Trump repeats claim that California election is rigged<\/p>\n
Welcome to our coverage of US politics.<\/p>\n
Donald Trump has repeated a claim made during an NBC interview on Sunday that he walked out of claiming that the California gubernatorial race is rigged.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the US president posted a screenshot of congressman Abe Hamadeh\u2019s post on X, who claimed that California<\/a> is \u201cincapable of running free and fair elections consistent with our constitution\u201d.<\/p>\n Trump posted the screenshot on Truth Social, with the original post by Hamadeh referring to election data platform Decision Desk HQ that Nithya Raman is projected to win the second of two spots in the CA Los Angeles mayor non-partisan primary election.<\/p>\n In response, Trump wrote: \u201cNo way this could have happened. Rigged Election!\u201d<\/p>\n This comes after he walked out of an NBC interview aired on Sunday, where he falsely claimed that the California gubernatorial race was \u201crigged\u201d while asserting untrue claims of cheating in the 2020 US presidential elections.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s four days and they aren\u2019t even close to counting [ballots],\u201d he said \u2013 as interviewer Kristen Welker argued that this was standard process in California. When he was asked about what his evidence was to suggest that the California election is \u201crigged\u201d, Trump accused Welker of being \u201ccrooked\u201d and later \u201cstupid\u201d.<\/p>\n When NBC tried to continue to pose questions to the president, he took off his microphone, and said: \u201cLet\u2019s call it quits because I\u2019ve had enough. Thank you, darling. Have a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n Read the full story about Trump walking out of the NBC interview here:<\/p>\n In other developments:<\/p>\n Later today Trump is expected to attend a campaign rally in New Jersey, before attending the Knicks game in New York\u2019s Madison Square Garden. Trump\u2019s appearance at the game means that there will be heightened security, a strict no-bag policy and airport-style screening for attenders of the game.<\/p>\n This comes after a stabbing occurred in Penn Station directly below the arena, injuring six people. The suspect is in custody.<\/p>\n The president also claimed that Iran\u2019s military had been \u201cvirtually decapitated\u201d as the war between the Middle Eastern country and the US reaches its 100th day. Earlier today, Trump urged Iran and Israel to \u201cstop shooting\u201d in a social media post. You can follow our Middle East liveblog coverage here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.05 EDT<\/p>\n Key events<\/p>\n Maine voters head to polls for closely watched primary election<\/p>\n Shrai Popat<\/a> and David Smith<\/a><\/p>\n Voters in Maine<\/a> head to the polls today for one of the most closely watched primary elections in the country. The US Senate<\/a> race has become a national fixation as Democrats try to unseat a longtime Republican with a political newcomer who has spent months under fire<\/a>.<\/p>\n Graham Platner, 41, is set to advance as the Democratic nominee for the Senate, after his primary rival \u2013 the state\u2019s two-term governor, Janet Mills \u2013 suspended<\/a> her campaign in April. The primary result will likely set up a months-long run-up between Platner, an oysterman<\/a> and marine veteran with a groundswell of popularity and a mounting list of scandals, and Susan Collins, a 73-year-old GOP senator who has held the seat for nearly three decades.<\/p>\n Democrats see Maine as one of their few real pickup opportunities in the fight for Senate control. Platner\u2019s barnstorming run has drawn big crowds in rural towns and fueled a surge of in\u2011 and out\u2011of\u2011state donations. His populist message has tapped into a base fed up with Washington\u2019s machinations. \u201cOur tax dollars can build schools and hospitals in America instead of bombs to drop on them in Gaza and Iran,\u201d he told supporters in Portland recently. He often leans on his combat experience \u2013 and the health care he says he receives from being \u201cblown up enough times\u201d \u2013 for his push to overhaul the system.<\/p>\n Graham Platner, the Democratic candidate for US Senate in Maine, speaks during a campaign rally with Bernie Sanders in Portland, Maine, on 25 May. Photograph: Amanda Sabga\/Reuters<\/p>\n For her part, Collins last appeared on the ballot in 2020, winning a fifth term even as Joe Biden carried the state. She beat Democrat Sara Gideon by nine points despite trailing in polls. But this year many Republicans are being pressed on Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s unpopular policies.<\/p>\n Collins has long walked a tightrope with the US president. She has defied him directly by voting<\/a> for his second impeachment conviction and opposing<\/a> Pete Hegseth\u2019s defense secretary nomination. Yet she has also anchored some of the president\u2019s biggest priorities \u2013 most notably her vote<\/a> for Brett Kavanaugh, a move that ultimately helped enable the overturning of Roe v Wade. This midterm cycle, Democrats are hoping to frame Collins\u2019 moderation as outright complicity with the Trump administration.<\/p>\n Platner holds a narrow lead over Collins in recent polling, which has tightened from a once-comfortable margin after his latest controversies.<\/p>\n More on that here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Trump repeats claim that California election is rigged<\/p>\n Welcome to our coverage of US politics.<\/p>\n Donald Trump has repeated a claim made during an NBC interview on Sunday that he walked out of claiming that the California gubernatorial race is rigged.<\/p>\n