Politics

Trump slams Murkowski, vows to go to Alaska to campaign against her

President Trump said he would campaign against Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski from Alaska in 2022 after she told reporters she was “struggling” to support the president in his reelection because of how he handled the George Floyd protests.

“Few people know where they’ll be in two years from now, but I do, in the Great State of Alaska (which I love) campaigning against Senator Lisa Murkowski,” Trump tweeted Thursday night.

“Get any candidate ready, good or bad, I don’t care, I’m endorsing. If you have a pulse, I’m with you!” he later added.

MURKOWSKI ‘STRUGGLING’ WITH WHETHER TO SUPPORT TRUMP, BACKS MATTIS AFTER REBUKE

Murkowski had earlier Thursday told reporters she believed former Defense Secretary James Mattis’ comments on the President earlier this week “were true and honest and necessary and overdue.”

In an article for The Atlantic, Mattis said Trump has threatened the U.S. Constitution and deliberately divided Americans, contributing to the recent nationwide protests and general unrest following Floyd’s May 25 death while in police custody.

“The protests are defined by tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we live up to our values — our values as people and our values as a nation,” Mattis said in the article, published Wednesday. “We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution.”

“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us,” Mattis added. “We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership.”

JOHN KELLY DEFENDS JAMES MATTIS AFTER TRUMP REBUKE: ‘THE PRESIDENT DID NOT FIRE HIM’

Murkowski said she was “thankful” for Mattis’ criticism of Trump.

“When I saw General Mattis’ comments yesterday, I felt like perhaps we are getting to a point where we can be more honest with the concerns that we might hold internally,” she said. “And have the courage of our own convictions to speak up.”

Murkowski has been critical of Trump and has not always sided with the administration, as Trump pointed out, highlighting her vote against the appointment of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

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But Murkowski did vote with GOP senators earlier this year to acquit President Trump on both articles of impeachment.

“He is our duly elected president [and] I will continue to work with him,” she said. “I will continue to work with this administration, but I think right now, as we are all struggling to find ways to express the words that need to be expressed appropriately, questions about who I’m going to vote for or not going to vote for, I think, are distracting at the moment.”

Maloney challenger’s campaign fundraising email: ‘F&$# THE POLICE.’

The primary challenger to longtime Democratic New York City Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney sent out a fundraising email Thursday that declared, “F&$# THE POLICE.”

“We are living the results of a completely broken criminal justice system,” the email from the Lauren Ashcraft campaign begins.

Ashcraft, a self-described people-powered progressive Democrat, is one of three long-shot primary challengers seeking to replace Maloney in a heavily Democratic district — similar to how Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez unseated longtime incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in a primary upset victory two years ago.

OCASIO-CORTEZ BACKS ENGEL’S CHALLENGER IN PRIMARY

One of Ashcraft’s key campaign platforms is criminal justice reform, and in a statement to Fox News, she doubled down on her position.

“The entire criminal justice system is racist,” she said, “This is about the country needing rigorous criminal justice reform.”

She slammed lawmakers in both parties for their approach to the issue over the years.

“We constantly see videos of black people being attacked and killed,” she said. “Police are murdering those they are sworn to protect. Republicans and Democrats alike — including Rep. Maloney — have failed to enact common-sense reform. Instead, they’re responsible for destructive policies such as the 1994 Crime Bill.”

For her part, Maloney, who helped spearhead the push for federally funded benefits for New York City’s first responders in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks, has publicly supported a slew of House proposals that aim to achieve criminal justice reforms similar to the ones Ashcraft singled her out in the email for not co-sponsoring.

CAROLYN MALONEY ELECTED TO REPLACE ELIJAH CUMMINGS LEADING HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE

Malone posted a list of them in a lengthy Twitter thread on Wednesday, a day before Ashcraft’s fundraising email went out.

“To meet this moment, Congress must do more than decry these wrongs,” Maloney tweeted. “We must act.”

Among the proposals she said she supports is a resolution explicitly condemning police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, which was introduced by “Squad” members Reps. Ayanna Pressley and Ilhan Omar, along with Reps. Karen Bass and Barbara Lee.

Another was a bill introduced by fellow New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries that would forbid police from using chokeholds.

Floyd died in police custody on May 25 — and part of the incident recorded on video showed an officer kneeling on his neck for almost nine minutes. Eric Garner died in New York City in 2014 after an NYPD officer restrained him with a chokehold in another incident caught on video.

HUNDREDS, INCLUDING AL SHARPTON, ERIC GARNER’S MOTHER, MOURN AT GEORGE FLOYD MEMORIAL IN MINNEAPOLIS

“As soon as I talked to the family and got the details and heard that among George’s last words was ‘I can’t breathe,’ with a knee on his neck, I immediately thought about Eric Garner,” the Rev. Al Sharpton said as he delivered a eulogy for Floyd in Minnesota Thursday.

Floyd’s death sparked a wave of protests against police violence across the country, which both candidates have said they support.

Maloney was first elected to Congress in 1992. Her chief accomplishments include the Zadroga Act and its subsequent reauthorizations, which secured compensation and health care for first responders and others suffering from 9/11-related illnesses. She also authored the Debbie Smith Act, which increases funding for law enforcement to process DNA rape kits, according to her campaign website.

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The other primary challengers are Suraj Patel, a lawyer and educator whom Maloney defeated in a 2018 primary challenge, and Peter Harrison, a tenants’ rights advocate.

Also on Thursday in an unrelated tweet, President Trump blasted a push by people he called “Radical Left Democrats” amplifying calls to “defund the police.” Instead, he said he supports increasing money spent on law enforcement.

Tennessee must let all registered voters cast ballots by mail amid coronavirus, judge rules

A Davidson County judge on Thursday ruled that the state of Tennessee must provide its 4.1 million registered voters with a mail-in voting option, in light of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle ruled that recent limitations on absentee ballot voting during the pandemic constitute “an unreasonable burden on the fundamental right to vote guaranteed by the Tennessee Constitution,” according to The Associated Press.

Republican Secretary of State Tre Hargett’s office had reportedly believed that the fear of spreading or catching COVID-19 would not be enough for the judge to issue a vote-by-mail order. The state, which is likely to appeal the decision, also argued that the new system could not be set up in time for the November elections.

Voters will sill have the option to vote in person during early voting or on Election Day if they prefer, the AP reported.

GEORGE FLOYD UNREST: HUNDREDS OF ACTIVE-DUTY SOLDIERS SENT HOME FROM DC AREA AS NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS ARRIVE

“When, however, normal industry-recognized assumptions are used, the evidence establishes that the resources are there to provide temporary expanded access to voting by mail in Tennessee during the pandemic if the State provides the leadership and motivation as other states have done,” the judge wrote in her decision.

This news comes about a week after the Texas Supreme Court ruled that a lack of immunity to the coronavirus does not qualify as a disability under state law and cannot be used as a reason to vote by mail.

An all-Republican state Supreme Court sided with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who filed a petition to order local officials to follow state laws regarding mail-in ballots, after a Court of Appeals ruled anyone in Travis County who requested a ballot could get one, according to FOX 7 in Austin.

President Trump touted the ruling as a “big win” on Twitter last Wednesday and labeled the push for mail-in ballots as “dangerous.”

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“Texas Supreme Court: Lack of immunity to COVID-19 alone not enough to vote by mail,” he wrote, including a link to a Dallas News story. “Big win in Texas on the dangerous Mail In Voting Scam!”

Fox News’ Brie Stimson contributed to this report

Trump touts letter from ex-attorney Dowd attacking Mattis: ‘You need to bone up on your homework’

President Trump continued his rhetorical offensive against former Secretary of Defense James Mattis Thursday, tweeting a letter purportedly written by his former attorney John Dowd that attacked Mattis for criticizing Trump’s response to ongoing protests.

The letter knocks Mattis’ military service and suggests he let “hack politicians” abuse his reputation. Dowd, a retired Marine Judge Advocate who Trump called “a Super Star lawyer,” served as Trump’s lead counsel in the Russia investigation before resigning in March 2018.

“I slept on your statement and woke up appalled and upset,” Dowd wrote. “You lost me. Never dreamed you would let a bunch of hack politicians use your good name and reputation-earned with the blood and guts of young Marines. You did what you said you [wouldn’t] — engage in this discourse. Marines keep their word.”

In a statement to The Atlantic Wednesday, Mattis said he was “angry and appalled” at the death of George Floyd following his arrest by Minneapolis police May 25.

“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try,” Mattis said. “Instead, he tries to divide us … We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership.”

TRUMP FIRES BACK AFTER MATTIS CONDEMNS HIS ‘MOCKERY’ OF CONSTITUTION: ‘GLAD HE IS GONE!’

Mattis also strongly objected to authorities’ decision to object to authorites’ decision to clear away protesters in Washington D.C.’s Lafayette Park on Monday before Trump’s visit to the historic St. John’s Church, which rioters had burned the previous night.

“When I joined the military, some 50 years ago,” Mattis wrote, “I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside.”

The letter from Dowd forcefully pushed back on that narrative, telling Mattis that the protesters were “terrorists” who “were abusing and disrespecting the police … Marines support the police in harm’s way.”

Dowd’s letter was met with mockery on Twitter, with many poking fun at Trump for turning to his former lawyer for help. Others mocked Dowd himself.

BIDEN CALLS MATTIS’ CRITICISM OF TRUMP A ‘POWERFUL INDICTMENT’

Trump, Dowd said, was right to challenge governors over their allegedly weak response to urban riots.

“No one divided the country more than [former President] Obama,” Dowd writes. “He abandoned our black brothers and sisters. He gave guns to the cartels,” he added, apparently referring to the “Fast and Furious” scandal. “He apologized for our precious sacrifice and generosity overseas. You remember, he fired you.

“President Trump has done more to help our minority brothers and sisters in three years than anyone in the last fifty,” Dowd went on. “Ask the black pastors. Ask the leaders of the black colleges and universities. He got them funded. Ask them about prison reform which ended the draconian sentences imposed on young black men by the laws enacted by [Joe] Biden and his hacks[.] You need to bone up on your homework and stop listening to Uncle Leon,” he added in an apparent reference to former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.

“I understand,” Dowd continued, “you had to stick to the assigned narrative which did not include three years of corrupt investigations and evidence to destroy this President his office, and his lawful free election. Nancy [Pelosi] has no tolerance for dissent in the ranks- [sic] including those with stars.”

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Dowd also jabbed Mattis for not taking out Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, asking, “Why did it take President Trump to have the instinct and balls to take him out?”

Trump’s former attorney went on to suggest that Mattis was angry at Trump because of “embarrassment for your own failure as the leader of Central Command.”

Dowd did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.

Some Democrats fear Biden’s inner circle too white, report says

Is former Vice President Joe Biden’s inner circle too white? Some Democrats are worried it is, according to a New York Times report — even as his presidential campaign is actively adding a diverse group of high-level advisers.

Biden, the presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee, fended off primary competition carried by strong support from African-American voters in the South.

He also served two terms as vice president to the country’s first black president, Barack Obama.

But his top aides and advisers are mostly white, according to The Times report.

FILE – Former President Barack Obama speaks, standing next to then-Vice President Joe Biden, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

“If you look at the traditional inner circle, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of voices of color around the table,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a high-ranking House Democrat who is African-American, told the newspaper.

BIDEN CALLS MATTIS’ CRITICISM OF TRUMP A ‘POWERFUL INDICTMENT’

There’s Symone Sanders, a senior adviser who also famously tackled a protester who tried to rush Biden on stage at a rally on Super Tuesday. And Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond is reportedly another close adviser. Both of them are black.

“The team is not built out yet,” Richmond told the Times. “We absolutely are cognizant of how it looks. We believe that optics show values and we’re going to continue to strive to get it right.”

And two recent hires include veteran Obama strategists Julie Chavez Rodriguez, who is Hispanic, and Karine Jean-Pierre, who is black, the report noted.

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Jen O’Malley Dillon, Biden’s 2020 campaign manager, tweeted last month that the two would work on more than just minority outreach and are “no more here to work only on voters who look like them than I am.”

“People of color have power here,” Sanders told the paper. “When it comes to the purse strings, when it comes to access, when it comes to strategy, when it comes to messaging.”

And the presumptive 2020 Democratic nominee has already promised to choose a female running mate and nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court.

Still, some in the party see underrepresentation from African-American, Asian-American and Hispanic demographics in Biden’s close proximity as potential campaign weaknesses, according to the report.

CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD ACCUSES BIDEN OF ‘RACIST’ LEGISLATIVE RECORD IN SENATE

Biden also brought backlash upon himself last month following an interview with radio host Charlamagne tha God during which he said, “I tell you, if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or [President] Trump, then you ain’t black.”

That and other missteps have raised concerns.

As Fox News’ Juan Williams noted in an op-ed that also appeared in The Times this week, African-American voter turnout in key swing states could have a major influence on the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

“Joe Biden would be retired if not for the black vote,” Williams wrote.

John Kelly defends James Mattis after Trump rebuke: ‘The president did not fire him’

Former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said Thursday that President Trump has “clearly forgotten” the details surrounding James Mattis’ departure after the president attacked him on Twitter this week, saying it was he who had the “honor of firing” the former defense secretary.

“The president did not fire him. He did not ask for his resignation,” Kelly, a former Marine General, told the Washington Post.

In a series of tweets Wednesday night, Trump berated Mattis, calling him the “world’s most overrated general” and claimed to have terminated him after the former secretary of defense criticized Trump’s leadership, saying the president has deliberately tried to divide Americans and has threatened the U.S. Constitution.

ESPER SAYS HE OPPOSES USING INSURRECTION ACT TO SEND MILITARY TO QUELL UNREST

“Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people — does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us,” Mattis wrote for The Atlantic Wednesday.

“We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership,” Mattis said. “We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society.”

TENSIONS FLARE BETWEEN TRUMP, MILITARY FIGURES OVER HANDLING OF GEORGE FLOYD UNREST

Some GOP lawmakers have come out in support of Mattis’ article.

Republican Lisa Murkowski from Alaska said that she was “struggling” to support Trump in his upcoming election because of how he handled the recent protests after the death of George Floyd. Murkowski told reporters Thursday she thought Mattis’ “words were true and honest and necessary and overdue.”

“Jim Mattis is an honorable man,” Kelly said Wednesday, after highlighting why Mattis left office.

Mattis resigned in 2018, citing a difference in views with the president that coincided with Trump’s decision to pull all military forces from Syria at the time.

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Kelly and Mattis, both retired Marine Corps generals, were among those Trump first selected for his Cabinet.

Both left their positions over disagreements with Trump.

Dem Hickenlooper held in contempt by Colorado ethics commission after defying subpoena amid Senate bid

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Hickenlooper has been held in contempt by the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission after he didn’t appear Thursday at a mandatory hearing, defying orders to do so as the panel considers a Republican complaint that private plane trips he took while governor of Colorado violated the state’s gift ban.

Another hearing will be held Friday morning in Hickenlooper’s absence to discuss possible sanctions. The committee vote to hold Hickenlooper was a unanimous 5-0, according to KDVR reporter Michael Konopasek.

The development could shift Hickenlooper’s fortunes: it comes as polls show Hickenlooper as a favorite to defeat incumbent Republican Sen. Cory Gardner.

THE LATEST FROM FOX NEWS ON THE 2020 SENATE CAMPAIGNS

“John Hickenlooper’s unending efforts to avoid testifying about his use of corporate-paid private jets and a Maserati limo have been rewarded with his being found in contempt,” National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez said in a statement. “Hickenlooper’s blatant disregard for our legal system and his state’s ethics laws make it impossible for Colorado voters to trust him with elected office again.”

Mark Grueskin, an attorney for Hickenlooper, had logged onto the remote hearing 15 minutes after it started, citing problems with his Internet connection. He told commissioners that Hickenlooper’s legal team had appealed a Wednesday night court order for him to appear.

FILE – In this Aug. 10, 2019, file photo, Democratic presidential candidate former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper speaks in Des Moines, Iowa. Democratic U.S. Senate candidate John Hickenlooper didn’t appear at a Colorado Independent Ethics Commission hearing Thursday, June 4, 2020, defying a commission subpoena and a court order that he participate as it considers a Republican complaint that trips he took on private planes while Colorado’s governor violated the state’s gift ban. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

Elizabeth Espinosa Krupa, the chair of the ethics commission, called Hickenlooper’s actions “a little bit contemptible,” just prior to the contempt vote.

Hickenlooper was also subpoenaed by the commission to appear but argued the hearing’s remote format violates his right to face his accusers in person.

The Public Trust Institute, a conservative group that filed the complaint, also said it preferred an in-person hearing.

The commission had asked Hickenlooper to suggest some dates, and he proposed in-person hearings be held in August — long after his June 30 Democratic primary against former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff. The winner will challenge Gardner in the November election.

Late in the day, Grueskin offered to have Hickenlooper appear at a June 16 hearing but the commission rejected the last-minute offer. The commission decided instead to pursue the remote hearing.

“Your client has willfully chosen not to appear here,” Krupa told Grueskin. “I’m not willing to wait until the 16th.”

Despite Hickenlooper’s appeal, the commission voted unanimously Thursday to ask the state attorney general to enforce the subpoena — a move that was opposed by Hickenlooper’s team, according to his campaign spokeswoman, Melissa Miller.

The ethics commission, a quasi-judicial civic body, will consider the ethics complaint after it decides on contempt sanctions. Hickenlooper could be fined if the commission rules against him.

The Public Trust Institute, led by Frank McNulty, a former Republican speaker of the Colorado House, has alleged that Hickenlooper violated Colorado’s ethics law by taking free flights on private jets as governor. Hickenlooper, who was governor from 2011 to 2019, has denied the accusations as politically motivated.

The complaint deals with travel to Turin, Italy, for a meeting of government, business and financial leaders, and a separate trip to Connecticut on a jet owned by billionaire Larry Mizel’s company, MDC Holdings, to preside at the commissioning of the USS Colorado, a U.S. Navy submarine. MDC Holdings is a large developer in Colorado.

Colorado law at the time prohibited gifts worth more than $59 to elected officials with limited exceptions. That figure is now $65.

“Coloradans expect that their public officials are not magnets for VIP signs,” attorney Suzanne Staiert, representing the institute, said in her opening statement.

U.S. Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) speaks at a town hall meeting in Lakewood, Colorado, U.S., August 15, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking – RC1F5B4297B0
(REUTERS/Rick Wilking)

But Grueskin countered that “some of the allegations made about appearance of impropriety and about the nature of some of the plane gifts would not meet (a) preponderance of the evidence standard” needed to find that the ex-governor violated ethics laws.

Late Wednesday, a Denver district court judge dismissed a bid by Hickenlooper to quash the subpoena that he appear at the hearing, which was being conducted remotely because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In addition to Grueskin’s late appearance, the start of Thursday’s hearing was delayed as commission members tried to mute dozens of people talking after they had logged on to or phoned in to the public session. Someone was heard giving repeated driving directions to someone else apparently in Denver.

Hours later, audio and visual issues and problems with internet connections kept interrupting the proceedings, including the display of exhibits onscreen and questioning of witnesses.

Hickenlooper launched a campaign for the Senate last August, one week after ending his bid for the White House.

“I’ve always said Washington was a lousy place for a guy like me who wants to get things done – but this is no time to walk away from the table,” Hickenlooper said at the time, in a video posted on his campaign website. “I’m not done fighting for the people of Colorado.”

Fox News’ Mike Emanuel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Secret Service says it did not use tear gas when Lafayette Park was cleared before Trump church visit

The Secret Service asserted Thursday that “no agency personnel” used tear gas or capsicum spray during the clearing of Lafayette Park earlier this week before President Trump visited St. John’s Church.

“The Secret Service has determined that no agency personnel used tear gas or capsicum spray during its efforts to secure the area near Lafayette Park on Monday, June 1st, 2020,” a Secret Service spokesperson said.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Park Police (USPP) denied using tear gas to clear away protesters in the park, after reports that they used tear gas and rubber bullets to clear mostly peaceful protesters.

In a statement released Tuesday by the USPP, the law enforcement agency said “no tear gas was used” when clearing a large group of protestors from the area. The USPP said it took the steps “to curtail the violence that was underway,” pushing back against claims that the protest was entirely peaceful.

“At approximately 6:33 pm, violent protestors on H Street NW began throwing projectiles including bricks, frozen water bottles and caustic liquids,” the USPP said in a statement. “The protestors also climbed onto a historic building at the north end of Lafayette Park that was destroyed by arson days prior. Intelligence had revealed calls for violence against the police, and officers found caches of glass bottles, baseball bats and metal poles hidden along the street.”

PARK POLICE DEFENDS ACTIONS CLEARING PROTESTERS NEAR WHITE HOUSE

Still, the Park Police acknowledged using smoke canisters and pepper balls on the protesters.

“As many of the protestors became more combative, continued to throw projectiles, and attempted to grab officers’ weapons, officers then employed the use of smoke canisters and pepper balls when protestors did scatter from the area,” the statement said.

The move by the USPP came shortly after Attorney General William Barr observed the scene at Lafayette Park across from the White House, where several thousand protesters had gathered for more demonstrations after the death of George Floyd while in police custody.

Soon afterward — and just as Trump was about to address the media in the Rose Garden — law enforcement officers aggressively forced the protesters back, firing what at the time was reported to be tear gas and deploying flashbangs into the crowd to disperse them from the park for seemingly no reason. It was a jarring scene as police in the nation’s capital forcefully cleared young men and women gathering legally in a public park on a sunny evening, all of it on live television.

With smoke still wafting and isolated tussles continuing in the crowd, Trump emerged in the Rose Garden for a dramatic split-screen of his own creation.

“I am your president of law and order and an ally of all peaceful protesters,” he said, before demanding that governors across the nation deploy the National Guard “in sufficient numbers that we dominate the streets.” And he warned that, if they refused, he would deploy the United States military “and quickly solve the problem for them.”

As an additional show of force, Trump announced he was deploying even more of the military to Washington, D.C., giving it the feel of an armed, locked-down city after days of at-times violent clashes, arson and looting.

Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she never requested help from neighboring jurisdictions to quell demonstrations and added that D.C. officials flatly rejected a proposal floated by the Trump administration to take over the local police department, and threatened legal action if they did.

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The federal government has deployed law enforcement officials from numerous agencies, and National Guard troops from a number of states have been sent to the District of Columbia. Barr is directing the federal law enforcement response in the city.

Fox News’ Andrew O’Reilly contributed to this report.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer apologizes after telling residents to ‘Google how to do a haircut’

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer apologized Thursday for telling residents to “Google how to do a haircut” while the state’s salons and barbershops remain closed due to coronavirus restrictions.

“I made an off-hand comment about if you needed a trim you could Google it,” Whitmer said during a radio interview on the “Mojo in the Morning” show. “If my comment offended people, I do apologize for that. It certainly wasn’t my intent.”

“It is my fervent hope that in the coming days and weeks, we’re going to be as back to normal as we can be until we have a vaccine, and that includes a haircut and all of these services you’re advocating for,” she said to Mike Sarafa, who appeared on the show to receive the apology on behalf of the group Safe Salons for Michigan.

Whitmer, floated as a possible 2020 running mate to Joe Biden, credited salon industry workers for taking their jobs seriously and said the job required close interaction, which is why it had not yet been permitted to reopen yet.

MICHIGAN GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER LIFTS STATE’S STAY-AT-HOME ORDER

On Monday, Whitmer said she hoped those who had traveled to Ohio, which is further along in its reopening process, to get a haircut are “doing your part not to bring COVID-19 home.”

“If you haven’t resorted to that, Google how to do a haircut, or throw your hair in a ponytail or curl it and get through the next couple of weeks so we can resume some of these things,” she said.

Sarafa said he was insulted by the governor’s comments. “Not only is this gutting the salon industry, but we are also losing business to neighboring states every day,” Sarafa said in a press release obtained by M Live. “We firmly believe we are safer open than closed. We urge Governor Whitmer to review our plan and allow licensed salons and barbershops to open immediately.”

This week, the governor lifted her state’s stay-at-home order and moved most of Michigan into “phase four” of a six-phase reopening plan, with thehope to move to “phase 5” by July 4.

WHITMER BLASTS TRUMP OVER CRITICISM ON RIOT RESPONSE

Under the new guidelines, stores will be able to have customers without appointments and restaurants will be able to have customers dine in with limited capacity, and day camps and pools can reopen.

Outdoor public gatherings, which had been limited to a maximum of 10 people, are now allowed to have up to 100, as long as social distancing is practiced.

However, indoor theaters, hair salons and gyms remain closed.

During the radio interview, Whitmer was also asked about protests across her state following the death of George Floyd.

She said she supports people’s right to protest, whether it be about her stay-home orders or police brutality. But she encourages everyone protesting during the COVID-19 pandemic to practice social distancing and wear a mask.

Whitmer’s stay-at-home order was among the strictest in the nation. Many residents said Whitmer overstepped her authority by banning most travel between homes and by temporarily prohibiting sales of items such as garden supplies and activities such as some forms of fishing.

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Michigan residents protested the order, with some even storming the state capitol building while armed. Businesses sued over the order, but a judge allowed it to continue, refusing to grant a preliminary injunction that would have blocked it for the duration of the case.

Fox News’ Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.

Minneapolis City Council president, Dem Jeremiah Ellison claim they’ll ‘dismantle’ police

Jeremiah Ellison, a Minneapolis city councilman and son of state Attorney General Keith Ellison, is calling for the “dismantling” of the Minneapolis Police Department following days of nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd — and he soon got the support of the City Council’s president.

“We are going to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department,” Jeremiah Ellison tweeted Thursday.

“And when we’re done, we’re not simply gonna glue it back together. We are going to dramatically rethink how we approach public safety and emergency response. It’s really past due.”

City Council President Lisa Bender, a fellow Democrat, later replied, “Yes. We are going to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with a transformative new model of public safety.”

It’s not clear how they would “dismantle” the police department; the lawmakers did not elaborate.

Floyd died May 25 while in police custody during an arrest. A video of a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on his neck for nearly nine minutes has unleashed calls to address criminal justice reform and police brutality, as well as civil unrest, in several cities across the country.

Many protesters have also called for lawmakers to stop increasing funds to police departments and enact legislation to hold officers accountable.

Jeremiah Ellison posted his remarks in response to a user asking if any elected officials were brave enough to take on the police in their city or state. Days after Floyd’s death, he tweeted in support of Antifa, an anti-fascist movement comprised of loose-knit groups that have drawn criticism for physical violence against far-right supporters and figures.

“I hereby declare, officially, my support for ANTIFA,” Jeremiah Ellison tweeted May 31. “Unless someone can prove to me ANTIFA is behind the burning of black and immigrant-owned businesses in my ward, I’ll keep focusing on stopping the white power terrorist THE ARE ACTUALLY ATTACKING US!”

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On Wednesday, Keith Ellison’s office upgraded the charges against the officer seen pinning his knee on Floyd’s neck to second-degree murder and charged the other three officers involved — Thomas Lane, J.A. Kueng and Tou Thao — each with two counts of aiding and abetting and second-degree murder.

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