Fauci in the hot seat as GOP senator tears into ‘truly sick’ vaccine texts: ‘Tip of the iceberg’

Private 2021 messages show Fauci warned cytokine storms after the second dose could cause miscarriage

August 10, 2026 6:08pm EDT / Fox News

By Alex Miller Fox News

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., is investigating Dr. Anthony Fauci’s old government phone and released texts showing the former COVID czar raised concerns that first-trimester COVID vaccinations could potentially cause miscarriages.

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FIRST ON FOX: A Senate Republican leading the charge on investigating Dr. Anthony Fauci’s old government phone told Fox News Digital that the revelation that the former COVID-czar was concerned that vaccines could cause miscarriages was “just the tip of the iceberg.”

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., in an interview with Fox News Digital, alleged that the first tranche of texts from Fauci’s old government iPhone was a clear sign that the man who became the face of the nation’s COVID-19 response said one thing privately while taking a different message to the public.

“We tell pregnant women don’t even have a glass of wine and yet we coerce them, convince them, sometimes mandated them, to get an experimental gene therapy as early as the first trimester,” Johnson said. “This is truly sick.”

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403177326112

WATCH: Ron Johnson unloads on Fauci after texts surface: ‘This is truly sick’

FAUCI’S HHS IPHONE TURNED OVER TO SENATE INVESTIGATORS AS CONTEMPT VOTE LOOMS

Former NIH Director Anthony Fauci listens during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on July 29, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Fauci declined to answer questions, asserting his Fifth Amendment right.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“And the way this has been — I’ve known about this for years,” he continued. “But finally, because we have a text associated with St. Fauci, it’s finally getting the play in the media that it’s been deserving for years.”

Johnson and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., obtained Fauci’s phone from his time as the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of their broader dive into the former chief medical advisor to the president.

It came as Paul was readying to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress for repeatedly invoking the Fifth Amendment — a gambit he successfully pulled off and has since handed off to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Johnson, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, released the first tranche of private messages found on the device on Monday.

FAUCI HELD IN CONTEMPT AS COVID CELLPHONE LANDS IN HANDS OF SENATE INVESTIGATORS

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That conversation from Jan. 2021 was between Fauci, then-Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky and Dr. Vivek Murthy, who would become Surgeon General during the Biden administration.

During the back and forth, Fauci admitted that he had concerns about the impact of mRNA vaccines on pregnant women.

“I asked around a bit more and another issue came up that you need to be aware of,” Fauci wrote. “Since many people have significant cytokines storm and fever after the 2nd dose, this theoretically could be associated with miscarriage in the 1st trimester.”

Johnson charged that “I’ve never heard a federal health official admit that about the injections,” and noted that cytokines storms were linked with adverse effects to the lungs from vaccination.

“What you have to connect this to is what they were saying publicly, that was contrary to that, but also what they’re publishing,” Johnson said.

He recalled a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2021 from Dr. Tom Shimabukoro in June of 2021 after Fauci’s initial concern that found that of 827 pregnancies that were exposed to the mRNA vaccines, 104 had “what they call spontaneous abortions, we would call it miscarriage.”

Johnson argued, however, that the numbers were skewed.

WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 11: Ranking Member Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) speaks as U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan testifies at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Investigations hearing on Capitol Hill on June 11, 2024 in Washington, DC. Fagan is testifying after Shannon Norenberg, the Coast Guard Academy’s sexual assault response coordinator, resigned Sunday and released a statement alleging she was used to lie and discourage victims of sexual assault from coming forward during a coverup of a report known as “Operation Fouled Anchor.” (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“Of the 827 women, 700 got their vaccination or the injection in the third trimester, 127 got them in trimester one and two, which is where the 104 miscarriages occur,” Johnson said.

“So the proper percentage is 104 divided by 127, an 82% miscarriage rate with women who got the injection in the first second trimester,” he continued. “I mean, that is shocking, and they knew it. They knew it, they’re not that stupid. They’re just that devious to play with the statistics that way to misinform, to lie to the American public.”

Johnson’s investigation of the phone and its trove of information is in its early stages, and the lawmaker is approaching information dumps with caution — he doesn’t want to reveal people’s personal information or even delve into Fauci’s personal life.

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His main focus is finding more communications where Fauci said one thing privately, and did another in the public eye.

“This is going to take time, but when my staff saw this, I mean, to me, this immediately impacts public safety, immediately impacts informed consent,” Johnson said. “And so I had to get this one out there right away. But there are, I’m sure, way more to come.”

“I think this is the tip of the iceberg,” he continued.

Fox News Digital did not immediately receive comment from the law firm representing Fauci.

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

Top Senate Dem’s new tax idea gets torched as critics warn nearly every American could pay

Americans for Tax Reform says the proposal would raise costs on email, cloud storage, and social media for all users

2026-08-10T19:00:59-04:00 / Fox News

By Robert Schmad, Fox News

Published August 10, 2026 7:00pm EDT

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The top Democratic lawmaker on the Senate Finance Committee has floated increasing taxes on data centers, a move critics say could raise costs on services used by practically all Americans.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released a white paper proposal last week calling to end tax incentives for data centers and to impose an ongoing tax on data centers operating in the United States. Critics of Wyden’s proposal argue that the costs of the new tax could ultimately be borne by all Americans by increasing the costs of common services.

“This tax will be paid by anyone who uses the internet. A tax on data centers is a tax on your email, family photos, small business operations, cloud storage, and your Instagram, X, TikTok and Facebook posts,” Americans for Tax Reform director of innovation technology James Erwin said. “Senator Wyden is betraying his legacy as a champion of a free and open internet accessible to all.”

TEXAS GOV. GREG ABBOTT EFFECTIVELY PAUSES NEW DATA CENTER PROJECTS PENDING STATEWIDE GRID AUDIT

U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) leaves a Senate Democratic meeting at the U.S. Capitol Building on Oct. 3, 2025 in Washington, DC. The federal government shut down early Wednesday after Congress and the White House failed to reach a funding deal.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Americans for Tax Reform dubbed Wyden’s proposal a “national internet tax.”

Wyden’s office did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Monday.

Wyden’s white paper acknowledges that there is some difficulty in applying a tax to data centers, given how common such facilities are and how wide their utilization is.

“Generally, a data center is a facility that primarily contains electronic equipment used to process, store, and transmit digital information, and may be free-standing or within a larger structure that uses environmental control equipment to maintain the proper conditions for the operation of electronic equipment,” the white paper reads. “This definition alone would be broad, so carveouts would be developed to focus the tax on data centers as commonly understood, rather than trip-wiring ancillary operations into the tax.”

To solve this problem, Wyden suggests excluding “internet infrastructure” from his proposed tax, but does not define what that term means or what kinds of facilities it would cover. The paper does, however, suggest that cloud computing, a highly important piece of internet infrastructure used by many industries, would not be exempted under his tax.

A SOUTHERN STATE JUST TOOK THE TOP SPOT IN ONE OF THE WORLD’S FASTEST-GROWING INDUSTRIES

On Friday, President Donald Trump shared his support for the Protect College Sports Act with a post on Truth Social.(Getty Images)

In addition to excluding data centers from many tax incentives, Wyden’s proposal would hit their owners with a “low single-digit” annual tax on gross receipts, not their profits.

Though Wyden cites land use, local power prices and local water use as the concerns that prompted him to propose the new taxes, he also advocates for taxing any data centers that are built in the Earth’s orbit.

“President Trump is cementing American AI dominance over China while ensuring data centers pay for their own power, water and other utilities,” White House assistant press secretary Liz Huston told Fox News Digital when asked about the Wyden plan. “The President’s commonsense approach will beat China, harness this technological boom and deliver lower costs and new opportunities for working families and small businesses.”

FOX NEWS POLL: MOVE OVER BIG BROTHER, VOTERS SEE BIG TECH AS GREATER THREAT TO US

Data center development is surging across Texas, with North Texas taking the top spot in a new global ranking of the industry’s leading markets.(Mikala Compton/The Austin American-Statesman/Getty Images)

Wyden’s proposal clashes with President Donald Trump’s push to accelerate artificial intelligence development and expand the infrastructure supporting it. While Wyden seeks to prioritize assistance for workers and communities disrupted by data center construction, the Trump administration emphasizes maintaining economic growth and ensuring the United States retains a technological edge over China.

The two do have common ground in seeking to limit the impact of data center construction on energy and water prices, though the president has a different way of going about that. A White House official told Fox News Digital that the administration has brought together over 200 utilities, data center developers, cooperatives and state leaders into its “Ratepayer Protection Pledge,” an initiative uniting different stakeholders to facilitate to creation of more energy sources to keep prices low.

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The Oregon senator’s approach, however, is less aggressive than the calls for a total moratorium on data center construction, which Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. have advocated for.

Child vaccine schedule reduced as Trump moves to dramatically shift medical power to parents

August 10, 2026 4:46pm EDT / Fox News

The order urges spreading immunizations across five doctor visits and ending COVID jab recommendations for children

By Peter D’Abrosca Fox News

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President Donald Trump is spearheading a major overhaul of current childhood vaccination mandates in an effort to give parents more freedom to choose which shots their children take, and when.

Trump signed an Executive Order announcing what the administration is calling the Gold Standard Childhood Vaccine Recommendations, saying that not only do the new recommendations align with other developed nations, but they also with common sense.

A memo on the order recommends children receive immunizations for 11 diseases, fewer than the 18 current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. It also ended recommendations that all minors receive the COVID-19 jab.

On Friday, President Donald Trump shared his support for the Protect College Sports Act with a post on Truth Social.(Getty Images)

A Health and Human Services (HHS) scientific assessment compared the U.S. vaccine schedule to those of peer nations in Europe. It found that the American childhood vaccine schedule recommends many more vaccines than most western nation counterparts — sometimes close to double the number of shots.

SWITZERLAND FIRES HOCKEY COACH WHO ADMITTED TO FAKING VACCINATION STATUS FOR 2022 BEIJING OLYMPICS

The memo recommends that parents should have five separate vaccine appointments, instead of children taking all of the vaccines at once.

“I think you’re going to see some amazing results [by] breaking it up,” Trump said in the Oval Office while announcing the order on Monday.

“It’s not just that you’re doing fewer vaccines or jabs, as they say, but you’re doing them in a series of visits to the doctor. Much smaller amounts.”

Trump has previously voiced opposition to appointments where babies and toddlers are given multiple vaccinations at one time.

The memo on Trump’s latest health-related executive action stresses flexibility for parents, urging them to “make individualized decisions for higher-risk children through shared clinical decision-making.”

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. addresses media to announce actions to combat fraud at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota on May 21, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Department of Justice is bringing charges against 15 people for fraud that targeted seven Medicaid programs and over $90 million in taxpayer dollars.(David Berding/Getty Images)

The memo also recommends separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccines into separate shots, instead of taking all three vaccines at once, as is common. It also notes that the U.S. is in the minority of peer nations that mandates vaccinations in order for children to enroll in school.

Additionally, the order focuses on discriminatory practices based on vaccine status.

“In addition, this executive order directs the Attorney General to advance legal challenges against states that violate children’s rights to religious or medical vaccination exemptions,” Trump said.

“Parents can still choose to give their children all of the vaccinations if they wish, it’s up to the parents — we’re making recommendations that are strong – but it’s up to the parents if they wish and they will be covered by insurance,” he continued. “However, this updated recommendation finally aligns the United States with other advanced and developed nations around the world. More importantly, it aligns us with common sense and knowledge.”

A member of the medical staff administers a dose of the measles vaccine to a child at a health center in Lubbock, Texas, on February 27, 2025. Dozens of children are being rushed to a health center in the US state of Texas to get the measles vaccine, after the recent death in the area of a child who was not immunized against the highly contagious virus. The death came as immunization rates have declined nationwide, with the latest cases in the west Texas town of Lubbock concentrated in a Mennonite religious community that has historically shown vaccine hesitancy.(Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP/Getty)

LONGER LIVES, WORSE HEALTH? SCIENTISTS UNCOVER TROUBLING TREND ACROSS GENERATIONS

The order is part of Trump’s commitment to Make America Healthy Again (MAHA). Last year, the president, by executive order, launched the MAHA Commission, aimed at addressing the causes of what the administration says is an “escalating” health crises.

The commission was specifically directed to investigate childhood chronic diseases. The probe led to “a sweeping plan with more than 120 initiatives to reverse the failed policies that fueled America’s childhood chronic disease epidemic.”

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The White House did not provide further comment when reached about the latest initiative.

Peter D’Abrosca is a politics reporter at Fox News Digital.

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缪宗翰：比黄金更沉重的托付

2026-08-11 05:00 / 联合早报

台湾著名慈善团体慈济基金会于2021年采购BNT疫苗时遭诈骗，引发外界对善款管理不周的质疑。对此，慈济发布声明澄清，强调当时疫情严峻，采购程序均经董事会认可，且财报通过会计师认证及卫福部委托第三方查核。 （取自慈济慈善基金会脸书）

158.8公斤黄金、9308万元新台币（369万新元）现金，再加上名车与不动产——这组罕见于慈善新闻的冰冷扣押清单，出现在台湾检调追查冠病BNT疫苗采购诈骗案的卷宗里。检方指控，这些财物涉及慈济基金会五年前支付的一笔3000万美元（3850万新元）委任报酬。

2021年台湾疫情严峻、疫苗难求，台积电、鸿海暨永龄基金会与慈济各出资采购500万剂BNT疫苗捐赠当局。这原本是一桩传为佳话的民间善举，不料五年后随着台中地检署起诉而变了味。

调查局北部地区机动工作站报请台中地检署指挥侦办，专案团队在4月30日和5月20日两度搜索，台中地检署8月6日起诉17人。检方指控，彰化律师公会前理事长陈昱瑄与李姓疫苗掮客明知没有采购能力，仍以虚假身分与采购经历取信慈济，促使慈济支付约3000万美元，折合新台币约10亿6200万元（下同）的委任报酬。

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Trump demands Iran compensate Americans and protesters after Tehran seeks war reparations

August 10, 2026 4:44pm EDT / Fox News

The president said he ordered the demands raised in any future negotiations after Tehran sought its own compensation

By Emma Bussey, Fox News

President Trump said Tehran should pay war damages, for decades of violence and the deaths of protesters.

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President Donald Trump on Monday demanded that Iran compensate Americans killed or seriously wounded in attacks he blamed on Tehran, while also calling for payments to the families of Iranian protesters killed by the regime.

The president also said he had instructed his representatives to raise his compensation demands in any future negotiations with Iran.

Trump’s remarks came after senior Iranian officials demanded compensation from Washington as part of Tehran’s conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

“I see that Representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran are asking for compensation for the damage done to them during the last five month Military Conflict (started because, THEY WILL NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON), even though it was never mentioned in any of our negotiations or meetings!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

TRUMP SAYS IRAN WILL PAY — WHAT IT TAKES TO END THE WAR REMAINS UNCLEAR

Tehran is demanding that the U.S. end its blockade of Iranian ports, lift economic sanctions, release frozen Iranian assets and pay compensation for war damage.(Hamed Malekpour / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)

Trump also called Iran’s request for compensation “an interesting idea” before saying he was also demanding compensation from Iran, “for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and many conflicts, for which they are famous, as led initially by General Soleimani, including the families of those killed on the USS Cole, and thousands of others killed in combat.”

“Additionally, compensation should be paid to the families of the hundreds of thousands of innocent protestors that Iran has killed over the last 50 years, not to mention the 52,000 that have been killed in the last five months,” he wrote.

“I have instructed my representatives to put this firmly into any and all future negotiations,” Trump wrote.

TRADE VESSEL STRUCK BY PROJECTILE IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ AMID US-IRAN TALKS

IRGC Commander Qassem Soleimani meets with officers and Supreme Leader staff in 2016.(Press Office of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei/Getty Images)

In a second Truth Social post, Trump said Iran should also be held responsible for “the damages and death caused to the people of Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza.”

Following his two posts, Trump revisited the topic during an executive order signing at the White House and confirmed that Tehran had demanded “reparations.”

“They asked for reparations, you might say,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

“Or they asked for money for the damage that we’ve done. I said that’s a good idea. Well, we’re going to ask for money for the damage they’ve done over a 50-year period,” he said.

INVESTIGATORS BELIEVE IRANIAN HACKERS ARE LIKELY BEHIND CYBERATTACK ON MINNESOTA WATER SYSTEMS: REPORT

Trump added: “So, if there are damages to be paid, I think Iran should pay those damages.”

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said over the weekend that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the United States “corrects its behavior,” setting out a series of conditions for reopening the strategic waterway.

Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, also set out conditions for reopening the strait, including an end to U.S. military operations and threats, the lifting of sanctions, the release of frozen Iranian assets and compensation for war damage, according to reports.

“The Supreme National Security Council will never back down, whether in war or in negotiations,” Zolghadr said.

On Aug. 8, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran and Oman were “very close” to reaching a deal on a new shipping route through the strait, but also said there would be conditions, including compensation for what Tehran says were U.S. violations of the Islamabad memorandum of understanding (MOU), Reuters reported.

TRUMP WARNS IRAN FIGHTING ISN’T OVER AS HE VOWS US WILL ‘WIN’ AS TALKS FADE

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi holds a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Istanbul, Turkey, on Jan. 30, 2026.(Arif Hudaverdi Yaman/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Trump on Monday also declined to say whether Iran had exhausted its chances to reach a deal with the United States, telling reporters at the White House, “You’ll find out.”

When asked whether the last round of talks was Tehran’s last chance before decapitation strikes, Trump said, “You’ll find out, you’ll find out.”

“Well, we have that certainly that ability if we want to do that. Yeah. You’ll find out,” he repeated.

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Trump also said Sunday that the United States was “only semi-negotiating” with Iran.

Emma Bussey is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Before joining Fox, she worked at The Telegraph with the U.S. overnight team, across desks including foreign, politics, news, sport and culture.

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中国外交部：印度公布“标准名称”改变不了藏南属中国事实

2026年8月11日 07:46 / 联合早报

印度公布争议地区阿鲁纳恰尔邦27处地点“标准名称”。 （法新社档案照）

印度公布争议地区阿鲁纳恰尔邦27处地点“标准名称”，对此，中国外交部回应称，印方做法改变不了藏南地区属中国事实。

中国外交部发言人郭嘉昆星期一（8月10日）称，藏南地区是中国领土，中方从不承认印度非法设立的所谓“阿鲁纳恰尔邦”。

郭嘉昆称，印方公布所谓“标准名称”试图取代中国长期使用的地名，是非法的、无效的，更改变不了藏南地区属于中国的事实。

据NDTV网站，印度官方地图上周五（8月7日）正式用“标准名称”标明了阿鲁纳恰尔邦的27个地点和地貌。

印度官方声明称：“在印度测量局绘制的阿鲁纳恰尔邦地图上正式标注这些地名，旨在帮助公众准确识别并提高公众对这些地名的认识。”

Can a democratic socialist upset the establishment in Wisconsin?

2026-08-10T22:35:30.092Z / CNN

By Jake Tapper, CNN

Published 6:35 PM EDT, Mon August 10, 2026

Can a democratic socialist upset the establishment in Wisconsin?

The Lead

Jeff Zeleny reports for The Lead.

3:53 • Source: CNN

‘Common sense against crazy’: Trump-backed candidate sounds alarm on socialist Hong in Wisconsin race

2026-08-10T17:01:10-04:00 / Fox News

The Trump-endorsed House Freedom Caucus member faces socialist Francesca Hong in a potential general election

By Hannah Brennan, Paul Steinhauser, Jessica Sonkin Fox News

Published August 10, 2026 5:01pm EDT

Republican gubernatorial candidate Rep. Tom Tiffany tells Fox Digital ‘Wisconsin will be the place that stops socialism”

Former Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia and GOP gubernatorial candidate Rep. Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin take aim at likely Democratic nominee Francesca Hong in a Fox News Digital interview.

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OCONOMOWOC, Wis. – Rep. Tom Tiffany, who is expected to win Tuesday’s Republican gubernatorial primary in Wisconsin, is warning voters that a likely general-election match up with socialist state Rep. Francesca Hong could determine whether socialism gains a foothold in the Midwestern battleground state.

Tiffany, speaking to Fox News Digital alongside former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, said on the eve of the primary that the election could determine whether Wisconsin becomes a “firewall” against the spread of socialism as far-left candidates continue to topple more moderate Democrats in high-profile primary elections this spring and summer.

“Is the heartland going to be the firewall that stops this movement of socialism coming from, especially the East Coast?” Tiffany said. “And I think Wisconsin will be. We’ll be the place that stops socialism.”

SCOTT WALKER: DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS ARE COMING FOR MY STATE. THIS IS HOW WE BEAT THEM

Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin, a GOP gubernatorial candidate, speaks at a campaign event in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, on August 10, 2026.(Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

Hong is the polling frontrunner in a Democratic gubernatorial nomination showdown that’s been rocked this summer after two major contenders dropped out, and another candidate re-entered the race.

A member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the 37-year-old former chef and single mother is backed by top nationally known progressives, including Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Ro Khanna of California, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender

Hong is running on a platform that includes guaranteed paid leave, boosting the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 to $20 per hour, and a one-year moratorium in Wisconsin on building AI data centers. Her “TAX THE RICH” plan proposes raising state income taxes by 1% for couples making over $431,000 and individuals making over $323,000.

Hong has faced scrutiny over years-old social media posts calling for defunding and abolishing the police. But she says she no longer supports cutting police budgets or abolishing police departments.

MEET THE FAR LEFT INSURGENTS WAGING WAR ON THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN THE 2026 MIDTERMS

Wisconsin state Rep. Francesca Hong, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, greets supporters at a campaign stop in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, on August 10, 2026(Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

“I’m not defunding the police, not abolishing police. I am serious about public safety,” Hong emphasized on Saturday as she took questions from voters.

“I think what Francesca Hong stands for is the antithesis of America,” Youngkin said. “She wants to defund police, close prisons. She wants to get rid of the military. She wants to get rid of the presidency. I mean, these are all the things that the DSA stands for and she is a card-carrying member.”

“[Tiffany] is what’s gonna be on the ballot against someone who literally wants to deconstruct America,” Youngkin said.

“This is what this election eventually is gonna be about — common sense against crazy.”

Youngkin and Tiffany spoke with Fox News after holding a campaign event at a new home development in this outer western suburb of Milwaukee, where Tiffany unveiled his “Unlocking Homeownership in Wisconsin” agenda.

“I just know my friends and neighbors, including some who are Democrats, they are not crazy,” Tiffany said. “They do not believe in some of these crazy policies, abolish prisons, abolish police, highest tax rates that you could possibly have. I mean they do not accept that.”

DEMOCRATIC GROUP LAUNCHES $15 MILLION WAR ON DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS: ‘MORTAL DANGER’

Former GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, left, teams up on the campaign trail on the eve of the Wisconsin primary with Rep. Tom Tiffany, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, on August 10, 2026 in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.(Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

Past social media posts from Hong have drawn scrutiny, including a 2021 post stating that police “exist to uphold white supremacy” and posts calling to abolish the U.S. Senate and criticizing Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day.

Hong walked back her Thanksgiving comments, amid backlash, and now says that Thanksgiving is her “favorite holiday.”

On her resurfaced tweets, Hong told reporters on Saturday that she had “evolved” and “learned.”

But Tiffany told Fox News ,”[They are] going to do everything they can to walk them back, but people see through this. Those flip-flops, people know about that already and they’re going to know about it as we go through the final, you know, couple months of the campaign. They see through that type of stuff when you are not genuine.”

When asked by Fox News Digital to respond to Tiffany’s criticism by Fox News Digital, Hong characterized her past posts as some “bad takes.”

“You have some hot takes, sometimes bad takes on Twitter,” Hong said about the posts, as she spoke with reporters following a campaign stop in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. “And I let my feelings out into the world.”

SPEAKER JOHNSON TURNS DEMOCRATS’ SOCIALIST CIVIL WAR INTO NEW WEAPON FOR MIDTERMS

WATCH: Francesca Hong brushes off scrutiny of past posts as ‘bad takes’Video

Republicans, like Tiffany and Youngkin, have sought to portray Hong’s progressive record as a liability for the battleground state.

“This is a moment for the heartland of America to stand up for America,” Youngkin said of the race.

Tiffany, a hard-right member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus and a former dairy farmer who is endorsed by President Donald Trump, emphasized, “Some people may not agree with a few of the policies that I’m for, but they know I’m genuine. They know I’m authentic.”

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Hong has argued that Democratic voters are fed up with the party establishment, claiming her candidacy appeals to a variety of both Democrats and Republicans, who disagree with Trump and his aligned candidates.

Tiffany and Hong enter Tuesday as the frontrunners in their respective primaries, with Tiffany running against medical service technician Andrew Manske, and Hong facing off against three other Democratic candidates — Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who is backed by retiring Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, former Wisconsin Department of Administration secretary Joel Brennan, and democratic state Sen. Kelda Roys.

Hannah is a Production Assistant for the Politics team at Fox News Digital.

Michigan AG responds to criticism from Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed

2026-08-10T23:17:11.248Z / CNN Politics

By Jake Tapper, CNN

Published 7:17 PM EDT, Mon August 10, 2026

Michigan AG responds to criticism from Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed

The Lead

Michigan AG Dana Nessel joins The Lead

2:26 • Source: CNN