President Donald Trump recently spoke to the South Carolina Republican Party’s Silver Elephant Gala through a phone that Sen. Lindsey Graham held up to a microphone.

Trump, who endorsed Graham for re-election earlier this year, continued expressing his support for the senator while speaking on the phone.

Trump said the senator has his ‘full endorsement,’ calling him a ‘great guy,’ saying that Graham has always been there for him when he needed him and he ‘won’t forget it.’

‘Thank you for your surprise call, Mr. President!’ Graham said in a post on X that also featured footage of Trump’s remarks about him. 

‘With your support, I’ll keep delivering the America First agenda to the great people of South Carolina. I’m glad to have been part of the most awesome six months in modern history led by President @realDonaldTrump.’

Graham, who has served in the Senate since 2003, is facing Republican primary challengers.

Paul Dans, the former director of the 2025 Presidential Transition Project at the Heritage Foundation and who is one of Graham’s challengers, attended the event where Trump spoke by phone.

‘Lindsey Graham’s terrified—his Senate seat’s at risk against me, his toughest challenger yet. After 32 years of broken term-limit promises, he’s done. Clinging to President Trump won’t save him from SC’s America First Patriots who see his grift. #LindseyPanic #PrezTrumpPlsHelpMe,’ Dans wrote in a post on X.

Graham will be up for re-election in 2026.

President Donald Trump will use the upcoming summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin to test how serious Putin is about ending the war with Ukraine, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Sunday.

Rutte told ABC’s ‘This Week’ that the meeting comes as Trump continues to put pressure on Putin, noting the recent secondary sanctions on countries like India, which purchased Russian oil, and delivering lethal weapons to Ukraine.

‘Next Friday will be important because it will be about testing Putin, how serious he is on bringing this terrible war to an end,’ Rutte said.

Trump announced the first in-person meeting with Putin since Moscow launched its deadly invasion of Ukraine in 2022 in a Truth Social post on Saturday. The leaders are expected to meet in Alaska on Friday, Aug. 15.

In recent weeks, Trump has refused to mince words when asked about Putin. Trump said during a Cabinet meeting July 8 he was fed up with Putin and said he was eyeing potentially imposing new sanctions on Russia. 

The NATO chief called the upcoming meeting ‘an important step’ in the process of reaching full-scale peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, wasn’t expected to be at the summit with Trump and Putin as of Sunday. Despite Zelenskyy’s absence, Rutte said ‘we need Ukraine at the table.’

‘It will be about territory,’ Rutte said of the upcoming meeting. ‘It will, of course, be about security guarantees, but also about the absolute need to acknowledge that Ukraine decides on its own future, that Ukraine has to be a sovereign nation deciding on its geopolitical future, of course having no limitations to its own military troop levels, and for NATO to have no limitations on our presence on the eastern flank in countries like Latvia, Estonia and Finland.’

U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker told CNN on Sunday that no decision had been made at this point about whether Zelenskyy would be invited to the meeting.

‘If [Trump] thinks that that is the best scenario to invite Zelenskyy, then he’ll do that,’ Whitaker said, adding that ‘there’s time to make that decision.’

When asked about whether Putin can be trusted, Whitaker said that in any situation of competing national interests it will be actions, not words, that decide whether peace is achieved and preserved.

‘Words are cheap, but in this case, whether it’s the Russians or the Ukrainians, both sides are going to have to take the actions to have peace and to continue to honor that peace,’ he said.

Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy contributed to this report.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday thanked European leaders for backing his push to join this week’s U.S.–Russia summit, as Kyiv fears Washington and Moscow could strike a deal to end the war but in a way that undermines Ukraine’s sovereignty.

‘The end of the war must be fair, and I am grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine and our people today for the sake of peace in Ukraine, which is defending the vital security interests of our European nations,’ Zelenskyy said.

The leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Finland and the European Commission said in a joint statement that any diplomatic solution brokered between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin must protect the security interests of Ukraine and Europe.

‘The U.S. has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously,’ EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told Reuters on Sunday. ‘Any deal between the U.S. and Russia must have Ukraine and the EU included, for it is a matter of Ukraine’s and the whole of Europe’s security,’ she added.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the upcoming summit ‘will be about testing Putin’ and will serve as a measure of how serious the Russian leader is about ‘bringing this terrible war to an end.’

Both the White House and the Kremlin have acknowledged Zelenskyy’s request to join the talks, though no formal invitation has been issued. Trump and Putin are scheduled to meet in Alaska on Aug. 15. If Zelenskyy were to take part, the meeting would mark the first between Putin and Zelenskyy since the start of Moscow’s war.

The meeting, which Trump announced in a Truth Social post on Friday, comes on the heels of Washington’s threats to impose steep tariffs on the Kremlin and its allies.

Trump has previously singled out countries like India and China—top buyers of discounted Russian crude — for undermining G7 price caps and weakening the impact of Western sanctions.

In response, bipartisan lawmakers introduced the Sanctioning Russia Act, which would impose a 500% tariff targeting the core of Russia’s economy — its oil and gas exports — if Moscow continues to resist peace efforts or escalates the conflict.

Meanwhile, a senior member of Putin’s inner circle warned that multiple countries are mounting ‘titanic efforts’ to undermine the upcoming summit between the Russian leader and Trump.

‘Undoubtedly, a number of countries interested in continuing the conflict will make titanic efforts to disrupt the planned meeting between President Putin and President Trump,’ wrote Russia’s investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, in a Telegram post on Saturday, referencing the Kremlin’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

While Dmitriev did not name specific countries, he warned that critics of the upcoming talks could seek to sabotage the summit through diplomatic maneuvers or disinformation through the media.

President Donald Trump is weighing whether to deploy up to 1,000 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., as early as this week, Fox News has learned, in an effort to help deal with what he characterized as a surge in violent crime. 

The plans come just one day after Trump vowed on Truth Social to evict homeless persons from that nation’s capital. ‘The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY,’ Trump said on social media. ‘We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don’t have to move out. We’re going to put you in jail where you belong.’

Trump’s plans, which are expected to be detailed further at a 10 a.m. press conference Monday, would likely involve members of the D.C. National Guard, or the 2,700-member National Guard force that acts at the express authority of the commander in chief.

Unlike other branches, Trump would not have to get the sign off of local authorities to act — likely making their activation a tempting option.

When speaking to reporters in the Oval Office last week, Trump railed against what he described as a ‘ridiculous’ level of crime in the nation’s capital, buffeted most recently by the assault on a former DOGE staffer earlier this month.

‘We want to have a great, safe capital,’ Trump said last week. ‘And we’re going to have it.’

Trump also told reporters that his White House lawyers are looking into ending the Home Rule Act, a law passed by Congress in 1973 that gave Washington, D.C., residents the right to elect their own mayor and local representatives. 

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also told reporters last week that Trump had ordered law enforcement personnel to increase their presence in the capital, though the additional details on the scope and timeframe of that presence remain unclear. 

Trump is expected to address those plans in a press conference Monday morning. 

However, for Trump, delivering on this promise could be fraught with long-term legal complications — in part, because crime in the city is actually down to its lowest point in nearly 30 years.

Violent crime in the first seven months of 2025 has dropped by roughly 26% compared to 2024, according to data compiled by the D.C. Police Department and released earlier this month. Overall, crime in the nation’s capital has dropped by roughly 7%.

On Sunday, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said in an interview with NewsNation that Washington, D.C., ‘is more violent than Baghdad.’ 

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, for her part, told MSNBC in an interview Sunday that ‘Any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false.’

However, it’s not the first time Trump has sought to crack down on crime in the nation’s capital — an effort he has returned to frequently, including during his first term in office.

Trump in March signed an executive order, ‘Making DC Safe and Beautiful Task Force,’ designed to address issues with a city he has long derided as ‘filthy,’ ‘horribly run’ and ‘crime-ridden,’ among other things. ‘We want to have a great, safe capital,’ he told reporters. ‘And we’re going to have it. And that includes cleanliness and it includes other things.’

However, those powers aren’t indefinite, experts explained to Fox News Digital.

Trump does have the authority to activate the 2,700-member D.C. National Guard without the approval of local officials. Guard troops provide ‘mission-ready personnel and units for active duty in the armed services’ in Washington, D.C., according to their website.

Beyond that, Trump’s ability to exercise authority in the nation’s capital is bound by the Home Rule Act. 

In the more than 50 years since that law was passed, ‘there really hasn’t been a serious conversation about ending home rule governance,’ George Derek Musgrove, a history professor at the University of Maryland in Baltimore County, told Fox News in an interview.

‘And the problem with our federal system is that there are places where Trump really doesn’t have any supporters, and therefore, with the limits of executive power, really doesn’t have that much sway,’ Musgrove said. ‘And he’s constantly probing for ways around that.’

Other options available to Trump aren’t without their own limits. In order to call up the local police force for any meaningful length of time, as Trump has suggested, a president must be able to assert ‘special conditions of an emergency nature,’ according to the 1970s law.

‘If D.C. doesn’t get its act together, and quickly, we will have no choice but to take federal control,’ Trump said last week. 

However, that’s easier said than done, individuals familiar with the law told Fox News Digital.

‘DC is just a tempting target because there’s not even a lot of legal gymnastics you have to do in order to exert tremendous power [in a city with ]a 90% Democratic jurisdiction. He has it already,’ Musgrove said.

‘But it is morally questionable, I think, and violates democratic principles,’ he added.

President Donald Trump said Saturday he was nominating U.S. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce to become the next deputy representative to the United Nations. 

‘I am pleased to announce that I am nominating Tammy Bruce, a Great Patriot, Television Personality, and Bestselling Author, as our next Deputy Representative of the United States to the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador,’ the president wrote on social media.

‘Since the beginning of my Second Term, Tammy has been serving with distinction as Spokesperson of the State Department, where she did a fantastic job. Tammy Bruce will represent our Country brilliantly at the United Nations. Congratulations Tammy!’

Bruce has defended the Trump administration’s immigration policies and its position on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. 

Last week, she warned Russia on Fox News that it needs to take Trump ‘seriously’ on his deadline for a ceasefire. 

Bruce has been with the administration since Trump took office. 

Before Trump tapped her as State Department spokesperson, she was a longtime conservative commentator and contributor to Fox News. 

When Trump chose her for the State Department, he described her as a ‘highly respected political analyst who understood the power and importance of ‘MAGA’ early on.’

‘As one of the longest-serving News Contributors, Tammy has brought TRUTH to the American People for over two decades,’ Trump added. ‘I know she will bring that same strength of conviction and fearless spirit to her new position as State Department Spokesperson.’ 

Dorothy Shea, who served as deputy ambassador last year, is the current acting ambassador. 

Trump’s nominee for U.N. ambassador, Mike Waltz, is still awaiting confirmation.

FBI Director Kash Patel took to social media on Saturday to celebrate the bureau’s successes in the first 200 days of the Trump administration. 

‘200 Days of Trump Admin, From Jan 20 to Present: FBI has arrested over 1,600 people for violent crimes against children, to include 270 arrests for human trafficking,’ Patel wrote on his official X account.

Patel added that 1,500 kilos of fentanyl – ‘enough lethal doses to kill 113,850,000 Americans’ – has also been seized in that time, which he said was a 25% increase from the same time last year, and the ‘most ever.’

He added, ‘We look forward to working with our @SecDef and DoD partners to getting after it even more, thanks @realDonaldTrump for the new authorities.’ 

In a third post, Patel said the FBI had identified and located 4,000 child victims. 

‘FBI investigations targeting Foreign Terrorist Organizations has resulted in 1,000 arrests of those wanting to harm our nation. Seized 6,300 Kilos of methamphetamines = lives saved,’ he wrote, adding the hashtag ‘#SummerHeat.’

The White House also posted an article on X on Saturday, touting ‘200 Days of American Renewal,’ including ‘historic border security to infrastructure revitalization.’ 

Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, who had considered resigning over the administration’s handling of the Epstein files earlier this summer, according to a source, reposted Patel’s post, writing, ‘This isn’t even the beginning of the beginning. More coming.’ 

Many in MAGA world have also been frustrated with the lack of transparency over the Epstein files. 

The U.S. Department of Justice has denied the existence of an Epstein client list, and President Trump defended Attorney General Pam Bondi last month, saying ‘she’s really done a very good job.’