Today in Politics, Bulletin 413. 7/6/26

… Michigan US senate candidate Mallory McMorrow shook up the Democratic primary with a surprise announcement that she is dropping out of the race one month before the election. Holding the MI seat is crucial to Dem efforts to take the majority in the senate, and this now leaves establishment candidate Haley Stevens and progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed in a head-to-head battle. McMorrow did not endorse either candidate.

… McMorrow: “I want to be very clear about what this announcement is not. I may be suspending this campaign, but I am not leaving the fight. I haven’t been shy about calling for new leadership and a better Democratic Party. I mean it. The energy is there. People are crying out for change. And we owe it to them to listen. Then we need to build it up, together, from the ground up.”

… “So here's what we do next. Every day through Nov 3rd. We win this Senate seat and send Mike Rogers back to FL for good. Whoever wins this primary on Aug 4th will have my full support. Then, let’s elect Jocelyn Benson as our next Gov. Let’s flip the State House, and expand our majority in the State Senate. Let’s elect Democrats up and down the ticket and show the rest of this country what it means to fight like MI.”

… El-Sayed responded: “Throughout this campaign, you showed what it looks like to fight back against a politics that rigs the system against too many of us. While we have policy disagreements, I never questioned whether you would fight for a better America for my daughters and yours.”

… “The same party insiders you had the courage to challenge have been bullying anyone who opposes their chosen candidate. After spending $30 million to drown you and me out, they’re now spending even more to attack me. It’s everything we are standing up against. I welcome your supporters to our movement to stand up against money in politics, to put money back in pockets, and pass Medicare for All. We cannot allow the establishment to decide our nominee for us.”

… Stevens: “Thank you Mallory McMorrow for taking on the tough fights and making Michigan proud each and every day. To Mallory’s supporters, and anybody still deciding who to support in this race—we’d be honored to have you on our team. It’s never been more critical that we beat Mike Rogers, win this seat in Nov, and take back control of the Senate so we can finally put a real check on Trump’s chaos and harm to Michiganders. I’ve been laser focused on that mission since day one. If you are too, join us.”

… Politico: “It’s unclear which candidate would benefit more from the end of the bid by McMorrow, who had been polling in last place as recently as the end of June. But McMorrow staked out a lane somewhat between Stevens and El-Sayed in a manner that could leave both remaining candidates hopeful about their prospects of winning over some of her supporters.”

… Semafor’s Dave Weigel: “Having covered this race from the get-go, I think it's pretty simple. High-info, primary-voting Dems want charismatic candidates who can speak in convincing, uncomplicated sentences. They didn't get that top of ticket in 2020 or 2024.”

… “For all the fighting about El-Sayed's resume, the thing he's spent the most time doing is: Talking. He hosted a podcast. He wrote and toured two books. He lives to hold rallies and town halls and do TV interviews. And he thinks if he's on camera or talking face to face, he can convince people. Stevens is not a talker. Never been her pitch. Her pitch is that she's an earnest, pragmatic doer who can pass bills.”

… “The goal for the left in the next month is convincing MI Dems that the left-wing Bernie candidate is also the electable candidate - a swaggering, fast-talking counterpuncher. They like the contrast with Stevens, who doesn't put herself out in many town halls or interviews.”

… “When El-Sayed told me that Stevens ‘can't string two sentences together,’ I saw commentary about how this showed his ego/view of women etc. My sense is that he is comfortable with that kind of swagger because (1) it's who he is and (2) he thinks, and his movement thinks, that when you hand him the mic he will make converts and melt opposition.”

… “This is also the first Clips Campaign. People are getting their news by scrolling on their phones and stopping when they see compelling clips. It's simply a better media environment for an El-Sayed-type candidate, who can grab attention and keep it, than it was in 2018.”

… A number of groups who had endorsed McMorrow, particularly women’s organizations, quickly flipped their endorsement to Stevens. The question is where will her voters go?

… Graham Platner, Democratic nominee for senate in Maine, will likely also be exciting the race after a story came out with allegations of sex assault. Politico: “A woman who dated Graham Platner says he forced her to have sex with him nearly 5 years ago despite her repeated objections, an allegation Platner denies.”

… “The woman, a 41-year-old Maine resident named Jenny Racicot, detailed the alleged incident in 3 interviews over the past 2weeks. POLITICO also spoke with a man Racicot dated and confided in the years after the alleged incident, and reviewed documents, including emails between Racicot and her therapist and messages between Racicot and an acquaintance whom she warned against getting involved with Platner years before he ran for office.”

… “Racicot said she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner for more than two years before he entered her rural Maine home uninvited one night in late 2021, deeply intoxicated, and forced himself on her while she repeatedly told him to stop. She said she cut off contact with him after telling him the encounter was not consensual.”

… Platner issued yet another video after yet another alleged scandal is reported from his past: “I wanted to address the troubling, serious and false allegations against me. Any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false. Regardless of the inaccurate reporting, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward.”

… There is supposedly a CNN story about to drop that contains even worse allegations. The party has one week to replace Platner on the ballot before it will be too late. Most of his major supporters immediately withdrew their endorsements. Platner is done.

… Former Sean Hannity producer and J6 organizer Kylie Jane Kremer: “Almost a week ago, I asked about Mitch McConnell’s condition. I just read an article from WLKY indicating he’s still in the hospital after being admitted on June 14. His office has not publicly clarified whether he has been discharged, which only fuels more questions.”

… “Elected officials should be required to disclose their health status when it affects their ability to serve the people who elected them. This isn’t ‘Weekend at Bernie’s.’ If McConnell were to pass away while in office, it would have significant implications for the balance of power in the Senate. If McConnell dies before Aug 3, KY law would trigger a special election for his Senate seat.”

… “Weeks have gone by with virtually no meaningful update on the condition of a sitting senator. The lack of transparency has been outrageous and has left people wondering whether he’s being kept alive on life support or whether the full truth simply isn’t being told… has he already passed???”

… Meidas reporter Scott Macfarlane: I checked with his staff. Latest update: McConnell “appreciates the outpouring of support he’s receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital. The Senator continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on KY and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”

… Laura Loomer: High level source close to the WH tells me “Mitch McConnell is officially brain dead. He’s not coming back.”

… Desiree Townsend, who has been on the story since Mitch went to the hospital: “I have heard the same thing from my sources for days. At this point, I am at the hospital for when they eventually decide to move cut him off of life support and move his body. His Capitol police detail is still here as of 3:39pm ET.”

… NY Post: “Trump’s turncoat former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen has landed a gig at 770 WABC radio. Cohen told The Post that the new gig will be ‘completely liberating’ and give him an ‘unfiltered pipeline to the people.’”

… Cohen: “I’m moving my 1.5 million followers from my podcasts, YouTube, and Substack over to this new platform, and it’s an absolute rush to have a space where I can give them the plain, unvarnished truth. I love it. Radio is intimate, it’s just my voice going straight into your car or your headphones. You can’t fake it here; listeners can smell BS from a mile away.”

… I’m not a listener, and I’m more than a mile away, but I smell it right now.

… WABC owner John Catsimatidis, a major Trump supporter, said Cohen and the president have smoothed things over: “I checked with the WH and they had no objection. I understand everything is fine.”

… Cohen: “I was told the president gave me a glowing recommendation for this gig because he believes I’m going to be the next Rush Limbaugh.”

… AP: “Trump intervened on behalf of star US forward Folarin Balogun, whose red-card suspension was lifted in a decision that allows him to play in a World Cup match against Belgium on Monday. Balogun, the American leader with 3 goals in the tournament, received a red card for stepping awkwardly on the right ankle of Tarik Muharemović in a 2-0 round of 32 win on Wed, triggering an automatic one-game suspension.”

… “FIFA announced Sunday that the suspension had been lifted for the round of 16 match, an extraordinary move that triggered praise from Trump and outrage from Belgium’s team. It appeared to be the first time since 1962 that a red card during a World Cup didn’t result in a suspension.”

… Belgium coach Rudi Garcia mocked FIFA’s action: “I didn’t know that in the offices of FIFA the fifth of July was the first of April in Europe,” Garcia said in an April Fools’ Day comparison. “The Belgian federation does not defend itself, it does not protect the national team. She defends football in general, she defends her integrity, her ethics. I think it’s the first time in the history of the World Cup that there is this kind of decision.”

… Politico’s Sophia Cai: “FULL timeline of the campaign to bring Balogun back, according to a half dozen US govt and soccer officials:

• Wednesday after US-Bosnia match: Andrew Giuliani alerted Trump to the red card (Trump & Giuliani had been talking multiple times/week since start of World Cup and regularly before that.)

• Wed night: Giuliani, Howard Lutnick and US Soccer officials began activating on plans to challenge red card.

• That kicked off 4 days of coordinated lobbying, legal maneuvering and diplomacy that stretched from Oval Office to Zurich.

• On Thursday, Trump dialed Gianni Infantino and asked about FIFA’s rules around the red card decision and grounds for suspension. (They’ve known each other for 8 yrs.)

• As US Soccer’s legal team formally prepared and submitted its appeal to FIFA, Giuliani and Lutnick offered to make WH attorneys available to assist.

• At the same time, Giuliani and Scott Goodwin - a hedge-fund manager - zeroed in on the officiating history of referee Raphael Claus.

• García and other FIFA officials worked to determine whether the circumstances of Balogun’s tackle met the narrow standards that would allow the disciplinary decision to be revisited.

• Sunday, FIFA announced that Balogun’s one-match suspension would be suspended. FIFA insists that the decision was an independent one made by its 18-person disciplinary committee, but it would not say whether the decision was decided through a vote, and it has not published a report on the decision.”

… NYT: “Belgian officials expressed shock and fury after FIFA announced on Sunday that it was lifting a one-game suspension against a star US soccer player before a World Cup game against Belgium. Maxime Prévot, Belgium’s foreign minister and a former soccer referee, said the decision undermined FIFA’s expressed commitment to fair play.”

… Prevot: “This decision clearly raises many questions. If a phone call really is what explains this incomprehensible decision, it would amount to undermining the most basic rules of soccer and sports.”

… Author Julia Ioffe: “The irony of Trump calling FIFA to overturn a red card for Balogun because he knows the US can’t win without Balogun, who only qualifies for the US team because of birthright citizenship, which Trump just tried to overturn.”

Ask the Editor should be out tonight. These were the 5 questions I answered: 1. Who will benefit most from McMorrow dropping out - Stevens or El-Sayed? 2. What’s the story behind Patriot Front who marched in DC on July 4? 3. Explain how Trump is meddling in the World Cup. 4. The NATO summit and pulling troops out of Europe. 5. Talk about the case of AF Maj. Jason Watson who was arrested protesting Trump at the Capitol.

If you missed yesterday’s Bulletin where I did a full recap on Trump’s July 4 fireworks debacle, you can find it here.

… Trump was asked about it today in the Oval Office:

• Q - “Can you describe your phone call with Infantino about the red card? Trump: So, yeah, I did. I spoke to Gianni. That wasn’t a foul. That wasn’t even an infraction. That was two guys running full speed who happened to crash into each other. You can’t properly place your foot on somebody else’s foot when you’re going full speed. No, these were two great athletes who got tangled up.”

• “And this referee, who is a little bit suspect—if you check his past. I don’t want to say that because I don’t like to create controversy, but very suspect. If you’d like,