by Adam Johnson | Jul 8, 2026 | Article, Israel, Media Criticism, Opinion, Palestine, Politics and Movements: International, Politics and Movements: US
While he was being grilled by CNN over his positions on Israel this past Thursday, candidate for the Democratic nomination for Michigan’s Senate seat, Abdul El-Sayed, was asked the bog-standard cable news question for anyone not on program with the pro-Israel Washington consensus—Do you think Israel has a right to exist?—three different times. It’s a ritual so routine one could hardly notice the exchange, but there was something in El-Sayed’s reply that exposed how facile this line of questioning is and that is worth examining in its own right. He responded, in part, by noting that “nobody has ever asked [him] if [he] thinks Palestine has a right to exist.” Watch the full exchange below.
Hunt: Do you believe Israel has a right to exist?El-Sayed: Now the question about a right to exist is interesting because nobody’s ever asked me whether or not I believe Palestine has a right to exist. Israel exists. The question is whether or not we want a politics where our… pic.twitter.com/Utr3kRQKJd— Acyn (@Acyn) July 2, 2026
It was a throw-away line before he moved on to his long, fairly pointed, reply, but it’s an essential point, and worth making. And it is an empirical question one can survey and analyze. So, does US media ever ask politicians if they think Palestine has a right to exist? The answer: never.
A survey of the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Politico, USA Today, Fox News, MSNBC/MSNOW, and CNN over the past 10 years shows that not a single candidate for office has ever been asked by a cable news anchor or reporter if “Palestine has a right
by Paul Waldman | Jul 8, 2026 | Opinion, Politics, White House
When Congress passed a bipartisan plan to address housing affordability, President Donald Trump pronounced it “a big yawn.” But give him a construction project to work on — especially one meant for his personal use — and he’s as happy as a kid tearing the wrapping paper off a Barbie Dreamhouse on Christmas.
Trump is altering the White House grounds again. This time, he’s building a helipad so he can land on the White House lawn in style. But instead of a typical helipad — a circle of concrete with a capital “H” visible from the air — this one will embody the spirit of Trump’s presidency. It will be expensive, driven by Trump’s insecurity, and involve a corporate payoff.
For those of you worried it might lack Trump’s unique aesthetic, rest assured: This helipad will be gorgeous.
Exactly how much the helipad will cost is unclear. It is part of a $13 million contract that includes some other work around the White House. But $5 million of the cost is being picked up by Lockheed Martin, the defense contractor that makes the Marine One helicopters through its Sikorsky Aircraft subsidiary.
Unlike Trump’s wasteful ballroom project or the gargantuan arch he wants to build to loom over Arlington National Cemetery, the planned helipad construction arises from a genuine need. The helicopters used as Marine One have exhaust vents that point downward, which can burn the grass. Trump already ruined the South Lawn by putting a UFC stadium on it, so this is a good time to build a helipad — but not just any helipad.
For those of you worried it might lack Trump’s
by Michael A. Cohen | Jul 8, 2026 | elections, Opinion
For nine months, Graham Platner’s supporters have insisted that Democrats should ignore the mounting evidence of his personal foibles and political vulnerabilities — and support his bid for the Senate in Maine.
They argued that his Nazi “Totenkopf” tattoo was a youthful indiscretion and parroted his ludicrous argument that he didn’t know the origins of the Nazi insignia that was on his chest for 18 years before he covered it up with more ink. They waved away his dozens of racist, misogynistic and, frankly, creepy Reddit posts. They said his sexting with as many as a dozen women soon after his wedding was between him and his wife. They insisted that he was the best candidate to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins, even as polling showed him badly underperforming other Maine Democrats.
On Monday, they ran out of excuses and rationalizations.
Play
‘Betrayal’: Nicolle and Alex Wagner react to Graham Platner sexual assault allegations
July 7, 2026 / 11:58
Politico published long-rumored allegations that Platner hadn’t merely mistreated past girlfriends — as was alleged last month — but sexually assaulted a woman he had dated.
Jenny Racicot’s story of Platner’s alleged assault is stomach-turning, and while some Democrats will seemingly excuse antisemitism, a Nazi tattoo and persistently bad behavior toward women, sexual assault is the line the party won’t cross.
Within hours of the report, Platner’s former allies began abandoning him en masse. Now it’s merely a question of when, not if, Platner drops out of the race and is replaced by a less scandal-ridden Democrat.
But Democrats can’t so easily sweep this mess under the rug. There are painful but necessary lessons to be learned from Platner’s
by Autumn Brewington | Jul 8, 2026 | British royal family, Opinion
Prince Harry is having a bad week — and the royal relatives ostracizing him aren’t looking great either.
Harry, the younger son of Britain’s King Charles III, and six other high-profile defendants lost a privacy case Tuesday against Associated Newspapers Limited, publisher of the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday. A British judge dismissed all claims by the defendants, who included the singer Elton John and his husband, David Furnish, and actresses Sadie Frost and Elizabeth Hurley. They argued that the tabloids used unlawful tactics such as phone hacking to unearth details of their personal lives for articles published between 1993 and 2011.
Tuesday’s ruling emerged during a visit Harry is making to England to promote charities. But the trip was already overshadowed by an unusually public spat between the prince and palace officials.
In legal filings, Harry said it was “disturbing to feel that my every move, thought or feeling was being tracked and monitored just for the Mail to make money out of it.” Testifying emotionally in January, he called articles about his dating life “disgusting” and “creepy” and said it was “beyond cruel” to report “confidential discussions” he had after a photo of his dying mother was published in Italian media. “They continue to come after me,” he said of the tabloids. “They have made my wife’s life an absolute misery.”
The Mail publisher argued that the articles at issue were generated from lawful sources, such as information from aides, friends and publicists. In a statement summarizing the 400-plus-page ruling, Judge Matthew Nicklin of the UK High Court wrote that the claimants failed to prove “that the information
by Daniel R. DePetris | Jul 8, 2026 | Opinion, White House, World
When NATO leaders adjourned the 2025 edition of their annual summit last summer, President Donald Trump emerged from the gathering with nothing but compliments for an alliance he frequently blasts as a charity case. He had reason to be gleeful. After significant pressure from the White House ahead of the summit, NATO members agreed to increase their defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, more than double the previous benchmark.
“When I came here, I came here because it was something I’m supposed to be doing, but I left here a little bit different, differently,” Trump told reporters at the concluding press conference. “I watched the heads of these countries get up, and the love and the passion that they showed for their country was unbelievable.”
Trump is an impatient man who wants immediate results — and to be seen as the one driving them.
Those heads of state and government will be lucky to survive this year’s summit with similar accolades. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, the organization’s bona-fide “Trump Whisperer,” hoped to make this year’s summit a success, but Trump is yet again souring on the alliance for all sorts of reasons. NATO is likely trending in one direction: an organization whose primary security guarantor is tired of the status quo and is leaving other members to pick up the slack.
Ahead of the summit, Rutte deployed an extensive game plan to keep the U.S. leader’s favor. His first step: tell everybody with eyes and ears that Trump, and Trump alone, is the big, strong man responsible for shaking NATO out of its peacetime slumber. Second, show the president that his pressure tactics are
by Zeeshan Aleem | Jul 7, 2026 | Opinion
President Donald Trump has a new favorite midterm strategy: painting the Democratic Party as a band of godless communists. It’s not going to pan out the way he wants.
During his speech Friday at Mount Rushmore, on the eve of Independence Day, Trump warned of a “resurgence of the communist menace in our land, including from newcomers to our country who embrace ideas totally opposed to our way of life and our great success.” The line was an unsubtle reference to the election of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani in 2025 and successful left-wing candidates in recent House primaries, including a Mamdani-backed trio that won contests in New York City.
Trump described the growth of the leftists in American politics as an apocalyptic development: “These are not mere political disagreements like differences over taxes or regulations. Communism is a mortal threat to American liberty. It is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor or even 9/11,” Trump huffed. He added, “Communism is the exact opposite of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It’s death, tyranny and the pursuit of evil.”
The word “communist” is not the bogeyman it was during the 20th century or even the first decade of the 21st century.
During his remarks, Trump mentioned the term “communism” or “communist” 15 times. He invoked communism multiple times the following day in his July 4th speech. And the White House posted on X on Independence Day: “You can be a communist or you can be a patriot. You cannot be both.” Right-wing influencers and Republicans have also begun to use the term to
