Georgia Senate race: Sen. Raphael Warnock wins re-election, defeating GOP nominee Herschel Walker

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Wed, 07 Dec 2022 15:30 EST

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The midterm elections are officially over after Sen. Raphael Warnock defeated GOP nominee Herschel Walker by nearly 3 percentage points in Georgia’s Senate runoff. While Democrats celebrate their 51st seat in the upper chamber, Karl Rove, a veteran GOP strategist and Fox News contributor, says the Republican loss was avoidable.

“It shouldn’t have been,” Rove told Fox News Digital. “We had a terrible candidate who was well-meaning but plagued with a lot of scandal and was not particularly good on the campaign trail.”

Republicans’ loss in the Peach State boils down to poor candidate quality at the hands of President Donald Trump, according to Rove.

“It just shows again he’s a bad picker,” Rove said. 

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 23:33 EST

Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock, who won re-election to a full term in the Senate against GOP nominee Herschel Walker, thanked supporters and said there was still work to do to eliminate “voter suppression.”

“There are those who will look at the outcome of this race and say that there is no voter suppression in Georgia,” Warnock said.

“Let me be clear: Just because people endured long lines that wrapped around buildings some blocks long, just because they endured the rain and the cold and all kinds of tricks in order to vote, doesn’t mean that voter suppression does not exist. It simply means that you the people decided that your voices will not be silenced.”

Warnock thanked supporters, and said God should get the glory for his win.

“After a hard-fought campaign — or should I say campaigns — it is my honor to utter the four most powerful words ever spoken in a democracy: The people have spoken,” Warnock said.

Warnock, a long-time pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church where he still preaches most Sundays, again likened voting to prayer in his election night speech, as he has done for months as he campaigned across Georgia.

As the first Black Senator from Georgia, Warnock said his win embodies progress for the state, with its history from slavery to the civil rights movement.

“I am Georgia, I am example and an iteration of its history,” Warnock said.

He added that he would seek to represent all Georgians whether they voted for him or not, and said he hoped to work across the aisle with Republicans in the Senate.

Warnock’s win means Democrats have expanded their majority to 51-49, and will have more control over Senate committees.

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 23:06 EST

Republican Senate nominee in Georgia Herschel Walker addressed supporters after his loss to incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock Tuesday evening.

Walker told supporters that “we put up one heck of a fight” in a speech at his election night gathering, and said he appreciated

“We can’t blame no one, because I want you to continue to believe in this country,” Walker said, encouraging voters to continue fighting for Georgia.

The Associated Press called the race for Warnock around 10:30 p.m., ending a five week runoff campaign. Warnock led the Nov. 8 election night vote by 36,000 votes, but did not secure more than 50% of the vote, triggering a runoff.

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 22:29 EST

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Incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock has defeated GOP nominee Herschel Walker in the Georgia Senate runoff election, according to a projection made by The Associated Press.

Warnock — who has served as senior pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church since 2005 — defeated Walker in Tuesday’s runoff election after he was forced into a runoff election following the November 8 general election.

In the general election, Warnock, who has served in the Senate since 2021, garnered 49.43% of the vote. Walker earned slightly less at 48.5%.

To view the results from the Georgia Senate runoff election, click here.

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 21:59 EST

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The losing candidate in Tuesday night’s Georgia Senate runoff election can request a recount, but the margin of the candidate’s loss must be slim.

In order to request a recount, the candidate who fails to garner the most votes can request a recount if the margin is less than or equal to 0.5%.

Georgia state law does not require an automatic recount of votes.

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 22:30 EST

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Head to Fox News’ Election Center for the latest results from the Georgia Senate runoff

The contentious runoff race for Georgia’s Senate seat remains too close to call almost three hours after polls have closed in the Peach State.

Incumbent Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock and GOP nominee Herschel Walker continue to seesaw back-and-forth to take the lead with roughly 81% of the vote counted.

Gabe Sterling, the chief operating officer in the Georgia secretary of state’s office, said he was unsure of when a result would be announced from the race in a press conference after polls closed.

In the Nov. 8th general election, Walker garnered 48.5% of the vote and Warnock earned 49.5%. With neither candidate clearing the 50% threshold needed to declare victory at the time, the race advanced to a runoff.

Polls opened this morning at 7 a.m. EST, but an estimated 1.8 million voters had already cast their ballots in the state’s early voting period that concluded on Friday, Dec. 2nd.

Fox News’ Kyle Morris contributed to this update.

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 20:36 EST

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Shortly after polls closed, during a press conference, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger touted “record turnout” for the Peach State’s Senate runoff election between incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker.

“Our early results look like we had record turnout today, which is just absolutely amazing,” Raffensperger said.

In touting the turnout in the state, Raffensperger insisted that it has “never been easier” to vote in Georgia.

Also in attendance for the press conference, Gabe Sterling, the chief operating officer in the Georgia secretary of state’s office, said he was unsure of when a result would be announced from the race.

“People have asked us when do you expect a winner? I don’t know. … We don’t have a magic ball to look at and tell us those things. But what we do know that Secretary pointed out is that it was a very successful day,” Sterling said.

“A lot of people thought this election was sort of baked in the cake. Neither campaign stopped working and no voters who cared about their voice being heard, was deterred from voting,” Sterling added. “That is very different from we saw in January 2021.”

Sterling estimates there were 1.4 million Election Day voters, but said there won’t be a final tally until all results are reported.

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 20:50 EST

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During an interview with Fox News Digital at an event with Sen. Raphael Warnock, Sarah Amico, a Warnock campaign surrogate, dismissed Republicans pouring in support for Walker by campaigning for him and said Warnock has been transparent on where he stands on issues most important to voters. Amico is a former Democratic Senate candidate in Georgia, who lost to Sen. Jon Ossoff in the 2020 Democratic primary.

Fox News’ Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 20:17 EST

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Tue, 06 Dec 2022 20:14 EST

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Students at Fort Valley University tell Fox News Digital they’re supporting Sen. Raphael Warnock in the Georgia Senate runoff because of his faith and policies.

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 19:12 EST

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Head to Fox News’ Election Center for the latest results from the Georgia Senate runoff

Polls have started closing in Georgia, marking an end to the contentious Senate runoff election between incumbent Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock and GOP nominee Herschel Walker.

In the November 8 general election, Walker garnered 48.5% of the vote and Warnock earned 49.5%. With neither candidate clearing the 50% threshold needed to declare victory at the time, the race advanced to a runoff.

Polls opened this morning at 7 a.m. EST, but an estimated 1.8 million voters had already cast their ballots in the state’s early voting period that concluded on Friday, Dec. 2nd. Early in-person voter turnout hit a single-day record high on Friday with 352,953 ballots cast, according to state elections data.

Fox News’ Sophia Slacik contributed to this update.

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 18:05 EST

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Voting in Georgia’s Senate runoff race will wrap up with polls in the Peach State set to close at 7 p.m. EST, about one hour from now. Voters that are in line by 7 p.m. EST will still be allowed to cast their ballot.

Polls opened this morning at 7 a.m. EST, though about 1.8 million voters already cast their ballots in the state’s early voting period that concluded on Friday, Dec. 2nd. Early in-person voter turnout hit a single-day record high on Friday with 352,953 ballots cast, according to state elections data.

Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock garnered about 49.5 percent of the vote during the general election on Nov. 8th, triggering a runoff election as Georgia law requires a candidate to win an outright majority to declare victory. Herschel Walker, the Trump-endorsed Republican nominee, won about 48.5 percent of the vote, with the remaining ballots being cast for the Libertarian candidate.

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 17:36 EST

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Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., is still refusing to say whether he would support any limitations on abortion with just one day remaining before his Senate runoff election against Republican nominee Herschel Walker.

Warnock was joined by fellow Democratic Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff during a string of rallies in Athens on Sunday, when Fox News Digital asked both if there were any instances at all in which they would support limits on when during a pregnancy an abortion could be performed.

Neither directly answered the question.

“I voted to protect Roe v. Wade, and I would do that again,” Warnock stated, while Ossoff appeared to avoid answering at all until Fox pressed him.

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 16:18 EST

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RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel provides analysis of the Georgia Senate runoff as voting is underway. She also discusses her fight to hold her seat as chairwoman and her plans for the 2024 election.

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 15:33 EST

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President Biden hopped on long flight to Arizona Tuesday as Georgia was hosting a Senate runoff election that will determine whether the Senate remains in a 50-50 split, or whether Democrats hold 51 seats.

The president did not make a single appearance with Sen. Ralph Warnock, D-Ga., over the last month as he fends off a challenge from Republican nominee Herschel Walker. As Georgians went to the polls to vote Tuesday, Biden opted for a tour of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plant in Phoenix to tout the $52 billion CHIPS Act he signed in August, which provided tens of billions of dollars in new federal funding for domestic semiconductor manufacturing.

“I’m going to Georgia today to help Sen. War – not to Georgia – I’m going to help Sen. Warnock by doing a major fundraiser up in Boston,” the president said Friday.

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 15:01 EST

The Department of Justice announced that it will be observing the Georgia senate election Tuesday in order to ensure no violations of voters’ civil rights.

Herschel Walker, the Trump-endorsed Republican nominee, is running to unseat the Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock. 

The DOJ released its statement on monitoring polling locations in a press release published Tuesday, offering a list of counties under observation.

“For this election, the Civil Rights Division will monitor for compliance with the federal voting rights laws on Election Day in four jurisdictions: Cobb County, Fulton County, Gwinnett County and Macon-Bibb County. Monitors will include personnel from the Civil Rights Division and from the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices.”

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Tue, 06 Dec 2022 14:45 EST

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If Republican nominee Herschel Walker loses in Tuesday’s Georgia Senate runoff election against Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, one contributing factor will be a lack of air cover.

In the month-long campaign battle in Georgia, Warnock and allied Democratic outside groups outspent Walker and GOP aligned groups by a roughly two-to-one margin.

The margin was $57.2 million for Democrats to $27.3 million for Republicans, according to data from Nov. 9-Dec. 5 provided by AdImpact, a nationally known ad tracking firm.

The biggest spender was the Warnock campaign, at $27.3 million, compared to just $11.5 million by Walker’s team. Campaigns get more bang for their bucks than outside groups such as super PACs when it comes to TV commercial rates.

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 14:43 EST

Herschel Walker, the GOP nominee running in the Georgia runoff Senate race, released a new runoff ad bashing Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock for voting against an amendment that would ban funding to educational institutions that allow biological men to compete in women’s sports.

The ad features Walker with Riley Gaines, a 12-time NCAA All-American swimmer, who shared her story of competing against a biological male in a women’s swimming competition.

“For more than a decade I’ve worked so hard, 4 a.m. practices to be the best. But my senior year, I was forced to compete against a biological male,” Gaines stated in the campaign ad. 

Walker called the competition “unfair and wrong.” 

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 14:18 EST

On the eve of Georgia’s runoff Election Day, Sabato’s Crystal Ball shifted the battleground Senate race from Toss-up to Leans Democratic, pointing to early voting trends expected to benefit the Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock.  

“As we see it, with the Black share of the early vote up a few notches from what we saw ahead of November’s election, Walker starts out even deeper in the hole,” the ratings report reads.

The ratings change comes after early voting concluded last week in the Peach State, hitting a record-high for single-day early in-person turnout with 352,953 ballots cast on Friday, according to state elections data. 

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Tue, 06 Dec 2022 14:05 EST

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Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and South Carolina governor, on Monday topped off what has been a flood of support from prominent national Republicans seeking to propel Senate nominee Herschel Walker over the finish line in his runoff race against incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.

The potential 2024 presidential candidate was the latest high-profile figure to stump for Walker since the November general election, a long list that included Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, former Democratic Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, Alabama Senator-elect Katie Britt, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital following Walker’s final rally before the runoff, Haley underscored the importance turnout would play for Republicans to oust Warnock and secure a split Senate. She also ripped the incumbent Democrat for what she said was his “arrogance” in claiming Walker did not have the “competence and character” to do the job.

 

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Bengals' Joe Mixon seemingly takes issue with NFL postseason seeding changes following canceled game vs Bills

Cincinnati Bengals veteran running back Joe Mixon is apparently not a fan of the NFL’s solution to Monday night’s canceled game against the Buffalo Bills, which was initially suspended after second-year safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest after collapsing on the field. 

The league made the announcement Thursday night citing several factors including that the teams who qualified for the post season already would not have been impacted by the result of the game, but rescheduling it would cause the playoffs to be postponed by a week.   

Joe Mixon, #28 of the Cincinnati Bengals, runs the ball during the third quarter in the game against the Carolina Panthers at Paycor Stadium on Nov. 6, 2022 in Cincinnati.

Joe Mixon, #28 of the Cincinnati Bengals, runs the ball during the third quarter in the game against the Carolina Panthers at Paycor Stadium on Nov. 6, 2022 in Cincinnati.
(Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

“This has been a very difficult week,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. 

BENGALS’ TEE HIGGINS OPENS UP ABOUT DAMAR HAMLIN INCIDENT, SAYS HE’S ‘IN A GOOD PLACE’ FOLLOWING LATEST UPDATE

“We continue to focus on the recovery of Damar Hamlin and are encouraged by the improvements in his condition as well as the tremendous outpouring of support and care for Damar and his family from across the country.  We are also incredibly appreciative of the amazing work of the medical personnel and commend each and every one of them.”

Damar Hamlin, #3 of the Buffalo Bills, reacts after a tackle for a loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first quarter at Highmark Stadium on Oct. 9, 2022 in Orchard Park, New York.

Damar Hamlin, #3 of the Buffalo Bills, reacts after a tackle for a loss against the Pittsburgh Steelers during the first quarter at Highmark Stadium on Oct. 9, 2022 in Orchard Park, New York.
(Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images)

While Mixon has been among the many players to celebrate the positive update on Hamlin’s health Thursday, he was seemingly annoyed with the NFL’s handling of their Week 17 matchup. 

“So we not following the rules no more,” Mixon wrote on Twitter with a screenshot from the NFL rule book on its policy for canceled games. 

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“If a game is canceled, a team’s standing in its division or in its conference (e.g., qualification as a Wild Card on the playoffs or position in playoff seeding) shall be determined on the basis of its final record,” the rule states. 

The NFL acknowledged that canceled game does create “potential competitive inequities in certain playoff scenarios,” which could be what Mixon is referring to in his tweet. 

The Bills-Bengals game had major playoff implications for the AFC. Buffalo (12-3) entered Monday night needing a win to maintain the AFC’s No. 1 seed. The Kansas City Chiefs (13-3) now hold that spot. The Bengals (11-4) had a chance to earn that top seed with two more wins and a loss by the Chiefs.

Joe Mixon, #28 of the Cincinnati Bengals, stretches prior to an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills at Paycor Stadium on Jan. 2, 2023 in Cincinnati.

Joe Mixon, #28 of the Cincinnati Bengals, stretches prior to an NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills at Paycor Stadium on Jan. 2, 2023 in Cincinnati.
(Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

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The NFL will hold a Special League Meeting on Friday to determine several different scenarios that may result in the AFC Championship Game being played at a neutral site. 

They will also discuss using a coin toss to determine the site for a potential Wild Card game between the Baltimore Ravens and Bengals in the event that Baltimore defeats Cincinnati this weekend and face each other in the playoffs. 

This means that, despite being named AFC North champions as a result of the canceled game, the Bengals are not guaranteed to host a home playoff game in the Wild Card round. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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White House hopeful war with China over Taiwan ‘never comes to pass’: report

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White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Friday that he believes a war with China over Taiwan can be avoided even as tensions over the island remain high. 

Tense relations with China peaked in August 2022 after then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visited the island to show solidarity with Taipei, despite threats from Beijing that the visit would prompt “very serious developments and consequences.”

China viewed the visit as “a gross interference in China’s internal affairs” and responded by immediately ramping up aggressive military drills near the island in the days after her trip, as well as in the months since. 

TAIWAN OFFICIALS SAY 17 CHINESE MILITARY AIRCRAFT, 3 SHIPS, ENTERED SPACE CLOSE TO ISLAND

“There is a risk of conflict with respect to Taiwan, but I believe that with responsible stewardship, we can ensure that this contingency never comes to pass. And that is our responsibility,” Sullivan said in an interview with NPR. 

The White House refused to condemn Pelosi’s visit and maintained that members of Congress are allowed to keep their own schedules.

However, Sullivan noted that preventing war with China will be “hard work” and said it will take “coordination with allies.”

“It will require us following through on the commitments of the Taiwan Relations Act, which for 40 years now has said we will provide defensive articles to Taiwan. Additionally, it will require direct diplomacy with the [People’s Republic of China],” he told the morning program. “We have to make this a priority to ensure there is not a war over the Taiwan Strait.”

China has repeatedly accused the U.S. of “playing with fire” and has claimed that routine naval drills performed under international “freedom of navigation” operations are a violation of Chinese sovereignty. 

CHINA WARNS US NOT TO CROSS ‘RED LINE’ ON TAIWAN, USE ‘SALAMI TACTICS’

On Thursday, Beijing once again levied these accusations at the U.S. Navy after a guided missile destroyer passed through the Taiwan Strait in what the Navy described as routine activity.

“Chung-Hoon’s transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States’ commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The United States military flies, sails and operates anywhere international law allows,” the Navy said in a statement. 

“U.S. warships frequently flex muscles in the name of exercising freedom of navigation. This is not about keeping the region free and open,” spokesman for China’s embassy in Washington Liu Pengyu said in a statement to Reuters.

Liu called on the U.S. to “immediately stop provoking troubles, escalating tensions and undermining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”

The U.S. Navy maintains it is allowed to operate in the Strait under international law and said it “is beyond the territorial sea of any coastal State.”

 

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Apple’s mixed-reality headset could be announced as soon as this spring, top analyst says

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Attendees wait for the start of the Apple World Wide Developers Conference
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Apple‘s long-awaited mixed reality headset could be announced as soon as this spring, top Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said on Twitter recently.

Ming-Chi Kuo, an Apple analyst at TF International, had initially predicted in June 2022 that Apple would announce a mixed-reality headset by the end of January 2023. But on Thursday, the widely respected analyst shared that he believes Apple will postpone “mass shipment” of any product to the second or third quarter of 2023, citing a combination of mechanical and software issues.

Kuo anticipates an announcement occurring in a “spring media event or WWDC based on current development progress.” WWDC is Apple’s annual developer conference, typically held in June.

Whenever it arrives, the product would create immediate competition for Meta, formerly Facebook, which is focused on building a digital world called the metaverse and sells its own Meta-branded virtual reality headsets.

Apple’s headset is expected to cost between $2,000 and $3,000 and will boast over 10 cameras on the exterior and interior of the device, according to Bloomberg. The mixed-reality device will run on an operating system called xrOS, with mixed-reality adaptions of Apple’s Messages, FaceTime, and Maps apps, according to Bloomberg.

An announcement during WWDC makes sense if the company wants to show off the headset with the latest software tools that developers will use to build apps for it. WWDC is where Apple unveils the annual software updates and some new features for iPhones, iPads, Macs, the Apple Watch and more, and it has breakout sessions where developers can learn about the latest ways to integrate their apps into Apple’s hardware.

Kuo has broken scoops on Apple product releases before, including news on the size and design of the iPhone X in 2016 before the product launched. The Apple analyst also predicted the controversial loss of the headphone jack in the iPhone 7 series.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Russia's 36-hour cease-fire begins; Zelenskyy rejects pause as a 'cover' to advantage Russian troops

Russia’s 36-hour cease-fire begins

Ukrainian soldiers of a special forces unit prepare to fire mortar shells at Russian forces amid artillery fights on Dec. 20, 2022, in Bakhmut, Ukraine.

Pierre Crom | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Russia’s cease-fire, ordered by Putin for Russian Orthodox Christmas on Jan. 7, began officially at noon Moscow time.

“At noon today, the ceasefire regime came into force on the entire contact line. It will continue until the end of 7 January,” Russia’s state Channel One news announced.

The move is seen by many as a chance to let Russian soldiers rest and recuperate and to prevent Ukrainian troops from making territorial gains. Ukraine has rejected the cease-fire, likening it to a trap aimed at giving Russian forces an advantage.

— Natasha Turak

Zelenskyy rejects Putin’s temporary cease-fire proposal, says war will end ‘when your soldiers leave’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slammed a proposal from Russian President Vladimir Putin for a temporary cease-fire during Orthodox Christmas on Jan. 7.

Ukrinform | Future Publishing | Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slammed a proposal from Russian President Vladimir Putin for a temporary cease-fire during Orthodox Christmas on Jan. 7, calling it a cover to stop Ukrainian forces’ advances and bring in more reinforcements for Russian troops.

“They now want to use Christmas as a cover, albeit briefly, to stop the advances of our boys in Donbas and bring equipment, ammunition and mobilized troops closer to our positions,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. “What will that give them? Only yet another increase in their total losses.”

Zelenskyy spoke in Russian rather than Ukrainian, and said that a real cease-fire meant “ending your country’s aggression … And the war will end either when your soldiers leave or we throw them out.”

Many have pointed out that Russia did not offer a cease-fire on on Dec. 25, which is celebrated by many Orthodox Ukrainians, or for the new year. New Year’s Eve saw Russia attacking cities in Ukraine with drone strikes, taking out power infrastructure and destroying residential buildings.

— Natasha Turak

Bradley armored vehicles will provide ‘firepower and armor that will bring advantages on the battlefield,’ Pentagon says

Ukrainian soldiers with the 43rd Heavy Artillery Brigade sit atop 2S7 Pion self propelled cannon on the battlefield, as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, during intense shelling on the front line in Bakhmut, Ukraine, December 26, 2022.

Clodagh Kilcoyne | Reuters

The Pentagon said that the Bradley Fighting Vehicles will provide Ukraine with an advantage on the battlefield but declined to elaborate on how the armored vehicles would be equipped and how long training would take.

It was also unclear how many Bradleys the U.S. would send to Ukraine and how long it would take for the tracked armored vehicles to make their debut on the battlefield against Russia.

The White House is slated to announce the next security assistance package on Friday.

Pentagon Press Secretary U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said that the Bradleys will provide “a level of firepower and armor that will bring advantages on the battlefield as Ukraine continues to defend their homeland.”

— Amanda Macias

‘We know better than to take anything we see or hear from Russia at face value,’ State Department says of Russia’s proposed truce

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price holds a press briefing on Afghanistan at the State Department in Washington, August 16, 2021.

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

State Department spokesman Ned Price said it was up to Ukraine if they want to participate in Russia’s proposed truce.

Price said that the U.S. has “little faith in the intentions behind this announcement,” adding that Russia has previously broken such promises.

“We know better than to take anything we see or hear from Russia at face value. Unfortunately, they have given us no reason to take anything that they offer at face value,” Price added.

Earlier on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a temporary ceasefire.

The cease-fire would allow Orthodox Christians in Russia and Ukraine to celebrate Christmas services.

— Amanda Macias

Read CNBC’s previous live coverage here:

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NFL says Bills-Bengals game will not be completed as doctors outline, players cheer Damar Hamlin's improvement



CNN
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Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin is awake in a Cincinnati hospital, appears neurologically intact and is moving his hands and feet, doctors said Thursday, news that has drawn relief and joy from supporters nationwide days after the 24-year-old’s in-game cardiac arrest.

And his first question upon awakening?

“Did we win?” Hamlin scribbled on a clipboard, according to Dr. Timothy Pritts, vice chair for clinical operations at UC Health.

“Yes, Damar, you won. You’ve won the game of life,” Pritts said at a news conference in Cincinnati, paraphrasing the response of one of his medical partners.

Hamlin, who can communicate by writing but isn’t yet speaking because he still is on a ventilator, collapsed during the first quarter of the Bills game Monday at Cincinnati, a contest that was postponed, then canceled by the NFL on Thursday night. League officials will lead a meeting Friday with all NFL teams to discuss a proposal for playoff options.

As his Bills teammates prepare for Sunday’s game, Hamlin has been communicating with yes and no answers by shaking his head, nodding or writing brief notes, Pritts said.

“So, we know that it’s not only that the lights are on, we know that he’s home. And that it appears all cylinders are firing within his brain,” Pritts said.

Hamlin has been treated at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center since being taken from the field Monday night.

Associates of Hamlin, who had been sedated, spread news Thursday morning that he had awoken, though details of precisely when he awoke weren’t immediately available. He had been holding hands with family in the hospital, his agent Ron Butler told CNN on Thursday.

Hamlin still is critically ill, but his condition has improved substantially in the past 24 hours, and “it appears his neurological condition and function is intact,” Pritts said Thursday afternoon.

“This marks a really good turning point in his ongoing care,” he said. “There are many, many steps still ahead of him. From our standpoint, we would like to see him continue to improve, to be completely breathing on his own and to be ready to be discharged from the hospital.”

Hamlin was resuscitated and intubated on the field, according to Dr. William Knight IV, a professor with the University of Cincinnati’s department of emergency medicine.

Assistant athletic trainer Denny Kellington was the person who did on-field CPR, Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Dion Dawkins tweeted Thursday. Kellington saved Hamlin’s life, Bills coach Sean McDermott said.

“As they say, practice pays off, and it did in this case,” McDermott said at a post-practice news conference devoted to Hamlin. “But again, the context of it, for an assistant to find himself at that position and needing to take the action that he did and step up and take charge like he did – and there were others on the field as well – is nothing short of amazing and (the) courage that took, you talk about a real leader, a real hero, in saving Damar’s life.”

It is still unclear what caused Hamlin’s cardiac arrest, and the NFL will investigate what could have led to it, its Chief Medical Officer Dr. Allen Sills said Wednesday.

Thursday’s news drew celebration from Hamlin’s teammates, players around the league and beyond, including a tweet from President Joe Biden.

“We heard that news this morning and there’s nothing that coulda been told to us to bring our day down,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who choked up when talking about watching Hamlin go down, said at the Thursday news conference. “We’re extremely happy for him and his family.

“We just want to, we just want to love up on him, so the next chance we get, I don’t know when it’s gonna be, if we get to see him any time soon, it’s gonna be awesome.”

Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins, whom Hamlin tackled before collapsing, told reporters he spoke with Hamlin’s mother Thursday morning and she told him he’s OK, according to CNN affiliate WXIX.

Knowing of Hamlin’s medical progress “makes me feel better inside,” he said.

Biden said this: “Great news. Damar, like I told your mom and dad yesterday, Jill and I – along with all of America – are praying for you and your family.”

Details about Hamlin’s condition emerged as NFL players contemplate an emotional return to the field this weekend, with all 32 teams set for their final scheduled regular-season games this Saturday and Sunday.

The Bills and Bengals will head into the playoffs having played one fewer game than other teams in the American Football Conference.

“As we considered the football schedule, our principles have been to limit disruption across the league and minimize competitive inequities,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. “I recognize that there is no perfect solution.”

At Friday’s meeting with the teams, league officials will discuss a two-part proposal for playoff options, including the possibility of holding the AFC Championship game at a neutral site. The NFL’s proposal would apply “if the participating teams played an unequal number of games and both could have been the number one seed and hosted the game had all AFC clubs played a full 17-game regular season.”

There are three scenarios that would necessitate a neutral site, the NFL said. The other part of the proposal involves the Bengals’ playoff path should they lose Sunday to Baltimore.

“The proposal we are asking the ownership to consider, however, addresses the most significant potential equitable issues created by the difficult, but necessary, decision not to play the game under these extraordinary circumstances,” Goodell said.

The Bills, scheduled to host the Patriots on Sunday, met Wednesday for a walk-through and held their first full practice of the week Thursday. Players – already reeling from last year’s racist mass shooting and the recent deadly blizzard in their hometown – had a Zoom call Wednesday with Hamlin’s father, Mario Hamlin, who said his son was making progress, a source in the Bills organization told CNN on Thursday.

Having Hamlin’s father talk to the team helped them turn their focus back to football, McDermott said. And “the news today, as Josh alluded to, was a huge help to getting us back to focused on the game this weekend,” he told reporters at Thursday’s news conference.

Since his hospitalization, Hamlin has gotten a nationwide outpouring of support from fans and players across pro sports, including more than $7 million donated to his foundation’s toy drive GoFundMe as of Thursday morning. Several athletes have donned Hamlin’s No. 3 or his jersey while teams have honored him through Jumbotron messages and light displays at their stadiums.

Bills jerseys with Hamlin’s name and No. 3 are the biggest sellers across all sports, said a spokesperson for Fanatics, a company that sells licensed team merchandise. The company, the NFL and the players’ union will donate all proceeds from jersey sales to Hamlin’s charity, Fanatics’ co-chair Michael Rubin tweeted Tuesday.

Hamlin collapsed shortly after a collision in which Higgins, the Bengals receiver, tried to power past Hamlin, who’d approached for a tackle, with about six minutes remaining in the first quarter of Monday’s game. Hamlin still twisted Higgins to the ground and stood up – but within seconds fell and lay motionless.

His heartbeat was restored on the field, the Bills have said, before he was ferried from the stadium in an ambulance while stunned and visibly emotional players and fans looked on.

Hamlin not only was sedated but was on a ventilator and also was “flipped over on his stomach” in the hospital to help relieve some of the strain on his lungs, which were damaged, his uncle Dorrian Glenn told CNN on Tuesday. Details about what ailed Hamlin’s lungs weren’t available.

Before news spread Thursday that Hamlin was alert, some in the league had been openly assessing their readiness to play this weekend.

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow told reporters Wednesday he “probably wants to play” Sunday’s Bengals-Ravens game, but there may be others who don’t.

“I’m sure if you polled the locker room, there’d be mixed votes on that,” Burrow said. “Personally, I think playing is going to be tough … I think getting back to as normal as you can as fast as you can is personally how I kind of deal with these kinds of things. But … everyone has a different way of dealing with it.”

Among those who rushed to the Cincinnati hospital after Hamlin collapsed was Indianapolis Colts safety Rodney Thomas II, one of Hamlin’s childhood friends. Thomas visited while Hamlin was sedated and intubated this week, he said.

There is “no doubt in my mind” Hamlin will recover, Thomas told reporters Wednesday.

“I know he could hear me,” Thomas said, adding he held Hamlin’s hand. “Even if he couldn’t hear me, it didn’t matter. I said what I had to say.”

“Just basically (I said) that I love him, and I’ve got his back, and I’ll see him in a little bit,” Thomas added Thursday to “CNN This Morning” before news circulated that Hamlin was awake.

Hamlin and Thomas, who became close friends as high school teammates in Pittsburgh, spoke daily and had talked Monday before Hamlin’s collapse. Seeing his friend soon after the in-game incident “calmed me way down,” Thomas said Wednesday. “It made the trip home a lot easier. I could go home and know he’s gonna be straight. I got him. We all got him. Everybody’s behind him.”

Thomas, whose Colts host the Texans on Sunday, said each team needs to “trust that everybody would just make the best decision moving forward, whether that’s playing, whether that’s not playing.”

“Player-wise … just the world in general, we’re all just one heartbeat right now … all waiting for Damar just to get healthy,” Thomas told CNN Thursday.

Sills, the NFL’s top doctor, on Wednesday addressed theories that Hamlin’s cardiac arrest could have been caused by commotio cordis, which occurs when severe trauma to the chest disrupts the heart’s electrical charge, causing dangerous fibrillations.

“You have to have the right type of blow hitting at the right spot on the chest with the right amount of force at just the right time in that cardiac cycle,” he said in Wednesday’s call with reporters. “So, a lot of things have to line up for that to happen,” he said, emphasizing that while it is possible, investigators will consider all options.

Any time a player is taken off the field by medical staff, the NFL and its medical experts perform a detailed review of what happened, Sills said. They also examine the role protective equipment may have played, he said.

In some cases, the medical team will not be able to determine what caused the problem, Sills said.

Sills attributed the “transformational response” of medical personnel when Hamlin collapsed to a “60-minute meeting” that is held among medical teams and NFL officials before every game. During the meeting, teams identify the location of medical equipment and nearby medical centers, and establish a chain of command in case of an emergency, including cardiac arrest, among other things.

Hamlin’s collapse is the latest in a string of recent tragedies to have struck the community of Buffalo and its beloved football team, including a racist mass shooting and a historic blizzard that left at least 41 people dead in Erie County, New York.

A high-ranking official within the Bills organization told CNN’s Coy Wire that they broke down in tears after day and night-long meetings on Tuesday, sobbing because of the heaviness of the situation.

The series of difficult blows to Buffalo have emotionally piled up within the organization, the source said, adding that through it all, the team has tried to be a source of strength for the city.

The performance of Buffalo Sabres hockey forward Tage Thompson on Tuesday night was a “glimmer of hope” at a time when the team needs inspiration, the source said.

Hamlin’s jersey No. 3, was a recurring motif throughout the game, played on January 3. Thompson’s three goals during overtime brought the Sabres a win. It was Thompson’s third hat trick of the season and his third goal came fortuitously in the third minute of overtime.

The Sabres also wore “Love for 3” T-shirts honoring Hamlin before the game.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Hamlin’s agent Ron Butler’s first name.


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Southwest Airlines forecasts loss after mass cancellations

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The arrivals and departures board displays canceled and delayed Southwest Airlines flights at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport in Glen Burnie, Md., on Wednesday, December 28, 2022.
Bill Clark | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

Southwest Airlines said on Friday it expects to post a loss in the fourth quarter after it canceled over 16,700 flights between Christmas and New Year’s Eve due to a tech meltdown.

The mass cancellations during the peak season for U.S. airlines will result in a pre-tax hit of $725 million to $825 million to quarterly earnings, said Southwest, which had earlier forecast a strong profit. Shares fell 2.8% before the bell.

On Thursday, the largest U.S. domestic airline promised a thorough review of the operational collapse after a union leader blamed its outdated scheduling system and said the carrier had not identified how to avoid a repeat.

But the impact from the cancellations will spill over in the current quarter as the company scrapped many flights in a bid to reset its system, Cowen analyst Helane Becker said.

Southwest, which typically has an aggressive schedule that connects vast swathes of the country, relies on a point-to-point service instead of operating out of large hubs.

Though that model makes the low-cost airline a popular option for customers looking for quick travel times, adverse weather could make it difficult for it to marshal staff scattered across the country as easily as its rivals who operate out of hubs.

During winter storm Elliott, Southwest’s crew scheduling software failed to bear the load of staffing changes made by the airline. Workers had to manually match crew and planes which led to huge waiting times for pilots and cabin crew.

Southwest, which led cancellations among U.S. carriers for much of the last two weeks of December, has invited scrutiny from the U.S. government and a lawsuit.

It said on Friday that cancellations were likely to have cut its capacity by about 6% in the fourth quarter compared with 2019, roughly 4 points lower than its previous forecast.

Revenue loss from the disruptions is expected to be between $400 million and $425 million, it said.

The impact from refunds Southwest has processed for customers who faced disruptions has been included in the net loss forecast, the airline added.

“It may take time for Southwest to repair its brand perception with investors,” Bernstein analyst David Vernon said in a note earlier this week.

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Taliban leader hits out at Prince Harry for calling his Afghanistan kills ‘chess pieces’ in new tell-all book

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This picture taken on October 31, 2012 shows Britain’s Prince Harry making his early morning pre-flight checks at the British controlled flight-line at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, where he was serving as an Apache Helicopter Pilot/Gunner with 662 Sqd Army Air Corps.
John Stillwell | Afp | Getty Images

The early release of Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir “Spare” is triggering anger from plenty of different sources, from loyal monarchy supporters to television pundits and ordinary Brits — and most recently, the Taliban.

The highly-anticipated book, written in the years after Harry and his wife Meghan Markle left their roles in the British royal family, was accidentally put on sale in Spain several days before its official release date.

Among the many controversial revelations in the memoir is Harry’s disclosure that he killed 25 Taliban fighters while on deployment in Afghanistan with the British Army.

According to excerpts of the book cited by Sky News, which has obtained a copy, Harry said he did not view the fighters as “people” but instead as “chess pieces” that he was removing from the board.

“It was not something that filled me with satisfaction, but I was not ashamed either,” the prince wrote. CNBC has not seen or been able to obtain a copy of the book.

Taliban leader Anas Haqqani hit back at the remarks on Twitter, writing: “Mr. Harry! The ones you killed were not chess pieces, they were humans; they had families who were waiting for their return. Among the killers of Afghans, not many have your decency to reveal their conscience and confess to their war crimes.”

Haqqani added, “Our innocent people were chess pieces to your soldiers, military and political leaders. Still, you were defeated in that ‘game’ of white & black ‘square’.”

The Taliban returned to full power over Afghanistan when the U.S. withdrew its last troops from the country in August of 2021. It has since re-imposed a hyper-conservative Islamic theocracy on the country, imposing violent punishments on dissenters and banning women from higher education, among other human rights abuses.

Prince Harry patrols the deserted town of Garmisir on January 2, 2008 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
John Stillwell | Anwar Hussein Collection/rota | Wireimage | Getty Images

Harry served in the British Army for 10 years, obtaining the rank of captain. He served two tours in Afghanistan, the first in 2007-2008 as a forward air controller, and later in 2012-2013 as an attack helicopter pilot.

The Taliban leader isn’t the only one angry about Harry’s comments; the news prompted backlash from former members of the British military as well, who largely live by a culture of not openly speaking or bragging about lives they have taken during combat.

“Love you #PrinceHarry but you need to shut up!” Ben McBean, a former Royal Marine who served with Harry in Afghanistan, wrote on Twitter on Thursday. “Makes you wonder the people he’s hanging around with. If it was good people somebody by now would have told him to stop.”

One former senior army officer who led British forces in Afghanistan in 2003, Col. Richard Kemp, described Harry’s comments as “ill-judged” and potentially even dangerous.

Harry’s words “were probably ill-judged for two reasons,” Kemp said in an interview with Sky News. “One is his suggestion that he killed 25 people will have reincited those people who wish him harm.”

Prince Harry sits in the front cockpit of an Apache helicopter at the British controlled flight-line in Camp Bastion on October 31, 2012 in Afghanistan. Prince Harry served as an Apache Helicopter Pilot/Gunner with 662 Sqd Army Air Corps, from September 2012 for four months until January 2013.
John Stillwell | Wpa Pool | Getty Images News | Getty Images

The retired colonel added: “The other problem I found with his comments was that he characterized the British Army basically as having trained him and other soldiers to see his enemy as less than human, just as chess pieces on a board to be swiped off, which is not the case. It’s the opposite of the case.”

He warned that such comments could “incite some people to attempt an attack on British soldiers anywhere in the world.”

Kensington Palace, which represents Prince William, and Buckingham Palace which represents King Charles III, have so far declined to comment on the book and any of its claims. CNBC has reached out to a representative for Prince Harry for comment.


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Rumble CEO says something ‘really nefarious’ was going on with YouTube censoring conservatives around election

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Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski is taking on Big Tech censorship with his rapidly expanding video platform which has emerged as a popular alternative to YouTube since going public last Fall.

In the latest episode of “Tucker Carlson Today,” Pavlovski sat down with the Fox News host to discuss his commitment to protecting free speech and why he believes that mission has driven his company toward success as creators continue to upload their content to the fast-growing platform.

In a preview of the interview that aired on Fox News Channel Thursday, Pavlovski, a Canadian who described himself as not particularly political, recalled getting a phone call from then-ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee Devin Nunes, who inquired about the features of little-known website. After learning about the details of Rumble, Nunes decided to upload his video podcast to the platform.

GREENWALD CALLS OUT TIKTOK FOR CENSORING ON BEHALF OF US GOVERNMENT, NOT JUST CHINA

“Next thing you know, within a couple of months, he gets a couple of hundred thousand subscribers on his Rumble channel. Meanwhile, on YouTube and he’s been on there for four years…he only has 10,000,” Pavlovski said.

At that point, Rumble was just launching and was still obscure to most of the public, he recalled, adding that “this should not have happened.”

“You can call it whatever you want. Censorship, shadow-banning…the fact that an elected official could get significantly more subscribers on a platform that no one’s ever heard of in two months, and he can’t get more than 12,000 in four years on YouTube, that’s a problem,” the Rumble CEO observed.

When Carlson asked whether he thought Nunes was being censored by YouTube due to his political affiliation, Pavlovski said, “Something was happening, definitely, and it was happening right before the elections.”

Pavlovski said it was after that incident with Nunes that his company began to understand that there’s something “really nefarious going on when it comes censorship. What is it that happened, how could that happen, and it presented an opportunity to us where we just had to be fair. We could run a good business just by being fair.”

SEN. JOHNSON DEMANDS YOUTUBE ANSWER FOR ‘REPEATED CENSORSHIP’ ON COVID, CONSERVATIVE VIEWPOINTS

Shortly thereafter, conservative commentator Dan Bongino joined Rumble and had a similar experience. His subscriber count on Rumble surpassed his following on YouTube in just a few months.

“The same pattern happened with every conservative that came to our platform,” Pavlovski said. “It was very obvious.”

Carlson pointed out that Big Tech censorship on these platforms has created a “rigged game.”

“On Rumble it was a fair game, and that’s how we’ve been winning,” Pavlovski said.

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Trump’s tax returns show no Social Security benefit income. Here’s what retirees can learn about claiming

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Former U.S. President Donald Trump claps as he announces that he will once again run for U.S. president in the 2024 U.S. presidential election during an event at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, November 15, 2022.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

When former President Donald Trump’s tax returns were released last week, the line for Social Security income was notably left blank.

About 70 million Americans rely on Social Security for monthly income when they retire or become disabled. The program may also provide benefits for qualifying family members of those who have retired, disabled or died.

To qualify, workers generally need to earn 40 credits by working and paying Social Security taxes. Eligibility for retirement benefits starts at age 62.

By those measures, Trump, 76, should qualify for retirement benefits, which will provide a maximum monthly income of $3,627 per month in 2023 for workers who claim at their full retirement age (generally age 66 or 67, depending on year of birth). Higher benefits are possible for people who continue to work or claim benefits after full retirement age.

Yet Trump had no Social Security income for tax years 2015 through 2020, based on his individual tax returns.

Trump’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

VIDEO4:0604:06
Most voters don’t want either Trump or Biden to run again, CNBC survey finds

High earners sometimes ‘just skip Social Security’

While wealthy individuals technically qualify for benefits after paying into the program, it is up to them whether or not they claim the monthly checks, noted Jim Blair, vice president of Premier Social Security Consulting and a former Social Security administrator.

“It’s not necessarily uncommon that the real high earners just skip Social Security,” Blair said.

The program currently faces a funding shortfall, whereby just 80% of benefits will be payable in 2035 if no changes are made sooner. Yet with more than $1 trillion in benefits paid in 2022, one less claimant may not make a huge difference for the program.

“We’re talking over a trillion dollars in benefits, so one person not taking it doesn’t make that much of a difference,” Blair said. “But every dollar helps, I guess.”

The example brings up the question whether very rich individuals should claim Social Security benefits, according to Andrew Biggs, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who has served in various roles at the Social Security Administration.

“As I see it, there’s nothing wrong with it,” Biggs said.

“Not only did you pay for the benefit, you were forced to pay for the benefit,” Biggs said. “I don’t think anyone can question if you decide to accept it.”

But the next question is whether we should have a system designed to pay benefits to high-income people, Biggs said. The answer to that is no, he said.

In the U.K. or Australia, Trump would not be eligible for a benefit anywhere near the size of U.S. Social Security benefits, Biggs noted.

“It’s surprising that he didn’t [claim], because I don’t see any practical reason why he wouldn’t,” Biggs said of Trump.

Why Trump’s strategy may not be best

While Trump may never intend to claim Social Security benefits, there are some lessons other retirees can learn from his example.

Retirees stand to receive the biggest benefit checks if they hold off claiming Social Security until age 70. Claimants receive reduced benefits if they claim at 62, the earliest possible age. At full retirement age, they stand to receive 100% of the benefits for which they qualify based on their earnings record. But for every year they delay from full retirement age up to 70, they stand to receive an 8% bump to their benefits.

Importantly, there are no increases past age 70. Consequently, Trump is leaving money on the table.

Blair said he was recently approached by a financial adviser for advice on how to handle a 72-year-old client who still had not claimed Social Security. Unfortunately, the most Social Security will pay is six months of retroactive benefits, Blair said.

As a result, the client would forfeit the benefit income they would have received for the rest of that time.

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“They just give up those benefits and don’t receive anything for it,” Blair said.

“There’s no reason to wait past age 70 to start your Social Security,” he said.

Yet a recent MassMutual quiz on Social Security shows this is one rule about the program claimants may get wrong. Just 49% of respondents were able to correctly answer a true-or-false question on the financial effect of delaying past 70, the results found.

Another reason Trump’s claiming strategy may fall short: His loved ones may be eligible for benefits based on his record, including his wife Melania, and son Barron, who at age 16 is still a minor.

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