Vice President JD Vance said he isn't sure if he'd receive President Donald Trump's endorsement "right out the gate" if he were to run for president in 2028.
Vance expressed that uncertainty during a Monday interview with journalist Mark Halperin on his platform 2Way. The interview aired just weeks before the midterm elections, as Republicans and the White House are focused on maintaining control of Congress.
Vance emphasized that his top priority was the midterms and said he wasn't certain that a 2028 presidential run was in his future.
However, he said, "I think if I run, the president will endorse me."
"I would think so, but I don’t know, man," Vance said. "I haven’t talked to him about it."
Halperin suggested it might be "weird" if Vance were to share with Trump his 2028 ambitions and for Trump to sit on an endorsement, a characterization that Vance pushed back on.
"No, I don’t think it’d be weird," Vance said. "Again, I think I would get his endorsement, but I also think there’s something to be said for people actually running their own race, and because the president’s endorsement is so dispositive, you could absolutely see a scenario where the president says, ‘You know what? We need to let, like, this race play out and not, like, preemptively prejudge the results.'"
Earlier in the conversation, Halperin brought up previous remarks by Vance in which he said that "whoever the president endorses for the Republican nomination will ultimately win the Republican primary."
Vance said this is typically true of both the Democratic and Republican parties, but that Trump's endorsement is much more consequential because he first won the trust of everyday voters while Republican Party elites rejected him. Vance said Trump's endorsement signals to voters that a candidate is not beholden to the party's elite.
"That’s the person they say, ‘Okay, if Trump is with a guy, that must mean that the elites are against that guy," Vance said. "I think that Trump’s endorsement just carries more weight than any political endorsement in history because of that. Obviously, the voters are gonna decide. Donald Trump is only one vote of many, but I think his endorsement is still the most powerful."
Vance's uncertainty over winning Trump's blessing comes after Trump previously teased pitting Vance against Secretary of State Marco Rubio for his endorsement in the 2028 presidential race. Trump called Vance and Rubio the "dream team," at a May Rose Garden Club event but has refused to say who would be at the top of the ticket.
DES MOINES, Iowa — House Republicans are pinning hopes of keeping their majority on a state that President Donald Trump won by roughly 13 points in November 2024.
And while Iowa has leaned red in recent years, Republicans are now finding themselves defending three of its four congressional districts as polls give Democrats more hope by the day that the key to a blue wave runs through the Midwest.
But Republicans are dismissing public perception surveys as a political cudgel used by the media and the left to discourage GOP voters, while insisting the results will come down to one thing.
"Nobody knows what's going to happen on November 3. But I'm here to tell you, if our people show up, we win. If our people don't show up … then we're going to be scratching and clawing to hang on to every inch that we've got," House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told a room of GOP supporters in Dubuque, Iowa, on Thursday.
Fox News Digital joined Emmer and several other House Republicans on a two-district swing in Iowa late last week. The No. 3 House GOP leader spent his afternoon at an event for congressional candidate Joe Mitchell in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, followed by a fundraiser for Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, in Des Moines in the evening.
At both events, he argued that polling showing Democrats with a growing advantage was incorrect, but he and others are still warning that getting Republicans out to vote will be key to the party’s success.
"Republicans do not like to participate in surveys," Emmer told people Thursday evening in Des Moines. "We are very suspicious of the people who are giving the information to and the databases they’re putting us in. By the way, there are Republicans who answer these surveys who may tell exactly the opposite of what they actually stand on, because again, we don’t trust them."
Fox News Power Rankings show all but one of Iowa’s four congressional districts are in play. Nunn’s district and the one represented by Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, both "lean Democrat." The seat Mitchell is vying to take over from retiring Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, is ranked a "toss-up."
Republicans across the country are privately worrying that Trump’s low approval numbers coupled with some of his more unpopular policies could drag down the GOP. Add in the overall high cost of living and gas prices, some on the right are bracing for a 2018-style blue wave.
Two of the policies that could sandbag Republican candidates in Iowa in particular are Trump’s tariffs and his decision to import foreign beef. The agriculture-heavy state has been hit particularly hard so far, with tariffs making farm equipment and other materials more expensive, while Trump's trade war with China has hit American farmers hard with Beijing's retaliation.
Trump has sought to mitigate the impact of his steel tariffs in particular, announcing plans last month for a $15 billion steel plant in Lee County, Iowa.
But both Nunn and Mitchell are confident in the races they are running.
"We feel very confident about the race. And that's because we've talked to every voter we can, asked for their vote on November 3, and we've been traveling the district for the last 13 months — all 22 counties, rural and suburban and urban, telling people, this is an election of common sense versus crazy," Mitchell told Fox News Digital. "We have the hardest workers on the ballot."
Nunn told attendees at his event, "Not only is Iowa at the front line of the entire country when it comes to making sure we've got three competitive House seats, Des Moines, Iowa, the third district, our proud district, is now one of the most competitive in the country."
"So not only are we on the front line, we get to be at the tip of the spear," Nunn said, weeks after he led a bipartisan bill aimed at curbing Trump's imports of foreign beef.
And despite the national-level outlook on Trump, turning out the president’s supporters could be the difference between narrowly keeping the GOP majority and losing control of the House.
Trump, for his part, is doing what he can to motivate the base.
Nunn kicked off his Thursday evening event shortly after a phone call with Trump, during which the president said he "is committed to making sure we remain here in Iowa," the congressman said.
Trump is also set to descend on the state later this week for a rally in Sioux City, though it’s taking place in the only safe district for Republicans in the state.
"I'm always competing. I don't care if it's Iowa, I don't care if it's Pennsylvania, Ohio, Nevada, Texas, Florida, they're all important to this midterm," Emmer told Fox News Digital. "This midterm, to me, will come down to about 10 seats. Everybody talks about 20-plus. No. It's going to be a very narrow end, and for Republicans, Iowa is a great example. If the Republicans come out to vote, we're going to be just fine."
If the fate of the House majority did come down to the results of just 10 seats, that would mean Iowa would be responsible for roughly one-third of that success.
And while not all Republicans are as confident in the GOP’s chances in Iowa, they do agree that the final results will come down to turnout.
"This goes one of two ways — and both aren’t great for Republicans. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Joe Mitchell, and Zach Nunn either win by the skin of their teeth or it’s complete and total obliteration on November 3," a GOP operative familiar with campaigns in Iowa told Fox News Digital. "There is no in-between. If Republican voters turn out to the polls, there’s hope. If not, it’s going to be bad."
EXCLUSIVE - President Donald Trump is putting cash behind his crackdown on taxpayer fraud, offering Americans rewards for tips that help bring fraudsters to justice.
Speaking alongside Vice President JD Vance and independent journalist Nick Shirley in the Oval Office, Trump unveiled the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program and said qualifying tipsters would receive a 1% commission, subject to applicable laws and rules.
"If you turn somebody in and you, let's say report, and you find $1 billion, we are giving a commission to that person of 1%," Trump said.
Fox News Digital exclusively reported plans for the program ahead of Tuesday’s announcement. A White House official initially described a $25 million initiative administered by the Justice Department, with rewards of up to $30,000 for tips leading to a successful fraud conviction or significant federal enforcement action.
Trump’s remarks outlined a different payout structure. He said journalists could also participate, subject to applicable rules and approval from their employers.
Americans can report suspected theft of taxpayer dollars through fraud.gov, Trump said.
The president also said he would personally settle disputes over who deserves a reward, describing a process in which he would determine whether competing tipsters should split a payment.
"I'll make that determination. It'll be done expeditiously and fairly," Trump said.
Vance said the initiative grew out of a conversation with Trump about recruiting Americans to help investigators uncover fraud.
"If you want to help us stop it, you get to share in the rewards," Vance said.
Shirley drew national attention in December 2025 after publishing a video questioning whether several Somali-run Minnesota daycare centers were operating as legitimate businesses. His video showed apparently empty facilities and included people who said they had not seen children at the locations.
The White House credited Shirley’s reporting with helping spur a surge of FBI and Department of Homeland Security resources into Minnesota, followed by investigations, arrests and new charges.
One facility featured in Shirley’s video was Future Leaders Early Learning Center, whose former CEO, Fahima Egeh Mahamud, pleaded guilty in July to wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States.
Prosecutors said Mahamud stole more than $4.6 million through false child care assistance claims and $850,000 through a federal child nutrition program connected to the Feeding Our Future scandal.
Shirley previously pointed to Mahamud’s guilty plea as vindication of his reporting amid efforts to discredit his investigations.
The reward initiative adds a public tip incentive to the administration’s broader campaign against fraud in federal benefits programs.
Trump established the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud in March, with Vance serving as chairman. The executive order directed the group to coordinate efforts across federal agencies to uncover fraud, strengthen eligibility checks and prevent improper payments.
Under the new program, submitting an allegation alone would not qualify someone for a reward. The tip must lead to a successful fraud conviction or a significant federal enforcement action, according to the White House official.
"Every day, President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud is zeroing in on the rampant abuse of taxpayer dollars and giving Americans the accountability they deserve. This administration has zero tolerance for individuals who steal from Americans," White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital.
The event also brought a separate announcement from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, who said the administration was deferring another $1.2 billion in California Medicaid payments directed toward personal care services.
Oz cited questions about the program’s spending growth and said tips from people inside businesses can help investigators identify wrongdoing.
Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson, the task force’s vice chairman, also called for Congress to impose mandatory minimum prison terms for benefits fraud and civil liability for state officials who fail to stop fraud they could have prevented.
Fox News Digital's David Unsworth contributed to this report.
While Americans prepare to cast their ballots for who should control Congress and their local governments, the cost of filling a gas tank, paying rent and buying a home is becoming a defining test of the economy leading up to the 2026 midterms.
The latest inflation report underscores the challenge facing President Donald Trump and Republicans as they campaign on the economy and vow to improve conditions for American consumers. Trump returned to the White House promising to lower costs and is now campaigning for GOP candidates in key races, but the reality is something quite different.
With Election Day less than two weeks away, rising prices are testing whether voters feel like Republicans have done enough to improve the economy and their financial well-being.
And that pressure showed up in the latest inflation report, which found consumer prices rose 3.7% over the past year and 0.6% in September alone. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) tracks the prices households pay for a broad range of goods and services, from food and gasoline to housing and medical care.
Gasoline was a major driver, with its index jumping 9.1% for the month. But the gas to fill up the tank is not the only fuel cost putting pressure on households.
The diesel used to power trucks, farm equipment and freight trains is also surging, which has raised the cost of moving groceries, packages and building materials â another charge that has trickled down to how much Americans pay for those goods.
Additionally, the Iran war has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, further tightening global fuel supplies, while disruptions to Russian energy infrastructure have added pressure.
Utility costs are adding to the squeeze as colder weather approaches. Electricity prices were up 4.4% from a year earlier in September, while piped natural gas service rose 5%, according to the CPI.
Those figures track prices, not what any one household paid, so a local customer's bill can show how the increase is landing in real life.
Housing costs also continued to climb. The shelter index, which tracks rents and a measure of what homeowners would pay to rent their homes, rose 3.2% over the past year. Grocery prices offered some relief, dipping 0.1% in September, though they remained 1.8% higher than a year earlier.
Additionally, Trump's trade agenda is another part of the affordability debate.
A New York Fed study found that tariffs in place through February added 2.9 percentage points to consumer-goods inflation. Tariffs are taxes on imported goods, and U.S. companies that pay them can pass some of the added cost along to shoppers.
The study found that higher prices also affected some goods made in the United States, as domestic producers faced less competition from imports. The White House has argued that its trade policies will strengthen U.S. manufacturing and that foreign exporters bear the costs.
Housing presents a different affordability challenge. The median price of an existing home reached $417,500 in September, up 1.3% from a year earlier, while the average 30-year mortgage rate was 7.4%.
The latest figures give voters a snapshot of what they are paying, but not a verdict on who is to blame.
With Election Day approaching, Trump and Republican candidates will have to convince voters that their policies can make everyday costs more manageable.
A top Senate Republican warned that the same voting bloc that has propelled the GOP to power over the last decade is at risk of turning its back on the party during this election cycle.
For decades, White, working-class voters often aligned themselves with the Democratic Party, giving Democrats a stranglehold on Congress until the 1990s and often favoring the Democratic candidate atop the presidential ticket.
President Donald Trump’s entrance onto the political scene and victory in 2016 solidified a shift that was years in the making, giving Republicans a strong base of working-class support. But with the state of the economy, Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, a top ally of Trump’s on Capitol Hill, warned that the GOP’s steady base could head for the exits.
"This is the whole deal," Moreno told Fox News Digital. "It's the whole deal. If we don't hang on to those working-class voters, we're dead as a party. That's why I say with no hyperbole, if President Trump hadn’t won in 2016, the Republican Party would be dead. Because the Republican Party had abandoned working-class Americans."
"Ironically, the Democrats abandoned working Americans, and there was a void — President Trump filled it," he continued. "That's why he won."
Trump has consistently performed highly with White, working-class voters each time he has run for office, scoring between 66% and 67% of their vote between 2016 and 2024, according to a variety of exit polls.
Some Democrats acknowledged that after the 2024 election, their party had a problem with engaging the working class. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., circulated a memo that urged Democrats to embrace economic populism following stunning losses across the gamut of power in Washington.
"No one, including me, has all the answers right now, but what we know for certain is that Democrats must reclaim our identity as the party of the working class," Murphy wrote.
Still, Republicans are facing political headwinds heading into this midterm election cycle, in which affordability issues are dominating headlines and voters’ concerns.
Trump and the GOP again rose to be the dominant party in Washington, D.C., after the 2024 election by pitching a message to rectify the economy that the president charged was "destroyed" by former President Joe Biden.
But a Fox News poll published earlier this month found that nearly 60% of voters said that their top concern was the economy. A separate Fox News poll published in May found that 67% of White voters without a college degree disapproved of Trump’s handling of the economy.
Republicans have hit the trail this fall pitching their economic successes, particularly from the colossal "big, beautiful bill" and trying to instill in voters that the cost of fuel, for example, is only temporary as the war with Iran continues.
Moreno, however, argued that working-class voters "hate" the war.
"They obviously hate gas prices because, look, they're already struggling. I mean, you talk to some of these working Americans, they're an engine failure in their vehicle away from bankruptcy, and that's a disaster."
"So, I think what we have to do is explain, this is a very, very necessary thing that had to happen," he continued. "Iran was attacking us for 47 years, and we didn't take him out. They would have used a nuclear weapon. I don't know that that case is penetrated enough, and this gas price situation will be very temporary."
With everyone and his brother predicting that a blue tsunami will wash over the Senate as well as the House, I want to write something contrarian.
This way, if the Republicans do hang on to the Senate, I’ll get credit for defying the conventional wisdom. And if they don’t, I won’t get kicked out of the punditocracy – folks will just say well, he put a lot of caveats in there.
The truth is, I don’t know who is going to capture the upper chamber, and neither do you.
And neither do all the pontificators and speculators online or on the air.
I do know the GOP is pouring tens of millions into contests they might otherwise lose, giving their people – even scandal-scarred Ken Paxton – a huge advantage on the airwaves in the final two weeks. But money doesn’t always move voters once they’ve made up their minds in this era of early voting.
Is Maine’s Susan Collins liked enough to hang one more time against aggressive Troy Jackson (and thankfully not weirdo Graham Platner), when Donald Trump shouts every day ‘Pretend I’m on the ballot’?" We got it, Mr. President.
Josh Turek is an Iowa legislator and also a wheelchair basketball player who suffers from spina bifida. His GOP opponent, Rep. Ashley Hinton, says she doesn’t want "endless wars" but welcomes a Trump visit.
She’s talked about such issues as open borders and transgender surgery. Turek has focused on the Iran war and soaring health premiums because Congress failed to amend the Affordable Care Act.
In nearby Kansas, where Trump campaigned yesterday, Democrat Adam Hamilton is the founder of a Methodist mega-church, which would seem like a big plus in that conservative state, but some Dems are turned off by the religious aspect. Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, an obstetrician who served in the Army Reserves, was hurt by a New York Times report on him suing patients who were behind on their bills.
By the way, did you ever think you’d see the day when the Republicans just gave up on North Carolina and steered their money elsewhere (conceding the win to former Gov. Roy Cooper)?
Many of these races have 1-or-2 point "leads," which is within the margin of error, and polling is often inaccurate in an off-year election.
The GOP is playing defense in ruby-red states–Trump in Kansas?—which is why Democrats are increasingly confident this is their big year.
And, in the famous Tip O’Neill saying, all politics is local.
There may be a mega-church guy or a man in a wheelchair or ex-Alaska congresswoman Mary Peltola, a former tribal judge who’s for "Fish, Family, Freedom," but who former staffers say they heard using awful slurs.
How on earth do you handicap races with so many toss-ups?
Of course, Republicans want to make the country believe that all Dems are like Michigan socialist Abdul el-Sayed, who, when asked whether he’d provide military aid if Israel was under attack, says he would rather spend the money at home.
I still think the Democrats will need to have Vegas luck to win enough Senate races to take control. They also have to defend their own turf. But (escape hatch here) I’m not saying it couldn’t happen.
Vice President JD Vance declined to endorse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reelection bid, saying he intends to stay out of Israel's election despite President Donald Trump throwing his support behind the Israeli leader.
During an interview Monday with Mark Halperin on "2WAY Tonight," Vance said his focus remains on U.S. candidates ahead of the midterms, Politico reported.
"The president has the most effective endorsement in American or international political history," Vance said. "I endorse American candidates, and that’s where I’m focused on in the midterms. So I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections."
However, Vance made clear that his decision should not be interpreted as opposition to Netanyahu.
"I’m not anti-endorsing him. I’m not pro-endorsing him. I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections," the vice president added.
The comments come one day after Trump gave Netanyahu his "Complete and Total Endorsement" in a lengthy Truth Social post, praising the prime minister as a key U.S. ally and partner in confronting Iran.
"Bibi Netanyahu has been a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace in combatting the Islamic Republic of Iran," Trump wrote.
Trump said Netanyahu had remained strong despite intense political pressure.
"Please let this Letter serve to represent my Complete and Total Endorsement of Bibi Netanyahu in his upcoming Race for Re-Election as Prime Minister of Israel. BIBI NETANYAHU WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!" Trump said.
Netanyahu quickly welcomed the president's backing, thanking Trump for what he called his "extraordinary endorsement."
"President Trump, my friend Donald — thank you for your extraordinary endorsement," he said. "Israel has never had a greater friend in the White House. Together we will never let Iran's regime get nuclear weapons. Thank you for your clarity, courage and unwavering support."
Vance's decision to stay out of Israel's election comes after he reportedly waded into another foreign political contest earlier this year.
The vice president previously traveled to Hungary in April, where he campaigned alongside then-Prime Minister Viktor Orban shortly before Orban lost his reelection bid, according to Politico.
A Kansas man allegedly vowed to shoot President Donald Trump and claimed he had already mapped rooftops near his upcoming speech, triggering a federal investigation that landed him in custody before the visit.
Jaden J. Read, 24, of Clearwater, was charged Saturday with making threats against the president, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas. Authorities arrested him that same day, two days before Trump’s scheduled Monday visit to Wichita.
The investigation began Oct. 15, when a Crime Stoppers tip alerted authorities to comments beneath a KAKE News Facebook article about the president’s trip, prosecutors said.
A minute later, prosecutors said, he claimed to know where Trump would speak and to have studied nearby rooftops.
"IK where your speech will be. Already mapped out roofs around. Finna get kirked since yall couldn’t help him," the comment read, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
"The first Amendment allows for robust disagreement but there are constraints. I caution people to stay within the bounds of constitutionally protected speech."
The embattled French President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday pinned some of the blame on the U.S. war against the terrorist regime in Iran for the widespread riots and looting unfolding across France.
The controversial passage referring to the Iran war from his televised speech triggered criticism from some experts. Macron said that "demonstrators expressed concern about the cost of living and the price of fuel. Both are driven by the conflict launched in the Persian Gulf, a conflict in which France has taken no part but whose consequences we are suffering."
He added, "I fully understand their concern. It is being expressed in several other European capitals as well. That is why I have taken several initiatives at the international level to secure our fuel and our gas and to act on energy markets." Macron announced that he would be traveling to the Gulf on a three-nation stop to discuss the energy crisis.
It is unclear which demonstrators Macron signaled out for alleged concerns about fuel prices. Fox News Digital reported on Monday on the inner workings of the large-scale riots with many of the groups named seeking to abolish the free enterprise system.
Macron stressed that those who have tried "to bring down the republic will be held accountable."
President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that, "I said the first time I met Macron, I said, you got to close up your borders. You're going to ruin your country. And they've ruined their country. It's going to be hard to get it back. But hopefully France will come back."
A spokesman for the French foreign ministry pointed Fox News Digital to President Macron's televised address on Sunday and referred Fox News Digital to the Elysée press office for other questions. The Élysée press office did not respond by time of publication.
Lisa Daftari, an Iran expert, told Fox News Digital, "Macron is pointing at the Iran war, but fuel is expensive because Iran's regime closed the Strait of Hormuz and held the world's energy supply hostage. The bigger question is whether this is really about students and fuel prices at all. Major infrastructures and landmarks have been set on fire, shops were looted across the country and nearly 2,400 people were arrested in a single day."
According to Daftari, who is the Foreign Desk Editor-in-Chief, "That's not a protest over the price of diesel. It's organized lawlessness and Macron's own government admits it, blaming ultra-left groups and criminals. France has a domestic crisis, and current geopolitics are not the alibi for it."
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu accused the "ultra-left movement" of "orchestrating profound disorder in the country leading up to the presidential election "
Barak Seener, an associate research fellow at the London-based Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital that "Illegal immigration from the Middle East, North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa as well as from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh to European states serve as Trojan horses to dominate the West. Calls to ‘globalize the intifada’ and ‘Free Gaza’ and ‘Stop the genocide’ are codes to subvert and ultimately dominate Western civilization and impose Sharia law. Macron is still making the mistake of ignoring this."
In a social media post Vice President JD Vance criticized France for its porous immigration policy. Vance wrote on X that "Western liberals imported the third world into France and other countries in the name of diversity and compassion."
He added: "They ignored fundamental questions of assimilation and compatibility. They were told it would lead to this and they didn’t listen."
Seener said that similarly, the French political establishment’s political correctness and unilateral support of a Palestinian state have come home to roost. Just as Macron ignorantly declared at the 81st United Nations General Assembly that Hamas ‘has never been active’ in the West Bank, it is remarkable how Macron is reframing reality to suit his political agenda."
Seener, who has written extensively about Iran, added that "He has chosen to address students, teachers, trade unions, lawmakers and business leaders and increased oil prices due to the U.S.-led war against Iran. It is unrelated to this. More fundamentally, Macron is choosing to ignore the Red-Green alliance that has contributed to the riots across France, including 38 radical Left and Muslim organizations and 16 student organizations which includes communist youth groups and a Muslim student association such as the Muslim Students of France."
Login
