Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that Belgrade is willing to host peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.

‘Serbia is also among the countries that are offering their good services, given our background, given the fact that we are friends with all the parties involved, to try and, if needed or if there’s an interest, host any kind of talks … on how to bring this horrible tragedy which has resulted in so many deaths and so much destruction to an end,’ the foreign minister said.

He said the war in Ukraine needs to come to an immediate end. 

‘Serbia is, in principle, supportive of territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states in line with their U.N. borders,’ including Ukraine, he added.

The foreign minister’s offer to host peace talks between Ukraine and Russia comes after a proposed summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary was shelved.

Some analysts say Serbia would be a surprising choice to host the next round of ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine given the historic ties Russia and Serbia share, rooted in cultural and religious connections through the Serbian Orthodox Church.

While Serbia joined U.N. resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the referenda annexing parts of Ukrainian territory, Belgrade has refused to join Western sanctions targeting Russia over the invasion. Yet Djuric points out that both Ukraine and Russia support Serbia’s territorial integrity regarding Kosovo.

Djuric was in New York for a United Nations Security Council meeting on Kosovo. In 1999, a nearly three-month NATO bombing campaign ended a war between Serbian government forces and ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo. Serbian forces were pushed out, but Belgrade still considers Kosovo a Serbian province.

Some European officials have questioned Serbia’s commitment to European unity. Foreign Minister Djuric countered that Serbia values its place in Europe between East and West, while also noting the country’s close relationship with the U.S.

‘Serbia is very proud of its independent foreign and security policy, which has been deeply rooted in the history of our nation and has enabled us to remain independent for centuries, although we are small,’ he said. ‘We value very much our strategic partnership growing with the United States for which there is bipartisan consensus in this country.

‘But also, we should bear in mind the fact that President Trump is by far the most popular foreign leader in our country and is the most popular leader for Serbs. I mean, in comparison to all other European countries, President Trump’s popularity in Serbia is unparalleled. More than 71% of the Serbs have a very favorable opinion of the U.S. president and of his policies, which really gives a very fertile ground for the further growth of our relationship.’

Yet Serbia’s ties with China, widely viewed as the United States’ main economic and military competitor on the world stage, have caused some concern in Washington.

The U.S. recently sanctioned Serbia’s Russian-owned oil company, Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), which is Serbia’s main supplier of oil and gasoline.

China conducted military exercises in Serbia in July despite stern warnings from the European Union, and Belgrade provides Beijing with a security foothold in Europe. Serbia has also purchased medium- and short-range surface-to-air missile systems from China.

Beijing’s biggest penetration into Serbia is in the economic space. It has invested more than $10 billion in infrastructure projects over the last 15 years, according to the Center for European Policy Analysis.

‘I also have to admit that we have very good economic relations with China, and China also supports our position on Kosovo in the sense that it recognizes Serbia and its U.N. borders. So, they are, as a U.N. Security Council member, also an important partner for us,’ Djuric said.

Djuric said great power competition between the U.S. and China is ‘above the pay grade of a small Balkan nation’ and that the Serbian government will continue to focus on its economic development.

Domestically, Serbia has been roiled by student-led anti-corruption protests for nearly a year, demanding justice and accountability after the deaths of 16 people in the collapse of a railway station in the Serbian city of Novi Sad. Critics across the European Union have called out Serbian security forces for a heavy-handed response against the protesters.

Djuric said he wants to establish an honest dialogue with the protesters and find a way to de-escalate tensions.

‘We treat the views of our citizens who disagree with the government with respect, and I don’t want to label any of them in any way. I believe that we are mature enough to have a dignified, decent, democratic dialogue, and we will always stand for democracy in Serbia,’ Djuric said.

‘Serbia’s government has shown accountability in the wake of the tragedy that happened in Novi Sad. Ministers have been replaced. Some of them have been called, held to account and even imprisoned. We’ve changed the government since then and included Professor [Djuro] Macut, who is our current prime minister, into the government, a university professor, and the vision of President Vucic remains to unify the people of Serbia, to overcome political divisions, and to create a society based on dialog and social cohesion rather than polarization.’

The Associated Press contributed to this article. 

With less than two weeks before critical elections across the country, Democrats have tough questions to grapple with in terms of their messaging and whether they can navigate the growing movement in their party that is embracing or downplaying political violence, attorney and political commentator Kaitlin Puccio told Fox News Digital. 

We do hear a lot of just the Democrats are against Trump, but we don’t hear a lot of what they’re actually for, which is problematic and it kind of seems to me like they don’t really have a cohesive message,’ Puccio, adjunct professor at Fordham Law and the Director of the Art and Bioethics Initiative of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and Human Rights, said in an interview with Fox News Digital. 

Puccio said the ‘No Kings’ protests last week, where several examples of promoting violence went viral on social media, show a ‘fracture’ in the Democratic Party that the mainstream elected officials will have to contend with. 

Additionally, messaging at those rallies, Puccio explained, lacked substance. 

It’s mostly ‘we are against Trump.’ Okay, but, specifically, what are you against? What is the specific policy that you are against?’ Puccio said. ”No Kings’: great. But we don’t have a king. We all know that. We’re not supposed to take this phrase literally, but what about the policies that are in place right now, do you think are authoritarian? And what do you want instead? So we’re hearing a lot of slogans and phrases and kind of catch phrases. And really that leaves the message without substance.’

Questions about Democrat support for political violence have been front and center in recent weeks after Virginia Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones was outed for past texts fantasizing about killing a Republican colleague and wishing death on that colleague’s children.

I don’t think that it’s lost on voters that there are these horrible texts that came out recently from Jay Jones and the strange thing is that there are very few people who are condemning these texts,’ Puccio said, highlighting that prominent Democrats, particularly in Virginia, have refused to call on Jones to drop out of the race. 

‘But I think the reason for that is that the party of tolerance, right, the Democrats, is actually, it’s become a very intolerant party,’ Puccio added. 

‘So if you have people condemning these texts, this sort of violent political rhetoric and things like that, they don’t want to be alienated by their own party. Look at what they’ve done or tried to do to John Fetterman. When he tries to think for himself instead of having the party tell him what to think, they ostracize him. I think that is kind of the reason that we’re in this weird place with our leaders, because everyone is kind of being quiet.’

In addition to Jones, Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner has faced scrutiny over advocating for political violence in the past and a tattoo that resembles a Nazi Germany symbol.

Puccio told Fox News Digital that Platner’s apology seemed to show remorse compared to the reaction from Jones, which could serve as a blueprint going forward on how Democrats can acknowledge past mistakes.

‘The point is that every situation has to be evaluated separately, but the conversation still has to be had over what to do within our Democratic Party about this violent rhetoric, which is, it’s basically being accepted right now,’ Puccio said. ‘What we’re about to see, I don’t know how long it’s going to take, but I do think there’s going to be a shift toward the middle because I think there is going to be a realization that we are leaving out and by we, I mean, all Americans in general were forgetting from both sides of the political aisle about the middle.’

While Democrats are expected to perform strongly in next year’s midterms, given that, historically, the party not in power does well in those elections, Republicans have been closing the gap in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial elections being held in early November, which could send a signal that Democrats aren’t in as strong of a position as many experts think. 

Puccio said today’s Democratic Party is ‘unrecognizable,’ which will hopefully push leaders to come out forcefully and take back control.

‘I think that there will be this realization that the loudest voices on either side of the political aisle are not necessarily representative of the entire party and I think that people are going to be forced to say no to this kind of uncivil discourse that we’re seeing, because people, we citizens, are going to get very tired of seeing our leaders behave in very childish and frankly, disrespectful ways toward each other,’ Puccio said. 

‘These are not supposed to be the way our elected leaders act. And I would hope that there emerge some actual leaders and not just politicians in the future who recognize that they need to speak to everyone and not a small niche in their party.’

Election season is in full-swing, with only days left before races in 2025’s quiet election cycle are called. 

Fox News Digital compiled key deadlines for early in-person voting as it comes to a close. 

The 2025 election season is mild compared to the whirlwind federal election cycle of 2024, but will feature major races, including statewide elections for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, and New York City’s high-profile mayoral election, the ballot proposition over congressional redistricting in California, and three state Supreme Court contests in Pennsylvania.

The races have seen a handful of political surprises in recent weeks as key races hit hot water — from Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones’s leaked text scandal to controversy over military records in New Jersey’s governor’s race, and backlash against Zohran Mamdani’s left-wing policies as the self-identified Democratic socialist works to secure Gracie Mansion. 

Voter enthusiasm is high across the country — and there’s still time for people to cast their ballots early.

Here’s when in-person early voting ends in each high-profile 2025 election:

New Jersey

New Jersey’s in-person early voting began Saturday and will conclude Nov. 2. Early in-person voting is held from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with Sunday hours running from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Appointments are not necessary to vote early. 

New York City

Big Apple residents began early in-person voting Saturday and will have until Nov. 2 to cast early in-person votes. 

Virginia

Early in-person voting kicked off in the Old Dominion State Sept. 19 and will run until Nov. 1. All localities in the state offer early voting. 

California

The Golden State is holding a special election in 2025 to decide ballot proposition 50, which would redraw state congressional district maps in response to efforts in Republican states to redraw congressional districts ahead of the midterms. Early in-person voting begins Saturday and will run through Election Day. 

Pennsylvania 

Pennsylvanians can vote early and in-person by returning mail ballots to their local election offices until 8 p.m. on Election Day. Voters must apply for a mail-in ballot by Tuesday or vote on Election Day. 

In his Oct. 13 address to Israel’s Knesset in Jerusalem, President Donald Trump upset Israeli leftists when he called for Israel’s largely ceremonial President Isaac Herzog to use his one actual power – the power of pardon – and pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu has been on trial for more than five years on absurd charges regarding cigars and champagne he received over 20 years ago from old friends.

Those charges fell apart in the opening months of the trial as one prosecution witness after another exposed the emptiness of Israel’s Netanyahu-hating prosecutors’ indictments against the country’s longest-serving and most successful leader. All the same, the Netanyahu-hating judge presiding over the trial is now requiring Netanyahu to appear in court three days a week for a total of 24 hours a week to testify.

Leftists in Israel dominate the country’s media and legal fraternity, much as they do in America. And they were incensed that President Trump dared to interfere in Israel’s ‘internal affairs.’ One anchorman referred to Trump’s call for a pardon as ‘disgusting, and revolting.’

But the truth is that by asking Israel’s left-leaning president to put an end to Israel’s Deep State’s assault on Netanyahu, Trump was defending America’s national interests.

This is true for two reasons.

First, the corrupt legal authorities involved in the trial are abusing their power over Netanyahu in a way that undermines American interests.

On Wednesday, just two days after President Trump gave his address, Netanyahu was back in the courtroom in Tel Aviv. He had asked the judges to let him delay his testimony so that he could hold certain meetings. The judges and prosecutors demanded to know what meetings could possibly justify delaying his testimony. He explained one was highly classified, and they demanded to know what it was about.

Within hours of the exchange, the story leaked that Netanyahu was scheduled to meet secretly with the president of Indonesia. The leader of the largest Muslim state in the world, President Prabowo Subianto, was scheduled to pay a top-secret trip to Jerusalem as a step toward opening diplomatic relations with Israel. This was to be one of the most important fruits of Israel’s U.S.-supported victory in its seven-front war against Iran and its axis of terror. But thanks to Israel’s corrupt legal fraternity, the meeting leaked to their press allies and President Subianto stayed away.

President Trump made clear in his speech that expanding the circle of peace between Israel and the Islamic world is a chief U.S. goal. Israel is America’s most powerful ally in the troubled Middle East. Trump sees it as an essential U.S. interest that the Arab and Islamic world accept Israel as a permanent entity and an allied state. But for Israel’s politicized Deep State, undermining and humiliating Netanyahu by chaining him to a courtroom and subverting his diplomatic actions is apparently more important.

These radical jurists must be stopped not only for Netanyahu to be able to devote himself entirely to serving his country, they need to be stopped to enable President Trump to secure America’s goals in the Middle East.

The second reason that ending this farce of justice against Netanyahu is in the United States’ interests is that there is a link between the forces of political warfare and lawfare in Israel and the U.S. If you scratch just beneath the surface, you’ll doubtlessly find that for the same billionaire agents of anarchy, who funded and brought the unprecedented lawfare against both President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, working to undo Israel as a key way to unravel American society. For example, the Tides Foundation funds radical groups, including pro-Hamas protesters in America, and it funds groups involved in the protests and riots and political violence in Israel.

Tides is one of several foundations whose actions in the U.S. and Israel are the subject of multiple congressional investigations. One of the investigations focuses on well-documented claims that the billion-dollar, multi-year effort to criminalize Netanyahu that engulfed Israel in political instability for years, was funded in part by the Biden administration. That investigation must continue and the U.S. government officials who funded and facilitated political chaos in Israel should be forced to account for their actions.

Even more importantly, the IRS should investigate how U.S. non-profits groups that enjoy U.S. tax exemption valued in millions of dollars have abused their status to fund political violence, insurrection, and mayhem in Israel. In some cases, according to Hamas’s own internal documents, these U.S.-based non-profit-funded groups’ campaigns convinced the genocidal terror group that Israel was ripe for annihilation on October 7, 2023.

In his historic speech in Jerusalem, President Trump laid out great plans for building a new Middle East that will join Israel’s genius and power to the oil-wealth of its neighbors and transform the Middle East into a driver of global prosperity under American leadership. Trump would have been hard-pressed to lead this momentous undertaking if the Deep State were still persecuting him, his top aides and his children.

Netanyahu has miraculously been able to lead Israel to one of the most important military victories in its history. With Trump’s assistance, Israel destroyed Iran’s axis of terror across seven fronts. Netanyahu achieved this while forced to spend days on end in a courtroom answering asinine questions from shameless prosecutors before brazen judges.

Imagine what Netanyahu and President Trump would be able to do together if Netanyahu doesn’t have to spend 24 hours per week in a courtroom.

President Trump was right to ask President Herzog to put an end to the madness that is Prime Minister Netanyahu’s trial. And he would be right to order the IRS to start investigating the role American non-profits have played and continue to play in destabilizing Israel and corrupting its legal system. Israel’s leftists, like their American funders, may not like President Trump for doing it, but generations of Americans, Israelis, and peoples of the wider Middle East will thank him.

Analysts say China has developed a chilling strategy for fighting a war with the United States: destroy America’s fighter jets before they ever leave the ground.

In nearly every modern conflict, disabling enemy aircraft on the ground has been the first move. When Israel struck Iranian nuclear sites earlier this year, it began by destroying Iranian runways — grounding Tehran’s air force before it could take off. Russia and Ukraine have done the same throughout their ongoing war, targeting airfields to cripple enemy aircraft. And when India clashed with Pakistan, the opening salvos hit Pakistani air bases.

Beijing has taken that lesson to heart. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has spent years building an arsenal of long-range precision missiles — including ‘carrier killers’ like the DF-21D and DF-26 — capable of destroying U.S. aircraft carriers and striking American airfields across the Pacific. The goal: keep U.S. air power out of range before it can even launch.

Now, a U.S. defense technology firm says it has built a way to fight back. Shield AI, based in San Diego, has unveiled a new AI-piloted fighter jet designed to operate without runways, without GPS, and without constant communication links — an aircraft that can think, fly, and fight on its own.

Shield AI says the jet, called X-BAT, can take off vertically, reach 50,000 feet, fly more than 2,000 nautical miles, and execute strike or air defense missions using an onboard autonomy system known as Hivemind. It’s designed to operate from ships, small islands, or improvised sites — places where traditional jets can’t. The aircraft’s dash speed remains classified.

‘China has built this anti-access aerial denial bubble that holds our runways at risk,’ said Armor Harris, Shield AI’s senior vice president of aircraft engineering, in an interview with Fox News. ‘They’ve basically said, ‘We’re not going to compete stealth-on-stealth in the air — we’ll target your aircraft before they even get off the ground.’’

The jet launches vertically, and three X-BATs can fit in the space of one legacy fighter or helicopter.

According to Harris, the U.S. has spent decades perfecting stealth and survivability in the air while leaving its forces vulnerable on the ground. ‘The way to solve that problem is mobility,’ he said. ‘You’re always moving around. This is the only VTOL fighter being built today.’

X-BAT’s Hivemind autonomy allows it to operate in denied or jammed environments, where traditional aircraft would be blind. The system uses onboard sensors to interpret its surroundings, reroute around threats, and identify targets in real time. ‘It’s reading and reacting to the situation around it,’ Harris said. ‘It’s not flying a pre-programmed route. If new threats appear, it can reroute itself or identify targets and then ask a human for permission to engage.’

That human element, he emphasized, remains essential. ‘It’s very important to us that a human is always involved in making the use of lethal force decision,’ Harris said. ‘That doesn’t mean the person has to be in the cockpit — it could be remote or delegated through tasking — but there will always be a human decision-maker.’

Shield AI says X-BAT will be combat-ready by 2029 and is designed to deliver fifth- or sixth-generation performance at a small fraction of the cost of manned fighters. The aircraft’s compact footprint allows up to three X-BATs to fit in the deck space of a single legacy fighter or helicopter, giving commanders more flexibility in launching sorties from limited space.

While Shield AI isn’t disclosing specific numbers, the company says X-BAT is priced in the same range as the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program, the next generation of autonomous wingmen meant to fly alongside — and eventually ahead of — manned fighters. Costs vary depending on mission systems and configurations, but the company’s goal is to scale production to keep the jet affordable and sustainable throughout its lifecycle, breaking what it calls the traditional ‘fighter cost curve.’

The company estimates the aircraft will deliver about a tenfold improvement in cost per effect compared to legacy fifth-generation jets, including the F-35, while remaining ‘affordable and attritable’ enough to be risked in high-end combat.

Shield AI is in discussions with both the Air Force and Navy about integrating X-BAT into future combat programs and with several allied militaries exploring joint development opportunities.

Harris said the company views X-BAT as part of a generational shift toward distributed airpower — one that mirrors what SpaceX did in space. ‘Historically, the United States had a small number of extremely capable, extremely expensive satellites,’ he said. ‘Then you had SpaceX come along and put up hundreds of smaller, cheaper ones. The same thing is happening in air power. There’s always going to be a role for manned platforms, but over time, unmanned systems will outnumber them ten-to-one or twenty-to-one.’

For Harris, that shift is about restoring deterrence through flexibility. ‘X-BAT presents an asymmetric dilemma to an adversary like China,’ he said. ‘They don’t know where it’s coming from, and the cost of countering it is high. It’s an important part of a broader joint force that becomes significantly more lethal.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Friday accused President Donald Trump of ‘skipping town’ for a trip to Asia during the ongoing government shutdown.

Trump departed for Asia Friday night for a weeklong trip that will include stops in Malaysia, Japan and South Korea. Republicans and Democrats remain divided on negotiations to end the shutdown that began earlier this month, with each side blaming the other as the GOP controls the White House and both chambers of Congress.

‘In the midst of the longest full government shutdown in American history — a crisis of his own making — President Trump’s priorities are severely misplaced,’ Schumer said in a statement.

‘While Americans are struggling to make ends meet, federal workers are going without pay, and millions of families are bracing for soaring health care costs, the President is leaving the country,’ he continued.

Schumer added: ‘America is shut down and the President is skipping town.’

The senator said Democrats have sought to meet with Trump, but that the president is ‘abandoning’ his responsibilities.

‘Democrats have asked, again and again, for President Trump to meet with us to negotiate a bipartisan deal that would address the healthcare crisis, and find a path forward to reopen the government. But instead of doing his job, President Trump is abandoning it,’ Schumer said.

Schumer also called on GOP lawmakers in Congress to work across the aisle to reach a deal to end the shutdown.

‘With the President out of the country, the responsibility falls squarely on Congressional Republicans to act — to come to the table, to do their jobs, and to deliver an agreement that reopens the government and protects Americans from another health care disaster,’ he said.

‘Americans deserve a government that works as hard as they do— not a leader that flies away from responsibility at the time they need one most,’ the top Senate Democrat added.

While in Asia, Trump is expected to meet with regional allies about trade, including the trade war with China, as well as Beijing’s tightening of export controls on rare-earth minerals critical for certain technologies. 

The president is also expected to address security in the region and affirm America’s commitment to supporting its allies.

President Donald Trump is heading off to Asia Friday evening, not long after North Korea fired off a ballistic missile for the first time in months and as questions loom regarding trade negotiations with China.

The White House confirmed that Trump will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.

The meeting comes amid escalated tensions between the two countries on trade after Beijing announced Oct. 9 it would impose export controls on rare-earth magnets, which are used in a host of products ranging from electric cars to F-35 fighter jets. In response, Trump announced the U.S. would impose a new 100% tariff on all Chinese goods, which is slated to take effect Nov. 1.

Even so, Trump sought to diffuse tensions and has routinely touted his relationship with Xi in recent weeks. Additionally, he has voiced confidence both parties will walk away from the summit pleased and that a deal will be made.

‘I think we are going to come out very well, and everyone’s going to be very happy,’ Trump said Thursday.

The summit between Trump and Xi will mark the first time they’ve met in person since Trump took office in January. The two previously met in person in June 2019 in Japan.

Trump’s meeting with Xi will come on the tail end of a larger trip to the region. Trump is first headed to Malaysia to meet with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim Sunday afternoon before participating in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) dinner in the evening.

While in Malaysia, he will also meet with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

Trump will then head to Tokyo Monday and is slated to meet on Tuesday with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who was just elected earlier in October. Takaichi is the first woman to serve as the prime minister of Japan.

Trump will then close out his trip heading to South Korea, where he will meet with the South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and will deliver keynote remarks at the APEC CEO lunch.

Trump is scheduled to return to Washington Thursday.

Meanwhile, North Korea has upped its aggression in recent days, firing off multiple short-range ballistic missiles Wednesday, the first one Pyongyang has launched since May. Meanwhile, North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un showed off a new intercontinental ballistic missile at a military parade in front of Chinese, Russian and other top officials Oct. 10.

‘We are aware of the DPRK’s multiple ballistic missile launches and are consulting closely with the Republic of Korea and Japan, as well as other regional allies and partners,’ U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) said in a statement on Wednesday.

‘The United States condemns these actions and calls on the DPRK to refrain from further unlawful and destabilizing acts,’ INDOPACOM said. ‘While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel, or territory or to our allies, we continue to monitor the situation.’

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The White House pushed back on reports claiming President Donald Trump will likely name the upcoming White House ballroom after himself, saying any name designation for the event space will come directly from the president. 

‘Any announcement made on the name of the ballroom will come directly from President Trump himself, and not through anonymous and unnamed sources,’ White House spokesman Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital Friday. 

Reports spread like wildfire Friday afternoon that Trump planned to name the ballroom after himself, with ABC News publishing a report that administration officials were reportedly already calling the project ‘The President Donald J. Trump Ballroom.’

‘I won’t get into that now,’ Trump told ABC News Thursday when asked about a potential name, the outlet noted. 

Trump announced Monday that construction had begun on the ballroom, after months of Trump touting the upcoming project to modernize the White House. The project does not cost taxpayers and is privately funded, the administration has repeatedly said. 

‘For more than 150 years, every President has dreamt about having a Ballroom at the White House to accommodate people for grand parties, State Visits, etc. I am honored to be the first President to finally get this much-needed project underway — with zero cost to the American Taxpayer!’ Trump posted to Truth Social on Monday. ‘The White House Ballroom is being privately funded by many generous Patriots, Great American Companies, and, yours truly. This Ballroom will be happily used for Generations to come!’

The ballroom’s official construction set off a firestorm of criticisms among Democrats who have characterized Trump as destroying the iconic American residence. 

‘Oh you’re trying to say the cost of living is skyrocketing? Donald Trump can’t hear you over the sound of bulldozers demolishing a wing of the White House to build a new grand ballroom,’ Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren posted to X in response to Trump’s Monday announcement.

‘The White House became my home when I was twelve years old. I always understood that it wasn’t my ‘house’; it was The People’s House,’ former first daughter Chelsea Clinton posted to X. ‘The erasure of the East Wing isn’t just about marble or plaster — it’s about President Trump again taking a wrecking ball to our heritage, while targeting our democracy, and the rule-of-law.’

‘I wanted to share this photo of my family standing by a historic part of the White House that was just torn down today by Trump,’ New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim posted to X Monday. ‘We didn’t need a billionaire-funded ballroom to celebrate America. Disgusting what Trump is doing.’

The Trump administration has repeatedly hit back at the criticisms, including White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying on Fox News that presidents historically have wanted a large entertaining space at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. 

‘Nearly every single president who’s lived in this beautiful White House behind me has made modernizations and renovations of their own,’ Leavitt said on Fox News’ ‘Jesse Watters Primetime’ Tuesday. ‘In fact, presidents for decades — in modern times — have joked about how they wished they had a larger event space here at the White House, something that could hold hundreds more people than the current East Room and State Dining Room.’

‘President Obama even complained that, during his tenure, he had to hold a state dinner on the South Lawn and rent a very expensive tent.’

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, announced after a contentious nomination hearing Thursday that he would not support the Trump administration’s pick for ambassador to Kuwait.

Among other areas of concern, Cruz expressed alarm over Amer Ghalib’s refusal to outright condemn the Muslim Brotherhood, a group Cruz believes works against the geopolitical interests of the United States.

‘The Muslim Brotherhood is a global terrorist organization,’ Cruz said in a post on X. ‘Amer Ghalib refers to them as an inspiration. That is in opposition to President Trump and is disqualifying. I cannot support his confirmation for the Ambassador to Kuwait.’ 

Ghalib, the mayor of Hamtramck, Mich., sparred with Cruz and other members of the Senate earlier that day, clashing with several lawmakers over issues like the United States’ relationship with Israel, comments he had made about the war in Gaza and more.

According to the Department of State, Ghalib was born and raised in Yemen before coming to the United States at age 17. After working full-time in an auto parts factory, he attended the Ross University School of Medicine from 2006-2011 and went on to work as a healthcare professional at the Hamtramck Medical Group until his entry into politics. 

Ghalib made news when he was elected as mayor in 2021, becoming the first Muslim to fill the role. In that capacity, he endorsed Donald Trump for president in 2023.

‘Mr. Ghalib’s journey began as a farmer in Yemen, then as an autoworker in the United States, a healthcare professional, and then as an elected mayor of his city. His multicultural experience, deep regional knowledge and demonstrated success as a politician, leader and community organizer, make him a well-qualified candidate to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the State of Kuwait,’ the State Department wrote in its summary of the administration’s nominee. 

On Thursday, when asked by Cruz if he still considered Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq, a martyr, Ghalib initially skirted the question.

‘I was a private citizen in 2020,’ Ghalib answered, referring to the timing of a social media post when he had given that description.

‘I’m just asking your views. I asked you about today. Do you continue to believe that Saddam Hussein is a martyr today?’ Cruz asked again.

‘I don’t think that — there’s no doubt that Saddam was a dictator. I mean, I can say no. It wouldn’t matter. He’s in God’s hands; he’s going to get the treatment he deserves,’ Ghalib said. 

Hussein served as president from 1979 until his government was overthrown in the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. In the aftermath, an Iraqi tribunal found him guilty of willful killing, illegal imprisonment, deportation and torture, among other abuses. He was hanged on Dec. 30, 2006.

Ghalib and the Hamtramck City Council entered the spotlight in 2024 when the city voted unanimously to approve a resolution that, in response to the war in Gaza, required the city to avoid investing in Israeli companies. Citing that resolution, Cruz and other senators expressed reservations that Ghalib would be able to faithfully carry out positions held by the administration. especially if it were to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization or other policy issues that could conflict with Ghalib’s personal views on the Middle East. 

Those hesitations stretched across the aisle.

‘You liked a Facebook comment comparing Jews to monkeys,’ Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., said. ‘You characterized leaders you don’t like as becoming ‘Jewish.’ As mayor, you failed to comment after one of your political appointees called the Holocaust ‘advance punishment’ for the War in Gaza, and you denied that Hamas used sexual violence as a weapon of war on Oct. 7.’ 

Ghalib did not deny authoring the posts. Instead, he defended himself by arguing that his comments had been taken out of context or that lawmakers had selectively misconstrued his actions. In response to Rosen’s remarks about liking a post comparing Jewish people to monkeys, Ghalib said that he had made it a practice to interact with all social media comments left on his page as a form of acknowledgment. He said those views did not reflect his positions. 

‘I think a lot of my posts were written in Arabic and mistranslated,’ Ghalib said in response to further questioning about some of the posts he had made himself.

The State Department and Ghalib’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Rosen and other senators did not seem moved by Ghalib’s explanations.

‘That is beyond the pale. I will not be supporting your nomination,’ Rosen said. ‘And if you are confirmed — I want you to remember this, sir: You will be an ambassador for the United States of America. And, thus, as ambassador, we must show respect to everyone. We will be watching to see if that happens.’ 

No date has been set for a final vote on Ghalib’s nomination. 

President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un should make a ‘bold decision’ to meet during the American president’s upcoming trip to Asia, South Korea’s unification minister declared Friday.

Chung Dong-young made the remark as Trump is set to leave Friday night for a five-day trip to Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, Reuters reported.

‘The leaders of North Korea and the U.S. must not miss this chance,’ Chung was quoted by Reuters as telling South Korea’s Yonhap news agency. ‘They need to make a bold decision.’

‘It would help North Korea’s international standing and improve its people’s lives … and for that, peace and stability need to be guaranteed and that’s only possible by meeting President Trump,’ Chung reportedly added.

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

The last time Trump and Kim met was on June 30, 2019, at the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea.

Earlier this month, a White House official told Fox News Digital that, ‘President Trump remains open to talking with Kim Jong Un, without any preconditions.’

‘President Trump in his first term held three historic summits with North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un that stabilized the Korean Peninsula. U.S. policy on North Korea has not changed,’ the official added.

In late September, Kim said he has ‘good personal memories’ of Trump from their first meetings and there is ‘no reason not to’ resume dialogue with the U.S. if it ‘abandons its delusional obsession with denuclearization,’ according to The Associated Press.

North Korea later test-fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday ahead of Trump’s departure to Asia.

Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr, Morgan Phillips and The Associated Press contributed to this report.