What Happened to Democracy? 👀
Plus Vlad on the Ropes
Favorite read📰: You don’t care about soccer — neither do I … but Democrats getting angry at Trump for getting America’s Folarin Balogun’s one-game suspension revoked is amazing
✏️Alex Berenson writes, “Democrats never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity”
Who doesn’t want their president fighting?
Voting their feet🗳️: America wants to be Texas, not California
Red and battleground states are projected to gain 11 Electoral College votes and House seats
Why❓: Victor Davis Hanson explains to Mark Halperin the divide between socialist and traditionalist America
Watch tonight📺: Frank Luntz on the takeaways
Democrats Maine Miracle✨
‼️Democrats who supported a guy with a Nazi tattoo now must figure out if they will support a Senate candidate accused of sexual assault — it serves them right, and it might work out pretty well for them.
Elected Democrats got behind oysterman and Nazi-enthusiast Graham Platner because they thought he could win — winning the Senate, beating incumbent Susan Collins — it was just too good.
🆕Politico today reported allegations of sexual assault against Platner
“A woman who dated Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner says he forced her to have sex with him nearly five years ago despite her repeated objections,” writes Politico. “‘I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me,’ she said. ‘I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice.’”
Look back🔙: Nepo-in-law Rep. Ro Khanna headed to Maine to defend Platner against allegations that he beat his girlfriend and said sexual violence would be a red line.
And now – I texted Khanna – never heard back.
Ro Khanna tweets: “I’ve been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line. These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement.”
❓Why now — Democrats have till July 27 to replace Platner on the ballot if he drops out.
Fair question❓: What is he getting offered right now to drop out?
Be smart🧠: Kicking Platner to the curb turns the race into a referendum on Trump — Susan Collins vs generic, boring Democrat, maybe the governor who lost the primary
Democrats’ odds spiked on Polymarket with the Platner news
Be fair⚖️: The voters of Maine spoke — they chose a guy with a Nazi tattoo, now establishment Democrats want to take it away from the voters because they think he is going to lose.
What happened to democracy?
But wait — there is more‼️: Democratic establishment isn’t just losing; it’s quitting
The establishment pushed out Mallory McMarrow in Michigan
Now, Abdul El-Sayed is likely to win the primary
Watch📱: A little bit with El-Sayed
😨Even Jennifer Welch is terrified
Jennifer Welch: “The Democrats need to return back, when they’re fighting the MAGA-Lite sect of the party, the antidote for them to fight back is we are not taking the party to the left, you’ve taken it to the right. We’re going back to FDR. We’re going back to a time where rich people pay their fair share in taxes”
What I’m thinking: She is making millions a year on Substack cursing about Donald Trump — now worried…you created this lady.
We have asked Welch to come on — she refuses.
📊85% of Democratic Socialists are white
9% Hispanic
5% Asian
4% black
Abolish ICE and anti-Israel are just like climate activism and boys in girls sports
Batya: “80% of DSA members have a college degree. 60% work professional jobs. Just 4% are blue-collar. 85% are white. This isn’t a working-class movement but an elite one, for whom “Free Palestine” and “Abolish ICE” operate as a smokescreen for class privilege—just like climate and trans activism and identity politics once did.”
Tonight📺: NewsNation’s Batya Ungar-Sargon, former adviser to the Kamala Harris campaign Mike Nellis and national co-chair of the Democratic Socialists Megan Romer
Vlad on the Ropes!!! 🪢
✈️Today, Trump heads to the NATO Summit with Putin in the worst position he’s been in in history
Look back🔙: We’ve been telling you this for weeks
Look farther back🔙🔙 : For two years, we heard that Trump was going to let Putin win in Ukraine —
🙏This is mostly thanks to Trump’s Ukraine strategy
Whether you like Trump or not, you have to give him credit where the credit is due.
💣Putin is cornered and lashing out —
Russia attacked Kyiv today with ballistic missiles, killing at least 22 people
Plus, Putin is so scared he’s planning to invade Poland
🗣️NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte says Putin is willing to lose anything at this point
Rutte: “The message last night again was how desperate Putin is because you guys, Ukrainians, are doing well on the battlefield. When you look, and of course, this is terrible news for all the Russian families involved. Putin is willing to accept that up to 35,000 of his own, primarily men in uniform, are getting killed on the battlefield.”
📉At home, Putin is losing trust among voters
Recent polling showed that 69% trust Putin — this is a drop of 5 points from June
“This was the lowest level for the Russian president since the start of his full-scale invasion and a slump from the 82 percent he enjoyed 12 months ago,” writes Newsweek
This comes as Russia is dealing with fuel shortages, internet blackouts and a struggling economy due to the war with Ukraine.
Tonight📺: Brig. Gen. John Teichert on the danger of a cornered Putin!
Vance is Back‼️
‼️Vance’s Catholic faith and MAGA’s power base converge.
It’s looking like Vice President JD Vance is back from the trenches.
📰Axios’ Mike Allen headlines “Vance’s hot summer” writing:
“This is JD Vance’s Summer: The vice president penned a bestselling book, helped broker a tentative peace deal with Iran, embarked on a media blitz and — most importantly for him — impressed the man in the Oval Office”
Perfect timing⌚: Vance’s new book, “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith,” came out in perfect timing as we see this rise of Catholic elites in the Republican Party.
Picture vs. words🤦: Vance cares so much about his Catholic faith that the cover of his book is a Methodist church.
📰The New York magazine writes, “The Young Catholic Elite Poised to Take Over MAGA”:
“Much of the legal, institutional, and intellectual machinery behind the contemporary right is Catholic-led...In some ways, conservative Catholic networks in Washington function like the Communist Party in China. You don’t have to be a member. But if you’re ambitious and want to get ahead in your career, it surely helps.”
Look back🔙: Democrats’ support from working-class Catholic voters, especially in places like Boston, New York and St. Louis, has basically disappeared.
In 2008, 41% of Catholics supported the GOP — and 57% supported Democrats
In 2023, 52% supported the GOP — and 44% supported Democrats
Tonight📺: Msgr. Jim Lisante from Our Lady of Lourdes, Massapequa Park, NY, on the faithful moving right.
JD Vance can't win. He shrinks the tent. If GOP is smart, Rubio is a winner...widens tent immensely. I know plenty of moderate centrists who will vote for him. I know lots of republicans who won't vote for Vance. He's tied to Tucker and that's toxic beyond words
The Msgr always has great perspective. Looking forward to the program.