BREAKING: Several women recall 'unsettling' experiences with Graham Platner per New York Times - Deadline - MS NOW

[Rhiannon12866]

Brand new reporting from the New York Times states that Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for Senate in Maine, "could be charming, women said in interviews, but some found his actions intimidating and disturbing." In response to the allegations, Platner's campaign told the Times: "Mr. Platner 'strongly disputes' any claims of physical intimidation or altercations." MS NOW has not independently verified these claims.

Nicolle Wallace is joined by Tim Miller and Molly Jong-Fast for reaction. - Aired on 06/04/2026.

[Bluetus]

1. "Intimidating" and "unsettling", eh

Is that the best that the NYT, the perpetual protector of the biggest of big money interests can come up with?

"OK, maybe he wasn't a serial killer, but he did sometimes have a strange smile that we found, well, unsettling."

[CincyDem]

4. Well, as is often said, "I'm concerned". (In my best Susan Collin's voice).

[OAITW r.2.0]

2. I voted for Janet Mills.

We'll have to see how this plays out. Planter had to have known about these skeletons...unless. of course. this is a Republican smear campaign. Like we haven.t lived thru these before....

[Rhiannon12866]

3. Agreed. I'm in New York so I can afford to wait and see how this plays out

[Bluetus]

8. Who do you think is behind the smear campaign?

So many possibilities. Certainly AIPAC would be at the front of the line. Republicans would rather see Mills as the opponent, so they are candidates. But Platner has also been clear about the corruption that comes from money flowing into Dem pockets too. There are obviously a lot of Dems (including many here) who wish he did not exist.

That's just for starters. Anybody in the Military Industrial Complex should be afraid of Platner's message catching on, because he is basically saying we are making up most of these wars because it is so profitable to build ultra-expensive weapon systems that might have been good ideas in 1970 but make no sense in 2026.

And so on.

Probably all of the above and more. And mostly the same people who tried to stop Mamdani.

[OAITW r.2.0]

9. Maine voter here. Never heard of Gram Platner 8 months ago.

[Bluetus]

11. And that's why the freak-out.

I compare that to three other people: AOC, Fetterman and Mamdani. They all sort-of came from out of nowhere and tapped into the deep dissatisfaction felt by the vast majority of Americans. I am just as pissed off with the status quo as any MAGA person. I'd like to think I am better informed and have better critical thinking skills than the average MAGA, but fundamentally, we aren't that different.

The thing is that Trump gave the MAGA people a set of plans and goals that made sense to them. Dems aren't offering any clear, consistent answers. INDIVIDUAL Dems are, but there is no brand image for the party at large.

And it is worse than that. When people like AOC, Mamdani, and Platner arrive on the scene with a largely populist message, they immediately tap into that deep anger we have had for 20+ years. That is extremely threatening to status quo politicians (i.e. the majority of both parties).
https://news.gallup.com/poll/1669/general-mood-country.aspx

Nobody should be surprised that people with a populist message can explode on the scene. This chart explains all of that. You can pinpoint almost to the day when Americans gave up on our system. It was in 2005 and Americans have been totally pissed off for 21 years -- CONTINUOUSLY.

Having said that, the big question many of us have is: Is Platner a Mamdani or AOC? Or is he a Fetterman? That's the big fear, and that's the whole strategy of this smear campaign. My attitude is that we should ask as many hard questions as we can, but ultimately there really isn't much more to lose. It would take a whole lot more than I have seen to back the institutionalists against Platner.

[UpInArms]

5. Omg

The fear is palpable

Get over your cheat ass self NYT and everyone else

Platner is coming for you

All of this reminds me of the media fright of Howard Dean

[Wiz Imp]

6. Chris Hayes interviewed Platner on his show at 8:00.

I didn't watch so I don't know how it went.

[Rhiannon12866]

7. Thanks! I'll post it when it's available!

[Rhiannon12866]

10. Here's the Chris Hayes interview with Platner:

MS NOW EXCLUSIVE: Graham Platner responds to BOMBSHELL NYT report - All In - MS NOW
https://www.democraticunderground.com/132173560