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Meta ending 3rd-party fact checkers 'transformative,' but other legal issues remain, says expert
The decision by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to end Facebook's work with third-party fact-checkers and ease some of its content restrictions is a potentially "transformative" moment for the platform, experts said, but one that is unlikely to shield the company from liability in ongoing court proceedings.
The updates were announced by Zuckerberg, who said in a video that the previous content restrictions used on Facebook and Instagram — which were put into place after the 2016 elections — had "gone too far" and allowed for too much political bias from outside fact-checkers.
Meta will now replace that system with a "Community Notes"-style program, similar to the approach taken by social media platform X, he said. X is owned by Elon Musk, the co-director of the planned Department of Government Efficiency.
"We’ve reached a point where it’s just too many mistakes and too much censorship," Zuckerberg said. "The recent elections also feel like a cultural tipping point toward once again prioritizing speech. So we are going to get back to our roots, focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies, and restoring free expression on our platforms."
META ENDS FACT-CHECKING PROGRAM AS ZUCKERBERG VOWS TO RESTORE FREE EXPRESSION ON FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM
The news was praised by President-elect Donald Trump, who told Fox News Digital that he thought Meta's presentation "was excellent." "They have come a long way," Trump said.
Still, it is unlikely to ease the legal liability for Meta, which in recent months has been hit with the possibility of a multibillion-dollar class action lawsuit stemming from a privacy scandal involving the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica.
The Supreme Court in November rejected Meta's effort to block the lawsuit, leaving in place an appellate court ruling that allowed the class action suit to move forward.
Meta has also been the target of multiple Republican-led investigations in Congress. Republicans on the House Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government probed Meta's activity and communication with the federal government and the Biden administration last year as part of a broader investigation into alleged censorship.
The platform also came under scrutiny by the House Oversight Committee in August, as part of an investigation into claims that the platform suppressed information about the July 13 assassination attempt of Trump.
MORE THAN 100 FORMER JUSTICE DEPT OFFICIALS URGE SENATE TO CONFIRM PAM BONDI AS AG
Combined, these factors make it unlikely that Meta will see its legal problems go away anytime soon, law professor and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley told Fox News Digital in an interview.
"Facebook is now looking at a tough patch ahead," he said. "Not only do the Republicans carry both houses of Congress as well as the White House, but there is ongoing litigation in the social media case in Texas."
Additionally, the Supreme Court's conservative majority is also unlikely to be sympathetic to the views of Meta in any case centered on First Amendment protections and rights to free speech.
The House investigations and litigation have both forced more of Meta's actions into public view— something Turley said expects to come under further scrutiny in the discovery process in Missouri v. Biden, a case that centers on allegations of political censorship.
"That discovery is still revealing new details," Turley said. "So Meta understood that in the coming months, more details would be forthcoming on its censorship program."
Still, he said, this "could be a transformative moment," Turley said.
"And an alliance of Zuckerberg with [Elon] Musk could turn the tide in this fight over free speech," Turley said. "And as one of Zuckerberg's most vocal critics I welcome him to this fight."
AG Merrick Garland intends to release Special Counsel Jack Smith report on Trump election case
Attorney General Merrick Garland will release Special Counsel Jack Smith's report on the 2020 election interference case against President-elect Trump, according to a court filing.
The Department of Justice told the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Wednesday that Garland intends to release Volume One of Smith's report to Congress, which covers the allegations that Trump attempted to illegally undo the results of the 2020 presidential election.
However, Garland will not release Volume Two, which covers the classified documents case against Trump, as two defendants in that case still face criminal proceedings.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
Top Republicans roll out bill that would undo 9/11 plea deals
FIRST ON FOX: Top Republicans in Congress are introducing a new bill to stop the White House from offering plea deals to suspected 9/11 terrorists.
A pretrial agreement between the 9/11 defendants and the government removes the death penalty as a possibility for punishment, but legislation led by Sens. Tom Cotton, Intelligence Committee Chair, and longtime Republican leader Mitch McConnell would reinstate it.
The Justice for 9/11 Act would prevent the military court from offering plea deals to the 9/11 terrorists by requiring a trial and ensuring the death penalty remains an option in sentencing.
And as President Joe Biden draws down the population of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay in the final days he is in office, the bill would also require the defendants to be kept on the Cuban island in solitary confinement and prohibit them from being extradited to another country.
BIDEN ADMIN SENDS 11 GUANTANAMO DETAINEES TO OMAN FOR RESETTLEMENT
Trials for the suspected 9/11 terrorists have been drawn out for decades – and in many cases haven't even started – due to administrative delays, debates over whether evidence obtained under torture is permissible in court and the coronavirus pandemic. The plea deal was meant to quickly wrap up three of the cases without trial.
"Those monsters should have faced justice decades ago; instead Joe Biden set the stage to let them go free," said Cotton, R-Ark., in a statement. "My bill will stop this travesty and prevent the Biden administration from replenishing the ranks of our terrorist enemies any further on his way out the door."
"In the wake of terrorist savagery, our obligation is to deliver justice. However long it takes, those responsible for September 11th deserve nothing more," said McConnell.
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., is introducing companion legislation in the House. Republicans now control both chambers of Congress and soon the presidency, granting the bill a good chance of becoming law.
MILITARY APPEALS COURT RULES DEFENSE SEC AUSTIN CANNOT RESCIND 9/11 PLEA DEALS
"For the Biden-Harris administration to have offered a plea deal without the death penalty to the very people who planned the attacks that took the lives of almost 3,000 is a betrayal to our cops, firefighters and 9/11 victims and their families. The Justice for 9/11 Act will nullify this horrendous plea deal and prevent any future ones from being offered to those who perpetrated this heinous attack," said Lawler.
Earlier this year, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin tried to rescind the plea deals for three detainees at Guantanamo Bay, including alleged 9/11 architect Khalid Sheikh Mohammad amid backlash, but last week, a military appeals court ruled he could not take back the deals reached by military prosecutors and defense attorneys and the deals were valid and enforceable.
The Pentagon has the option of going next to the D.C. Circuit federal appeals court for emergency review, but so far, there’s no indication they’ve done so.
A hearing is scheduled for later this week at Guantanamo Bay, where Mohammad and two other defendants could plead guilty in separate hearings, with the death penalty removed as a possible punishment.
Hearings will follow in the next week for the co-defendants: Walid bin Attash, an accused deputy, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, accused of helping the hijackers with finances and travel.
Biden has tried to wind down operations at Guantanamo in his final days in office after a campaign promise to shut down the costly prison marred by a history of torture allegations.
The administration announced on Monday 11 Yemeni detainees, including two alleged bodyguards for Usama bin Laden, would be resettled in Oman, after being held for two decades without charges. The total number of men at the prison is now at its lowest since 2002 – just 15.
Drug dealers could be charged with murder under new Virginia fentanyl plan
Virginia Republicans announced their top legislative priorities for the new year, with curbing fentanyl deaths chief among them.
Under current case law, it is difficult to charge a drug dealer with the murder of a user who died from fentanyl they had purchased unless they are in the proximity of that dealer, according to GOP legislators.
State Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, R-New Kent, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that Virginia hopes to address that legislative insufficiency.
"This [law] would say if you sell the drugs, it doesn't matter if you're in physical proximity," he said.
McDougle and Senate Republican Caucus Leader Mark Obenshain are spearheading the effort.
Fox News Digital reached out to Obenshain, of Harrisonburg, for additional comment.
However, at a related press conference, Obenshain said that as long as people are "dying in every corner of Virginia, of every socioeconomic background, that means there’s people out there peddling this poison."
A pair of Senate special elections on Tuesday were set to determine whether Republicans will take a slightly belated majority in the chamber this term, as Democrats currently control it by one seat.
Voters went to the polls in both Loudoun County and a swath of more red counties, including Buckingham, Fluvanna and Goochland.
On Wednesday, multiple outlets projected Democrats will hold their slim single-seat majority – requiring one liberal to side with McDougle and Obenshain on their counter-fentanyl proposal.
In 2022, the Old Dominion ranked 14th among states for total fentanyl-related deaths, with 1,973 fatalities, and was positioned near the national average in terms of death rate per capita, according to CDC data.
TOP DOGE SENATOR DEMANDS LAME-DUCK BIDEN AGENCIES HALT COSTLY TELEWORK, CITING VOTER MANDATE
For comparison, neighboring West Virginia leads the nation in fentanyl deaths per capita, but total deaths were 1,084, less than Virginia.
Seven out of 10 pills seized by the DEA contain a lethal dose of fentanyl, according to OnePillCanKill Virginia.
A representative for Gov. Glenn Youngkin said he believes prosecuting fentanyl dealers should receive bipartisan support:
"As Governor Youngkin has said time and time again, any person who knowingly and intentionally distributes fentanyl should be charged and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," spokesman Christian Martinez told Fox News Digital.
"We cannot continue to let makers and dealers get away with murder – and it is time Democrat lawmakers side with victims' families over fentanyl makers and dealers."
In April, Youngkin signed Obenshain’s prior fentanyl-related bill, SB 469, which made unlawful possession, purchase or sale of encapsulating machines for the purpose of producing illicit drugs a Class 6 felony.
It also imposed felony penalties for subjects who allow a minor or mentally incapacitated person to be present during the manufacture of any substance containing fentanyl.
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares previously said an average of five people die each day from fentanyl overdoses throughout the state.
"By enhancing penalties and criminalizing the possession and use of machines to produce counterfeit drugs, we are supplying law enforcement personnel with the tools they need to hold drug dealers accountable for poisoning our communities," Miyares said.
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After her husband signed the 2023 legislation, Virginia first lady Suzanne Youngkin said there is "nothing more important" than protecting families and communities in Virginia. "I applaud all persons working hard to fight the spread of this illicit drug taking the lives of far too many Virginians," she said.
Virginia Republicans also indicated this week that they will work to put Youngkin’s December plan curtailing taxation of gratuities into law. The plan somewhat mirrors President-elect Donald Trump’s "No Tax on Tips" campaign pledge.
"Hard-working Virginians deserve to keep the tips they earn for their service," McDougle said. "Governor Youngkin’s inclusion of this policy in the budget is an important step in our support of hard-working Virginians, and we’re proud to introduce the bill to put it in the Code of Virginia."
McDougle said Tuesday the chamber will also pursue a ban on transgender women competing in women’s and girls’ sports.
Fetterman open to potential Greenland acquisition, declares support for Laken Riley Act
As President-elect Donald Trump continues to express interest in the U.S. acquiring Greenland, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., conveyed a willingness to entertain the concept.
Fetterman noted that he would not support forcibly seizing Greenland — but the senator, who made the comments during an appearance on Fox News Channel's "Special Report," pointed to historical American land acquisitions, including the Louisiana purchase and the purchase of Alaska.
Trump declared in a post on Truth Social last month, "For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity."
DANISH PRIME MINISTER HAS BLUNT MESSAGE FOR TRUMP: GREENLAND IS NOT FOR SALE
"Greenland is an incredible place, and the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation. We will protect it, and cherish it, from a very vicious outside World. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!" he said in a Truth Social post on Monday.
Donald Trump Jr. visited Greenland on Tuesday.
The icy island "has its own extensive local government, but it is also part of the Realm of Denmark," according to denmark.dk. "Greenland was a Danish colony until 1953, when it was redefined as a district of Denmark. In addition to its own local government, Greenland has two representatives in the Danish Parliament, the Folketing."
TRUMP ESCALATES PLANS TO ACQUIRE GREENLAND AFTER RESIDENT PLEADS: ‘DENMARK’S USING US'
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Laken Riley Act in a bipartisan 264-159 vote on Tuesday, and Fetterman said that he plans to support passage in the Senate.
The measure is named after the 22-year-old Augusta University nursing student slain last year by an illegal alien in Georgia.
The legislation calls for the Homeland Security secretary to issue a detainer for an illegal alien who admits to, or is charged with, arrested, or convicted of actions that comprise the key elements of theft or similar offenses, and to take custody of the person if they have not been detained by federal, state, or local authorities.
Fetterman said he doesn't know why anyone finds it controversial that people illegally in the U.S. who commit crimes "need to go."
"Do you think that this was one of, if not the biggest issue for this election?" Fox News' Brett Baier asked Fetterman.
The senator replied that if Senate Democrats cannot muster 7 votes in support of the measure, that is one of the reasons they lost.
Starmer and Badenoch clash over call for grooming inquiry
Trump files emergency petition to Supreme Court to prevent sentencing in NY v. Trump
President-elect Trump on Wednesday morning filed an emergency petition to the United States Supreme Court in an effort to block his sentencing in New York v. Trump.
Judge Juan Merchan set Trump's sentencing in New York v. Trump for Jan. 10, after a jury found the now-president-elect guilty of falsifying business records in the first degree, stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's investigation. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges and has appealed the ruling, but was rejected last week by Merchan.
NEW YORK JUDGE SETS TRUMP SENTENCING DAYS BEFORE INAUGURATION
"President Trump’s legal team filed an emergency petition with the United States Supreme Court, asking the Court to correct the unjust actions by New York courts and stop the unlawful sentencing in the Manhattan D.A.’s Witch Hunt," Trump spokesman and incoming White House communications director Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital. "The Supreme Court’s historic decision on Immunity, the Constitution, and established legal precedent mandate that this meritless hoax be immediately dismissed."
Cheung said the "American People elected President Trump with an overwhelming mandate that demands an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and all of the remaining Witch Hunts."
He added: "We look forward to uniting our country in the new administration as President Trump makes America great again."
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Mexico disperses migrant caravans heading to US ahead of Trump inauguration
The Mexican government is working hard to break up migrant caravans trying to make the treacherous journey north to the U.S. ahead of President-elect Trump’s inauguration in less than two weeks' time.
Faced with the prospect of massive tariffs on goods under the new administration, Mexico has been dispersing migrants throughout the country to keep them far from the U.S. border, including dropping them off at the once vibrant tourist hotspot of Acapulco, a beach resort town on Mexico's Pacific coast made famous by the jet set in the 1950s and ’60s.
Once a crown jewel of Mexico's tourism industry, the city now suffers under the thumb of organized crime and is still struggling to climb back after taking a direct hit from powerful Hurricane Otis in 2023. It now has one of Mexico's highest rates of homicides.
MORE MIGRANTS LIKELY TO RUSH BORDER DESPITE REPORTS OF SPLINTERING CARAVAN: EXPERTS
Yet authorities are dropping busloads of migrants there with little support and few options.
The Mexican government has embraced a policy of "dispersion and exhaustion" to reduce the number of migrants reaching the U.S. border. Authorities let migrants walk for days until they're exhausted and then offer to bus them to various cities where they say their immigration status will be reviewed.
The migrants tell the Associated Press that they accepted an offer from immigration officials to come to the city under the premise that they could continue their journey north toward the U.S. border, but instead they have essentially been abandoned there.
On Monday, desperate migrants could be seen sleeping in the streets in tents and say they fear Mexico's drug cartels could target them for kidnapping and extortion, though many migrants say authorities extort them too.
"Immigration (officials) told us they were going to give us a permit to transit the country freely for 10, 15 days and it wasn't like that," 28-year-old Venezuelan, Ender Antonio Castañeda, told the Associated Press. "They left us dumped here without any way to get out. They won't sell us (bus) tickets. They won't sell us anything."
MORE MIGRANTS LIKELY TO RUSH BORDER DESPITE REPORTS OF SPLINTERING CARAVAN: EXPERTS
Castañeda, is one of thousands of other migrants who had left the southern city of Tapachula near the Guatemalan border in recent weeks in the hope of crossing the Mexican border into the U.S. before Trump takes office.
It would take an adult migrant about 16 days of non-stop walking to get to the most southern point of the U.S. border is at the crossing at Matamoros, near Brownsville, Texas. Migrants prefer traveling in caravans because they believe there is safety in numbers as it is hard or impossible for immigration agents to detain large groups of hundreds of migrants.
Trump has threatened Mexico with a 25% tariff on imported goods from Mexico, and the country hopes the lower numbers will give them some defense from Trump's pressures.
Trump is expected to clamp down heavily on illegal crossings, which have soared under the Biden-Harris administration. He has also vowed to carry out the largest deportation operation in the history of the U.S. and has appointed hardliner South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to serve as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) while Tom Homan will be the new "Border Czar."
Additionally, he has also pledged to end the use of parole programs by the Biden administration that allow migrants to enter via the expanded "lawful pathways."
On Tuesday, Trump reiterated his threat in a press briefing where he also said he would change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
"Mexico has to stop allowing millions of people to pour into our country. They can stop them. And we’re going to put very serious tariffs on Mexico and Canada, because Canada, they come through Canada too, and the drugs that are coming through are at record numbers, record numbers. So we’re going to make up for that by putting tariffs on Mexico and Canada, substantial tariffs," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Federal judge kicks battle over NC Supreme Court election back to state court
A federal judge on Monday kicked the battle over an election to fill a spot on North Carolina's Supreme Court back to the state's highest court.
North Carolina's highest court on Tuesday then blocked the certification of the election results between Democratic Associate Justice Allison Riggs and GOP challenger Jefferson Griffin.
Griffin lost the general election, and two recounts later, one statewide machine recount and a partial hand-to-eye recount of ballots from randomly selected early voting sites and Election Day precincts in each county, still showed Riggs in the lead, according to WUNC. The results show the Democrat ahead by just 734 votes from over 5.5 million ballots cast, but Riggs is contending that 60,000 ballots cast should be invalidated.
The ultimate winner gets an eight-year term on a Supreme Court where five of the seven current justices are registered Republicans.
Most of the ballots that Griffin is challenging came from voters whose registration records lacked either a driver’s license number or the last four digits of a Social Security number — which a state law has required be sought in registration applications since 2004. Before the federal Help America Vote Act, or HAVA, of 2002, voter registration forms did not clearly require that people list the last four digits of their Social Security number or their driver's license number.
GOP LAWMAKER, 81, RECEIVES MEDICAL ATTENTION AFTER FALL AT US CAPITOL
Yet it's still legal to vote in cases where a person's last four Social Security numbers or driver's license digits cannot be validated. People can still present a HAVA document, such as a utility bill, and the state elections administration office is required to then assign that person a special identification number to register to vote, according to WUNC.
Other large categories of votes that Griffin is challenging were cast by overseas voters who have never lived in the U.S. but whose parents were deemed North Carolina residents and by military or overseas voters who did not provide copies of photo identification with their ballots. In accordance with federal law, the state administrative code says overseas voters are exempt from that requirement, WUNC reported.
Lawyers for Griffin, who is a judge on the intermediate-level state Court of Appeals, initially asked the state Supreme Court to intervene three weeks ago.
But the elections board quickly moved the matter to federal court, saying Griffin's appeals involved matters of federal voting and voting rights laws.
Griffin disagreed, and so did U.S. District Judge Richard Myers, who on Monday returned the case to the state Supreme Court.
Myers — a nominee to the bench by Donald Trump — wrote that Griffin’s protests raised "unsettled questions of state law" and had tenuous connections to federal law.
Hours later, Griffin's attorneys asked the state Supreme Court for the temporary stay, which the court granted.
"In the absence of a stay from federal court, this matter should be addressed expeditiously because it concerns certification of an election," Tuesday's order read.
The order said that Riggs recused herself from the matter and that Associate Justice Anita Earls, the other Democrat on the court, opposed the stay in part because the "public interest requires that the Court not interfere with the ordinary course of democratic processes as set by statute and the state constitution."
Attorneys for the State Board of Elections and Riggs quickly filed appeals notices for Myers’ decision with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The state board later on Tuesday asked the appeals court to direct Myers to take back the litigation from the state Supreme Court and block its return to the state court while the matter is appealed.
Barring intervention by federal appeals judges, the Republican-majority state Supreme Court would essentially be asked to decide the winner for one of its own seats.
The State Board of Elections dismissed Griffin's written protests challenging the ballots last month. That initiated a timeline in which the board would issue a certificate confirming Riggs' election this Friday — ending the litigation — unless a court stepped in. Tuesday's order stops such certification and tells Griffin and the board to file legal briefs with the justices over the next two weeks.
Democratic allies of Riggs have accused Griffin and the state GOP of trying to overturn legitimate election results.
Riggs "deserves her certificate of election and we are only in this position due to Jefferson Griffin refusing to accept the will of the people," state Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton said in a news release.
The state election board that dismissed Griffin's protests is composed of three Democrats and two Republicans.
The Supreme Court in the nation's ninth-largest state has been a partisan flash point in recent years in court battles involving redistricting, photo voter identification and other voting rights.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Kansas secretary of state launches 2026 GOP gubernatorial bid for seat held by 2-term Democrat
FIRST ON FOX: Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab is launching a campaign for the state's Democrat-held governor's seat in 2026, announcing his run exclusively with Fox News Digital on Wednesday.
Schwab, who is running as a Republican, is seeking to replace Kansas' Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly, who will have held the seat for eight years when her term ends next cycle.
"We need to return to the values and principles that have always fueled us, and gave me the strength to lead in Topeka," Schwab, Kansas' two-term secretary of state, said in a press release shared with Fox News Digital. "I have a proven conservative record. And a servant’s heart. It’s important for Kansas to take the right path."
Schwab was first elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 2002, serving as speaker pro tempore of the state's House of Representatives before being elected secretary of state in 2018.
KANSAS GOVERNOR VETOES BILL BANNING TRANSGENDER TREATMENT TO MINORS, ABORTION RESTRICTIONS
"A Christian, a father, and a believer in the American dream. I believe that to do something great, you need to throw off the chains holding you back," Schwab said in his official campaign launch. "For Kansas, that’s big government, and that is why I am running for Governor."
TRUMP'S CONVINCING 2024 VICTORY SETS HOUSE GOP UP FOR HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE IN 2026 MIDTERMS
Schwab noted his alignment with President-elect Donald Trump on several key issues as one of the reasons he is launching a bid for governor.
Specifically, Schwab noted in his first campaign ad that, if elected, he intends to stop China from buying farmland, increase security as it pertains to elections and cut property taxes.
The candidate, who made his Christian faith a focal point of his campaign launch, also highlighted that he wants the U.S. to return to the "values that have always fueled us."
Although the state currently has a Democrat governor, its leadership is predominantly Republican, with two GOP senators and three of its four congressional seats held by Republicans.
Kelly, who has served two terms as governor, insinuated that she might not seek re-election in the 2026 midterms.
"It is really time for me to move on and to let others come up and serve," Kelly told KCUR's Up To Date in 2024.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, the recently elected chair of the Republican Governors Association, said the Kansas race is going to be a top priority for the GOP in 2026.
"I'm going to be very engaged, you can rest assured, to making sure that my [successors] are Republican," Kemp, who is term-limited next cycle, previously told Fox News Digital.
"We'll be working with the Trump administration and a lot of other people to make sure that that's happening not only in Georgia, but in other states around the country, in places like Kansas, where we have a Democratic governor right now, in places like Arizona, where we have a really good shot at winning the governor's races. So we're going to be on offense."
France pushes back on Trump using military pressure to take Greenland, says it's now 'survival of the fittest'
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Wednesday flatly said the European Union will not allow President-elect Trump to take Greenland by military force.
"It is out of the question that the European Union would let other countries ... attack its sovereign borders, whoever they are," Barrot said on French radio, according to Politico.
Barrot added that he doubts Trump would take the extraordinary step of invading Greenland.
"If you're asking me whether I think the United States will invade Greenland, my answer is no. But have we entered into a period of time when it is survival of the fittest? Then my answer is yes," Barrot said.
DANISH PRIME MINISTER HAS BLUNT MESSAGE FOR TRUMP: GREENLAND IS NOT FOR SALE
That stark warning comes after Trump made various statements calling the island territory vital to U.S. national and economic security interests and expressing interest in purchasing it from Denmark. He has made similar comments about wresting the Panama Canal from Panama's control after the U.S. relinquished the canal in 1977.
On Tuesday, the incoming U.S. president would not rule out using military force to gain control of Greenland or the Panama Canal when asked about the issue at a press conference.
A reporter asked Trump if he could assure the world he would not use military or economic coercion to gain control of the Panama Canal and Greenland.
"No, I can't assure you on either of those two. But I can say this, we need them for economic security," Trump said.
DONALD TRUMP JR ARRIVES IN GREENLAND AS HIS FATHER SAYS DENMARK ‘GIVE IT UP’
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen emphasized Tuesday that Greenland is not for sale.
Frederiksen told a Danish TV station that Greenlandic Prime Minister Múte Egede "has been very, very clear – that there is a lot of support among the people of Greenland that Greenland is not for sale and will not be in the future either," according to The Hill.
She reportedly told TV 2 that Greenland will choose its own future and said, "We need to stay calm and stick to our principles," while praising the U.S. as a key Danish ally.
TRUMP ESCALATES PLANS TO ACQUIRE GREENLAND AFTER RESIDENT PLEADS: ‘DENMARK’S USING US'
In a Truth Social post on Monday, Trump said he was "hearing that the people of Greenland are ‘MAGA'." The Republican attached a video that purportedly shows a Greenlander asking the U.S. to buy his country.
Trump's son arrived Tuesday in Nuuk, the Arctic territory's capital. He met with locals, visited cultural sites and shot video for a podcast. The president-elect posted a video showing a plane emblazoned with the word "TRUMP" landing in Nuuk.
"Don Jr. and my Reps landing in Greenland," Trump wrote. "The reception has been great. They, and the Free World, need safety, security, strength, and PEACE! This is a deal that must happen. MAGA. MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!"
At Tuesday's press conference, Trump said of Greenland, "Denmark should give it up."
Majority of Americans believe Biden will be remembered as below average or poor president: poll
Most Americans believe President Biden will be remembered as a below-average president once he leaves office, according to a Wednesday poll.
The new poll from Gallup found that 54% of Americans say Biden will be remembered as either "below average" (37%) or "poor" (17%). Meanwhile, just 19% are confident he will have a positive legacy, with 6% saying he was "outstanding" and 13% saying he was "above average."
Just over a quarter of Americans, 26%, predict Biden will be remembered as an average president, the poll found.
Gallup's poll ranked Biden alongside nine other recent presidents, and only President Richard Nixon proved to be less popular. Nixon received a net positivity rating of -42, compared to Biden's -35. The next closest president was George W. Bush at -9.
'FAILED EXPERIMENT': EXPERTS REVEAL WHY SOROS-BACKED POLICIES TOOK BEATING IN DEEP BLUE STATE
Gallup noted that presidents who serve challenging terms like Biden typically see their approval ratings rise in the years after they leave office. The pollster noted that Presidents Jimmy Carter, Trump and Bush all benefited from this trend.
President-elect Trump's first term received a net positivity rating of -4. The most popular president was John F. Kennedy, at +68, followed by Ronald Reagan at +38.
Gallup conducted the poll from Dec. 2 - 18, surveying 1,003 U.S. adults via cellphone and landline. The poll advertises a margin of error of 4%.
The poll came the same day that Biden acknowledged concerns about his age and discussed his legacy in an interview with USA Today in the Oval Office. He still claimed he would have won another term if he'd run against Trump, but he admitted he's not sure if he could have lasted four more years.
"Do you think you would've had the vigor to serve another four years in office?" USA Today's Susan Page asked.
"I don't know," Biden said. "That's why I thought when I first announced, talking to Barack [Obama] about it, I said I thought I was the person. I had no intention of running after [my son] Beau died – for real, not a joke. And then when Trump was running again for re-election, I really thought I had the best chance of beating him."
OBAMA ALUMS TRASH 'STUBBORN OLD MAN' BIDEN’S ‘FECKLESS’ JAN. 6 OP-ED
"But I also wasn't looking to be president when I was 85 years old, 86 years old. And so I did talk about passing the baton," Biden added, reflecting on concerns over his age, especially before he dropped out of the presidential race.
Biden says his "hope" is that history remembers "that I came in and I had a plan how to restore the economy and reestablish America's leadership in the world."
"I hope that my legacy is one that says I took an economy that was in disarray and set it on track to lead the world, in terms of the new sort of rules of the road," he said.
The White House declined to comment on the record when contacted by Fox News Digital regarding the poll.
Marjorie Taylor Greene swiftly serves up bill to rename Gulf of Mexico the 'Gulf of America'
On the heels of President-elect Donald Trump's announcement on Tuesday about renaming the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., swiftly served up legislation to enact the idea.
"The Gulf of America, what a beautiful name," Trump said after declaring that the name would be changed.
Greene quickly announced that she would introduce a measure "ASAP" to rename the body of water.
Later on Tuesday she released the text of the proposal, indicating in a statement that it would be filed on Thursday morning.
‘BEAUTIFUL NAME’: TRUMP ANNOUNCES GULF OF MEXICO WILL GET NEW, PRO-AMERICA REVAMP
"The Gulf of Mexico shall be known as the 'Gulf of America,'" the text of the proposal reads in part, calling for federal documents and maps to be updated accordingly.
"Mexican cartels currently use the Gulf of Mexico to traffic humans, drugs, weapons, and God knows what else while the Mexican government allows them to do it," Greene said in a statement.
"The American people are footing the bill to protect and secure the maritime waterways for commerce to be conducted. Our U.S. armed forces protect the area from any military threats from foreign countries. It’s our gulf. The rightful name is the Gulf of America and it’s what the entire world should refer to it as," she asserted. "We already have the bill written with legislative council and ready to file first thing Thursday morning."
Other lawmakers also jumped on the "Gulf of America" bandwagon after Trump's announcement.
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE TO VOTE FOR JOHNSON AFTER SEEKING TO OUST HIM FROM SPEAKERSHIP LAST YEAR
In a post on X, Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., invited people to "visit our beautiful district and take a dip in the Gulf of AMERICA!"
"Proud to represent Alabama's First District on the beautiful GULF OF AMERICA," Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala. declared in a tweet.
"Alabamians know just how important the Gulf and Gulf Coast are for our great country. The Gulf of AMERICA sounds pretty good to me," Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., noted in a post.
TRUMP TROLLS CANADA AGAIN, SHARES MAP WITH COUNTRY AS PART OF US: ‘OH CANADA!’
Trump will take office in less than two weeks when he is inaugurated on Jan. 20.