Politics

Following Messi’s lead, Milei bids to separate stadium and state

Published

4 weeks ago

July 19, 2026

Looming over the World Cup final is another rivalry: the bitter feud between Argentine President Javier Milei and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

For the past two years, Argentina’s libertarian-populist leader has been embroiled in a war of words with his progressive counterpart in Madrid. Milei has resented Sánchez’s efforts to cast him as a far-right firebrand, and responded by repeatedly insulting the Spanish premier and his wife, Begoña Gómez, whom he has repeatedly called “corrupt.”

In Buenos Aires, one leading political observer doesn’t expect the president to mix the World Cup final with his personal animus toward Sánchez.

“I can’t imagine him trying to turn this match into a political issue,” Martín Rodríguez Yebra, deputy managing editor of Argentina’s leading conservative newspaper La Nación, told Blue Light News. “It’s not in his interest.”

According to Rodríguez Yebra, who has spent years following the Sánchez-Milei feud, Argentina’s leader has identified Sánchez — one of the world’s most recognized left-leaning political figures — as a useful antagonist in his “cultural battle” against “woke forces around the world.”

“He uses Sánchez almost as a punching bag to demonstrate that he’s confronting the international left,” he said, adding that the tactic plays well among Milei’s most devoted followers.

But Rodríguez Yebra noted that for average Argentinians “who likely wouldn’t recognize Sánchez if he sat next to them in a café in Buenos Aires,” the contretemps is “a squabble that is seen as a random distraction” on most days, and which would be considered totally inappropriate to bring up in the almost sacred context of the World Cup final.

“There are no words to accurately describe the idolatry people feel for our current national squad, which is perhaps the most admired in modern Argentine history,” he said. “And they — and in particular [Lionel] Messi, in his role as the squad’s captain — have made clear that they will not tolerate attempts at politicization.”

In previous editions of the World Cup, Rodríguez Yebra said, Argentina’s national team had become mixed up with the country’s politics. The squad is widely considered to have been instrumentalized as a propaganda tool when the country hosted the 1978 tournament, when the government was in the hands of a military junta that carried out the forced disappearances of tens of thousands of political dissidents.

A few years later, legendary squad captain Diego Maradona didn’t hide his close relationship with center-left populist President Carlos Menem, with whom he appeared on the balcony of the Casa Rosada presidential palace in Buenos Aires following the country’s 1986 World Cup win. Menem would eventually make the striker his government’s official “sports adviser” and even gave him a diplomatic passport usually reserved for high-ranking officials.

Under Messi’s leadership, however, the national team has taken steps to distance itself from Argentina’s polarized political scene, and after winning the last edition of the World Cup, the squad declined an invitation from then-President Alberto Fernández to emulate Maradona and celebrate the victory at the presidential palace.

Rodríguez Yebra said the current squad captain appeared to have been shaped by his lengthy professional career with FC Barcelona, which played out in parallel with the rise of the Catalan separatist movement and the unauthorized attempt to declare the Spanish region’s independence in 2017.

“Despite the enormous pressure to do so, he never waded into the issue, and as captain for Argentina he’s taken the same approach and stayed on message,” he said. “Don’t mix us up in your politics: We’re athletes and we represent the entire country, not politicians.”

The La Nación journalist pointed out that following the semifinal match against England, Messi stayed away when some of the victorious Argentine players unfurled a banner reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” (“The Falkland Islands are Argentinian”).

“He doesn’t want to be involved,” he said.

Rodríguez Yebra said Milei is a canny politician who attempts to align himself with overwhelming public sentiment and knows how to be pragmatic. That’s why his war of words with Sánchez has ultimately not had a significant impact on Spanish-Argentine relations.

“Despite the inflammatory rhetoric between our leaders, the high-level officials below them have continued working together on trade, investment and international issues, including the recently concluded EU-Mercosur trade agreement,” he said.

“Ministers continue meeting, and diplomatic channels remain open even as the presidents trade barbs,” he added. “Milei insults Sánchez when it suits him, and right now, given the team’s insistence to keep politics out of the match, it is not in his interest to do so.”

On Sunday, Argentina’s president will be playing the part of cheerleader-in-chief from Buenos Aires. While Sánchez will watch the match in person in New York, Milei will remain at home in an act of political superstition.

“In 1990 Menem traveled to Italy to watch our team play against Cameroon and he ended up presiding over our most shocking World Cup defeat,” Rodríguez Yebra said. “The episode was politically devastating for him, because it caused him to develop a reputation for being jinxed, and since then our presidents have steered clear of the matches.”

Rodríguez Yebra said Milei has every interest in doing whatever he can to ward off bad luck.

Rising unemployment and corruption cases involving close aides have eroded the president’s approval ratings, with around 60 percent of voters saying they disapprove of his performance. While the lack of a serious political rival means that the populist remains the clear front-runner ahead of next year’s presidential election, an Argentine win on Sunday would still be a godsend.

The same goes for Sánchez, should La Roja emerge victorious. Unlike Argentina, Spain’s unemployment is at a record low and the country’s economy is among the fastest-growing in Europe. But like Milei, the prime minister is grappling with damaging corruption scandals. Last month, the country’s former transport minister was handed a 24-year prison sentence for bribery, embezzlement and influence peddling, and earlier this week, Sánchez’s brother was found guilty of administrative misconduct after a regional court concluded he had been unfairly awarded a public sector position.

“This World Cup has been a welcome distraction that has already helped him enormously, and could benefit him even further if it results in our team’s victory,” Rodríguez Yebra said about Milei. “Even without engaging in politics, a win for our team is a win for him.”

Politics

Bernie Sanders says he can’t get involved in every race. Some allies wish he would.

Published

2 days ago

August 13, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Sen. Bernie Sanders says he can’t be everywhere at once — even though some of his allies want him to be.

Democratic socialist Francesca Hong lost by less than 4,000 votes in Wisconsin’s gubernatorial primary, an outcome several high-profile progressives are blaming on Sanders and other top national progressive leaders for staying out of the race. Some said his endorsement alone could have helped bring in badly needed resources for Hong. Others said the Vermont senator has a responsibility to play widely across the battle map.

Sanders, in an interview, touted a series of progressive wins Tuesday night and brushed off the criticism.

“My response is that we have limited resources and capabilities, and there are a lot of really great candidates who have run for office who we have not endorsed,” Sanders told Blue Light News on Wednesday.

“We can’t endorse every single candidate,” he added. “So, you know, we have to pick and choose and I think that Hong ran a very, very great, and very strong, grassroots campaign, got a lot of people involved and I applaud her for that.”

Hong ultimately lost to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, a major victory for establishment Democrats who worried she wouldn’t be able to win a general election in a top battleground. It was a notable blow for the far left that overshadowed progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan’s win in the Minnesota Senate race the same night.

Sanders and other progressive leaders “have a responsibility, whether they like it or they don’t,” to help steer candidates in the movement, said Cenk Uygur, a progressive activist who co-founded the Young Turks and Justice Democrats. “If they endorse people, it makes a difference. If they don’t endorse people these days, sometimes it makes a bigger difference. Because there’s a certain expectation, and when they don’t deliver on that expectation, it gives people pause. So it feels like, to some degree, they’re shirking their responsibility.”

Uygur also criticized Sanders for saying on a podcast ahead of the primary that he was “not that familiar” with the Wisconsin race.

“I love Bernie, but that’s not true. Sorry, brother, but you have a giant team. Of course somebody on your team knows who’s running for governor in Wisconsin.” Uygur told Blue Light News on Thursday.

One Democratic operative working on progressive campaigns, granted anonymity to speak candidly about the electoral dynamics, also rejected Sanders’ argument, noting the senator won Wisconsin’s presidential primary in 2016.

“He knows Wisconsin very well,” the operative said, adding: “What resources? You’re not cutting checks. [Sanders] endorsing somebody raises the money.”

Sanders in the interview noted primary wins from Flanagan, Rebecca Cooke in Wisconsin’s 3rd District and Matt Little in the crowded race for Rep. Angie Craig’s Minnesota seat — all Democrats he endorsed.

“Needless to say, I’m feeling really very good,” Sanders said. “The American people are catching on that we have an economy that is rigged, the very rich are getting richer while working families are struggling.”

But the Wisconsin governor primary result Tuesday exposed a critical vulnerability for a movement that has largely relied on Sanders and a handful of other headline-grabbing stars, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), to help seal the deal in contentious races as progressives look to prove they can play in competitive seats. The underdog wing of the party, some progressives argue, can’t be selective about where it’s playing if they want to take on a vast and well-funded establishment.

The bulk of the blame is being laid at Sanders’ feet in part because the movement he turbocharged in 2016 has struggled to land on a clear successor. Some progressives argue there’s an overreliance on Sanders and leaders such as Ocasio-Cortez.

Our Revolution, a group born from Sanders’ 2016 campaign but that the senator no longer associates with, blasted the broader progressive ecosystem for not doing more for Hong in a post early Wednesday morning, as the returns in Wisconsin showed Crowley was poised to defeat Hong. Several groups that have backed insurgent progressives in other races declined to join Our Revolution in getting involved in the governor’s race.“We cannot build progressive power while gatekeeping our own movement through the eyes of the establishment,” the group posted.

Sanders pushed back: “Our Revolution is an organization I’ve not had any interaction with, any participation with … for I think nine years,” he said in response. “They do what they want and they say what they want. They have nothing to do with me.”

Our Revolution declined comment on Sanders’ remarks and on its post.

Nina Turner, a former Our Revolution leader and Sanders 2020 co-chair who had backed Hong, said support from “more well-known, more popular, actively elected progressive types … probably would have” made a difference in Hong’s race. She declined to call anyone out specifically for not getting involved.

“The progressive movement is going to have to reckon with how we continue to win around certain personalities,” Turner said. “I don’t think the movement should put all our hopes and dreams on certain personalities to come out or to not come out, because it is their choice and they have a right to their choice, even if I don’t agree with it.”

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) was one of the few national progressive figures who had endorsed Hong. He has employed a far more aggressive endorsement strategy than Sanders this primary season and said he sees an advantage to backing candidates early, despite the potential headwinds facing long-shot contenders, as long as they align with him on policy.

But he wasn’t willing to play the blame game in the aftermath of Wisconsin’s primary, saying in a text message that: “We have so many candidates running and I believe progressive leaders have been doing an extraordinary job lifting them up.”

A spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez, who has also faced criticism for not backing for Hong, declined to comment.

Not everyone on the left believes Sanders and other progressive stars could have swung a race in which several other factors were working against Hong. The candidate did very little traditional advertising. She faced a barrage of negative press over controversial past social media comments that put her on defense over everything from public safety to Thanksgiving. Several candidates likely siphoned away votes from both Hong and Crowley — including two who dropped out after voting began: Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes.

Dillon Sheehan, the chapter secretary for the Madison Area Democratic Socialists of America, which endorsed Hong, said “it’s entirely possible” big-name progressives like Sanders could have “put her over the edge.”

But “we need candidates who can win without Bernie’s endorsement, he’s not going to be able to endorse forever,” Sheehan said. “I think what this shows is that even without his endorsement, without Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s endorsement, [Hong] did fantastic.”

Politics

Crowley zeroes in on ‘MAGA extremism’ to rebuild a fractured Wisconsin coalition

Published

2 days ago

August 13, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

David Crowley has a strategy to win over the voters who backed democratic socialist Francesca Hong on Tuesday: make the governor’s race an existential fight against “MAGA extremism.”

Wisconsin Democrats have spent the past day scrambling to unite the far left and centrist factions of the party after a bitter primary battle defined by questions of electability and how far left of an ideology to pursue. The same is happening in Michigan, where the party has just three months to mend broken fences and get progressive Abdul El-Sayed elected in another competitive state this November.

Crowley told Blue Light News he plans to use GOP Rep. Tom Tiffany and President Donald Trump as the foils that bring everyone together.

“We’re not all going to agree on everything. But I think we agree that the ultimate goal is making sure that we don’t have a MAGA extremist and congressman Tom Tiffany sitting in the governor’s office,” Crowley said in an interview Thursday, adding that the state “has a grand opportunity in putting some level of check on Trump’s agenda” amid the “affordability crisis.”

Democrats view holding onto the governor’s mansion in Wisconsin — a top battleground state that Trump won by just shy of 30,000 votes in 2024 — as critical for acting as a bulwark against Trump. They’re hoping to secure a governing trifecta in the state for the first time since 2010.

Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive who was hand-picked by current Gov. Tony Evers, said he plans to not only fold in the left flank, but also reach out to independents and previous GOP voters who “feel rejected by this current Republican party.” Evers himself ousted GOP then-Gov. Scott Walker in 2018 thanks to a coalition that cut across Democratic strongholds, independents and some Republican-leaning voters.

Crowley also said he’s already talked to “some Republicans who are more interested in defeating Tom Tiffany.”

Trump’s approval rating has been continually slipping, and Crowley’s advisers believe focusing on the cost of living under the Trump administration amid an unpopular Iran war is a sweet spot to hit a broad cross-section of voters.

But even as he committed to reaching out to voters who had backed Hong, Crowley told Blue Light News he would not campaign with some of her top surrogates on the trail — and demurred when asked whether he’d bring on any Hong allies to staff his general election campaign, saying everyone is “welcome” at the table.

When asked whether he would campaign with controversial, leftist social media influencer Hasan Piker, Crowley responded: “No.”

“I don’t know Hasan, but I always want to be focused on Wisconsin voters,” he added.

Hong has committed to hitting the trail with Crowley ahead of November, but many of his allies see her as too much of a political liability to be directly involved. They’re worried her brand of democratic socialism — and past controversial social media posts about defunding the police and canceling Thanksgiving — could affect Crowley’s wider appeal.Crowley also isn’t budging on a key campaign policy issue that divided the primary: He will not embrace the moratorium on data center development that Hong ran on.

“No moratorium,” Crowley said in the interview, adding he and Hong do agree on adding “guardrails” on data center development and operation via a package of legislation.

“I let folks know exactly where I stood on data centers,” he said. “That’s why we were able to not only consolidate many of those undecided voters, but get many rural communities to support us as well, because we have a common-sense approach to make sure that we’re protecting our environment, protecting our water, and protecting ourselves … when it comes down to these data centers.”

Politics

Platner announced as speaker for activist-led event in Maine

Published

2 days ago

August 13, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Former Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, who dropped out of the race last month amid sexual assault allegations, was announced as a speaker for a Labor Day event in Ellsworth, Maine, next month.

The event was organized by the groups Hancock County Activists and Acadia Action Peacemakers, according to information shared with the Hancock County Democratic Party. Both have been behind “No Kings” protests and other organized events in the area since the start of last year. Neither responded immediately to inquiries about the event on Thursday.

Platner, who is from nearby Sullivan, Maine, dropped out of the Senate race following a July Blue Light News report that a woman he dated accused him of sexually assaulting her in 2021. Platner denied the allegation.

Marcia Myers, the chair of the Hancock County Democratic Party, said the event set to feature Platner was not a sanctioned party event but that the party often shares information about activist-led events in the area. The county party’s Facebook and Instagram posts mentioning Platner’s event were deleted, though the event was still listed on the party’s website.

Platner did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the event on Thursday.

Platner was replaced in the Senate race by former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, as Democrats are seeking to take on GOP Sen. Susan Collins in an election of high importance to both parties nationally.

Outside groups supporting Collins have sought to tie Jackson to Platner, noting Jackson, who previously ran for governor, endorsed Platner’s campaign and appeared at rallies for him. Jackson called for Platner to drop out of the race after the sexual assault allegation.

Jalen Beckford contributed to this story.