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Despite inflammatory comments, Platner holds 9-point lead over Collins in new poll
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The intense media scrutiny and Republican attacks facing Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner of Maine over his controversial and inflammatory past online comments and his now-removed but well-publicized tattoo on his chest that resembled a Nazi symbol don’t appear to be slowing him down.
A new public opinion poll shows Platner holding an upper single-digit lead over longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine in a race that is among a handful that will likely decide if the GOP holds its slim 53-47 majority in the Senate in this year’s midterm elections.
Platner, a progressive candidate backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, stands at 51% support among likely Maine voters, with Collins at 42%, in a Pine Tree State poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire. Six percent of respondents were undecided, with 2% backing other candidates.
The survey is the latest public opinion poll to indicate Platner, an oyster farmer and Army and Marine veteran who served in combat in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, leading Collins, a moderate Republican who is seeking a sixth six-year term in the Senate representing left-leaning Maine.
WHAT MAINE VOTERS TOLD FOX NEWS DIGITAL ABOUT GRAHAM PLATNER’S CONTROVERSIES
Graham Platner, the Democrats’ presumptive Senate nominee in Maine, holds an energy event in Ellsworth, Maine on Monday, May 11, 2026. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)
Ninety-one percent of Democrats questioned said they’d vote for Platner in the general election, with 87% of Republicans backing Collins. The senator held a slight 47%-44% edge over Platner for the support of independents.
The poll was released two weeks ahead of Maine’s primary.
Platner is considered the Democrats’ presumptive nominee after two-term Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who was backed by Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer and other establishment leaders, suspended her campaign a month ago. Mills cited fundraising concerns and polling woes for her decision to end her bid. But the governor’s name will remain on the primary ballot.
According to the poll, Platner stands at 76% support for the Democratic nomination, with Mills at 10% and longshot Senate contender, David Costello of Brunswick, who spent decades working in state and federal government, at 3%.
Collins faces no challengers for the Republican Senate nomination.
PLATNER CONFRONTED OVER PAST ON-LINE CONTROVERSIAL COMMENTS
Platner, who advocates an economically populist agenda as he takes aim at corporate influences and advocates for the working class as he runs for the Senate, has been criticized by Collins and other Republicans as too extreme for Maine.
«I believe that will be the conclusion of Maine voters. But, obviously, I don’t take anything for granted,» Collins said when asked in a Fox News Digital interview earlier this month if Platner was too far to the left.
But Platner, in a Fox News Digital interview a week later, argued, «What’s radical is somebody like Susan Collins, who, for decades now, has made sure that we pass policies that are going to help corporations and billionaires to the detriment of working people, supporting over and over and over again, illegal and insane foreign wars.»
Platner, amid a slew of media stories, has come under fire from Republicans in recent weeks over his past controversial comments from last decade, after he returned from combat tours of duty, as well as more recent comments earlier this decade, that he made on Reddit.
WHAT GRAHAM PLATNER SAID IN A FOX NEWS DIGITAL INTERVIEW
Platner apologized for his controversial Reddit posts after they made headlines last fall soon after he launched his Senate campaign.
But confronted by Fox News Digital last week near his home in Maine, Platner declined to apologize both to voters and a Purple Heart recipient when asked about a deleted Reddit post where he said the wounded soldier «didn’t deserve to live.»
Meanwhile, Platner has said he got the skull and crossbones tattoo in 2007 while drinking with fellow Marines stationed in Croatia. He said that he covered up the tattoo with a new design after learning last year that it resembled a Nazi symbol.
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It’s not just Republicans who are taking aim at Platner over the comments and the tattoo. A few Democrats are also speaking out. Democratic Rep. Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts this week reiterated his criticism of Platner.
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«As I said months ago, I find Platner’s Nazi tattoo and his commentary about it personally disqualifying,» Auchincloss wrote Tuesday in a social media post. «If it were me, I’d vote for someone else in the Maine Democratic primary.»
The Pine Tree Poll was conducted May 21-25, with an overall sampling error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
primary results, polls, midterm elections, elections, maine, senate elections
INTERNACIONAL
Crece la ola de incendios en Europa: las llamas se extienden a Grecia, Portugal, Inglaterra y Turquía
Francia y España atraviesan este jueves una tregua frente a algunos de los peores incendios forestales de la historia reciente, pero las llamas se propagan en otros países de Europa, como Grecia, Portugal, Inglaterra y Turquía.
El presidente del Gobierno español, Pedro Sánchez, levantó el estado de emergencia decretado la semana pasada por un incendio forestal que amenazaba zonas cercanas a Madrid, después de que las autoridades anunciaran que ya no quedaban “focos activos”.
Más de 60.000 personas habían sido evacuadas en el peor momento de los incendios, pero la mayoría ya ha podido regresar a sus hogares.
Al menos cien viviendas quedaron destruidas solo en la región de Madrid, según una evaluación inicial, pero se espera que esa cifra aumente, dijo la presidenta regional Isabel Díaz Ayuso. En la colindante provincia de Ávila, el fuego también está estabilizado.
Unas 50.000 hectáreas quemadas en España
El incendio -el más grande en España desde que comenzaron los registros en 1961- quemó unas 50.000 hectáreas y estuvo a punto de fusionarse con el de Madrid.
Pero España enfrenta esta semana una nueva ola de calor y las autoridades advierten que el riesgo sigue siendo “muy alto”. Bomberos utilizan quemas controladas para detener un incendio que sigue expandiéndose cerca de Cebreros, Ávila, España, el martes 28 de julio de 2026. (AP Foto/Manu Fernández)
De hecho, un nuevo incendio en el oeste del país, cerca de Portugal, obligó a evacuar el jueves a más de 600 personas.
Primer día “optimista” en Francia
En la vecina Francia, el jueves fue el primer día “un poco optimista” desde que se originó la semana pasada un megaincendio que destruyó cerca de 240 viviendas en el suroeste del país.
“Es el primer día un poco optimista, ya que tenemos la impresión de que estamos volviendo al camino de una vida normal y de que las cosas empiezan a mejorar claramente”, dijo a la prensa la prefecta del departamento de Gironda, Sophie Brocas.
Leé también: Nueva reacción de Lula tras los insultos de Milei: “Ustedes vieron la payasada que hizo aquí”
Tras una ligera lluvia matutina, el servicio regional de bomberos también se mostró “razonablemente optimista”, ya que el fuego no se extendió más allá de las 42.000 hectáreas desde el fin de semana, si bien se mantienen “seis focos activos”.
El peor incendio forestal en Francia desde 1949 obligó a evacuar a más de 220.000 personas de esta región turística cercana a la ciudad de Burdeos, en plena temporada alta de verano.
Actualmente, más de la mitad de los evacuados pudieron regresar a sus hogares, entre ellos 84.000 que fueron autorizados este jueves.
“Es el inicio del fin del fuego, pero es el comienzo de la crisis”, advirtió Nina Rosazza, administradora de una metalúrgica en Andernos-les-Bains, quien acudió como voluntaria a la zona en el bosque devastado de Lanton.
“Turísticamente, ecológicamente, visualmente, es una catástrofe a largo plazo”, resume.
Aunque no hubo pérdidas humanas, los rescatistas viven con la “obsesión” de encontrar animales muertos, mientras gatos, gallinas, perros y conejos deambulan por las localidades evacuadas.
Incendios más pequeños afectaban a otras partes del sur de Francia, incluido uno declarado la noche del miércoles en Brignoles, que obligó a George Clooney y su familia a abandonar su propiedad.
“Días difíciles” en Grecia
Aunque la atención actual se centra en Europa occidental, la Unión Europea advirtió que las condiciones propicias para incendios se extenderán hacia el centro del continente en los próximos días.
En la isla griega de Creta, 8000 personas fueron evacuadas la noche del miércoles ante los incendios declarados durante la jornada y avivados por fuertes vientos cambiantes, que causaron la muerte de dos bomberos.
Un tercero falleció combatiendo las llamas cerca del puerto de Gitión, en el Peloponeso, mientras el primer ministro griego advirtió que se avecinan “días difíciles”.
En la vecina Turquía, los bomberos intentaban extinguir al menos 115 fuegos activos, especialmente en las provincias de Antalya y Mugla, en la turística Riviera Turca, y en la costa de los Dardanelos (oeste).
No obstante, las autoridades indicaron que 110 estaban completamente bajo control.También en Portugal, cerca de 800 bomberos combatían un incendio forestal en la localidad norteña de Valpaços, que causó cinco heridos, según el servicio de protección civil.
También Inglaterra fue afectada por incendios.
Los bomberos luchan este jueves “en condiciones difíciles” contra un incendio en Suffolk, en el este del país, que arrasó un centenar de hectáreas y obligó a algunos habitantes y turistas a evacuar.
El fuego, que se propaga en una zona costera al sur del municipio de Dunwich, se declaró el miércoles y fue catalogado como “incidente grave” por las autoridades.
“El incendio se extiende por unas 100 hectáreas, por lo que 18 vehículos de bomberos y medios de refuerzo están en el lugar”, indicó el jueves el consejo local de Suffolk.
(Con información de AFP)
Europa, Incendios
INTERNACIONAL
White House blasts Spanish government as thousands of migrants surge from Morocco, emergency request denied
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The White House bashed Spain’s left-wing government after the border between Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta and Morocco collapsed Thursday.
«President Trump has long warned Europe what would happen if they continue to implement far-left, globalist policies – including enabling mass migration. Spain and other countries who have adopted this destructive philosophy should immediately reverse course or risk their own demise,» White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told Fox News in a statement.
Ceuta’s president formally requested a national emergency declaration Thursday after more than 2,000 migrants crossed the border from Morocco in the past 10 days, as videos showed chaotic scenes of migrants pouring into the Spanish territory.
Video shows hordes of apparently military-aged men smiling and posing for cameras, some carrying swimming flippers, and sprinting through the streets as authorities struggle to corral the unruly masses.
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Migrants run and cheer as they cross on foot into the North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco, after swimming over from the Moroccan side and overwhelming police at the city’s breakwater, according to Spain’s Guardia Civil, in Ceuta, Spain, July 30, 2026. (FARO TV via Reuters)
Other footage shows crowds of migrants emerging from the sea, climbing up onto Ceuta’s rocky shores and working their way around border fences.
Ceuta President Juan Jesús Vivas formally requested that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declare a national emergency to help respond to the border crisis, Spanish media outlets reported. Madrid, however, denied the request.
DEM REP SETH MOULTON SAYS PARTY HAS NO IMMIGRATION PLAN, IS ONLY ‘OPPOSITION TO TRUMP’
«The declaration of a national emergency is part of the state civil protection regulations, which do not consider migratory flows as a risk to the National Civil Protection System, nor do they establish special plans, basic guidelines, or specific civil protection instruments for their management. Therefore, it is not possible to activate this mechanism, as requested by the president of the Government of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas,» Spain’s Ministry of the Interior said in a statement, according to Spanish outlet El Pais.
Ceuta’s government, in their request for a national emergency declaration, noted that immigration from Moroco is always a problem for the Spanish enclave, but claimed the last 10 days represented a peak «of particular intensity.» That peak has seen more than 2,000 migrants cross the border in the past 10 days, Ceuta officials said, according to El Pais.
Spanish and Moroccan maritime patrols, supported by Spain’s Maritime Rescue service, conduct rescue operations off the southern coast of Ceuta after a sharp increase in migrant arrivals to the Spanish enclave in North Africa. (Antonio Sempere / JNA Press/Sipa USA)
«The Government of Spain is fully committed to providing an immediate response to the situation in Ceuta. We are mobilizing all necessary resources, working with Moroccan and international authorities, and preparing the necessary measures to restore normalcy as soon as possible,» Sánchez wrote in a Thursday post on X.
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION FORCED A FALSE CHOICE ON AMERICANS ABOUT IMMIGRATION
Sánchez has faced considerable backlash from his country’s conservatives for his policies on immigration, with many arguing that Spain’s policy of guaranteeing social services to minors who illegally enter the country incentivizes mass migration.
Migrants cross on foot into the North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco by attempting to swim, according to Spain’s Guardia Civil, near the border with Ceuta, in Fnideq, Morocco, July 30, 2026, in this still image obtained by Reuters (Reuters)
«When they cross the border as minors, you cannot send them back to Morocco,» Javier Negre, a conservative Spanish journalist and owner of La Derecha Diario and UHN Plus, told Fox News Digital.
«The Spanish state has to take care of them and pay money to NGOs to care for these minors until they turn 18,» he continued.
«It’s proof that Europe and Spain are on the verge of becoming a failed continent because of the future policies and promotion of this illegal invasion under Pedro Sánchez,» Negre criticized.
Sánchez, for his part, has claimed that accepting migrants is necessary to keep Spain’s economy alive, arguing the country’s low birth rates necessitate accepting immigrants.
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez delivers a statement at the Moncloa Palace in Madrid, Spain. (AP Photo/Andrea Comas)
«The West needs people. Currently, few of its countries have a rising population growth rate. Unless they embrace migration, they will experience a sharp demographic decline that will prevent them from keeping their economies and public services afloat. Their gross domestic product will stagnate. Their public healthcare and pension systems will suffer. Neither AI nor robots will be able to prevent this outcome… The only option to avoid decline is to integrate migrants in the most orderly and effective way possible,» Sánchez wrote in a February op-ed in The New York Times.
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Fox News Digital contacted the offices of Sánchez and Vivas for further comment.
Fox News’ Patrick Ward contributed to this report.
illegal immigrants, border security, spain, world, europe, africa
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Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said he will be opening up an investigation into former National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Dr. Anthony Fauci following Fauci’s explosive decision to invoke his Fifth Amendment right and not answer any questions during a congressional hearing Wednesday.
«Fauci’s lack of candor to Congress is unbelievable. My office is launching an investigation into Dr. Fauci. It’s past time we get the truth of what happened during COVID,» Uthmeier wrote in a Wednesday post on X.
Uthmeier further expanded on his decision in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital.
FAUCI PLEADS FIFTH WITH ‘ZERO LEGAL JUSTIFICATION’ AS CRITICS ERUPT AND DEMAND CONTEMPT CHARGES
James Uthmeier spoke at the National Conservative Convention on Sept. 3, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Dominic Gwinn/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
«In light of recent reports exposed by Senator Rand Paul, we will investigate any and all potential violations of Florida law involving Anthony Fauci,» Uthmeier told Fox News Digital.
«Our inquiry will focus on what Fauci knew, when he knew it, and how he misled the American people. We will examine the physical and monetary harms to Floridians that may have resulted from his deceptions and determine whether his conduct exposes him to liability under state law,» Uthmeier’s statement concluded.
Uthmeier cited revelations published by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., which revealed internal notes Fauci wrote on government computers during his time at NIAID.
FAUCI’S NEWLY RELEASED COVID DIARIES REVEAL BIZARRE FIXATION ON FAME AS PANDEMIC DEATHS MOUNTED
Former NIH Director Anthony Fauci listens during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on July 29, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Fauci declined to answer questions, asserting his Fifth Amendment right. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The internal notes, which Paul and others have taken to referring to as Fauci’s «diary,» suggest Fauci appeared to publicly overstate the death rate from COVID-19 compared to what he wrote privately.
«[Former CDC Director] Tom Frieden called me this AM and we discussed various aspects of the outbreak,» Fauci wrote on Feb. 8, 2020.
«He and I are on the same page in thinking tht [sic] this is acting like a bad influenza in its transmissibility and that the denominator is much greater than 34,867 (above) making the case fatality rate (CFR) more like 0.2-0.3 % rather than 2.0%,» Fauci’s entry concluded.
However, a month later, in congressional testimony to the House Oversight Committee on March 11, 2020, Fauci pegged the mortality rate at 1%.
«I think if you count all the cases of minimally symptomatic or asymptomatic infection, that probably brings the mortality rate down to somewhere around one percent, which means it is 10 times more lethal than the seasonal flu,» he testified.
Anthony Fauci declined to testify in a Senate committee hearing on his role in the US response to COVID-19, invoking his Fifth Amendment rights. (Left (Alex WROBLEWSKI / AFP via Getty Images), Right (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images))
When called to testify on the revelations before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Fauci exercised his Fifth Amendment right and refused to answer legislators’ questions 111 times.
Uthmeier is not the only Republican to take aim at the former COVID czar Fauci in light of the revelations.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Wednesday that Fauci should be held in congressional contempt for refusing to answer questions despite receiving a presidential pardon.
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«I think Anthony Fauci has had contempt for Congress and contempt for the American people for decades,» he said. «His diary shows that he deliberately lied to the American people over and over and over again,» Cruz said.
Paul, for his part, said his committee will vote on whether to hold Fauci in contempt next week.
investigations, anthony fauci, politics, florida, trending news
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