2020 Democratic hopefuls respond to shooting at Gilroy festival

The 2020 election Democratic field on Sunday responded to the Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting that killed at least four, including the gunman, and injured 15, saying the incident is a horrible reminder of the country’s “gun violence epidemic.”
“This violence is not normal,” Joe Biden, the former vice president, tweeted. “How many more families will have to lose a loved one before we fix our broken gun laws? We must take action, starting with real reform.”
Authorities in Gilroy were joined Monday by officials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in their investigation. Early reports indicated that a single gunman opened fire and was engaged in under one minute by police officers who were stationed nearby.
The shooting, which occurred during a band's performance, sending the crowd running, had chilling similarities to the 2017 Las Vegas massacre that resulted in 58 deaths.
Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., who was once the state’s attorney general, took to Twitter to call the shooting “horrific.”
“Our country has a gun violence epidemic that we cannot tolerate,” she tweeted.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said on Twitter that his heart breaks for the families involved in the shooting, and also pointed to the gun violence “epidemic.”
Beto O’Rourke did not mention the Gilroy shooting in a late-Sunday tweet, but said he was “sending love to all who are hurting tonight—and all who are affected by the 40,000 gun deaths in America each year.”
Gun control has been a key issue for Democrats and many have laid out plans on how they will approach the issue. Booker unveiled a wide-ranging gun control proposal this week and showcased his call for federal licensing of firearms.
Harris said she too would move quickly to curb gun violence if elected to the White House, vowing to use executive action if Congress didn’t act in her first 100 days.
Fox News' Paul Steinhauser and the Associated Press contributed to this report

Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro grows beard so he's not confused with twin brother, 2020 Dem Julián Castro

Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro — the twin brother of 2020 candidate Julián Castro — says he's grown a beard to help anyone avoid confusing the two, which seemingly happens often enough.
The Democratic congressman, who's served since 2013, joked last week that he was experimenting with facial hair to differentiate himself from his brother, who's currently on the campaign trail seeking the Democratic presidential nomination.
"I hadn’t shaved in like three days and I decided I’d just grow the beard back – and it does help so that people don’t always think that I’m running for president,” Joaquin told reporters on Thursday, according to USA Today.
The rep said people confuse him for his brother in public places like the airport or on the street "just about every day."

Julián Castro, left, and Joaquin Castro, right, are often confused for one another. So Joaquin decided to grow his beard back "so that people don't always think" he's running for president.

Since Julián — who previously served as the mayor of San Antonio, Texas, and as former President Barack Obama's Housing and Urban Development Secretary from 2014 to 2017 — launched his 2020 bid, many have confused the 44-year-old twins.
In June, MSNBC contributor Noah Rothman apologized for mistaking Joaquin for Julián during an episode of "Morning Joe." Rothman cited a June Fox News town hall, which featured Julián, and said Joaquin claimed the Trump administration "is 'hell-bent on moving towards war with Iran."
Joaquin quickly corrected Rothman and said he hasn't spoken to Fox News about Iran. Rothman immediately apologized and was embarrassed, but said the mixup must happen all the time.
Host Chris Hayes, also of MSNBC, in February, asked Joaquin if he was growing a beard "so that people don't confuse you and your twin brother."
"I said that I would try not to look like a certain presidential candidate, so I hope you like the beard here," Castro said.
Hayes said on the show that he spoke to one of the Castro brothers on midterm election night in 2018, but he actually didn't know who he had spoken to. Joaquin said Hayes had spoken to Julián.

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Trump decries 'gutless' Antifa, says he's weighing declaring group major terror organization

President Donald Trump said Saturday that he is considering declaring the far-left Antifa activist group a terrorist organization, equating it with the MS-13 street gang amid reports of members physically attacking conservative demonstrators and journalists at rallies across the country.
"Consideration is being given to declaring ANTIFA, the gutless Radical Left Wack Jobs who go around hitting (only non-fighters) people over the heads with baseball bats, a major Organization of Terror (along with MS-13 & others). Would make it easier for police to do their job!" Trump tweeted.
Trump's tweet came days after Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La.,and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, introduced non-binding legislation that would designate the group as a domestic terrorist organization.
“Antifa are terrorists, violent masked bullies who ‘fight fascism’ with actual fascism, protected by Liberal privilege,” Cassidy said in a statement. “Bullies get their way until someone says no. Elected officials must have courage, not cowardice, to prevent terror.”
At a Senate hearing last week, Cruz asked FBI Director Christopher Wray if he could investigate Antifa under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Wray responded that the bureau recognizes Antifa as more of an ideology than an organization.
He added the FBI takes seriously any violence on committed on behalf of ideology.
"We have a quite a number though, I should tell you, of properly predicated investigations of what we categorize as anarchist extremists," Wray told Cruz. "People who are trying to commit violent criminal activity that violates federal criminal law and some of those people do subscribe as what we would refer to as a kind of an antifa-like ideology,"
Antifa members have drawn criticism for their confrontational style and acts of violence against demonstrators with opposing viewpoints in otherwise non-violent rallies. The group clashed with white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017 and have gone on the offensive against far-right protesters in various cities.
Some mask-wearing members have been accused of throwing eggs, bottles and other items at people and beating and threatening counter-protesters and members of the media.
Trump has labeled them the "alt-left" and accused the group of attacking people who won't or can't fight back.
“Do you ever notice they [Antifa] pick on certain people?” Trump asked while speaking at a White House event for conservative social media personalities earlier this month where he recalled a violent attack on journalist Andy Ngo at a Portland, Ore., rally. “I mean, he [Mr. Ngo] would tell you he’s not the toughest person in the world physically, right?”
A 69-year-old man killed during his attack on a local Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility last week claimed to be an Antifa member.
"I am Antifa," he wrote in a manifesto the day before the attack.
Some critics say labeling certain groups as domestic terrorists is a step too far.
“It is dangerous and overly broad to use labels that are disconnected [from] actual individual conduct,” Hina Shamsi, director of the national security project at the American Civil Liberties Union, told The Washington Post last week. “And as we’ve seen how ‘terrorism’ has been used already in this country, any such scheme raises significant due process, equal protection and First Amendment constitutional concerns.”

Republican Arizona state senator says US will 'look like South American countries' soon

Arizona State Sen. Sylvia Allen, pictured here during a legislative session in May 2018, is apologizing while defending herself from criticism for comments she made on immigration and birth rates. (AP Photo, File)

Republican Arizona state Sen. Sylvia Allen believes the U.S. will soon "look like South American countries" because immigrants entering the U.S. and low birth rates among white people are contributing to a lack of cultural assimilation.
Speaking at a Republican Party event in Phoenix on July 15, Allen, of Snowflake, a city in Navajo County, said immigrants were inundating the U.S. — so much so that they can't learn "the principles of our country."
Her remarks were obtained and published by the Phoenix New Times on Friday.
"We have a right as a country to have people coming in an organized manner, so we know who is coming. So we can have jobs for them, so we can provide education for them, and health care, and all these things that people need," Allen said at the event, which celebrated "Mormon Political Pioneers."

Arizona State Sen. Sylvia Allen, pictured here during a legislative session in May 2018, is apologizing while defending herself from criticism for comments she made on immigration and birth rates. (AP Photo, File)

The senator continued: "We can't provide that when people are just flooding us and flooding us and flooding us and overwhelming us so we don't have time to teach them the principles of our country any more than we're teaching our children today."
Allen also touched upon the declining birth rate of white people in the U.S., telling those at the event the "median age of a white woman is 43" while the "median age of a Hispanic woman is 27."
"We are not reproducing ourselves, the birthrates," she said, according to the report. "But here's what I see is the issue: It's because of immigration."
Wendy Rogers, a Republican running for the state Senate seat now held by Allen, issued a statement Saturday denouncing Allen's comments as "very racist" and said Allen should retire from the Legislature — while Democratic state Sen. Martin Quezada told the Arizona Republic that the "tone and perspective" of Allen's remarks on migrants were "insulting, to say the least."
Allen told the New Times that her comments were inspired by a respected demographer who she says has described "the browning of America," and apologized in Facebook posts on Friday and Saturday "to anyone who has been hurt" by her words. She later thanked people who spoke in support and added, "Verbal Lynching is the political tool used today to silence debate on critical issues."
The senator did not immediately return Fox News' request for comment regarding her remarks.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Trump throws Squad feud back at Pelosi after 'racist' accusation: 'Democrats always play the race card'

President Trump is defending himself against accusations of racism, claiming he’s just the latest target of a party that plays the “race card,” as he leveled criticism against Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md.
Trump called out Cummings on Saturday, slamming him as a “brutal bully” for how he spoke to border patrol officials, and said that the congressman’s Baltimore district is in “FAR WORSE” shape than the situation at the southern border. That rebuke resulted in claims of racism from Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but Trump pointed out that he’s hardly the first to get accused of racism, with the speaker herself recently in the middle of a similar controversy.
“Someone please explain to Nancy Pelosi, who was recently called racist by those in her own party, that there is nothing wrong with bringing out the very obvious fact that Congressman Elijah Cummings has done a very poor job for his district and the City of Baltimore. Just take a look, the facts speak far louder than words!” Trump tweeted Sunday morning. “The Democrats always play the Race Card, when in fact they have done so little for our Nation’s great African American people,” he added.
The president appeared to be referring to how House Speaker Pelosi was the target of a thinly veiled accusation of racism when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., accused her of “singling out” women of color. That was after Pelosi dismissed Ocasio-Cortez and her “Squad” -- that includes Reps. Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley -- as being more influential on social media than in Congress. Trump defended Pelosi at the time.
On Saturday, Pelosi stood by Cummings and the city of Baltimore, where she was born, and rebuked Trump, calling his remarks "racist."
“Rep. Cummings is a champion in the Congress and the country for civil rights and economic justice, a beloved leader in Baltimore, and deeply valued colleague,” she tweeted. “We all reject racist attacks against him and support his steadfast leadership.”
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., also called Trump's comments "ugly and racist" during a campaign stop on Saturday.
Trump doubled down on his comments against Cummings Saturday afternoon, tweeting, "Elijah Cummings spends all of his time trying to hurt innocent people through 'Oversight.' He does NOTHING for his very poor, very dangerous and very badly run district!" The tweet included a video purporting to show a rundown area of West Baltimore.
The video included a female voice lamenting that "they're worried about the kids at the border, but this is how actual American citizens got to live and deal with," she added.
Trump tweeted a similar-appearing video late Saturday, asking: ".@RepCummings, why don’t you focus on your district!?"
"Mr. President, I go home to my district daily," Cummings tweeted in response to Trump's initial criticism. "Each morning, I wake up, and I go and fight for my neighbors. It is my constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the Executive Branch. But, it is my moral duty to fight for my constituents."
Trump took another shot at Pelosi Sunday morning, saying her San Francisco district was unrecognizable, and that “Something must be done before it’s too late.”
Fox News' Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

Edwin Meese: Special counsel never should have been appointed for Russia probe

Former Attorney General Edwin Meese said recently he believes former Special Counsel Robert Mueller should never have been appointed for the probe into Russia interference into the 2016 U.S. elections.
Meese also claimed in an interview airing Sunday on "Life, Liberty & Levin" that the Mueller report seemed "foreign" to the man credited with authoring it.
"In my opinion, no, there was no need," Meese said when asked whether it was necessary for a special counsel to oversee the FBI's Russia investigation.
"For one thing, the department was not in any way conflicted."
However, Meese, who served under President Ronald Reagan between 1985 and 1988, said former Attorney General Jeff Sessions was right to recuse himself because he was a potential "fact witness" in the investigation due to his prominent role in Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
"But, that certainly did not conflict the entire Department of Justice," Meese added.
Rather than appointing Mueller, Meese claimed, the Russia investigation could have been executed through standard channels within the government.
"If once there was an allegation, if there was one, then that should have gone through the normal processes of the department and been handled by the U.S. attorney either in Washington, D.C., or in New York -- wherever the jurisdiction happened to be," Meese explained.
Discussing Mueller's appearance before two House committees Wednesday, Meese claimed the former FBI director appeared to be unfamiliar with parts of his own report.
"I was concerned by his testimony," he said.
"I was concerned by the fact that so much of the report seemed to be foreign to him, or at least he was not familiar with it. And I've since reflected the views of a lot of people who were watching and that was that he was not familiar with the report because it looked like someone else had written it."
Host Mark Levin served as Meese's chief of staff during the Reagan administration.

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