{"id":97972,"date":"2026-07-21T06:43:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T06:43:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/rcp-podcast-maine-and-s-c-senate-races-turn-upside-down-iran-war-confusion-labour-reset-in-britain\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T06:43:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T06:43:19","slug":"rcp-podcast-maine-and-s-c-senate-races-turn-upside-down-iran-war-confusion-labour-reset-in-britain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/rcp-podcast-maine-and-s-c-senate-races-turn-upside-down-iran-war-confusion-labour-reset-in-britain\/","title":{"rendered":"RCP Podcast: Maine and S.C. Senate Races Turn Upside Down, Iran War Confusion, Labour Reset in Britain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Monday on the RealClearPolitics podcast, Carl Cannon, Tom Bevan, and Andrew Walworth discuss Maine Democrats finding their replacement for Graham Platner, and President Trump going all in on Lindsey Graham’s sister to remain in the Senate permanently. RCP White House reporter Carolina Lumetta joins the show to break down the implications of four more American casualties in the Iran war, whether the Trump administration got any boost from hosting the World Cup, and the second lady having a new baby. The group also debates NYC Mayor Mamdani continuing to say he could “arrest” Benjamin Netanyahu when he comes for the UN General Assembly, the United Kingdom’s new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, and the new movie adaptation of ‘The Odyssey.’ Listen live weekdays at 11:00 a.m. Eastern on SiriusXM’s Megyn Kelly Channel 111, or on Apple<\/a>, Spotify<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, or other platforms. <\/p>\n

00:00<\/a> – Opening: Is Troy Jackson a Stronger Nominee Than Graham Platner?<\/b> Walworth, Cannon, and Bevan discuss Maine Democrats appearing to settle on Troy Jackson, the former head of the State Senate, to replace Graham Platner as their challenger for GOP Sen. Susan Collins. Does he have what it takes? “If there’s any opposition research on Troy Jackson, they’ve got about five days to get it out,” Tom Bevan commented. *** 06:50<\/a> – Trump Endorses Darlene Graham-Nordone<\/b> The panel turns to President Trump giving Darlene Graham-Nordone his “complete and total endorsement” to stay longer than the end of her late brother’s term. Will Trump’s endorsement scare competitors out of the GOP primary? Was there any indication she even wanted this job? “I would expect she’ll be the frontrunner with Trump’s endorsement… The primary is on August 11,” Bevan said. “Do we have any idea what she believes on any subject?” Watch: Sen. Darline Graham-Nordone Says She’s Running For A Full Term: “I Feel An Inner Peace About It”<\/a><\/b> Andrew Walworth asks, “Who wouldn’t want to be a U.S. senator?” Cannon offered: “Me.” *** 15:09<\/a> – Four More Americans Killed in Iran War<\/b> RCP White House reporter Carolina Lumetta reports that four additional American casualties — the first deaths since March — have further complicated an already unclear U.S. strategy toward Iran. “The president is saying that we’re back to full-scale hostilities. He still doesn’t call it a war, but he did notify Congress last week that hostilities have resumed,” Lumetta reports. “He said this starts another 60-day clock during which he can wage war before they need to take a vote on whether to continue it.” Trump: Iran Is “One Of The Most Powerful Countries<\/a><\/b> “Can both sides lose a war at the same time?” Cannon asked. “Look at Vietnam or Afghanistan– waiting out America is the most tried and true way you win one of these things,” Andrew Walworth said. *** 22:44<\/a> – Was the World Cup a Political Win?<\/b> The panel asks whether the World Cup was a successful showcase for the United States and a political victory for Trump, who called it “one of the greatest events of any kind ever held.” “This was a massive operation that most people didn’t see, which means it was working,” Lumetta said. “He worked during his first term to bring the World Cup to the U.S., and he loves the pomp and circumstance.” “I watched more soccer in the last few weeks than I have in my entire life,” Walworth added. *** 36:18<\/a> – VP’s New Baby<\/b> Usha Vance’s new baby is the first time a sitting vice president has expanded his family in more than 150 years. Will this boost Vance’s effort to craft an image as a young, relatable family man? “The really American thing is we take a sport that is not really our national sport — and we just obliterate. That’s what I expected, based on the Olympics, and we didn’t really get that!” Carolina joked. “The Naval Observatory has not been childproofed in 156 years until the Vances moved in–now they have four little kids running around.” “What we need is a negotiator who’s so sleep-deprived that he’s angry enough to get something done,” Bevan added. *** 36:18<\/a> – Mamdani Looks into Arresting Netanyahu<\/b> NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani says his administration is actively discussing what New York City law would permit if Benjamin Netanyahu visits for the United Nations General Assembly. Watch: Mamdani: Active Conversation Underway Over Whether NYC Can Arrest Netanyahu–He “Belongs in The Hague”<\/a><\/b> Watch: Fetterman to Mamdani About Threat To Arrest Netanyahu: “Sit Down, Tough Guy”<\/a><\/b> “He’s a clown, and he turns out to be a dangerous one,” Carl Cannon said. “He wants his own foreign policy!” “The ICC has declared Bibi Netanyahu a war criminal-and folks like Mamdani are saying, ‘Yeah, we’re going to take our lead from the ICC, and we’re going to figure out how we can try to arrest this guy.’ It’s kind of a farce because it’s not going to happen,” Bevan said. “To me, this is a wink and a nod to all the antisemites and folks on his left who hate Israel.” *** 40:57<\/a> – UK’s PM<\/b> The group looks at another political shakeup in the U.K., where Andy Burnham has become the sixth prime minister in just the past 10 years. Burnham argues that Britain’s centralization, privatization and deindustrialization began in the 1980s, squarely placing blame far away from the Labour Party. Watch: UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham: Britain “Took Some Wrong Turns” In The 1980s<\/a><\/b> “Yeah, that’s the problem with England: There’s too much dynamism, too much entrepreneurship and too much innovation,” Cannon quipped. *** 42:37<\/a> – Nolan’s Odyssey<\/b> The episode ends with a quick review of Christopher Nolan’s new film adaptation of Homer’s Odyssey. “It is long,” Bevan said. “But scholars are thrilled that Homer is back in the discussion.” “It shows the value and endurance of storytelling,” Carl Cannon said. “It has people talking about writing, literature, art, and storytelling.” Hillel Italie, The Independent: What Scholars Think of Nolan’s Version of ‘The Odyssey’<\/a><\/b> Sasha Stone, Substack: The Odyssey Is Part of the Culture War the Right Can’t Win<\/a><\/b> <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Listen to RealClearPolitics weekdays at 11 a.m. Eastern on SiriusXM’s Megyn Kelly Channel 111, or on Apple<\/a>, Spotify<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, or other platforms. Subscribe for more RealClearPolitics analysis, interviews, and political commentary.
\nRealClearPolitics Videos<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monday on the RealClearPolitics podcast, Carl Cannon, Tom Bevan, and Andrew Walworth discuss Maine Democrats finding their replacement for Graham Platner, and President Trump going all in on Lindsey Graham’s sister to remain in the Senate permanently. RCP White House reporter Carolina Lumetta joins the show to break down the implications of four more American […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":97973,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1966,2967,946,261,5387,2679,14433,8374,20598,29956,605,1649,6138],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97972"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97972\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97973"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fallsurfing.net\/firstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}