Category: Politics

CANBERRA — It was disappointment from start to finish around the U.S. vs. Australia match in the Bush Capital, won comfortably by the American side.

Neither of Canberra’s Socceroos made the starting lineup and the local government failed to provide an outdoor watch site for the match, despite a heavy social media campaign from locals. With federal politicians out of town and back in their districts this week, the campaign lacked star power and fell on deaf ears.

That left thousands to fill inner city pubs and the University of Canberra, which were allowed special trading hours for the match, from 4.30 a.m.

Australia’s politicians — vocal in their support in the lead-up to the match — went silent quickly, after Australia’s own goal 11 minutes minutes into the game.

If the Aussies’ lackluster performance left the crowd subdued, they found energy to boo Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a notably unpopular figure in Australia, which embraced harsh Covid lockdowns and vaccines — when he appeared on the match broadcast.

​Politics

You don’t have to rely on The Discourse to know whether soccer is finally being embraced by America. Political ad spending targeted to catch World Cup viewers tells you all you need to know.

Look no further than today’s Susan Collins-aligned Pine Tree Results PAC launching the next phase of a seven-figure general election ad campaign targeting Democrat Graham Platner in Maine, the latest that flickered to life statewide during the U.S. Men’s National Team World Cup match against Australia.

“The first U.S. World Cup game was the most watched soccer broadcast in American history,” a GOP operative working on the Maine senate race, and granted anonymity to speak candidly, told POLITICO. “Maine markets are performing better than national average and the critical Portland DMA has a significant soccer fan base.”

Or consider that James Talarico’s first ad buy of the general election Senate campaign is an $800,000 Spanish-language TV campaign spot set to air during each U.S. and Mexico group stage match.

In Denver, in Colorado’s 8th Congressional District, there’s Republican Gabe Evans in a Spanish language ad, debating whether it’s soccer or football with his mother.

In politics, campaigns and super PACs are reluctant to spend money where there aren’t eyeballs, so each of these set pieces are a datapoint bearing out the truth that international soccer can draw them.

​Politics

FIFA rang in Juneteenth, the country’s newest federal holiday, with a video that played in Seattle ahead of the U.S. team’s pivotal showdown with Australia.

It stars Seattle Supersonics legend and NBA Hall of Famer Gary Payton and features iconic Seattle locations.

“Some remember, some reflect, while many others celebrate,” Payton says in the video, which highlights landmarks including the Northwest African American Museum and Pike Place Market. “This day means freedom, black liberation, joy, jubilation and celebration. And today, we are definitely celebrating.”

Leonardo Santiago, head of media relations for FIFA26 Inc., said the organization plans to commemorate the holiday marking the end of slavery at each World Cup match taking place on Friday. Separate videos personalized to Foxborough, Massachusetts, which hosts Scotland and Morocco, and Philadelphia, where Brazil and Haiti will face off, and Santa Clara, California, are also dropping to mark the holiday.

“FIFA worked with each Host City to ensure the video is personalized for each stadium, featuring imagery specific to that city while recognizing the nationwide holiday and its importance,” Santiago said. “As the video plays, the stadium will also have complementary graphics on the ribbon boards as well.”

​Politics

FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts — Boston is bouncing and the Massachusetts governor wants to thank thousands of kilted Scottish soccer fans who have taken over the city between Scotland’s first match against Haiti last weekend and its second, against Morocco, today.

The tournament’s shock love affair is sparking delight in Gov. Maura Healey’s office as the supporters plow cash into the local economy, star in feel-good viral videos and drink copious quantities of Sam Adams Boston Lager.

Earlier this week, the governor — who’s seeking what stands to be an easy reelection this year — spoke with POLITICO about which of Massachusetts’ World Cup wins can be made permanent, including extended hours for bars and service along mass-transit networks.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Were you expecting this?

Oh, yeah, what do they say? No Scotland, no party? [Author’s note: This is, indeed, what they say.] I would say the Tartan Army’s reputation precedes them in the best of ways. So we knew that they would bring a ton of energy and joy and the noise. The bagpipes, the partying in our restaurants and bars, it’s just been great, and to think — it’s very warm here, of course — half of them are doing it in kilts. It’s really amazing to see.

What has stood out to you?

In just a matter of days, the Tartan Army has become part of the Massachusetts family. We have seen them become regulars at our local restaurants and our pubs. We’ve seen them take over Fenway Park. 5,000 fans marching with bagpipes into the games. We loved the viral videos of them trying hot dogs … inside Fenway. The videos of them taking over the cruise ships in Boston Harbor. We even had a Boston police officer kicking a soccer ball with them at the fanfest. So it’s just been really wonderful for us in Massachusetts, and we’re thrilled to have them here.

Do you have plans to capitalize on this beyond the World Cup?

Given that Scotland-Haiti was our first match, we were really thrilled. Massachusetts has a huge Haitian population. And then, of course, a lot of people in Massachusetts have ties with Scotland because many, many families here have ancestors who came from Scotland. And I have to say, I think Scotland just set the tone from the day the fans got into town. There was concern leading up to the World Cup, you know, how’s this all gonna work? And the media was covering a lot about security and transportation, and all these things about what could go wrong. And as soon as the Scottish fans arrived, they just laid the whole vibe for the World Cup. It’s gonna be about joy, energy, fun and bringing people together from all around the world. And I really credit them with establishing the vibe for our World Cup experience right at the outset.

Have the ticket prices charged by FIFA had an impact on that?

Well, one thing that I was really determined to do was to make sure that we were able to secure tickets for young people here in Massachusetts, which we did: 1,100 tickets that we distributed through Boys and Girls Clubs, so the kids who otherwise wouldn’t have a chance to see the game, were able to see the game — and for free. We’ve tried as a state to help out where we can, making $10 million available to communities around Massachusetts to host watch parties, because we know not everybody can afford to go to the game.

And as the governor of a blue state, how were your interactions with the Trump administration on planning for the tournament?

Well, when it comes to public safety that is something that it’s so imperative that local, state and federal authorities work together on. We did around transportation funding, security funding, that’s the way it should be. There should be that kind of work and coordination.

At the local level, would you support either a pilot program or a permanent extension of later last call and public drinking districts after the end of July? And would you encourage the legislature to start working on a bill about this?

We wanted to do that to create a welcoming environment, and I know that extension is helping our restaurants and bars and helping local businesses, and helping fans enjoy this experience. I’m certainly open to making some things more permanent, and I think this gives us a great opportunity to pilot it right now and see how it goes.

Do you see it as a runway for allowing happy hour discounts, which have been banned in Massachusetts for decades, to become legal again?  Because you’ve previously expressed problems with the concept.

I expressed support for happy hour the other day. We’ll see, we’ll have more conversations with the legislature.

And in terms of the transport would you consider keeping extended service hours on the MBTA?

I’ve always been for extended service hours. For us, it’s just a matter of budgeting and the labor costs associated with that. Also, you need a little bit of downtime so that trains can get repaired and maintained. We extended hours well before the World Cup on weekends, and it’s certainly something that I’d like to see us do across the system. But again, it’s just a matter of what we can do in terms of budget. But so far, transportation has been working really well. Trains have been made available, and selling out, and people have really enjoyed that experience; it’s been super easy, you know, getting to and from the match.

I think some Scotland fans would maybe dispute that it was easy getting back from the [Haiti] match, but I guess it’s all relative when the stadium is far away from the city.

I know. You can only run so many trains at once. But, hey, they won, so …

I understand it’s a challenge to keep young people in state. Are these measures you approved for a summer of intense tourism part of a longer-term solution?

I think that they’re really important to making sure that people know that we’ve got a great culture here and a great vibe for young people. That’s why I’m building homes … so we can look at housing costs. Massachusetts is a place where people come to study from all around the world, and it’s a place that’s filled with young people, filled with opportunity. We’ve got an innovative economy, and doing so much in life sciences and robotics and AI, and cutting-edge industries. And it’s a very safe state and safe city. We’ve got the best schools in the country, best health care in the country. We got a lot going for us. And we’ve got great sports teams, too. So it’s a great vibe for young people, and we’re working always to try to make sure the message is out there around the globe. This is a great place to come and study, and start a business or raise a family.

Lisa Kashinsky contributed to this report.

​Politics

Janeese Lewis George is on track to become the next mayor of Washington, D.C., after winning the Democratic primary on Thursday.

Lewis George faces no major challenger in November’s general election, putting her on a glide path to take the reins from Mayor Muriel Bowser next year and giving Washington a change in executive leadership for the first time since Bowser took office in January 2015. Her victory will usher in a new era for the district and put her on a collision course with President Donald Trump for the final years of his term.

Earlier Thursday, her opponent Kenyan McDuffie conceded the race and said he had called Lewis George “to congratulate her on her victory.”

In a primary stacked with anti-Trump Democrats, Lewis George presented herself as a candidate unafraid to oppose the president. She has pledged to rescind the order allowing the city’s police to coordinate alongside federal immigration agents and take a hard legal stance against any attempts by Trump to encroach on the District’s autonomy.

Lewis George told POLITICO in an interview last week that she would “actively tell our employees to resist” if Trump again attempted to federalize the Metropolitan Police Department.

Her position is likely to pit the democratic socialist directly against a president who has attempted to tighten his grip on the district, taking extraordinary measures to crack down on crime and cut through bureaucratic red tape to pursue a slate of ambitious beautification and construction projects around the city.

When Trump was asked in the Oval Office about the possibility of Lewis George winning the primary and becoming mayor, he told reporters: “I wouldn’t like it.” “Maybe we’ll take back Washington, run it on a federal basis,” Trump said. “We won’t put up with it. We’re not gonna lose our businesses.”

A third-generation Washingtonian, the 38-year-old Lewis George has represented the district’s 4th Ward on the D.C. Council since 2021. She ran a progressive campaign, promising change from Bowser’s tenure and casting herself as a champion of the working class who would stand up to Trump. Her platform — including universal child care, social housing and public safety reforms — galvanized a coalition of voters that skewed young, white, college-educated and newer to Washington, according to polling.

McDuffie, her main opponent in the race, pitched himself as a more pro-business pragmatist who gained Bowser’s tacit support.

The change in leadership for Washington comes at a time of tumult in the city.

D.C. is facing a $1.1 billion budget gap, which Bowser has argued should be covered by cuts to social services. The Trump administration’s government funding cuts and decimation of the federal workforce hit Washington especially hard — resulting in the greatest number of job losses of any metro region in the country in 2025. And Trump’s moves to wrest control of the city by temporarily taking over the MPD and indefinitely calling on the National Guard to patrol the District’s streets were deeply unpopular among Washingtonians.

Washington is also dependent on the federal government for multiple high-profile projects that have the potential to accelerate a sluggish economy, including upgrades to Union Station and the redevelopment of the RFK Stadium campus. Lewis George told POLITICO that “there are avenues I want to work with this administration,” including those projects — but she also promised to “stand up to anyone who harms our communities or threatens home rule.”

The race between Lewis George and McDuffie — whose base skewed toward voters who are Black, older and lifelong District residents, polls showed — had grown increasingly fraught in its final weeks. Lewis George collected endorsements from several top unions, while McDuffie found support among establishment Democrats, including former Mayors Sharon Pratt and Tony Williams, and former DNC Chair Jaime Harrison.

Lewis George leaned into a campaign focused on affordability, blaming rising prices on Trump and proposing that she would bring down sky-high housing costs by constructing 72,000 new units, compared to McDuffie’s proposed 12,000. McDuffie argued that imposing greater taxes on businesses to pay for more ambitious social programs would drive them away from the district, exacerbating its economic woes.

The candidates also differed on public safety, a marquee issue in light of Trump’s crime crackdown. Lewis George, who was first elected to the Council following the social justice protests of 2020, argued for public safety reform with a holistic approach to crime prevention that includes bolstering community programs and nonpolice response.

​Politics

A prominent Michigan pollster is accusing state Sen. Mallory McMorrow’s Senate campaign of pressuring a state capitol news outlet into killing a survey of the heated Democratic primary.

The pollster, Steve Mitchell, told POLITICO the survey was conducted on behalf of Michigan Information & Research Service, an independent news outlet covering the state capitol that his firm regularly works with. But MIRS ultimately chose not to publish the survey after pushback from the McMorrow campaign.

The poll found McMorrow at just 6 percent ahead of the state’s pivotal Aug. 4 contest, far behind former public health official Abdul El-Sayed at 42 percent and Rep. Haley Stevens at 33 percent.

“The poll, in the eyes of the McMorrow campaign, understated their support,” Mitchell, whose firm Mitchell Research & Communications conducted and paid for the poll, told POLITICO. “And they put intense pressure on MIRS, and therefore MIRS decided that they weren’t going to run the survey. That’s their decision, and I support their decision.”

McMorrow has trailed the other two candidates in a number of recent public surveys, but 6 percent would mark a new low — a sign her campaign for the critical Michigan Senate seat may be mired in third place. McMorrow’s campaign told POLITICO the polling methodology was faulty and that its resulting memo was riddled with errors, including spelling her name wrong.

Kyle Melinn, a news editor with MIRS, said he killed the poll after speaking with the McMorrow campaign and other pollsters.

“I told Steve that the campaign did raise issues with the poll, and that they were pressuring me to not run the poll,” Melinn said in an interview. He added that after registering the McMorrow campaign’s concerns, he solicited the advice of other pollsters, and “didn’t run it because I didn’t feel comfortable with it.” The other unidentified pollsters shared his issues with the poll, according to Melinn.

McMorrow campaign spokesperson Jackson Boaz said in a statement that “Voicing concerns about a poll isn’t a pressure campaign. They chose not to publish a survey that is deeply flawed.” Asked whether the campaign had asked MIRS not to run the poll, Boaz said, “MIRS chose not to run the poll because they agreed the poll did not meet their standards.”

Boaz said the McMorrow campaign reached out to MIRS after “we noticed odd things about the data,” including that 0 percent of Black voters were undecided in the race; 0 or 1 percent of voters in Detroit and its metro area were undecided while other parts of the state had undecided voters at 25 percent, 48 percent, and even 54 percent; and that McMorrow was at just 5 percent support in her home base of Oakland County.

Their suspicion — which they said MIRS confirmed — was that the poll allowed anyone to take it through an open link, rather than having access controlled to ensure a random and representative sample of the state.

The poll was conducted through a methodology known as text-to-web, in which random voters are selected to receive a text message link to a survey to fill out. That allows pollsters to ensure they are reaching an appropriately wide-ranging group of voters. But the McMorrow campaign said all respondents received the same open-access link, which would allow anyone with the link to take the poll — potentially multiple times.

“The outlet that sponsored this poll declined to publish it because it didn’t meet their standards. It was conducted through an open SurveyMonkey link sent over text, meaning anyone who received this poll could vote multiple times or send the link to friends and supporters to impact the results,” Boaz said in a statement. “This is fundamental polling malpractice. We urge either of our opponents, or any reputable pollster, to stand by this shoddy methodology.”

In an interview, Mitchell admitted he got some of the polling memo wrong, saying for example that he meant to write El-Sayed supported Medicare for All, not “Social Security for All.” But he said he stood by the poll and its methodology.

“I have always had 100 percent confidence in all the polling I do,” Mitchell said. “I believe that we’ve been very strenuous in the methodology that we use. We’re very careful about it. We weighted it well, and more importantly, we have a track record that shows we are a strong and good pollster.”

“A poll is a poll,” Mitchell said when asked about the open link question, sharing a poll with POLITICO from GOP gubernatorial candidate John James that he said used a similar approach.

The controversy over the spiked poll underscores the importance of the Michigan Senate race. Democrats view defending the open seat as crucial to reclaiming the Senate majority, and the party establishment has mobilized hard against Bernie Sanders-backed El-Sayed, who they argue could pave the way to Republican Mike Rogers flipping the seat in November.

But recent pollssuggest McMorrow is falling behind El-Sayed, who is experiencing a surge in support, and Stevens, who is backed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

In the memo about the contested poll, Mitchell wrote there has been a “huge erosion in support for Mallory McMorrow.”

“One of the reasons for her seeming collapse is the fact El-Sayed had received a large amount of unpaid media because of the endorsements by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) and Hasan Piker the anti-Semitic podcaster while Haley Stevens had an outside organization spend more than $6 million on her candidacy,” Mitchell wrote. However, he added: “Our poll was conducted June 11-13 which coincided with an ad buy of at least $5 million on behalf of McMorrow that started just the day before we began our polling. Therefore, McMorrow’s ads did not have enough time to impact our results.”

​Politics

President Donald Trump’s primary victory spree has a new $100 million asterisk.

That’s the record-breaking sum the upstart self-funding businessman Rick Jackson spent to defeat Trump’s chosen candidate in the GOP primary for Georgia governor. Jackson’s flood of ads helped drown out Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and other Republicans up and down the ballot, as the billionaire tried to convince voters that he didn’t need Trump’s explicit endorsement to be a true MAGA warrior. In the end, his pitch worked, through persuasion or sheer force.

Tuesday’s result is the latest embarrassing and high-profile blemish in what had been a near-perfect record this year for the president. Just two weeks ago, another Trump-backed candidate — Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa — failed to win his gubernatorial race. And across the map Tuesday he saw mixed success.

Trump-endorsed Rep. Barry Moore cruised in his Alabama Senate runoff, though he had help from a pro-crypto super PAC that spent millions. Trump’s picks in two Oklahoma races are headed to runoffs after failing to surpass 50 percent of the vote in crowded primaries. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) won the Senate runoff to take on Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, but it was far from a blowout victory and Trump’s 11th-hour endorsement makes it hard to give him full credit for the win.

“The Trump endorsement has an effect, but it’s not overwhelming. It’s not the end-all-be-all for politics in Georgia,” said Jason Shepherd, the former Cobb County Republican chair who supported Jackson in the race.

Jones supporters and Trump allies were quick to blame Jackson’s cash — but some in the lieutenant governor’s orbit also suggested the president didn’t do enough to hit Jackson.

“[Trump] absolutely moved the needle. He just moved the needle 15 points when we needed him to move the needle 25 points,” said a Georgia operative who backed Jones and was granted anonymity to discuss the dynamics of the race candidly.

Trump endorsed Jones early in a crowded race. But while Trump often unloads against his political rivals, he was notably quiet on Jackson, even as he chipped away at Jones’ lead in the polls.

Jackson, a onetime Trump-skeptic turned MAGA ally and Trump donor, tied himself closely to the president on the campaign trail, repeatedly insisting he would be “Trump’s favorite governor.”

“I feel pretty certain that there’s never been a candidate that the president endorsed that got outspent by $90 million in the primary,” said a second GOP operative who supported Jones. Still, the person acknowledged: “If you’re a Jones supporter, you would have loved if the president would have said something bad about Rick Jackson.”

Trump brought Jones on stage at an official White House event in February in the northwestern corner of the state and appeared on a pair of telerallies, but some Jones supporters questioned Tuesday night whether he could have done more to boost his candidacy amid the onslaught of spending from Jackson.

“I’m the only candidate who doesn’t owe a thing to the political establishment,” Jackson said in his election night victory speech. “I don’t care what special interests want, how much they beg, how much they give me. I can’t be bought, and I won’t back down.”

The acknowledgement from some Jones supporters that Trump could have done more to boost his preferred candidate could be a warning in other GOP primaries.

Polling in next week’s South Carolina gubernatorial runoff shows Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette struggling to hold onto her lead as other Republicans in the state rally behind her opponent. In Louisiana, GOP Rep. Julia Letlow succeeded in ousting a Trump foe in Sen. Bill Cassidy, but still needs to defeat state Treasurer John Fleming — also a MAGA ally — in the Senate runoff later this month. And in Oklahoma, Trump’s candidates may need some extra juice from the president to win their August runoffs.

Even before voters hit the polls on Tuesday, Trump-world was working to paint a Jackson win as a win for the movement.

“No matter who wins tomorrow, it’s a victory for MAGA,” Donald Trump Jr. wrote on X Monday afternoon.

Some Trump-world advisers privately scoffed at Jackson’s massive spending and the lengths his campaign and supporters went to project alignment with the president despite not receiving his endorsement. Some of the efforts drew notice among Trump-world advisers, including a mailer that featured a photo of Jackson and the president alongside the line: “Businessmen. Outsiders. Men of action,” as well as a digital video that highlighted Jackson’s $1 million donation to Trump’s political operation.

“Rick Jackson set a record for spending in a statewide Republican primary. He spent Tom Steyer level money in a state the fraction the size of California,” a Trump political operative said. “That’s going to have an impact.”

The president himself didn’t seem to sweat the loss.

“I HAD A LOT OF BIG ELECTION WINS LAST NIGHT. THANK YOU TO ALL!!!” Trump said on Truth Social early Wednesday morning. Just a few minutes later, he worked to take at least some credit for Jackson’s win.

“Congratulations to Rick Jackson, who very successfully campaigned on being ‘TRUMP,’ and won,” Trump wrote.

​Politics