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Nearly two weeks after President Biden faced criticism for telling reporters during a Delaware beach getaway that he had "no comment" on the rising death toll in Hawaii from severe wildfires, the White House has claimed the president didn't hear the question. In a statement to The New York Times, Olivia Dalton, who serves as deputy White House press secretary, defended the president Thursday evening amid an onslaught of bipartisan backlash the administration has faced over its lackluster response to the deadly wildfires in Hawaii. "He didn’t hear the question," Dalton told the outlet. "He absolutely didn’t say ‘no comment’ in relation to Maui. And in fact, he had already spoken to the nation about Maui at that point, in addition to being in daily contact with senior staff, FEMA and state officials as he marshaled a whole-of-government response to the fires." While vacationing in Rehoboth Beach earlier this month, Biden was shouted a question by a reporter who was traveling with him for his response to the rising death toll from the wildfires in Hawaii. BIDEN SHARPLY CRITICIZED AFTER SAYING 'NO COMMENT' IN RESPONSE TO DEATH TOLL IN HAWAII: 'ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE' "Mr. President, any comment on the rising death toll in Maui?" the reporter asked. "No. No comment," Biden responded with a smile as he entered a vehicle. Another reporter on the scene went ignored after he invited the president over to speak about the administration's "Hawaii response." Biden's "no comment" remark drew immense backlash from both sides of the aisle, including from one Hawaii Democrat. "I campaigned for you. Now, when I lose dozens of my friends, family, and neighbors. This?" Hawaii state Rep. Mark Kaniela Ing, a Democrat who now serves as national director of the Green New Deal Network, wrote in a now-deleted post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Kaniela Ing told Fox News Digital in a phone interview Monday that he found Biden’s remark "shocking" and out of character. "When things like this happen… if you do the kind of work I do, when the wave crests, you’ve got to paddle hardest," he said. "When tragedies like this occur, it's shocking to see people just conducting business as usual. … On the one hand, you don't want everyone to be in a perpetual somber mood, but on the other hand, how can you just carry on like that?" "I think everyone deserves some time to take care of themselves, wind down, but, as someone in a leadership role, you need to be ready any moment to offer some empathy and solace and comfort to people that are facing a lot of trauma right now," he added. Kaniela Ing said he deleted his post because he thought Biden’s exchange with reporters may have been more nuanced than initially reported. HAWAII DEMOCRAT SAYS BIDEN'S ‘NO COMMENT’ ON WILDFIRES ‘SHOCKING’: ‘I WOULD EXPECT MORE’ "Whether or not it was as dismissive as originally reported, it is quite disappointing," he added. "I would expect more." The remark from Biden was also highlighted by Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis during the first GOP presidential primary debate Wednesday night. "Biden was on the beach while those people were suffering," DeSantis said. "He was asked about it, and he said, ‘No comment.’ Are you kidding me? As somebody that’s handled disasters in Florida, you’ve got to be activated. You’ve got to be there. You’ve got to be present. You’ve got to be helping people who are doing this." Pushing back on the criticism the president received, a White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital last week that the Biden administration was using the "whole-of-government" to respond to the deadly fires, which included Biden mobilizing federal assistance from various departments and agencies. "The Biden-Harris Administration has mobilized a robust whole-of-government response effort to support immediate and long-term rescue and recovery efforts in Maui, Hawaii," the White House spokesperson said. The statement continued: "Since the onset of the horrific fires in Maui, dozens of Federal departments and agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security through FEMA and the Coast Guard, the Department of Defense through the Navy and Army, the Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Small Business Administration (SBA) have been working with state and local partners on the ground to assess ongoing needs and providing resources and personnel to support response efforts." Despite the apparent halfhearted "no comment" remark, Biden responded "within hours" of Hawaii officials reporting the fire, according to a White House fact sheet. "Last Thursday, within hours of the devastating fires, President Biden signed a Major Disaster Declaration for Hawaii, and as President Biden told [Hawaii] Governor Josh Green, the Federal Government stands ready to provide additional assistance to ensure the state recovers," it said. "This weekend, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, U.S. Fire Administrator Dr. Lori Moore-Merrell and U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman surveyed catastrophic damage on the island and hosted a local press conference to reiterate the Administration’s commitment to supporting impacted communities, however long it may take." There are also nearly 500 federal personnel deployed to Maui as well as the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy, who are supporting maritime search and rescue operations, and U.S. Army helicopters, who are supporting fire suppression efforts on the Big Island, the White House said. Maui County released the names of 388 people still missing Thursday more than two weeks after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, and officials asked anyone who knows a person on the list to be safe to contact authorities. The number of confirmed dead after fires on Maui that destroyed the historic seaside community of Lahaina stands at 115, a figure the county said is expected to rise. Fox News' Jessica Chasmar and Lawrence Richard and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Donald Trump remains on top of the polls among Republican presidential candidates, but the gap between the former president and his onetime political protégé could be narrowing following the first GOP debate. A new Public Opinion Strategies poll exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital shows Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis closing in on Trump among Iowa voters. The poll among the 400 Iowa likely GOP caucus-goers included a ballot test that saw DeSantis rose from 14% support up to 21% post-debate.  GOP VOTERS SAY DESANTIS DELIVERED BEST PERFORMANCE IN FIRST PRIMARY DEBATE: POLL Trump slid by one percentage point, from 42% to 41%. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley also saw a large bump in the polls, rising from 3% support to 11% post-debate, while South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott slid from 8% to 7%. Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy saw the largest slide, dropping from 10% support to 7%. Former Vice President Mike Pence remained at 2% in the poll. Both North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie dropped from 3% to 1% support after the debate. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson saw a bump, as well, getting up to 1% support post-debate, up from being below 1% before the debate. The Public Opinion Strategies poll also found DeSantis closing the gap against Trump in a head-to-head matchup, with DeSantis having 40% support to Trump's 43% post-debate. Pre-debate, DeSantis largely trailed with 34% compared to Trump's 51%. DESANTIS RESPONSE TO VIRAL ‘RICH MEN’ SONG QUESTION GETS LOUD REACTION FROM CROWD The poll also found that DeSantis topped the first debate, with 33% of respondents saying he was the strongest conservative on stage and 34% saying he can defeat Trump. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said DeSantis would be able to defeat President Biden while 32% said he was the strongest leader on stage. DeSantis also topped the border issue in the poll. The second-place candidate was Ramaswamy, who 15% of respondents said was the strongest conservative and 17% said could defeat Biden. Eleven percent said Ramaswamy could defeat Trump. However, Haley beat Ramaswamy in terms of being the strongest leader among respondents, sitting at 15%. Scott was seen as a strong conservative, with 13% saying he was the strongest. Pence was also seen as a strong conservative on stage, with 12% viewing him as the strongest conservative Wednesday night. Ramaswamy also faces some unwelcome news from the poll, which found that the tech entrepreneur "was simply a placeholder position on the debate stage for core Trump voters." Of respondents who believe Ramaswamy won the Wednesday debate, 60% would vote for Trump in the general election. Twenty-one percent would vote for Ramaswamy and 10% for DeSantis. Among those who believed DeSantis won the debate, 64% are behind the Florida governor, 28% would vote for Trump, 3% for Scott, and 3% for Haley. Fifty percent of respondents who believed Haley won the debate said they would be voting for her, while 13% said they would vote for DeSantis, and 12% backed Trump. The poll was conducted Aug. 24, the day after a fiery Wednesday debate among eight GOP presidential candidates. It had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

Republican Party officials have selected Houston to host their party's 2028 presidential convention, approving the location during a closed meeting on Friday.

Trump, listed as 6ft 3in and 215lb, vows to ‘never surrender’ as campaign bids to turn mugshot shame into political weapon Donald Trump’s campaign sought to turn his public disgrace into a political weapon on Friday by raising funds and creating merchandise with his glowering prison mugshot. The mugshot, a historic first for a former US president, was made public after a 20-minute booking at the decrepit prison in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday, over charges that Trump ran a criminal racket to overturn the 2020 election in the state. Continue reading...

The former president’s campaign immediately began fund-raising off his booking photo and started selling merchandise featuring it.

Former President Donald J. Trump has already started to use his mug shot in fund-raising appeals.

Wall-to-wall coverage of ex-president is another example of his unique ability to suck up all media oxygen, even amid the Republican debate Less than 24 hours after the first primary debate of the 2024 election season concluded, viewers of America’s cable news programs could be forgiven if they forgot the event had occurred at all. Rather than focusing on the post-debate coverage and analysis typically seen during past election cycles, CNN and MSNBC turned their attention on Thursday evening to Donald Trump’s arrest in Fulton county, Georgia, for charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. News of Trump’s surrender and the image of the first mugshot ever taken of a former US president also dominated the homepages of the New York Times and the Washington Post. Continue reading...

Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz is imploring tourists who have plans to vacation in unscathed parts of Hawaii to not cancel trips following the devastating wildfires that killed at least 114 people and left hundreds more missing earlier this month. The Aloha State's senior Democratic senator stated Thursday on X, the social media platform formerly called Twitter, that resorts in South Maui are depending on visitors to avoid "mass layoffs compounding our challenges" in restoring West Maui, which was decimated by raging wildfires.  "Maui update. South Maui resorts (Lahaina is West Maui) NEED visitors. Furloughs and layoffs starting because people think the whole island is closed. It is not. If you are planning a trip to Wailea or Kihei, don’t cancel. If you want to come to Hawaii pls consider South Maui," Schatz posted on X. Schatz added that hotels and resorts in the surrounding areas have now housed "virtually everyone" whose homes were destroyed, and can now accept tourists. MAUI HOME LEFT UNTOUCHED BY WILDFIRES WHILE LAHAINA NEIGHBORHOOD DESTROYED "I’m not saying the situation on the ground for victims is good, we have a long way to go. But south Maui depends on visitors and we don’t want mass layoffs compounding our challenges," he said.  Schatz joined President Biden earlier this week in his visit to survey the damage from the fires.  In a letter sent Thursday to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra ahead of his visit to Maui, Schatz and the Hawaii congressional delegation asked for more federal assistance. "As you visit Maui, we ask you to take further actions to support the survivors, and ensure sustained access to health care and social services. While we continue to work with federal, state, and local stakeholders to identify specific needs, we see immediate opportunity for federal assistance," the delegation wrote in their letter to Becerra. Maui County on Thursday released the names of 388 people still missing more than two weeks after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. The FBI compiled the list of names. The number of confirmed dead after fires on Maui that destroyed the historic seaside community of Lahaina stands at 115, a number the county said is expected to rise. HAWAII GOV AGREES CLIMATE CHANGE 'AMPLIFIED THE COST OF HUMAN ERROR' ON MAUI FIRES "We also know that once those names come out, it can and will cause pain for folks whose loved ones are listed," Police Chief John Pelletier said in a statement. "This is not an easy thing to do, but we want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to make this investigation as complete and thorough as possible." MAUI COMPANY SAYS REQUEST FOR WATER TO FIGHT WILDFIRE DELAYED SEVERAL HOURS WHILE STATE CONSULTED WITH FARMERS Names on the list were deemed validated if officials had a person's first and last name and a verified contact for the person who reported them missing, officials said. An additional 1,732 people who had been reported missing have been found safe as of Thursday afternoon, officials said. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Republican National Committee on Friday named Houston, Texas as host city for their 2028 presidential nominating convention. The news was announced in a release following a vote by the RNC's 168 committee members. Houston was one of three finalists to host the 2028 convention, along with Miami, Florida and Nashville, Tennessee. "I am excited to announce Houston as the host city for the 2028 Republican National Convention," said RNC Charwoman Ronna McDaniel. "After a smart business decision made by the RNC last spring to allow us to select the next convention city earlier than ever, we are looking forward to seeing Houston in the spotlight come 2028. The entire RNC membership is eager to work with Governor Greg Abbott, Mayor Sylvester Turner, the Houston Host Committee, and Houston First Corporation to follow in Milwaukee’s footsteps by delivering an incredible convention for our Party." CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING FROM THE 2024 CAMPAIGN TRAIL Houston hasn't hosted a national party presidential convention since 1992, when then-President George H.W. Bush was re-nominated as the GOP standard-bearer in the now shuttered Astrodome. Houston last held a Democratic National Convention in 1928. The city bid for next year's Democratic presidential nominating convention, but earlier this year the DNC announced it would hold its 2028 event in Chicago. THE WINNERS AND LOSERS FROM THE FIRST 2024 GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION DEBATE The RNC's vote took place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the national party committee held its annual summer meeting in the city that will host its 2024 convention. The RNC decision on the site of the 2028 Republican National Convention comes two days after Fox News hosted the first 2024 GOP presidential nomination debate in Milwaukee. The Republicans and Democrats often — but not always — hold their presidential nominating conventions in crucial general election battleground states. Wisconsin is such a state, but Illinois, where the Democrats are holding their 2024 convention, is reliably blue. While Houston is a Democratic-leaning city, Texas has long been considered a solidly red state.

Former President Donald Trump and 18 others have surrendered in Fulton County, Georgia, on charges related to alleged election interference.

Users had fun after Republican frontrunner became the first former American president to sit for a mugshot First came the mugshot. Then came the mugs. Then the shot glasses. Following Donald Trump’s surrender at the Fulton county jail on Thursday evening, the highly anticipated mugshot of the former president spread swiftly across the internet as both ends of the political spectrum raced to commodify and meme-ify the picture. Continue reading...

Jen Jordan, a Georgia Democratic state senator and attorney, responds to former President Donald Trump who called his arrest at Fulton County Jail a "terrible experience."

CNN's Tom Foreman explains where the mug shot originated and breaks down a number of mug shots throughout history.

Former President Donald Trump traveled to Atlanta on Thursday for his booking at the Fulton County jail in the Georgia election interference case. A booking photo was released of the former president, and his campaign has begun fundraising off of the image. CBS News congressional correspondent Nikole Killion reports from Atlanta.

Former President Donald Trump's co-defendants face a noon ET Friday deadline to voluntarily surrender to Georgia authorities after being criminally charged in the state's 2020 election subversion case. Follow here for live updates.

CBS News' Robert Costa breaks down the election case in Georgia, which he says is a key political battleground going into 2024 and a microcosm of what happened in the days after the 2020 election.

Former vice-presidential nominee condemns prosecutors over ‘travesty’ and says ‘we’re not going to keep putting up with this’ A second US civil war is “going to happen” if state and federal authorities continue to prosecute Donald Trump, the former Alaska governor and Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin said. “Those who are conducting this travesty and creating this two-tier system of justice, I want to ask them what the heck, do you do want us to be in civil war? Because that’s what’s going to happen,” Palin told Newsmax on Thursday night. Continue reading...

One of two gun stores owned by Representative Andrew Clyde in Georgia, Clyde Armory in Athens, was placed in the monitoring program in 2020 and 2021.

Representative Andrew Clyde, Republican of Georgia, supports a broad rollback of federal firearms regulations.

Every week political cartoonists throughout the country and across the political spectrum apply their ink-stained skills to capture the foibles, memes, hypocrisies and other head-slapping events in the world of politics. The fruits of these labors are hundreds of cartoons that entertain and enrage readers of all political stripes. Here's an offering of the best of this week's crop, picked fresh off the Toonosphere. Edited by Matt Wuerker.

Republican presidential candidates took to the stage this week to try to convince voters they should be the one to take on Joe Biden in 2024. There was one notable exception – but Donald Trump was still inescapable for his opponents. Joan E Greve speaks to the former GOP communications director Tara Setmayer about everyone’s performance on the night, and whether these debates even matter when the missing frontrunner is so far ahead in the polls Archive: Fox News, CNN, CBS News Continue reading...

Donald Trump claimed his arrest amounted to 'election interference' and argued he had 'every right' to contest Joe Biden's victory after reporting to the Fulton county jail in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was formally arrested after his indictment on charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election result in the state. The former US president, photographed for a police mugshot, had reached an agreement to post a bond guaranteeing his release as his case moves through the court system

‘They’re savage animals’: Trump attacks the left in Tucker Carlson interview

Trump replaces lawyer on team hours before surrender at Georgia jail – reports

Continue reading...

The former president’s booking photo is unprecedented. And that’s just the beginning of its significance.

Former President Donald Trump spoke to reporters after he surrendered at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta to be booked on more than a dozen charges stemming from his efforts to reverse Georgia's 2020 election results.

CNN's Jake Tapper speaks with CNN political analyst and New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman about former President Trump's mug shot.

Millions and millions of photographs have been taken of American presidents. But none like this.

The next step is the arraignment, which the Fulton County district attorney has asked the court to hold the week of Sept. 5.

The former president arrived in a motorcade and entered a rear entrance of the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, to be booked on racketeering charges, on Thursday.