estimates and ADS-B records while examining a range of possible explanations, including military aircraft, drones, U.S. government programs, foreign intelligence activity and environmental phenomena.

Analysts concluded military flare activity could plausibly account for a significant portion of the reported observations and assessed foreign adversary technology as highly unlikely, but determined that no single explanation fully accounted for all the reported activity. Investigators said “unrecognized technology” remained a provisional hypothesis for the unexplained portion of the case, while cautioning that the assessment was based primarily on witness testimony rather than technical or physical evidence.

The newly released files include five witness narratives, sketches and a notional map depicting four related incidents investigators grouped under the “Western U.S. Event,” including what they labeled “Orbs Launching Orbs,” a “Fiery Orb,” a “Dark Kite” and a “Translucent Kite.” The case is among the most extensively documented unresolved incidents included in the latest tranche.

Among the most unusual incidents in the latest PURSUE tranche was a February 2022 sighting near Colorado Springs, Colorado, in which five U.S. Army personnel reported seeing a shimmering object hovering above Cheyenne Mountain for up to three minutes.

According to witness accounts, the object appeared roughly the size of a large jet and resembled an angular, nonsymmetrical “potato” composed of irregular panels that slowly shifted and changed shape while remaining stationary above the mountain.

PENTAGON’S NEW UFO FILE RELEASE LOGS NEAR-MISS AS ‘SUPER-HEATED’ ORBS APPROACH US HELICOPTER

In a separate FBI interview conducted in 2024, a former Army intelligence officer who witnessed the event described the object as a creamy white, opalescent shape made up of what appeared to be articulating fish-scale-like panels. The witness told investigators the object remained perfectly still while the individual panels appeared to move in slow waves before the object suddenly vanished.

Witnesses estimated the object hovered 300 feet to 500 feet above Cheyenne Mountain before disappearing while they were actively observing it. Pentagon investigators ultimately concluded the sighting may have been caused by sunlight reflecting off snow-covered terrain and illuminating clouds near the mountain, though AARO described that assessment as low confidence because of uncertainty surrounding witness viewing angles, cloud cover and environmental conditions.

Taken together, the Colorado, western and northeastern incidents offer a snapshot of the diverse reports now being published through the Pentagon’s PURSUE program, ranging from cases investigators believe may have conventional explanations to incidents that remain unresolved after years of analysis.

The effort has drawn mixed reactions. Transparency advocates have welcomed the publication of records that were previously difficult for the public to access, while some researchers and former officials argue that many of the releases rely heavily on witness testimony and contain limited technical data that would allow independent analysts to verify government conclusions.

Former AARO director Sean Kirkpatrick has argued that unresolved cases often remain unresolved because investigators lack sufficient information to reach high-confidence conclusions.

At the same time, neither the Department of War nor AARO has concluded that any of the incidents released through PURSUE constitute evidence of extraterrestrial life, nonhuman intelligence or alien technology. 

Government officials have repeatedly emphasized that an unresolved case simply means investigators lack sufficient information to determine a definitive cause. The records released to date document observations, investigations and assessments, but do not establish evidence of extraterrestrial origins.

In a 2010 interview with a Mexican newspaper, Latin Grammy winner Bobby Pulido, a Democratic congressional candidate, once said he hasn’t gone shopping since becoming a music star.

“While he was in college, Bobby Pulido set foot in a supermarket on occasion — but since his career began 15 years ago, he hasn’t stopped in one since,” a 2010 profile of El Norte Magazine reads.

“‘El Golden Boy’ notes that he doesn’t have time to deal with the running of his household. ‘I don’t have the time; I’ve never gone to the supermarket to shop… well, very rarely. When I was in college, I did go, but ever since I started singing, not anymore,’” Pulido told interviewers.

Now, as the Democratic candidate in one of the country’s most competitive congressional districts, Pulido’s depiction of himself clashes with broader efforts from Democrats to zero in on affordability, a messaging platform for the 2026 midterms that looks to capitalize on inflation and the persistently high gas prices that have drawn criticism of President Donald Trump.

TOP REPUBLICAN PUSHES FOR RECONCILIATION 3.0 TO ADDRESS AFFORDABILITY

Pulido is best known for Tejano, or Mexican-Spanish folk-style songs like “Desvelado” and “Se Murió de Amor,” and has received five Latin Grammy Award nominations, winning Best Tejano Album in 2022 and 2025.

Despite a series of scandals over past behavior, Pulido has framed his campaign as a Texan referendum on expenses the administration has overlooked.

“The economy we care about is not a bunch of numbers and letters flashing on a board on Wall Street,” Pulido’s campaign page reads.

“It’s in our pockets, at the pump, in the grocery store when we buy fajitas, milk and eggs — and for some it’s when they have to choose between paying the rent or for their health insurance.”

TEXAS DEMOCRAT – A LATIN GRAMMY WINNER AND PARTY RECRUIT – CAUGHT DEFACING TRUMP’S HOLLYWOOD STAR

Inflation has climbed in recent months, reaching 4.2% in May — up from 3.8% in April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Pulido argues the climb in prices takes a disproportionate toll on his district, which he believes has the lowest per-capita income in the Lone Star State.

“Here in the Rio Grande Valley, when inflation hits, oh gosh. We don’t make a lot of money to begin with. So, inflation really hurts us harder than — it gives people in San Antonio a cold; it gives us the flu. We feel it that much harder,” Pulido said on a recent podcast posted to his YouTube channel.

Pulido hopes to unseat Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas. His race, which is expected to be one of the more competitive opportunities for Democrats in Texas after a redistricting effort in the state looks to squeeze five Democrats out of office, will turn on whether he can attract support from across the aisle.

TEXAS DEMOCRAT BLASTED FOR ‘BLOODY TRUMP’ COSTUME, VIOLENT RHETORIC AFTER DEADLY ICE SHOOTING

A two-term incumbent, De La Cruz last won election to the district in 2024 in a 57.1%–42.9% victory over Democratic nominee Michelle Vallejo.

Having cleared the Democratic primary last month, Pulido will face off with De La Cruz on Nov. 3.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Pulido campaign.

While he isn’t on the ballot, President Donald Trump‘s immense clout over the GOP faces more key tests on Tuesday in high-stakes Republican runoffs in Georgia and Alabama.

Trump-endorsed candidates are fighting in competitive showdowns against Republican rivals for the GOP gubernatorial and Senate nominations in battleground Georgia and for the Senate in solidly red Alabama.

Tuesday’s contests in Georgia and Alabama come as Oklahoma and the District of Columbia hold primary elections, and voters in California’s 14th Congressional District will vote in a special election to narrow the field of nearly a dozen candidates hoping to fill the seat left vacant when scandal-plagued Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell resigned.

But the biggest spotlight is on Georgia, where Trump made an 11th-hour endorsement this past weekend in the Senate race in Georgia, which is one of a handful of midterm election contests across the country that will decide if the GOP holds its slim majority in the chamber.

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

Trump endorsed Republican Rep. Mike Collins, a MAGA champion and strong supporter of the president, who is facing off against former college football coach Derek Dooley, who has the support of popular conservative Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.

“It’s an honor to have that endorsement. It just shows that he has confidence that we know how to win this race, we know we’re in the lead in this thing,” Collins told Fox News Digital on Sunday, hours after landing Trump’s endorsement.

Asked if Trump’s endorsement in Georgia came too late to make a difference, Collins said, “I don’t think President Trump ever is too late. He has this impeccable ability of putting his thumb right on the scale at the right time with whatever he wants to do.”

Dooley, who’s running as an outsider, said in a Fox News Digital interview on the eve of the runoff that the president’s backing of his rival “doesn’t change how I feel.”

THESE MIDTERM RACES WILL DETERMINE WHETHER REPUBLICANS HOLD THEIR SENATE MAJORITY

“I’m honored to have Governor Kemp’s endorsement. I certainly would have been honored to have the President’s endorsement. But the most important endorsement that I’m fighting for is the people of Georgia,” he emphasized.

Collins, who represents Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, which is located between Atlanta and Augusta, is the son of the late Rep. Mac Collins, and is the founder and co-owner, along with his wife, of a trucking company.

Dooley, a lawyer, a former University of Tennessee football coach and the son of legendary University of Georgia head football coach Vince Dooley, is strongly backed by Kemp, who is a lifelong friend. The governor and his wife, Georgia First Lady Marty Kemp, have regularly appeared with Dooley on the campaign trail, and the governor’s top political advisor is a senior consultant for Dooley’s Senate bid.

Collins and Dooley were the top two finishers in a crowded field of candidates in last month’s primary that also included Rep. Buddy Carter. Since no one topped 50%, Collins and Dooley advanced to Tuesday’s runoff election.

The winner of the GOP Senate nomination in Georgia will face off in the midterms against Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. Republicans view Ossoff as the most vulnerable Senate Democrat seeking re-election and are heavily targeting the first-term senator. But while Republicans have been battling for their party’s nomination over the past year, Ossoff’s built a powerful war chest that will give him a major fundraising advantage as the general election gets underway.

The power of a Trump endorsement is also facing a key test in Georgia’s gubernatorial nomination runoff, where Trump last year backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the race to succeed the term-limited Kemp. Jones is battling billionaire businessman Rick Jackson, who has dished out over $100 million of his own money on his campaign, in the runoff.

The winner will take on former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who served in the Biden administration, in this autumn’s general election. Bottoms avoided a runoff by winning a majority of the vote as she topped six other candidates in last month’s Democratic gubernatorial primary.

Jones and Jackson were the top two finishers in last month’s crowded and competitive GOP gubernatorial primary, which also included state Attorney General Chris Carr and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Because no candidate topped 50%, Jones and Jackson advanced to the runoff.

Pointing to a tele-rally Trump headlined for him last week, Jones told Fox News Digital: “The president’s endorsement carries a lot of weight here in Georgia.”

Kemp made a last-minute endorsement on Sunday, backing Jones. And at an event Monday morning, Kemp explained that his mission is “to make sure that we have the best folks at the top of the ticket that can win in November and you know that’s why I’m supporting Burt Jones for governor.”

“When you think about the direction of the state the great things that we’ve been able to do, I think he’s best suited to move the state forward,” Kemp said. And he warned of the “consequences of not winning, like we’ll be going the way of Virginia, New York, California, we just cannot afford to do that.”

Jones, a former captain of the University of Georgia football team, an oil executive and heir to the Jones Petroleum Company, served as a state senator before winning election in 2022 as lieutenant governor.

Jackson was unknown to Georgia voters before launching his gubernatorial campaign in February, but thanks to an avalanche of ads, his story of building a business empire despite growing up in foster care and not being able to afford college became well known in the Peach State.

And he’s repeatedly highlighted that, like Trump, he’s an outsider and businessman. “I’m going to be Trump’s favorite governor because we’re just alike on the way that we handle business and handle problems, and I want to do exactly in Georgia what he’s doing at the federal government,” he reiterated in a Fox News Digital interview Sunday.

And on the eve of the runoff, he predicted, “I think people are ready for an outsider. That’s what they want, and that’s what they’re going to vote for. And that’s why we’re going to win tomorrow.”

Jackson also landed a last-minute endorsement, as conservative firebrand Sen. Ted Cruz backed Jackson on Friday and joined him on the campaign trail for a runoff eve rally.

“Rick has an extraordinary record, an extraordinary life story. And I also think he’s positioned to win. And the stakes are too high. This election is a battleground all across the country. We can’t afford to lose Georgia,” Cruz told Fox News.

When Cruz endorsed Jackson on Friday, he also supported South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who is facing off in a week against Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette.

Asked if he’s trying to put some daylight between himself and the president on the campaign trail, Cruz quickly responded, “No. Not remotely….The president and I agree on the vast majority of races. What I try to do in every race is endorse the strongest conservative who can win. And typically I get in races late in the race at a time where where my support might be able to make a difference and be helpful.”

Jones, on the eve of the Cruz visit, took aim at Jackson.

“He keeps on bringing in these out-of-state senators, and I would much rather have the president’s endorsement,” he said. “He’s having to go out of state to get his support. We’re keeping all our stuff in state.”

In neighboring Alabama, Trump is supporting Rep. Barry Moore, who is facing off with former Navy SEAL sniper Jared Hudson in the GOP Senate runoff, in the race to succeed Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor this year rather than seeking re-election.

Moore, who founded a waste hauling company and later served as a state lawmaker before first winning election to the U.S. House in 2020, and was one of the first politicians to endorse Trump in 2015 when the president first ran for the White House, is also endorsed by Vice President JD Vance and Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune.

Moore, who represents Alabama’s 1st Congressional District, in the southern portion of the state, is a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus.

Hudson, running as an outsider, edged out state Attorney General Steve Marshall to advance to the runoff with Moore.

Besides being a combat veteran, Hudson has served as a sheriff’s deputy, firefighter, small business owner and current head of a nonprofit that trains law enforcement in taking out human traffickers.

Hudson was endorsed by then-Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who is now Trump’s Department of Homeland Security secretary, as well as Sen. Tim Sheehy, the National Association for Gun Rights PAC, and conservative activist and media star Riley Gaines.

Moore or Hudson will be considered the clear front-runner in November against the winner of the Democratic runoff between small business owner Dakarai Larriett and attorney and former judge Everett Wess.

In Oklahoma, Trump is backing Mike Mazzei, a former state senator and Oklahoma budget secretary, in the GOP gubernatorial primary in the race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Kevin Stitt.

The president is also supporting minister Jackson Lahmeyer, who founded the group Pastors for Trump, in the Republican primary in the state’s 1st Congressional District, in the race to succeed Rep. Kevin Hern, who is running for the Senate.

And in deep blue Washington D.C., the Democratic primary between seven candidates trying to succeed outgoing Mayor Muriel Bowser will effectively decide her successor in the District of Columbia.

The brute force of the president’s endorsement power has been on display in GOP primaries over the past month, and a half, with his candidates ousting incumbents he targeted in showdowns in Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky and Texas that grabbed plenty of national attention.

But Trump’s endorsement streak in statewide and congressional Republican primaries was snapped two weeks ago when his 11th-hour endorsement of Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa in the race to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds wasn’t enough to propel the three-term congressman to victory.

Feenstra was narrowly edged by Zach Lahn, a businessman, farmer and former political strategist who was backed by the political wings of MAHA — the acronym for the Make America Healthy Again movement aligned with Trump Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and Turning Point USA, the powerful conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk.

Trump rebounded last week, as the candidate he endorsed in the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, finished first in a crowded field and clinched one of the two tickets in the race for the nomination.

Meanwhile, longtime Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham did win a majority of the vote in the Republican Senate primary, and avoided a runoff.

Graham, who was endorsed by Trump, was facing primary challenges from five candidates, including conservative businessman Mark Lynch, who took aim at the senator over his support for the war in Iran. Lynch was backed by some MAGA leaders who have been critical of the president.

The Trump administration is using visa enforcement to target “birth tourism,” an alleged scheme utilized by foreign nationals to obtain visitor visas for the primary purpose of giving birth in the U.S. and securing American citizenship for their children.

The Trump administration recently announced that it disrupted “a sophisticated birth tourism network” in West Africa involving more than 100 foreign nationals utilizing false documents and, what the State Department described as “fixers,” to get themselves visas to go to the United States to give birth so their children would be born on U.S. soil and treated as American citizens.

But that was just one of the networks the State Department indicated it had uncovered. The agency’s announcement said U.S. officials identified more than 400 suspected birth tourism cases emanating from Europe since 2024, and tied to at least six companies that helped coach applicants on what to say during their visa interview, arranged housing and set-up delivery plans.

“We shut it down, revoked these foreign nationals’ visas, and are coordinating with local authorities to systematically identify and cut off any similar operations,” the State Department said in its announcement. “A U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right. The State Department is taking action around the world to stop this abuse, dismantle birth tourism networks, and hold accountable those who try to scam our system.”

SEN. BLACKBURN TARGETS BIRTH TOURISM, ‘BUYING AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP’ IN SUPPORT OF TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION AGENDA

The effort comes as Trump has renewed his long-running criticism of birthright citizenship, including through a 2025 executive order seeking to narrow who is automatically treated as a U.S. citizen at birth. It also builds on a first-term Trump administration rule from 2020 that instructed consular officers to deny visitor visas to foreign nationals believed to be traveling to the U.S. primarily to give birth and obtain American citizenship for their children.

“President Trump will always put the American people first. Uninhibited birth tourism poses a tremendous cost to taxpayers and threatens our national security,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital. “The Trump administration is effectively ending this practice, which brings the United States in line with the policy of most countries around the world.”

TRUMP LOCKS IN ICE FUNDING THROUGH END OF PRESIDENCY AFTER HOUSE PASSES $70B PACKAGE

Federation for American Immigration Reform’s Ira Mehlman noted to Fox News Digital that visa fraud is “a significant issue,” pointing out it is a problem even outside the framework of birth tourism. 

“The prospect of birthright citizenship is undeniably an inducement for people to commit visa fraud,” Mehlman said. “Birth tourism would not exist otherwise.”

“Obviously, any woman who does not disclose her intention to have her baby in the U.S. when she applies for a visa is committing fraud. Remove the incentive of automatic birthright citizenship for people who are not citizens and legal permanent residents, and the reason for committing this sort of fraud goes away,” he continued.

Birth tourism has surfaced repeatedly in the U.S. in recent years, particularly through operations accused of coaching foreign nationals to obscure the purpose of their travel.

In California, federal prosecutors secured convictions against the operators of USA Happy Baby, a company accused of helping Chinese women travel to the U.S. to give birth to American-citizen children, while a separate operator from a business called You Win USA pleaded guilty in another case stemming from a broader federal crackdown.

More recently, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued a Houston-area postpartum center accused of facilitating more than 1,000 births for primarily Chinese clients, while House Oversight Republicans launched an inquiry into several U.S.-based companies allegedly advertising birth-tourism services.

Mehlman urged Congress to do more to enhance vetting of visa applicants, prosecute those who commit fraud and put an end to birth tourism. He said there were avenues for legal action against the entities allegedly facilitating the scheme.

“To the extent that we can take legal action against companies that are outside the United States, we should, much like we prosecute other types of transnational crime and fraud operations,” Mehlman told Fox News Digital. “But each one of these companies works with service providers here in the U.S., including hospitals.”

The Trump administration will keep its military buildup in the Middle East in place despite signing a new agreement with Iran, underscoring Washington’s continued distrust of Iran as the two sides enter a 60-day negotiating period.

“The plan is to keep the current force posture during the 60-day negotiations,” a senior U.S. official told reporters on a call Monday. “We hope to draw them down, but we’re not doing that yet.”

“The agreement contemplates the reduction of military forces in the region upon the agreement of a final deal,” the official added.

Officials said President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf already have signed the memorandum, and that the details of the agreement will be released publicly within the next 24 to 48 hours. A formal signing ceremony is expected later in the week. 

BUILT FOR WEEKS OF WAR: INSIDE THE FIREPOWER THE US HAS POSITIONED IN THE MIDDLE EAST

The decision means the Pentagon will maintain a military posture that recently included roughly 50,000 troops deployed across the Middle East, one of the largest U.S. force concentrations in the region in more than two decades. Publicly available fleet tracking data indicate at least two carrier strike groups remain in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.

Officials repeatedly stressed that any sanctions relief, asset releases or future concessions would be tied to verification and Iranian performance, not promises alone, with one senior official acknowledging the two sides remain in the early stages of “building trust.”

That lack of trust was evident in the administration’s description of the agreement, which differs in key respects from accounts published by Iranian officials and state-linked media.

VANCE SAYS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S KEY OBJECTIVES HAVE BEEN REACHED IN US-IRAN DEAL

White House officials insisted Monday that no frozen Iranian assets have been released and said any sanctions relief would be conditioned on Iranian performance during the upcoming negotiations.

“The very simple fact is, $0 of unfrozen assets have been released by the United States or any other country,” one official said.

Iranian officials and state-linked media, meanwhile, have described the framework as paving the way for the release of roughly $24 billion in frozen Iranian funds and broader economic relief during the negotiation period. 

White House officials disputed reports that any funds have already been released and repeatedly emphasized that future economic concessions would be earned through compliance rather than granted upfront.

IRAN’S REGIME SPINS NUCLEAR AND STRAIT OF HORMUZ DEAL WITH TRUMP AS VICTORY OVER US, ISRAEL

“We’ll do some small gestures of that in the beginning, if they make some small gestures to us,” an official said.

While Trump has portrayed the agreement as a potential turning point in U.S.–Iran relations, the memorandum itself is narrower in scope. The framework extends the ceasefire, establishes a 60-day negotiating window and seeks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments normally pass.

The reopening of the Strait may prove to be the agreement’s most immediate and economically significant effect. White House officials said the memorandum provides for the opening of the waterway and the lifting of the naval blockade, though they cautioned that commercial shipping could take days or weeks to return to normal levels as mines are cleared and shipping companies regain confidence in the route.

Officials also said the agreement requires the Strait to remain open toll-free during the 60-day negotiating period. The administration expects shipping traffic to increase significantly over the coming days, easing pressure on global energy markets.

The deal, officials said, creates a framework under which Iran could eventually receive sanctions relief and broader access to the global economy in exchange for verifiable steps to ensure it does not rebuild its nuclear program and curbs support for terrorism and regional instability.

“If they’re willing to behave like a normal country, then we’re willing to treat them like a normal country,” one official said.

The prospect of renewed traffic through the Strait has already reverberated through global markets. Oil prices fell following news of the agreement as traders bet that one of the world’s most important energy choke points could soon return to normal operations.