With less than two weeks before critical elections across the country, Democrats have tough questions to grapple with in terms of their messaging and whether they can navigate the growing movement in their party that is embracing or downplaying political violence, attorney and political commentator Kaitlin Puccio told Fox News Digital. 

We do hear a lot of just the Democrats are against Trump, but we don’t hear a lot of what they’re actually for, which is problematic and it kind of seems to me like they don’t really have a cohesive message,’ Puccio, adjunct professor at Fordham Law and the Director of the Art and Bioethics Initiative of the UNESCO Chair in Bioethics and Human Rights, said in an interview with Fox News Digital. 

Puccio said the ‘No Kings’ protests last week, where several examples of promoting violence went viral on social media, show a ‘fracture’ in the Democratic Party that the mainstream elected officials will have to contend with. 

Additionally, messaging at those rallies, Puccio explained, lacked substance. 

It’s mostly ‘we are against Trump.’ Okay, but, specifically, what are you against? What is the specific policy that you are against?’ Puccio said. ”No Kings’: great. But we don’t have a king. We all know that. We’re not supposed to take this phrase literally, but what about the policies that are in place right now, do you think are authoritarian? And what do you want instead? So we’re hearing a lot of slogans and phrases and kind of catch phrases. And really that leaves the message without substance.’

Questions about Democrat support for political violence have been front and center in recent weeks after Virginia Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones was outed for past texts fantasizing about killing a Republican colleague and wishing death on that colleague’s children.

I don’t think that it’s lost on voters that there are these horrible texts that came out recently from Jay Jones and the strange thing is that there are very few people who are condemning these texts,’ Puccio said, highlighting that prominent Democrats, particularly in Virginia, have refused to call on Jones to drop out of the race. 

‘But I think the reason for that is that the party of tolerance, right, the Democrats, is actually, it’s become a very intolerant party,’ Puccio added. 

‘So if you have people condemning these texts, this sort of violent political rhetoric and things like that, they don’t want to be alienated by their own party. Look at what they’ve done or tried to do to John Fetterman. When he tries to think for himself instead of having the party tell him what to think, they ostracize him. I think that is kind of the reason that we’re in this weird place with our leaders, because everyone is kind of being quiet.’

In addition to Jones, Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner has faced scrutiny over advocating for political violence in the past and a tattoo that resembles a Nazi Germany symbol.

Puccio told Fox News Digital that Platner’s apology seemed to show remorse compared to the reaction from Jones, which could serve as a blueprint going forward on how Democrats can acknowledge past mistakes.

‘The point is that every situation has to be evaluated separately, but the conversation still has to be had over what to do within our Democratic Party about this violent rhetoric, which is, it’s basically being accepted right now,’ Puccio said. ‘What we’re about to see, I don’t know how long it’s going to take, but I do think there’s going to be a shift toward the middle because I think there is going to be a realization that we are leaving out and by we, I mean, all Americans in general were forgetting from both sides of the political aisle about the middle.’

While Democrats are expected to perform strongly in next year’s midterms, given that, historically, the party not in power does well in those elections, Republicans have been closing the gap in the Virginia and New Jersey gubernatorial elections being held in early November, which could send a signal that Democrats aren’t in as strong of a position as many experts think. 

Puccio said today’s Democratic Party is ‘unrecognizable,’ which will hopefully push leaders to come out forcefully and take back control.

‘I think that there will be this realization that the loudest voices on either side of the political aisle are not necessarily representative of the entire party and I think that people are going to be forced to say no to this kind of uncivil discourse that we’re seeing, because people, we citizens, are going to get very tired of seeing our leaders behave in very childish and frankly, disrespectful ways toward each other,’ Puccio said. 

‘These are not supposed to be the way our elected leaders act. And I would hope that there emerge some actual leaders and not just politicians in the future who recognize that they need to speak to everyone and not a small niche in their party.’

Election season is in full-swing, with only days left before races in 2025’s quiet election cycle are called. 

Fox News Digital compiled key deadlines for early in-person voting as it comes to a close. 

The 2025 election season is mild compared to the whirlwind federal election cycle of 2024, but will feature major races, including statewide elections for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, and New York City’s high-profile mayoral election, the ballot proposition over congressional redistricting in California, and three state Supreme Court contests in Pennsylvania.

The races have seen a handful of political surprises in recent weeks as key races hit hot water — from Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones’s leaked text scandal to controversy over military records in New Jersey’s governor’s race, and backlash against Zohran Mamdani’s left-wing policies as the self-identified Democratic socialist works to secure Gracie Mansion. 

Voter enthusiasm is high across the country — and there’s still time for people to cast their ballots early.

Here’s when in-person early voting ends in each high-profile 2025 election:

New Jersey

New Jersey’s in-person early voting began Saturday and will conclude Nov. 2. Early in-person voting is held from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with Sunday hours running from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Appointments are not necessary to vote early. 

New York City

Big Apple residents began early in-person voting Saturday and will have until Nov. 2 to cast early in-person votes. 

Virginia

Early in-person voting kicked off in the Old Dominion State Sept. 19 and will run until Nov. 1. All localities in the state offer early voting. 

California

The Golden State is holding a special election in 2025 to decide ballot proposition 50, which would redraw state congressional district maps in response to efforts in Republican states to redraw congressional districts ahead of the midterms. Early in-person voting begins Saturday and will run through Election Day. 

Pennsylvania 

Pennsylvanians can vote early and in-person by returning mail ballots to their local election offices until 8 p.m. on Election Day. Voters must apply for a mail-in ballot by Tuesday or vote on Election Day. 

Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that Belgrade is willing to host peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.

‘Serbia is also among the countries that are offering their good services, given our background, given the fact that we are friends with all the parties involved, to try and, if needed or if there’s an interest, host any kind of talks … on how to bring this horrible tragedy which has resulted in so many deaths and so much destruction to an end,’ the foreign minister said.

He said the war in Ukraine needs to come to an immediate end. 

‘Serbia is, in principle, supportive of territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states in line with their U.N. borders,’ including Ukraine, he added.

The foreign minister’s offer to host peace talks between Ukraine and Russia comes after a proposed summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary was shelved.

Some analysts say Serbia would be a surprising choice to host the next round of ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine given the historic ties Russia and Serbia share, rooted in cultural and religious connections through the Serbian Orthodox Church.

While Serbia joined U.N. resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the referenda annexing parts of Ukrainian territory, Belgrade has refused to join Western sanctions targeting Russia over the invasion. Yet Djuric points out that both Ukraine and Russia support Serbia’s territorial integrity regarding Kosovo.

Djuric was in New York for a United Nations Security Council meeting on Kosovo. In 1999, a nearly three-month NATO bombing campaign ended a war between Serbian government forces and ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo. Serbian forces were pushed out, but Belgrade still considers Kosovo a Serbian province.

Some European officials have questioned Serbia’s commitment to European unity. Foreign Minister Djuric countered that Serbia values its place in Europe between East and West, while also noting the country’s close relationship with the U.S.

‘Serbia is very proud of its independent foreign and security policy, which has been deeply rooted in the history of our nation and has enabled us to remain independent for centuries, although we are small,’ he said. ‘We value very much our strategic partnership growing with the United States for which there is bipartisan consensus in this country.

‘But also, we should bear in mind the fact that President Trump is by far the most popular foreign leader in our country and is the most popular leader for Serbs. I mean, in comparison to all other European countries, President Trump’s popularity in Serbia is unparalleled. More than 71% of the Serbs have a very favorable opinion of the U.S. president and of his policies, which really gives a very fertile ground for the further growth of our relationship.’

Yet Serbia’s ties with China, widely viewed as the United States’ main economic and military competitor on the world stage, have caused some concern in Washington.

The U.S. recently sanctioned Serbia’s Russian-owned oil company, Naftna Industrija Srbije (NIS), which is Serbia’s main supplier of oil and gasoline.

China conducted military exercises in Serbia in July despite stern warnings from the European Union, and Belgrade provides Beijing with a security foothold in Europe. Serbia has also purchased medium- and short-range surface-to-air missile systems from China.

Beijing’s biggest penetration into Serbia is in the economic space. It has invested more than $10 billion in infrastructure projects over the last 15 years, according to the Center for European Policy Analysis.

‘I also have to admit that we have very good economic relations with China, and China also supports our position on Kosovo in the sense that it recognizes Serbia and its U.N. borders. So, they are, as a U.N. Security Council member, also an important partner for us,’ Djuric said.

Djuric said great power competition between the U.S. and China is ‘above the pay grade of a small Balkan nation’ and that the Serbian government will continue to focus on its economic development.

Domestically, Serbia has been roiled by student-led anti-corruption protests for nearly a year, demanding justice and accountability after the deaths of 16 people in the collapse of a railway station in the Serbian city of Novi Sad. Critics across the European Union have called out Serbian security forces for a heavy-handed response against the protesters.

Djuric said he wants to establish an honest dialogue with the protesters and find a way to de-escalate tensions.

‘We treat the views of our citizens who disagree with the government with respect, and I don’t want to label any of them in any way. I believe that we are mature enough to have a dignified, decent, democratic dialogue, and we will always stand for democracy in Serbia,’ Djuric said.

‘Serbia’s government has shown accountability in the wake of the tragedy that happened in Novi Sad. Ministers have been replaced. Some of them have been called, held to account and even imprisoned. We’ve changed the government since then and included Professor [Djuro] Macut, who is our current prime minister, into the government, a university professor, and the vision of President Vucic remains to unify the people of Serbia, to overcome political divisions, and to create a society based on dialog and social cohesion rather than polarization.’

The Associated Press contributed to this article. 

President Donald Trump kicked off the week meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and closed out the week jetsetting to Asia. And at home, the White House launched constructing its new ballroom — much to the ire of many Democrats. 

Trump said construction started Monday and that the project would be funded privately. The project is estimated to cost $300 million, up from the $200 million estimate first provided in July when the project was unveiled. 

‘For more than 150 years, every President has dreamt about having a Ballroom at the White House to accommodate people for grand parties, State Visits, etc. I am honored to be the first President to finally get this much-needed project underway — with zero cost to the American Taxpayer!’ Trump said in a social media post. ‘The White House Ballroom is being privately funded by many generous Patriots, Great American Companies, and, yours truly. This Ballroom will be happily used for Generations to come!’

Still, the project has faced criticism as the White House’s historic East Wing was completely demolished. The wing has served as the official entrance to the White House, and is designated as space for the first lady. 

On Monday, Trump signaled he wants to expedite outfitting Australia with nuclear submarines under the trilateral agreement between the U.S., Australia and the U.K. that seeks to enhance Australia’s submarine force to deter Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific.

The agreement, known as AUKUS, stipulates the U.S. will sell up to five Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia that are scheduled for delivery as soon as 2032. The deal also outlines that Australia and the U.K. will work to build additional attack submarines for Australia’s fleet.

However, Trump told reporters that he is looking at equipping Australia with the submarines soon, when asked if he was interested in speeding up the process.

‘Well we are doing that, yeah … we have them moving very, very quickly,’ Trump told reporters Monday.

However, Trump also said that he didn’t believe the deal was necessary to undermine China.

‘I don’t think we’re going to need it,’ Trump said about the trilateral agreement. ‘I think we’ll be just fine with China. China doesn’t want to do that. First of all, the United States is the strongest military power in the world by far. It’s not even close, not even close. We have the best equipment. We have the best of everything, and nobody’s going to mess with that. And I don’t see that at all with President Xi.’

Meanwhile, Trump departed for Asia Friday, as he is slated to meet with Xi during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.

The meeting comes amid ongoing trade negotiations between the two countries, which escalated when Beijing announced Oct. 9 it would impose export controls on rare-earth magnets. Rare earth magnets are used in products ranging from electric cars to F-35 fighter jets. 

As a result, Trump said the U.S. would impose a new 100% tariff on all Chinese goods, which is slated to take effect Nov. 1.

However, Trump has sought to neutralize tension, and has regularly spoken highly of his relationship with Xi in recent weeks. Additionally, he has said he believes a deal will be reached between the two countries.

‘I think we are going to come out very well and everyone’s going to be very happy,’ Trump said Thursday.

Trump and Xi have not met in person since Trump took office in January. Their last meeting took place in June 2019 in Japan.

Trump will also visit Malaysia, Japan and South Korea as part of the trip.

Trump also met with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte Wednesday, just after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and after calling off a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump said that he didn’t want a ‘wasted meeting’ with Putin in Hungary, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump didn’t see enough progress toward peace from Russia.

‘We canceled the meeting with President Putin,’ Trump told reporters in the Oval Office with Rutte Wednesday. ‘It just it didn’t feel right to me. It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I canceled it. But we’ll do it in the future.’

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo slammed democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani for painting himself as a victim because he is a Muslim, saying the rival mayoral candidate has spent his campaign offending 9/11 families, Jews and various other groups of New Yorkers. 

‘He claims that he is the victim of attacks because he is a Muslim. Nothing could be further from the truth. He is not a victim, he is the offender,’ Cuomo said Saturday. ‘This entire campaign, he has been dividing and attacking and offending different New York groups.’

While speaking at an event in which he received the endorsements of several faith leaders, Cuomo lambasted Mamdani, who he called his ‘main opponent.’ Cuomo listed a number of groups he says have been hurt by Mamdani, including Jews, Blacks, Italians, members of the LGBTQ community and even some Muslims.

Cuomo first addressed the Jewish community, saying Mamdani had hurt it ‘in a truly painful way.’ The former governor recounted a recent interaction with a Jewish New Yorker who said he was afraid of wearing a Star of David in the city. In 2023, the UJA-Federation of New York said in a report there were just over 1.3 million Jews living in New York City. 

He then took issue with Mamdani’s refusal to condemn the phrase ‘globalize the intifada,’ which many see as a call for violence against Jewish people. Mamdani has faced criticism for his refusal to condemn the phrase early in the mayoral race.

The former governor also said his opponent, who could become New York City’s first Muslim mayor, hurt the Sunni Muslim community by advocating for the decriminalization of prostitution. Cuomo added that, according to the Quran, prostitution is haram, which means ‘forbidden’ in Arabic.

After condemning Mamdani’s gesture toward the Columbus statue and invoking its offense to Italian Americans, Cuomo broadened his criticism. He pointed to a photo of Mamdani with a Ugandan official who backs harsh anti-gay laws, framing it as an affront to the LGBTQ community.

He didn’t stop there. Mamdani’s friendship with controversial Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who once said ‘America deserved 9/11,’ also drew scrutiny from the former governor.

‘You offend 9/11 families. You offend every New Yorker because 9/11 was an attack on all New Yorkers, and it traumatized all New Yorkers. So, no, he’s not the victim. He is the offender, and he has done a great deal of damage,’ Cuomo said.

On Friday, Mamdani accused Cuomo of using ‘Islamophobic rhetoric’ after the former governor joined a radio show in which the host said Mamdani would be ‘cheering’ if New York City faced another 9/11-style attack.

‘While my opponents in this race have brought hatred to the forefront, this is just a glimpse of what so many have to endure every day across the city,’ Mamdani said. ‘And while it would be easy for us to say that this is not who we are as a city, we know the truth. This is who we have allowed ourselves to become.’

Cuomo and Mamdani also took several jabs at each other on Wednesday night during the final debate of the NYC mayoral race. Mamdani focused on Cuomo’s past scandals, such as the sexual harassment allegations that led to his abrupt exit from office. Cuomo, on the other hand, blasted self-proclaimed socialist Mamdani over his lack of experience and past anti-law enforcement statements.

New Yorkers began casting their ballots Saturday and have until Nov. 4 at 9 p.m. to decide which of the three candidates — Cuomo, Mamdani or Republican Curtis Sliwa — will be the next to lead America’s most populous city.

Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s campaign for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump on Saturday said he won’t waste time meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin again unless a deal on the war in Ukraine is likely.

‘I’m going to have to know that we’re going to make a deal,’ Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One after taking off from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, when asked about securing a meeting with Putin. ‘I’m not going to be wasting my time. I’ve always had a great relationship with Vladimir Putin, but this has been very disappointing.’

He said he thought the war in Ukraine would have been resolved ‘long before’ the peace deal between Israel and Hamas.

‘We have Azerbaijan and Armenia. That was very tough,’ Trump added, referring to the peace summit he hosted at the White House between the two countries last summer.

He continued, ‘In fact, Putin told me on the phone, he said, ‘Boy, that was amazing,’ because everybody tried to get that done, and they couldn’t. I got it done. You had others. If you look at India and Pakistan, I could say almost any one of the deals that I’ve already done, I thought would have been more difficult than Russia, than Ukraine, but it didn’t work out that way.’

‘There’s a lot of hatred between the two, between [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky and Putin, there’s tremendous hatred.’

Earlier this week, Trump said he had called off a planned meeting with Putin in Budapest to discuss the war because he saw it as a ‘waste of time.’

Trump announced the Budapest meeting last week, saying it could happen within the next two weeks.

He also announced sanctions against Russia this week.

Trump and Putin last met in Alaska in August, but no deal was reached following the summit.

Trump met with Zelenskyy last week at the White House, where he seemingly denied Ukraine’s request for Tomahawk long-range missiles. 

The president also said that in his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week he wants a ‘complete [trade] deal.’ 

‘I want our farmers to be taken care of, and he wants things also,’ Trump said. ‘We’re going to be talking about fentanyl, of course. Fentanyl is killing a lot of people, a lot people. It comes from China, and we’ll be talking a lot about that. We’ll be talking about a lot things. I think we have a really good chance of making a very comprehensive deal.’

The anonymous donor who gave $130 million to the Pentagon to pay troops during the government shutdown has been identified as Timothy Mellon, a reclusive billionaire and a major financial backer of President Donald Trump, according to a report.

Trump announced the donation on Thursday, but declined to reveal the donor’s identity, only describing him as a ‘patriot’ and a friend. The president again refused to name the person on Friday while talking to reporters aboard Air Force One shortly after departing Washington for Asia, calling the donor ‘a great American citizen’ and a ‘substantial man.’

‘He doesn’t want publicity,’ Trump said on Friday. ‘He prefer that his name not be mentioned, which is pretty unusual in the world I come from, and in the world of politics, you want your name mentioned.’

But the two people familiar with the matter told The New York Times that the man is Mellon, a wealthy banking heir and railroad magnate.

It remains unclear how long the donation will cover the troops’ salaries. The Trump administration’s 2025 budget asked for about $600 billion in total military compensation, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The $130 million donation would equal about $100 a service member, according to The New York Times.

Mellon, a grandson of former Treasury Secretary Andrew W. Mellon, is a backer of Trump who gave tens of millions of dollars to groups supporting the president’s 2024 campaign. Last year, he gave $50 million to a super PAC supporting Trump, making it one of the largest single contributions ever disclosed, the newspaper noted.

The billionaire was not a prominent Republican donor until Trump was first elected but has given hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years into supporting the president and the GOP.

He is also a significant supporter of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who also ran for president in 2024, first as a Democrat and later as an independent before dropping out to endorse Trump. Mellon donated millions to Kennedy’s presidential campaign and has also given money to the secretary’s anti-vaccine nonprofit, Children’s Health Defense, according to The New York Times.

Despite his political contributions, Mellon has sought to keep a low profile.

In an autobiography published in 2015, Mellon described himself as a former liberal who moved from Connecticut to Wyoming for lower taxes and fewer people.

The Pentagon said it accepted the donation under the ‘general gift acceptance authority.’

‘The donation was made on the condition that it be used to offset the cost of service members’ salaries and benefits,’ Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to The New York Times.

But the donation may be a potential violation of the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits federal agencies from spending money in excess of congressional appropriations or from accepting voluntary services.

President Donald Trump on Saturday said Hamas needs to start returning the bodies of deceased hostages held captive by the terror group during the war in Gaza ‘quickly, or the other countries involved in this GREAT PEACE will take action.’

While all the living hostages have been returned from Gaza, the remains of 13 deceased hostages have not been handed over by Hamas.

‘Some of the bodies are hard to reach, but others they can return now and, for some reason, they are not,’ Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. ‘Perhaps it has to do with their disarming, but when I said, ‘Both sides would be treated fairly,’ that only applies if they comply with their obligations. Let’s see what they do over the next 48 hours. I am watching this very closely.’

Hours before Trump’s post, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee met with the families of Itay Chen and Omer Neutra, two U.S. citizens who were killed in the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks.

Their bodies are among those still being held by Hamas.

‘We will not forget the lives of the hostages who died in the captivity of Hamas,’ Rubio wrote in an X post. ‘We will not rest until their—and all—remains are returned.’

Authorities believed Chen, a 19-year-old dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, but was later declared dead by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Neutra, 21, an American-Israeli from New York, was killed in battle on Oct. 7, 2023.

Huckabee noted Rubio’s visit to Israel was ‘very productive in moving forward’ the U.S.-brokered Gaza peace plan, adding the plan cannot work until all hostages, living and deceased, are released.

While traveling to Asia Saturday, Trump met with Qatari leaders aboard Air Force One while refueling at Al-Udeid Air Base.

Qatar has played a significant role in efforts to negotiate peace and ceasefires in Gaza.

After a meeting with Qatar Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Trump said ‘The Emir is one of the great rulers of the world … and the Prime Minister has been my friend.’

Referencing the peace deal, the president said, ‘What we’ve done is incredible — peace in the Middle East.’

Fox News Digital’s Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.