A super PAC aligned with independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr. dropped a surprise commercial during the Super Bowl on Sunday, eliciting mixed reactions from viewers. 

American Values 2024 ran the 30-second ad for $7 million. The clip is a throwback to an ad used by his uncle, former President John F. Kennedy, in the 1960 presidential campaign. 

The ad, replacing JFK’s face with that of RFK Jr., implores viewers to ‘Vote Independent.’ 

‘The panicked DC power brokers are working overtime to keep Kennedy off the ballot because they know he can and will end their culture of greed and corruption,’ American Values 2024 co-founder Tony Lyons said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.  

‘They offer us soaring inflation, forever wars, and chronic disease. RFK Jr. offers us real change along with freedom, trust and hope. Like his uncle and his father, Kennedy is a corruption fighter, and it’s no wonder the DNC is trying every old trick and inventing new tricks to stop him.  The public sees through it all and won’t stand for it.’ 

Google Trends showed searches for RFK Jr. skyrocketing after the ad aired. 

The ad elicited mixed reactions. One X user implored ‘Robert’ not to ‘give us this during the halftime.’ To which someone responded: ‘This commercial is better than the halftime performance.’ 

Another X user wrote they were ‘struggling to process how this makes me feel in awe of who we used to be as a country and as a people, while also feeling sick at who we have become and how far we’ve strayed.’ 

The ad comes after the Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Friday accused RFK Jr.’s presidential campaign of illegally coordinating with American Values 2024. 

The DNC filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), alleging that Kennedy’s campaign received $15 million worth of unlawful in-kind contributions from the super PAC to help him secure ballot access as an independent candidate in several states.

‘Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign is flouting campaign finance law by outsourcing a critical campaign function —  the collection of signatures required to appear on the ballot – to an outside Super PAC that is funded by Donald Trump’s top donor this cycle. This scheme between American Values 2024 and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign requires significant — and plainly illegal — coordination, to the tune of a $15 million in-kind contribution’ DNC senior adviser Mary Beth Cahill said in a statement. 

A Kennedy campaign spokesperson told Fox the allegations were a ‘nonissue being raised by a partisan political entity that seems to be increasingly concerned with its own candidate and viability.’ 

Kennedy initially sought to challenge President Biden in the 2024 Democratic presidential primary, but the DNC said it would not hold primary debates and stood behind the incumbent president.

He declared himself as an independent candidate in October and has seen support in polls from a sizable number of Democrats — and even some Republicans.

Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.

The White House’s top national security spokesperson, John Kirby, is being promoted to an expanded role that puts him in charge of coordinating communications across several agencies.

A U.S. official said Kirby’s new title will be White House national security advisor, elevating him from deputy assistant, up to assistant to the president.

In the new role, Kirby will direct a small team, separate from the National Security Council’s press office.

He will also be in charge of coordinating communications for national security for several agencies.

Kirby’s frequent presence at the podium during White House press briefings with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre ever since Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7 has made him one of the most visible faces of the Biden administration.

Despite the new role, he will continue to make appearances in the briefing room at times when national security is the dominant theme of the day, the official said.

‘Admiral Kirby’s decades of high level national security experience and his clear, strategic insights make him a deeply valued communicator and adviser on this team,’ Anita Dunn, senior adviser to President Biden said. ‘President Biden is proud to have John leading national security message coordination across the administration as we continue to make a forceful case for our national security interests at home and in the world.’

The retired U.S. Navy admiral became the National Security Council’s coordinator for strategic communications in 2022, after being brought over from the Pentagon, where he served as Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs starting in January 2021.

Kirby served in uniform for over 28 years before retiring in 2015 as a Rear Admiral in the Navy.

After retiring, he served at the Department of State as the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Public Affairs from December 2015 to January 2017, as well as the State Department’s spokesperson from May 2015 to January 2017.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is back in the hospital at Walter Reed for an ’emergent bladder issue,’ and has transferred his powers to the deputy defense secretary, according to Pentagon officials.

Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder confirmed Austin was at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, adding that the deputy defense secretary, joint chiefs of staff, White House and Congress have all been notified.

In a statement, Ryder said Austin was transported by his security detail to Walter Reed at about 2:20 p.m. on Sunday, adding that he is retaining the functions and duties of his office.

‘The Deputy Secretary is prepared to assume the functions and duties of the Secretary of Defense, if required,’ the statement read. ‘Secretary Austin traveled to the hospital with the unclassified and classified communications systems necessary to perform his duties.’

But just before 5 p.m., those duties and functions were transferred to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, Ryder later said.

Austin was expected to leave Joint Base Andrews on Tuesday morning to travel to Brussels for the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on Wednesday and the NATO Defense Ministerial on Thursday.

It is too soon to tell if Austin will be able to travel, a senior U.S. defense official said, adding his doctors are assessing the secretary’s condition.

In December, Austin was admitted to Walter Reed and underwent prostate cancer surgery. He developed an infection a week later and was readmitted to the hospital.

President Biden and other senior administration officials were not told for days about his hospitalization or his cancer.

Despite being admitted to Walter Reed on Jan.1, the Pentagon didn’t inform the public, press or Congress until Jan. 5. 

Officials also acknowledged that the White House had not been informed about Austin’s hospitalization until Jan. 4. 

On Feb. 1, Austin said he apologized directly to President Biden for not giving advance notice about his hospitalization for prostate cancer treatment.

‘I want to be crystal clear. We did not handle this right and I did not handle this right,’ Austin said during a press briefing on Feb. 1, regarding his previous hospitalization. ‘I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I should have also told my team and the American public, and I take full responsibility. I apologize to my teammates and to the American people.’

Finns headed to the polls Sunday to cast their votes for president, and after a close race, ex-Prime Minister Alexander Stubb of the center-right National Coalition Party narrowly ousted liberal Green Party member Pekka Haavisto.

Stubb, a former prime minister, declared himself the winner in the run-off vote after netting 51.6% of the votes to Haavisto’s 48.4%, after 99.7% of the ballots had been counted, Reuters reported.

As president, Finland’s new head of state will take on issues like the country’s security and foreign policy, as well as its stance toward Russia, which it shares a border with.

Stubb is pro-European and has strongly supported Ukraine while taking a tough stance against Russia.

The presidential victor said in televised comments that he considered his win ‘the greatest honor’ of his life.

‘The feeling is calm, humble but, of course, at the same time, I am extremely happy and grateful that the Finns in such large numbers have voted and that I get to serve as president of the Republic of Finland,’ Stubb said.

Finland headed into a runoff presidential election after Stubb won the first round with 27.2% of the votes, as widely predicted.

The president of Finland holds executive power in formulating foreign and security policy, while also commanding the military. The president largely keeps himself removed from domestic politics.

Stubb is described as a liberal conservative, compared to Haavisto, who is an environmentalist with center-left views. Both candidates, though, took similar stances when it came to foreign policy issues, including Russia and helping Ukraine.

Haavisto congratulated his opponent on Sunday, calling Stubbs ‘the 13th president of Finland.’

‘I believe Finland now gets a good president for the republic,’ he said. ‘Alexander Stubb is an experienced, competent person for the job. No more babble.’

The election results mark a new period for Finland, after decades of electing presidents who fostered diplomacy with Russia and chose not to participate in military alliances so it could cool tensions between NATO and Russia.

After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the country changed its stance and joined NATO in April 2023.

Stubb will replace Sauli Niinisto, who, after two six-year terms, is retiring.

Niinisto was called ‘the Putin Whisperer’ because of his close relationship with the Russian leader.

Reuters contributed to this report.

In a rare Super Bowl Sunday vote, the Senate voted to push forward an aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and other U.S. allies, clearing a key hurdle as 18 GOP lawmakers have signed on. 

The package would provide $60 billion for Ukraine, mostly to purchase U.S.-made defense equipment, including munitions and air defense systems that authorities say it desperately needs as Russia batters the country. It includes $8 billion for the government in Kyiv and other assistance.

It would also provide $14 billion for Israel’s war with Hamas, $8 billion for Taiwan and partners in the Indo-Pacific to counter China, and $9.2 billion in humanitarian assistance for Gaza.

Senate leaders argued that the money was crucial to pushing back against Russian President Vladimir Putin and maintaining America’s global standing.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky warned about the consequences of abandoning longtime U.S. allies in Europe.

McConnell said in his opening remarks that ‘American leadership matters, and it is in question.’ Schumer said Putin is ‘all too likely to succeed’ if America doesn’t assist Ukraine. 

The 67-27 test vote Sunday on the $95.3 billion foreign aid package comes as former President Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination, is trying to kill the assistance and has escalated his attacks on the NATO military alliance.

The day before the vote, Trump said at a campaign rally in South Carolina that Russia should be able to do ‘whatever the hell they want’ to NATO members who do not meet their defense spending targets. 

While McConnell has made Ukraine a top issue, an increasing number of members in his GOP conference have followed Trump’s lead in opposing the aid. 

The Senate is pushing through several procedural votes on the slimmed-down package after an attempt to pair it with legislation to stem migration at the U.S. border collapsed. Objections from Republicans adamantly opposed to the aid have delayed quick action, forcing the weekend votes as negotiations continue over potential amendments to the legislation.

Schumer has said he is open to amendments -– most of which would be likely to fail -– but he forced senators to stay in session through the weekend to try and speed up the process.

‘I can’t remember the last time the Senate was in session on Super Bowl Sunday,’ Schumer said as he opened the session. ‘But as I’ve said all week long, we’re going to keep working on this bill until the job is done.’

In a key vote last week, 17 Republican senators agreed to start debate on the bill and 31 voted against it, giving McConnell and other Republican supporters of the aid new hope that it could pass. 

But even if the Senate does pass the package, its future is deeply uncertain in the House, where a large majority of GOP lawmakers are firmly allied with Trump.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A large majority of Americans believe both President Biden and former President Trump are too old to serve another term in the White House.

Eighty-six percent of Americans think Biden, 81, is too old to serve another term as president, while 62% think the same of Trump, 77, according to the results of a new ABC News/Ipsos poll.

Concerns about the ages of Biden, who is seeking a second consecutive term as president, and Trump, the Republican frontrunner looking to return to the White House after losing his 2020 re-election bid, have been growing. An ABC report on the poll notes, citing an ABC News/Washington Post poll in September, that 74% believed the president was too old to service another term and 49% believed the same about the former president.

That trend became even more clear in the most recent ABC News/Ipsos poll, which found that 59% of Americans believe both candidates are too old, the report notes.

But there was also a partisan difference in how voters viewed candidates from their own party, with 73% of Democrats believing Biden is too old to serve another term compared to just 35% of Republicans who believe the same thing about Trump.

Trump bested Biden on which candidate was better suited to handle immigration and the border, with 44% of respondents favoring Trump, compared to 26% who believe Biden is more trustworthy with that task. Voters also gave the edge to Trump in handling crime (41%-28%), the economy (43%-31%), and inflation (41%-31%).

Meanwhile, Biden had an edge over Trump when it comes to which candidate respondents trust more with issues such as abortion (37%-28%), health care (38%-28%), and climate change (39%-22%).

Neither campaign immediately responded to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

The poll was conducted between Feb. 9-10 and surveyed a random sample of 528 U.S. adults, with a margin of sampling error of 4.5 points.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Sunday said President Biden and former President Trump should take mental acuity tests to show the American people whether ‘they’re at the top of their game,’ adding that she’d have ‘no problem’ taking such a test herself.

Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and former United Nations ambassador, made the remarks during an appearance on CBS’ ‘Face the Nation’ when asked when she planned to take a cognitive assessment after she made mental fitness a signature issue of the 2024 presidential election.

‘I have no problem taking it,’ Haley responded. ‘And what I’ve said is we need to have mental competency tests for anyone over the age of 75. I don’t care if we do it for 50 and up.’

Haley said Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report on Biden’s mishandling of classified documents, and his blunders that followed in the wake of the report suggest that the president is ‘diminished.’ Haley suggested Trump has had similar memory issues but did not give any specific examples.

‘But what happened with Joe Biden this week, and what we’ve seen with Donald Trump is another example of why we have to face the reality of the fact that when you get to those ages, you get diminished,’ she said. ‘These are people making decisions on our national security. These are people making decisions on the future of our economy. We need to know they’re at the top of their game.’

Biden, who is America’s oldest sitting president, is 81 years old and Trump is 77.

According to Hur’s report released Thursday, Biden could not remember key details of his own life – such as when he was vice president – during interviews with investigators. 

The investigators, who regarded Biden as a ‘well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,’ recommended no criminal charges against the president. 

Fox News’ Timothy H.J. Nerozzi and Joe Schoffstall contributed to this report.

Allies of President Biden joined Sunday morning shows to defend the commander in chief following Special Counsel Robert Hur’s months-long report on classified documents that characterized Biden as an ‘elderly man with a poor memory.’ 

‘He’s smart. He’s on his game,’ Biden campaign co-chair Mitch Landrieu told NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ on Sunday. ‘And as Secretary Mayorkas said a minute ago, when you go in to brief the president, you better have your big boy pants on. And this kind of sense that he’s not ready for this job, it’s just a bucket of BS that’s so deep, your boots will get stuck.’

Landrieu and Biden’s personal attorney Robert Bauer joined morning shows on Sunday to defend the president’s mental clarity following Hur’s report. The report, released Thursday, described the president’s memory as ‘hazy,’ ‘fuzzy,’ ‘faulty,’ ‘poor,’ and suggested Biden did not remember when his son Beau Biden died. 

The report ultimately decided against criminally charging the president for the possession of classified documents after he served as vice president. 

‘We conclude that no criminal charges are warranted in this matter,’ the report, released Thursday, states. ‘We would reach the same conclusion even if the Department of Justice policy did not foreclose criminal charges against a sitting president.’

Bauer, who appeared on CBS’s ‘Face the Nation,’ described Hur’s report as ‘shoddy’ and riddled with ‘factual misstatements.’ Following the report’s public release, the White House counsel’s office requested Hur revise some of the language in the report. 

‘The investigation could have been concluded in two or three months. It went on for over 15 months. And so, along with the legal conclusion comes this flood of characterizations, factual misstatements, pejorative comments about the president that are inconsistent with DOJ policy and norms. And that, as you see over the last 48 hours, have been widely criticized by legal experts. This is not what prosecutors do. It is shoddy work product,’ Bauer said Sunday. 

Biden held a press conference Thursday evening where he fielded questions from the media regarding his mental clarity, memory and age following Hur’s report. Amid Biden defending his mental state, he confused Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi as the ‘president of Mexico,’ sparking concern stateside as well as abroad. Critics lampooned the president for the gaffe, as some called for the invocation of the 25th Amendment, which stipulates the presidential order of succession if a commander in chief is unable to fulfill their duties, dies, resigns or becomes incapacitated. 

Bauer doubled-down throughout his interview Sunday that the Hur report was ‘shoddy’ and ‘shabby,’ and detailed that he was in the room when Biden answered the special counsel’s questions across two days and that the president was ‘engaged’ during the interview and answered to his ‘best recollection.’

‘I recall from that interview a president who engaged with the questions very directly and gave his best recollection. And in fact, I think was quite helpful to the special counsel,’ Bauer said, adding that Hur decided to ‘cherry pick in a very misleading way’ when he wrote the report. 

Bauer said Biden ‘does not’ have any issues with his memory, and provided a ‘vignette from the interview room.’

‘There were a couple of occasions when the special counsel, who had flagged at the beginning that sometimes he asks imprecise questions, asked questions that the president picked apart as a matter of logic. He showed that the questions didn’t have a logical underpinning. Now, everybody in the room recognized that was the case. That showed the president was listening carefully and understood precisely what was wrong with those questions,’ Bauer said. 

Landrieu in his remarks Sunday slammed Hur’s ‘ad hominem attack’ within the report that questioned the president’s mental capacity, calling it ‘egregious.’ 

‘This ad hominem attack questions the president’s capacity and I want to speak to that very clearly because I can testify because I’ve been working very closely with this president for the past two years. I’ve been knowing him for 30 years. I have met with him personally. I’ve met with him with two people, five people, 10 people. I have been on trips with him crisscrossing the country, rebuilding America based on this incredible infrastructure bill that was passed. And I’m telling you this guy is tough,’ he said. 

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas also joined ‘Meet the Press’ on Sunday, arguing the president is ‘sharp.’ 

‘The most difficult part about a meeting with President Biden is preparing for it because he is sharp, intensely probing and detail-oriented and focused,’ Mayorkas said. 

The secretary also said that he and other Cabinet members have ‘not at all’ considered invoking the 25th Amendment to remove and replace the president. 

‘I don’t engage in politics. I’m responsible for governing and following the president’s agenda, which I scrupulously do,’ he said.

The White House released a memo Saturday, titled ‘We don’t blame Republican officials for their desperation to forget the Biden presidency,’ which detailed Biden’s successes as president, including helping ‘secure the release of over 100 of the hostages taken by Hamas,’ and how Republicans and Democrats have previously lauded Biden for his mental sharpness. 

‘President Biden’s experience, character, and drive have made him the most successful president in modern history, getting the country back on its feet after inheriting a nation in crisis and going on to achieve goals that eluded his predecessors for decades,’ the memo reads. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that victory over Hamas in Gaza is ‘within reach.’

Netanyahu made the statement during an appearance on ‘Fox News Sunday’ with host Shannon Bream. He said Israeli forces have beaten Hamas back to its final stronghold in Gaza and argued the campaign must continue to deliver the final blow.

‘Victory is within reach,’ Netanyahu said. ‘We have already destroyed three-quarters of Hamas’ organized terrorist battalions. Three-quarters, 18 out of 24 – we’re not going to leave the other six. That would be like you leaving a quarter of ISIS in Iraq in place and you say, ‘Well they can have their little territory. It’s OK.”

‘Obviously, ISIS would re-establish itself. Hamas-ISIS would re-establish itself, too, if we don’t finish its last remaining bastion,’ he added.

Bream asked Netanyahu about recent comments from President Biden that appeared to criticize Israeli operations in Gaza. Biden said on Thursday that ‘the conduct of the response in the Gaza Strip has been over the top.’

Netanyahu told Bream that he was not sure what Biden meant by the statement and added he has not spoken with Biden since he made the comment.

He went on to list the various efforts Israeli forces are making to minimize the loss of civilian life in Gaza.

Fighting in Gaza remains fiercest in the southern city of Khan Younis, where Hamas’ top leaders are believed to be holed up in a network of tunnels.

Netanyahu has said Israeli forces will remain in Gaza for an extended period following the war, another friction point for the Biden administration. Biden has argued that occupying Gaza after the war would be a ‘mistake’ and has urged Netanyahu to work out a two-state solution.

‘The Palestinian people deserve a state of their own and a future free from Hamas,’ Biden wrote in a November 2023 opinion piece in the Washington Post.

Critics argue a two-state solution is currently unrealistic. Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman says Palestinians ‘are not willing’ to accept a Jewish state, and added that any Palestinian state would be extremely likely to become a terror state.

‘I do not think a two-state solution is possible, and, even if possible, it is not advisable. For more than 50 years, hundreds of self-proclaimed ‘peacemakers,’ led by the United States, have attempted to coerce Israel and the Palestinians into a two-state solution,’ he said. ‘The efforts repeatedly fail regardless of who’s in charge.’