Today in Politics, Bulletin 394. 6/5/26

… Maine senate candidate Graham Platner addressed the NYT story on MS NOW:

• Q - “Were you sending sexually explicit messages to other women back in 2023, 2024? Platner: At the beginning of our marriage, I made mistakes and Amy held me accountable for them, and we worked through them. And the work that we did made our marriage significantly stronger. And who we are today is an incredibly faithful and happy married couple. Amy is my best friend. I love her more than anything else.”

• Q - “Did you know what this tattoo was about before last October when you said you first became aware of it? Platner: No, I did not. I took my shirt off in front of my family, many of whom are Jewish. We even released a video of me dancing with my shirt off at my brother’s wedding to his wife, who is Jewish, and her extended Jewish family. I would not have taken my shirt off in that context if I had known.”

… NOTUS reporter Jeff Stein on Platner’s campaign consultant: “I know this isn’t the point but I wonder how many virulent antisemites really would decide to make ‘Morris Katz’ their most important adviser.”

• Q - “The NYT reported that they saw texts of hers, including a text of Aug 3, where she said you had a Nazi tattoo. How does she know it’s a Nazi tattoo in Aug but you don’t know it’s a Nazi tattoo until Oct? Platner: She certainly didn’t send that text to me. Whoever she sent it to, I can’t say why. But I will say that I didn’t know. And the text messages that she sent to friends - they may have recognized it, but they didn’t tell me that.”

• Q - “Have you gotten any pressure from Dem leaders to drop out of the race? Platner: No, I have not. And I expect that we will not because what we built up here - it’s robust, it’s very strong. It has never crossed our mind to drop out of this thing. I am fully committed to this to the end.”

… CNN: From a source close to Janet Mills: “The Governor remains on the ballot, and in the wake of this week’s stories, people across Maine are reaching out to tell her they’re voting for her and encouraging her to get fully back into the race.”

… The election is Tuesday. I saw some people today put Mills signs out again for the first time since she dropped out. Mills is not going to win this primary, but it will be interesting to watch how many votes she gets. This was outside Whole Foods in Portland.

… NBC: “From Maine to Washington, Democrats expressed frustration over the cascade of controversies emanating from the Platner campaign. They have fueled a number of his long-standing critics who have also objected to his left-leaning populist views.”

• Matt Bennett of the Democratic think tank Third Way, who had backed Mills: “There have been a lot of red flags in this race, and they continue to proliferate. We have long been concerned that it could cost us the seat, and we don’t feel any better about it today.”

• Carol Eisenberg, a Maine lawyer and Mills supporter, said she feared the latest reports about Platner could “harm Democratic prospects” against Collins. She hoped “that he exits the race and the Dems can draft a better candidate. He deserves our sympathy for his trauma. And lots of therapy. And AA. But not a Senate seat.”

• Adam Cote, who ran against Mills in the 2018 primary and has not endorsed in the Senate primary: “I don’t know if this is a death-by-a-thousand-cuts situation, or if this is a situation where he is putting together a movement, and he’s a bit of a Teflon candidate in that sense where people are more motivated by his message and the way he delivers it.”

… “But other Democrats said Trump’s history of scandals gives them more breathing room, given that the real estate magnate rose to the highest office in the nation despite facing multiple serious allegations of sexual misconduct. While they were quick to say there was only one Trump, supporters described the Platner movement as one that could withstand the most brutal of body blows.”

… David Farmer, a veteran Maine Democratic strategist who is not involved in the Senate race said many Maine Dems are worried about what the Republicans have on Platner (count me in that group): “A lot of his enthusiastic supporters are remaining true. But I do think there is a sense of - a certain sense of foreboding about what might happen.”

… A longtime Maine Dem summed up the position of her fellow Platner supporters: “They need change. They need someone who’s different, because what is happening right now in Washington is criminal. It’s not because people love Nazi tattoos. We need a fresh face. We need a fresh take. The dread part is coming from people who are looking at a more practical look at: How do we win in Nov? I think most voters say: I knew he wasn’t perfect, but can he win?”

… That’s pretty much the deal from everyone I talk to here.

… Trump did a brief press gaggle as he came off AF1 today on a trip to WI for a midterms campaign event:

• Q - “How much oil have you gotten through the straight with the help of naval escorts? Trump: A lot. I don't want to say how many. A lot of oil is coming into the world that people don't even know about.”

• Q - Sen. Tillis said he won't support Todd Blanche’s confirmation unless he condemns J6. Do you have a reaction to that? Trump: Tillis is a loser. That's why he didn't run. He didn't run because I wouldn't support him. And he's just an angry man because he's not going to be a senator any longer. He wasn't respected in the Senate.”

• Q - “On the new ‘Trump Promenade’ you announced yesterday to add on to the Lincoln Memorial - where is the funding going to come from? Trump: It’s not a lot of money. We have a lot of sources of funding.”

… Trump said he has accepted the invitation of NY Knicks owner James Dolan to attend Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden on Monday night. His official WH schedule was changed to reflect that he will be at the event.

… Lifelong Knicks fan Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) on CNN: “Why does Donald Trump always have to ruin a good thing? The Knicks haven’t been in the NBA Finals for 27 years, the city is trying to celebrate this, we’ve embraced this team, and this guy has to inject himself.”

… Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Independent Vets of America: “Unfortunately, Trump is coming to MSG. And he is of course attaching himself to probably the most unpopular part of the Knicks and the guy fans hate: Dolan. Unless they can walk Trump out in the middle of the anthem, or do some other kind of political trickery, there is no way the boos won’t be loud. And especially outside The Garden at the watch party.”

… Before the game on Monday, Trump will head to his golf club at Bedminster where he will most likely spend his 3-day weekend golfing before heading to the NBA game.

… But Trump was working hard today before his extended weekend: “The Ballroom is coming along fantastically well. It’s on time, and under budget, and at a much higher quality than I ever promised, including the DronePort, and ALL of the other many Military elements, which are all vital for National Security, that are being built throughout the whole integrated, cohesive Project. It is desperately needed, and will be very special!”

… He continues to be laser-focused on improving the lives of the American people.

… WaPo: More than half of the publicly identified corporate donors to Trump’s WH ballroom project have received new or expanded federal contracts. A watchdog report detailed that these contracts are collectively worth over $50 billion. Key details and figures from the report include:

• 14 of the 27 known corporate donors secured additional federal business in the months following their contributions.

• Lockheed Martin received the most new business, totaling approximately $43.8 billion. Other major donors that won increased federal contracts include Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Palantir.

• Many of the donating companies were simultaneously facing federal enforcement actions that were eased or quietly suspended under the Trump admin.

… The admin’s refusal to release a full list of all donors and their exact contribution amounts has prompted Congressional Democrats to press for greater transparency, with some lawmakers introducing legislation to ban anonymous donations for WH grounds projects.

… WH Economic Advisor Kevin Hassett on CNBC: “The gas price story is a serious one. We understand that people are hurting on that. We’ve taken a number of measures to reduce the disruption, and we expect it to be temporary.”

… He’s been saying that for 4 months.

… “Even if the strait stays closed, what will happen is they will start building pipelines to get into the Red Sea and so on, so markets adjust to these things.”

… That will take years. And Iran has the Houthis sitting on the Red Sea.

… Q: “Has China started buying American farmers’ products? What’s the status on that? Hassett: Um, I’d have to get an update on that.”

… WSJ just reported that China has finally started placing orders on soybeans that are being grown right now, but nothing close to the amounts before Trump started his trade war.

… Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC): “I got to be honest, the midterms are going to be a bloodbath. You know, it’s going to be very difficult. I think we’re going to be swimming upstream this cycle because we haven’t delivered on our promises, and that’s a real problem for us.”

… WSJ: Trump says he wants Bill Pulte, his incoming acting DNI, to begin the process of firing a large number of employees as part of a shake-up of the US intelligence community. Trump argued that Pulte’s acting status is an asset: “You’re less shackled. It sort of gives you more power, you know, for a somewhat limited period of time.”

No Bulletin tomorrow because I’m off Saturdays. We are heading out on the hike we wanted to do last week in a remote part of the Maine coast but we got rained out. Will try to get a good photo. To me the most amazing things to see in Maine cannot be seen from any road, so if you don’t take up hiking you will miss all of it.

Next Bulletin out on Sunday night to recap the weekend. The number of readers and subscribers continues to grow, with over 300 people joining us as free subscribers just from yesterday’s Bulletin alone. Welcome aboard and buckle up because this can be a wild ride most of the time!

… Politico: “Congressional Republicans are close to clearing their long-stalled immigration enforcement funding bill for Trump’s signature. House GOP leaders, however, sent members home early for the weekend without standing by to take upthe bill from the Senate, which was nearing the home stretch on legislation after an all-night voting session early Friday morning.”

… “During the Senate vote-a-rama, Republicans beat back several amendments - including from some of their own members - that would have reined in or nixed DOJ’s ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund.’ They also rejected Democratic attempts to add in provisions undermining Trump’s ballroom project or targeting acting DNI Bill Pulte.”

… Punchbowl: “The marathon voting session on the reconciliation bill laid bare the consequences of Trump’s recent moves, from the toppling of two GOP incumbents to the political toxicity of the WH’s handling of an ‘anti-weaponization’ fund for his