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Trump flexes MAGA muscle in Texas Senate runoff clash between Cornyn and Paxton

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AUSTIN, TX – President Donald Trump has a new target this week as he takes aim at Republican critics — longtime GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas.

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Trump is targeting Cornyn as «VERY disloyal» as he backs Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a major Trump ally and MAGA firebrand, in Tuesday’s combustible and expensive runoff election for the GOP Senate nomination in the right-leaning state. The ballot box showdown serves as the latest tests of Trump’s immense grip over the Republican Party and the strength of his endorsements in GOP nomination races.

The winner of the runoff will face off against rising Democratic Party star state Rep. James Talarico in the general election in a race that is among a handful that may decide if the Republicans hold their slim 53-47 majority in the Senate. Talarico, who topped progressive star Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a vocal Trump critic, in the March primary, is trying to become the first Democrat in nearly four decades to win a Senate election in Texas.

The Senate contest is the most high-profile showdown on a ballot that also includes Democratic and Republican runoffs for Texas Attorney General, as well as key primary battles for four U.S. House seats, including a Democratic Party runoff in the 35th Congressional District where one of the two candidates in a social media post proposed converting an ICE detention center into a prison for American supporters of Israel.

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TRUMP BACKS MAGA ALLY PAXTON IN TEXAS SHOWDOWN WITH CORNYN

Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, center, campaigns at a meet and greet in Corpus Christi, Texas, on May 22, 2026, days ahead of the runoff election for the GOP Senate nomination. (Luke Travisan/Fox News)

Trump’s targeting of Cornyn comes three weeks after the purging five state senators in Indiana’s primary who had opposed his push for congressional redistricting, a week and a half after helping to oust Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana — who five and a half years ago voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial – and one week after defeating vocal GOP critic Rep. Tom Massie of Kentucky.

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The Texas runoff is also being held one week after Trump endorsed Paxton, after sitting on the sidelines in the race for months.

«Ken is a true MAGA Warrior who has ALWAYS delivered for Texas, and will continue to do so in the United States Senate,» Trump wrote in a social media post last Tuesday.

The two heated rivals topped a crowded field of contenders in the early March primary, with Cornyn edging Paxton. But since neither cleared the 50% threshold, the nomination race headed into overtime.

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Trump, in backing Paxton, said that «John Cornyn is a good man, and I worked well with him, but he was not supportive of me when times were tough.»

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaking at a primary election night watch party in Dallas

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton landed President Donald Trump’s endorsement one week ahead of his runoff election against Republican Sen. John Cornyn for the GOP Senate nomination. (Julio Cortez/AP Photo)

Pointing to the senator’s past criticism of him, Trump added, «John was very late in backing me in what turned out to be a Historic Run for the Republican Nomination, and then, the Presidency.»

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Cornyn, in a Fox News Digital interview on the eve of the runoff, emphasized his support for the president and his agenda.

«President Trump has called me a friend and a good man, and we’ve worked with him closely for both terms of office,» the senator said.

Paxton, who grabbed significant national attention the past dozen years by filing lawsuits against the Obama and Biden administrations, disagreed.

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«John Cornyn fought Trump on the border. And you can go back over about a decade and see that he was not for the border wall,» Paxton charged in an interview on Fox News’ «The Big Weekend Show.»

CONTENTIOUS REPUBLICAN SENATE PRIMARY IN TEXAS HEADED INTO OVERTIME

Paxton also argued that the senator «fought the president’s reelection. He fought him in 2024, said his time had passed, and he fought him in 2016. So this is not a pro-Trump guy. I don’t know if we could be more different on the Republican issues than John Cornyn and me. So there is a vast difference between the two of us.»

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Cornyn pushed back.

«I don’t know how much more with him I could be than 99.3% of the time,» the senator told Fox News Digital.

«I want him to be successful. I want America to be successful, and I want Republicans to be successful. But you know, in the end, as I said, Texans are the only ones going to be able to make a choice, and I think Texans can be pretty independent,» Cornyn added.

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Paxton has faced a slew of scandals and legal problems that have battered him over the past decade. In 2023, the Texas House of Representatives voted to impeach Paxton, but he was eventually acquitted of all charges by the state senate.

And Paxton is dealing with a very messy divorce, with his wife citing «biblical grounds» based on «recent discoveries» in filing last year to end their marriage.

Cornyn, who is supported by Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has repeatedly argued that if Paxton is the GOP’s nominee, the party will be forced to spend millions of dollars to keep the seat from flipping and that Republicans down-ballot will suffer.

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«He’s gotten more and more emboldened as he’s gotten away with all the scandal and mischief that now is very well known, but were he to be the nominee and be exposed to general election voters, especially independents, I think it’s going to be a very rocky time,» the senator predicted.

TRUMP OWNS THE GOP – BUT WILL REPUBLICANS PAY A PRICE IN THE MIDTERMS?

Texas Senate candidate James Talarico speaking at a campaign rally in Houston

Texas Senate candidate James Talarico, the Democratic Party’s nominee, speaks at a campaign rally in Houston on March 2, 2026. (Danielle Villasana/Getty Images)

And pointing to Talarico, who hauled in an eye-popping $27 million in fundraising during the first three months of this year, Cornyn said «there will be an incredible tsunami of Democratic funds coming in against Paxton, were he the nominee. Conversely…if I am the nominee…we’ll be able to shoulder the burden pretty much on our own. I won my last general election by 10 points. I think I can do similarly against somebody who’s as far left and radical as James Talarico.»

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While Paxton has shifted his ads to target Talarico in the wake of the Trump endorsement, Cornyn and allied groups continue to blast Paxton.

«I don’t think anybody could honestly argue that we haven’t fought hard to make the case here,» Cornyn said of his campaign.

And he emphatically said he’s «worked too long and too hard to help build the Republican Party in Texas, and in the United States Senate, and to keep Texas the envy of the nation when it comes to opportunities and pursuing the American dream, to let that go, to squander it, and let it go without a fight. So I’m still optimistic on the outcome, but obviously it depends on who shows up.»

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The other statewide runoff in Texas is for attorney general, in the race to succeed Paxton.

In the expensive GOP showdown, four-term Rep. Chip Roy is battling state Sen. Mayes Middleton, the president of an independent oil and gas company.

State Senator Mayes Middleton, is a Republican candidate for Texas Attorney General

State Senator Mayes Middleton, a Republican candidate for Texas Attorney General, speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Grapevine, Texas, on Thursday, March 26, 2026. (Shelby Tauber/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Middleton, who edged Roy in the March primary, has dished out roughly $17 million of his own money to back his campaign. But Roy, a former Texas assistant attorney general and former chief of staff to conservative Sen. Ted Cruz, received a late surge in fundraising from major backers.

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«We’ve gotten the financial support necessary to compete with my self-funder opponent, who’s got his inheritance money that he can just spend,» Roy highlighted in a Fox News Digital interview on the eve of the runoff.

Roy has argued that Middleton’s lack of courtroom experience would make him a poor attorney general.

«Having been the first assistant attorney general makes me ready on day one, but it’s also that I’ve been a prosecutor, I’ve been in court, I’ve sat in front of a judge, stood in front of a judge, argued cases, and he has never done any of those things. And we think those things should matter,» Roy emphasized.

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Middleton has pushed back, questioning Roy’s conservative credentials and run ads claiming Roy’s «betrayed MAGA» as he’s pointed to the times the congressman has broken with Trump over policy.

«Chip Roy has someone that has spent a decade fighting the president. He actually said President Trump committed impeachable conduct on the House floor,» Middleton told Fox News Digital. «Instead of spending 10 years fighting President Trump, what have I done? I’ve spent 10 years, fighting to defeat the left, which is what matters the most in this race.»

But Roy, responding, said «everyone knows that I’m a longtime defender and supporter of the president’s agenda, of the America First agenda, the MAGA agenda, but I’m also an independent thinker who will stand up and make the case. And pointing to Middleton, Roy charged, «MAGA is not something you just buy. My opponent thinks you can buy the brand.»

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Middleton returned fire, arguing «Chip Roy is putting out there that he is a top ally to President Trump when the exact opposite is the case.»

Roy, showcasing his electability, said «I beat Democrats before in a tough race» and that he «knows how to win.»

The winner of the GOP runoff will likely face Democratic state Sen. Nathan Johnson, who came close to clinching his party’s nomination in the primary. Johnson is facing off against former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski.

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Also in the spotlight are Democratic and GOP runoffs in the redrawn majority-Latino 35th Congressional District,

Democratic Party leaders are slamming housing activist and sex therapist Maureen Galindo for her Instagram post on imprisoning American Zionists at an ICE detention center. She added that the prison would have a castration facility for pedophiles, which she claimed would likely include «most of the Zionists.

Maureen Galindo controversial comments speaking

Maureen Galindo speaks at a League of Women Voters meeting in Texas. (Katina Zentz/Getty Images)

She also said that her rival in the runoff, Bexar County Sheriff’s Deputy Johnny Garcia, should be tried for treason over his support for Israel.

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The comments have spurred support for Garcia, who’s running as a moderate. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the Texas Democratic Party, Talarico, and even progressive champion Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have backed Garcia.

The winner of the Democratic primary will face off against either Republican state Rep. John Lujan or Carlos De La Cruz, an Air Force veteran and brother of Rep. Monica De La Cruz of Texas.

In the solidly blue, Houston-based 18th Congressional District, 78-year-old Democratic Rep. Al Green will face off with recently-elected 38-year-old Rep. Christian Menefee, for a seat redrawn last year by Republicans as part of their congressional redistricting push.

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Democratic Rep. Julie Johnson is running against former Rep. Colin Allred in the Democratic-dominated, Dallas-based, 33rd Congressional District.

And in the newly drawn 9th Congressional District, a right-tilting seat in the Houston area, Trump-endorsed Army veteran Alex Mealer faces Abbott-endorsed state Rep. Briscoe Cain.

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Ucrania lanzó el mayor ataque sobre Moscú en dos años: bombardeó una refinería clave por segunda vez en una semana

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Ucrania lanzó este jueves su mayor ataque con drones contra Moscú en los dos últimos años, lo que provocó incendios en la capital rusa y sus alrededores. La ofensiva, que incluyó el golpe a una refinería clave, dejó cientos de vuelos demorados y puso en alerta a toda la región.

Varios drones impactaron en la refinería MNPZ, ubicada en el distrito de Kapotnia, al sur de Moscú. El propio alcalde de la ciudad, Seguéi Sobianin, calificó el hecho como un ataque “a gran escala”, aunque no detalló el alcance de los daños.

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Reporteros en la zona vieron grandes columnas de humo negro sobre la periferia sur de la capital, mientras las llamas se apoderaban de la refinería.

El presidente ucraniano, Volodimir Zelenski, justificó la ofensiva y la definió como “una respuesta plenamente justificada a los ataques rusos contra nuestras ciudades”.

La refinería de Kapotnia, al sureste de la capital rusa, se incendió en las últimas horas debido a un ataque masivo de drones ucranianos contra Moscú. (Foto: AFP).

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El ataque coincidió con una reunión del presidente Vladimir Putin con líderes del sudeste asiático en la ciudad de Kazán, a unos 700 kilómetros de Moscú. El mandatario ruso evitó referirse al tema en su intervención inicial.

No es la primera vez que Kiev lanza una ofensiva de este tipo durante un evento internacional en Rusia: a principios de junio, un ataque similar golpeó la zona de San Petersburgo durante un importante foro económico.

Aeropuertos cerrados y vuelos demorados

El ataque obligó a cerrar los principales aeropuertos de Moscú durante horas. El más importante, Sheremétievo, evacuó a los pasajeros a “lugares seguros” y recién reabrió cerca de las once de la mañana.

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Otro dron se estrelló contra un edificio de departamentos en la zona de Zhukovski, mientras que los restos de otro aparato provocaron un incendio en un centro comercial cercano, según informó el gobernador regional, Andréi Vorobiov.

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Cerraron aeropuertos rusos por el ataque ucraniano contra Moscú. (Foto: AFP).

El martes, la misma refinería MNPZ ya había sido blanco de otro ataque ucraniano, que provocó un incendio y daños en una planta que cubre más de un tercio de las necesidades de combustible de Moscú.

Según el alcalde Sobianin, las defensas antiaéreas abatieron 180 drones que se acercaban a la capital. El Ministerio de Defensa ruso aseguró haber interceptado más de 500 drones ucranianos en todo el país durante la madrugada.

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“Sanciones de largo alcance” y represalias cruzadas

En la región sureña de Rostov, otro ataque ucraniano con drones dejó un muerto y dos heridos, según el gobernador local. En los últimos meses, Kiev intensificó sus ofensivas contra refinerías de petróleo, consideradas un activo clave para el esfuerzo de guerra ruso, mientras las negociaciones diplomáticas siguen estancadas.

Zelenski calificó estos ataques como “sanciones de largo alcance” y reclamó: “Es hora de que la guerra termine, y de que Rusia tome los pasos necesarios a nivel diplomático”.

Por su parte, Rusia respondió con más de 200 drones y varios misiles balísticos contra Ucrania entre la noche del miércoles y la mañana del jueves, según la fuerza aérea ucraniana. En Kiev, la gente corrió a los refugios ante la amenaza de nuevos bombardeos.

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Un drone ucraniano impactó contra un edificio de viviendas en Moscú. (Foto: Reuters).

Un drone ucraniano impactó contra un edificio de viviendas en Moscú. (Foto: Reuters).

Restricciones y clima de tensión en Moscú

A pesar de las represalias y el impacto social y económico de la guerra, Putin intentó mostrar normalidad con la cumbre en Kazán, que reunió a los primeros ministros de Tailandia, Vietnam, Camboya, Laos, Malasia y Singapur, además del presidente de Filipinas, Ferdinand Marcos.

Sin embargo, los ataques obligaron a tomar medidas concretas: tras el golpe al Foro Económico de San Petersburgo, Putin prometió reforzar las defensas antiaéreas y la autoridad federal de aviación prohibió el sobrevuelo de drones y aparatos ligeros civiles en el espacio aéreo de Moscú. Además, las autoridades restringieron la publicación de fotos y videos de los lugares atacados.

Leé también: Racismo en un tren turístico de Brasil: procesaron al argentino que fotografió a un nene y compartió mensajes discriminatorios

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En la cumbre del G7 en Francia, el presidente estadounidense Donald Trump insistió en que Moscú debe aceptar “un acuerdo” para terminar el conflicto y advirtió que podría restablecer “pronto” las sanciones al petróleo ruso.

Putin, por su parte, se niega a reunirse cara a cara con Zelenski y mantiene como objetivo tomar el control total de la región ucraniana del Donbás.

La ofensiva rusa, lanzada en febrero de 2022, ya es el conflicto más sangriento en Europa desde la Segunda Guerra Mundial y dejó cientos de miles de muertos.

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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.

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«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.»

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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.

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«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.

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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.»

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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.»

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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

Bernie Sanders stands with Senate candidate Graham Platner at campaign event.

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.»

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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.

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«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.

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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

Ken Paxton standing and speaking at a runoff election night event in Plano, Texas.

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.»

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«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.

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«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.

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Tanto nadar para morir en la orilla

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El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, sube al Air Force One en el aeropuerto de Ginebra tras la cumbre del G7 (REUTERS)

Todas las miradas se dirigían a Bürgenstock, el histórico complejo hotelero sobre el lago de Lucerna, donde Audrey Hepburn se casó y donde Sean Connery protagonizó su heroica lucha contra el malvado Goldfinger. En ese ressort exclusivo propiedad de Katara Hospitality, el fondo soberano de Qatar, se había celebrado en junio de 2024 la Cumbre por la Paz en Ucrania, un esforzado intento de 90 países (sin China, ni Rusia), que se quedó en un mero documento de apoyo. Y debía ser aquí, en ese hotel de lujo suspendido en un acantilado de 500 metros, donde estaba previsto celebrar la ceremonia oficial de firma física del MOU, el memorando de entendimiento entre Estados Unidos e Irán, que dará por concluida la guerra iniciada hace 110 días con la Operación Fúria Épica. Sin embargo, por la premura de la situación, por la repentina influencia de Macrón o, más bien por el amor desatado de Trump por la majestuosidad y la grandilocuencia, al final el presidente norteamericano ha estampado su firma del MOU en el Palacio de Versailles, el mismo lugar donde, en 1783, Gran Bretaña, Francia y España pusieron fin a la Guerra de independencia de Estados Unidos, y donde se firmó en 1919 el tratado de paz de la primera guerra mundial. Rodeado, pues, de tanta carga històrica, y con Petain rondando en el escenario, Trump ha dado por acabada la guerra.

Silenciados los misiles, es el tiempo de analizar un acuerdo que se larbó con demesiada premura por parte de Trump, azuzado por sus errores estratégicos y sus intereses internos. Y el análisis provisional dispara muchas alarmas. La primera alarma arrastra al resto: ¿El acuerdo de Donald Trump con Irán será peor que el pésimo acuerdo nuclear (JCPOA) que firmó Barack Obama en 2015 en el Palais Coburg de Viena? Recordemos sus consecuencias. De entrada, el acuerdo no impidió la carrera nuclear iraní, solo la congeló supuestamente, pero con unas restricciones tan severas a las inspecciones de la OIEA, que sirvieron para que el régimen llegara a acumular 9.000 quilos de uranio enriquecido en diferentes niveles de pureza, 400 de ellos enriquecido al 60%, suficientes para fabricar 10 bombas nucleares. Además, Irán inyectó más de 100.000 millones en activos liberados que sirvieron para rearmar a sus proxys, desde Hezbollah, hasta Hamás y los houthis, y desestabilizar a Oriente Medio. Para rematar, el acuerdo permitió el desarrollo de miles de mísiles balísticos entre alto y corto alcance. Es decir, con Obama, el régimen se mantenia fuerte, no cejaba en su carrera nuclear, creaba un basto arsenal de misiles y armaba a sus proxys terroristas.

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¿El acuerdo de Trump cambia esa situación? No solo no lo parece, sino que hay motivos para pensar que deja la situación peor. De entrada, el régimen de Irán estaba, antes de la guerra, en su situación más crítica, acababa de asesinar a miles de manifestantes, su economía entraba en pre colapso, había perdido a su aliado sirio, Hezbollah había sufrido la decapitación de su cúpula y Hamas estaba siendo severamente diezmada por Israel. En este sentido, el objetivo anunciado de la guerra de hacer caer al régimen (“la ayuda está en camino”, escribió Trump en su red Truth Social un mes antes), parecía pausible, pero partió de un gran error de cálculo: no considerar que el régimen llegaría hasta el límite para garantizar su superviviencia, y que poseía el arma más poderosa de la guerra, la capacidad de crear una crisis energética mundial con el dominio del estrecho de Ormuz. Si el régimen estaba débil antes de febrero, después de resistir a la guerra se ha reforzado, con el agravante que ahora lo dirigen los sectores más duros y más radicalizados de la Guardia Revolucionaria. Con ello han conseguido una doble posición de fuerza: han resistido al ejército más poderoso del mundo, y han demostrado que pueden dañar seriamente a la economía de todo Oriente Medio. Lo cual conlleva otra consecuencia desastrosa: Estados Unidos sale debilitado ante los ojos de los países de la región, porque ya no es el paragüas que impedía que fueran atacados. Por ello, es de prever que muchos de estos países inicien ahora una aproximación pragmática con el régimen de los ayatolás, como escudo defensivo para próximas ofensivas.

Además, si Obama liberó 100.000 millones, Trump ha comprometido 300.000 millones para reconstruir el país y la descongelación de los activos iraníes, de manera que el régimen recibirá una inyección ingente de dinero que lo reforzará ile tempore.

Una cena con altos representantes de Francia en el Palacio de Versalles, en París, fue testigo de la firma del acuerdo entre Estados Unidos e Irán

Con todo sumado, aún quedan los aspectos más delicados, dónde tampoco parece que Trump haya conseguido ningún éxito creïble: el tema nuclear queda relegado a 60 días de negociaciones, lo cual, en lenguaje iraní, significa que sigue abierto. El tema de los misiles ha desaparecido en la fase uno, y también se pospone a negociaciones posteriores, que partirán de cero. Y lo más punzante es el tema del Líbano, punto en el que Israel ha sido apartado de la decisiones. El acuerdo parece, de entrada, santo: alto el fuego total. Sin embargo, ¿qué significa ello en el Líbano? ¿como puede tomarse esa decisión, sin el acuerdo explícito de Israel, que és el país que sufre la agresión terrorista de Hezbollah? Y, ¿como puede plantearse sin ningún atisbo de seguridad -y menos de paz- sin el desarme completo del grupo terrorista? ¿Como se consigue un Líbano que pueda vivir con seguridad, si se permite la permanente ingerencia iraní y el secuestro de la política libanesa por parte de Hezbollah? El hecho es que con un Hezbollah que acumula miles de misiles y cuyo único objetivo es la destrucción de Israel, el acuerdo es un papel mojado, inútil para la paz e hiriente para el estado hebreo. Al final, la conclusión és clara: el MOU da por hecho que Irán tiene decisión sobre el futuro del Líbano, y ello es un permanente bomba de tiempo.

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Finalmente, aunque no menor, la heroica oposición de la ciutadania persa, que esperaba la ayuda prometida, desaparece de todas las ecuaciones, completamente abandonada por quien aseguró que iría a su rescate. Trump ha usado, ha manipulado y ha abandonado a la lucha del pueblo persa.

Visto lo visto, ninguno de los objetivos que prometió Trump han sido conseguidos. No hay “victoria total y completa”, no existe ninguna “rendición incondicional”, no se ha desenterrado el uranio enriquecido, el Libano continúa secuestrado por Hezbollah, el régimen iraní no ha caído y se reforzará económicamente, no se ha conseguido que Irán deje de apoyar a sus proxys terroristas, los países de la región se han sentido vulnerables y Qatar refuerza su posición estratégica. ¿Qué ha conseguido, pues? ¿Abrir el estrecho de Ormuz? Ergo, ha vuelto al punto de partida sin alcanzar ninguno de los objetivos que había prometido. Estratégica, política y militarmente Trump ha sido humillado por una tiranía perversa a la que prometió derrotar. Para el régimen criminal iraní, es una victoria sin paliativos. Para Estados Unidos, una muestra de vulnerabilidad inimaginable. Y para Israel, una situación alarmante que lo deja solo ante los retos terroristas que lo amenazan. Trump abrazó a Israel durante mucho tiempo. Ahora cabe preguntarse si en realidad su abrazo fue el abrazo del oso.

X: @RaholaOficial

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International,Relations,Diplomacy / Foreign Policy,North America

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