‘Betrayed’: Panel immediately reacts as Graham Platner drops out of Senate race

[0:00] We have breaking news. We have a video from Graham Plattner, who is addressing the public. [0:05] Let's play that. Hey, everyone. It's Graham Plattner here. I think as many of you know, [0:13] over the past couple of days, I have faced some very serious allegations, [0:18] and I just want to make it clear. This is all false. The things that have been claimed [0:23] did not happen. It's not real. It has placed an immense amount of weight on me as I think about [0:35] what needs to happen now. Amy and I are regular people. We were not looking for this experience. [0:48] We were not looking to get into politics. We had no desire to run for office. I just want you to [0:58] think about what you would do as a regular person in a position where a much larger world, large forces [1:10] were working against you personally to accuse you of the worst thing that a person could do, [1:19] and it was not remotely true. I learned about this through press inquiries with no time to truly [1:33] respond, no time for investigations before a corporate media system and the political establishment [1:43] got to act as judge, jury, and executioner. Accusations are supposed to be the beginning of things, [1:52] not the end. I think it's really important to understand why this is happening in the timeline, [2:05] why this is happening right now. Much like October, when the first attack started, [2:11] much like the news that was created the week before the primary, there is a reason that this [2:20] is happening now. I only have until July 13th, until I am officially the nominee. [2:27] This was the last week to try to get me off of the ballot, and that's why this is occurring. [2:43] It's not the false allegations, though, that have brought us to where we are. [2:48] It's the fact that they are being used by the political establishment to put structural pressure [2:57] on us. We live in a political system that is not built for normal people. It is a system that is [3:09] built structurally to make sure that movements like ours cannot flourish, that if they begin to succeed, [3:18] they can be crushed. What we have accomplished here, you made possible. The people of Maine, [3:32] the volunteers, the voters, the grassroots donors, and I have all the faith in the world that we could [3:40] win if we could continue to harness that. But the brutal political reality is that they are going to [3:50] take everything away from us. Those in power who have the ability to do so are using these allegations [4:00] as an excuse to take away all of the things that we need to run a campaign. [4:08] We are going to lose our ability to fundraise. We are going to lose our ability to access voter data. [4:15] We are going to lose all of the things that any campaign needs on the basic level simply to function. [4:27] Larger organizations, the national level party, the bigger donor networks, they have all committed [4:35] to spending no money in this race if I'm in it. They would rather see Susan Collins win than have me be [4:45] the next senator from Maine. What comes next needs to come from the people. Needs to come from the [5:00] people of Maine. Needs to come from the voters who on June 9th, at a strength of over 150,000, [5:08] the largest number in the history of Maine primaries, said no to this kind of politics, [5:16] voted for a politics that would actually represent them, voted against the political system, [5:22] against the donor class, against the entrenched forces. And I'm not asking for how this process [5:34] is going to work. I'm not trying to dictate to anyone who it should be or how we get there. But [5:40] I will say this, it needs to be open, transparent, and democratic. It needs to be reflecting the will [5:48] and the values of the people that built this movement, the people that showed up on June 9th. [5:54] People in D.C. need to stay in D.C. Decisions should not be made in back rooms by people in places of [6:02] political power. Party apparatchiks are not the ones to make these decisions. These decisions need to [6:08] be made in the open by the people of this state, the people who got us here. This is exactly the kind [6:18] of political system that everyone voted against on June 9th. And for that reason, we need to be [6:25] assured that it is going to be open and democratic as we move forward. Amy and I struggled about getting [6:38] into this. Last summer, right around this time of year, we sat down and we looked at each other and [6:46] we said, if we believe in the kind of politics we think that we do, we have to do this. Over the past [6:56] couple days, really yesterday and today, we have had to have that exact same conversation. [7:09] We believe that for the movement to continue, it can't be made. And for that reason, we are [7:30] suspending campaign operations. This is incredibly difficult because I know that some will think it's [7:40] an admission of guilt, and it most certainly is not. We're not doing it because of the allegations. [7:45] We're doing it because of the structures that are being taken away from us by those in power. [7:49] And I also feel an immense amount of responsibility to everyone who has worked so hard to get us to [8:01] where we are. We went toe-to-toe with one of the most entrenched political systems in the history of [8:15] the world, and we won. We beat them on June 9th in overwhelming numbers. We did it the right way. [8:27] We built a campaign. We engaged in electoral politics. We motivated people. We banded together. [8:34] We did it the way that we were told we are supposed to make change. And we won. And now, [8:40] they are not going to let us have it. Not if it's me. And so we're suspending campaign operations. [8:55] I want to make clear, though, I intend to file my paperwork to withdraw. The process needs to [9:03] assure that what comes next is reflective of the Mainers who on June 9th turned out and showed that [9:11] they are desperate for a different kind of politics. It needs to be driven not from back rooms, but by [9:19] the will of the people. And the decisions that come next must come from that. All we were asking for [9:31] was health care, was to end the genocide, to use our taxpayer dollars at home to uplift our communities [9:40] instead of waging war overseas. We were asking for a fair system. We were asking for an end to the [9:50] corruption. The end to the money in politics. We're asking for real democracy. And we did it the [10:00] right way. And we won. But now the ball is in the court of the Democratic establishment. [10:12] My name might be on the ballot right now. But that ballot line belongs to the people of Maine. [10:20] And on November 3rd, it needs to belong to the people of Maine. And the next Democratic senator [10:26] for Maine needs to belong to the people of Maine. They need to reflect the will and the values of the [10:33] people of this state. I love this state. I love Maine. And I love Mainers in ways that I can't really [10:46] describe. I'm immensely proud of what we have built. And I have the utmost faith that we will continue to [10:59] build. And we will continue to move towards a better future. From the bottom of my heart, [11:14] thank you. Thank all of you. And keep fighting. We're going to win someday. [11:23] Well, that was Graham Plattner officially announcing that he is dropping off of the ballot [11:31] for Maine Senate, or excuse me, for Federal Senate from Maine, but taking zero responsibility for any of [11:39] the scandals and more troubling things in his past that have destroyed that campaign. Instead, blaming, [11:47] let's see, corporate media, the political establishment, lots of hate for the political [11:55] establishment, saying that we banded together. We did it the way we were told we were supposed to [12:03] make change and we won, and now they are not going to let us have it. So lots of finger pointing and [12:10] blame and not taking any responsibility. Note that whoever he conceives of as the political [12:19] establishment, you do have many of his once allies, including Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna, [12:25] also calling for him to drop out people who believe many of the same policy ideas, believe in many of the [12:32] same policy ideas that Graham Plattner himself says that he was taken down for. He also said during [12:39] that 10-minute video that all we were asking for was health care, was to end the genocide, to use our [12:46] taxpayer dollars at home to uplift our communities instead of waging war overseas. We were asking for [12:51] a fair system. We are asking for an end to the corruption. So lots of allegations that he was being [12:59] taken out by nefarious forces that are forcing him to suspend his campaign rather than the drip, drip, [13:08] drip of scandal after scandal that has dogged his campaign and that have littered the last few [13:15] months with red flags. I want to bring back in our guests at the table, Neera Tanden from Cap, [13:22] as well as Nikki McCann-Ramirez from Rolling Stone. So Nikki, what did you make of that [13:28] mini-documentary that we just watched? [13:32] I think it's clear that whoever was advising him in media has left the campaign at this point, [13:37] because that's not a statement you let your candidate put out on their own. I also think [13:42] when I see something like that, my question is always, who is they? Who is they? Is it the AFL-CIO? [13:48] Is it the main Democratic Party? Is it the dozens of allies you have who have abandoned your campaign? [13:55] I think Plattner would have been much better served by a two-minute video announcing that he [14:00] was suspending campaign operations. He could deny the allegations. That is his right. This has not [14:04] been proven in a court of law. They are allegations. But this screed, I don't think, does anything to [14:12] help transition out toward a new candidate to bolster sort of the idea that this process is going to go [14:18] forward, that he supports having his voters who he claims to care about continue to be represented [14:26] by someone who holds their same values. I think the thing here is that Graham Plattner, time and time [14:31] again, was given chances by the voters of Maine. I know a lot of voters who live in Maine, friends of [14:38] mine, who swallowed a lot of stuff, who were deeply uncomfortable with the stories coming out about [14:44] Graham Plattner. And they swallowed that and they voted for him because they thought that in the [14:48] slate of candidates before him, he was the best chance to defeat Susan Collins. And the people [14:52] he has let down the most, aside of the people who he allegedly criminally assaulted, are the voters of [14:58] Maine, who believed in him, who gave him their time, their energy, their votes, who invested their [15:06] belief that they could actually have a better government in him. And he let them down by not [15:10] being honest with them. It wasn't that he wasn't honest to us, to the media, to the donor class, [15:14] is that he wasn't transparent with his voters. And that video, I just, I don't know. It just, [15:21] if there was any respect left for me, it's kind of gone after seeing that there were so many ways [15:26] to bow out of this race that weren't that. Yeah. I do want to get your thoughts, Neera, [15:31] but first I want to go to MSNOW Capitol Hill reporter Kevin Fry, who is live on the scene in [15:38] Bangor, Maine. Kevin, what are you hearing on the ground from voters about how all of this has shaken [15:44] out in the last few days? Yeah. I mean, look, it's been about a month since I was here last. [15:50] And at that point, that was right after the New York Times sexting scandal. And a lot of folks were [15:55] willing to, you know, as was just being mentioned, digest this and say, okay, we're going to accept [16:00] the narrative that he is a changed man. As we talked to folks over the last day and a half that [16:04] we've been here, it is very much flipped. We've turned the corner. The red line that no one could [16:10] really identify necessarily a month ago had been crossed. The Rubicon had been overcome. And that [16:16] was because of the reporting in the last two days. So this felt like where we are inevitably [16:21] tumbling toward. Now, as we've been talking to voters, they would like to see what they described [16:27] as a quick and a transparent process. They want to see this as being democratic. And several folks that [16:33] we spoke to were quick to name drop folks, including Troy Jackson. They see him, at least a couple of the [16:39] folks that we talked to, as kind of picking up at least the policy aims that maybe Plattner was [16:45] espousing, but certainly without the baggage that he carried. Now, some of the news within the last [16:49] two hours or so beyond this Plattner statement is that we now have at least a preliminary sense of [16:57] what this process is going to now look like, now that there is going to be a vacancy on the [17:02] Democratic line ahead of November's election. And that is that the Democratic, main Democratic Party [17:07] today, members of the committee, met about 100 or so of them, discussed exactly the steps forward. [17:13] And our understanding from talking to sources that were on that call is that this looks like it's [17:17] going to be about 500 to 600 delegates meeting for a convention, time to be announced. But the [17:23] counties are supposed to, we're being told, start working on figuring out who those delegates are [17:28] going to be to send them to this centralized meeting. And from there, they'll work on electing [17:33] a candidate. Obviously, one of the tensions that we're expecting to see and that we've witnessed [17:38] over the last few days is between kind of the party establishment versus those that believe that [17:42] they need to basically poke the establishment in the eye. That could also be interpreted as more [17:46] progressives versus moderates. There are different ways of kind of interpreting this depending on who [17:50] you're talking to. But that is at least how voters are kind of responding to what we're looking at [17:56] with the prospect of an opening and how the party is at least at the moment preparing to navigate it. [18:01] Kevin, thanks so much for your time. I am sure we will be heading back to you later this evening [18:06] and in the coming days to hear your insights on what people are saying on the ground and how this [18:10] convention of sorts is going to shape up. Thanks so much. [18:14] Neera, so you watched this 10-minute video as well from Graham Plattner refusing to take [18:19] responsibility for any of the things in his past. He certainly has the right to defend himself [18:25] against some of these criminal allegations, but not taking any responsibility for how his campaign [18:33] has ended up. Do you think that was helpful for the party to move forward and to defeat Susan Collins? [18:40] I mean, I guess I'd say, look, this whole situation is a horrifying tragedy on so many levels. And the [18:48] people I feel the worst for are really the people Nikki is talking about, the people who were betrayed [18:55] by Graham Plattner. I mean, he's angry at the world, but it's his own actions that have caused this [19:03] situation that we're in. And I feel like the fact that he takes zero responsibility of that can [19:09] really enrages me. But I do, I feel the people I feel the worst for in this situation are people [19:15] who felt hope about this campaign. And I do think the process has to ensure that people who felt hope [19:22] in this campaign, in his campaign, and about change in Maine have a voice in that process. I mean, what I found [19:31] sort of really disturbing about this video is there's so much more ire to, like, Democrats nationally [19:38] than two people he never mentioned, Susan Collins or Donald Trump. And I find it sort of tragic that [19:48] after all the destruction and wreckage, you know, he's going out by basically trying to torch [19:55] Democrats. And just as a reminder, like, he did win the primary, but it's his own actions that have [20:01] caused this. And you don't have to ask me. You can ask Senator Sanders, Senator Warren, Congressman [20:09] Kanna, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. These are his allies in the fight who recognized [20:16] what happened here was horrifying. And genuinely, I hope that in future, there can be more [20:25] acceptance and actually trying to build back. Because, you know, this is a, you know, he's caused [20:33] a lot of pain to a lot of people who put their hopes in him. And those people are the ones who need [20:40] to find hope again. And I think it's his responsibility to be part of building, like, [20:45] you know, not destroying everything around him, but actually helping build support for whoever the [20:50] nominee is in the future. Yeah. I mean, and I should, again, say he has flatly denied the allegations [20:56] of sexual assault, among other things that have other accusations that have been levied against him. [21:01] But I will say that the other people that I feel terrible for, not only because of the things that [21:07] they say. Are the women. The women. Yes, it's not just the voters. It's the women who had to basically [21:13] parade these awful periods of their lives or what they, you know, allegations that they have made at [21:18] the very least before the public and the media, because they felt like it was their civic responsibility [21:23] to tell people. And they're getting viciously attacked by people. It's really ugly. And, [21:28] you know, they, you're absolutely right. They are the victims of this whole situation and [21:34] should never have had to bear this burden. Yes. As well as one of his campaign staffers who has been [21:40] smeared because she resigned early on. But anyway, I hope that there are a lot of apologies coming to [21:46] some of those women.