Secretary of State Marco Rubio is heading to Athens to deliver a speech overlooking the ruins of the Acropolis, because nothing says "restoring Western civilization" like a backdrop of crumbling columns. According to AP, Rubio will call for Western nations to return to their "civilizational roots" and the values that drove Europe and North America to global dominance for centuries - values like curiosity, courage, ambition, and apparently, the restless spirit to lecture everyone else about them.
In excerpts distributed by the State Department, Rubio plans to say: "It has become fashionable today to believe that enlightened foreign policy means prioritizing the 'global community' over one's own people. Here, too, we have much more to learn from the men of Ancient Greece. They knew that there was nothing selfish or wrong about loyalty to your nation, nor in fighting to defend its interests above all else." He'll also note that "the next decade will write the story of the next century" and that the West will either "act now or lose the choice to act at all" - which is a lot of historical weight to place on a speech delivered from a country currently in an economic cooperation meeting with Greece.
Meanwhile, in Maine, Republican Senator Susan Collins held a televised debate against Democratic challenger Troy Jackson and made the highly unusual boast for a Republican that she had voted with Joe Biden more than 90% of the time when he was president. She also claimed she voted against her own party more than any other senator - a flex that works better if you don't also vote with Trump 96% of the time, according to Jackson, who pointed that out repeatedly.
Jackson, 58, a former state legislator who replaced Graham Platner as the Democratic candidate after Platner withdrew in July amid sexual assault allegations he denied, focused heavily on Collins' 2018 vote for Brett Kavanaugh. "Tonight is about who you stand with when it matters," Jackson said. "Eight years ago today, Maine women went to DC and begged Senator Collins not to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, but she did it anyways. He helped overturn Roe v Wade, and today she says she has no regrets. Would you trust her to pick the next supreme court justice?" Collins, for her part, proclaimed herself not the president's "favorite senator," which is the political equivalent of saying "I'm not his favorite, I'm just his third-favorite."
Back in California, Governor Gavin Newsom directed the state's emergency preparedness center to "actively monitor" possible threats after Donald Trump suggested he could "let [Iran] take out" Los Angeles or San Diego. "Donald Trump's remarks were dangerous - if not treasonous - putting a target on two of our biggest cities and one of America's largest naval hubs," Newsom said on X, adding the state's threat-assessment center would be on heightened alert "in the event that foreign actors interpret the president's remarks as an invitation to target California."
Trump made the comments at a rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, on Monday night, claiming high prices due to the war with Iran are a "small price to pay for keeping the world safe - keeping our country safe." He added: "They can take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego." The White House, as is tradition, insisted everyone was taking it out of context. Communications director Steven Cheung posted on X: "The media freakout over President Trump's comments is not rooted in reality. He was clearly stating U.S. cities would have been threatened if a nuclear Iran hadn't been stopped. America is safer because of the President. Iran has no nuclear, no navy, no air force, and no money."
Xavier Becerra, the Democratic nominee for governor vying to succeed Newsom, said he wasn't surprised. "Donald Trump is a known commodity - you know how he acts, you know how he behaves," Becerra told reporters in Los Angeles. He jabbed at Republicans who "profess that they should be the leaders of our state" but aren't willing to "stand up to Donald Trump." San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria added: "No American city, regardless of its politics or geography, should ever be described as expendable or an acceptable price to pay." Even Jim Desmond, a Republican House candidate running in a competitive San Diego-based seat, pushed back: "America must stand up to Iran and defend our interests, but the first responsibility of our commander in chief is to protect the American people and our homeland."
In other news, The Cook Political Report revised its November midterm predictions to say "A Senate Majority is Squarely in Democrats' Sights," changing the Kansas Senate race from "Lean Republican" to "Toss Up" - a shocker for a state where no Democrat has won a Senate election since 1932. Trump also announced a massive new shipyard at Tradepoint Atlantic in Sparrows Point, funded by a combination of federal and private dollars. Anduril Industries, owned by Trump's friend and donor Palmer Luckey, plans to invest $3.7bn, with the US Navy contributing an additional $2.9bn. The USS Lincoln will dock in San Diego tomorrow, completing a nearly year-long deployment that sparked controversy over living conditions aboard the aircraft carrier as it supported military operations in Iran. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is expected to greet the crew.
Finally, Trump ordered the FBI to investigate protesters in Los Angeles demonstrating against his immigration crackdown, according to a whistleblower complaint submitted to the Senate judiciary committee. Jill Fields, a former supervisory intelligence analyst in the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, filed the complaint following the federal response to anti-ICE demonstrations around the city's federal buildings and in residential areas early last year. Because nothing says "law and order" like investigating people for exercising the First Amendment.