I can't say I'm surprised by the latest revelations out of Maine. A woman who dated Graham Platner several years ago told Politico that he entered her house uninvited and proceeded to force her to have sex with him, over her objections. That's rape, of course. She was the second credible accuser to levy allegations of assault against Platner.
But what's even more troubling than the latest allegation against Platner is how the Democrats turned a blind eye to the numerous red flags Platner showed from the inception of his campaign. After decades of calling every Republican who ran for national office some iteration of 'Nazi' or 'Hitler' and finding 'Nazi dog whistles' in the most innocuous campaign imagery, the Democrats were suddenly dismissive of Platner's Totenkopf tattoo. The Totenkopf was a symbol used by Nazi death camp guards and appeared in several films about that era, including 'Schindler's List.'
Rather than object to the imagery, Democrats downplayed, minimized, and excused it away.
On May 28, Rep. Seth Moulton defended Platner's ink on CNN, saying, "Graham clearly made a mistake. What I appreciated about him is he owned that mistake. He took responsibility for it. And I don’t think that that’s disqualifying."
He didn't 'take responsibility for it. He covered it up with another image and attacked anyone who brought it up. Former girlfriends told him what it was and he ignored that, too, long before he set his sights on the Senate.
A couple of days later, Senator Chris Murphy defended Platner, too, telling 'Face the Nation' that Platner, "Graham Platner is somebody who served our country, he’s served his community; he’s also made mistakes and he’s admitted that. Character also involves standing up to people who are bankrupting and corrupting this country. And this race is going to be a contrast between somebody who has put his life on the line for this country, against somebody who is literally empowering the moral hollowing-out of our nation from the White House."
Murphy also told CNN's Jake Tapper that Platner simply 'sounded like a human being.'
FLASHBACK: After being asked about reporting on Graham Platner's Nazi Totenkopf tattoo, Senator Chris Murphy said:
— Bobby LaValley (@Bobby_LaVallley) July 7, 2026
"He sounds like a human being." pic.twitter.com/eQAPU6FZW5
Leftists said Platner was 'ignorant' of the Nazi imagery.
I did not say that, I said that as a symbol it predated Nazi usage and has been used by other people before, during, and since. That is a basic fact.
— mgan79 (@mganj79) July 7, 2026
Also, Platner did not know about its Nazi association when he got the tattoo. He was genuinely ignorant.
Platner was born in 1984. This writer was born in 1983, and she was aware of the Nazi association of the Totenkopf and smart enough not to get it tattooed on her body.
The same group that wanted to end Elon Musk for a 'Nazi salute' twisted themselves into knots a German pretzel maker would envy to excuse Platner. Never forget that.
Then came the Reddit posts. In a slew of now-deleted comments, Platner opined on everything from the police (he hates them), to rural Americans (they're backward and racist), his views on communism (he is one), and that women who are sexually assaulted should 'take responsibility for themselves.' He also admitted to masturbating in portable toilets and encouraged deployed soldiers to do the same while on duty.
He also praised the tactics of a Hamas raid that killed Israeli soldiers, said a U.S. service member who was shot while defending his fellow soldiers should have died, and risked the lives of his own fellow soldiers to use a Taliban-linked service to sext his girlfriends back home.
According to the Maine Monitor, the roughly 2,000 posts span more than a decade, from when Platner was 24 to 37.
Yet we heard not a peep from the Democrats, the very same people who were happy to ruin lives over social media posts made by teenagers, or TikTok videos where a white kid was singing along to racially charged rap lyrics, or over old Halloween costumes.
Despite that, Elizabeth Warren refused Platner's Reddit posts, according to Fox News.
Progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., declined to comment on whether she would rescind her backing of Platner after publicly endorsing him in the Maine Democratic primary for Senate against Gov. Janet Mills, who pulled out of the race last month after falling behind in the polls.
Warren’s endorsement came after Platner had already been scrutinized for some of his other controversial Reddit posts — including comments praising Hamas’ tactics, telling rape victims to take accountability and asking why Black people don’t tip. This was also after Platner’s chest tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol circulated on the internet, as well as his participation on the subreddit "r/SocialistRA," where he described himself as a communist.
Progressive Democrat writer Matt Stoller said Platner's behavior was 'normal.'
Even the 'Platner has apologized and learned' stuff annoys me. What's with the therapeutic garbage talk? Who cares? He was a young person who did stupid stuff that didn't hurt anyone. This is normal.
— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) October 21, 2025
Maybe there's badness lurking there but so far I just hate Dem oppo more now.
Senator Chris Coons vowed to give Platner 'a measure of grace.'
Democrat Senator Chris Coons refuses to denounce Graham Platner:
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 4, 2026
COONS: "I'm going to give him a measure of grace." pic.twitter.com/rONPWuYvz7
Platner himself blamed his posts on his service-induced PTSD, but even that doesn't hold up, because in 2020 Platner said blaming bad behavior on PTSD was a 'bulls**t excuse.'
Last month, Lyndsey Fifield spoke to The New York Times about her relationship with Platner, including allegations of physical abuse in the relationship. Fifield said Platner would often grab her by the shoulders, once grabbed her arm to pull her out of a taxi cab, and once twisted her arm behind her back to push her in a bedroom, where he kept her until the next morning.
Abusers can be very charming. They can lie, dismiss, and spin away their bad behavior, hide it from you, and build up a rapport before pulling the rug out. They also have a way of manipulating their victims so that the victims feel they not only provoked the abusive behavior, but that they deserved it, too. Friends and family can tell you they see all the red flags, but the victims often don't, at least not right away.
Racicot came forward after The New York Times, which had Racicot's account of rape and sat on that story. They had no interest in publishing those allegations. Instead, they tried to spin Fifield's attack as a partisan one, instead of an abused woman bravely coming forward.
This, perhaps, was the most revealing moment of all. After years of 'Me Too' and 'Believe All Women,' both of those slogans were suddenly slapped with an asterisk: unless the woman is a Republican.
Ro Khanna said there was 'no evidence of violence' after Fifield's story broke and continued to support Platner.
Ro Khanna defends Graham Platner against abuse allegations from ex-girlfriends:
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 7, 2026
“There was no harm, no injury. There was toxicity, and there was, uh, verbal intimidation…but Graham has made it clear that there was no evidence of violence. To me, is a red line.” pic.twitter.com/aLW0LF8kka
Jodi Kantor, who brought down Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, minimized the accusations as 'one allegation of crossing a line physically’.
Jodi Kantor completely waves away Lyndsey Fifield's accusations of Platner's physical abuse.
— jimtreacher.substack.com (@jtLOL) June 11, 2026
"There was one allegation of crossing a line physically, but…"
Yeah, Jodi, good point. Other than the violence, there was no violence.https://t.co/cH3LLxtDsx pic.twitter.com/OgblvuHMZ3
Senator Angela Alsobrooks said she really didn't care about his controversies.
Maryland Democrat Senator Angela Alsobrooks cares more about political power than character.
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) June 2, 2026
QUESTION: What do you think about Graham Platner and his controversies?
ALSOBROOKS: "I don't know him... I'm supporting Democrats. We need Democrats in office..." pic.twitter.com/hhx34qjSKX
"I don't know him, honestly. I've never met him," she said. "What I do know is that I'm supporting Democrats. We need Democrats in office to fight back against Donald Trump."
Cory Booker echoed those sentiments, saying getting the Senate back is more important than Platner's issues.
CORY BOOKER: Graham Platner has a lot of issues but "dear God we need to get the Senate back."pic.twitter.com/zuOGlXJoaI
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) July 6, 2026
A Leftist mother defended Platner, saying this was 'not the first time completely non-criminal behavior' was 'weaponized for political purposes.'
Feminist and mother of a son here. Platner absolutely should not drop out. This is a fight for all boys who are not perfect and who want to do good and be heroes. So many good men have been destroyed by these kind of accusations. This is not the first time completely non-criminal…
— Rebecca Scientist (@RebeccaSci8178) July 6, 2026
"This is not the first time completely non-criminal behavior has been weaponized for political purposes. Women and mothers will fight for Platner. This is absolutely disgusting misuse of feminism. It's time to fight this to the end," she wrote.
Rape is, in fact, a criminal offense in Maine.
Even Platner's victim said she struggled to come forward with the story because she agrees with Platner's politics.
NEW: Woman who accused Graham Platner of r*ping her says America needs someone with his political stances in office, says his videos fired her up.
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 6, 2026
Jake Tapper: There are gonna be people who say this is politically motivated. What would you say to that?
Accuser Jenny Racicot:… pic.twitter.com/7jYk2i7oBg
Several people pointed out that the message here is Democrats are fine with Republican women being assaulted.
Just a side note - every republican woman knows it was acceptable for most of you for Graham Platner to assault a conservative woman. But assaulting a liberal woman is the bridge too far.
— Meghan McCain (@MeghanMcCain) July 7, 2026
Because conservative women are valued less by mainstream media in every conceivable way.
The most interesting aspect of the end of Platner is how all the Democrats abandoning him now were fine when Platner was assaulting Republican women.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) July 7, 2026
They are. Of that I have no doubt. I've seen how the supposed 'Party of Women' treats women like me who don't vote for their candidates or share their political ideals. At best, we have 'internalized misogyny' and, at worst, the Left's trans activist crowd threatens to rape and kill us for being 'TERFs.'
But I'll be bluntly honest here: the Democrats are also fine with Platner assaulting Democratic women, too. If they thought he was going to win the election. As I pointed out above, Platner's accuser didn't even want to come forward because she was politically aligned with the man whom she says raped her.
It's the same thing that happened with Joe Biden in 2024. Democrats knew Biden was cognitively unfit for office, and they chose to run him for a second term anyway. If it wasn't for that abysmal June debate, they would have tried to drag him across the finish line so he could have spent his second term drooling in a cup while his progressive staffers burned this country to the ground.
In addition, the Platner campaign hasn't released his quarterly fundraising numbers, suggesting the campaign was not doing well.
2- canceled a string of campaign events set for the week, without specifying the reasoning. The Reporter highlighted that he had not released his Q3 fundraising numbers & suggested that he may have struggled to bring in donations amid a litany of scandals. Platner has faced
— Howard Prince (@Howodd69) July 7, 2026
That adds another layer to my argument that this isn't about the allegations, but about Platner's electability.
Democrats desire one thing: power.
They've made that explicitly clear. They not only want to regain control of the House, Senate, and White House, but they also want to use that power to make their stranglehold on this nation permanent. That's why they're vowing weaponization of government against Trump administration officials and even Trump voters. That's why they plan on packing the Supreme Court and adding two more blue states to the nation.
They want to make sure no Republican is ever elected to office again.
The cost of this agenda is high, however. It means they will have to align with and elevate anyone who helps them advance that agenda, regardless of that person's character, behavior, or views. That is why Graham Platner was a thing in the first place: they wanted a progressive vote, and it didn't matter what else Platner said or did.
In the end, the Platner saga exposes a Democratic Party that has abandoned any pretense of principle for raw political power. After years of branding opponents as Nazis over dog whistles, enforcing rigid Me Too standards that ruined lives, and lecturing on character and accountability, they bent over backward to excuse a Totenkopf tattoo, vile Reddit comments downplaying rape and praising Hamas tactics, and multiple allegations of abuse. Prominent voices like Seth Moulton, Chris Murphy, Elizabeth Warren, and Matt Stoller offered excuses and equivocations, right up until the latest rape allegation from a politically aligned woman made him an electoral liability.
The selective outrage reveals the asterisk: Believe all women ... unless it costs Democrats a Senate seat. The party's eager willingness to elevate Platner wasn't a failure of vetting; it was a feature of their desperation to reclaim power at any cost. They knew the red flags but prioritized elevating Platner over basic decency.
This isn't leadership. It's the moral rot of ends justifying the means. And voters — especially women — should take note: when a party treats rape allegations, Nazi symbolism, and predatory behavior as minor footnotes in the pursuit of control, it signals they view institutions and ethics as obstacles, not foundations. The Platner implosion isn't just a problem for Maine; it's an alarm bell for the entire nation.
If Democrats excuse Platner, they'll excuse anything.
