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From #MeToo to Maine? Dem experts weigh in on how Platner’s rise tests party standards: ‘Pulling the plug’
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Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner’s scandal-plagued rise is causing rifts within the Democratic Party, and several Democratic strategists who spoke to Fox News Digital warned of the long-term implications of the party embracing him.
«Anyone paying attention to the intersection of culture and politics knows that my party pushed #MeToo well beyond the bounds of common sense long before Graham Platner’s rise,» Michael LaRosa, former press secretary to first lady Jill Biden, said about whether the #MeToo movement rings hollow within the party now that top Democrats have rallied behind Platner.
«But the reflexive partisan instinct to circle the wagons around him is the political equivalent of pulling the plug on whatever credibility Democrats had left as the self-appointed champions of women.»
«If the standards disappear the moment they’re politically inconvenient, they were never standards at all.»
JONATHAN TURLEY: WHEN JOURNALISTS WHINE ABOUT #METOO, THEY DON’T MEAN PLATNER, TOO
Graham Platner, Democratic Senate candidate for Maine, speaks at a primary election night event at the Blue Hill YMCA in Blue Hill, Maine, on June 9, 2026. Platner won the party’s Senate primary after a campaign marked by accusations of past misbehavior and voter concerns. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Former adviser to President Bill Clinton and Democratic strategist Doug Schoen argued that Democrats are choosing power and Senate control over serious concerns about Platner’s past, and that could hurt them in 2028.
«In the short term, for some Democrats, those on the progressive left, it’s the right decision, a practical decision,» Schoen said. «To me, it’s a very sad one and certainly undermines the moral legitimacy of the Democratic Party as a whole.»
«Certainly, I think they’ve left themselves vulnerable vis-à-vis Platner’s extreme left-wing positions, his toxicity as a person, the issues with relationships, arguably lying about his Nazi tattoo,» Schoen said. «I certainly think this creates issues for the Democrats where none needed to exist.»
Platner has denied allegations from former girlfriends who told The New York Times that he discussed rape fantasies, drank heavily and had violent episodes, while also facing mounting criticism over sexually explicit messages allegedly sent to women shortly after getting married, a Nazi-linked tattoo and online comments mocking a Purple Heart veteran.
Despite new controversies emerging days before Maine’s Democratic Senate primary, Graham Platner won with more primary votes than any Democrat in state history.
Democratic strategist Mally Smith told Fox News Digital he doesn’t believe that the Platner campaign is necessarily the «death» of the #MeToo movement, but that Democrats who have «more fully embraced» his campaign are «going to have some trouble when it comes to making the case on the Epstein files or any general claims of believe all women.»
«So maybe Democrats don’t have the advantage on the issue anymore, but I would say that it’s not like Republicans have an advantage either,» Smith added. «I think voters are just gonna say, well, both parties are willing to live with the baggage of their candidates.»
Looking ahead to 2028, LaRosa said that Democrats could be haunted by their ties to Platner for years.
«If he wins, you’ll still have to explain why you stood with him,» LaRosa said. «If he loses, you’ll have nothing to show for it except the association. Either way, he’s someone you’ll be answering for.»
Smith explained Platner’s rise by citing voters that are «unhappy with the status quo» to the point where there’s an «element, whether it’s Republican voters supporting President Donald Trump or Democratic voters supporting Graham Platner in Maine, where they say these elites attacking him is actually evidence that he’s on the right track.»
For others, the controversies are still too big for voters to ignore. LaRosa said that voters «reward guts, not willful blindness» when judging a candidate with Nazi imagery tattooed on his chest, adding that the Democratic leaders are lacking that same «courage.»
DEMOCRATS BREAK WITH SCANDAL-PLAGUED GRAHAM PLATNER, WARN OF ‘CIVIL WAR’ IN PARTY
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner stood together during a «Fighting Oligarchy» tour stop at the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus on May 24, 2026, in Orono, Maine. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
«We look pretty vapid, unprincipled and hypocritical to look the other way when it comes to any candidate accused of any level of violence against women just because it is politically inconvenient,» LaRosa said. «Never again should voters trust us or take our moral arguments seriously. Principles only mean something when they’re applied across the board, even when it’s politically uncomfortable.»
For over a decade, Democrats have used the «Nazi» attack line against President Donald Trump, but have nevertheless mostly rallied around Platner, despite the Nazi imagery tattooed on his body for 18 years.
«They’re seeing all of these lunatics, like the guy in Maine…for ten years they’ve been calling me a ‘Nazi,’ and now they have a Nazi running. He’s got a tattoo on him,» President Trump said during a Thursday news conference.
Schoen argued Democrats have now weakened their case against Republican scandals, pointing to Texas Attorney General and Senate candidate Ken Paxton.
«For every criticism that they level at Ken Paxton in Texas, they will be greeted by criticism of Graham Platner in Maine, which to me makes their job more difficult,» Schoen said.
Smith made a similar point, saying both parties are dealing with candidates causing «their own version of heartburn» that can be used against them politically.
Trump-backed Paxton prevailed in the primary against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, after he was impeached by the Texas House, a federal investigation into allegations that he abused his office to aid a donor and cheating allegations.
LaRosa said the «uncomfortable truth» is that Democrats have reduced Platner to a simple political equation, viewing him as «just another number, another vote, another seat, another data point on a spreadsheet» instead of focusing on whether he is the right person for the job.
PLATNER CONTROVERSIES FUEL SPECULATION ABOUT LITTLE-KNOWN MAINE BALLOT REPLACEMENT PROVISION
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during a runoff election night event in Plano, Texas, on May 26, 2026. (Antranik Tavitian/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
November may provide a clearer test, Schoen said. He said Platner’s victory does not mean he shed his political baggage, adding Platner has left the party to grapple with problems «where none needed to exist.»
«With Graham Platner, there are literally immediate, multiple sources of concern that are ongoing, and it isn’t clear to me that he will necessarily survive and succeed,» Schoen said.
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Ultimately, Smith said that Maine voters will be focused on the economy and that concerns about Platner will likely only be a major issue within the state rather than nationwide.
«Voters are unhappy with the economy, and I think most people are going to be voting on whether they believe the economy is better than when Trump was inaugurated, and the answer to that is a resounding no,» Smith said. «So I think as much as news stations like to talk about Graham Platner and what this means for Democrats overall, or vice versa, Ken Paxton and Republicans overall, most voters are not going to think about Graham Platner’s Nazi tattoo outside of Maine. So I think this is more of a localized Maine problem.»
Fox News Digital reached out to the Platner campaign for comment.
democrats elections, the clintons, graham platner, primary results, republicans, maine, democratic party
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Twenty-five years after a generation promised to «Never Forget,» that pledge now relies on education for the more than 100 million Americans with no memory of 9/11.
The Pentagon is preparing to help address that challenge by breaking ground this weekend on a long-awaited Visitor Education Center at the only one of the three 9/11 attack sites still without a dedicated museum or education center.
The new center is intended to fill the gap that has grown more pronounced with each passing year by helping Americans who never experienced the attacks understand not only what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, but why it continues to matter.
Joseph Kornhoff, executive director of the Pentagon Memorial Fund, told Fox News Digital that nearly one-third of the country was either not alive that day or has no recollection of it and therefore lacks the «personal connection» shared by those who watched the attacks unfold.
NEW 9/11 MUSEUM EXHIBIT AIMS TO CONNECT YOUNGER AMERICANS TO THE ATTACKS THROUGH POWERFUL ARTIFACTS
Members of the military and first responders watch as an American flag is unfurled on the side of the Pentagon to mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on September 11, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia. The United States is marking the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when a group of al-Qaeda hijackers flew airplanes into the World Trade Center, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. (Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images)
«That’s what we’re trying to provide with the visitor education center experience,» Kornhoff said in an interview with Fox News Digital, explaining that the goal is to give visitors a personal connection that allows them to «start to understand the gravity of that day.»
Flowers lay on a bench at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, adjacent to the Pentagon, ahead of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, in Washington, DC, on September 9, 2026. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)
Nearly 230 miles north, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York is confronting the same generational divide.
Beth Hillman, president and CEO of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, said the passage of time has only made the annual vow to «Never Forget» more important as the number of Americans with firsthand memories of the attacks declines.
«Many in my generation remember exactly where we were on that horrific day,» Hillman said during an Aug. 31 press preview outlining the museum’s plans for the 25th anniversary. «Yet, 100 million Americans were not even born or are too young to remember that day for themselves today.»
BROOKLYN TEACHERS WHO WITNESSED 9/11 AS CHILDREN REVEAL WHAT THEY WANT THE NEXT GENERATION TO REMEMBER
Noah Rauch, the museum’s senior vice president for education and public programs, said he has watched that transition unfold firsthand through the museum’s work with students and teachers. «I’ve seen this line creeping up between memory and history, between those who remembered the attacks and those who didn’t,» Rauch said during the Aug. 31 press event.
The United States is marking the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, when a group of al-Qaeda hijackers flew airplanes into the World Trade Center, Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 people. (Jeenah Moon – Pool/Getty Images)
That transition from memory to history also raises a more modern challenge. Americans too young to remember the attacks are increasingly learning about an event they never experienced firsthand, while conspiracy theories and false narratives about 9/11 run rampant online.
Kornhoff said that makes factual education increasingly important, pointing specifically to conspiracy theories surrounding the attack on the Pentagon and narratives suggesting that America «deserved 9/11.»
«That’s the need for the education center,» Kornhoff told Fox News Digital. «As a nation, we need to really take a step back, look at how we’re educating our young children to make sure that we’re providing them with the facts of the situation … and not these conspiracy theories and entertaining wild ideas that just simply are not true.»
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: 9/11 IS JUST A HISTORY CHAPTER FOR A NEW GENERATION OF AMERICANS
Flowers and American flags rest beside inscribed names at a reflecting pool at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum on Sept. 11, 2026, in New York City, as the nation commemorated the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. (Jeenah Moon – Pool/Getty Images)
The Pentagon center will include 10 exhibits telling the human stories of the attack, including the 184 people killed at the Pentagon and aboard American Airlines Flight 77, the first responders who rushed to the scene and the military and civilian personnel who aided the wounded.
«We are going to address the facts of the day,» Kornhoff said. «We are going to address the entire Pentagon story.»
The renewed focus on 9/11 education has also reached Capitol Hill. Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., introduced bipartisan legislation ahead of the 25-year anniversary, which aims to direct the Department of Education to examine how 9/11 is taught in schools nationwide and identify gaps in instruction.
Kornhoff praised the effort during his interview with Fox News Digital, saying the legislation reflects a growing recognition of the need to educate generations with no firsthand connection to the attacks.
Stainless-steel benches dedicated to victims are seen at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Washington, DC, on September 10, 2026, ahead of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. ((Photo by Alex WROBLEWSKI / AFP via Getty Images))
The Pentagon 9/11 Memorial Visitor Education Center is expected to open by the end of 2029 near the existing Pentagon 9/11 Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.
The project received $12 million in federal funding this year, along with $1 million from Virginia and additional private donations raised by the Pentagon Memorial Fund. Once completed, the center is expected to include interactive exhibits, historic artifacts and firsthand accounts from survivors and victims’ families while providing visitors with additional context about the attack and its aftermath.
september 11, pentagon, politics, washington dc, historic sites, education
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El Niño amenaza con encarecer alimentos, energía y logística en Centroamérica y República Dominicana durante 2027
El fenómeno de El Niño podría trasladar sus efectos a la economía de Centroamérica y República Dominicana, a través de un aumento en los precios de los alimentos y la electricidad, restricciones para el transporte marítimo y presiones sobre la actividad productiva.
El reporte “Perspectivas económicas de Centroamérica, Panamá y República Dominicana”, elaborado por Deloitte, advierte que el impacto más marcado puede concentrarse en 2027.
El fenómeno de El Niño comenzó oficialmente el 11 de junio de 2026. En julio, el Centro de Predicción Climática de la Administración Nacional Oceánica y Atmosférica de Estados Unidos estimó en 81% la probabilidad de que alcance una intensidad “muy fuerte” entre octubre y diciembre. Si se confirma, estaría entre los eventos más intensos registrados desde 1950.
La principal consecuencia climática prevista para la región es la sequía. La fase cálida del fenómeno ENOS, sigla de El Niño-Oscilación del Sur, suele asociarse con menores lluvias, temperaturas más altas y estrés hídrico, sobre todo en la vertiente del Pacífico y el Corredor Seco.
La menor disponibilidad de agua puede afectar tanto a la agricultura como a la generación de energía y la operación logística de Panamá.
Menor oferta de granos básicos
El reporte identifica a la producción agropecuaria como una de las primeras vías de consecuencias del fenómeno hacia los hogares.
La sequía puede reducir la oferta de granos básicos en el Corredor Seco, mientras que el encarecimiento de fertilizantes y diésel puede elevar los costos de producción y trasladarse a los precios finales de los alimentos.
El impacto sobre la canasta alimentaria podría extenderse hasta 2027, de acuerdo con las proyecciones incluidas en el estudio. El café también aparece entre las actividades expuestas a los efectos del menor régimen de lluvias y las temperaturas más elevadas.
El informe incluye entre los temas a seguir la persistencia de aumentos en alimentos y energéticos, junto con la evolución del conflicto en Medio Oriente y su incidencia sobre los precios internacionales del petróleo.
La sequía amenaza la energía hidroeléctrica y la operación del Canal de Panamá
La sequía también amenaza la generación hidroeléctrica. Si caen los niveles de agua disponibles para las plantas, los países deberán compensar parte de esa producción con fuentes térmicas, que implican mayores costos por el uso de combustibles.
El documento señala que una menor generación hidroeléctrica puede presionar las tarifas eléctricas al alza. El aumento de ese costo tendría efectos sobre los presupuestos familiares y sobre empresas que dependen de electricidad para sus procesos productivos.
A la vez, los gobiernos podrían enfrentar una mayor carga fiscal si aplican subsidios energéticos o programas de apoyo para contener el impacto de las tarifas. El reporte considera esos desembolsos como uno de los factores que podrían modificar el escenario económico de la región durante 2026 y 2027.
En Panamá, las condiciones de sequía pueden afectar los niveles de agua necesarios para la operación del Canal. El análisis contempla posibles restricciones de calado y dificultades logísticas como una de las cuatro vías principales por las cuales El Niño puede repercutir en la economía regional.
Las limitaciones sobre el calado de los buques podrían incidir en la actividad del Canal de Panamá y en las cadenas de suministro. El reporte sitúa a la logística y al transporte entre los sectores que deben monitorearse ante una eventual profundización del fenómeno.
La advertencia adquiere relevancia para una economía en la que el comercio y el transporte figuran entre las actividades que lideran el crecimiento.
El reporte diferencia dos etapas. Durante 2026 prevé la consolidación del fenómeno, alertas para el sector agrícola, ajustes tarifarios y las primeras posibles restricciones al tránsito marítimo. Para 2027, en cambio, anticipa que los efectos más fuertes pueden manifestarse sobre los embalses, las cosechas y el Canal de Panamá.
En todos los casos, el documento plantea que los efectos del clima se combinarán con otros factores económicos, como la evolución de las remesas, los precios de los combustibles, el desempeño de Estados Unidos y la trayectoria de la inflación.
sequía,Canal de Panamá,agricultura,energía hidroeléctrica,transporte marítimo
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White House unloads on violent ‘criminal alien’ nabbed after investigators uncover election offense
DETAILS: Non-citizen BUSTED over voter registration
Federal prosecutors charge a Honduran national with voter fraud in California after he allegedly registered to vote under an alias and cast ballots in multiple elections. Fox News’ Matt Finn reports on the federal indictment details, revealing the suspect received a voter registration card using a gym membership. The case highlights ongoing debates surrounding voter identification laws.
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A Bahamian national who arrived in the U.S. during President Gerald Ford’s administration and was living with a green card while racking up a violent rap sheet before investigators found he voted illegally in the 2020 election, sparking the deportation process, officials say.
The case of Anthony Tyrone Higgs is only the latest in a slew of arrests connected to illegal votes cast in recent elections, as the Trump administration engages in a broader crackdown on election integrity-related crimes.
«This alien was a guest in our country who forfeited his right to be in the U.S. when he committed these violent crimes and voted in the 2020 election,» White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis exclusively told Fox News Digital on Friday.
ICE ARRESTS PERUVIAN NATIONAL ACCUSED OF ILLEGALLY VOTING IN 2024 ELECTION AS DHS CITES SIMILAR CASES
ICE agents assemble in Minnesota, left; Anthony Tyrone Higgs, inset right. (Charly Triballeau/Getty Images; DHS)
«Any non-citizens who vote illegally in our elections will be arrested and removed. American elections are only for Americans.»
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a division of DHS, confirmed in a statement that Higgs had illegally voted in the 2020 election.
FORMER KANSAS MAYOR WHO PLEADED GUILTY TO ILLEGAL VOTING TURNS HIMSELF IN TO ICE
HSI’s Atlanta office arrested Higgs in Decatur, Georgia on September 3, and he is currently in the custody of ERO, the ICE subdivision that handles migrant removal operations.
Higgs was admitted into the U.S. in October 1976 as a Lawful Permanent Resident – commonly dubbed a Green Card holder. The Trump DHS has since placed him in proceedings to revoke his immigration status due to his lengthy rap sheet.
TRUMP DOJ UNLEASHES LARGEST DENATURALIZATION EFFORT IN DEPARTMENT HISTORY — AND SAYS IT’S ‘ONLY THE BEGINNING’
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
«This criminal alien from the Bahamas has a rap sheet for multiple violent crimes, including armed robbery, domestic violence, and assault on a police officer,» DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said.
«On top of all of that, he illegally voted in the 2020 election,» he added.
MORE THAN A QUARTER-MILLION NONCITIZENS MAY BE REGISTERED TO VOTE IN 4 KEY STATES, DHS ALLEGES
A Homeland Security Investigations logo is displayed ahead of Super Bowl LIX security operations in New Orleans on Feb. 5, 2025. An HSI special agent has since been indicted on multiple felony charges in Alabama. (Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)
Higgs’ record also includes resisting arrest, two counts of grand larceny and two counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
Of the voting-related charge, Mullin said that just one noncitizen casting a ballot is enough to cancel out an American citizen’s vote.
«Thanks to the hard work of the men and women of ICE, this criminal will be removed from our country and can never interfere in our elections again,» he continued.
DHS also provided several other recent cases of illegal immigrants or ineligible voters committing or being charged with election-related crimes.
In August, Colombian illegal immigrant Carlos Jaramillo-Grajales was sentenced to three years in prison following an ICE investigation that led to a guilty plea in a case where he was found to have committed identity theft to illegally vote in elections for more than 20 years, according to the agency.
«Federal immigration laws serve to safeguard our nation’s borders and protect the integrity of our government,» said Gregory Kehoe, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida.
«Those who seek to circumvent, exploit, or break these laws will be prosecuted fully,» he said in an August statement.
In New Jersey, a Slovakian national was found to have illegally voted in the 2022 midterms, according to HSI – which also cited the case of an Australian national accused of illegally casting ballots in both 2022 and 2024 in Louisiana.
Mauritanian national Mahady Sacko was busted by an ICE and FBI partnership in Democrat-run Philadelphia, and charged with voter fraud.
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Sacko allegedly voted illegally multiple times going back to 2008. He was already under an order of removal, DHS said in a statement, stating that he «exhausted all appeals» and an immigration board upheld his removal order as of 2002 but he remained in the country.
Returning to the case of Higgs, Mullin added in a statement: «Thanks to the hard work of the men and women of ICE, this criminal will be removed from our country and can never interfere in our elections again.»
voter fraud concerns, deportation, illegal immigrants, migrant crime, politics, voting, immigration, donald trump, white house
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