Today in Politics, Bulletin 415. 7/9/26
… Maine Democrats continue to sort out the process to choose a new nominee to replace Graham Platner. Platner has announced on video that he is withdrawing from the race and has until Monday at 5:00 PM to file formal paperwork to take himself off the ballot. But he still has not done so.
… NYT: “Graham Platner’s announcement late Wed that he was suspending his Senate run in Maine plunged Democrats into a foggy, fast-paced search for a replacement - with a growing group of contenders already jostling to become the party’s new nominee.”
… “The party has said it will pick a new candidate through a nominating convention before a July 27 deadline set by state law. The timing and specifics of the convention had not been set as of early Thur morning. But there was talk of allowing hundreds of ME Dems to vote on the nominee.”
… Charles Dingman, chair of the ME Democratic Party: “We are going to have a nominating convention. And it is going to be representative.”
… At least 4 candidates have already said they are in with another leaning towards getting in:
Dr. Nirav Shah, an epidemiologist who led Maine’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and finished second in the primary for governor.
Troy Jackson, a former president of the ME Senate favored by some progressives, said he was running. He came up short in the Democratic primary for governor in ME last month and was a strong and early supporter of Platner, doing several events together.
Jordan Wood, another progressive, also said he was entering the race. A former congressional staff member, Wood narrowly lost in the House primary in northern ME’s swing congressional district last month.
Dan Kleban, a founder of Maine Brewery, said he was joining the contest, writing on Substack that Maine voters “deserve a Senator who will fight for us, not one who enables Trump at every turn.” He also had a short-lived bid for the Senate last year.
Also weighing a candidacy was Shenna Bellows, the ME secretary of state and a former state lawmaker. Like Shah and Jackson, Bellows ran for governor and fell short.
… MS NOW: “Graham Platner privately told staff that he is planning to officially file paperwork to end his Senate campaign on Monday - the drop-dead deadline for him to exit the race. Though Democrats largely appear to think Platner is done with his bid, his last-minute timing is likely to cause a final pang of anxiety within the party.”
… Platner made the comments to his team Wednesday night shortly before he announced publicly he was suspending his campaign: “On Monday, I intend to file the requisite paperwork with the Secretary of State to remove my name from the ballot.”
… This is totally unacceptable. He can easily file the paperwork today or tomorrow. But he has to play games and screw over Maine Democrats right up until the bitter end. Assuming he lives up to his word and gets out. But I’m not sure his word is worth very much.
… NYT zeroed in on the team of consultants who recruited Platner from obscurity to run, led primarily by Morris Katz: “As Platner’s star rose through the winter and early spring, Katz was privately promoting him as a future presidential candidate for as soon as 2028, if he won his Senate bid. The recruiters - Dan Moraff, Leanne Fan and Morris Katz - told Platner he was “the one,” a “hero of the movement,” “a historical figure” who could be “leading a revolution.”
… Katz made a lot of money off of this. Just speaking for myself, I will never support any candidate from this point forward who uses Katz. As far as I am concerned, he knowingly perpetrated a major fraud upon Maine voters to enrich himself.
… Politico: “Republicans may be publicly using Platner’s exit from ME’s Senate race to ratchet up their attacks on Democrats, but behind the scenes, his withdrawal is hardly being viewed as good news for Susan Collins’ reelection campaign. Collins’ team had long viewed Platner as a uniquely vulnerable opponent whose personal controversies could help offset one of the biggest challenges she faces in 2026: running as a blue-state Republican in the Trump era.”
… Source close to the Collins campaign: “She can certainly win, but they didn’t want to change candidates. The stuff we already knew about Platner was going to propel Collins to overcome the Trump anchor. Now it’s going to be a Democrat with a cleaner record, presumably.”
… “ME Dems now have the opportunity to nominate a candidate with a cleaner profile, raising the prospect of a more conventional general election in which Collins will have to confront the same challenges facing other Republican incumbents. A flash poll conducted by Platner’s own campaign Wed bore this out: Platner trailed Collins in the poll, while 3 likely Democratic candidates who lost their gubernatorial primary last month led or were statistically tied with her.”
… Just days after Trump trashed Platner to the press and on Truth Social, he took a conciliatory tone on Platner after he was accused of rape: “It’s really a question of whether or not you believe the woman. A lot of people say big falsehoods.”
… Of course this is the only allegation against Platner where Trump questions if it’s legit.
… NYT: “Gov. Andy Beshear of KY sent a letter to Sen. Mitch McConnell demanding that he update his constituents on his health as rumors swirl about the Republican senator’s condition after his hospitalization last month. McConnell, 84, has been in the hospital since June 14, when medics were called to his DC address to respond to a report of an unconscious individual. A worker later informed his supervisor over emergency radio that CPR was ‘in progress.’”
… “McConnell’s staff members have not disclosed what prompted his hospitalization or what treatment he is receiving. In the letter to McConnell, Beshear wrote that KY residents had ‘grown increasingly concerned over the state of your health and well-being, and ability to hold office.’ A special election would be held to fill the seat only for the remainder of the term, if the vacancy happened more than 3 months before the next election.”
… Trump was asked about it on AF1: Q - “So, have you spoken to Mitch McConnell? Trump: No. Q: How’s he doing? Trump: I have no idea.”
… Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) on NewsNation: Q - “Do you know that Mitch McConnell is alive? Stutzman: I don’t. Just the things that I’ve heard and seen from some friends is that he’s obviously not doing well, but they don’t know if he’s still alive or not.”
… NYT: “Trump flew out of Turkey on Wed night on the old Air Force One instead of his new Qatari-donated Boeing 747-8 as a security precaution related to the resumption of hostilities with Iran. The change came at the urging of the Secret Service.”
… “The swap deepens questions about whether the new plane, which the president had pressed to be ready as soon as possible, was retrofitted with sufficient security measures over the last year. Lawmakers and some officials have raised concerns about whether the expedited timeline allowed for the addition of an advanced missile defense system and other modifications used to protect the president.”
… MS NOW: “Trump swapped out his new Qatari-gifted Air Force One for his flight from the NATO summit to the UK over concerns that the aircraft lacks the secure communications systems and military defenses needed to safely manage a rapidly escalating conflict with Iran. During that flight that Trump authorized additional strikes against Iran.”
… “Trump’s earlier choice to use the gifted Qatari jet as a primary presidential aircraft has been controversial because the gifted plane lacks key military defenses of the original AF1, including the ability to refuel mid-air and missile-defense systems. The original Air Force One - a Boeing VC-25A from the early 1990s - is a unique military plane outfitted with these capabilities.”
… Not wanting to admit his Qatari jet wasn’t sufficiently equipped, Trump lied about it: “To honor our brave men and women of the Military, we are sending the brand new, and truly spectacular, Air Force One to Mildenhall AF Base, in the UK, to give them a chance to tour the Aircraft - Everybody is so excited, and we thought that they should be the first. For old time’s sake, we’ll be taking the former AF1, from Turkey to Mildenhall to give our Great Military Heroes a chance to appreciate our beautiful new addition to the AF Fleet!”
… WH Comms Director Steven Cheung claimed the lie was 4D chess to fool Iran: “As the president has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal - including distraction and misdirection - to address those threats.”
… Trump ended the summit by ranting that he should have won the Nobel Peace Prize, just as the US was conducting its most recent bombings of Iran: “I would say I should have won that award more than anybody that ever received the Nobel Peace Prize because nobody settled wars. I settled 8 of them.”
… CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale: Here are the 8 items on Trump’s “ended 8 wars” list:
A diplomatic dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia that was never a war.
Some sort of mystery situation between Serbia and Kosovo that also wasn’t a war under Trump.
The war in the eastern Congo that has never actually ended despite a US-brokered peace agreement.
The 12-day war between Israel and Iran last year, though Israel proceeded to join the US in going to war with Iran this year.
The war between Israel and Hamas, though Israel has continued to conduct near-daily attacks in Gaza despite a US-brokered ceasefire.
An India-Pakistan ceasefire Pakistan vocally credits Trump for but India claims Trump had nothing to do with.
The Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement and Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire in which all parties say Trump/his team was indeed a significant factor.
… Trump continued to ramble incoherently during his final appearance at the summit: “We had 11 missiles shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan.”
… Big if true.
… Telegraph: “US strikes on Iran have delayed the burial of Ali Khamenei. The final procession and burial of Iran’s former supreme leader was pushed back 8 hours. The delay came after two bridges in Mashhad, Khamenei’s hometown and final resting place, were hit by American strikes. The attacks forced the closure of the rail line between Tehran and the city.”
… “The US and Iran have resumed a new wave of tit-for-tat strikes after Iran targeted three tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump declared the US-Iran ceasefire to be over during the NATO summit in Turkey, as CENTCOM said its forces had struck approximately 90 military targets in the country. Iran responded by targeting US military bases across the Middle East on Thursday.”
… Tehran said it has hit a US airbase in Jordan, Iranian state media reported. The base, located in Al-Azraq, was hit with 10 ballistic missiles at 2:20pm local time. IRGC statement: “If the US terrorist army repeats its aggression, other US bases in the region will not be safe from our heavy fire.”
… “Jordan’s national news agency earlier said it had intercepted 8 missiles from Tehran, resulting in the fall of shrapnel. No casualties or damage to buildings was reported. The US military has not yet commented on the attack.”
… Trump on AF1 to the press: “Iran just called. They want to make a deal very badly. Q - If they want to make a deal, why did they attack commercial vessels? Trump: Because they’re sort of crazy. But they want to make a deal badly.”
… House Intel Committee Chair Rick Crawford on Fox: “I think the Iranian people are supportive of the US coming in and helping them achieve liberty. Host Maria Bartiromo: Oh, for sure. The Iranian people are thanking President Trump.”
… It appeared during the funeral procession that may not be the case for all Iranians.
… Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) just released a bizarre campaign ad during her campaign for governor where she tried to show her anti-communist credentials by destroying a bunch of fortune cookies in a Chinese restaurant: “How hard am I gonna crack down on China? Well, here’s a clue,” she said while crushing the cookies as Chinese music plays in the background.
… The narrator of her video then says, “ Marsha Blackburn worked with President Trump to take on Communist China. As Governor, Marsha will fight to protect TN land from Chinese front companies, close loopholes, and hunt down every communist who tries to defy us.”
… Blackburn: “It doesn’t take a fortune cookie to figure it out. Here in TN, we’re going to stop Communist China and protect TN land.”
… Fortune cookies were invented in California.
If you missed yesterday’s special edition of Uncovered where we talk about the rise of Mamdani and DSA-aligned candidates, the Dem establishment response, and how Trump, Fox and the Republican Party are using the movement for their midterm strategy nationally, you can find it here. The previous Bulletin is here.
Today was somewhat of a slow news day with nothing on Trump’s schedule as he recovers from his strenuous trip to Europe and Congress is on another extended vacation. But these are the days I have to work extra hard to find things and I think this one has a pretty decent amount of news. Thank you to all for reading and subscribing!
… MS NOW: “FBI Director Kash Patel has been demanding special perks from bureau employees during his taxpayer-funded travels throughout the country, including helicopter tours and jet ski excursions, according to whistleblower accounts given to Democrats on the House and Senate Judiciary committees.”
… “But the Democrats are not alone in their concerns about Patel’s use of public resources; a letter to Patel from Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley demanded that Patel turn over info about his flights on FBI aircraft and about the FBI’s purchase of BMW vehicles.”
… Grassley: “For each trip where you used an FBI aircraft for personal travel, have you
