All Episodes

June 7, 2026 24 mins

1. Political Crisis Narrative on Platner

  • The candidate’s campaign is in serious trouble due to scandals.
  • He has traveled to Washington, D.C. to secure support from party leaders and donors.
  • Democrats face a dilemma:
    • Support him despite controversies, or
    • Risk losing a key Senate seat.

2. List of Allegations and Controversies

  • A tattoo allegedly linked to Nazi SS symbolism
  • Reports of explicit messages sent after marriage
  • Past offensive or controversial social media posts (racial, anti-LGBTQ+, etc.)
  • Claims of association with inappropriate websites
  • Comments perceived as:
    • Victim-blaming
    • Anti-police
    • Anti-religious
    • Disrespectful to veterans
  • Personal conduct issues (e.g., DUI, crude online behavior)

3. Criticism of the Democratic Party

  • The Democratic Party is willing to ignore serious misconduct for political gain.
  • Party leaders are portrayed as prioritizing power and electoral success over ethics.
  • The situation is framed as evidence of a broader decline in political standards.

4. Media and Institutional Critique

  • “Corporate media” protects Democratic candidates unless politically convenient.
  • Political institutions selectively expose or ignore scandals.
  • The case reflects how modern politics handles controversy differently than in the past.

5. Election Stakes

  • Maine is a critical battleground state.
  • Control of the U.S. Senate could depend on races like this one.
  • This amplifies pressure on Democrats to stay unified behind the candidate.

Please Hit Subscribe to this podcast Right Now. Also Please Subscribe to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson and Verdict with Ted Cruz Wherever You get You're Podcasts. And don't forget to follow the show on Social Media so you never miss a moment! Thanks for Listening

X: https://x.com/benfergusonshow

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
There's an old saying in politics that when your campaign
is having a great week, you stay home and you
talk to voters. But when your campaign is facing really
tough questions like we're seeing in Maine by Platner, well
apparently you end up spending a lot of time talking
to party leaders not in the state where you're running.
That's exactly where the main Democratic Senate candidate, Gram Platner

(00:23):
finds himself as we speak. He traveled to DC and
why to try to save everything, meeting with Democratic centers
and donors and party officials as his campaign attempts to
navigate a growing list of major controversies that have dominated
the headlines in Maine and really all over the country now.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
According to multiple reports.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
The trip includes meetings with Senate Democrats and fundraising events
as party leaders weigh both the political risks and political
realities surrounding his candidacy. Now, the timing couldn't be more
significant either. Democrats view Maine as one of the most
important Senate battlegrounds in the country. They truly believe they

(01:05):
should win this easily against Susan Collins.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
And how important is it.

Speaker 1 (01:10):
We're literally talking about the control of the Senate could
very well come down to a handful of races, and
Maine sits near the top of that list. That reality
is now creating an uncomfortable situation for many Democrats who
have major concerns about Platner, but also recognize that abandoning
their nominee could hand Republicans the victory. And that's why

(01:33):
they're not willing to kick them to the curb just yet.
Now the challenge is clear in DC tonight. The headlines
aren't going away now. Over the past several months, Platner
has faced scrutiny over old social media posts, past comments,
a controversial tattoo that is tied to the Nazis and
the SS you know, things like that, and it's become

(01:55):
a national story. But the most recent reports involving sexually
explicit tech messages that were sent right after he got
married that didn't help either. Those stories are generated intense
attention and raised question from Democratic donors about the viability
of their candidate and the general election. Now, even some

(02:15):
Democratic senators have acknowledged publicly that they have quote concerns
and they're looking for answers. Are they really, of course not.
Others are just defending Platner at all costs, saying that
he's the best man for the job. But here's the
political party, and the reality of it is kicking in.
Despite all of this, Democrats, well, they seem to be

(02:38):
leaning towards We're going to rally behind him, We're going
to take pictures with him, We're going to give them
the money he needs, and we brought him to Washington
to save him. Now, his primary opponent is the main governor,
Janet Mills. She suspended her campaign months ago after trailing
badly in the polls and bad fundraising. Since then, much

(02:58):
of the Democratic establishment has moved towards supporting Platner, even
if some of them are doing it well with major reservations.
Because this is how radical the Democratic Party has become.
And that's why this trip to Washington matters so much.
It's not just about the fundraising anymore. And it's not
just about the donor meetings. It's actually about reassurance to

(03:19):
the party and then to the other donors, and then
in theory, to the voters in Maine. Party leaders they
want to know whether or not there are any more
surprises coming. That's part of what the meetings are about.
And of course Platterners are going to say, there's nothing
else out there. You need to know about everything's there.
They want to know whether the campaign can withstand months

(03:40):
of opposition research. They want to know whether Platner can
survive the scrutiny that comes with being one of the
most closely watched Senate candidates in America. And for Democrats,
let's be clear, they're extremely nervous. Some Democratic Senaters, it's
been reported, have essentially said what many Washington already think.

(04:00):
They may have concerns, but they still need to win
the seat. The political calculation is straightforward. If Platinum remains
the nominee Democrats, they believe they're likely to unite behind him,
regardless of any discomfort with the controversies. It doesn't matter
that he has a Nazi tattoo. It doesn't matter about
the things of his wife. It doesn't matter about the
text messages, it doesn't matter about the disparage and comments

(04:23):
towards veterans. Right, none of it matters. And if you
want to know all the controversies, go back and grab
the podcast. Re laid out the top fourteen things that
has been a problem for Platiners so far and we
expect that list to grow. Now, what makes a story
even bigger than the candidacy is this is now becoming
a test of how much scandal modern political parties are

(04:47):
willing to tolerate when major electoral stakes are involved. For years,
politicians from both parties argued that certain controversies, when in essence,
automatically disqualify a candidate. Yeah, I guess what. That's not
happening anymore. What we're now saying is the Democratic Party
saying we'll stick with you if we think you're the
best person. And look, if you're Platiner, you've got to

(05:10):
be encouraged because the Democratic Party literally covered up the
cognitive decline of Joe Biden. They lied to the faces
of every American voter, They lied to his own staff
in the White House saying he was totally fine. They
lied on Capitol Hill, they lied on the Sunday shows,
and they did everything they could until that debate, and
when Joe Biden had the most disastrous debate and political

(05:33):
history on stage against Donald Trump. That is only when
Democrats said we need an exit ramp. So if you're
Grand Platner right now, you got to be thinking to
yourself I'm going to be okay. If they'll defend Joe Biden,
they're going to defend me, and hey, at least I
don't have a cognitive decline, So surely they can.

Speaker 2 (05:52):
Get over all of this.

Speaker 1 (05:54):
And there's a very good chance the Democrats will say
yes to this candidate. And they don't really care care
about the Nazi tattoo. They don't care about any of
the stuff going on in his personal life. They don't
care about him attacking the military because, let's be honest,
they don't really love the military at all. This is
where the Democratic Party is. One thing is for sure.

(06:14):
If they stick with Platiner, get ready for even more
extreme and radical candidates to come all over the country
because it will inspire them to run based on what
they just witnessed. Main's front running Democrat, the US Sendicandate
Graham Nazi tattoo Platiner. He is a man that Democrats

(06:37):
have just completely been infatuated with and the corporate media
they love him.

Speaker 2 (06:41):
They don't care what he does.

Speaker 1 (06:42):
They don't care about his background, they don't care about
his history, they don't care about the scandals until the
last twenty four hours. Why for one reason, because he's
a Democrat. And if you say you're a Democrat, you
can do and be and just about anything you want. Right,
you don't even have to know what a man is
or what a woman is. The Demo crats will stand
by you the more radical you actually are. The corporate

(07:04):
media will also stand by you, unless the Democratic Party
tells you that then we need to turn on him.
We saw this happen in California with Eric Swalwell. Right,
California love the guy, the Democratic Party loved the guy.
Then all of a sudden he might lose and a
Republican might win. And what they do They used all

(07:24):
of the dirt they knew about him, they protect him from,
to then take him down. Well, we're now living in
a world where that same media that created this individual,
this Nazi tattoo guy, may actually look to destroy him.
Or maybe not why because well even the Obamas seem
to be trying to help behind the scenes.

Speaker 2 (07:46):
Now, let's just go through the list, all right.

Speaker 1 (07:49):
If you look at the list of things that this
individual has done, if Mike count is correct, now it's
at fourteen different scandals, all right, So let's start with
number one, and I hope By the way, all of
you will take this information and I hope you will
share it wherever you can. I hope that not only
will you share it, but share the podcast put it
anywhere you can on social media.

Speaker 2 (08:11):
So let's start at number one.

Speaker 1 (08:13):
This is a guy who had tattooed on his chest
a Nazi SS tattoo, and he said they didn't know
what it was, but he had the tattoo for eighteen years. Now,
you may not know about the Nazi SS and exactly
what they did. Like you can almost go even further

(08:34):
than just like there's generic Nazis in Germany and then
there's the SS.

Speaker 2 (08:39):
What did the SS do well?

Speaker 1 (08:41):
They were the major paramilitary organization under Hitler and the
Nazi Party in Germany. And these were the guys that
began as a small guard unit known as the Hall Security.
They were made up of party volunteers. Then they got
even worse, right, They're like, all right, we start you there.
Now was the foremost agency on security, mass surveillance and

(09:05):
state terrorism within Germany and Germany occupied Europe. What's even
more interesting about the SS, all right, and how hardcore
these guys were, is they were in charge of the
concentration camps.

Speaker 2 (09:17):
Right.

Speaker 1 (09:18):
They were the ones that were referred to as the
deaths head units.

Speaker 2 (09:23):
All right.

Speaker 1 (09:24):
They ran the concentration camps and then they ran the
extermination camps. So if you want to be a Nazi,
that's one thing you want to level up and say,
oh no, no, I want to go pro with my tattoos.
I don't just want to swatska. No, no, I want an
SS tattoo. Then you are like, all right, well, here
we go. I'm a concentration extermination camp kind of guy.

(09:44):
They were also tasks for detecting actual or potential enemies
of Nazi Germany. They were in charge of neutralizing the
oppression at all costs. And then they were also policing
the German people and they would kill them if they
thought you were getting out of line. They were committed
to quote Nazi ideology and then providing domestic and foreign intelligence.

Speaker 2 (10:07):
Now the SS, and again I.

Speaker 1 (10:09):
Go back, because I think it's important to you understand
why he chose this tattoo. The SS was the organization
most responsible for the genocidal murder of an estimated.

Speaker 2 (10:20):
Six million Jews and millions.

Speaker 1 (10:24):
Of other victims during the holocausts Now members of its
branches not only committed war crimes and crimes against humanity
during World War Two, we now know through history that
the SS was also involved in commercial enterprises and exploited
concentration camp inmates as their slave labors. They could even
make cash off of them before they then exterminated them. Now,

(10:47):
as after Nazi Germany's defeat, the SS and the Nazi
Party were judged by the international military tribunals at Nuremberg.

Speaker 2 (10:54):
There's a great movie about it, you can go see
it right now.

Speaker 1 (10:58):
And what we learn is the highest ranking surviving SS
Main Department chief was found guilty of not only crimes
against humanity at the Nuremberg trials, but he was also
hanged in nineteen eighty six. So if you're going to
get a tattoo and you decide to go with the
SS insignia a tattoo instead of just you know that
the Nazi you know, you know, swastika tattoo, you clearly

(11:21):
understand that you're like on another level of understanding what
a Nazi is, right, and so this is the tattoo
that he chose. Now, of course he lied, He's like,
I didn't know what it was. Are you kidding me.
Of course you knew what it was and that's why
you got it. So that is the baseline for who
he is. So let's move on to something else. We

(11:44):
also know that he has an account on a what
has been described by the Your Times a predator sex
site called Kick.

Speaker 2 (11:51):
He's married, everybody knows that.

Speaker 1 (11:53):
But this site is a site that is for child exportation,
underage sexual and in kiss and child pornography.

Speaker 2 (12:03):
That is what's there. You can go read the New
York Times on this.

Speaker 1 (12:06):
So not only do we have a Naziss Death's head
tattoo that he had for eighteen years, now he's like, oh,
I'm going to get on this website that is a
predator's safe haven for underage exploiting of children and child pornography.

Speaker 2 (12:24):
We then find out.

Speaker 1 (12:25):
No surprise, that there's explicit sexting or sex texts from
with about a half a dozen women in twenty twenty three,
after you got married about a year earlier. Moved past
that real quick disparage all black people as a population
that doesn't tip. Yes, he actually has it on social
media where he was out there and he was talking
they saying that black people don't tip that is what

(12:47):
you refer to as racism.

Speaker 2 (12:49):
One oh one.

Speaker 1 (12:50):
The Democratic Party apparently has no problem within disparaging all
black people as a population, saying that all black people
don't Tip number five, he blamed sexual assault victims for
being sexually assaulted. Now you may look at that and
you go, hold on a second, what do you what
do you actually mean by that? All right, you know what,

(13:11):
it's a great question. Graham Plattner says sexual assault victims
should take some responsibility in Reddit post that he had
throughout the years he made the disturbing comments about sexual
assault victims?

Speaker 2 (13:26):
Where then?

Speaker 1 (13:27):
And of course, of course he deleted them right right
before he launched his campaign. But we had the they
had the data, they had them like it's there. We
know it's there in the discussion. But what's interesting is
he said that assault victims should take some responsibility for
themselves to avoid attacks and act like an adult for
efing's sake.

Speaker 2 (13:45):
He said people should.

Speaker 1 (13:46):
Avoid alcohols they don't end up in a compromising situation,
and then downplay the challenges service members face and reporting
sexual assault. So he's like, look, if you got raped
in your chick and you got you and you drank,
that's all you and so I don't really care and
signed I guess, you know, hole Hitler, like I guess
that's how this works.

Speaker 2 (14:06):
Now.

Speaker 1 (14:07):
Now, these these comments came on the hills of the
similar Reddit posts that were uncovered, which included Platner saying
people who live in rural Maine actually are racist and stupid.
He also is promoting violent political actions, including saying an
armed working class as a requirement for economic justice, he said,
deeming all police bastards and riding f these cops.

Speaker 2 (14:31):
So now we found out he's against police.

Speaker 1 (14:34):
He was promoting racist stereotypes by questioning, quote, why don't
black people tip quote unquote I mentioned that a moment ago,
and then using slurs and telling people to f off
and die when asked about a recent vote against a
power line in Maine. Now, these are just some of
the big things that he said online. So let's just,

(14:56):
you know, move past that for a second. Now, now you
have these first six things I just gave you, and
you would think like that surely would be enough for
Democrats to turn on him, and apparently it's not. In fact,
Democratic voters in Maine still have him leading over Susan
Collins right now, which is truly fascinating. So what is

(15:20):
it that you can't say if you're a Democrat running
in a Democratic you know, major part of the country
like Maine, right, Like, what is it that could disqualify you?
The Nazi tattoo apparently doesn't, sex preader site, having a membership, doesn't,
explicit text staff doesn't.

Speaker 2 (15:38):
Women in twenty three that doesn't.

Speaker 1 (15:39):
Disparaging all black people is as a population that doesn't tip,
That apparently doesn't do it. Blaming sexual assault victims for
being sexually assaulted, that apparently doesn't do it. So what
could it be that could actually get you to be
in trouble with the Democratic bas right? I got one
for you. I'm going to go out in a Lemons say, hey,

(16:00):
if you started attacking or smearing or mocking the LGBTQIA
plus plus plus population as a Democrat in Maine, like,
that's got to get you in trouble, right like Scott
to be apparently not today quote I find that stuff abhorrent.
That is what Platner told the Advocate, And I'm sorry

(16:24):
that I ever used it, referencing he and admitting he
used indefensible anti gay slurs in his other Reddit posts.
They even say. In this Advocate dot com story quote,
a progressive US Senate candidate Maine, who has already apologized
for earlier misogynistic and racially insensitive remarks and said that

(16:46):
he did not realize that tattoo in his chest resembled
a Nazi SS emblem, is again under scrutiny, this time
for anti LGBTQ plus comments. In an interview on Wednesday afternoon,
The Advocate, a forty one year old marine and Army
veteran running in mains Democratic primary seeking to become the
nominated challenge Republican US inersus In Collins, confirmed that he

(17:09):
offered a series of Reddit comments and included homophobic slurs,
anti LGBTQ plus jokes, and sexually explicit stories denigrating gay men.
The existence of the comments, posted under the handle p
Hustle between twenty sixteen and twenty twenty one, meaning he
did this a lot all right, had not previously been

(17:30):
reported on. The Advocate obtained the post independently this week.
The revelation comes on the same day Platner a scheduled
hold the town hall in one part of the state,
a seaside resort, long known as New England's most prominent
LGBTQ plus destinations, featuring a thriving gay community and pride
celebrations that draw visits from across the region.

Speaker 2 (17:52):
Quote.

Speaker 1 (17:53):
I have zero reason to deny that the posts are mine,
Platner said in a Zoom interview. I made a lot
of comments over the years and talked a lot of
on the internet. I have no reason to doubt that
at some point I use language that I would not
be using today. He paused, and then added its indefensible.
Now these posts that were obtained by the Advocate, all

(18:13):
Right says they unearthed them and show a pattern of
homophobic language and rhetoric that mocked and demeaned.

Speaker 2 (18:19):
The LGBTQ plus people.

Speaker 1 (18:21):
In some cases, Platner appeared to use slurs casually in
discussions unrelated to sexuality. In others, he explicitly framed gay
people as the punchline. In June twenty sixteen, Platner wrote
in a thread about life on military guard duties, saying, no,
seriously flog the blankers as often as possible, write gay

(18:41):
poetry about how gay your current job is. Congratulations you
made it through one shift. Now do it all again
in twelve hours. Welcome to the world of standing posts,
where sanity is a sliding scale quote unquote. In March
twenty eighteen, two years later, he wasn't done. He recounted
explicit detail. What he just scribe is a quote gay

(19:01):
off between Marines and British sailors and Bahrain pull into
by Rain and seven at Amu, a Royal Navy submarine
happens to be imported at the same time. Before we
even realize what's going on, the other weird blinkers just
leaned down and licked the blank from the bottom of
the blank all the way up to the blank, stand up,
look dead at us and yelled beat that I probably

(19:24):
withdrew our team on the grounds that one cannot play
gay chicken if one is actually gay.

Speaker 2 (19:31):
This is what he wrote online. Now you would think
that these.

Speaker 1 (19:34):
Explicit posts, and by the way, there's some in eighteen
and nineteen and twenty and twenty one, and even in
twenty twenty two, the Advocate, which is obviously advocate advocating
for gay lesbian communities, they write all this stuff. But
apparently it was just to help him get it out there.

Speaker 2 (19:52):
And we'll move on.

Speaker 1 (19:53):
So that doesn't even disqualify him from being the Democratic nominee.
Number eight, he promoted an alleged Holocaust denier on social media.
So not only is this guy wearing an SS tattoo
right the death head tattoo and then claims it no,
it is, but he also has a Holocaust denier, someone

(20:14):
who believes the Holocaust never happened. On social media. He
also and if you have kids ear muffs, all right,
that's my warning. He actually bragged online about masturbating in
public porta potties.

Speaker 2 (20:29):
Yes, those were his words. I'm sure he will tell you.
Don't worry. I wouldn't say that. Now.

Speaker 1 (20:35):
Are Democrats ashamed of this being their candidate? Nope, They're
still standing by him, even with the porta potty comments.
So now like, surely that's it. Nope, that's not all.
Graham Platner also mocked a purple heart recipient as a
dumb mf or who didn't deserve to live, and then

(20:56):
doubled down on the comments when he was asked about it.

Speaker 2 (20:59):
So doesn't believe he did anything wrong.

Speaker 1 (21:01):
Doesn't think that you that it's wrong to mock a
purple heart recipient and saying that the dumb mffort didn't
deserve to live.

Speaker 2 (21:09):
Interesting.

Speaker 1 (21:11):
He also encouraged military contractors to bang hookers in Thailand.

Speaker 2 (21:19):
Yeah, giving details.

Speaker 1 (21:20):
That you guys got to go out there and you
know you should just bang some of them hookers. Yes,
he actually once lamited Thai prostitute loophole closing. The Democratic
candidate in Maine complained of a loophole closing that closing
that permitted military contractors to have relations with Thailand prostitutes.

(21:41):
Under the name p Ussel, the Democratic candidate, Platner reportedly
wrote on a Reddit post in June of nineteen, the
military contactors could spend their time banging hookers in Thailand
instead of getting blanked at.

Speaker 2 (21:53):
The wife back by the wife.

Speaker 1 (21:55):
Back home, spending your lead banging hookers in Thailand instead
of get sing b ith stat by the wife at home,
and you could sell it as avoiding federal income tax.

Speaker 2 (22:09):
Platner wrote.

Speaker 1 (22:10):
Once the Afghan started using our paychecks as a personal piggybank,
the whole loophole disappeared. Platnter admitted to using the handle
after The Mad Monitor reported about his Reddit posts.

Speaker 2 (22:22):
There it is it's I mean, it's it's incredible. It is.
It's truly incredible.

Speaker 1 (22:27):
Now you would think that would be enough, right for
the Democrats to say, okay, like we got to stop,
like this guy can't be the guy.

Speaker 2 (22:34):
Nope, keep going. He also called the.

Speaker 1 (22:37):
Virgin Mary a skank, Yes, a skink. The Democrat candidate
referred to Jesus also as a zombie, the Virgin Mary
is a skank. And a Reddit post from twenty twelve
that is this man so he hates Christians, he hates Jesus,

(22:58):
he hates Mary, and and this is the perfect guy
for the Democratic Party. He also got a dui, not
that anyone cares. Right inside Graham Platner's controversial rise another
article talking about his dui. But it's totally fine, not
a problem at all. Right, He's just you know, sometimes
you gotta gout there and you gotta, you know, get
a dui. And finally the newest thing, he appeared on

(23:21):
an anti Semites podcast who says the Jews killed Kennedy.
Now this is just what we know. What's even more
shocking is he's still ahead in the polls, which tells
me something very clearly. The Democratic Party is solace. They

(23:41):
only care about power, They only care about controlling you.
They only care about winning, and if it takes a
guy like this to do it or cover up for him,
they're totally fine with it.

Speaker 2 (23:54):
Well, keep following this story.

Speaker 1 (23:56):
I can promise you that we've got a lot more
that's going to happen the days ahead, So make sure
you don't forget. Grab our podcast, The Ben Ferguson Podcasts
wherever you get your podcasts as well, hit that subscriber
on or download button so you don't miss any of
the breaking news.
Advertise With Us

Host

Ben Ferguson

Ben Ferguson

Popular Podcasts

Hey Jonas!

Hey Jonas!

Hey Jonas! The official Jonas Brothers podcast. Hosted by Kevin, Joe, and Nick Jonas. It’s the Jonas Brothers you know... musicians, actors, and well, yes, brothers. Now, they’re sharing another side of themselves in the playful, intimate, and irreverent way only they can. Spend time with the Jonas Brothers here and stay a little bit longer for deep conversations like never before.

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.

  • Help
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • AdChoicesAd Choices