Maine Democratic Party accuses Platner’s team of attempting to ‘put their thumb on the scale’ to select new nominee
As we noted earlier, the Maine Democratic Party have said that Graham Platner’s team has repeatedly tried to “put their thumb on the scale,” when it comes to the process of selecting a new nominee, should the beleaguered veteran end his bid for Senate as expected.
State senator Joe Baldacci, who lost the Democratic primary for Maine’s second congressional district, blasted Platner for attempting to influence the selection of his replacement. “Guess what after you have put the Democratic Party in a shambles and undermined all Democratic candidates running for office in Maine, then you should have no say in who will be your successor,” Baldacci wrote this week, after a woman accused Platner of sexual assault. Shortly after his campaign began to collapse and he lost key endorsements.
Baldacci added that any alternative candidate with a close tie to Platner would be carrying “a lead weight” into the general election.
Key events
Kentucky governor sends letter to McConnell staff for update on hospitalized senator’s condition
Kentucky governor Andy Beshear has sent a letter to the office of Republican senator Mitch McConnell – requesting an update on his condition, as concerns grow about the lawmaker’s health since he was admitted to hospital on 14 June.
“As Governor – and a fellow public official who understands the commitment we’ve made to the people we serve – I am requesting the Senator provide an update on his current health status,” Beshear said in a statement. “Allowing speculation to continue in the media is not fair to the Senator or to Kentuckians, and my hope is that this provides him the opportunity to share the information in a transparent manner, direct from the source. I wish him a safe and speedy recovery.”
As we noted earlier, since the 84-year-old was hospitalized, his office declined to say what he was being treated for. Amid the opacity around his condition, some GOP lawmakers have attempted to quell claims that McConnell’s health is in dire straits, and recounted wide-ranging conversations they have had with the former Republican leader in recent days.
A Maine political strategist, who asked to remain anonymous in order to speak candidly, told me that he doesn’t think Platner will “have a lot to say” about a replacement nominee.
“I think there’s got to be a lot of resentment that he took them down this road, and this is where they are,” the source said.
However, the strategist was wary about Troy Jackson’s chances as the Democratic nominee. “[Jackson] is a passionate, very sincere person in his beliefs, but not a particularly articulate or strong candidate,” he added, noting that any of the runners-up in the gubernatorial Democratic race could be risky bets moving forward. “If a candidate didn’t win their primary, how can you expect them to suddenly be a winning statewide candidate for us.”
Despite the ongoing chaos, the operative noted that Maine is still “winnable” for Democrats. “They can still steal victory from the jaws of defeat,” he noted.
“I think the fundamental thing working against [Susan] Collins, she’s just been there so long,” he said. “I think this is a case where seniority maybe doesn’t help you. That people are going to be looking for somebody new … but it can’t just be anybody.”
Relatedly, oil and gas prices jumped today after the US and Iran traded fresh strikes and Donald Trump said the shaky ceasefire was “over”.
Brent crude, the global benchmark, climbed 5% to $77.86 a barrel.
Trump says US will hit Iran ‘hard again tonight’
During a bilateral meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Nato summit in Ankara, Donald Trump was asked about Iran, and he repeated his earlier criticism.
On Wednesday, while speaking to reporters alongside Mark Rutte, the Nato secretary general, Trump said that memorandum of understanding signed last month by the US and Iran is “over”, in the wake of the latest strikes.
The US president said the US will hit Iran “hard again tonight,” adding: “I give them a little warning.”
My colleagues are covering the latest out of the Middle East and the Nato summit.
Maine Democratic Party accuses Platner’s team of attempting to ‘put their thumb on the scale’ to select new nominee
As we noted earlier, the Maine Democratic Party have said that Graham Platner’s team has repeatedly tried to “put their thumb on the scale,” when it comes to the process of selecting a new nominee, should the beleaguered veteran end his bid for Senate as expected.
State senator Joe Baldacci, who lost the Democratic primary for Maine’s second congressional district, blasted Platner for attempting to influence the selection of his replacement. “Guess what after you have put the Democratic Party in a shambles and undermined all Democratic candidates running for office in Maine, then you should have no say in who will be your successor,” Baldacci wrote this week, after a woman accused Platner of sexual assault. Shortly after his campaign began to collapse and he lost key endorsements.
Baldacci added that any alternative candidate with a close tie to Platner would be carrying “a lead weight” into the general election.
Dan Sabbagh
Nato sources are briefing that Trump “did not lash out” in this morning’s closed doors meeting of alliance leaders – in contrast to his public outburst when he met secretary general Mark Rutte this morning.
The question is whether Rutte, or somebody, told Trump to calm down between his first press point and the leaders meeting. And whether that second more harmonious mood will hold.
Joseph Geevarghese, the executive director of Our Revolution – the progressive organization founded by Bernie Sanders – told the Guardian in an interview that the latest allegation against Graham Platner is “deeply disappointing for all of the grassroots supporters” who placed “a lot of faith” in the Democratic nominee.
When it comes to whether the vetting process for Platner was sufficient Geevarghese said it was up to leaders to be “fully transparent” in an age when it’s “very difficult to keep things dark”.
He added: “You can do as many Google searches as you want, but it’s really up to the candidate to be honest and forthcoming about what’s in their background.”
Geevarghese noted that he wished these issues were “aired earlier” so that Maine voters could have the chance to evaluate their choices with “all the facts”.
While the scandal around Platner has “taken on a life of its own”, Geevarghese said that Troy Jackson – a fifth-generation logger and former state lawmaker – was best placed to replace Platner on the general election ballot. Supporters and allies of Jackson launched a “Draft Troy” campaign-style video this week. But there is concern that Jackson, who came third in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, could face pushback for his support of Platner and campaigning alongside him.
Geevarghese, however, remained undeterred. “I think Troy stands on his own two feet. He’s his own candidate, he has his own track record over time, he’s a known commodity in Maine politics,” he said. “He [Jackson] did not ride Graham Plattner’s coattails.”
Donald Trump is due to speak with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Nato summit in Ankara today. The press pool traveling with the president say that meeting is running about an hour behind, but my colleagues on our Europe live blog are covering the latest.
A senior US official tells the Guardian that the US president will make a renewed push to end the war in Ukraine. “The president feels a real sense of urgency to try to bring this to a stop,” the official said, noting that Trump would also urge Nato allies to increase their defense spending.
This comes off the back of Russian missile attack early on Monday that killed at least 21 people in Ukraine.
Follow along:
Tom Perkins
The US Food and Drug Administration has rejected a legal petition demanding it set limits on toxic Pfas “forever chemicals” in food, marking another setback for public health advocates’ push to limit exposures to the dangerous compounds.
The agency is refusing to set limits despite a growing body of science and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finding food is the biggest source of Pfas exposure. Testing has found the levels of Pfas in single servings of some contaminated foods to be equivalent to drinking many glasses of contaminated water.
While regulators have focused on reining in Pfas in water, the chemicals are widely used throughout the food system, and there was hope that the agency under Robert F Kennedy Jr would take the threat more seriously. Kennedy leads the “make America healthy again” (Maha) movement, of which eliminating toxic chemicals from food is a cornerstone.
The FDA’s decision is “disappointing”, said Sandra Daussin, an attorney for the Tucson Environmental Justice Task Force (TEJTF), which in November 2023 filed the legal petition. The group is planning to sue and ask a court to order the FDA to set thresholds.
“If it’s important enough to regulate in water then we need to regulate it in food – that’s a no-brainer,” Daussin said.
Donald Trump lashed out at Nato allies at a summit in Ankara, as the fallout from his war with Iran threatened to overshadow the key gathering.
With tensions peaking after an overnight flareup between US and Iranian forces, Trump declared the Iran ceasefire was “over”, then took aim at Nato allies who failed to back his campaign against Tehran.
And he insisted he still wanted Greenland, calling European resistance to his stance a “big problem”.
“I’m very upset with Nato… because of what they did with Greenland, and… because of the fact that they didn’t want to help us with the number one state sponsor of terror, that’s Iran,” he said.
Trump singled out Spain for particular criticism calling it a “terrible partner in Nato”. “Spain is a wasted cause. We don’t want to do any trade business with Spain anymore,” he said, dragging up a bitter row that also touches on Madrid’s defence spending, urging his treasury secretary Scott Bessent to “cut it off”.
And he raked up more sensitive territory by reiterating his desire for NATO member Denmark’s territory of Greenland.
“Greenland is a big problem for us,” he told reporters, saying it was “very important for the United States, but it’s not important for Denmark. We need it for protection of the world, not just the United States… it doesn’t help Denmark but it helps us.”
President Donald Trump has sharply escalated his warnings about a “communist takeover” of the Democratic party ahead of November’s midterm elections as his political team tests whether the message can resonate beyond his core supporters.
Preliminary findings from his team’s focus groups suggest the message strongly energizes Trump’s base and could boost turnout among infrequent Republican voters, according to two people familiar with the matter.
But it appears less effective with independents – often decisive in closely fought contests – and younger voters who did not live through the Cold War.
The success of democratic socialists and other progressive candidates in Democratic primaries in Colorado, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Texas and elsewhere has given Trump and his fellow Republicans a fresh line of attack: portraying Democrats as extreme rather than defending Trump’s record on tackling the high cost of living.
A Reuters analysis of Trump’s public comments from 23 June to 6 July – when a string of left-wing Democratic candidates won their party’s primaries in New York – found he invoked communism 81 times, including calling some of the victorious candidates “hardcore, godless communists”.
Republican leaders seek to quell Mitch McConnell speculation as rebellion grows
David Smith
Republican leaders have moved to quash speculation about Mitch McConnell, the former Republican leader in the US Senate, amid a growing revolt over the lack of transparency around his health.
The 84-year-old Kentucky politician, who led Senate Republicans for longer than anyone in history before stepping down last year, was admitted to hospital on 14 June but his office declined to say what he was being treated for.
The secrecy led to a backlash from Donald Trump’s support base, with some claiming that McConnell’s condition is graver than acknowledged and accusing his office of a cover-up.
On Tuesday, John Thune, McConnell’s successor as Republican leader, sought to quell the anger by claiming that he had spoken by phone with McConnell on Monday. A Thune spokesperson said: “They had a lengthy and substantive conversation that covered a variety of topics, including national security.”
Senate Republican whip John Barrasso also weighed in. Kate Noyes, a spokesperson for the Wyoming senator, said on Tuesday: “Senator Barrasso and Senator McConnell had a lengthy conversation early this afternoon. Their phone call lasted roughly 20 minutes.”
Succession fight already under way as calls grow for Platner to drop out of Maine Senate race
Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.
The fight to replace Graham Platner is already under way as Bernie Sanders became the latest key figure to call for the scandal-hit Democratic nominee to step down.
Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont, called on Graham Platner to withdraw from the US Senate race in Maine, citing “very serious allegations” of sexual assault, hours before the embattled nominee faced another claim of sexual misconduct.
“I have spoken with Graham Platner about the best path forward for Maine,” Sanders said in a statement on Tuesday. “In light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside.”
While Platner has denied the latest allegations, reported by Politico, and later by the Washington Post, the initial report prompted a wave of prominent Democrats to urge him to stand aside as the party’s nominee in the consequential Senate contest.
However by Tuesday night, executive director Devon Murphy-Anderson released a video saying the party is developing an “open, inclusive, transparent and fair” process but won’t disclose details until Platner formally withdraws. Platner’s team has repeatedly tried to “put their thumb on the scale,” she said.
“We have repeatedly reiterated to Graham Platner’s team that they have no role in determining our next Democratic nominee for the US Senate, nor in determining what this process looks like,” she said.
In the Politico report, published on Monday, Jenny Racicot, 41, who previously dated Platner, said he forced her to have sex despite repeated objections. Racicot said the incident, which she described to CNN as rape, happened five years ago while Platner was heavily intoxicated. Platner has denied the allegations.
Read our full story here:
In other developments:
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Donald Trump has revived his bid for the US to acquire Greenland, threatening to pull all American armed forces out of Europe after the continent repeatedly pushed back. Arriving at the Nato summit in Ankara, the US president also suggested his commitment to defending Europe had been tempered by political decisions by leaders on immigration and energy. More here.
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A federal appeals panel struck down a significant chunk of Ron DeSantis’s so-called Stop Woke Act, delivering another rebuff to the Republican Florida governor’s efforts to stifle free speech in higher education. Judges of the 11th circuit court of appeal said that the higher education component of the law – which prevented college and university professors teaching or sharing thoughts on concepts of race and gender – breached the free expression rights guaranteed under the US constitution’s first amendment. More here.
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Ninety-five per cent of Americans believe the US is suffering an affordability crisis, as many report trouble with the rising cost of groceries and gas, according to an exclusive new poll conducted for the Guardian. The survey, conducted by Harris Poll, paints a bleak picture of how people feel about the US economy amid the war in Iran and ahead of the key midterm elections this fall. More here.
