Ted Cruz and Jim Carrey engaged in a contentious back-and-forth on Twitter on Monday.
(AP)
Liberal Hollywood actor
Jim Carrey and GOP Texas Senator Ted Cruz engaged in a contentious
back-and-forth on Twitter Monday, just hours before voters in the state
head to polling stations to help determine Cruz’s fate in the Senate.
Cruz
is holding a slight lead in his race against Democratic Rep. Beto
O’Rourke in the Lone Star State, according to the recent polls. So
Carrey, a vocal liberal who recently urged Americans to ‘stop apologizing’ and ‘say yes to socialism,' got into the fray by tweeting his support for the Democrat.
“Go Beto! Go Democrats! Vote like there’s no tomorrow,” the “Ace Ventura” star tweeted
Monday. “Let’s make this Tuesday like the end of every great vampire
movie. Pull back the curtains and let the sunshine turn all those
bloodsuckers to dust.”
The tweet accompanied the actor's art showing O’Rourke opening a window curtain as Cruz fled from sunlight.
“Hollywood liberals all in for Beto,” Cruz soon tweeted
in response. “But (self-described socialist) Jim Carrey made a mistake
here: Vampires are dead, and everyone knows the dead vote Democrat...”
But Carrey didn’t back down from his Cruz criticism and instead doubled-down in a Monday night response. CLICK FOR COMPLETE FOX NEWS 2018 MIDTERMS COVERAGE
“Wow...sorry I rattled your chain, @TedCruz,” the actor wrote.
“I thought you would have more important things to do two days before
an election — like sucking up to the guy who called your wife ugly and
accused your dad of murder. But I get it! It’s hard to say no when Trump
grabs ya by the p----!”
President Trump and the Texas senator had
a contentious relationship during the last presidential primary season
but apparently mended ties ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections. 'TAYLOR SWIFT EFFECT' ON SENATE RACE DISMISSED BY TENNESSEE STUDENTS
Cruz, however, isn’t the only GOP politician Carrey has targeted; the actor's recently painted a series of unflattering portraits of Trump administration officials.
“I don't know when it'll stop,” he said in August.
The crowd at President Donald Trump’s rally in Missouri on Monday
evening began singing "Amazing Grace" after a woman collapsed and needed
medical attention.
Trump paused his rally for roughly five
minutes after asking the audience to say a prayer as emergency
responders made their way to the woman.
"Is there a doctor in the
house, please? Doctor? Please. Thank you," the president said while
pointing to the woman in the crowd, according to The Hill.
As the woman received medical treatment, the crowd of thousands broke out into song.
"That was beautiful," Trump said after resuming his spot behind the podium. “Hopefully she’ll be OK.”
"Amazing Grace" has been recorded more than 6,600 times, according to reports.
The
song was written in 1779 (or a few years earlier) by John Newton, an
English poet and clergyman who died in 1807. Newton, as a young man,
deserted the English Navy, was recaptured and punished and became
involved in slave trading. He later had a religious awakening during a
storm at sea before becoming a prolific hymn composer.
More than
two centuries later, it's a fixture across spiritual and secular
culture. It's been played at some of the country's most somber
gatherings: Memorial services following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the
Oklahoma City bombing and the attack that killed 32 students at Virginia
Tech.
The familiar, inspirational first verse: "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
"That saved a wretch like me.
"I once was lost but now am found.
"Was blind, but now I see."
Subsequent verses offer reassurance, protection and fulfillment.
During Monday night’s rally in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Trump touted his administration’s progress the past two years, while making his final case for Republican candidates as voters head to the polls for the midterm elections on Tuesday.
Medical
emergencies are common at presidential rallies, where security requires
attendees to be in place for hours ahead of time.
It’s finally here.
After
hundreds of campaign rallies, billions of dollars in donations, a
nonstop blitz of TV advertising and polling that’s been in full swing
since summer, Election Day has arrived – and with it, voters’ midterm
verdict on whether Republicans should hold or lose their grip on power
in Washington.
Democrats have been working toward this day since
the moment President Trump was sworn in. They’ve waited two long years
for the shot to win enough seats in Congress to cripple the 45th
president’s agenda.
In the end, the elections will go one of three
ways: Republicans hold both chambers, Democrats take the majority in
both, or the parties split the House and Senate. Either of the latter
two scenarios would be problematic for Trump, immediately putting a
damper on his agenda.
By the numbers, 35 Senate seats, 36
gubernatorial seats and 435 House seats are up for grabs on Tuesday. And
the biggest names in both parties say the stakes couldn’t be higher.
“America
is at a crossroads right now,” former President Barack Obama told
supporters in Illinois over the weekend, saying it “might be the most
important election of my lifetime, maybe more important than 2008.”
Trump
himself has been campaigning non-stop in recent days, telling voters
they must keep Democrats from taking back control of the House and
Senate, or his agenda could be in jeopardy. The party of the president
has historically lost seats in their first midterm elections.
“We
have to win,” Trump told supporters Monday during a telephone town hall,
ticking off accomplishments during his first years in office and
warning everything he’s accomplished as president can be “undone and
changed by the Democrats.”
Here’s the lay of the land on Election Day:
For
Democrats, their best shot at winning back control of a body of
Congress is in the House, where they need to net 23 seats for a
majority. Whether they flip the House or not, Democrats are still
expected to gain seats in the chamber, given the favorable political
environment for Democrats.
Republicans currently hold a slim
51-49 majority in the Senate, and Democrats have long aimed to win back
control. But it will be more difficult for Democrats to be victorious in
the Senate by netting two seats in part because of the large number of
incumbent Democrats running for re-election in states won by Trump in
2016.
Republicans currently control 33 governorships, with
Democrats holding 16. But with 36 seats up this year, Democrats are
likely to pick up at least some seats. According to the Fox News
Gubernatorial Power Rankings, Republicans are favored to control at
least 22 seats by the end of the night and Democrats are favored have at
least 20 seats, with 8 additional toss-up races.
Election
watchers could be in for a long time. The first polls, on the East
Coast, close at 7 p.m. ET. After polls on the West Coast close at 11
p.m. ET, the last will close in Alaska at 1 a.m. ET.
Ahead
of the vote, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi confidently predicted
last week that Democrats would indeed win back the House.
“Let me
say this. Up until today, I would’ve said, ‘If the election were held
today, we would win,’” Pelosi said on “The Late Show with Stephen
Colbert” Tuesday. “What now I’m saying is, ‘We will win.’”
But
there are no guarantees about Election Day, even as generic
congressional ballots show Democrats with the advantage over
Republicans. While Democrats need to net 23 seats for a majority, the
Fox News House Power Rankings indicate there are 29 “toss-up” races.
If
Democrats are victorious, the Trump administration likely will be in
for a challenging 2019. Should Democrats re-take the House, there are
signs some in the conference may launch a push to impeach the president –
though the leadership has not yet backed the effort. Pelosi has said
impeachment is "not a priority," at least not until Special Counsel
Robert Mueller announces the conclusions of his probe into the Trump
administration's alleged dealings with Russia.
Trump, though,
almost assuredly will face an avalanche of investigations into his tax
returns, his payments to adult-film star Stormy Daniels and his
relationship with Russia if Democrats win back the House – which comes
with the much-coveted power to subpoena and launch congressional
investigations. PRESIDENT TRUMP'S CLOSING ARGUMENT: VOTE REPUBLICAN AND CONTINUE THE JOBS BOOM
A
number of prominent anti-Trump Democrats also would be poised to assume
control of key committees if Republicans lose control of the House.
Rep.
Maxine Waters, D-Calif., likely would be elevated to chairwoman of the
House Financial Services Committee, where she currently serves as
ranking member. Another top California Democratic representative, Adam
Schiff, would likely rise to chair the House Intelligence Committee,
where he is now the ranking member. And Pelosi would look to regain the
speakership.
Still, if Democrats win the House – but Republicans hold the Senate – their legislative priorities likely would stall.
In
the Senate, the Fox News Senate Power Rankings lists Florida, Indiana,
Missouri, Arizona and Nevada as the five most competitive races. Of
those races, Democrats in three states won by Trump are defending their
seats.
Republicans feel more confident about keeping control of
the Senate – or possibly adding to their majority. But the threat to the
Trump agenda is real if they lose control. Democrats have a narrow path
to the majority if they run the table in the toss-ups and pick off one
GOP-favored seat, like Texas or Tennessee. If Democrats win control of
both houses of Congress, they could send legislation to Trump’s desk.
And, in the Senate, they would have the votes to block any of Trump's
nominees – coming after Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s brutal confirmation
fight last month.
On the day before America votes, Trump hopscotched to rallies in three battleground states -- in Ohio, Indiana and Missouri.
In
Ohio, Trump campaigned for a slate of Republicans, including Jim
Renacci in his bid to unseat Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown. Trump won the
state with 52 percent of the vote in 2016 but the Fox News Senate Power
Rankings lists that contest as “likely Democrat.”
Later Monday,
the president flew to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he is hoping to give
Republican Mike Braun an assist to defeat incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe
Donnelly. He then traveled to Missouri to lend a hand to Josh Hawley in
his campaign to beat incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill.
Meanwhile,
in state capitals across the country, Republicans have control of a
majority of governorships, holding 33 to the Democrats’ 16 seats.
Democrats
are likely to pick up at least some seats, with 36 gubernatorial seats
up for grabs this year. According to the Fox News Gubernatorial Power
Rankings, 15 of the contested seats lean Republican, 13 lean Democrat
and eight are tossups.
For Republicans, holding on to control of
state houses is important, considering that’s where real policy changes
may take place if Democrats win control of Congress and Washington
effectively deadlocks.
Among the most-watched races: Wisconsin GOP
Gov. Scott Walker is locked in a tight re-election battle with
Democratic challenger Tony Evers and Tallahassee Democratic Mayor Andrew
Gillum is facing off against Trump-backed GOP Rep. Ron DeSantis in
Florida.
Though the political environment seems to favor
Democrats, Trump argued Monday that Republican voters are energized
heading into Tuesday’s vote, saying he hasn’t felt such “electricity”
since he was elected president in 2016.
"Tomorrow, with your votes, you can stop the radical resistance in its tracks," Trump told the crowd in Cleveland. Fox News’ Gregg Re contributed to this report.
To
some Republicans' chagrin, President Trump has openly embraced
Democrats' efforts to cast Tuesday's midterm elections as a referendum
on his record and political clout, a kind of ultimate test after a
bruising midterm season that saw many of his hand-picked candidates
surge to victories in key primaries.
Election Day marks voters'
first nationwide opportunity to react not only to Trump's tenure, but
also to the slew of recent developments that have reverberated in the
public consciousness, including the deadly mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue, the swelling migrant caravans making their way to the U.S. border with Mexico, and the mail bombs sent to prominent liberals by an outspoken supporter of the president.
"In
a sense, I am on the ticket,” Trump told a raucous election-eve rally
in Ohio, one of three he held in the final hours before Election
Day. "The midterm elections used to be, like, boring, didn't they?" he
added. "Do you even remember what they were? People say midterms, they
say, 'What is that, what is it,' right? Now it's like the hottest
thing."
Trump has held 26 rallies since October as he
criss-crossed the country, boosting not only local candidates but also
his own stake in Tuesday's vote. In Mississippi in October, Trump urged
supports to imagine they could vote for him when they head into the
voting booth: “I'm not on the ballot, but in a certain way, I'm on the
ballot. I want you to vote. ... Pretend I’m on the ballot.”
At an
airport in Indiana ahead of another Monday evening rally, Trump
simultaneously seemed to downplay his role while also expressing an
eagerness to bear the responsibility for his party's performance on
Tuesday.
"It's really about the candidate, but if they want to
give me the credit or the liability, I'll be willing to take it," Trump
told reporters.
"In a sense, I am on the ticket." — President Trump
Over
the past several months, Trump has unabashedly taken credit for the big
wins enjoyed by several Republican candidates throughout this
year's primary season, which often came directly after his endorsement.
Georgia
Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who is locked in a tight gubernatorial
race against Stacey Abrams, had surged ahead of Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle
only after he secured Trump's backing. Similarly, Republican John
Cox secured a spot on Tuesday's ballot in California's gubernatorial
race when Trump urged the party to coalesce behind him. KEMP ANNOUNCES LAST-MINUTE PROBE INTO POSSIBLE VOTER HACKING BY GEORGIA DEMOCRATS
Perhaps
the most stunning example of Trump's influence unfolded on June 12 in
South Carolina, when Trump-bashing Rep. Mark Sanford was unseated by
Katie Arrington. As voters headed to the polls, Trump tweeted that
"Sanford has been very unhelpful to me in my campaign to MAGA" and
called him "MIA and nothing but trouble."
Also attributable, at
least in part, to Trump's endorsements: Republican State Sen. Troy
Balderson pushing back a challenge from insurgent Democrat Danny
O’Connor in Ohio's special election in August; South Carolina Gov. Henry
McMaster's win over rival businessman John Warren; and New York Rep.
Dan Donovan's rise to beat Michael Grimm.
"When I decided to go to
Ohio for Troy Balderson, he was down in early voting 64 to 36," Trump
tweeted. "That was not good. After my speech on Saturday night, there
was a big turn for the better. Now Troy wins a great victory during a
very tough time of the year for voting. He will win BIG in Nov." (Fox
News currently rates Balderson's bid for Ohio's 12th Congressional
District as lean Republican.) TRUMP
ANNOUNCES PLAN TO DENY ASLYUM-SEEKERS WHO DON'T ARRIVE AT PORT OF
ENTRY, IN APPARENT ATTEMPT TO REJECT MANY CARAVAN MEMBERS
But
as voters head to the polls, some Republicans are suggesting
that Trump's fiery, immigration-focused messaging may have derailed the
GOP's electoral chances in some key races. And Trump himself seemingly
acknowledged that, despite his efforts, his party is looking at long
odds in several congressional races.
“I think we’re going to do
well in the House," Trump said. "But, as you know, my primary focus has
been on the Senate, and I think we’re doing really well in the Senate.”
Last
week, Trump rebuked House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and told him that
he "should be focusing on holding the Majority" rather than challenge
his proposal to end birthright citizenship -- which was widely seen as an effort to cast some blame on Ryan if Democrats retake the lower chamber.
Last
Friday's jobs report showed the unemployment rate holding steady at 3.7
percent, the lowest it has been in nearly 50 years, and that employers
added roughly 250,000 jobs in October. Consumer confidence is at
record-high levels. In an exclusive Fox News op-ed published Monday, Trump focused extensively on the economy, which he called "red-hot" and "the envy of the world." TRUMP MAKES CLOSING ARGUMENT IN FOX NEWS OP-ED: VOTE REPUBLICAN AND CONTINUE THE JOBS BOOM
At times, though, Trump has appeared unwilling to discuss those figures publicly.
"Sometimes
it’s not as exciting to talk about the economy because we have a lot of
other things to talk about," Trump said at a rally Wednesday night in
West Virginia. He proceeded to discuss the migrant caravan and
birthright citizenship -- more contentious issues that analysts say may
turn off some moderate voters.
"Does that bring a single person to
the polls? Is it moving any undecided voter — toward you, anyway?"
Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist asked, in an
interview with The Washington Examiner. "Immigration is not a consensus issue within the current Republican Party because so many Republican voters are immigrants."
In an interview with The Los Angeles Times
on Monday, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Trump "owns the
Republican Party even more than Reagan" -- and he's wielding that
historic influence accordingly.
"He has polarized the election on
the issues he believes in, on his terms, despite the news media,"
Gingrich said. "You can argue whether or not it’s the right gamble. But
it’s his gamble.”
Republican congressional candidate Dan Crenshaw reacts to
the crowd with his wife, Tara, during a party at the Cadillac Bar, in
Houston.
(Houston Chronicle via AP)
Dan
Crenshaw, a Texas Republican Congressional candidate, took the high
road Sunday after 'Saturday Night Live' actor Pete Davidson joked that
the former Navy SEAL's eye patch made him look like a "hit man in a
porno movie."
Davidson stirred up controversy during Saturday's
"Weekend Update" when he said Crenshaw's photo was "kinda cool," but
that viewers might be "surprised he's a congressional candidate from
Texas and not a hitman in a porno movie." He added, "I'm sorry, I know
he lost his eye in the war or whatever."
Crenshaw wears an eyepatch because he was badly wounded during his third tour in Afghanistan as a Navy SEAL. PETE DAVIDSON MOCKS REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE, FORMER NAVY SEAL WHO LOST AN EYE IN AFGHANISTAN
The
National Republican Congressional Committee tweeted Sunday morning that
David and NBC "should immediately apologize to Dan, and to the millions
of veterans and military families who tune in every weekend -- because
they're not laughing."
But Crenshaw backed away from demanding an
apology from either Davidson or NBC. He said the "real atrocity" was
Davidson's attempt at a joke, which he called "not funny" and
"mean-spirited."
"[I]t wasn't even funny. Right? It was not
original, it was not funny, it was just mean-spirited and that's how I
feel about it," Crenshaw told TMZ.
"I
want us to get away from this culture where we demand apologies
everytime someone misspeaks," Crenshaw said. "I think that would be very
healthy for our nation to go in that direction."
FILE: Pete Davidson speaks at a Comedy Central Roast at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, Calif.
(Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
"We
don't need to be outwardly outraged. I don't need to demand apologies
from them. They can do whatever they want." He acknowledged that
Davidson and NBC are likely "feeling the heat from around the country
right now." 'THANK U, NEXT' -- ARIANA GRANDE DROPS NEW SONG BEFORE 'SNL,' NAME-CHECKS PETE DAVIDSON, MAC MILLER
"But
I would like him and 'Saturday Night Live' to recognize
something, which is that veterans across the country probably don't feel
as though their wounds they received in battle should be the subject of
a bad punchline for a bad joke," Crenshaw said.
Neither representatives for Davidson not NBC immediately responded to Fox News' request for comment.
President Trump shaking hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House in March.
(AP, File)
President Trump said
in an interview broadcast Sunday that members of the Saudi-led
coalition fighting in Yemen's civil war "didn't know how to use" an
American-made bomb when they blew up a school bus this past August,
killing dozens of children.
Trump described the Aug. 9 attack,
which killed at least 51 people including 40 children, as "a horror
show" in an interview with "Axios on HBO." However, he pointed out that
the weapon "wasn't operated by U.S. people."
"We don't do that,"
Trump went on. "Our people are the best operators in the world ... That
was basically people that didn't know how to use the weapon, which is
horrible."
The interview was broadcast four days after the Trump
administration demanded a cease-fire and the launch of U.N.-led
political talks to end the Yemen conflict, which has devolved into a
proxy war between the Saudis and Iran. Defense Secretary Jim Matts
called for a halt to hostilities within 30 days.
An estimated
10,000 people have been killed since the conflict erupted in March 2015,
one year after the Shiite Muslim Houthi minority took over Yemen's
capital, Sanaa, and toppled the government. A Saudi-led, U.S.-backed
coalition supporting the largely exiled government has blockaded the
rebel-held north and waged a devastating air campaign. The U.S. has also
sold billions of dollars' worth of arms to Saudi Arabia and provides
logistical and other support to the coalition. TRUMP AMPS UP CRACKDOWN ON VENEZUELA
The
war has also left around two-thirds of Yemen's population of 27 million
relying on foreign aid, and more than 8 million at risk of starvation.
"What’s
going on in Yemen generally is a terrible thing," said Trump, who
added: "It is probably right now the worst place on Earth."
The
U.S.-Saudi alliance has come under strain in recent weeks following the
Oct. 2 kidnapping and murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a U.S.-based Saudi
activist who contributed opinion pieces to The Washington Post. The
State Department on Friday said it would continue to seek a full
investigation into what happened to Khashoggi after he entered the Saudi
consulate in Istanbul and never came out. MIGRANT CARAVANS GROW IN SIZE, GET HELP ALONG THE WAY
Trump
told Axios that he would "be talking about a lot of things with the
Saudis," but added, "certainly I wouldn't be having people that don't
know how to use the weapons shooting at buses with children."
Earlier
Sunday, Yemeni officials said more than 150 fighters on both sides had
been killed over the weekend amid escalating fighting around the key
port city of Hodeida. The rebels said they had repelled the offensive,
killing or wounding 215 troops and destroying 20 armored vehicles.
There's
nothing Brant McMullan likes more than fishing for redfish with his son
on his Yellowfin boat, with his Yamaha F300 outboard motors off the
coast of North Carolina.
"Fishing is a way of life for us," McMullan said, joined out on the water by his son and his father.
But
today, he fears for fishing's future, particularly for sport-fisherman
like himself. McMullan told Fox News he's concerned that over the past
few decades, sport-fisherman have been getting squeezed out of the
fishing industry, as a result of increasing "regulations and pressure."
That's
exactly why he's supporting a ballot measure in North Carolina that
would enshrine the right to fish and hunt in the state constitution.
What McMullan fears most, he said, is a regulatory concept called "catch
shares."
That's where the government divvies up catch limits for
certain species of fish among commercial fishermen. McMullan explained
that sport-anglers like himself are left out.
"It's a precious
resource," he said while aboard his boat, "and it's important that it be
available." McMullan agrees with critics of the ballot measure who say
this will privatize the fishing industry to the detriment of those who
are fishing for fun. CLICK FOR COMPLETE FOX NEWS 2018 MIDTERMS COVERAGE
On
the other hand, Ashley Byrne from People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals (PETA) told Fox News that "fishing is a blood sport just like
hunting." PETA opposes the ballot measure, in part because, Byrne says,
we've already caught too many fish.
"Fish populations are
dwindling as a result of overfishing," Byrne said, adding, "There are
estimates that say many large fish populations could be extinct in our
lifetimes."
McMullan doesn't agree. THE 9 BIGGEST CAMPAIGN CONTROVERSIES OF THE 2018 MIDTERMS
Following the catch of an enormous redfish, he said, "well, the proof is in the pudding I'm holding in my hands."
"I will say," McMullan challenged, "I have fished for over two decades - and the fisheries are extremely healthy."
He's
also supporting the Modern Fish Act, which is currently before
Congress. McMullan said it's the only way to truly level the playing
field and keep fishing viable for decades to come.
Iran remained defiant Monday as the re-imposition of sanctions took hold in the Islamic Republic.
Iranian
state television aired footage of defense drills taking place in the
country's north through Tuesday as President Hassan Rouhani said the
nation faces a “war situation” against a “bullying enemy.”
The sanctions, re-imposed by President Donald Trump earlier this year, will end all the economic benefits America granted Tehran for its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The deal limited Iran’s enrichment of uranium.
The
reimposition comes as Trump and Congress focus on congressional and
gubernatorial elections in the U.S. Many will see the results as a major
triumph for the president, or a political blow. Reuters pointed out that Trump campaigned in Chattanooga, Tenn., and he called the sanctions an effective strategy.
“Iran
is a much different country than it was when I took office,” Trump
said. “They wanted to take over the whole Middle East. Right now they
just want to survive.” SECRETARY OF STATE POMPEO DEFENDS IRAN SANCTIONS – AND WAIVERS – AMID CRITICISM FROM BOTH SIDES
The
new American sanctions take aim at Iran's vital oil industry -- a
crucial source for its weak economy. Its national currency has plummeted
over the last year amid an economic crisis. Prices for everything from
mobile phones to medicine have skyrocketed.
Iran’s national
currency, the rial, now trades at 145,000 to one U.S. dollar -- down
from 40,500 to $1 a year ago. The economic chaos sparked mass anti-government protests at the end of last year which resulted in nearly 5,000 reported arrests and at least 25 people being killed.
FILE: An effigy of U.S. government icon "Uncle Sam" is held up by
demonstrators during a rally in front of the former U.S. Embassy in
Tehran, Iran.
(AP)
Rouhani insisted on state TV that Iran will “sell its oil and it will sell” despite the crippling sanctions.
“We are in the economic war situation,” he said. “We are confronting a bullying enemy. We have to stand to win.”
The United States has said the sanctions are aimed at dissuading Iran from its support of regional militant groups and its development of long-range ballistic missiles.
Ahead
of the vote, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi confidently predicted
last week that Democrats would indeed win back the House.
