INTERNACIONAL
Democrats break with scandal-plagued Graham Platner, warn of ‘civil war’ in party
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Top Democratic officials and lawmakers are breaking with Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner as his past blunders and online history stack up.
Platner’s ascendency to the top of the ticket in Vacationland broke with the Democratic establishment in Washington, D.C., and since Maine Gov. Janet Mills exited from the race, questions about whether he is the right choice to take on Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, have exploded.
Much of that is fueled by scandals that have cropped up seemingly week after week, be it a tattoo on his chest of a Nazi symbol or inflammatory posts online.
GOP SEIZES ON DEM CIVIL WAR AS PROGRESSIVES JUMP INTO KEY 2026 SENATE RACES: ‘THEY’RE IN SHAMBLES’
Senatorial candidate from Maine Graham Platner speaks at a town hall at the Leavitt Theater on October 22, 2025, in Ogunquit, Maine. (Sophie Park/Getty Images)
Some in the Democratic Party warn that it’s spurring a «civil war» between the moderate and left wings of the party.
Melissa DeRosa, former New York Mayor Andrew Cuomo’s chief of staff, told Fox News’ Bret Baier that Platner’s rise and ensuing questions of his fitness as a candidate are demonstrative of the bubbling conflict within the Democratic Party.
«The main race really demonstrates the civil war that’s happening within the Democratic Party, and there are a lot of Democrats, moderate Democrats like myself, who will not cry tears should we lose Maine,» DeRosa said. «I mean, that would be a pickup to begin with.»
Senate Democrats view Maine as one of the most viable pickup opportunities in the 2026 midterm cycle in their quest to regain control of the upper chamber.
TOP OFF-THE-WALL REDDIT POSTS HAUNTING GRAHAM PLATNER’S MAINE SENATE BID
Platner is not the candidate that party bosses wanted, but since jumping into the race last year, he has built a growing national profile that reached new heights earlier this month when he landed on the cover of Time magazine.
Still, his unearthed Reddit posts — ranging from bashing a soldier shot by the Taliban to masturbating in portable toilets — have unleashed fresh scrutiny from both the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and Democrats alike.
«Democrats’ shift from quietly distancing themselves from Platner to openly disavowing him proves his baggage is catching up with him, and Maine voters won’t excuse it,» NRSC spokesperson Bernadette Breslin told Fox News Digital. «Platner’s deviant, scandal-plagued history is only the beginning of the problems he has ahead.»
DEM SENATORS DEFLECT QUESTIONS ON PLATNER’S SCANDAL-PLAGUED CAMPAIGN: ‘NOT FOLLOWING THAT RACE CLOSELY’
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., speaks to reporters outside the Senate chamber during votes on Nov. 10, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
And top Democrats in both the House and Senate, including Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., were quiet after being recently pressed by Fox News Digital on their backing of Platner.
Former Biden press office chief of staff Yemisi Egbewole told Fox News’ Bill Melugin that Democrats, particularly those who support Platner, have to answer for his behavior.
«I think when we’re talking about moral clarity and what we want to see from Democrats, I think he is an issue,» Egbewole said.
Platner’s woes on the national stage began when a video of him dancing shirtless began to circulate last year.
On his chest was a tattoo of a skull and crossbones synonymous with Nazi iconography known as a totenkopf, or death’s head. At the time, Platner said he didn’t know what it was.
«It was not until I started hearing from reporters and D.C. insiders that I realized this tattoo resembled a Nazi symbol,» Platner said. «I absolutely would not have gone through life having this on my chest if I knew that — and to insinuate that I did is disgusting. I am already planning to get this removed.»
Now, Democrats are more willing to criticize him for the tattoo.
«I find that tattoo and his commentary about it to be personally disqualifying,» Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., told CNN. «I hope Maine voters agree with me. I think it would be a mistake for the Democratic Party to think that Graham Platner’s brand of the Democratic Party is what wins us durable majorities throughout this country.»
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
And Michael LaRosa, former spokesperson for former first lady Jill Biden, lauded Auchincloss for having «actual guts» to call for a better candidate in the race.
When asked if there was a growing issue with antisemitism in his party by CNN, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said «absolutely,» and singled out Platner as an example.
«I mean, the guy that’s going to win the primary in Maine … has a Nazi tattoo on his chest, and that’s no problem for a lot of voters,» Fetterman said. «So I don’t know why. That’s crazy.»
politics, bernie sanders, john fetterman, midterm elections
European wildfires force more than 250K evacuations across Spain, France
Wildfires are sweeping across Spain and France, forcing more than 250,000 people to evacuate. One blaze is threatening France’s famed Bordeaux wine region, while Spain has declared a national emergency. France has deployed the military, and the Tour de France has been shortened as firefighters battle the massive blazes.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
More than a quarter-million people have been driven from their homes in southwest France as a massive wildfire barrels toward the famed wine capital of Bordeaux, with officials warning the fast-moving inferno has become so fierce it’s creating its own winds and behaving erratically.
French authorities ordered another 55,000 people to evacuate overnight Sunday from communities south of Bordeaux, bringing the total number of evacuees in the region to about 250,000. Gusty winds, dry conditions and repeated heat waves have fueled a fire that has burned out of control since midweek.
Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said firefighters faced a «difficult» night and warned Sunday that «the situation remains very unfavorable.»
EUROPE’S FIRES REVEAL DEADLY MIX OF RECORD HEAT, HUMAN ERROR, ARSON AND LAND MISMANAGEMENT
Firefighters spray water in a burning forest near Lacanau, southwestern France, Saturday, July 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
«The fire again became extremely virulent again and unpredictable, generating its own winds and advancing erratically toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area,» Nunez posted on X, adding that the blaze «became calmer by the end of the night.»
The fire has now burned an estimated 42,000 hectares, or about 162 square miles — roughly four times the size of Paris — in the Gironde region. Bordeaux Mayor Thomas Cazenave said the flames came within about 9 miles of the city, prompting officials to partially close a major highway into and out of the region.
More than 2,500 firefighters, backed by 18 planes and helicopters, are working to slow the fire’s advance. France has also deployed 1,500 soldiers to help clear vegetation and build firebreaks, while several European countries have sent aircraft and firefighting crews to assist.
FRANCE RECORDS MORE THAN 5,700 EXCESS DEATHS DURING HISTORIC EARLY SUMMER HEAT WAVE
Nunez said 450 volunteers have also pitched in to help.
«We came to lend a hand because if it were our region, we’d want others to do the same,» 65-year-old farmer Pascal Roudier told Reuters. «And given the scale of the disaster, we think our efforts are very welcome too.»
Firefighters battle a wildfire near Marcheprime, outside, Bordeaux, France, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
The Bordeaux-area fire is one of several major wildfires burning across France. A separate blaze in the neighboring Landes region has forced another 36,000 people to evacuate, while nearly 3,000 others have left their homes in southern France’s Var region along the Mediterranean coast.
Neighboring Spain is facing its own wildfire emergency.
A firefighter carries a hose while battling a wildfire in San Martin de Valdeiglesias, west of Madrid, Spain, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Authorities there have evacuated about 116,000 people in recent days as fires burned across the Valencia region and west of Madrid. A fast-moving fire in a Valencia suburb killed one man Saturday, marking Spain’s first wildfire death in the latest wave of fires.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Earlier this month, 13 people were killed in southern Spain in the country’s deadliest wildfire in recent memory.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
france, europe, fires disasters, natural disasters, world
INTERNACIONAL
La policía busca al sospechoso del ataque mortal en el desfile del Orgullo en Berlín: sería un joven islamista de 21 años
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
One key Republican’s extended absence and unclear timetable for return is slowing down several legislative priorities, and could impact President Donald Trump’s Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act in an unexpected way.
And while sparse statements from him and his office say he’s on the mend, there has yet to be a hard date for when he’ll come back to Congress.
It comes as Republicans are twisting and contorting Trump’s top election priority into something that could pass the Senate. Though McConnell has voted against the bill before, he would be a key player in crafting what it would look like in the upper chamber.
TRUMP’S VOTER ID BILL CATCHES UNLIKELY BREAK AS MCCONNELL REMAINS SIDELINED
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has been away from the Senate for more than a month after a medical emergency. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
«That could be an issue,» Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital. «I think there are a lot of issues.»
That’s because McConnell is chair of the Senate Rules Committee, which will likely be responsible for drafting the version of the SAVE America Act that could pass muster in budget reconciliation, the process that Trump is pushing the GOP to use to pass the bill.
The uncertainty around McConnell, coupled with the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s recent death, throws a wrench into the process. Graham was chair of the Senate Budget Committee, and acted as quarterback through two dances with reconciliation over the past year.
SENATE RETURNS TO PACKED AGENDA AFTER GRAHAM’S DEATH SHRINKS GOP MARGIN
But Graham’s replacement on the panel, Johnson, could step in and draft language for SAVE America as chair of the Budget Committee — Graham leapfrogged Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chair Rand Paul, R-Ky., in 2025 to draft his portion of the «big, beautiful bill.»
«That’s my understanding — it actually falls to budget,» Johnson said. «So, again … this is still really early in the process, so I don’t have all the answers by a long stretch. Plus, we’ve got to find out what the conference wants to do, and what Leader John Thune wants to do.»
Thune is focusing on preventing a government shutdown, and is encouraging ongoing bipartisan negotiations on a funding deal to continue. And he has threatened to press pause on reconciliation by holding the House’s own budget framework until that objective is accomplished.
GOP RIFT GROWS AS THUNE HITS BRAKES ON TRUMP’S ELECTION BILL TO AVERT SHUTDOWN
One key Republican’s extended absence and unclear timetable for return is slowing down several legislative priorities, and could impact President Donald Trump’s Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act in an unexpected way. (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press )
He reiterated to Fox News Digital that Republicans don’t have the votes to pass the SAVE America Act, and may not have the votes to pass a budget resolution in the upper chamber.
And he noted that the SAVE America Act would have to comply with the Senate’s strict rules for reconciliation that unlock the 50-vote threshold, which the current version of the bill does not.
Getting the legislation to a point where it wouldn’t slam into those guardrails has remained an open and difficult question for Republicans — Thune suggested that it could work if it’s «very carefully structured based upon incentive, mostly grant money,» for states.
«So, you know, we’re gonna do everything we can to move that forward,» Thune said. «But as I told you before, the math on that hasn’t changed yet. It’s still likely to be a 60-vote exercise, even if it’s done with a budget resolution.»
Trump demanded Republicans ram through their own budget resolution before they leave Washington, D.C., until after Labor Day on Truth Social Friday to fund defense, agriculture, and pass «as much of the SAVE AMERICA ACT as possible.»
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
«Our voters will be extremely happy — And even impressed,» Trump said.
Meanwhile, Thune has received criticism from Republicans for his plan to hold up the reconciliation process in favor of averting a shutdown.
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Fox News Digital the only option to pass SAVE America was through reconciliation, and he’s been working on his own plan in the background, and believes it could survive the Senate’s «Byrd» test.
«I can’t guarantee it, but it’s a — I consider it to be a credible argument,» Kennedy said. «And I will try to do that, and I will try to, at the right time, bring my colleagues, and, more importantly, the parliamentarian, along. But if we don’t do it through reconciliation, through the House reconciliation, we won’t get it done.»
«And I’m not sure it will work, but I think it might,» he continued. «It’s at least a 50/50 shot.»
politics, senate elections, government shutdown, mitch mcconnell, john thune
Wildfires displace more than 250,000 in France, threaten famed wine region
Música, inteligencia artificial y el valor de lo humano
La contundente decisión de José María Muscari con su obra “El Divorcio del Año” luego de la muerte de Ernestina Pais
El Como sigue el consejo de Raphael Varane y limita los remates de cabeza en su cantera
Nintendo confirma mantenimiento para todos estos juegos en los próximos días (26/7/26) – Nintenderos
La policía busca al sospechoso del ataque mortal en el desfile del Orgullo en Berlín: sería un joven islamista de 21 años
Jorge Berredo, general retirado de las FFAA, asumió como Secretario de Seguridad en San Isidro
Sin la anestesia mundialista, aflora la crisis del conurbano y Milei necesita reconectar con lo popular
Senado: Bullrich y Sturzenegger cierran filas para tratar de avanzar con la extranjerización de tierras
Marc Stanley destacó el potencial de Vaca Muerta para “estabilizar la economía” y evitó hablar de política interna
POLITICA3 días agoSenado: Bullrich y Sturzenegger cierran filas para tratar de avanzar con la extranjerización de tierras
- POLITICA3 días ago
Marc Stanley destacó el potencial de Vaca Muerta para “estabilizar la economía” y evitó hablar de política interna
- INTERNACIONAL3 días ago
Recuperaron ADN de un tenedor plástico y acusaron a una mujer de haber apuñalado 100 veces a su mejor amiga hace 14 años
