Mike Pence claims he's learned migrant caravan funded by 'leftist groups'

Vice President Mike Pence descended on the southwest as part of a midterm rallying blitz, bringing with him a warning that the migrant caravan is being funded by outside, leftist groups, citing intel said to be provided by foreign partners and a phone call with a Central American leader.
“What the president of Honduras told me is that the caravan was organized by leftist organizations, political activists within Honduras, and he said it was being funded by outside groups, and even from Venezuela,” Pence told Fox News in an interview late Friday in Yuma, Arizona.  “So the American people, I think, see through this – they understand this is not a spontaneous caravan of vulnerable people.”
The Vice President is barnstorming through the southwest this weekend, rallying for Republican candidates in New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada.
SECTION OF TRUMP'S BORDER WALL UNVEILED IN CALIFORNIA AS CARAVAN ADVANCES NORTH THROUGH MEXICO
Frenzied applause followed his declarations in Roswell and Yuma that the southern border is closed to the migrant caravan.
“Anyone coming up in this caravan should just turn around,” Pence told Fox News.  “They should go home, or they should apply for asylum in Mexico.”
Pence argues that loopholes in US immigration laws are alluring to human traffickers involved with organizing the migrant caravan.
SMALLER MIGRANT CARAVAN ADVANCES QUICKLY TOWARD US, TREKS 62 MILES IN ONE DAY
And he blames Democrats for not failing to shore up the laws on the books – even though Republicans control the House and the Senate.
“We’ve been blocked by liberals in the United States Senate who have stood in the way of immigration reform,” Pence said.  “That 60 vote margin that the President talks about all the time has prevented us from really taking up this issue.”

Central American migrants traveling with a caravan to the U.S. crowd onto a tractor as they make their way to Mapastepec, Mexico.

Pence also dismisses the idea that the US must help Central American migrants that make it to the border – because he says the US is doing a lot to help them in their home countries.
“We’ve also provided tens of millions of dollars of aid to those countries of economic development,” Pence said.  “The time has come for countries across central America to step up.”
On Friday, part of the caravan was able to travel more than 60 miles.
Exactly how many remain in the caravan is unknown. The mayor of nearby Huixla on Wednesday estimated 6,000. Officially, Mexico says there are fewer than 4,000.
The number reduced after some 1,700 applied for asylum in Mexico, four busloads returned to Honduras and others decided to go their own way or stay in Mexico and work.
The group is expected to further splinter in the next few days as some elect to hop on the fast-moving and dangerous cargo train known as La Bestia, or “The Beast”, that stretches from Guatemala to the U.S. border.

Trump calls for death penalty after synagogue shooting; leaders react to tragedy with sorrow, anger and frustration

President Trump said that the suspect responsible for killing and injuring multiple people and police officers at a Pittsburgh synagogue Saturday “should get the death penalty,” saying the suspect should “pay the ultimate price.”
Speaking to reporters ahead of boarding Air Force One, Trump addressed the “devastating” shooting that occurred Saturday morning at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood, which is predominantly Jewish.
Multiple fatalities were reported, and there were also injuries, including four police officers.
"People who do this should get the death penalty,” Trump said. “I think they should stiffen up laws and I think they should very much bring the death penalty to anybody who does a thing like this to innocent people.”
He added: “They should really suffer the ultimate price — pay the ultimate price. I’ve felt this way for a very long time. People disagree with me, and I can’t imagine why.”
Later Saturday, the president ordered that flags be flown at half-staff at federal buildings in "solemn respect" for the synagogue shooting victims.
Earlier this month, the president called for the death penalty to be brought against “criminals” who kill police officers. The president has issued calls for a stricter death penalty policy since the 2016 presidential campaign.
The death penalty is legal in Pennsylvania, though current Gov. Tom Wolf halted the process when he took office in 2015. The last person executed under the death penalty in Pennsylvania was in 1999--the first since 1962.
Trump was asked about tighter gun laws, which he discounted, saying they had “little to do with it.”
“If they had protection inside, the results would have been far better. If they had some kind of protection inside the temple, maybe it could have been a very much different situation,” Trump said. “They didn’t have protection. They had a maniac walk in and they didn’t have any protection.”
He added: "If there was an armed guard inside the temple they would have been able to stop him."
"Maybe there would have been nobody killed except for him, frankly," Trump continued. "Isn't it a shame that you have to think of that inside a temple or inside a church? But certainly, the result would have been far better."
The president's comments were among the multitude of reactions from leaders on Saturday, as the story continued to develop. Those reactions ranged from solemn expressions of sympathy to angry denunciations of divisive rhetoric and urgent calls for action.
House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said he was "horrified" by the shooting, but criticized the president's suggestion to have armed guards in houses of worship.
“The President’s suggestion that Americans need to worship under armed guard is absurd," Hoyer said in a statement. "We must address the ease by which someone can obtain the most dangerous weapons of war and use them to commit mass violence in this country.”

First responders were seen near the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pa., where a shooter opened fire Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018. (AP)

The president added that “the world is a violent world.”
“You think when you’re over it, it just goes away,” Trump said. “But then it comes back in the form of a madman—a whacko.”
Trump added that prior to taking office he “watched instances like this,” calling it a “shame.”
“But it’s even tougher when you’re the president of the United States,” Trump said. “You have to watch this kind of a thing happen, and it’s so sad to see.”
Trump tweeted earlier Saturday morning, saying the events in Pittsburgh were "far more devastating than originally thought," adding that he "spoke with Mayor and Governor to inform them that the Federal Government has been, and will be, with them all the way."
The president's daughter, Ivanka Trump, who converted to the Orthodox Jewish faith with her husband Jared Kushner, condemned the events.
"America is stronger than the acts of a depraved bigot and anti-semite. All good Americans stand with the Jewish people to oppose acts of terror & share the horror, disgust & outrage over the massacre in Pittsburgh. We must unite against hatred & evil. God bless those affected," Ivanka Trump tweeted.
Vice President Pence also tweeted, "praying for the fallen," while counselor to the president, Kellyanne Conway, called the event "horrifying."
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders also reacted, saying she is "Saddened and appalled by the cowardly act of evil committed at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. We stand in total solidarity with the victims and all of the Jewish community against bigotry and hate."
First lady Melania Trump also tweeted, saying that "the violence needs to stop."
"My heart breaks over the news out of #Pittsburgh. The violence needs to stop. May God bless, guide & unite the United States of America."
Also issuing a strongly worded condemnation of the shooting Saturday afternoon was House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., who, like so many others, voiced disgust and dismay over the bloodshed and racist overtones.
"This morning, a solemn celebration of life and faith turned to horror and chaos. We are deeply devastated by this tragedy, the roots of which appear to be especially repulsive," Ryan said in his statement. "The sickening reality is that anti-Semitism in America continues to rear its ugly head. It is an ideology of hate that must be eradicated wherever it may surface. This is a time to mourn and heal, but also to reaffirm that we will not tolerate this bigotry."
Others, like U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., chided politicians for feeding divisions in society with their rhetoric.
"We cannot continue down this path -- something must change,” his statement read. “Certainly, our loose gun laws are to blame, but we are also dealing with a much more insidious problem. Access to online cesspools of racial and religious hatred comes too easily today, and too often, political leaders are trading in the kind divisive rhetoric that caused people to fear those that look, or worship differently than them, and then act on those fears.”

Democrat Open Border Cartoons

Pres. Trump Calls On Congress To Pass Immigration Laws

FILE – In this March 13, 2018, file photo, President Donald Trump speaks during a tour as he reviews border wall prototypes in San Diego.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 4:04 PM PT — Fri. Oct. 26, 2018

President Trump is again calling on Congress to pass legislation addressing illegal immigration to secure the nation’s borders.
The president said the U.S. spends billions of dollars a year on illegal immigration, but that will not continue adding Democrats must vote to pass strong, but fair laws.

The United States has been spending Billions of Dollars a year on Illegal Immigration. This will not continue. Democrats must give us the votes to pass strong (but fair) laws. If not, we will be forced to play a much tougher hand.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 26, 2018

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen echoed his comments, while touring the first completed section of the president’s 30 foot high border wall in Southern California.
“This should not be a partisan issue,” said Nielsen. It seems that many in Congress are currently suffering from amnesia. In 2006, Congress passed the Secure Fence Act with broad bipartisan support. Border security is national security and it is vital to our mission of protecting the homeland.”
She also commented on a possible executive order to address the migrant caravan, saying the administration is reviewing all legal options and everything is on the table.
This comes as two migrant caravans, totaling nearly 10,000 people, are currently advancing through Mexico to the U.S.

Republican

President Trump Dismisses Blame Over Threats Made Against Democrats

President Donald Trump talks with reporters on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 26, 2018, before boarding Marine One for the short trip to Andrews Air Force Base. Trump is traveling to North Carolina for a rally. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 6:18 PM PT — Fri. Oct. 26, 2018

President Trump says he deserves no blame in the recent threats made to Democrats.
The president said he heard that the suspect was one of his supporters, however that doesn’t mean he should take the wrap over the bomb threats made against a number of prominent Democrats.
The president said threats have nothing to do with party affiliation.
“There’s no blame,” said the president. There’s no anything. If you look at what happened to Steve Scalise. That was from a supporter of a different party. You look at what happened in numbers of these incidents, they were supporters of others.”
The president has condemned the acts and said threats against politicians should not happen in our country.

Republican

Section of Trump's border wall unveiled in California as caravan advances north through Mexico

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen speaks in front of a newly fortified border wall structure on Friday. (Associated Press)

Republican

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said "everything is on the table" with regard to border security during the unveiling of a border wall project in California on Friday.

Nielsen's remarks came as the Trump administration considers ways to slow immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border and as a caravan of migrants -- mostly made up of thousands fleeing violence and poverty in Central America -- are making their way north through Mexico.

The caravan covered more than 60 miles Friday and was roughly 990 miles from McAllen, Texas, and over 2,300 miles from San Diego.
"We are looking at every possible way within the legal construct that we have to make sure that those who don't have the legal right to come to this country do not come in," Nielsen said from the El Centro Sector near Calexico in front of a newly constructed 30-foot, two-mile fence.
"Looking at this, I would not attempt to climb it," she added.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, center, embraces Gloria Chavez, Border Patrol chief of the El Centro sector, as the look at a plaque adorning a newly fortified border wall structure Friday. (Associated Press)

In an effort to enhance security, the Pentagon recently approved a request for 800 additional troops at the southern border. The White House is looking at other measures, including blocking migrants from seeking asylum in the U.S., which would almost assuredly result in court challenges.
Around 2,000 National Guard troops already serve on the border. The additional troops ordered will operate in areas in California, Arizona and Texas from next Tuesday until Dec. 15, a Pentagon official said.
They will not be authorized to detain migrants. Instead, they will assist Border Patrol personnel on erecting barricades and fencing, conducting helicopter and airplane transport and providing assistance to medical teams and patients.

Central American migrants rest on the train tracks where the freight train known as "The Beast" has for decades carried migrants north, as a thousands strong caravan travel on foot and by road stops between Pijijiapan and Arriaga, Chiapas state in Mexico. (Associated Press)

But the Trump administration's policies have drawn sharp criticism from advocates for immigrants. The efforts to curtail migrants seeking asylum could have "disastrous practical implications for our asylum obligations, for our moral and legal obligations," said Andrea Guerrero, executive director Alliance San Diego.
"We know that civil rights attorneys are preparing to litigate right now," she said. "They're preparing to litigate right away. I don't know if (Trump) cares if he wins the litigation. He wants to score political points ... it's all part of the same political ploy to stoke fear for political reasons and build more walls."
The two-mile section of fencing will go a long way in keeping immigrants out of the country, Nielsen said.
"Let me be clear: Walls work," Nielsen said.
In March, Trump hailed the project in Calexico as the start of his proposed border wall -- the central promise of his 2016 presidential campaign, the Hill reported.

Obama slams Trump, Republicans while urging Midwest crowds to vote

Former President Barack Obama speaks during a rally in Detroit on Friday. (Associated Press)

Republican

Former President Barack Obama leveled his most direct criticism of President Donald Trump on Friday in speeches in Detroit and Milwaukee while stumping for Democratic candidates.
Not mentioning Trump by name, Obama said the “character of our country is on the ballot” in November’s midterm elections. He also cited Trump’s promise to pass a tax cut before voters go to the polls.
“Congress isn’t even in session before the election!,” Obama said. “He just makes it up!”
In Milwaukee, Obama said: “Here’s the thing. Everything I say you can look up.”
In Michigan, he credited gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer for helping to expand Medicaid, saying, “Few people fought against it harder” than her Republican challenger, state Attorney General Bill Schuette, the Detroit News reported.
In 2016, the state supported Trump over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
“I’m hopeful, Michigan,” Obama told the crowd in a 5,000-seat gymnasium. “I’m hopeful that despite all the noise, despite all the lies, we’re going to come through all that. We’re going to remember who we are, who we’re called to be. I’m hopeful because out of this political darkness, I’m seeing a great awakening."
In Milwaukee, Obama criticized Republican Gov. Scott Walker -- who is being challenged by Democrat Tony Evers -- for claiming that he wants to protect health care for those with pre-existing conditions, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported.
“What we have not seen before in our public life is politicians just blatantly, repeatedly, baldly, shamelessly, lying. Just making stuff up,” Obama said. “Calling up, down. Calling black, white. That’s what your governor is doing with these ads, just making stuff up,”
Obama held up Clinton’s email scandal as an example of the Republican Party’s hypocrisy.
“In the last election, it was Hillary’s emails. ‘This is terrible’ ... ‘This is a national security crisis,’” he said. “They didn’t care about emails and you know how you know? Because if they did, they’d be up in arms right now that the Chinese are listening to the president’s iPhone that he leaves in his golf cart.”
He also took aim at Trump’s promise to “drain the swamp.”
“In Washington they have racked up enough indictments to field a football team,” he said. “Nobody in my administration got indicted.”
Trump and Obama have escalated the level of criticism of each other in recent months.
Trump has criticized his predecessor for trying to downplay his economic record, boasting that he had a magic wand to expedite the economic recovery.
"I opened up our beautiful economic engine with Regulation and Tax Cuts. Our system was choking and would have been made worse. Still plenty to do!” Trump once tweeted.
Regarding immigration, which Obama and Democrats have criticized Trump's stringent policies, Trump cited a 2005 video featuring Obama making a statement against illegal immigration, accompanied by the comment "I agree with President Obama 100%."
Additionally, Trump has defended his foreign policy record, which he claims has made America stronger, such as his tough stance with China and pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal and other agreements viewed by some as not being in America’s best interests.
Obama’s criticism wasn’t just directed at Trump. He also scorned Republicans for trying to distract voters from critical issues.
Instead of talking about water in Flint, Mich., Trump is firing up his base by talking about "impoverished refuges 1,000 miles away," he said about the Honduran migrant caravan making its way toward the U.S.
But Obama has faced criticism over the Flint water crisis as well. Some accused the Environmental Protection Agency under his watch of not displaying a sense of urgency the situation demanded.
Many Obama supporters also criticized Obama after he took a sip of the city's filtered tap water, to convince residents that it was safe to drink.
"It was such a disappointing thing to see," filmmaker Michael Moore said, according to the Detroit Free Press.

US-Mexico Border Cartoons

Florida seen as 'region of interest' in package bomb probe, sources say

Government officials confirm the investigation into the suspicious devices used postal markings to narrow its focus, describing Florida as a region of interest. Catherine Herridge goes in-depth for 'Special Report.'

Postal markings on packages with explosive material sent to prominent Democrats have helped federal investigators refine the focus of their investigation, with Florida described as a “region of interest,” two sources told Fox News on Thursday.
Later, during an appearance on Fox News Channel, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen confirmed that at least some of the packages originated in Florida. But investigators would not say whether they believe the suspect or suspects were still in the state.
"As you know some of the packages went through the mail, they originated, some of them, from Florida," Nielsen told Fox News "The president appropriately directed everyone within the United States federal government to work on this as quickly and expeditiously as possible to bring these people or person to justice."
New York and Maryland were also in focus, Fox News learned.
A government official noted what appeared to be thick, dark electrician's tape on the pipe bomb sent to former CIA Director John Brennan, care of CNN. The official said investigators are hopeful the black tape captured DNA, fibers or fingerprints.
On the mock ISIS-style logo on one mailing, two government officials said investigators believed it was designed to create confusion, not to indicate a connection to a known terrorist group.
Miami-Dade Police announced it was working with investigators as a "precautionary measure."
"Bomb Squad & K-9 Unit are currently providing assistance to our federal partners at the @USPS Opa-Locka mail facility as part of the ongoing investigation into suspicious packages located in other jurisdictions," the police tweeted.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report the news.
Former Vice President Joe Biden was the latest apparent target, with the FBI confirming two suspicious packages similar to the ones that triggered the original security scare were addressed to him in Delaware, along with one to actor Robert De Niro.
Other prominent Democratic figures including former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, liberal billionaire George Soros and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., all received similar packages. Another package apparently was sent to former Attorney General Eric Holder with the wrong address and then sent back to the return address, which was a Florida office for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.

Brennan's package was sent to him via the CNN headquarters in New York City, although he's an analyst for NBC.
Holder called the threats "disturbing" in an interview Thursday.
"It’s disturbing that political figures are having to deal with this issue. You know it’s personal, obviously, to me since one was addressed to me. But I’m also concerned about two former presidents who had things directed at them," he said. "We need to figure out who did it, and then figure out a way in which we can get beyond these kinds of things.”
President Trump responded to news of the devices Wednesday, saying: “The safety of the American people is my highest and absolute priority.” He continued, “The full weight of government is being deployed to conduct this investigation and bring those responsible for these despicable acts to justice.”
PACKAGE BOMBS TOUCH OFF WAR OF WORDS OVER POLITICAL RHETORIC
But a joint statement from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., slammed the president’s words as “hollow.”
“Time and time again, the President has condoned physical violence and divided Americans with his words and his actions,” the statement read.
CNN president Jeff Zucker also released a statement hours after the network’s Manhattan building was evacuated. In it he condemned the administration for its “continued attacks on the media.”
He continued, “The President, and especially the White House Press Secretary, should understand their words matter. Thus far, they have shown no comprehension of that.”
FULL LIST OF RECIPIENTS OF PACKAGE BOMBS
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders fired back on “Fox & Friends” Thursday, saying that Trump could not have been “more presidential” in his handling of the apparent bomb threats.  She said whoever is behind the attacks is “ultimately the person that is responsible.”

Trump 'deserves some credit' for foreign policy successes, ex-Clinton aide admits

A former Obama administration diplomat both praised and criticized President Trump's foreign policy during a forum Thursday at the University of Minnesota.
Jake Sullivan, who served as former national security adviser to Vice President Joe Biden and deputy chief of staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, sat alongside former Vice President Walter Mondale at the university's Humphrey School of Public Affairs for the forum titled: "The Shrinking International Relevance of Donald Trump," FOX 9 of Minneapolis reported.
The discussion focused on the number of foreign policy initiatives enacted by Trump since taking office, including pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Iran nuclear deal.
Sullivan, who now teaches international law at Yale Law School, credited Trump with his handling of North Korea, the Islamic State group and getting other nations to share more of the burden in policing the world.
“I think that the way the administration built the maximum pressure campaign against North Korea was a real positive," Sullivan said. "I think carrying forward the work that President Obama did against ISIS to the point now where we really have reduced ISIS’s capacity to threaten the United States, the president’s team deserves some credit for that."

“I think that the way the [Trump] administration built the maximum pressure campaign against North Korea was a real positive."
— Jake Sullivan, a former adviser to Joe Biden and former aide to Hillary Clinton,

“And I think the president is on to some things when he says other countries need to step up and share more of the burden," Sullivan added.
But other moves by Trump have damaged America's standing on the international stage, Sullivan said. He added that he has faith that the world -- particularly western democratic nations that want to push back against Russia and China -- will embrace American leadership once more after Trump leaves office.
“That means an American president and United States of America that is once again stepping up to be the leader of the free world,” Sullivan said. "And I think if we have a president who is committed to that, then absolutely there is huge hunger around the world to rally to solve big problems."
In an extended interview with the station, Sullivan said Trump has "come in sort of like a hurricane and he's destroyed a lot of the basic institutions of American leadership in the world" and "undermined our alliances and harmed our position in international organizations that help solve big problems like climate changes and nuclear weapons."