Washington Examiner columnist Joe Concha slammed Democrats for rallying behind Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, who suspended his campaign on Wednesday amid mounting allegations against him.
“The Democratic Party, let’s put it this way, is so effed right now, they have no idea,” Concha said on Fox News’s Jesse Watters Primetime Wednesday.
“We’re suspending campaign operations,” Platner said in a video posted on X.
Platner’s exit came after more allegations came out on Monday that he sexually assaulted a former girlfriend.
Platner denied any validity to the claims, which he said were only designed to derail his campaign. He said the suspension was “because of the structures that are being taken away from us by those in power.”
Politico published a report on Monday that revealed allegations from an ex-girlfriend of Platner, who said he sexually assaulted her while severely intoxicated.
Then on Tuesday, ex-girlfriend Lyndsey Fifield came forward with new allegations that Platner would remove condoms without her consent. Fifield was also cited in an earlier report from the New York Times, which detailed other sexual assault allegations.
After Monday’s report, Platner posted a campaign video on X, saying he would take time to “reflect” on his campaign’s “best path forward.”
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Other allegations against Platner include a Nazi tattoo he got during his military service and concerning comments he made on deleted Reddit posts.
In those deleted posts, Platner said the stereotype that black people don’t tip well is “solid,” and that white people in rural America are racist and stupid, according to a list compiled by Fox News.
The New York Times report also highlighted that Platner knew the meaning of his Nazi tattoo before it was covered up.
“They [Democrats] cannot stand on any moral pedestal that they thought they had in lecturing anybody on female victims, women’s rights, minorities, veterans, talking about fascism, Nazism ever again,” Concha said.
Concha also ripped the New York Times for its report, saying the media coverage of Platner has been “horrific,” calling out the paper for omitting rape allegations from its story.
“They [the New York Times] wanted Platner to win because Trump, at least Trumpism, MAGA, would be defeated, and that’s the whole thing that we saw here at this point,” Concha said.
Concha called Platner a “coward” for announcing his withdrawal in a video instead of holding a press conference and answering questions.
Concha said Democrats like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and The View co-host Sunny Hostin supported a “maniac” and “freak,” all in the name of securing a Senate seat. He criticized them for their hypocrisy in being “offended by Platner” now, after initially supporting him.
On Tuesday, Hostin said, “If I had lived in Maine, I would have plugged my nose, and I would have voted for him anyway,” and then she criticized the Republican Party for assuming the “moral high ground” about Platner.
Sanders called on Platner to “step aside” in a post on X. Sanders, who is Jewish, previously backed Platner, despite allegations that Platner had a Nazi tattoo.
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“Now, this is going to have some real, real consequences,” Concha said.
Concha argued that Platner’s declining poll numbers, combined with the allegations against him, convinced Democrats he was no longer a viable candidate. Concha suggested the push to have Platner suspend his campaign was intended to ensure he exited before the July 13 ballot withdrawal deadline.