MSNBC host Lawrence O'Donnell on Tuesday revealed that he has "always known" Maine Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner cannot be believed, following a sexual assault allegation against the oysterman. Platner, who became a progressive darling last year running on universal healthcare and economic populism, is now facing calls from a growing list of Democrats to exit the race after Politico reported Monday that 41-year-old Jenny Racicot accused him of entering her home uninvited and sexually assaulting her in 2021.
O'Donnell's Longstanding Skepticism
"Whenever a new unknown candidate who has never been vetted in any way suddenly surges and creates pundit excitement, I always, from experience, just stay quiet and wait for the vetting," O'Donnell said on his show "The Last Word." He added, "And I knew with a candidacy like Graham Platner that the vetting would come from the news media. And so it has. And every stage of that vetting — every stage of it — has been disturbing."
Platner's campaign has been marred by multiple scandals: a skull-and-crossbones tattoo with historical Nazi connotations (which he later covered up), explicit messages allegedly sent to women outside his marriage, and online comments about rape. The combat veteran claimed last year that he wrote the rape comments while struggling with depression, denied sending explicit texts, and said he was unaware of the tattoo's symbolism. On Tuesday, he called the assault allegation "categorically false."
Credibility Issues from the Start
O'Donnell said bluntly, "I didn't think any of his answers were credible." He continued, "And I'm in no position to say who is telling the truth in stories now told about Graham Platner by people who knew him, women who were alone in a room with him. I don't know what happened, but I know, and I've always known, that I cannot believe him."
The host explained that his suspicion was not just due to the scandals but also the image Platner created with help from "the eager news media" as a humble oyster farmer who "knew the struggles of the working people of Maine." O'Donnell said, "But he didn't. He's never known those struggles. His most obvious credibility problem to me from the start was saying, 'I'm a working-class guy that lives a working-class life.' He also said, 'I've never been close to money and power.' And that was a lie."
Privileged Background Revealed
O'Donnell noted that Platner attended private school and was raised by a wealthy lawyer. He added that Platner's mother's restaurant is "the biggest customer for his oysters" and that tax and property records show Platner's father gave him a $200,000 mortgage loan for a $205,000 home. "So his father bought him a house and his mother buys his oysters," O'Donnell said. "I found it very, very difficult to take Graham Platner's claims about himself seriously after reading those facts about him — publicly available facts. But the enthusiasm kept building."
Campaign Collapse
The enthusiasm came crashing down Monday with the Politico report. "And so it's over tonight," O'Donnell said. "And Graham Platner is clinging to the wreckage of his campaign, mercilessly and foolishly dragging out the day and the hour on which he will announce that he cannot find a path forward for his candidacy."
