Trump's CounterTerrorism Chief Resigns, Calls Iran War a Lie
PDS Published 03/17/2026
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Israel claims to have killed Iran’s de facto leader.
Trump is claiming he doesn’t need NATO’s help even though he just asked for it.
And an intelligence official he appointed has now resigned over his opposition to the war—which he claimed came about thanks to “pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
But let’s start with this latest Israeli assassination in Iran.
The military claimed to have killed Iranian national security chief Ali Larijani (Ah-lee La-ree-johnny - AUDIO, it’s said a few times so I recommend giving it a listen) as well as Basij (Ba-siege - AUDIO) commander Gholamreza Soleimani (Ho-lam-reh-za Sol-aye-mon-knee - AUDIO)
With Israel’s defense minister saying in a statement:
“La-ree-johnny and the Ba-siege commander were eliminated overnight and joined the head of the annihilation programme, [referring to the previous supreme leader], and all the eliminated members of the axis of evil, in the depths of hell.”
And as far as who these people are, the Ba-siege? It’s a volunteer paramilitary force affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp that has been repeatedly targeted by US and Israeli strikes over the course of this war.
With a key reason being the role it has played in suppressing dissent in the country—including by taking part in several brutal protest crackdowns that have killed thousands over the years.
And with that, Solemaini? He has long been under US and European sanctions for his involvement.
Although, notably, La-ree-johnny? He is believed to have played an even bigger part in the extraordinarily violent handling of nationwide protests earlier this year.
And since then he had effectively been running the country—sidelining even the president according to the New York Times. []
And in addition to keeping a lid on dissent, he has been the key liaison with Iran’s allies including Russia—as well as regional actors like Qatar and Oman. []
He oversaw nuclear negotiations with the US. []
And—as a trusted confidant of the supreme leader—he was among a select group of officials tasked with devising a plan to ensure the regime would survive if the supreme leader were assassinated.
But with all that, La-ree-johnny? He had also long been seen as one of the more pragmatic voices inside the regime.
Right, way back in 2015, he played a key role in securing parliamentary approval for the nuclear deal negotiated under Obama—which Trump withdrew the US from in 2018.
And although his stance hardened after the Trump administration broke off talks with Iran to take military action last June—he seemingly remained open to an agreement.
Last month, for example, when talks were back underway in Oman, he described his country’s position as “positive.”
With him arguing that the US had realised that the military option was not viable—saying:
“Resorting to negotiation is a rational path." []
That said, he also accused Israel of trying to sabotage the diplomatic track to “ignite a war.”
And some would say he was proven right.
And so after talks once again collapsed following the US and Israeli attack, La-ree-johnny struck maybe his most defiant tone yet—saying on social media:
“We will burn their hearts. We will make the Zionist criminals and the shameless Americans regret their actions.”
“The brave soldiers and the great nation of Iran will deliver an unforgettable lesson to the hellish international oppressors.”
And with that, he became Iran’s de facto leader, and continued to vow defiance, recently rejecting media reports that he wanted new talks with the US, and issuing a statement just yesterday calling on Muslims around the world to support Iran.
Also defending Iran’s attacks on Gulf States he accused of hosting “American bases and Israeli interests.”
But while he ramped up the rhetoric he hadn’t really stopped being a pragmatist.
With him reportedly opposing the appointment of the deceased supreme leader’s son as his replacement—instead lobbying for a more moderate option as a way of showing the public and the international community that Iran was changing direction. []
And you have experts arguing his death will only embolden hardliners and enable security forces to tighten their grip— with one telling the Times:
“Now that it seems everything is in the hands of the military elite, it’s very difficult to imagine how and if they can come up with some ideas, or if they can show enough flexibility, to accept the ideas of the other side to end the war”—adding:
“This process of elite-thinning, every layer that you remove, the next layer is going to be more hard-line.” []
And that tracks with what US intelligence assessments have reportedly been saying even before La-ree-johnny’s assasination.
Which is that the regime is consolidating power and will likely remain in place for the time being, weaker but more hard-line, with the Revolutionary Guard exerting greater control.
And with that, according to reports, security forces have been cracking down on dissent despite the war—arresting people suspected of collaborating with foreign powers and threatening would-be protesters with death to fend off any potential uprising.
You also have experts arguing that hardliners, now with even more influence, may be even more eager than ever to develop a nuclear weapon.
WIth a key point being that Iran is still hanging on to a believed 440 kilograms of highly enriched uranium—although whether it can currently access that material and whether they’d be able to convert it into a bomb is still unknown. []
And notably, with all that, Trump was reportedly told about the likelihood of a “more entrenched” Revolutionary Guard before he gave the go-ahead to jointly launch the war with Israel. []
With one person familiar with the assessments telling The Washington Post:
“It wasn’t just predictable.”
“It was predicted. He was told in advance.” []
Trump was also reportedly warned that attacking Iran could trigger retaliation against American allies in the Gulf allies.
But yesterday, you had him claiming yesterday that this came as a surprise:
“They hit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait.”
“Nobody expected that. We were shocked. ... They fought back.’’
He also seemingly acknowledged yesterday that the US and Israel’s own attacks on Iranian leadership were making the changes of a negotiated end to this war even slimmer—saying:
“We don’t even know their leaders,”
“We have people wanting to negotiate.”
“We have no idea who they are.” (48:43-43:48)
But with all that, Israel doesn’t appear to be slowing down its effort to take out top leaders of the regime.
With Netanyahu again suggesting that this is aimed at toppling the government once and for all—saying:
“We are undermining this regime in the hope of giving the Iranian people an opportunity to remove it”—although you also had him conceding:
“This will not happen all at once, and it will not happen easily.”
And with that, you had a military spokesman saying yesterday that Israel's goal was “maximum accomplishments in a minimum time frame”—adding that it was “ready to operate as long as needed.”
With this being yet another sign that Israel is ready to keep this up as long as it takes–while the question that’s left is whether Trump remains on board as well.
Right, because he’s gone back and forth between claiming an end to the war is around and suggesting it could last much longer.
Although you have some who say he’s not really the one calling the shorts anymore—with some saying Israel is really the one at the wheel.
And that apparently includes Joe Kent, one of the country’s top counterterrorism officials, who announced his resignation today, writing in a social media post:
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
But with that, whatever role Israel played in starting this war, ending it will also depend on Iran.
With even people close to Trump reportedly concerned that Iran’s attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz may be forcing him into a situation where escalating the conflict, maybe by putting American boots on the ground, will be seen by him as the only way to credibly claim victory.
With one person described as being close to the White House telling Politico:
“We clearly just kicked [Iran’s] ass in the field, but, to a large extent, they hold the cards now,”
“They decide how long we’re involved — and they decide if we put boots on the ground. And it doesn’t seem to me that there’s a way around that, if we want to save face.” []
And that may be especially the case as Trump’s latest idea for securing the strait doesn’t seem to be working out so well.
Right, as we talked about yesterday, Trump has asked NATO members and other countries to help unblock the Strait of Hormuz — but their response has been less than enthusiastic.
And so you’ve since had Trump suggesting his request for help in reopening the Strait of Hormuz was a loyalty test—claiming yesterday:
“I’m almost doing it in some cases not because we need them but because I want to find out how they react.”
At the same time, though, he claimed that “numerous countries have told [him] that they’re on the way.”
But when asked to name them, he replied:
“I’d rather not say yet, but we’ll be announcing them.”
Today, he again suggested that this was a “great test” for NATO, warning that the United States would remember its inaction.
With him adding on social media that “Because of the fact that we have had such Military Success, we no longer “need,” or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance.”
Although he then immediately contradicted himself by saying it’s not just that the US no longer needs their help but that it “NEVER DID!”
Trump told reporters that he wasn't worried that putting American troops on the ground in Iran could turn this into another Vietnam war—saying:
“I’m really not afraid of that”
“I’m really not afraid of anything.”
And while that scenario may seem unlikely given the more limited ground options currently being considered, crossing that line would likely prolong the war, and put troops at greater risk.
Right, as of now, 13 American service members have died since the start of the war, according to the Pentagon.
And the number of troops who have been wounded or injured has now passed 200 across seven countries—according to a military spokesperson who claimed more than 180 of them have returned to duty, also saying the number of seriously injured troops is up to 10.
And ultimately how much that number continues to go up may be determined by decisions Donald Trump makes over the coming days and weeks.
And while we wait for that, he is already talking about the next government he wants to topple.
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Right, Trump is threatening to take aim at Cuba as they experience yet another nationwide blackout that’s left over 10 million struggling and sparked fiery protests across the island.
“ (Trump) I do believe I’ll have the honor of taking Cuba. (Reporter) Taking Cuba? (Trump) Taking Cuba in some form, whether I free it, take it – I think I can do whatever I want to it. They’re a very weakened nation right now.” (:00-:21)
It’s his latest threat of foreign intervention, and it comes as reports say, “Cuba reported a ‘total disconnection’ of the country’s national electric system” yesterday. []
Some residents said this blackout didn’t even surprise them, as they’re getting used to living without power, while others are scrambling to find alternatives to maintain basic needs like food. []
As reports describe this as a looming humanitarian crisis, the US continues to keep Cuba cut off from Venezuela’s oil and maintains the threat to spike tariffs for any other country that offers help. [] [] []
Reuters said Cuba has received only two small oil vessels this year.
The first one came into the Havana port in January from Mexico, who was a regular oil supplier for Cuba before Trump’s tariff threats. (:13-:18)
Mexican citizens have helped with food relief for Cuba as well, but they know that with the US’s pressure on the island, that just isn’t enough. (B ROLL 1:03-1:08)
“Mexico is showing its solidarity, but we must not fool ourselves. It’s a symbolic act and doesn’t help the real problem on the island and the long-term solution.” (1:11-1:20)
Aside from Mexico, the next vessel came in February from Jamaica with liquefied petroleum gas known as cooking gas, but that’s been it.
The US has also held a 65-year embargo on Cuba, effectively bleeding Cuba dry as Trump stands against their leadership.
With all the factors at play, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel (Cuh-nell, pronunciation :12) says they haven’t seen a drop of fuel for their already dated power grid in three months. []
As millions of Cuban citizens continue to struggle through this, rare protests have erupted, and videos have spread showing people attacking the Communist party headquarters directly. [] (B ROLL :00-:20)
Reports say, “Every night for 10 days, they have gone out to protest in a different area of the country because of the blackouts. This is the first time they have protested so many consecutive days in a row.” []
As these protests rage on, President Diaz-Canel said last week that he was in talks with the US “aimed at finding solutions through dialogue to the bilateral differences between the two nations.” []
But we’re still not sure if Trump is actually on the same page.
A White House official also told the Washington Post, “As the President has stated, we are talking to Cuba, whose leaders should make a deal, which he believes ‘would be very easily made.’ Cuba is a failing nation whose rulers have had a major setback with the loss of support from Venezuela and with Mexico ceasing to send them oil.” []
This pressure on Cuba is something we all saw coming from a mile away after he started dropping hints that their government may face the same fate as Venezuela’s.
Since then, he’s also said he’ll be turning his attention to Cuba after the war in Iran is over. []
And as Trump closes in, Cuban officials haven’t been quiet about the strain they're under, even reportedly offering to allow Cuban nationals outside of the country to participate in the country’s “economic and social development.” []
The Post reports that Cuba's deputy prime minister and economic czar said, “Cuban nationals outside the country would be permitted to invest in the country’s small private sector and own businesses on the island.” []
If you’re wondering why this is news, well, communist regimes don’t usually take kindly to those who escape.
The Cuban communist leadership has often referred to those who fled during their revolution as scum and a slur meaning maggots.
And with that being said, the deputy prime minister’s offer may be too little too late, as many Cubans outside of the island have rejected it.
Groups like The Assembly of the Cuban Resistance, a Miami-based group of Cuban exiles, said, “The regime must be truly desperate to seek resources from the very people they once branded as ‘scum’ and forced into exile. We know this administration despises free Cubans who refuse to be controlled by the Communist Party. It is vital to withhold investment now and wait for a truly free Cuba.” [] (B ROLL :40-:48)
Other US residents in places with high Cuban populations have spoken out against the Cuban government as well.
In Kansas City, which has roughly 2000 Cuban residents, people with family still on the island have also organized support and prayer gatherings for those suffering through the outages. []
So, this is a pretty sticky situation.
On the one hand, you have a one-party, communist government structure in Cuba that is trying to make amends with the people they’ve ousted for so many years, while also still arresting those who are speaking out on the island.
On the other hand, you have our president, who seems to be a glutton for foreign intervention, going into other countries and stomping out whatever leaders he doesn’t agree with while driving Americans closer to a fascist regime every day.
And, as per usual, it’s the people who get the short end of the stick because neither government seems to be operating in their interest.
There are small pockets of Cuba where power has been restored, but the power crisis is still very much present and seems to only be an occupational hazard for the leaders at play here.
Now, with Trump’s new threats, we’re just kind of left holding our breath for the sake of the Cuban people, as we’ve seen from his handling of Venezuela that there’s a lot to be concerned about here.
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And getting back to the news, war reporters are now getting death threats from Polymarket bettors with potentially millions of dollars on the line.
At the center of this story is Emanuel, or Mannie, Fabian - a 28-year-old war correspondent for the Times of Israel newspaper.
On March 10, an Iranian ballistic missile hit just outside a suburb of the city of Jerusalem. []
It shook the town but when emergency services went out in search of casualties, they found the missile actually hit a forest roughly 500 meters from any homes.
So no one was killed, no one was hurt and Mannie quickly put out a live blog post saying just that and adding video footage of the explosion caused by the warhead on the missile.
All in all, a minor update in the coverage of the war - but then he started getting strange messages.
The first was in Hebrew, asking him to correct his post to say it wasn’t a missile that made contact but an interceptor fragment. []
Mannie says he gently pushed back, saying the Israeli military had reported it was, in fact, a missile warhead and adding,
“The footage also shows a massive explosion of hundreds of kilograms of explosives from the warhead. Normally, a fragment does not produce such an explosion.” []
The next day, he received another email in Hebrew - saying something similar about how he must have been mistaken and it had to be fragments rather than a real missile. []
And, according to Mannie, it was odd to have received the same line of questioning about a relatively inconsequential update.
So he asked for more information and the new reader said,
“... it appears that this was a missile that was intercepted, and its debris and interceptor fragments fell at the scene. No security authority so far has confirmed that it was a missile that was not intercepted and fell in an open area.”
“If you could correct this tonight, you would be doing me and many others a great favor.” []
Mannie said he wrote it off and didn’t respond - going to sleep for the night.
But the next day, he saw similar conversation sparking up on X - with a couple users jumping into his replies to ask whether he’d confirm that the missile was, in fact, intercepted.
Or whether there was any evidence of a missile making contact.
And again, this is after Mannie shared the video of the explosion caused by the warhead on the missile. []
At this point, Mannie starts digging and he found the users who were pressing this issue appeared to be involved in gambling on Polymarket.
Now, it’s been a while since we’ve talking about Polymarket so just a quick refresh:
Polymarket is one of the prediction markets that has blown up over the last year or so.
It allows users to bet on the outcome of news events - we’re talking everything from elections to sports games to the length of press conferences to active warzones - to the tune of billions of dollars in weekly trading.
Though it is important to note that Polymarket does bar users in the US.
Anyway, after finding that connection, Mannie discovered the specific prediction these users were trying to resolve.
The event they were betting on was titled, “Iran strikes Israel on…?” and more than $16 million was bet on March 10th specifically.
With the rules stating,
“This market will resolve to ‘Yes’ if Iran initiates a drone, missile, or air strike on Israel’s soil on the listed date in Israel Time. Otherwise, this market will resolve to ‘No’.” []
But there was a catch -
“Missiles or drones that are intercepted… will not be sufficient for a ‘Yes’ resolution, regardless of whether they land on Israeli territory or cause damage.”
Mannie’s reporting meant that those who bet “No” were losing big and it put him right in the middle of this shitshow.
And as a response to all that, Mannie posted on X,
“My message to you gamblers is simple: fuck off, stop harassing me, and find a better hobby than falsifying journalistic reports for financial gain.” []
But that didn’t stop the gamblers in any way shape or form - in fact, things started escalating.
Mannie said a colleague from another publication reached out to him about a friend asking him to try convincing Mannie to change the article.
Saying it would be, quote, “negligible” for him to update it with a more favorable outlook. []
And when Mannie explained the situation to the colleague, he then confronted the friend who confirmed it was, in fact, about bets they had placed on Polymarket. []
According to Mannie, the friend even offered Mannie’s colleague a portion of the winnings if he convinced him to change the report. []
And then this story goes from ridiculous to terrifying - because after he still refused to report false information, Mannie started receiving death threats.
With one bettor reaching out to him on WhatsApp - first in Hebrew, then switching to English, saying,
“You have no idea how much you’ve put yourself at risk. Today is the most significant day of your career. You have two choices: either believe that we have the capabilities, and after you make us lose $900,000 we will invest no less than that to finish you. Or end this with money in your pocket, and also earn back the life you had until now.” []
And when Mannie didn’t respond, the bettor continued - revealing details about Mannie’s home, neighborhood, his parents, and his family.
“If you decide to go with your ego and not with your head, you are leaving behind dozens of wealthy people from all over the world who will know that you performed market manipulation and stole from them. They know who you are, you don’t know who they are. It took them less than 5 minutes to find out exactly where you live … how often you see your lovely parents … and exactly who your … brothers and sisters are.” []
And more and more and more - this guy even started a countdown, telling Mannie it would be a “fatal mistake” if he didn’t respond in 10 minutes. []
And when Mannie still didn’t respond, the bettor got even more explicit - saying,
“You have 90 minutes left to update the lie. If you do this — you solve in a minute the most serious problem you have caused yourself in life. And you won’t remember me anymore in a week.”
“If you decide not to correct it, and leave the lie intact, you will discover enemies who will be willing to pay anything to make your life miserable — within the framework of the law.”
“And as far as I know, there are also some people who don’t really care about the law, and you’re going to make them lose about 50 times what you’ll ever make.”
“86 minutes left. You are the only one responsible for your life.” []
And, for a minute, Mannie thought about just giving in - telling the Washington Post,
“I thought, ‘Do I just change it? Because it doesn’t really matter. But then I thought, ‘You know, if I do this now, they’re going to come back to me again and asked for other things to be changed.’ They would have probably never stopped doing that if they knew they could make money this way.” []
So instead, Mannie filed a police report and published his first-hand account of the whole situation - saying he hopes the publicity will deter bettors from threatening other journalists in the future. []
But even he says that’s unlikely - and it’s even more unlikely that every journalist will have the same response he did. []As for Polymarket’s response to all this, they condemned the threats and intimidation - saying it violates their terms of service and has no place on the platform. []
Adding,
And they later said on X that any accounts involved were banned and their information was passed off to the authorities. []
And despite the ban for US users, Polymarket and its controversies have captured the attention of Congress.
With Senators Chris Murphy and Greg Casar gearing up to introduce the BETS OFF Act - or the Banning Event Trading on Sensitive Operations and Federal Functions Act. []
With a statement from Murphy’s office saying this bill will, quote,
But whether or not that actually makes it through will depend on whether Democrats can get any power back in the midterms and, more specifically, what kind of Democrats wind up elected.
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Which brings us to the political catfight going down in Illinois right now.
Because Dick Durbin is retiring from the Senate, and five more Democrats are retiring from the House. [B roll, 00:07]
So vying for that Senate seat are three Dems: the current state Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton …
[Clip, 00:08 - 00:13]
… Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi [Pronounce 00:15] …
[Clip, 00:24 - 00:29]
… And Representative Robin Kelly …
[Clip, 00:07 - 00:11]
With the polls opening up today, so by tomorrow if not tonight we should know who the winner is.
And the Senate seat in question is safely blue, so it’s presumed that whoever wins this primary will win the general as well.
But people are also watching it closely to see if it signals anything about the trajectory of the Democratic Party more broadly.
Namely whether or how much wealthy donors influence the outcome.
Because on one side, cryptocurrency interests have thrown millions of dollars behind Krishnamoorthi, leading to fears that he would be beholden to the industry.
Then on the other side, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who’s a billionaire, has thrown millions of his own dollars behind Stratton, leading to accusations that he’s tipping the scales.
Meanwhile Kelly’s trailing well behind both of her competitors, who are neck and neck up at the front of the race.
They also reflect differences within the party about the correct stand to take on ICE and immigration.
With Stratton jumping fully on board the “abolish ICE” movement, Krishnamoorthi proposing to “abolish Trump’s ICE,” and Kelly wanting to “dismantle” ICE and the Department of Homeland Security broadly. [Quote and Image]
Meanwhile, in the House primaries, there’s a lot of money floating around from crypto, AI, and dark money groups as well, but another big issue’s Israel.
Because the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, has poured over 20 million dollars into several races, using shell PACs rather than its main super PAC to hide where the money’s coming from. [Quote, find “conceal”]
And its ads make sure to focus on anything but Israel, likely because polling has shown declining support among Democratic voters. [Same quote]
But we’ll have to see if its efforts work, because last month they tried the same thing in New Jersey and it backfired spectacularly.
With AIPAC there attacking a pro-Israel moderate who didn’t support unconditional aid to Israel, but in doing so accidentally handing the race to a progressive who’s accused Israel of genocide. [Headline]
So now in Illinois, AIPAC started doing something similar, attacking Daniel Biss, the grandson of a Holocaust survivor who’s criticized Israel, in favor of its preferred candidate, Laura Fine.
But that created an opening for Palestinian-American progressive Kat Abughazaleh [Pronounce 00:26] to gain ground.
So fearing a repeat of New Jersey, AIPAC pivoted in the final stretch of the race, focusing its attacks on Abughazaleh directly.
Now while we’re waiting for the results on all that, we’re also seeing things heating up in the Senate primary in Maine.
Because Democrats believe they can mount a challenge to the state’s Republican Senator Susan Collins, who’s held her seat for nearly three decades now.
Right, although she won her last reelection bid in 2020 by 8.6 points, Trump lost Maine that year by nine points as well as 2024 by seven points.
So the Dems, who don’t have many soft targets to pick from in the first place, think they might be able to flip Collins’s seat.
But there’s a big debate around who’s gonna be the best candidate to pull that off.
On one side you’ve got Maine’s moderate sitting governor, Janet Mills …
[Clip, 01:45 - 02:02]
… And on the other side there’s the progressive challenger, Graham Platner, an oyster farmer, military veteran and former private military contractor …
[Clip, 00:13 - 00:29]
She’s 78 years old; he’s 41.
She’s won statewide races before; he’s never held office.
She’s an establishment insider; he’s a populist outsider.
She’s got the endorsement of Chuck Schumer; he’s got support from Bernie Sanders.
And the race is tight, though some polls have shown Platner in the lead, and he’s raised much more money than Mills.
But Platner also has a dirty background to overcome, and now, in the first attack ad of the race, we’ve seen Mills pounce on it.
[Clip, 00:00 - 00:27]
Right, I’ll explain; last fall the media dug up old Reddit posts Platner made, mostly around 2013 that were, uhhhh … not great.
Saying women concerned about rape should "not get so f***ed up they wind up having sex with someone they don't mean to" and should "act like an adult for f***s sake.” [Quote]
As well as: “In today’s current climate, when every whisper of a misplaced hand brings down a feature length film, anyone who actually thinks the military is purposefully covering up rape to save the career of some god damn [captain], is clearly both an idiot and junior enough in rank or life experience to think it matters.” [Quote same link]
And in another post simply asking: “Why don’t black people tip?”
Then, around 2018/2020 more posts appeared to show him calling himself a communist, referring to cops as "bastards" and agreeing that rural White people are racist and stupid.
Which is a bit ironic not only because he himself is a white oyster farmer, but also because it was revealed that he had a tattoo resembling the Nazi death’s head on his chest.
Now in his defense, he claims he got the ink in 2007 during a drunken night out in Croatia with a few fellow machine gunners, and that he picked the image at random from options displayed on the wall of the tattoo parlor. [Quote, find “drunken”]
Also he’s since covered it up, and he blames the older posts on his depression and PTSD after returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. [Headline]
[Clip, 00:44 - 00:47, 00:53 - 01:13, 04:07 - 04:16] Caption: “The infantry was a very male-dominated place. … But when I got out, I still had the crude humour, the dark feelings, the offensive language, that really was a hallmark of the infantry when I was in it. I made comments that I’m not happy about, that I do not agree with, but they came from a time and place in my life. … And so for those of you who have read these things and been offended, have read these things and seen someone that you don’t recognize, I am deeply sorry.”
But clearly that’s not stopping Mills from doing everything she can to make this scandal stick, and we can expect to see similar attack ads leading up to June’s primary.
Then at that point it’s up to Maine’s Democratic voters; right, some are gonna forgive his past, like one local business owner put it to Vanity Fair:
“I’m a voter who wants to not fund genocide and to have universal health care. That matters more to me than some old Reddit posts and a tattoo.” [Quote]
But others are gonna go, hey, I already know Mills, she’s served my state for years, and all I keep hearing about this Platner guy is that he’s got a Nazi tattoo and hates women.
So it’s really a question of which way the scales tip; how do their respective assets, liabilities, and messaging balance out in the end?
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But getting back to the news, new MAGA civil war just dropped: whether or not doing a Nazi salute should be considered free speech.
Unfortunately, I’m not kidding even a little bit.
And specifically, this latest battle centers around the University of Florida College Republicans group.
Right, late last week, an education and pro-Israel activist posted a picture on social media of two people doing a Nazi salute, claiming that one of them was a leader of the UF College Republicans.
And on Saturday, you had the National Federation of College Republicans — or the NFCR — also sharing that photo, as well as screenshots from a campus group chat where one person said that Hitler “didn’t do enough” and another joked about beating up women. [][]
But, apparently, the guy who made the Hitler comment told reporters that he was just joking and didn’t mean to be anti-semitic, claiming that he was never part of the UF College Republicans… even though he appeared to confirm being part of their group chat…
But, back to the matter at hand, you also had the NFCR saying in their post that they had actually revoked the group’s charter last month because of these incidents, adding that it was working with the University of Florida to formalize the decision.[]
Which is notable because it seems to imply that the school may have known about this before it started gaining traction online, though that hasn’t been verified.
With the National Federation going on to note that they don’t have the power to actually remove chapters from their campuses, but arguing that they made the decision to cut ties because the university group failed “to uphold basic Republican principles.”
And that same day, we also saw an official statement from the University of Florida — which, very notably, actually has the highest percentage of Jewish students of any public college in the country.
And in the statement, the university said that it had “recently” been informed about the campus group being disbanded by the Florida Federation of College Republicans, which is the state branch of the NFCR — I know, so many different Republican acronyms, but bear with me.[]
With the school announcing that it was going to deactivate the campus chapter in compliance with university policies and at the request of the Florida Federation branch, but adding that it would also help reactivate the group “under new student leadership.”
Right, and according to reports, under the decision, the UF College Republicans could lose access to campus spaces and funding until they are reinstated.
But not long after the move was announced, the campus group posted their own statement claiming that the Florida Federation didn’t have any authority over their chapter because it is actually part of an entirely DIFFERENT student Republican organization — and that’s a whole other set of acronyms I’m not even going to touch.[]
With the campus chapter accusing the Florida Federation of lying “to silence christian conservative groups on campus,” and implying that they had been targeted because they had just hosted an event with a far-right candidate for governor, who has caused a major rift among Florida Republicans.
Though, notably, we did see the National Federation hitting back at the claims that there was no charter to revoke because the UF College Republicans had never signed with their various branches, writing in a post on X:
“Multiple emails and texts refute this claim. The chapter certainly had no issue identifying itself as an NFCR chapter when it was time to request chapter boxes or speakers.”[]
But, regardless, this whole situation has caused a TON of division among conservatives in Florida, with some condemning anti-semitism and praising the school for taking action, while others took the side of the UF College Republicans.[][]
But then yesterday, the UF College Republicans chapter filed a lawsuit against the university, alleging that it violated the group’s First Amendment rights and tried to punish the protected, off-campus speech of a member.
And specifically, the suit asks a federal judge to declare that the college’s actions were unconstitutional, reactivate the group, and award damages and legal fees.
With Anthony Sabatini, a lawyer for the UF College Republicans, accusing the university of punishing the group for being “part of the new right or hard right.”[]
And alleging that the state Republican Party targeted the s chapter for promoting what he described as an “aggressive ‘America First’” agenda.[]
Which is kind of saying the quiet part out loud… like you really wanna openly say that Nazi salutes are a form of protected free speech that's part of the MAGA agenda? Okay…
But meanwhile, all of this comes less than two weeks after a totally DIFFERENT Florida college made headlines after the leak of incredibly offensive group chats between conservative student leaders and local Republican officials.
And in addition to blatant anti-semitism, those chats also contained hundreds of other racist, sexist, and homophobic messages.
Right, according to the Miami Herald, the chat was created for conservative students at Florida International University by the secretary of Miami-Dade County’s Republican Party, who himself is a student at the school.
And, among others, the group included a number of the school’s top conservative leaders, like the TPUSA chapter president and the former College Republicans recruitment chair.
With the Herald reporting that within just three weeks, the chat was filled with racist slurs and active threats of violence, with one person writing “dozens of ways of violently killing Black people.”
People also repeatedly mused about Hitler’s policies, and at one point the group was renamed to honor a mythical white civilization promoted by Nazi leaders — a very niche piece of ideology that the FIU College Republicans recruitment chair described as “Nazi heaven.”
Beyond that, tons of slurs were thrown around constantly — the n-word was reportedly used more than 400 times, women were regularly described as “whores,” and other offensive terms were used to talk about Jewish and gay people.
In fact, the chat was so despicable that FIU has now launched a criminal investigation into the matter.
And while the school’s TPUSA chapter president stepped down last week, the literal government official who has a real-life position of power in the county Republican Party has refused to do the same, despite countless calls from GOP leaders
With him instead claiming that he hadn’t seen much of the content in the group chat until he was contacted by the Herald, and adding that he was shocked by some of the comments.
But, I mean, that’s really fucking hard to believe, especially because both these incidents are hardly shocking to anyone who has been paying even the slightest bit of attention.
Right, while these two latest incidents are incredibly important to talk about, this isn’t even the first time something like this has happened — last fall, Politico exposed the conversations of a Telegram group chat between some of the high-ranking leaders of Young Republican organizations across America.
With that leak consisting of more than 2,700 pages of messages containing absolutely wild racist, antisemitic, and violent rhetoric.
But, of course, this goes beyond private conversations — you don’t even have to try to find people spreading that kind of language on whatever shell of Twitter we still have, and top voices in MAGA and the far-right publicly use and encourage it.
But we’ve now seen this happening repeatedly with groups of politically active young people who supposedly want to be the future party leaders, and that’s incredibly significant.
And so is the fact that MAGA conservatives are trying to spin attempts at accountability — including from their own party — as a violation of free speech.
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