The hosts of ABC’s The View blasted Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner on Monday over the growing backlash surrounding explicit text messages and allegations of extramarital relationships, adding to a string of controversies that have dogged his campaign.
“Horrible. There is no doubt that this guy Plattner is flawed, flawed, flawed in many ways,” co-host Ana Navarro said.
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The discussion came after reports surfaced alleging that Platner exchanged sexually explicit messages with multiple women.
“It’s not worth compromising your morals and values and integrity,” co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin said, arguing that Democrats can focus on other races to gain control of the Senate and should look elsewhere rather than rally behind a candidate carrying significant political baggage.
“This guy just seems like a guy of not very good character,” Griffin added.
The text messages are just the latest in a string of controversies surrounding Platner. Critics have pointed to offensive social media posts in which Platner reportedly mocked a wounded U.S. Army soldier who was awarded the Purple Heart and commented about the late Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle. He has also faced scrutiny over past anti-gay slurs, racially charged remarks, and a tattoo linked to Nazi symbolism that he later apologized for after the imagery became public.
“He’s also made racist remarks about against African Americans, so he’s a cheater, he’s an antisemite, because the fact that he had that tattoo for 20 years and didn’t know what it was is a lie, so he’s a liar, a racist, an antisemite, he’s a homophobe, so he’s all the things … he says that he said the racist things because he was suffering from PTSD from his tour in Afghanistan. I know a lot of soldiers that have PTSD that aren’t racist,” co-host Sunny Hostin said.
Platner has denied being a racist or an antisemite, and he has previously attributed some of his past conduct and comments to struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from his military service in Afghanistan.
The latest controversy centers on reports that Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, alerted campaign officials about the existence of sexually explicit communications involving her husband before they became public.
“Not to make this political, because I’m usually not the one that does that, but watching that video of the wife saying, you know, don’t spend energy on these ads. The problem with these ads is that they are true: This is a character flaw,” co-host Sara Haines said.
“This isn’t just one mistake,” Griffin said, pointing to the cumulative effect of the controversies that have emerged throughout Platner’s campaign.
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Platner has acknowledged some past misconduct and apologized for several offensive posts and statements, but the controversy has continued to generate scrutiny as the general election campaign intensifies.
Planter leads Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) in the race, according to a University of New Hampshire poll. The Democratic primary is June 9.
