GOP presidential hopefuls heading for Florida Freedom Summit

NEWS AND OPINION:

Here’s an event of note for Saturday. That would be the Florida Freedom Summit, hosted by the Republican Party of Florida at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, a resort in Kissimmee.

The speaker’s list is too long to list here, but it’s a doozy and includes all the Republican presidential hopefuls. And yes, that includes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who will stride across the stage and have a say.

“Celebrate freedom and prepare for 2024. Hear from conservative leaders,” the organizers say in their online message.

C-SPAN will carry the event, beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday. Find more details about the event and participants at Floridafreedomsummit.com.

‘IT’S GETTING WORSE’

The Republican National Committee is not thrilled with Vice President Kamala Harris’ interview this week with Remezcla, a news organization centered on Hispanic interests and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York, with offices in Los Angeles and Mexico City.

“We are fighting for a safe, orderly and humane immigration system. The previous administration just practically destroyed the system,” Ms. Harris told Remezcla.

The GOP committee is not happy with that remark, and is now tracking the current administration’s activities when it comes to border issues.

“In their first 100 days in office, President Biden and Ms. Harris issued 94 executive actions diluting border security, including halting construction of the border wall and ending the successful ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy. Illegal immigrants literally thanked the Biden administration for the weak policies,” Jake Schneider, director of rapid response for the committee, noted in a written report released Thursday.

“At least 169 individuals on the terror watchlist were arrested at the southern border in FY2023 — more than the previous six years combined. Tens of thousands of ‘special interest aliens’ from countries conducive to terrorism have crossed the border, with the Biden administration paroling thousands more directly into the country,” Mr. Schneider said.

“Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris have each visited the border just once since taking office, but the crisis isn’t going away. It’s getting worse — and it’s on their hands,” he wrote.

A FEW SPECIFICS

Meanwhile, here is a list of actions taken by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Wednesday alone, according to the agency itself.

Officers in Cincinnati seized 800 pieces of counterfeit jewelry worth $3 million. In Champlain, New York, officers discovered 44 items of children’s sleepwear that failed flammability requirement standards. In Eagle Pass, Texas, officers seized 12 weapons, 24 magazines and 68 rounds of ammunition. In Tecate, California, they discovered $3 million worth of marijuana hidden in a truckload of decorative clay pots.

Curious? Visit the nation’s vigilant border agency at CBP.gov and seek out the “Newsroom” section.

Customs and Border Protection also just announced that it dealt with 241,000 immigrant encounters on the southern U.S. border in October alone.

“It’s one thing to leave the door open. It’s another to willfully destroy the locks so no one else can shut it either. The Biden administration isn’t just not doing its job, it’s actively and intentionally undermining strategies Texas is deploying to secure the border,” wrote Brian Phillips, chief communications officer for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Austin.

His commentary was released Thursday.

MEDIA SOLE SEARCHING

The press can obsess about all sorts of things in daily coverage. This week, a multitude of news organizations and political rivals took to sole searching — offering much earnest coverage about Gov. Ron DeSantis and his choice of footwear.

The Trump campaign referred to the whole situation as “Shoenami” and “Bootgate.”

Meanwhile, here are some headlines from the last 72 hours:

“DeSantis denies wearing height-boosting boots as campaign stumbles” (MSNBC); “3 expert shoemakers say Ron DeSantis is probably wearing height boosters” (Politico); “Late night ponders Ron DeSantis’s choice of footwear” (The New York Times); “Ron DeSantis swears he doesn’t wear lifts — experts say he’s most definitely adding extra inches on the sly” (Vanity Fair); “True or not, DeSantis can’t escape the raised boot rumors” (The Daily Beast); “Ron DeSantis is almost definitely wearing lifts in his boots” (New York magazine); “The Media give DeSantis the boot” (National Review), and “Trump, Haley stick the boot in Ron DeSantis over alleged heels, lifts” (New York Post).

WEEKEND REAL ESTATE

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POLL DU JOUR

• 35% of U.S. adults intend to spend $1,000 or more on Christmas shopping; 39% of Republicans, 36% of independents and 32% of Democrats agree.

• 21% will spend $500-$999; 21% of Republicans, 20% of independents and 25% of Democrats agree.

• 13% will spend $250-$499; 15% of Republicans, 10% of independents and 18% of Democrats agree.

• 17% will spend $100-$249; 14% of Republicans, 20% of independents and 13% of Democrats agree.

• 3% will spend under $100; 3% of Republicans, 4% of independents and 1% of Democrats agree.

• 8% will not spend anything because they don’t celebrate Christmas; 5% of Republicans, 9% of independents and 8% of Democrats agree.

• 3% have no opinion; 4% of Republicans, 2% of independents and 2% of Democrats agree.

SOURCE: A Gallup poll of 1,009 U.S. adults conducted by telephone interviews Oct. 2-23 and released Wednesday.

• Follow Jennifer Harper on X @HarperBulletin, on Facebook at HarperUniverse.