President Donald Trump praised civil rights activist Jesse Jackson as a ‘real hero’ during a White House Black History Month event Wednesday, just a day after Jackson’s death.

‘I wanted to begin by expressing a sadness that the passing of a person who was. I knew very well Jesse was a piece of work. He was a piece of work. But he was a good man. He was a real hero,’ Trump said on Wednesday, earning cheers from the audience. 

Trump hosted leaders from the Black community at the White House Wednesday to honor Black History Month in February. He remarked as the event kicked off that there was a ‘sold-out crowd’ and that the upcoming White House ballroom would accommodate far more people. 

Trump had lamented Jackson’s death in a prior Truth Social post Tuesday, elaborating on Wednesday that the pair’s relationship got ‘better and better all the time.’

‘A lot of people you get to know, they get worse and worse. Jesse got better and better. But I knew him well long before becoming president, and he really was special, with lots of personality, grit and street smarts,’ Trump continued. 

Jackson, 84, died Tuesday. His cause of death has not been identified, but he had suffered from health issues including living with a rare neurological condition.

Jackson was a two-time Democratic presidential candidate, and longtime civil rights leader who joined Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960s before his assassination, and was the founder of civil rights group, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. 

‘I will tell you, he was gregarious and someone who truly loved people and a force of nature, who is, somebody that we’re going to greatly miss. And on behalf of everyone here today, I know you join me in sending our condolences to the entire family,’ Trump continued. 

Wednesday’s event included celebrating the legacy of Black Americans, economic wins under the Trump administration, as well as Trump reigniting his 2025 announcement that former Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, who served under Trump’s first term, would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  

‘Ben’s getting the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It’s the highest award you can have outside of the Congressional Medal of Honor,’ Trump said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reportedly been holding secret talks with the grandson of Raul Castro, the former President of Cuba. 

The talks between Rubio and Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro are bypassing official Cuban government channels, Axios reported. 

‘Our position — the U.S. government’s position — is the regime has to go,’ a senior official told the news outlet. ‘But what exactly that looks like is up to [President Trump] and he has yet to decide. Rubio is still in talks with the grandson.’

‘I wouldn’t call these ‘negotiations’ as much as ‘discussions’ about the future,’ the official added.

Earlier this month, Cuban despot Miguel Díaz-Canel warned his country is ‘close to failing’ as the U.S. shuts off commercial valves vital to its survival, such as fuel and food, followed by nearly 70 years of one-party communist rule.

Cuba’s power grid is failing, hospitals are short of necessary supplies and garbage has piled up on the streets. 

The Trump administration has ratcheted up pressure on the communist-run island in recent weeks, following the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a Cuban ally. The administration has accused Havana of cozying up to U.S. adversaries and terrorist groups. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department. The White House referred Fox News Digital to press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s remarks on Tuesday, in which she said Havana needs to make serious changes. 

‘They are a regime that is falling,’ she said. ‘Their country is collapsing, and that’s why we believe it’s in their best interest to make very dramatic changes very soon. And we’ll see what they decide to do.’

President Donald Trump announced that former Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a White House event marking the 100th anniversary of Black History Month, as attendees at one point broke into chants of ‘four more years.’

‘Ben’s getting the Presidential Medal of Freedom,’ Trump said. ‘It’s the highest award you can have outside of the Congressional Medal of Honor.’

Trump said Carson would receive the nation’s top civilian honor at a future ceremony, telling him, ‘Ben, I’ll be seeing you back here pretty soon. I think you’re going to get the award.’

The announcement came as Trump mixed tributes and cultural references with policy and political claims including criminal justice reform, crime reduction and border enforcement while hosting what he described as ‘many exceptional African American leaders and patriots’ at the White House.

Trump opened the event by noting, ‘we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Black History Month.’

He then addressed the death of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, saying, ‘I wanted to begin by expressing a sadness that the passing of a person who was. I knew very well Jesse was a piece of work. He was a piece of work. But he was a good man.’

‘I just want to pay my highest respects to Reverend Jesse Jackson,’ Trump added, calling him ‘a real hero,’ and saying ‘he really was special, with lots of personality, grit and street smarts.’

Trump introduced HUD Secretary Scott Turner and brought Carson to the front of the room, noting Carson had recommended Turner. Carson praised Turner’s role in opportunity zones, saying ‘he was really the driving force behind the Opportunity zones,’ and described Trump’s approach as ‘public private partnerships, and had everybody with skin in the game.’

Moments later, Trump returned to Carson and elaborated on the award.

‘It’s better because, you know, a lot of people get the Congressional Medal of Honor, and they’re not around,’ Trump said. ‘But it’s the highest award [for] a civilian.’

After remarks from Leo Terrell whom Trump thanked, saying, ‘Leo, that was very good,’ the crowd assembled broke into a chant of ‘four more years.’

Later, while listing Black artists and athletes, Trump singled out rapper Nicki Minaj.

‘I love Nicki Minaj. She was here a couple of weeks ago.’

‘So beautiful,’ he added, before saying, ‘and she gets it. And more importantly, she gets it.’

Trump connected Wednesday’s celebration to a broader national moment, saying, ‘Black History Month is really all about American history,’ and referencing upcoming America250 programming.

The President outlined a series of policy accomplishments for the black community, saying he ‘single handedly secured record long term funding for’ historically Black colleges and universities and reiterated, ‘we got criminal justice reform done,’ adding, ‘Nobody thought it can be done.’

Trump tied those policies to electoral performance, saying, ‘it’s no wonder that in 2024, we won more African-American votes than any Republican president in history.’

Trump also cited economic indicators, saying, ‘Earlier this month the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose above 50,000 for the first time ever,’ and adding, ‘The S&P broke 7000.’

‘More Americans are working today than at any time in American history,’ he said, before stating, ‘Since I took office, African American employment has increased by 182,000.’

The president also promoted a tax proposal, inviting a small business owner from Arkansas to speak. She told the audience, ‘no tax on tips has been amazing blessing for me.’

Trump later pivoted to crime and border enforcement, arguing ‘we need order,’ and claiming, ‘Washington DC is amazing. It was a crime capital. It was a horror show a year ago. It was really dangerous. And now it’s one of the safest cities anywhere in the country.’

‘We have the lowest murder numbers in 125 years since 1990,’ he said, adding, ‘just one year ago, we had the absolute worst border that we’ve ever had, and now we have the safest border that we’ve ever had.’

He also said he had ‘deployed the National Guard to bring back safety to Memphis and to New Orleans and Washington,’ calling the Guard ‘incredible.’

Johnson credited Trump with the First Step Act, saying, ‘President Trump did something historic in his first term. He signed the First Step act into law,’ and adding, ‘Over 40,000 individuals have come home to their families early.’

Trump closed by calling the gathering ‘a very special group of people,’ and said, ‘So happy Black History Month, happy black history year, and happy black history century.’

The U.S. took aim at Nicaragua’s regime over alleged human rights violations, announcing a designation against a prison official.

‘Today I’m designating Nicaraguan Prison Director Roberto Clemente Guevara Gómez for his involvement in gross violations of human rights,’ Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X. ‘We continue to call for accountability for the crimes committed by the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship and urge for the immediate, unconditional release of all unjustly detained political prisoners in Nicaragua.’

The U.S. Embassy in Nicaragua also announced the designation, clarifying that it was done under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024 ‘for his involvement in a gross violation of human rights of a political prisoner.’ The embassy added that the U.S. was calling for ‘the immediate, unconditional release of all unjustly detained political prisoners in Nicaragua.’

In December, the embassy announced actions taken by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 in response to ‘Nicaragua’s acts, policies, and practices related to abuses of labor rights, abuses of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and dismantling of the rule of law.’ In making the decision, the USTR considered more than 2,000 public comments and consulted with government agency experts and USTR cleared advisors.

The move meant that starting Jan. 1, 2026, the U.S. would impose a phased-in tariff over the course of two years that would impact all Nicaraguan goods that ‘are not originating under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR).’ The tariff started at 0% on Jan 1., 2026, and is set to grow to 10% by Jan. 1, 2027 and then 15% by Jan. 1, 2028, the embassy said, adding that any tariff would be imposed in addition to the existing 18% reciprocal tariff.

‘Should Nicaragua show a lack of progress in addressing these issues, this timeline and these rates may be modified,’ the embassy added.

The Trump administration has taken tougher action in the Western Hemisphere in recent months, starting with the Jan. 3, 2026, capture of Venezuela’s dictatorial leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the State Department for comment.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday pushed back on a reporter who asked for examples of when the president had been ‘falsely called racist.’

‘Yesterday, in his statement about Jesse Jackson, the president said ‘despite the fact that I’m falsely and consistently called a racist by the scoundrels and lunatics and the radical left Democrats all, it was always my pleasure to help Jesse along the way.’ Where or when does the president believe he’s been falsely called racist?’ the reporter asked.

Leavitt responded to the reporter in disbelief and asked if he was ‘kidding,’ to which the reporter replied that he was not.

‘I will pull you [a] plethora of examples. I’m going to get my team in that room to start, going through the Internet of radical Democrats throughout the years and who have accused this president falsely of being a racist. And I’m sure there’s many people in this room and on network television across the country who have accused him of the same. In fact, I know that because I’ve seen it with my own eyes,’ Leavitt said.

The press secretary noted that the president was scheduled on Wednesday to hold an event marking Black History Month. Additionally, she listed a number of policy accomplishments aimed at benefiting both the Black community and Americans as a whole, such as the administration’s commitment to funding Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and the establishment of Trump accounts.

‘So, there is a lot this president has done for all Americans, regardless of race, and he has absolutely been falsely called and smeared as a racist. And I’m happy to provide you those receipts, and we gladly will right after this briefing,’ Leavitt added.

The reporter was referring to President Donald Trump’s post regarding the death of Reverend Jesse Jackson, who died on Tuesday at the age of 84. The president, who posted several pictures of himself with Jackson, remembered the late reverend as a ‘good man with lots of personality, grit and ‘street smarts” before making the remarks about being falsely labeled as a racist.

Trump noted that he supported and ‘provided office space’ for Jackson and the reverend’s civil rights organization, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Additionally, Trump said that he had responded to Jackson’s ‘request for help getting criminal justice reform passed and signed, when no other president would even try.’ The president also touted his own work to secure long-term funding for HBCUs.

‘Jesse was a force of nature like few others before him,’ Trump said before seemingly taking a swipe at the reverend over his support of former President Barack Obama’s candidacy.

‘He loved his family greatly, and to them I send my deepest sympathies and condolences. Jesse will be missed!’ Trump added.

The president has often faced accusations of racism from prominent Democrats, including his most recent predecessor, former President Joe Biden. Trump has long pushed back against the notion, highlighting his relationships with prominent Black figures during his celebrity days and his policy moves during his time as president.

A pair of House Republicans could soon mount an effort to force a chamber-wide vote on sanctioning Russia for its war in Ukraine after months of back-and-forth between the House, Senate and White House yielded little movement on the issue.

‘This coming week, Brian Fitzpatrick’s sanctions bill…ripens, so we can actually submit it as a discharge petition on Monday or Tuesday, and I’ll sign that,’ Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., told Fox News Digital. 

‘But it’s got to start from scratch,’ he added. ‘We’ve got to get 218 signatures on it, and so that has a lot more work to do there, but it’s a really good bill that Brian has worked on both sides of the aisle to get it right. And I think it’s one that could have support in the Senate.’

A discharge petition is a mechanism for forcing a vote on legislation over the objections of House majority leadership. Historically, they’re a rarely used measure, given the petition needs signatures from a majority of House lawmakers — and most members of the party in power are traditionally wary of crossing their leaders in that way.

But for Bacon, it’s a matter of right versus wrong that he believes will be remembered for years to come.

‘Someday in the history books, it’s going to read which leaders stood up, which ones were [Winston Churchills] and which ones were [Neville Chamberlains]. Chamberlain gave away land in Czechoslovakia to appease Hitler. And Hitler said all he wanted was the Sudetenland, and then a year later, he invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia. Then a year later he invaded Poland,’ Bacon said.

‘We’ve got to know a bad guy when we see one, and [Russian President Vladimir Putin] is a bad guy. He’s made clear, it’s not just about Ukraine. He wants to regain the rest of what the Soviet Union had. And so history is being written, and I want to be on the right side. I hope every Republican does.’

Fitzpatrick introduced a bill in December aimed at sanctioning the Russian Federation if it refuses to negotiate a peace agreement with Ukraine or violates any existing peace agreement that may have been instituted.

The latest congressional record, dated Tuesday, appears to show Fitzpatrick introduced a resolution geared toward fast-tracking that bill onto the floor. His office did not respond to requests for an interview.

A source familiar with the lawmakers’ planning told Fox News Digital, however, that he and Bacon would give House GOP leaders ‘one last chance’ to hold a vote on Russia sanctions. The source said Fitzpatrick was also directly communicating with the White House regarding a House vote on the measure.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said on multiple occasions that he supports sanctioning Russia for its war on Ukraine but that any sanctions bill must originate in the Senate. However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said earlier this year that the process must start in the House.

The Trump administration has already imposed some sanctions on Russian entities, primarily targeting its vast oil and gas sector, but Ukraine advocates have said it’s not enough to significantly hamstring Moscow’s war machine.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who is leading the sanctions effort in the Senate, told Semafor that Congress was still waiting on the green light from President Donald Trump himself.

Bacon also acknowledged that a discharge petition is inherently an uphill battle, telling Fox News Digital, ‘There’s two things working against us.’

‘One, you know, it’s not normal for members of the majority to do a discharge petition because we have the majority, but I also know the political realities that Mike Johnson is under,’ Bacon said, noting the slim House GOP majority and Trump’s influence. ‘Second, I know a lot of folks don’t want to get in front of President Trump, but I think he’s failing in this area.’

‘I mean, [former President Joe Biden] was weak on Ukraine-Russia. I mean he sent a lot of aid. It was always late, tardy…and they had rules of engagement. He was trying to make Ukraine fight with one arm tied behind its back, but I find Trump has done even less. When you look at the amount of aid that we’ve provided, it’s like 1% of what we were doing under Biden. Now, granted, I know he’s selling weapons to NATO countries, and they’re giving it to Ukraine, but we should be doing so much more.’

But he sounded optimistic that their discharge petition — and another similar measure on sending more aid to Ukraine that both he and Fitzpatrick have joined Democrats on — will get enough GOP support to prevail. The Democrat bill, led by Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., needs just one more GOP signature to force a vote.

‘We’ve got one [Republican] on the fence, thinking about it, and we have one that wants to wait until the primary is done. So we’re talking a month or two months. But I wish we had it tomorrow. Ukrainians are dying every day. And so, to me, the necessity of getting this done soon is very clear to me,’ Bacon said.