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Former President Donald Trump on Friday at the California Republican Party Convention trashed President Biden and said he is going "all in." TRUMP: He's the most corrupt president, the most incompetent president we've ever had. But when they indicted me, and then again and again and again, I was never indicted. Now I'm setting records. Al Capone but not indicted so much. Alphonse Capone. If you looked at Al Capone in the wrong way, he'd kill you. He was not indicted like me. I was never indicted. I didn't know when they taught me at the Wharton School of Finance. They didn't talk about indictment. No, it's a disgrace what's happening. They weaponized elections, they have done everything. I mean, these are very bad people. But I used to talk relatively nicely about him. I wouldn't go out of my way. I wouldn't say the things I say now. Now I'm just all in because these people are bad and they're dangerous and we have to stop them. I wouldn't say what I say now. I never did. I joke. I'd have a little fun with it, but I wouldn't call him -- I call him the worst president in history. I call him the most corrupt president in history. And I call him the most incompetent president. Other than that, he's doing a fabulous job I think, ladies and gentlemen. He's doing a fabulous job.

Former President Donald Trump on Friday at the California Republican Party Convention said Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is acting as President Joe Biden's top surrogate "because he doesn't think Biden is going to make it." "Gavin has become Crooked Joe Biden's top surrogate, I think, because he doesn't think Biden's going to make it," Trump said. That's why he's doing it. He doesn't think he is going to make it. And it won't be him so easy. He's going to be in a big fight. However, because there will be a lot of Democrats competing it's going to be very interesting, but let's see. Look some people say Biden is going to make it." "Does anybody think he's going to make it to the starting gate?" Trump asked. "No," the audience shouted back.

Former President Donald Trump on Friday addressed the California State Republican convention. FMR. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Gavin has become Crooked Joe Biden's top surrogate, I think, because he doesn't think Biden is going to make it. That's why he's doing it. He doesn't think he is going to make it. And it won't be him so easy. He's going to be in a big fight. However, because there will be a lot of Democrats competing it's going to be very interesting, but let's see. Look some people say Biden is going to make it. Does anybody think he's going to make it to the starting gate? I mean, the guy can't find his way off of the stage. Look, here's a stage. Here's the stage. I've never seen this stupid stage before right? I've never seen it. But if I walk left, there is a stair. And if I walk right, there's a stair. And this guy gets up. Where am I? [WALKS AROUND AIMLESSLY, BACK TO AUDIENCE] Where the hell am I? Where am I? Nah, he's terrible, terrible. You know I'm much tougher on him than I used to be out of respect for the office. I was never like him. He's the most corrupt president, the most incompetent president we've ever had.

Former President Donald Trump on Friday at the California state Republican convention in Anaheim: "If you don't like somebody or if somebody is beating you by, 10, 15, or 20 points like we're doing with Crooked Joe Biden. 'Let's indict the motherfucker. Let's indict him."

Current Democratic candidate for president Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a rally on October 9th in Philadelphia where he will make a "major announcement." As video of President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump, and politicians of both parties is shown, Kennedy says "corruption has overtaken our government." ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT: I'm going to be in Philadelphia on October 9 to make a major announcement at the very birthplace of our nation. I'm not going to tell you right now exactly what that announcement will be. I can say, though, that if you've been waiting to come to one of my public events, this will be the one to come to I'll be speaking about a sea change in American politics and what your part and my part is in that change. A lot of Americans who had previously given up any hope that real change would ever come through the American electorate process have begun to find new hope in my candidacy. And I understand the deeply felt concern that people have about the way corruption has overtaken our government. It's in the executive branch. It's in Congress. It's in the leadership of both political parties. And so, some people feel a kind of cynicism alongside the hope, or they lose hope entirely because they've been disappointed so many times. I want to tell you now what I've come to understand after 6 months of campaigning: There is a path to victory. The hope we are feeling isn't some kind of trick of the mind. We all recognize that there's a genuine possibility of national transformation and its source is the goodness of the American people. Our government may be crooked, but our people are kind, brave, and caring. That goodness is stronger than the divisions that are keeping us all apart. I see it every day on the campaign trail. And the more I see it, the more I trust it. And the more I trust it, the more the path to victory becomes visible. So how are we going to win against the established Washington interests? It's not through playing the game by the corrupt rules that the corrupt powers, the vested interests have rigged to keep us all in their thrall. Instead, we're gonna have to rewrite the assumptions and change the habits of American politics. We're going to tap into a mighty surge of people power and reclaim an honest, peaceful, just, and prosperous America. So I am inviting you to join me in Philadelphia on October 9. There I'll share with you our path to the White House and how we can all participate in healing our nation.

Cartoonist and philosopher Scott Adams on Friday talked to SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly about the controversy sparked by his "race" comment that led to newspapers dropping the syndication of his cartoon Dilbert. In February, in reaction to a Rasmussen Reports poll that showed a majority of black Americans disagreeing with the statement "it's okay to be white," Adams wrote on Twitter "the best advice I would give to white people is to get the hell away from black people; just get the fuck away." From the "Megyn Kelly Show" on SiriusXM: SCOTT ADAMS: Number one, only Democrats canceled me…The first thing you need to know is that the poll itself was not terribly important to that larger point. It was just a jumping off point for the conversation. The larger context is that we're living through the world of critical race theory being taught, ESG being required of our corporations, and corporations having DEI groups…Now, the larger context is that anytime you're in a situation where you're around people who think you have that you have their stuff, and they're trying to get it back but you believe that's not the case, you should get away from that environment…I was trying to make the point that we've poisoned relations by making a framework in which one group is the victimizers, one group is the victims. If you ever find yourself in that situation, whether it's about race or anything else, they usually try to get as far away from it as possible. MEGYN KELLY: How did that affect you? Understanding that you are so good at the reframing, it had to be traumatic in the moment when it just blew up. How did that affect you, how did it affect your personal relationships, and how were you able – I assume eventually you could – reframe it. SCOTT ADAMS: You know the weirdest thing about this is that it did not cause trauma for me. It didn't make me angry at any point. It didn't make me sad. It was sort of lucky because I was 65 and looking for a way to retire… I ended up moving Dilbert behind a paywall and the local platform…it's also on the subscription service within the X platform, so you get it there as well. I got to do what I want and now I will make the comment as big as I want. Most people have said it's the best it's ever been and it's I can go places I couldn't go…And it did the most important thing that I wanted. Which is I'm also an energy monster. And I don't think they counted on that. And so what did that buy me? This. I'm having a conversation on a major platform with you do, to give you my reframe, that we need to forget about these imaginary average people. Because we're now close enough that everybody has a different strategy that they can to succeed. And we should work on the personal strategy.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre leveled all the blame at House Republicans for the impending government services shutdown as negotiations on budget appropriations continue on Capitol Hill.

Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young fields questions about the government shutdown likely beginning this weekend at Friday's WH press briefing: She said Speaker McCarthy's pledge not to take a paycheck during the shutdown is "theater," noting: "Members of Congress have to get paid constitutionally, so maybe he'll put it in a sock drawer. I don't know, but they have to get paid during a shutdown. That is theater. I will tell you, the guy who picks up the trash in my office will not get a paycheck. That's real, and that's what makes me angry." NBC's Peter Alexander next asked and Young replied: PETER ALEXANDER, NBC NEWS: We've seen this show before, where it goes down to the wire and at the last minute something happens, or several days pass and then something happens. Can you just talk about fundamentally the impact, even if this were to be resolved, of playing this game where it goes to the last minute before there is a spending bill, how that impacts the way our country runs? Because there are a lot of Americans who see that and know that's not the way it can work i their own homes. SHALANDA YOUNG: You're right and you're right. I mean, we have time, the president says there is nothing inevitable in politics. You don't have to go down this road, House Republicans don't have to take us down this road. So you're right. There is always a chance that people can do the right thing and the government remain open or have a quick reopening. ALEXANDER: To even get to this place, there's a ton of money lost, right? YOUNG: Not a ton of money lost, confidence in government is what I worry about. People watching this, the dysfunction is sowed. I think there are a small amount of people who know that. It's the carelessness by which people are like, oh the shutdown is not much of government. Well you tell the people who live paycheck to paycheck that. I know it is not popular to defend federal workers, I know, but a lot of them live paycheck to paycheck. "They get repaid." What are they supposed to do in the meantime? What are they supposed to do? And then people can't get government services, you go sign up for [Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children] WIC, he finally convinced his mother it is the right thing to do because a lot of people are embarrassed about taking aid from the government, he finally convinced this young mother to do that. Not available! Confidence lost in government, it is one more knock on democratic institutions. And that worries me.

Director of the Office of Management and Budget Shalanda Young and press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will likely answer questions about the rapidly approaching government shutdown deadline at Friday's WH press briefing around 12:30 on Friday.

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) responded to speculation that he may enter the 2024 Republican presidential primary. Youngkin said, "I have told you, I'm totally focused on Virginia elections...That's what we're going to get done." "What happened recently was Joe Biden came to Virginia two weeks ago, and he said that one of his top priorities were the legislative elections in Virginia," Youngkin said on FOX News. "He put a million-and-a-half dollars in against our candidates. We got to battle against this. And I'm hoping that our retreat in October will provide good resources for us to combat the flood of resources coming into Virginia to try to hold a state which the liberal left knows they're losing." "See, this is a chance for us, John, to demonstrate that, when we have a state that is lost, it doesn't mean that we can't recover it," Youngkin said to FNC anchor John Roberts. "And in 24 months, we will take a state -- remember, we had clean Democrat leadership across Republican -- across the -- the General Assembly and our House and our Senate, in the governor's office, lieutenant governor's, General Assembly. Both our Senators up here are Democrats." Full Interview below: ROBERTS: So, Governor, lots of unpack there, including I was just about to bring it up, the off-year elections that are coming up in the commonwealth in November. You have promised that, if you win the Senate, in addition to the House, that you will rescind the electric vehicle mandate in the state of Virginia that was implemented in 2021. In terms of job growth, your stewardship, looking over the state, there are a lot of people who are looking for an alternative to President Trump who are looking at the current Republican field, not seeing what they want. And the draft Youngkin movement is really gaining steam. Coming up in October, there is a Red Vest Retreat that wants to seek to draft you to be the dark horse candidate who comes in at the last moment to try to take over. You have got to move fast. Nevada has a deadline of October the 16th to register for their primary. Are you thinking of doing this? YOUNGKIN: Well, John, I have been very focused and I continue to be focused on our Virginia elections. ROBERTS: Yes, I know. I understand that. (CROSSTALK) YOUNGKIN: And that's where I'm going to be. Our elections are November 7. And the Red Vest Retreat, this is our second one. And I'm excited about people coming to Virginia and supporting what we're doing. Of course, what's happened over the course of the last month is the liberal left in Virginia has woken up. And they recognize that a state that they controlled just 24 months ago is going to move completely away from them. And... ROBERTS: Would you rule this out? YOUNGKIN: Rule -- would I rule out? ROBERTS: Jumping into the race? YOUNGKIN: Yes, I have told you, I'm totally focused on Virginia elections. ROBERTS: I get that. YOUNGKIN: And that's what we're going to get done. ROBERTS: That's not ruling it out. YOUNGKIN: That's what we're going to get done. What happened recently was Joe Biden came to Virginia two weeks ago, and he said that one of his top priorities were the election -- the legislative elections in Virginia. He put a million-and-a-half dollars in against our candidates. We got to battle against this. And I'm hoping that our retreat in October will provide good resources for us to combat the flood of resources coming into Virginia to try to hold a state which the liberal left knows they're losing. See, this is a chance for us, John, to demonstrate that, when we have a state that is lost, it doesn't mean that we can't recover it. And in 24 months, we will take a state -- remember, we had clean Democrat leadership across Republican -- across the -- the General Assembly and our House and our Senate, in the governor's office, lieutenant governor's, General Assembly. Both our senators up here are Democrats. And all of a sudden, Virginia woke up in 2021 and said, no, we are not going to allow the bureaucrats to raise our kids. SANDRA SMITH: That's right. YOUNGKIN: We're not going to demean police. We're not going to raise taxes. We're going to cut them. And we're going to stand up for the liberties we enjoy. SANDRA SMITH: So... YOUNGKIN: The whole state has flipped. It's working. And this is a case study for what can be done in other states around the United States. SANDRA SMITH: Well, this is sounding more and more like a presidential campaign pitch. (LAUGHTER) SANDRA SMITH: OK, so let me rephrase the question a little bit as I dig through this, drafting Glenn Youngkin for 2024 no longer being a fantasy, and to put this out there and get your reaction. "The thirsting for Youngkin is not a well-orchestrated power play. It is the latest slapdash scheme in a long search for a standard-bearer and a portrait of the powerlessness so many Republicans feel as Trump plows ahead, shrugging off criminal indictments and outrage over rhetoric they fear is growing dark and dangerous." So, if I put the question to you a different way, do you feel a responsibility for your party and for your country to jump in this race? YOUNGKIN: Well, let me begin with how -- one, how humbling this is. Forty years ago I'm washing dishes and taking out trash in the Belvedere Hotel, and, today, people are throwing my name around in a national context. I'm new at this. I have had one campaign under my belt. I have been governor for 21 months. I think we have really moved things in Virginia. It's encouraging that people are watching and like what we're doing. SANDRA SMITH: Well, what would hold you back? YOUNGKIN: I'm focused. I'm focused. SANDRA SMITH: What's holding you back? YOUNGKIN: We have got to hold our House and flip our Senate. I believe that this is a very important moment, not just for Virginia to show we can do this, but to prove to the nation that you can turn this around in a very short period of time. And I'm excited about what we're demonstrating. Commonsense conservative policies oftentimes are debated in philosophy. And we're demonstrating with real results that a state that was languishing with moribund economic growth, and was shut down during the pandemic, and schools that were 44th in the nation to put kids back in the classroom with extended now learning loss that's persistent and deep, we can address all of this, and we can do it with common sense, and it works. ROBERTS: And at the same time... YOUNGKIN: That is the key message for us. ROBERTS: And, at the same time, you can quietly register for the Nevada caucuses and still have a focus on the November election. YOUNGKIN: And, at the same time, John, all Virginia voters need to register to vote. So, as a Virginian, I just ask you, go to secureyourvoteVirginia.com. Make a plan. Vote early. And let's win these races. ROBERTS: I get my ballot mailed to me every cycle. YOUNGKIN: Awesome. Thank you. ROBERTS: So, and with the off-your elections, I get plenty of ballots too. Let me ask you about Scott Smith, who sat in that seat a couple of weeks ago. He was the father in Loudoun County who was arrested at a school board meeting and held up by the National School Boards Association as the poster child for violent behavior and the threat facing America. He was sort of referenced in this letter that they sent to Merrick Garland, as they wrote: "As these acts of malice, violence and threats against public school officials have increased, the classification of these heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes." Again, Scott was here and, he said, lookit, this whole thing got misreported. He wasn't saying anything to the school board. He was having an argument with another person in the audience. Here's what he told us. YOUNGKIN: Yes.

Steve Bannon criticized Republicans for the House Oversight Committee's opening hearing on the Biden impeachment inquiry. BANNON: Bring out the artillery. Did you break any news today? Did -- have another revelation? Did Nightly News have to grab, did Lester Holt have to go because you forced it because it's a forcing function? Exactly something they have to touch? Because it's such a revelation? Oh my God, we have got to go with this. Did you do that? Comer? Jordan? If you're going to impeach a president of the United States, act like it's serious. Do you know what this looked like today? Let me be blunt. This looked like it was slapped together because you had to have a performance for the MAGA crowd that breathes through their mouths. Right? We are sitting here with bib, overalls, and pitchforks. Right? And straw hats. We're looking, yeah, the -- Biden's is a bad guy, let's get him. That's what it looked like. It looked like something McCarthy is going to turn to you tomorrow morning and say hey, we got to keep the government open, because you have to have another great hearing next week. It didn't look serious. (via MediaMatters)

Sen. Chris Coons (D-DL) on CNN highlighted the damage a government shutdown would have on the United States' standing in the world: "If we'll just take a moment and think about what that means for us. Around the world leaders like Xi Jinping are telling other national leaders, other countries, that the United States has a political system so broken and flawed that the United States is an unreliable ally, and not a credible partner, and no longer able to stand up to them and to meet our commitments. This moment, a federal government shutdown, helps make Xi Jinping's case for him."

FOX News contributor Newt Gingrich said that the debate did not change the status of the Republican primary and that Donald Trump will be the nominee. GINGRICH: Well in my mind, Clarissa and I watched both debates. Our conclusion last night this is over. Nobody is going to break out. Nobody is going to be particularly aggressive. Look, I think DeSantis has a great story in Florida. I think Tim Scott is a wonderful U.S. Senator. I think Nikki Haley has a lot of good things to say, you back out of all of that, look at it, none of them will overtake trump. Trump will be the nominee. I think this should be the last debate. Let's go on, accept the fact that Trump will be the nominee and figure out how we beat Biden, win the Senate and increase our majority in the House. I think wasting the next six months dancing around makes no sense at all because none of these guys can break through. The reason is what you said if somebody doesn't have it in here and in here and they're not prepared to look the American people in the eye and say here's how sick the system is, here is what has to be done to fix it and if we fix it, here is how your pay is going to go up, your job will get better, your future will be better, we'll help save Social Security and Medicare and we'll be a much stronger country than China. If they can't do that all this back and forth looking like 7th graders in a bad play, I think doesn't help anybody, and frankly it is a little demeaning.

Katherine Gehl is the founder of The Institute for Political Innovation and co-author of The Politics Industry: How Political Innovation Can Break Partisan Gridlock and Save Our Democracy, with Harvard Business School professor Michael E. Porter. She is the architect and evangelist of a new approach to elections called "Final Five Voting" that she says it will help solve many of the problems in Washington by changing the incentives that guide our elected officials. On today's Takeaway podcast, Gehl joins RealClearPolitics bureau chief Carl Cannon and moderator Andrew Walworth to discuss how our electoral system affects decision-making by public officials and whether Final Five Voting can change American politics for the better.

TALBOT SPY: Every Thursday, the Spy hosts a conversation with Al From and Craig Fuller on the most topical political news of the moment. This week, From and Fuller discuss possible winners and losers of the Republican Party's second presidential debate on Wednesday evening at the Reagan Library. Al and Craig also discuss this week's corruption charges against Democratic Senator Robert Menendez. This video podcast is approximately 23 minutes in length. To listen to the audio podcast version, please use this link:

Megyn Kelly on Thursday reacted to the second Republican president primary debate on her SiriusXM program "The Megyn Kelly Show." MEGYN KELLY: It was terrible. Between the lackluster performance from some of the candidates and the cringe attempts and laugh lines, it seems yet again, the only real winner was Trump…My God what a hot mess. I have to say I didn't enjoy it. I said yesterday, this is a good thing because it's Republicans getting their ideas out there. That's probably better for the GOP, reinforce the positions that they hold when it comes to border, when it comes to the economy. That can work to their benefit as we go into the general. No, I take it all back. They were sniping, they were small ball, they were petty. The moderators were a disaster. I don't think it was a good night for the Republican Party. It could have been, it just wasn't. And I think overall it was a fail. So I will give the whole event – I won't give it an F, but I'm gonna give it a D. What on earth was Fox thinking partnering with Univision? That woman Ilia Calderon is a leftist who's been partnering with Jorge Ramos, who more than anyone is responsible for the abandoned objectivity approach to Donald Trump and to journalism. They have almost singularly undermined the profession of journalism, more than any other that I can think of off the top of my head and it was intentional. She's his co-anchor. This is a leftist news organization that's basically propaganda. They've been in partnership with the Clintons. It was like having Hillary Clinton out there – this woman's questions. And while I've anchored five presidential debates in the GOP primary field, and you can go out there and it's perfectly fine to say, 'Hey, here's an issue that is going to be a problem for you if you're the nominee when you get to the general,' you can do that…The issue selection and the way in and out of the questions showed her bias time and time and time again, and at times, she wasn't the only one on the stage committing that sin for a GOP primary. The cartels are the ones providing the fentanyl. They are trying to kill Americans and desperate people will help the cartels get it across at ports of entry and elsewhere. And by the way, the migrant crisis pulls border agents away from the ports of entry so that they can't do a thorough screening to begin with. The cartels, in the eyes of the Univision lady, are not the issue…What the eff?! I'm sorry, but that woman had no business being out there at a Republican presidential debate. It was an absolute disgrace. As I heard her questioning, first of all, I'm going to be honest, she was difficult to understand. Sorry, she's bilingual and I'm not, but I didn't understand her English. And I actually thought quite a few times that candidates on stage were a little confused by what she said. Like, they were struggling a little. She's only been in the United States I think for 20 years, she hosts a show that's in Spanish, all of her social media is in Spanish. She decided to open the debate with a little Spanish language. I mean, it's still an English speaking country. It's like, are the Spanish speakers at the point now where we actually have to make a debate moderator speak in Spanish? So okay, fine. That's what Fox and Univision decided to do. But what was more incomprehensible was her editorial for this situation. And for the whole thing felt to me like it could get put on by MSNBC, not Fox News.

NBC News intelligence reporter Ken Dilanian said while Republicans paint a troubling picture of Hunter Biden, there is no "hard evidence" that suggests President Biden profited from it. "What we've seen for the last several hours are the Republicans repeating a series of allegations, more than allegations, facts that they have unearthed about Hunter Biden's business dealings over the last several months with subpoenas and other kinds of requests that paint a troubling picture of Hunter Biden selling what the Democrats acknowledge was the illusion of access to his father, but they have presented no hard evidence that suggests that President Biden profited from this in any way. And Democrats are growing increasingly frustrated," Dilanian said. "They don't have any original information," he said on Thursday. "They're merely commenting on the information unearthed by Republicans, and largely what they have said is there's a lot of smoke here and it should be investigated but none of them have said that any of this evidence merits impeaching the president of the United States."

Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) slammed the process at Thursday's Oversight Committee hearing on the impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden. REP. MAXWELL FROST: This fake impeachment is based on desperate political calculation, not any evidence. And Mr. Chairman, you say this hearing is to establish the basis for this fake sham impeachment hearing, but these witnesses are not giving us any basis or giving us any evidence -- COMER: That's not true -- FROST -- or any solutions. COMER: Mr. Turley has clarified several times -- FROST: They are giving us -- [CROSSTALK] FROST: -- I reclaim my time. COMER: I have to stop -- FROST: I reclaim my time. These witnesses are not giving any answers, they are just asking more questions.

GWU law professor Jonathan Turley testified at Thursday's first hearing of the Biden impeachment inquiry.

Rep. James Comer, the chairman of the oversight committee, convened the first hearing of the GOP's impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden on Thursday. Their witnesses include Bruce Dubinsky, a forensic accountant, former Assistant Attorney General Eileen O'Connor, and GWU law professor Jonathan Turley,