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MS NOW host Jen Psaki said former Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s political career was “enraging for all of us” on Wednesday upon his race exit announcement.
Psaki noted that Platner had exited the Maine Senate race at the start of her show, “The Briefing,” after one of his exes, Jenny Racicot, alleged in 2021 that Platner drunkenly entered her home uninvited and had sex with her despite her repeatedly telling him to stop, Politico reported Monday. Platner has firmly denied her claims. The report came after The New York Times had published a report including accusations from Lyndsey Fifield, who detailed his “unsettling” behavior with women.
“It is an end to what has been an unpredictable, incredibly tumultuous, at times fascinating, simply because of the political story and, ultimately deeply enraging political career for Graham Platner, enraging for all of us. And we have covered this race from the very beginning on purpose, because I think it’s important that we don’t put our heads in the sand and just project upon all of you what we think, and only talk to people at a table in Washington, D.C. I think one of the most important things we can do is listen to voters, to watch and to try to understand what is happening in this country, even if it doesn’t totally make sense,” she said.
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Psaki said Platner defeated Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who ultimately dropped out of the race because she didn’t raise enough money, and won the Democratic Party.
“That is telling us something. Important to listen to that, even if he is a deeply flawed candidate,” she said. “But now it is over. It’s over because, not of all the people who are out there patting themselves on the back, and there are a lot of them on Twitter, believe me, it’s driving me crazy, it’s because of the bravery of the women who came forward to tell their stories.”
She said only the accusers deserved a pat on the back for coming forward, and then said Platner’s video announcing his decision to exit the race was even more revealing of who he is.
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“And tonight, the video that he recorded and posted online announcing his decision, which was more than 11 minutes long, and it took quite a long time to get to the point, showed us more of who Graham Platner actually is. Someone who, in the face of incredibly serious and extremely credible allegations, seemed to blame everyone but himself,” she said.
Platner, who was embattled in many controversies, including having a Nazi tattoo, was interviewed by Psaki on her show in October 2025 and in April 2026.
During the 2025 interview, Psaki confronted him on his criticism of the focus on his past statements and the tattoo and said it sounded like he was trying to “shirk responsibility,” the Hill reported at the time.
PLATNER TOLD RAPE VICTIMS TO ‘TAKE SOME RESPONSIBILITY’ AND AVOID BEING ASSAULTED IN VULGAR RESURFACED POST
Platner’s first major controversy erupted on Oct. 16, 2025, after CNN uncovered years of deleted Reddit posts he made between 2009 and 2021.
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The posts revealed the Democratic Senate candidate once described himself as a “communist,” wrote that “all” police were bastards and argued that many rural White Americans “actually are” racist and unintelligent. Other posts reflected how his combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan had reshaped his politics, with Platner writing that America’s wars had left him disillusioned and “significantly more left” than when he enlisted.
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Days later, additional reporting drew scrutiny to other deleted posts, including one in which Platner appeared to downplay concerns about sexual assault. In one post, Platner wrote that people should “take some responsibility for themselves” and avoid becoming so intoxicated that they end up in compromising situations.
Psaki didn’t ask him about the past statements or reporting that came to light during her most recent interview with him, which occurred on April 30, but she noted them as she previewed the interview.
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