CNN's biased man-in-the-street interviews strike again.  Last month, the network cherry-picked two Texas Republicans who said they wouldn't vote for Ken Paxton in the general election, including one who said he'd "absolutely" vote for James Talarico. It was then fair to ask how many actual Paxton supporters they interviewed before settling on just those two. It was more of the same on Saturday's CNN This Morning: Weekend. Reporter Danny Freeman hit the streets in Maine ahead of Tuesday's primary. There are over 386,000 registered Democrats in Maine. But Freeman couldn't find — or CNN chose not to air — a single one who said he would refuse to vote for scandal-plagued candidate Graham Platner. The closest he came was finding a supposed Janet Mills supporter who lamented Democrats would lose in November — but she did not say anything about whether she would abandon her party's nominee! One woman named Bonnie Depp said she'll probably vote for him because "I don't think a lot of this crap is anybody else's business."  The most telling example was a woman who flatly accused Platner of lying when he said he didn't realize that the tattoo he'd been sporting for 18 years was a Nazi SS-inspired Totenkopf: "He's an intelligent man, of course, he knew about it." But that didn't stop her from declaring: "I'm gonna vote for him, yeah." CNN Can't Find a Single Maine Democrat Who Won't Vote for Platner pic.twitter.com/Tit5wB6Wyl — Mark Finkelstein (@markfinkelstein) June 6, 2026 Then there was "Zoo Cain," who said he wasn't interested in Platner's "foibles," and supports him because he "loves" what he says on the issues. Zoo lamented that "everybody is piling on" Platner. Yeah, how unfair to raise a candidate's personal history! Finally, there was the Democrat voter for whom ignorance was bliss: "Don't know if it's misinformation or disinformation, right? Like, I don't know. Do any of us really know what's gonna be, or what kind of character he has? Don't know. Unproven." Actually, Platner has admitted much of his misconduct. But that was way back five years or so ago! He's a changed man!  When the candidate is a Republican with troubling issues, CNN has no trouble finding party members ready to abandon ship. But for Democrat Platner, whose Totenkopf tattoo he covered up after first claiming ignorance, plus allegations of toxic and threatening behavior toward women, suddenly every voter interviewed is either enthusiastically on board or holding their nose but voting anyway because Senate control matters more.  Party loyalty über alles. Or to borrow our Jorge Bonilla's brilliant take: "Maine Kampf." CNN This Morning: Weekend 06/06/26 6:04 am EDT VICTOR BLACKWELL: Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, let's talk about him. He may be a favorite to win Tuesday's primary in Maine, but he is also quickly losing voters' enthusiasm. Platner is a Marine vet, an oyster farmer, and the front runner to take on Susan Collins in the November election, but a barrage of scandals from a covered-up Nazi-linked tattoo to toxic relationship allegations has voters ready to cast their ballots while holding their noses. CNN's Danny Freeman talked to voters in Maine about how they feel about voting for Platner. BONNIE DEPP: Either get it all out there or shut up. One of the two. DANNY FREEMAN: For many Maine Democratic voters we spoke with, they said they're frustrated with Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, who they feel could give them the best shot at defeating long-time Republican Senator Susan Collins, and pave the way for Democrats to take control of the Senate. Are you considering holding your breath and voting for him? DEPP: I got until Tuesday to decide, but I'm pretty sure I'll vote for him. I don't think a lot of this crap is anybody else's business. FREEMAN: For some Democrats, they're willing to look past the interpersonal stories. "ZOO CAIN": I'm not really interested in the guy's foibles. You know, I'm interested in his vision and what he has to say, and I love what he has to say. So yeah, it's been definitely difficult because everybody is piling on this guy. FREEMAN: But others didn't buy Platner's tattoo explanation. SANDRA BRADEN: He's an intelligent man, of course he knew about it. I don't blame him for denying it, but —  FREEMAN: But that's still not enough not to vote for him, you're still gonna vote for him, likely. BRADEN: — I'm gonna vote for him, yeah, but I don't like it. I'm not in favor of all that [bleeped.] FREEMAN: Still, for some, the drip, drip, drip has left voters confused. WOODY HAYWOOD: I don't know if it's misinformation or disinformation, right? Like, I don't know. Do any of us really know what's gonna be, or what kind of character he has? Don't know. Unproven. So is it the devil that we have, the devil we know or the devil that we don't know yet? FREEMAN: According to a pair of recent polls conducted before the latest allegations, a head-to-head matchup between Platner and Senator Collins appears competitive. One with no clear leader and the other showing Platner with an advantage. While Platner is the clear favorite to win the Democratic nomination on Tuesday, another high-profile candidate's name is still on the ballot. Governor Janet Mills suspended her campaign back in April, but a source now tells CNN she's been getting encouragement to reenter the primary. Beth Dindas, a Mills supporter from the start, thinks it's likely too late. BETH DINDAS: I think that ultimately, unfortunately, we're going to lose this race again, and we're going to have six more years of Susan Collins, who has let down the people of Maine time after time.

CNN Business reporter Nathaniel Meyersohn came out with an utterly ludicrous headline June 4 trying to retcon Mamdani’s hammer-and-sickle persona, “Zohran Mamdani’s capitalist plan to fix the housing crisis.” No, you didn’t misread that. Meyersohn is actually arguing that Mamdani’s socialist pipe dream to use $22 billion in tax dollars for government-built “affordable housing,” while putting rent freezes on landlords, is somehow giving a nod to capitalism. The reason: Mamdani is now supposedly looking to get the real estate developers who opposed him to sign off on his agenda. That’s it. Meyersohn tried to put lipstick on the pig of Mamdaninomics: His strategy uses market-oriented policies — easing building regulations, loosening zoning restrictions and rescuing the city’s crumbling public housing stock through private financing — to advance his social democratic goals of 200,000 affordable homes over the next decade. However, as always is the case with these textbook cases in media gaslighting, the devil is in the details. The National Review editorial board pointed out May 29 that “Technically, those buildings will be owned and managed by private investors. But the city will foot much of the bill and, in return, layer on mandates that are sure to slow production and drive up costs.” If that wasn’t bad enough, under the Mamdani plan, “Developers will have to pay construction workers a minimum wage of $40, almost twice the industry’s national average. Once the buildings are completed, if ever, the city will keep rents capped.” In short, “Mamdani wants to be your landlord.”  What in the Sam Hill does that have anything to do with free markets? Even Meyersohn, in all his illusory wisdom, undercut his own thesis in the 12th paragraph: “[Mamdani’s]housing plan still contains policies like rent regulations that squeeze private developers and may undermine the city’s ability to produce as much housing as other cities.” And that paragraph came just before a blaring sub-headline Meyerson included, “Rent freeze.” Agendas like these would make Karl Marx blush.  As George Washington University Law School Professor Jonathan Turley wrote May 30: “Mamdani promised in his inaugural address to introduce New Yorkers to ‘the warmth of collectivism.’ It now appears landlords will likely be the first to feel the heat.” Cronyism? Maybe. Capitalism? Only if you’ve been chugging the Schnapps and ended up drunker than your overly political uncle at Thanksgiving dinner. Putting communist NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s rent-control abomination of an agenda and capitalism in the same context as if they’re synonymous with one another is some crazy work, CNN.

Democrats are in full damage-control mode over Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, even as fresh allegations of unsettling behavior toward women continue to swirl. Meanwhile, CNN This Morning host Cornish is pushing an alternative to the politically-wounded Platner. Cornish sounded that theme from her opening words in Friday's Group Chat segment on the Maine race: "The question this morning for Democrats: is it too late to cut bait?" Or shuck an oyster? On Wednesday, Platner met with a number of Democratic senators to discuss the situation, and Cornish played clips of a number of them commenting after the meeting. Tina Smith of Minnesota managed to keep a straight face in response to CNN reporter Manu Raju's question as to whether they asked Platner whether there were any more shoes to drop: "No, we didn't talk about that. The main thing we talked about was, really, what his, why it is that he's been connecting so much with Maine voters."  Riiight! Forget all those scandals, Graham. Just tell us about how great you are! Smith's patently implausible denial was flatly contradicted by this report in The Wall Street Journal, "Senators Privately Ask Platner Whether New Allegations Will Emerge": "Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders asked Platner if any additional allegations would emerge against the embattled Democratic candidate, according to people familiar with the discussion. Platner said there weren’t any." Speaking of Sanders, in a clip Cornish played of his interview with Kaitlin Collins, Bernie played up Platner's military record: "This guy served four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He went through some very bloody and horrible situations. He has acknowledged that he came back with PTSD." Bernie Sanders, born-again military fanboy--who knew? But back to Audie and her theme o' the day: out with Platner, in with Maine Governor Janet Mills. Early in the segment, Cornish noted Mills' recent comments to the Portland Press Herald: "People have the impression that I withdrew or dropped out, but I simply suspended active campaigning. I'm still on the ballot." Underlined Cornish: "So, there is another option." Later, when panelist Noel King [like Cornish, an NPR veteran] suggested Democrats' "only option" was to stick with Platner and "keep it going," Cornish pushed back forcefully: "It's not the only option! The other option is Janet Mills. Come on. It could be!"   Dems Whistle Past Platner Graveyard as CNN's Cornish Pushes Janet Mills Option pic.twitter.com/IsCoyy6r6O — Mark Finkelstein (@markfinkelstein) June 5, 2026   The episode perfectly captures the Democrats' and friendly media's awkward position. They want to embrace Platner's "I was a bad guy who saw the light" redemption story — complete with military service and PTSD — yet can't ignore the fresh baggage threatening a key Senate race against incumbent Susan Collins.  Hence the public support for Platner mixed with private jitters and not-so-subtle floating of Mills as a Plan B. Interestingly, both New York Senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, uttered the same carefully calculated line, expressing confidence that "We [Democrats] will win Maine." Missing: any mention of Platner. Sounds like they might be on Team Cornish-for-Mills! Here's the transcript. Click "expand" to read: CNN This Morning 6/5/26 6:04 am EDT AUDIE CORNISH: So the question this morning for Democrats: is it too late to cut bait? KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND: I'm very optimistic we're gonna win Maine. MANU RAJU: Did you talk about any of the shoes to drop that could come out in this race? Or, or, or did he try to get ahead on any of that? TINA SMITH: No, we didn't talk about that. The main thing we talked about was, really, what his, why it is that he's been connecting so much with, with Maine voters.  PETER WELCH: He's accepting the burden that he's gotta give his explanation of that to Maine voters, and they decide. KAITLIN COLLINS: Are you worried about anything else coming out about him? BERNIE SANDERS: I don't know. All I can say is, look, I'm sure he's not a saint. And by the way, let's not forget, he has acknowledged, this guy served four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He went through some very bloody and horrible situations. He has acknowledged that he came back with PTSD. CORNISH: Joining me now in the group chat, Elliot Williams, CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, Carine Hajjar, Washington Post editorial board member, and Noel King, co-host and editorial director of the "Today, Explained" podcast. Thank you guys for being here. So one of the things I'm looking at is response, response on the left, response from Democrats. The other thing I'm looking at is, what next? Because this election is going to happen in a few days, and earlier this week, Governor Janet Mills told the Portland Press earlier that, quote, "People have the impression that I withdrew or dropped out, but I simply suspended active campaigning. I'm still on the ballot." So there is another option.  . . .  Does it matter if the problematic part is the story? Meaning, his whole entire spiel has been, "I was a bad guy, I saw the light, and you want more guys like me seeing the light, Democrats." And, you know what I mean? The, the sort of like, I could have been in the Manosphere, but look, I'm here, running as a Democrat. And what do Democrats do with that story that they've been telling? NOEL KING: Keep it going, I think, is the only option at this point. CORNISH:  It's not the only option! The other option is Janet Mills. Come on. It could be!

On Thursday night, both ABC’s World News Tonight and NBC Nightly News framed the news of former National Security Advisor John Bolton's guilty plea on charges related to mishandling classified documents as an example of successful legal retribution against President Trump’s perceived enemies. NBC even failed to mention how the investigation into Bolton began under the Biden Administration's control of the Department of Justice. ABC anchor David Muir called Bolton one of Trump’s “harshest critics” before he turned it over to chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas, who claimed “retribution”: He was a prime target of President Trump's retribution campaign. And tonight, sources tell ABC News Trump's former National Security Adviser, John Bolton, is planning to plead guilty to mishandling classified information.   MAKE IT MAKE SENSE: @ABCWorldNews claims Bolton investigation started during the Biden admin and handled by career AUSAs is tRuMp rEtRiBuTiOn11!!11!1 DAVID MUIR: Tonight, sources now telling ABC News that President Trump's former National Security Adviser and one of his harshest… pic.twitter.com/RfhUelRTIx — Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) June 5, 2026   He then gave more details on Bolton’s indictment after he played a clip of Trump calling Bolton a “sleazebag”:   Bolton was indicted on 18 counts in October of 2025, accused of sharing classified information with members of his family in the course of writing a book. His home, raided by the FBI.  Tonight, sources tell us Bolton will plead guilty to one count of illegal retention of national security information and will acknowledge he stored sensitive information in his personal diaries. He's agreed to pay a fine of $2.25 million and could face up to five years in prison. Thomas returned to note Bolton “has been an unsparing critic of the President,” and played a soundbite from 2020 where Bolton said Trump was “unfit for office.” At the end of the report, Thomas finally mentioned that the case against Bolton began during the Biden DOJ by career prosecutors, not the conservative retribution type: The investigation into Bolton began during the Biden administration. The case against him was brought by career DOJ prosecutors, not newly appointed allies of the president.   On Thursday's NBC Nightly News, John Bolton's guilty plea in his classified documents case was the lead story of the night, as the show leaned heavily into the idea of the case as retribution. However, there was no mention of the Bolton investigation's start in the Biden DOJ. pic.twitter.com/uMdhfzSVyA — Nick (@nspin310) June 5, 2026   On NBC Nightly News, the Bolton guilty plea was the lead story of the night, as the show leaned heavily into the idea of the case as retribution, with visual comparisons to cases against those like New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey: TOM LLAMAS: Good evening. Great to have you tonight. We begin with the first legal victory against one of President Trump's perceived enemies. John Bolton, one of his strongest critics, now facing up to five years in prison and a $2 million fine.  Bolton was national security adviser during Trump's first term. Then became a fierce opponent of the president. Now, sources tell NBC News he plans to plead guilty to one count of retaining national security information. For a year and a half now, the Justice Department has been pursuing cases against the people you see here. Those the president believes have wronged him. Most either failed to get an indictment, were thrown out, or stalled, until now. NBC White House reporter Garrett Haake continued the frame of the Bolton case as retribution as he called the former Trump advisor “a fierce critic,” and played a soundbite from Bolton on ABC’s This Week: “I think it is a retribution presidency.” The transcripts from ABC and NBC are below. Click "expand": ABC World News Tonight June 4, 2026 6:42:23 PM Eastern DAVID MUIR: Tonight, sources now telling ABC News that President Trump's former National Security Adviser and one of his harshest critics, John Bolton, has now agreed to plead guilty to mishandling of classified information. Here's our Chief Justice Correspondent, Pierre Thomas now. PIERRE THOMAS: He was a prime target of President Trump's retribution campaign. And tonight, sources tell ABC News Trump's former National Security Adviser, John Bolton, is planning to plead guilty to mishandling classified information. PRESIDENT TRUMP: I'm not a fan of John Bolton. I thought he was a sleazebag, actually. THOMAS: Bolton was indicted on 18 counts in October of 2025, accused of sharing classified information with members of his family in the course of writing a book. His home, raided by the FBI.  Tonight, sources tell us Bolton will plead guilty to one count of illegal retention of national security information and will acknowledge he stored sensitive information in his personal diaries. He's agreed to pay a fine of $2.25 million and could face up to five years in prison.  Bolton has been an unsparing critic of the president. JOHN BOLTON: I don't think he's fit for office. THOMAS: President Trump himself was charged with mishandling classified information when he left office. That case later dismissed.  The investigation into Bolton began during the Biden administration. The case against him was brought by career DOJ prosecutors, not newly appointed allies of the president.  Bolton is expected to enter his guilty plea on June 26th. If he had been convicted on all 18 counts, he could have faced decades in prison. David. He plans to ask for probation, which will be up a judge to decide. MUIR: Pierre Thomas, live in Washington. Pierre, thanks. (...) NBC Nightly News June 4, 2026 6:32:17 PM Eastern TOM LLAMAS: Good evening. Great to have you tonight. We begin with the first legal victory against one of President Trump's perceived enemies. John Bolton, one of his strongest critics, now facing up to five years in prison and a $2 million fine.  Bolton was national security adviser during Trump's first term. Then became a fierce opponent of the president. Now, sources tell NBC News he plans to plead guilty to one count of retaining national security information. For a year and a half now, the Justice Department has been pursuing cases against the people you see here. Those the president believes have wronged him. Most either failed to get an indictment, were thrown out, or stalled, until now.  And we have new reporting tonight on the man the president just announced he'll nominate to lead the Justice Department. His former personal attorney Todd Blanche, who in just a few weeks as acting attorney general has already jump-started investigations against the president's enemies. Garrett Haake is covering it all tonight from the White House. GARRETT HAAKE: Tonight, a major reversal for a former top Trump official charged with mishandling classified information. Two sources familiar with the matter tell NBC News, President Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton will now plead guilty to one count of retaining national security information in a deal with federal prosecutors. Bolton, a fierce critic of the president - JOHN BOLTON [On ABC’s This Week in August 2025]: I think it is a retribution presidency. HAAKE: - Will now pay more than $2 million in restitution and faces up to five years in prison. President Trump had blasted Bolton after his October indictment. PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think he's a bad guy. Yeah, he's a bad guy. Too bad. HAAKE: The plea deal marks a first legal victory in the administration's multifaceted campaign against Trump critics. And comes after President Trump announced he'll nominate acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, once his personal defense attorney, to become the permanent AG. TRUMP: Todd is very popular. He's doing great. HAAKE: That announcement meeting with stiff opposition from Democrats. SEN. PETER WELCH (D-VT): Todd Blanche should not be attorney general. He is the personal attorney of the president. HAAKE: But Republicans predicting he'll make it through a confirmation battle. SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): He's honest, ethical. I think he'll do the job. HAAKE: And amid bipartisan pushback to his pick of housing chief Bill Pulte to be acting Director of National Intelligence, the President saying today that posting will be temporary. TRUMP: It's not a permanent position. We're looking at - we're interviewing people right now. LLAMAS: Garrett Haake joins us live from the white house. Garrett, President Trump is also making news on another renovation project he has going on in Washington. This one involving the Lincoln Memorial? HAAKE: Yeah, Tom, the president says he next plans to build a pedestrian bridge that would allow people to walk from the Lincoln Memorial down to the Potomac River. It would cross over those roads you see there behind the memorial. A major construction project in the heart of D.C., and it comes on the day the president has been touting the completion of a plan to rebuild, reseal, and repaint the reflecting pool on the memorial’s other side. Tom? LLAMAS: Several projects happening now. Alright, Garrett, we thank you for that. (...)

PolitiFact’s Caleb McCullough was at it again with more Senate campaign cherry-picking shenanigans on Friday. This time McCullough focused on Iowa Republican Ashley Hinson’s recent ad that accused Democrat Josh Turek of supporting sex changes for minors. McCullough called it “false,” but his actual article suggested it was not quite that simple. The controversy arose over an ad that “makes two similar but distinct claims. Its narration says Turek ‘supports kids changing gender without parental consent.’ But the on-screen text says ‘sex changes for kids,’ while video of surgeons in an operating room plays behind an image of Turek. Hinson’s social media post sharing the ad also used the phrase ‘sex changes for kids.’” If McCullough focused on the narrator, it is likely he would never have written the article because PolitiFact tends not to publish articles about Republicans being true. Instead, McCullough focused on the text: ‘Sex change’ is not a standard medical term. Gender-affirming care can include a range of approaches to support a person's gender identity including, for minors, using a different name or pronouns. According to medical best practices, gender-affirming treatments are available only to adolescents and can include puberty blockers, hormone therapy and in rare cases, surgeries for older teens. Medical intervention for minors requires parental consent. The ad distorts Turek’s position. The law cited in the ad as evidence does not mention medical interventions or ‘sex changes.’ It has to do with notifying parents when a student expresses a different gender identity at school. Which is exactly what the narrator said and McCullough even admitted was correct: The ad cites Iowa's Senate File 496, a 2023 law that regulated school library books with explicit themes and prohibited instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation. Turek voted against the bill. The Republican-led Legislature passed the bill and Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed it into law.  The law requires school districts to inform parents if a student requests "an accommodation that is intended to affirm the student's gender identity," including requests that employees "address the student using a name or pronoun" that differs from the school’s records.  McCullough also cited “Hinson campaign spokesperson Addie Lavis” as having “said the ad was not referencing gender-affirming surgeries. In an email to PolitiFact, she said the ad was using gender and sex ‘interchangeably as is the case under Iowa law and nowhere do we mention surgery.’" In that case, the ad is once again correct. Still, when it came to hormones for minors, McCullough tried to give Turek a pass, “Iowa lawmakers had already prohibited medical gender-affirming procedures for minors in 2023. Turek was not present for the vote on that bill, and the Iowa House Journal shows he was granted a leave of absence that day.” He then continued, “Citing the American Medical Association — which said in February that gender-affirming surgeries should ‘generally be reserved until adulthood’  — Turek campaign spokesperson Hannah Goss said he does not support gender-affirming surgeries for minors.” In his summary, McCullough used all that to conclude, “A separate bill the same year banned gender-affirming medical treatments for minors; Turek was absent from the vote. His campaign said he opposes such surgeries for minors.” Every single Democrat in the Iowa House of Representatives voted against the bill that banned gender-altering hormones for minors. There is no reason to believe that if Turek were present, he would have been the lone Democrat to join with Republicans.