Politics
Trump warns of more cuts following withdrawal of 5,000 US troops from Germany
President Trump said on Saturday that he might pull even more U.S. military troops out of Germany, a threat that came one day after he ordered the Pentagon to withdraw approximately 5,000 service members from the country. “We are going to cut way down, and we’re cutting a lot further than 5,000,” Trump told reporters…
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The dam has broken on Graham Platner’s candidacy.
A wave of prominent Democrats, from Platner’s most progressive allies to top Democratic leadership, are bailing on his Senate campaign after POLITICO reported that a woman who dated him said he forced her to have sex with him. Platner called the allegation false.
On Monday night — just hours after the story published — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on Platner to “immediately withdraw” as the Democratic nominee in the Maine Senate race. The battleground contest iscrucial for Democrats’ chances of winning the Senate in November.
Schumer was joined in that statement by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which said last week it was in the process of opening a joint fundraising committee with Platner. On Monday the committee said it would no longer invest in the race if he stays on the ballot.
A flood of Democratic senators joined Schumer and Gillibrand in condemning Platner, including several potential 2028 presidential hopefuls. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) all called on Platner to exit the race. Even former staunch supporters — like progressive Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) — and Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego withdrew their endorsements. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who had expressed support for Platner last month, said Monday he “cannot support his candidacy.”
Meanwhile, two of Platner’s most prominent Senate backers, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, have yet to comment on the news.
The money that would be crucial to Democrats’ hopes of flipping the seat also immediately dried up. Key outside groups organizing on his behalf, including VoteVets, which elevates former veterans as Democratic candidates, and the progressive good-governance group End Citizens United, rescinded their endorsements Monday. Senate Majority PAC, the top super PAC supporting Senate Democrats, said it is “redirecting resources away from the Maine Senate race in light of the latest allegations.”
The exodus of Democratic support marks a significant break from how the party has responded to the previous scandals and controversies that have dogged his campaign. Many Democrats defended Platner — or otherwise begrudgingly accepted the success of his campaign — even after his history of offensive online comments, his tattoo that resembled a Nazi symbol, and accusations of past mistreatment of women came to light.
Democrats who had hoped to nominate Maine Gov. Janet Mills coalesced behind Platner after she dropped out of the race, leaving Platner effectively uncontested in the primary, which he handily won last month.
But some Maine Democrats have begun to scramble in the wake of the tidal wave of calls for Platner to leave the race: If he withdraws before next Monday, Maine law allows the state party to select his replacement.
Former Democratic gubernatorial candidates Troy Jackson, a Bernie Sanders-endorsed progressive, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows and former public health official Nirav Shah are taking calls about replacing Platner, according to three people familiar with those conversations, granted anonymity to discuss sensitive discussions.
Maine Democratic nominee for governor Hannah Pingree also called for Platner to exit the race.
“Graham Platner tapped into something real — voters hungry for change showed up with real passion and energy,” Pingree said in a statement. That energy doesn’t have to go away. It needs a new candidate to carry it forward.
FIFA’s leading critic in the European Parliament told Blue Light News that the decision to lift a key American player’s one-game suspension was the latest example of an “unbroken pattern” of nontransparent governance in world football’s governing body.
Last week, centrist Irish MEP Barry Andrews penned a letter urging FIFA to investigate its president, Gianni Infantino, over four public statements he made in support of U.S. President Donald Trump last year, which allegedly undermined the body’s political neutrality.
On Monday, after FIFA lifted the ban on American striker Folarin Balogun following a call from Trump to Infantino, Blue Light News sat down with Andrews to discuss how the governing body’s latest decision adds fuel to his criticism.
FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Andrews’ latest rebuke, but Infantino released a statement Monday denying allegations that he influenced the decision to lift Balogun’s suspension.
The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What was your first reaction when you heard the news that Trump had got involved in Balogun’s case?
It confirms, in my view, that FIFA is a profoundly corrupt organization. Unfortunately, there’s a decadeslong litany of examples of how FIFA has corrupted sport at the highest level. It’s just a further chapter in that litany, unfortunately, and we need to figure out ways to try to put pressure on FIFA to reverse this decision.
MEP Petras Auštrevičius told Blue Light News on Friday that FIFA is “not any longer a neutral sports organization.” Do you agree?
Is it not really a lawless organization? The decisions around awarding the World Cup to Qatar and Russia have been demonstrated to be the subject of massive bribery of officials in the executive committee of FIFA and also the confederations across the world. So, unfortunately, what we’re seeing with the recent example of Infantino just proves that this is an unbroken pattern over many decades. When Sepp Blatter was [FIFA president], he had no restraint on his politicization of the role, but Infantino, if it’s possible, is worse.
Blatter said this morning that “football must never become a playground for political power.”
If Blatter thinks it’s corrupt, we’re dealing with towering levels of malpractice.
What do you think the European response should be here?
There’s a lot of people who say “politics and sport don’t mix,” but we’re dealing with an organization that is so powerful. Therefore, we should make a very clear statement on it. There’s a limit on what we can do, but I think we have to be very explicit on denouncing what has happened in this situation since Sunday.
Are you going to be watching the U.S.-Belgium game tonight?
I’ll be watching it. I’m disappointed with everything about the way the U.S. has [conducted the World Cup]. It’s not the fault of the U.S. players, but you just can’t help yourself. You couldn’t imagine what would happen if the U.S. won the tournament.
As Democrats wrestled with how to handle a politically thorny vote, Jeffries offered caucus forums but little guidance…
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