Graham Platner’s wife ‘deeply hurt’ after extramarital sexting goes public

[0:00] Another controversy giving Democrats major heartburn in dogging Graham Plattner, [0:05] the presumptive Democratic nominee in the high-stakes main Senate race. [0:09] The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times published reports yesterday [0:12] that claimed Plattner's wife Amy Gertner told Plattner's campaign last August about sexual [0:18] text messages she found between her husband and other women early in their marriage. [0:24] These were messages his wife found last year, but were sent before the campaign began. [0:29] The publications reported that Gertner flagged the messages while his campaign was internally [0:34] vetting the candidate. [0:36] A former political director for Plattner's campaign confirmed to CNN that Gertner told [0:41] her Plattner had been sexting multiple women, though CNN has not independently verified the [0:48] existence of the text. [0:49] Gertner says she felt betrayed by that ex-campaign aide, whom she confided in and considered [0:55] a friend. [0:56] In a statement, she said, quote, [0:57] I trusted this person with the most private chapter of our lives, the early days of our [1:02] marriage before any campaign was on our mind, and I am deeply hurt by her betrayal in the [1:08] invasion of our privacy. [1:10] I know who Graham is. [1:12] I know the man I married and the husband he has been to me on the best and worst days of [1:17] my life. [1:18] That hasn't changed, and it won't. [1:20] The campaign also shared this video from Plattner's wife. [1:24] I find it really shameful that there's a group of media outlets and people who are willing [1:35] to spread gossip instead of talking about real issues that Graham is running on, like [1:46] health care and education and child care. [1:51] All right, my excellent panel is back, including the man from Maine himself, Burgess Edward, a [1:55] keeper of all things Senate. [1:57] So how damaging, Burgess, will this be for Plattner? [2:01] Well, this comes on, obviously, the heels of plenty of other revelations about him, including [2:06] his Reddit posts and his tattoo. [2:08] So I see it kind of as another brick in the wall there. [2:11] The problem for Democrats is Janet Mills, the governor, dropped out. [2:15] So there is a mechanism for them to perhaps nominate another candidate later if Graham Plattner [2:20] were to drop out, but there have been no signs of that. [2:22] He's been acting pretty defiant, I would say, since the story's out. [2:26] They're pushing back hard against it. [2:28] I think you're going to hear a lot of people say this is not that bad for the Graham Plattner [2:33] campaign, people that support him. [2:35] I think you've got to flip it on its head. [2:36] This is not good for the Graham Plattner campaign. [2:39] This is a problem. [2:40] It's taking up all the news cycle I was seeing over the weekend in terms of these Senate races, [2:45] and it's not a great way for him to enter the general election period. [2:48] Yeah, and this is why the Democratic leadership wanted Janet Mills. [2:52] This is why Chuck Schumer recruited Janet Mills. [2:55] I mean, she could not catch fire in the campaign, which is why she dropped out, because they [2:59] were concerned about a novice candidate with a checkered past. [3:03] Yeah, you know, Democrats have been critical of Chuck Schumer. [3:06] They know that he is a good campaign strategist, but again, lots of criticism over the past year [3:11] on his handling of a number of different things. [3:13] The one thing that I have consistently heard from those same critics is, man, if Graham [3:19] becomes a nominee and you just can't flip Maine in the general election, or if, for example, [3:25] in Michigan, a non-Schumer candidate comes forward, particularly Abdul El Saeed, then we could [3:35] potentially lose a state that we currently have the majority in. [3:39] And that is a problem. [3:40] Does that mean at the end of the day in November, if, let's say, the Senate gets so close to [3:46] flipping, Democrats in particular, flipping the majority, but they lose it because of these [3:50] more unconventional, authentic candidates? [3:54] I have heard already that people are very worried of that potential outcome. [4:00] It's a challenge here because it's, yeah, it's the base, energizing the base, but that [4:05] could be a risk when you have some of these candidates who have not gone facing the spotlight [4:09] and face a lot of questions. [4:10] One of the questions that I put to Graham Plattner himself, I talked to him back in January, [4:15] and about, as Burgess mentioned, there were all these Reddit posts from his past. [4:19] He said that he was a different person. [4:20] He apologizes for those posts. [4:22] He says that, you know, he was, of course, a military veteran. [4:24] He was going through a different time in his life. [4:26] He was in combat. [4:28] But I asked him if there were any more skeletons in his closet. [4:33] I'm wondering, are there other skeletons from your past that still may emerge in this race? [4:41] No. [4:41] I haven't lived a boring life, but I haven't lived a very complicated life. [4:45] I've never been close to money. [4:46] I've never been close to power. [4:47] I've never really had the ability to screw people over. [4:50] My life is not very complicated. [4:52] And there, no, there is not anything else coming. [4:54] There is not anything else coming. [4:58] Turns out there was more coming. [5:00] And there have been some stories since then as well. [5:02] Yeah. [5:03] Well, it would have been weird if he had answered that question, yes. [5:07] Yes, I guess that's true. [5:08] It would have naturally created some other questions in the course of that. [5:13] So that is one of those sort of like little white lies that people tell in politics. [5:16] But look, the appeal of someone like Plattner is that he's a political outsider, is that [5:22] he's imperfect, is that he's a regular guy who's been through the sort of pitfalls of [5:28] someone who didn't come up through the political system. [5:31] That being said, that means that his bio is all he has. [5:34] He doesn't have a record in elected office. [5:36] He doesn't have a long resume in politics that he can point to to sort of tell the voters [5:43] what kind of senator he would be. [5:45] And so, you know, in an uphill environment for Democrats on the map, right, it's a good [5:51] year for them vibes wise, but still a very tough Senate map. [5:54] And there is no way they get to the majority without a state like Maine, which is a blue [5:59] state where Susan Collins, of course, has managed to hang on for so long. [6:02] You know, these stories about Plattner's past have been out for months. [6:05] And he is, I've asked him about this, about the impact that this would have on him and [6:09] the campaign. [6:10] And he said, look, this is baked in, I've spoken about this, I've talked about how I [6:14] was wrong. [6:15] You know, this is not having an impact on the race. [6:17] But one of the things that happened while Janet Mills was a candidate is she didn't really [6:21] launch much of a paid media attack campaign against Plattner over these posts. [6:27] There was some, there was an ad she put out late, but really not a ton of money. [6:30] Republicans are now spending a lot of money to go after Plattner, including this Susan Collins [6:36] super PAC ad attacking him. [6:38] 20 years of bigotry and hate from Graham Plattner. [6:44] He calls police officers all bad and Plattner insults black people, saying they don't tip. [6:50] Now, again, Plattner has said that he was wrong with some of these past posts. [6:54] He said it does not reflect who he is. [6:56] But nevertheless, Burgess, how much of an impact will this, this GOP attack machine that is [7:02] coming, that we're seeing on air about these, about Plattner's past, how much of an impact [7:06] is that going to have on Plattner? [7:07] I think it will have an impact in the sense of this is going to be the story. [7:12] You already see how he's on the defensive. [7:15] We're also seeing that in Texas, right? [7:17] Like when Republicans concentrate paid and free media on something, it becomes an issue. [7:22] And that's what's happening with James Tallarico as well. [7:24] And you made a great point about Janet Mills, who kind of launched a small ad campaign seizing [7:29] on those Reddit posts. [7:30] But she didn't spend enough money for it to really resonate and sink into voters. [7:34] Maine is a small state, about 1.3 million people. [7:37] Folks are going to see a ton of these ads. [7:39] But I do think that there is a question of whether they might backfire. [7:42] Because I believe in 2020, Democrats launched so many ads attacking Susan Collins, supporting [7:47] Sarah Gideon, that I think Mainers started to tune it out. [7:50] They're not used to being saturated with these sorts of ads, these negative ads. [7:54] So I do think there's a risk for Republicans to go too far in attacking them. [7:57] Because I do think Mainers might tune it out eventually. [7:59] Yeah. [8:00] And it's a good point. [8:01] And as we go to break the poll, one of the most recent poll, had Graham Platt up 51-42 [8:06] over Susan Collins. [8:07] And we'll see if those numbers change in the aftermath of all of this. [8:11] Congresswoman, as a politician here, as a Democrat, what do you think this is going to mean [8:18] going forward up in Maine? [8:21] My genuine belief here is that voters in Maine right now are concerned about the fact [8:26] that they can't afford health care, they can't afford housing. [8:28] We have the most corrupt White House in American history. [8:32] Susan Collins has enabled Donald Trump at every turn, not just in this administration, but [8:37] from the very first administration by voting to confirm people like Brett Kavanaugh to the [8:42] Supreme Court, voting to cut Medicaid for millions of Americans, enabling his authoritarianism. [8:48] I think that is what voters right now, not just in Maine but across the country, care about. [8:53] And I think that's what's going to matter in November. [8:55] Look, I think it's outrageous. [8:58] Where's the outrage? [9:00] Democrats went bananas on Brett Kavanaugh on an unsubstantiated allegation. [9:03] For a sexual assault. [9:05] Well, we're going to see. [9:06] We're going to see what shoes have to drop here yet. [9:09] This guy had a Nazi tattoo, a Nazi tattoo. [9:12] Nazi death squad tattoo. [9:14] Nazi death squad tattoo. [9:15] Tattoo. [9:16] He's derided his fellow servicemen saying, I wish you would have died. [9:20] You deserve to die. [9:22] I mean, the guy isn't, he's a terrible human being. [9:26] And for your party to stand by him, this is reminiscent of Joe Biden just this past week [9:31] saying, you know what, I know Joe is kind of out there, but we just want to beat Trump. [9:37] Anything to do to beat Trump. [9:38] You guys are willing to do anything except anything. [9:40] I mean, there's got to be a limit. [9:42] To be clear, it's the voters of Maine who thus far have chosen Graham Plattner. [9:46] I mean, there was a very robust candidate in Janet Mills. [9:50] She was getting absolutely trounced in the polls, couldn't raise money, and dropped out. [9:53] So it is- [9:54] But just come out and say what he's- the allegations are terrible. [9:57] This is- if this were a Republican, you would be beating the hell out of the person. [10:01] Donald Trump is the president of the United States who's in the Epstein files with allegations [10:05] from 13-year-olds. [10:06] Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. [10:07] This is the thing. [10:08] This is the thing. [10:09] Hold on. [10:10] Let's get it. [10:11] Let's get it. [10:12] Let's get it. [10:13] It's the sanctimony, not from you personally, Nick Irvin, but the sanctimony from Republicans [10:15] who have embraced and allowed Donald Trump to completely remake their party and have [10:19] rolled over as he's done it. [10:21] It's a little tough to stomach the same thing. [10:23] Wait a minute. [10:24] Every choice is a choice. [10:25] And on June 9th, Graham Plattner is going to run against the governor of Maine, someone [10:28] who has a credible record, who can't raise a nickel because Democrats want someone who's [10:33] crazy and awful. [10:35] They're attracted to Plattner because he's awful. [10:37] It's not a hesitation. [10:39] It's what they want. [10:40] Maine primary voters like the awful. [10:42] They're attracted- [10:43] Think about what the general election is about, though. [10:44] Susan Collins voted for the Affordable Care Act under Barack Obama. [10:47] She voted for the Stimulus Act under Barack Obama. [10:50] She voted to confirm Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan. [10:53] She is as centrist a person in the United States Senate as you can find. [10:56] And Democrats, if they prefer a Nazi death squad tattoo, sexting with a bunch of other [11:01] people person over that, then they've really jumped the shark. [11:04] Well, she's a centrist who voted to confirm justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. [11:10] So to call her a centrist, to call her a centrist is a little, you know, I'm not so sure. [11:16] But look, Democrats in Maine were attracted to Plattner, are attracted to Plattner, because [11:20] they think that he's going to upend a status quo that they feel like isn't working. [11:24] I would refute the idea that they're attracted to him because of some of these things that [11:28] we've seen come out. [11:29] That said, I want to say, I am having flashbacks to 2020 when Democrats lost a flippable seat [11:35] in North Carolina around a sexting scandal. [11:38] I think there's a lot about Graham Plattner, frankly, that is unpalatable. [11:41] Look, I've been very clear on air. [11:43] He was not my choice. [11:44] You deserve credit for that. [11:46] Listen, he was not my choice. [11:48] But I do think we have to respect that this is where voters in Maine said they wanted to [11:52] go. [11:53] But look, I also would be concerned, frankly, as we've seen the drip, drip, drip here, campaigns [12:00] are ugly. [12:01] Oppo research is intense. [12:03] He has clearly signaled that there is more here. [12:06] I think that's troubling. [12:08] So I would expect that we probably are going to see more here. [12:11] There'll be more. [12:12] There'll be more. [12:13] If Grant Plattner is saying there was no more, Brad knows this. [12:15] We've all been in campaigns a long time. [12:17] You don't put the good stuff out in the beginning. [12:19] So he's certainly the nominee. [12:20] That's right. [12:21] You wait till he's the nominee. [12:22] That's right. [12:23] It's locked in. [12:24] It'll get worse.