Politics
A California congressman (and former Bernie booster) tries to get New Hampshire voters to write in Biden
In a long black pea coat and loafers, California Rep. Ro Khanna looked the part of a New England politician.
“You know, I gotta get better boots,” he joked to a group packed into a Concord home Saturday.
The Fremont congressman and former Bernie Sanders presidential campaign co-chair had returned to the state where he once stumped for Sanders to support another candidate who’s not on Tuesday’s primary ballot — President Biden.
This year, the Democratic National Committee has pushed aside New Hampshire, which historically holds the first presidential primary in the nation, for South Carolina, the state that put Biden on the path to the nomination four years ago.
But Biden allies, including Khanna, are still hoping that write-in votes will allow the president to secure a strong showing in the state’s unofficial Democratic primary Tuesday.
“It’s all come together, huh?” Khanna said, surveying a gathering of roughly 50 people in the cheery yellow kitchen of a Concord home. “Pretty amazing turnout.”
Tables and chairs had been pushed against the walls to make room for the crowd. Outside, piles of “Write-in Joe Biden” signs lined the driveway.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont) talks to Cinde Warmington, who serves on New Hampshire’s Executive Council and is running for governor. The Democrats are pushing a write-in campaign for President Biden for Tuesday’s primary.
(Faith Pinho / Los Angeles Times)
Standing in the living room corner, flanked by a bookshelf covered in family photos and a table adorned with a framed local newspaper article, Khanna urged the audience to support the write-in effort.
“It’s a hard thing to win in a write-in campaign,” Khanna said. “The whole country is going to notice, as they always do in New Hampshire, and they’re gonna say this president has enthusiasm. This president’s economic visions are connecting. This president is inspiring the nation.”
But in a room packed with press, it was difficult to tell how many attendees were actually New Hampshire voters. And despite Khanna’s optimism, polls show that most Democrats are little enthused about the incumbent president. Biden’s approval rating is at 39.1% nationwide, according to the latest numbers from polling aggregator FiveThirtyEight.com.
In California, only half of voters have a favorable view of Biden, a poll last week by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies, co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, found. An October poll reported that a majority of Californians disapproved of the president.
Khanna refused to quantify what a “win” for Biden would look like on Tuesday. Instead of the absent president, the Democratic ticket in New Hampshire is packed with less well-known candidates, including author Marianne Williamson and Minnesota Congressman Dean Phillips.
“My hope is as the election draws nearer and nearer … people will recognize the stakes and get out there,” Khanna said.
The California congressman wasn’t the only far-flung Biden supporter in New Hampshire on Saturday. Zena Martin, a marketing consultant in Atlanta, flew up to New England on her own dime to help the write-in campaign. Simply voting is not enough, she said. She spent the last few days preparing for the weekend’s events and standing in the frigid cold with signs.
“From what I understand, I have come the furthest — but of course Ro Khanna has come further,” Martin said with a laugh.
As for Khanna, who took a selfie with her, Martin said his visit “shows that wherever we are, if you really care about saving our democracy, you’re going to do what you can.”
Rep. Ro Khanna speaks to Aaron Jacobs, from the Biden write-in campaign, at an event in Concord, N.H., on Saturday. Democrats are pushing for voters to write Biden’s name on the ballot Tuesday.
(Faith Pinho / Los Angeles Times)
Chris Johnson and Megan DeVorsey clung to the edges of the busy kitchen scene, watching as Khanna made his rounds, taking pictures and shaking hands. As Concord residents for 23 years, they’re accustomed to the rhythm of politicians’ visits to the Granite State every four years — but they said it doesn’t get old.
“It’s energizing. It’s exciting,” said DeVorsey, her glasses fogging up from the humidity of the house. “I like coming to people’s houses … and meeting congressmen from across the country. I love it.”
“We tell ourselves retail politics in New Hampshire is a real thing,” added Johnson, who grew up in Hollywood. “I think it’s kind of a privilege — we get to see powerful political figures in small settings like this. It’s a little nutty, in a way.”
Both Johnson and DeVorsey plan to carry signs for the write-in campaign at polling sites on Tuesday. Many Granite State residents don’t even know writing in the president’s name is an option, DeVorsey pointed out.
With an incumbent president and all eyes on the Republican primary — not to mention the DNC’s snub — there’s little reason to expect strong voter turnout among Democrats in New Hampshire. But apathy is not the only opponent for the Biden write-in campaign; activists are lobbying for New Hampshire voters to pen “ceasefire” on the write-in line on the ballot, a direct complaint about Biden’s approach on the war between Israel and Hamas.
Although he was in New Hampshire to support Biden, Khanna’s own ambitions were not far beneath the surface. The Californian has worked for years to position himself as a national progressive leader, allying with other progressive politicians in D.C. and building name recognition with visits to key battleground states. He’s basically “the fifth member of our congressional delegation,” said Cinde Warmington, a gubernatorial candidate and one of New Hampshire’s executive councilors.
Khanna has taken other steps that often signal aspirations to national office. He has been author of two books about his vision for progressive politics in the digital age. He tucks details of his own background — the son of Indian immigrants, raised in Philadelphia, believing that America would become “this first cohesive multiracial democracy” — into his stump speech for Biden.
In his speech, Khanna playfully alluded to the possibility that he may one day run in New Hampshire himself.
“I was joking with someone, I’d much rather have Joe Biden as a name than Ro Khanna. He’s blessed with good luck,” he said to a roomful of laughter. “If you want to have a write-in candidacy, have a name that’s easy.”
A reporter asked whether he would ever run for president.
“Who knows!” Khanna said. “But right now I’m here to support President Biden.”
As the snow began to blow outside, Khanna emerged from the warm Concord home and boarded his vehicle to head to his next stop: another write-in campaign party an hour away in Portsmouth.
Politics
Preliminary Hearing for Man Accused of Killing Charlie Kirk Starts in Utah
Prosecutors on Monday began laying out their case against the man accused of murdering Charlie Kirk. It was the first day of a weeklong preliminary hearing that will determine whether or not there is enough evidence against the accused killer to stand trial.
Politics
Top Platner ally turns on him after bombshell rape allegation rocks campaign: ‘Red line’
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Support for embattled Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner is cratering among Democrats, with one of his most prominent supporters calling on him to exit the race following a harrowing rape allegation.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., rescinded his endorsement and called on Platner to suspend his campaign following a bombshell Politico report detailing a rape allegation by Maine resident Jenny Racicot, 41, who previously dated the scandal-plagued candidate.
Platner immediately denied Racicot’s account — which alleges that he barged into her home in 2021 and forced her to have unprotected sex — but has said his campaign is determining its next steps.
She also went on CNN Monday evening shortly after the report was published to tell host Jake Tapper that “by dictionary definition” Platner “raped” her.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., speaks at a town hall event on Feb. 20, 2026 in Stanford, California. The town hall focused on taxing billionaires and the future of AI. (Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images)
DEMOCRATS BREAK WITH SCANDAL-PLAGUED GRAHAM PLATNER, WARN OF ‘CIVIL WAR’ IN PARTY
“I thought, here’s a man who was drunk and who, by dictionary definition, raped me. And he’s blaming drunk women,” Racicot said. “So I just felt like that was a very odd take to have on that. And I also feel like with all of the comments that he made about women, sexual assault, rape, even, um, you know, the comments that he had made that was in The New York Times article about, you know, threatening people with rape, like, why does this person have this issue, like scattered throughout their life, throughout their commentary, like it‘s on their mind?”
“I’ve been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line,” Khanna said in a post on social media Monday evening. “These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement.”
Khanna’s statement preceded Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., the head of Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, issuing a joint statement calling on Platner to “immediately” leave the race, so the party can choose a new nominee.
The pair said the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) would not invest in Maine — a top pick-up opportunity for Democrats in November’s midterm elections — if he continued to seek the battleground seat held by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
Both Schumer and Gillibrand supported Gov. Janet Mills, D-Maine, in the contentious primary and did not endorse Platner until he won the party’s nomination.
Meanwhile, Khanna, a far-left populist with likely presidential ambitions, had embraced Platner’s insurgent Senate campaign for months amid a patchwork of controversies.
Khanna personally campaigned with the Maine Senate hopeful in June shortly before Platner became the party’s nominee. The campaign stop came just one day after Lyndsey Fifield, a former Platner girlfriend, accused Platner of abuse — an allegation first reported by The New York Times that Platner has fiercely denied.
By that point, Platner was also facing scrutiny for sending sexually explicit messages to at least half a dozen women while married, making a plethora of offensive online statements over the period of a decade and getting a Nazi-linked tattoo that he wore for most of his adult life.
Shannon Watts, a Democratic strategist and founder of the gun control group Mom Demands Action, slammed the timing of Khanna’s statement.
“You flew to Maine to campaign with him AFTER he was accused of assault against another woman,” Watts wrote on social media.
Khanna previously appeared to dismiss the severity of Fifield’s account alongside many Democratic lawmakers, who seized on her background in Republican politics. He also argued that Platner, a combat veteran who has struggled with PTSD, had overcome a dark past and was deserving of redemption.
“Here you have a case of someone who had a dark chapter in his life, was in toxic relationships, was ashamed about it, who served this country, and the Maine voters are saying, ‘Look, let’s give him some grace, and his focus is stopping these wars, and it’s getting national health insurance, and it’s taking on economic inequality,” Khanna told CBS News in an interview.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks at his primary election event in Blue Hill, Maine, on June 9, 2026. (CJ Gunther/Getty Images)
WATCH: DEM SENATORS EXCUSE PLATNER’S CONDUCT AT CRISIS HUDDLE WITH EMBATTLED MAINE CANDIDATE
And Khanna told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum in June that he asked Platner if there were any credible allegations of sexual assault that had yet to be revealed. He said Platner denied it.
“I made it clear that, for me, is a red line,” the California lawmaker said. “And he said, no, there is not.”
“Now, obviously, he had texts that were allegedly consensual, and while he was married, And that’s a matter for him and his wife. And his wife came out and said that she forgave him. And so that is a different matter for me than abuse or assault or what people did in the Epstein class. It’s a very different matter.”
Khanna was not the only prominent Platner supporter to disavow the Senate hopeful following Monday’s rape allegation.
Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., an early Platner supporter, was the first prominent Democrat to rescind his endorsement after Politico’s report broke.
Meanwhile, Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., rescinded his endorsement Monday evening, but stopped short of calling on Platner to exit the race.
Gallego, a former ally of disgraced ex-Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., has faced scrutiny over his past treatment of women. The Senate Ethics Committee recently dismissed a complaint brought by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., in a bipartisan manner.
His Arizona colleague, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., who did not endorse Platner, also called on the Senate hopeful to suspend his campaign.
“Character and accountability matter regardless of party,” Kelly wrote on social media. “It’s time for Graham Platner to drop out and allow for someone else to be nominated and give Democrats the best chance to win this seat in November.”
Far-left Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who has championed socialist candidates across the country, also distanced himself from Platner on Monday.
Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., talks to reporters as he heads for a vote at the U.S. Capitol on Jun. 1, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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“This is beyond red flags. This is irredeemable,” Piker said during his livestream.
Fox News Digital reached out to Platner’s campaign for comment.
Politics
Trump heads to NATO as tensions simmer with Europe
WASHINGTON — The leaders of Europe are bracing for another turbulent summit with President Trump this week as NATO members gather for their annual meeting in the Turkish capital.
European diplomats view Trump’s decision to attend as a positive sign of his continued commitment to the alliance. But the president’s grievances with several European governments over their refusal to join the U.S. war with Iran have cast a pall over a summit already strained by Trump’s wavering support for the continent.
The secretary-general of the transatlantic alliance, Mark Rutte, told reporters on Monday that Trump had aired his resentments in a recent phone call. But Rutte countered with a mix of flattery and countervailing facts that has thus far kept Trump engaged.
While Trump has accused European leaders of denying U.S. forces access to allied bases for takeoffs and refueling during the war, Rutte noted that about 5,000 sorties supporting Operation Epic Fury launched from European airfields. And last Friday, France and Britain committed to a joint military mission with Oman to support freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz — “an extremely important development,” Rutte said.
At last year’s summit, held in The Hague, all NATO member states — with the exception of Spain — agreed to spend 5% of their GDP on defense by 2035, marking a significant increase in historic spending goals for modern Europe. The pledge is divided into two categories, with 3.5% of spending allocated to core military requirements, and the rest committed to a broad set of security-related investments.
Trump’s tough love on the alliance “is, I think, bringing NATO closer together,” the secretary general told reporters.
“You could argue that he is the first president of the U.S. since Eisenhower who was able to come to this situation where the Europeans and the Canadians will spend the same as the Americans” on security, Rutte said. “This equalization was a wish for 50, 60 years, and now it’s happening — I think in large part due to his leadership.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte speaks to reporters Monday ahead of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey.
(Hussein Malla / Associated Press)
In a video message posted on social media Monday, Trump’s ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, said the summit this week would serve as a “report card” to determine whether countries were beginning to fulfill their commitments from last year.
He offered a note of optimism and suggested the president’s goal is to enhance, rather than undermine, the alliance.
“The United States will be here, but we also need our allies to be here. We cannot do it alone, and the American taxpayer should no longer bear the burden,” Whitaker said.
A White House schedule for Trump’s trip lists bilateral meetings with Rutte and the leaders of Turkey, Syria and Ukraine, in between alliance-wide meals and conferences.
Ukraine will remain at the top of the agenda, Trump told reporters Monday, expressing hope that the war could soon come to an end after four brutal years of fighting.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused the greatest loss of life in Europe since World War II, resulting in more than 1 million casualties, including an estimated 600,000 dead. Since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion in 2022, following his covert invasions of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and eastern regions in 2014, Russian forces have captured roughly 12% of Ukraine’s territory.
The war has settled into a deadly stalemate since a 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive failed to break Russian defensive lines. While Russian forces have occasionally advanced, they have only managed to hold marginal gains along the front, at tremendous cost.
In recent weeks, however, expanded Ukrainian drone and missile capabilities have shifted the dynamic, striking military production sites deep inside Russia and targets near Moscow, bringing the war more directly into the Russian public consciousness and raising questions in the Russian capital whether the war effort is sustainable.
Ukraine’s boldness has impressed the Trump administration, Alexander Stubb, the president of Finland, told the Financial Times this week.
“I think he does feel pressure,” Trump said of Putin, addressing reporters in the Oval Office before departing for Turkey on Monday.
The president referred to an ongoing U.S. effort to end the war, a goal that has remained elusive for Trump since returning to office.
“I think we’re getting much closer than people realize,” he said. “President Putin wants it to end, I will tell you that. Very strongly. Had a good call. And President Zelensky actually wants it to end now.”
“We’re going to be going to NATO, and we’re going to be talking about it,” Trump added. “And I think we’re going to get it ended. It’s been terrible.”
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