Leavitt FIRES BACK at Obama's ballroom jab

[0:00] Good morning, America, and here we go, seven to go, seven days to go, midterm blitz now in [0:05] its final week. The trail is teeming with action and President Trump tops the bill. We'll show you [0:10] where he's headed for in a moment here. So good morning, everybody. It's a Tuesday. We got a rock [0:15] in two hours. So I'm Bill Hemmer. Let's get it going here. Good morning to you. Great to be here [0:19] with you and with all of you. I'm Dana Perino and this is America's Newsroom. So President Trump [0:24] is pulling out all the stops in Texas today, Ohio tomorrow, Thursday, South Carolina, and if it's [0:30] Friday, it must be Florida. And he will hold two rallies for Republican Ken Paxton in Texas today. [0:35] The latest Fox polling shows that race in a dead heat. So supporters standing out in the rain in [0:40] Corpus Christi this morning, waiting in line. That is stop number one. Yesterday, the president was [0:46] stumping in Mississippi. Supporters came out in droves. Huge crowd there, and they said they are [0:53] all in with the president on this one. I think he's done really good for our country for y'all [1:02] because he'll tell you what he's going to do, and he gets it done. I think a lot of people sit out [1:08] the midterms, and I hope this encourages them to get out and vote. I totally respect our president. [1:13] I respect what he stands for, and I think he and Ronald Reagan are the best presidents ever. [1:19] And the president making the case to keep Congress in Republican hands. He's urging voters to [1:24] reject far-left Democrats. Let's make the next two years bigger, better, stronger than ever before [1:33] because we will make America powerful again, wealthy again, healthy again, strong again, [1:42] proud again, safe again. All right, now let's get going. Caroline Leavitt has analysis. The former [1:48] White House press secretary joins us in a moment. But first, we get to the reporting with Lucas Tomlinson, [1:53] Corpus Christi, Texas, stop number one today. And Lucas, good morning to you there. [2:00] Good morning, Bill. It's just after sunrise here in Corpus Christi with a light rain, [2:04] and already supporters are lining up to hear President Trump. Speaking in a warehouse here [2:09] right next to the port, and you mentioned a campaign blitz. This is more like a zero blitz, [2:13] Bill, sending everyone, including football stars Johnny Manziel, Danny Amendola, and Colt McCoy. [2:20] And President Trump is later going to another rally, and Amendola's alma mater at Texas Tech [2:25] there in Lubbock, all to help Ken Paxton get over the finish line. Here was Paxton yesterday. [2:31] No matter how many commercials he runs lying about his record, James Tallarico, simply put, [2:37] is a Democratic socialist, just like OSC. [2:43] So Trump is rallying behind Republican Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general who is facing 37-year-old [2:48] Democrat James Tallarico, a state rep and former middle school teacher. A new Fox poll has the [2:54] two candidates tied at 49%. As of last week, Trump's MAGA Inc. has dropped $46 million on TV ads for [3:01] Paxton in a race that has already seen more than half a billion dollars spent. Paxton is leaning on [3:06] Trump's endorsement, border security, and conservative values, while Tallarico is making affordability and [3:11] corruption central to his campaign, hoping to break Democrats' decade-long losing streak [3:16] statewide in Texas. And there's a reason Trump is campaigning here in Corpus Christi, Bill. This is [3:21] oil and gas country, home to one of the nation's major oil ports. And it's also part of a region where [3:26] Trump has made significant gains with Hispanic voters. Some of that support has ebbed recently. [3:31] Speaking of energy, Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are reportedly headed to Port Arthur today, [3:36] about four and a half hours from here, to receive a tanker filled with Venezuelan oil to be refined here [3:41] in Texas. For Paxton supporters, this race comes down to this. It's supposed to be freedom, low taxes. [3:49] You don't educate my child about what sexual preference they want to be. You don't tell me [3:54] how to raise my child. You don't tell me what school to go to. You get rid of the illegals, [4:00] and you fight for the American dream. Another example of the Zero Blitz, Vice President J.D. [4:08] Vance is heading to Texas on Thursday to hold a town hall right here on the Fox News channel. [4:12] All right, here we go. Now, in Oasis County, I do believe, Lucas, we'll talk to you a bit later, [4:16] okay, very soon. That's right. Thank you. Dana. And former White House Press Secretary [4:20] Caroline Leavitt joins us now, and fresh off of a full night's sleep by the new baby. So we are [4:26] ready to rock. So is the president. So let's show a map of where all he's going. I made a little bit [4:31] of a joke if it's Friday. It must be Florida. But on any day of the week in the last month, [4:35] he's been willing to go out there. Maybe in some cases, he would have liked to be able to go to some [4:40] other states. Does he want to keep having to go back to Texas to try to get Paxton across the [4:45] finish line? Maybe not. But as I said on The Five last night, it's probably a net plus for him going [4:49] to all of these places. And it might be, I think some of them think, especially in Mississippi, [4:54] could that be the last time they have a big rally by the president? And will that actually turn into [4:58] voters who don't typically vote in a midterm turning out? Do you see it that way? [5:04] Yeah. Well, look, Dana, President Trump knows that if his voters turn out, then Republicans are going [5:10] to win. And I think the president deserves a lot of credit for the work he's putting in on the [5:13] campaign trail. Most incumbent presidents just throw in the towel and throw their party under the [5:18] bus for the latter two years of their presidency. But that is not President Trump's style. I [5:23] obviously know him well, and I know he's going to fight until every last ballot is cast. So he's off [5:28] to the great state of Texas today for a doubleheader. This is obviously a must-win Senate race for [5:34] Republicans. And I think you're going to hear the president draw that contrast between [5:38] James Tallarico and Ken Paxton. And also remind common sense Texans what happened under Democrat [5:45] rule just a few short years ago. Texas was ground zero for the worst border crisis in American [5:51] history. It was James Tallarico's party, the Democrat party, that allowed tens of millions of [5:56] unvetted, unchecked illegal alien criminals to stampede over Texas's border and then be flown [6:02] here throughout the rest of our country. So you're going to hear the president talk about that today [6:06] and why Ken Paxton is the best fit for the United States Senate, for the great people of Texas, [6:12] for border security, for lower taxes, for less crime. You heard that sound from that great man [6:17] in Texas that Lucas was able to interview. I couldn't have said it better than myself. [6:21] This election is about common sense versus radical extremism that James Tallarico supports in Texas. [6:26] Caroline, let me show the audience the 10 battlegrounds. I'd say at least 10 battlegrounds [6:33] that would aside Senate control. And this is why next Tuesday could be so wacky. [6:38] Okay, all that attention in Texas, the president won it by almost 14 points. [6:42] Now there's attention in Kansas, he won it by 16. In the northeast where you are, he lost. [6:48] Okay. Seven points in Maine, three points in New Hampshire. What is it about New Hampshire [6:53] that might surprise as well next Tuesday? Well, looking at that map, Bill, all of those states [7:01] are up for grabs for Republicans. All of those races are tight. They are within the margins. But [7:05] some of the Republican candidates do show that they are leading, which is, again, why President [7:10] Trump is being so offensive and aggressive in reminding his voters the importance of these elections [7:16] because if his voters turn out, Republicans will win. Here in my home state of New Hampshire, [7:20] where I'm here right now, I've been obviously talking to my fellow Granite staters since being [7:24] home. And they are liking what Mr. Sununu in the Senate race here is saying. Look, Chris Pappas, [7:30] who is our congressman here and wannabe senator now, has been in office for years. And I see his ads [7:36] on television. He's very good at one thing, and that is pretending to be a moderate. But then he votes [7:42] like the rest of the Democrats, like an extreme liberal when he gets sent down to Washington. [7:47] He owns a family business here in New Hampshire, but he voted against no tax on tips. Why? Because [7:53] it was President Trump's legislation. But it's good policy for his servers, his bartenders, [7:59] his waitresses, and his family business. So he is just another Democrat, again, [8:03] who campaigns as a moderate, votes like an extreme liberal. And the American people should not judge [8:08] Democrats for what they say two months leading up to an election. They should vote Democrats for how [8:13] they vote when they get down to Washington, D.C. And that is for the most extreme liberal policies [8:18] this country has ever seen. Let's stay in New Hampshire, but switch to Kamala Harris, [8:22] because if she were to run, of course, their first primaries in South Carolina, but then they'll [8:26] head up to New Hampshire as she tests the waters. Here's a little video she tried to do about grocery [8:32] prices. Watch here. It's not voting in midterms. It's not like politicians determine the price [8:37] of a dirty martini and fries. Well, Maria, the price of groceries is basically on the ballot. [8:42] I'm not voting. You vote for Dancing with the Stars every week. That's different. [8:47] Would it be different for her this time around if she stuck around in the primary to see some votes? [8:55] Well, I will say one thing. I hope Kamala Harris keeps coming back to New Hampshire. [9:00] I, for one, hope that Kamala Harris runs in 2028 again, because having served on President [9:06] Trump's campaign where he convincingly defeated her in 2024, I know that that will give Republicans [9:12] the best possible chance to win in 2028. Just watching that video, I'll also add, it's very rich [9:18] for someone like Kamala Harris, the former vice president, Democrat vice president, to be [9:23] talking about the price of groceries when it was she and Joe Biden who oversaw and created the worst [9:29] inflation crisis in American history. We had record high 9.5% inflation under their tenure because of [9:37] their horrific energy policies, because of their horrific tax policies. She is not the answer for [9:42] New Hampshire. She is not the answer for the United States. She was already rejected once, [9:46] but I hope that she tries again so she can be rejected a second time. [9:50] All right. Go ahead and put up number seven, guys. We're going to talk about this a lot starting [9:53] November 4th. At the moment, New York Times put out a poll and shows her still in first place at 12% [10:00] but it looks like a lot of other indecision down the line there. Caroline, I want to mention this. [10:05] Scott Besson kind of threw it back at Barack Obama yesterday. Some folks may have seen this. [10:12] He went to a cheese cake factory in light of the comments that were made over the weekend. [10:16] Check it out, the Treasury Secretary. [10:17] Former President Obama comparing White House decorations or construction to [10:23] the Cheesecake Factory saying it looks like Saddam Hussein opened the Cheesecake Factory. Any reaction [10:28] to that? Well, two things. This is the man who built the museum. It looks like Darth Bader's [10:34] tomb. And I would just tell the, I had a great meal, always have a great meal. And I would tell [10:40] the Martha's Vineyard set to give it a try. And the Atlantic says leave the Cheesecake Factory out of [10:47] this. Very good desserts, I would argue, the Cheesecake Factory. What do you, like, you were [10:52] really good at this. And you learned from them about not to take it and about to, like, throw it [10:59] back in their lap. What did you think about the Treasury Secretary did there? Well, I love Scott [11:07] Besson. And one thing I learned about briefing, about Scott Besson when briefing with him at the White [11:12] House podium is he is always very quick to a comeback. He's very witty. But I think that President [11:18] Trump actually had the best response. I saw what he said to the press yesterday when he gaggled. [11:22] And he said, look, this is not about the Cheesecake Factory or money. This is about the Democrats not [11:28] being able to appreciate beauty. Obama was making a quip about what President Trump has done to the [11:35] White House, restoring beauty and grandeur to the People's House. But it goes further than just the [11:40] White House. Look at Democrat-run cities across the country. They are riddled with crime, [11:44] with homeless people encamped on the streets, defecating in the streets. You look at the [11:48] trash, the graffiti that covers once-beautiful buildings in Democrat-run cities across the [11:53] country because of Democrat policies and leadership. And it's President Trump who has gone into these [11:58] cities in Washington, D.C. because Mayor Bowser made the smart choice for her constituents to work [12:04] with the federal government. The homeless encampments are gone. The trash is off the streets. [12:08] The graffiti is off the buildings. I think that other Democrats, like Kamala Harris, like Gavin Newsom in [12:13] California, could benefit from learning from President Trump and learning how to restore beauty, [12:19] how to restore cleanliness to our communities across the country. And I think, you know, [12:23] it was a joke that fell flat. He's getting a lot of heat for it. But it speaks to a deeper issue [12:27] in the abhorrent policies that Barack Obama have long supported and Democrats are supporting on the [12:32] ballot right now. I'd say salads are pretty good, too. So you could try both. You have the salad and you [12:37] have the dessert. Caroline, it's great to have you back on today. Thanks for being here. Thanks, guys. [12:43] Be sure to like and subscribe for all the Fox News latest on YouTube and catch full shows streaming [12:49] now on Fox One.