NEW YORK CITY — President Biden, in his final address to the United Nation’s General Assembly, warned that the world is at an ‘inflection point,’ while defending his decision to withdraw from Afghanistan and his move to suspend his re-election campaign.

Biden delivered his fourth and final speech to the assembly as President of the United States on Tuesday, addressing leaders and representatives from 134 countries around the globe. 

‘Today is the fourth time I’ve had the great honor of speaking to this assembly as President of the United States,’ Biden said Tuesday morning. ‘It’ll be my last.’ 

Biden reflected on the global order when he was first elected as a U.S. senator in 1972, saying the world was at ‘an inflection point’ and a ‘moment of tension and uncertainty.’ 

‘The world was divided by the Cold War; the Middle East was headed toward war; America was at war in Vietnam at that point — the longest war in America’s history,’ Biden said. ‘Our country was divided and angry, and there were questions about our staying power and our future. But even then, I entered public life not out of despair, but out of optimism.’ 

Biden said when he was elected president, the world was in ‘another moment of crisis and uncertainty,’ referring to the ongoing U.S. presence in Afghanistan. 

‘We were attacked on 9/11 by Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. We brought him justice. Then I came to the presidency in another moment of crisis and uncertainty,’ Biden said. ‘I believed America had to look forward — new challenges, new threats, new opportunities were in front of us.’ 

Biden said he needed to put the United States ‘in a position to see the threats, to deal with the challenges, and to seize the opportunities as well.’ 

‘We needed to end the war that began on 9/11,’ Biden said. ‘I came to office as president, with Afghanistan to replace Vietnam as America’s longest war.’ 

‘I was determined to end it,’ he said. ‘And I did.’ 

Biden said it was a ‘hard decision but the right decision.’ 

‘Four American presidents had faced that decision, but I was determined not to leave it to a fifth,’ Biden said, while acknowledging the decision was ‘accompanied by tragedy,’ as 13 U.S. service members lost their lives, along with hundreds of Afghan civilians in a suicide bombing outside of Kabul Airport during the withdrawal. 

But under the Biden-Harris administration, officials have sought diplomacy amid global instability and fears of a growing war in the Middle East, especially following its botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, the years-long Russia-Ukraine war, the growing threat from Iran’s nuclear development, increased aggression from China, and a crisis at the U.S. southern border. 

‘I truly believe we’re at another inflection point in world history, where the choices we make today will determine our future for decades to come,’ Biden said Tuesday. ‘We stand behind the principles that unite us; we stand firm against aggression; we end the conflicts that are raging today. We take on global challenges like climate change, hunger and disease.’ 

Also under his administration, in 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. 

‘The good news is Putin’s war has failed,’ Biden said, while adding though, that the world ‘cannot grow weary’ and ‘cannot look away’ or ‘let up on our support for Ukraine.’ 

As for increasing aggression in China, Biden said there is a need to continue to ‘responsibly manage the competition with China so it does not veer into conflict.’ 

Biden stressed that he is working to ‘bring a greater measure of peace and stability to the Middle East.’ 

‘The world must not flinch from the horrors of October 7th – any country would have the right responsibility to ensure that such attack can never happen again,’ Biden said, referring to Hamas’ brutal terror attack in Israel. ‘Thousands of armed Hamas terrorists invaded a sovereign state, slaughtering and massacring more than 1200 people, including 46 Americans in their homes and at a music festival, the despicable acts of sexual violence, 250 innocents taken hostage.’ 

Biden said he has met with the families of those hostages. 

‘I grieve with them,’ he said. ‘They’re going through hell.’ 

But Biden said, ‘Innocent civilians in Gaza are also going through hell.’ 

Biden pointed to the ceasefire and hostage deal his administration has worked on with Qatar and Egypt. 

‘Now it is time for the parties to finalize terms, bring the hostages home, secure Israel and Gaza free of Hamas’ grip, ease the suffering in Gaza and end this war,’ he said. 

Biden stressed that his administration has been ‘determined to prevent a wider war that engulfs the entire region.’ 

‘A full scale war is not in anyone’s interest,’ he said. ‘Even as the situation has escalated, a diplomatic solution is still possible.’ 

‘In fact, it remains the only path to lasting security,’ Biden continued, so that ‘the residents from both countries return to their homes.’ 

‘That’s what we’re working tirelessly to achieve,’ Biden said. 

But as for the war in Gaza, Biden, notably, did not mention rising antisemitism in the United States and around the globe since the Oct. 7 attacks, but instead, discussed the ‘rise of violence against innocent Palestinians on the West Bank.’ 

Biden said the world needs to work towards ‘a two-state solution where the world—where Israel enjoys security and peace and full recognition and normalize relations with all its neighbors; and with Palestinians, living securely with dignity and self-determination in a state of their own.’ 

Meanwhile, Biden declared the need to continue to ensure Iran will ‘never obtain a nuclear weapon.’ 

As he closed his, likely, final address to the world, Biden said he and world leaders ‘must never forget who we’re here to represent–We the people.’ 

‘These are the first words of our Constitution. The very idea of America. They inspired the opening words of the UN charter. I made the preservation of democracy the central cause of my presidency,’ Biden said. 

Biden explained his decision to suspend his 2024 re-election campaign, calling it a ‘difficult decision.’ 

‘Being president has been the honor of my life. There is so much more I want to get done,’ Biden said, but urged world leaders not to forget that ‘some things are more important than staying in power.’ 

‘It’s your people. It is your people that matter most,’ Biden said. ‘We are here to serve the people, not the other way around, because the future will be won by those who unleash the full potential of their people to breathe free, to think freely, to innovate, to educate, to live in love openly without fear.’ 

He added: ‘That’s the soul of democracy. It does not belong to any one country. I’ve seen it all around the world.’ 

Biden stressed the ‘remarkable the power of ‘We the people.’’ 

‘It makes me more optimistic about the future than I’ve ever been since I was first elected to the United States Senate in 1972. Every age faces challenges,’ Biden said. ‘I saw it as a young man. I see it today. But we are stronger than we think. We’re stronger together than alone.’ 

He added: ‘My fellow leaders, there’s nothing that’s beyond our capacity. If we work together, let’s work together.’ 

Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, has spent the last month reviewing plans, strategics and potential tough questions ahead of the Oct. 1 CBS Vice Presidential Debate against Democrat Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, according to a source familiar with the preparations by former President Trump’s running mate. 

House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., was selected to play Walz during mock debates to prepare Vance for the Minnesota governor’s ‘folksy’ Midwestern style, the source told Fox News Digital. 

The source revealed that Vance has been doing most of his preparations at his home in Cincinnati or in online sessions with his team. 

Members of Vance’s inner circle – including his wife Usha –  as well as Trump campaign strategist Jason Miller have been involved in prep sessions. The source said those helping Vance are immersing themselves in honing Walz’s debate style by watching videos of his past debates from his previous campaign runs. 

The source also pointed to Vance’s frequent media interviews as helping him prepare for the upcoming debate, set to take place in New York City.

During regular appearances on Sunday shows, Vance has gained experience in engaging in debate often with contentious network hosts and responding to attacks, the source added. 

Meanwhile, Walz’s mock debates will feature U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg acting as JD Vance’s doppelganger, the Associated Press reported, citing people with knowledge of the candidate’s preparations. 

Trump already faced off against President Biden in a June 27 debate hosted by CNN, and Biden’s disastrous performance set into motion his eventual departure from the race and endorsement of Harris. After Trump and Harris took the stage in Philadelphia on Sept. 10 in the second presidential debate of the 2024 election cycle hosted by ABC News, Trump said on TRUTH Social there would be ‘no third debate.’ 

Meanwhile, Harris said in an X post over the weekend she would accept the terms of a debate on Oct. 23 hosted by CNN. During his campaign rally in Wilmington, North Carolina, on Saturday, Trump said Harris has done one debate, while, ‘I’ve done two. It’s too late to do another. I’d love to, in many ways, but it’s too late. The voting is cast.’

Fox News’ Caroline Elliott and the Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee is pushing back against the Supreme Court’s recent presidential immunity ruling, suggesting Democrats are eyeing ways to limit former President Trump’s abilities that were expanded by the high court’s decision.

‘It is up to Congress, the representative branch of the people, to defend the constitutional order against presidents who would trample the freedoms of the people,’ Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said at a press conference alongside former GOP Rep. Joe Walsh.

‘This declaration is about protecting the freedoms of the people by closing statutory loopholes that could allow a president to exploit the executive power to trample constitutional freedom and liberty.’

He’s helping to spearhead an effort urging members of Congress on both sides of the aisle to sign a ‘No Dictators Declaration.’

Raskin, who held the press conference backed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Monday, did not mention Trump by name. 

The website for the effort similarly stresses that ‘this isn’t a partisan issue.’ 

When explaining the ‘five pillars’ of the pledge, however, Raskin alluded to a host of accusations that have been lodged against the former president.

‘It’s got five main pillars to it – one, limiting the president’s power to declare bogus domestic and foreign emergencies to seize power and bypass congressional authority. Two, restricting the president’s ability to use the Insurrection Act to deploy the military domestically against the people,’ Raskin said.

‘Three – preventing the adoption of partisan, personal and ideological loyalty tests, loyalty oaths and similar authoritarian measures designed to purge the professional civil service, and replace qualified workers with unqualified party loyalists and sycophants.’

‘Four, ensuring that presidents who abuse their powers to commit crimes can be prosecuted like all other citizens. Because no one is above the law in America, and those of us who aspire and attain to public office are nothing but the servants of the people,’ he continued. ‘And fifth, constraining the president’s ability to use investigative and prosecutorial decisions and resources to pursue personal political vendettas against disfavored groups and perceived enemies of the president.’

Trump’s Supreme Court case stems from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s probe into the ex-president and his allies’ alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Smith filed an amended, superceding indictment against Trump in the case after the court’s conservative majority granted the office of the president broad immunity for ‘official’ acts, the specifics of which were to be determined by lower courts.

Asked by Fox News Digital whether the effort could turn into legislative action if Democrats win the House majority in November, Raskin suggested it was possible.

‘I hope that when we get back in, that we will be able to have at least a couple of serious hearings about the problem of overreach in the executive branch and weakness to potential tyrants and despots and dictators,’ Raskin said.

‘I hope that those hearings would lead us to create a legislative package to address these structural deficiencies in our statutory system.’

He added, ‘I would hope that Republicans would come along.’

Walsh, a Tea Party Republican who left office in January 2013 and who has been a vocal Trump critic, also heavily suggested Trump inspired the ‘No Dictators’ effort but noted it brought together himself and Raskin, despite their larger political disagreements.

‘We’re locked in arms right now because we have somebody running for president who has promised to be a dictator,’ Walsh said. ‘This is a bipartisan effort every member of the House and every member of the Senate should easily sign and pledge that they don’t want – we will not have a dictator as president.’

The campaign for former President Donald Trump said it is giving ‘maximum attention and resources’ to its ground game in battleground states, and it’s working.

In key battleground states where voters register by party, and where the margins in 2020 were razor-thin, Republicans have cut into Democrats’ voter registration advantage — in some cases by hundreds of thousands of registered voters. 

During the 2020 election cycle in Pennsylvania, there were approximately 685,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans. But going into Election Day 2024, that gap has been cut down significantly, with approximately 343,000 more Democratic voters than Republicans, according to the Trump campaign, which said it compiled the data from secretaries of state offices in Pennsylvania, Nevada, North Carolina and Arizona.

Similarly, in Nevada, there were 87,000 more Democratic voters in 2020 than Republicans. But going into Election Day 2024, there are just 19,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans. 

North Carolina shows a similar shrinking gap for 2024, with just 126,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans, down from the 391,000 Democratic voters last cycle. 

And in Arizona, by the end of July, there were 259,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats, doubling the GOP advantage since 2020.

‘Everyone who will vote in this election has lived through both administrations, and President Trump wins the comparison easily over Kamala Harris,’ Trump campaign senior adviser Tim Murtaugh told Fox News Digital. ‘The election will be won by those who show up, and that’s where the ground game comes in, which has been a combined effort of the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee, and many Republican allies.’ 

Murtaugh told Fox News Digital that the ‘Democrats’ massive lead in voter registration in key states is gone.’ 

‘And in states where the winner will be decided by mere percentage points, it could make all the difference,’ Murtaugh said. 

Neither the Harris campaign nor the Democratic National Committee (DNC) immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

The Trump campaign’s joint-ground game efforts are continuing to expand, but it is focusing its ‘Get Out the Vote’ efforts on low propensity voters and encouraging voters to vote early. 

Across battleground states, the Trump campaign and RNC have hundreds of paid staff, with more than 300 Trump/GOP offices. 

In July, the Trump campaign launched its ‘Trump Force 47‘ grassroots effort to recruit new voters. 

The program, which the campaign says is focused on mobilizing ‘highly-targeted voters in critical precincts across the battleground states and districts,’ has already engaged tens of thousands of volunteers. 

Trump campaign officials told Fox News Digital they already have more than 27,000 trained Trump Force 47 captains and continue to train daily, adding thousands per week. 

The efforts stretch beyond the Trump Force 47 leaders, with hundreds of thousands more volunteers for phone banking, canvassing, postcard writing, community organizing and poll watching. 

The joint effort and the Trump Force 47 model are focused on spending ‘maximum attention and resources’ on turning out infrequent or ‘sometimes voters,’ the campaign said.

‘We put a high premium on personal contacts with voters that are less likely to participate in the election and are more disconnected from politics than high propensity or persistent voters,’ a campaign official told Fox News Digital. 

Campaign officials also said they are focused on ‘meeting voters where they are’ more than ever before. 

‘From traditional voter canvassing like calls, doors, post cards, mail, to TikTok, to outside groups, our efforts to reach voters have never been more modern or efficient,’ the official said. 

Fox News Digital has learned that the Trump campaign’s allied efforts will knock on approximately 15 million doors in the voting window across battleground states. 

The Trump campaign’s field efforts have been focused on volume, where its in-house program is focused on reaching voters that were previously missed or less politically engaged. 

‘We have to get our voters to do what they always do — show up at the polls and vote,’ the official said. 

Meanwhile, specifically in Pennsylvania, Team Trump is registering voters at doors, campaign rallies, grocery stores, sporting stores, places of worship, college tailgates and more. 

Officials told Fox News Digital that the team is reaching out to voters of all backgrounds through a wide variety of communities, including Hispanic voters, Jewish voters, Black voters, young voters and senior voters. 

‘President Trump is well positioned to win in November thanks to our robust ground efforts and vast coalition of supporters and endorsers,’ an official said. 

New polls published by The New York Times and Siena College on Monday showed Trump has gained a lead over Vice President Kamala Harris in Arizona, putting the former president at 50 and Harris at 45. Trump is also ahead in Georgia, 49 to 45, and North Carolina, 49-45. 

A RealClearPolitics Average shows Harris leading Trump by less than a point in Pennsylvania, and it shows Trump and Harris are tied in Nevada. 

A group of Republican lawmakers is introducing a new bill that would cease all aid dollars to Afghanistan over concerns of interception by the Taliban.

‘The Biden-Harris administration’s disastrous withdrawal has plunged the country back under Taliban rule, and now it turns out that our taxpayer dollars are being used to the benefit of the Taliban,’ Rep. Josh Brecheen, R-Okla., sponsor of the legislation, told Fox News Digital. 

‘This legislation is needed so we can ensure that no more of our tax dollars are being irresponsibly used in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.’

The House bill is co-sponsored by Republican Reps. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Nick Langworthy of New York, Barry Moore of Alabama, Erlic Burlison of Missouri, Matt Rosendale of Montana and Randy Feenstra of Iowa. 

The U.S. is the largest donor to Afghanistan. It spent a total of $21 billion on the nation and Afghan refugees who have been evacuated since the withdrawal. However, critics say much of that aid ends up in lining the pockets of the Taliban, who they say have taken control of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the country.

The United Nations (U.N.), meanwhile, has flown in some $2.9 billion in U.S. currency cash to Afghanistan since the Taliban seized control, the bulk of that being from funds allocated by the U.S., and at least some of which ends up in the Taliban-controlled central bank, according to the SIGAR report from July. 

The Taliban ‘taxes’ this cash at multiple points of distribution. 

The bill would prohibit federal agencies from giving any direct cash assistance to Afghanistan and prohibit any taxpayer dollars from going to the U.N. for the purpose of assisting Afghanistan. It also prohibits Federal Reserve Banks from selling U.S. currency to the U.N. for the purpose of direct cash assistance to Afghanistan. 

In a briefing to the U.N. Security Council on March 6, Roza Otunbayeva, the U.N.’s special representative for Afghanistan, did not mention the money going to Da Afghanistan central bank but said it was necessary to get medical care and food for Afghans. 

The shipments have ‘injected liquidity to the local economy that has in large part allowed the private sector to continue to function and averted a fiscal crisis,’ Otunbayeva told the council. 

In a letter provided in response to the SIGAR report, the State Department said the U.N. was in charge of managing the cash transfer program. 

‘We remain committed to providing critical, life-saving humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. We will continue to monitor assistance programs and seek to mitigate the risk that U.S. assistance could indirectly benefit the Taliban or could be diverted to unintended recipients,’ the letter said.

For 20 years prior to the Taliban takeover, Afghanistan received some $8 billion in foreign assistance per year, representing 40% of its gross domestic product and financing three quarters of the government’s public expenditures. When the U.S. and other foreign entities stopped supplying aid, the country fell into an economic crisis – and aid dollars began flowing once again. 

In June, the House passed a bill that would force the State Department to investigate which countries give aid to the Taliban – and also get U.S. assistance themselves. 

It would also force the secretary of state to weigh if those countries should keep getting U.S. dollars and develop a strategy to discourage them from continuing aid to the Taliban. However, that bill did not cease all aid to Afghanistan. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is putting the U.S. intelligence community on the spot after Iranian hackers tried to disseminate private information from former President Donald Trump’s campaign.

‘Congress is outraged by the Biden-Harris Administration’s inaction and unwillingness to hold Iran accountable for its cyberattacks on the Trump campaign,’ Johnson wrote in letters to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

‘As you have shared, Iran hacked into the Trump campaign and distributed private information directly to the Biden campaign and to American media, which, like Iran, favors Kamala Harris.’

In his letter, he also claimed Harris was Iran’s ‘preferred candidate’ in the race.

Last week, the three agencies released a rare joint statement, revealing that ‘Iranian malicious cyber actors’ sent stolen Trump campaign materials to people linked to President Biden’s since-defunct re-election campaign, beginning in June. They also sent non-public materials to U.S. media organizations, the agencies said.

However, Johnson told their directors that ‘several unanswered questions remain.’

‘The American people must be informed of how the cyberattacks and distribution of information happened, the timeline indicating when the attacks occurred and were verified, and the concrete steps your agencies have taken to deter future attacks,’ Johnson wrote.

He accused the Biden administration of failing to deter election interference efforts by Iran or other hostile foreign powers and pointed out that Iran has also recently been accused of trying to kill the former president.

‘To date, the Biden-Harris Administration has not offered or executed any meaningful action to show our enemies such interference will not be tolerated, nor shared what steps, if any, it has taken to deter future attacks on Donald Trump or his campaign,’ Johnson wrote.

‘With less than 45 days until the election, much more needs to be done to protect our nation’s sovereignty and stop Iran from tipping the election in favor of its preferred candidate.’

He gave the agencies a deadline of Oct. 4, roughly a month before Election Day.

Multiple outlets reported earlier this month that the Justice Department and FBI are planning to file criminal charges against those involved with the Trump campaign hack.

FBI Director Christopher Wray warned in February that foreign adversaries posed a threat to the U.S. having ‘free and fair elections.’

‘The U.S. has confronted foreign malign influence threats in the past, but this election cycle, the U.S. will face more adversaries, moving at a faster pace, and enabled by new technology,’ he said during a national security forum.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign, as well as the FBI, CISA and the DNI, for comment.