Graham Platner avoids mainstream press as scandals surrounding Maine Democrat grows
Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner has been largely avoiding the press in the wake of his most recent scandal.
The presumptive Democratic nominee came under controversy over the weekend after reports revealed that Platner had sent explicit messages to at least six women while he was married. In the days following the reports' release, Platner has continued to make public appearances at rallies but has stopped speaking to mainstream news outlets.
In a newsletter on Monday, News of the United States (NOTUS) reported that Platner had dropped out of a rescheduled phone interview on Sunday after the initial story broke on Saturday.
"It’s been hard to pin down Platner over the past few days. Igor [Bobic] was supposed to interview him Thursday in Maine, but Platner’s team said he didn’t have time. Platner’s staff then offered Igor some time to speak with him by phone on Sunday, but after the story broke Saturday, the interview was canceled again," NOTUS reported.
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The Maine Wire, a conservative local news outlet, also shared video on Sunday of Platner's staff blocking reporters from speaking with the Maine Democrat as he left a rally.
On the same day, MS NOW host Eugene Daniels claimed on his show "The Weekend" that Platner's team pulled an interview, after Platner's wife, Amy Gertner, released a five-minute video defending Platner and his campaign.
"It is not gossip if she brought it to the campaign herself and told them what it is. Graham Platner was supposed to come on the show… His team pulled out," Daniels said. "They came to us and wanted to come on. They pulled out. I think we saw why yesterday as these stories came out."
Platner's campaign denied the claim at the time, calling it "flat out inaccurate" and smearing it as an attempt to "get views and clicks."
"This is flat out inaccurate. There was never an interview scheduled – this is just another example of pundits trying to get views and clicks. Graham was busy at back-to-back events today, doing what he loves – talking with Mainers and sharing his vision for a politics that focuses on people's lives, not the pundit or political class in D.C.," a spokesperson said.
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However, Platner continued to avoid reporters' questions as recently as Tuesday, ignoring questions from the press before and after a meeting at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
"Mr. Platner, are you here to calm the waters, sir?" Platner was asked by Fox News Digital when confronted as he exited a car to meet with lawmakers, but he did not respond.
Fox News Digital reached out to Platner's campaign for comment.
One exception included brief comments Platner made to local news outlets such as News Center Maine on Sunday, where he criticized mainstream media for focusing on gossip rather than policies.
"It's no surprise to me that the establishment media outlets are just going to run gossip instead of wanting to talk about the things that actually matter in this race, which are the material realities that the Mainers are working with. These people are going to try to make this race about anything but what it's supposed to be about, which is policy. They never want to talk about policy," Platner said.
Platner also claimed the report was made "without any evidence besides the gossip from a former staffer" and called the piece "journalistic malpractice."
"We talked about things in Amy and I's marriage that we've gone through over the years. We talked about that because that's our marriage, and we discussed it with the campaign. What [former staffer] Genevieve McDonald claims isn't true," Platner said before campaign staff abruptly ended the interview.
NPR also released an interview with Platner on Monday but clarified that it was recorded prior to the latest reports.
Platner has also faced a number of controversies before this, including a now-covered-up tattoo that resembled a Nazi symbol, and past controversial comments on Reddit minimizing sexual assault and making crude remarks about masturbation and a deleted post where he claimed a wounded soldier "didn’t deserve to live."