The Race to Replace Graham Platner

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**Dan Pfeiffer** (1:33)
Welcome to Pod Save America, I'm Dan Pfeiffer.

**Alex Wagner** (1:35)
And I'm Alex Wagner.

**Dan Pfeiffer** (1:36)
Jon is off this week. On today's show, Grant Platt and her suspensions campaign against Susan Collins, and now there's a very crowded, very chaotic race to succeed him. The war in Iran appears to be starting back up again, even though Donald Trump is confused about the name of the country he's attacking, that's a real thing.
Then former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper talks to me about the campaign for Senate. Alex, thanks for being here today and replacing Jon.

**Alex Wagner** (1:59)
It's a pleasure, although, I mean, we all miss Jon whenever he's away. Crazy shit happens, Dan.

**Dan Pfeiffer** (2:06)
It's true. He spends his vacations in the middle of online fiascos. That's either here nor there. OK, let's start with the Platner news. Two long days after Politico broke the story that Platner had allegedly raped a former girlfriend, Platner posted an 11 minute video on Wednesday evening saying he would file the formal paperwork to withdraw his name from the ballot, but also sharing a lot of other thoughts, too.
Let's take a listen.

**Graham Platner** (2:30)
I think as many of you know, over the past couple of days, I have faced some very serious allegations, and I just want to make it clear. This is all false. I think it's really important to understand why this is happening in the timeline, why this is happening right now. I only have until July 13th until I am officially the nominee. This was the last week to try to get me off of the ballot.
And that's why this is occurring.
It's not the allegations, though, that have brought us to where we are. It's the fact that they are being used by the political establishment to put structural pressure on us. What comes next needs to come from the people. I'm not trying to dictate to anyone who it should be or how we get there, but I will say this. It needs to be open, transparent and democratic.

**Dan Pfeiffer** (3:34)
As of this recording on Thursday afternoon, Platner has not actually filed the paperwork to have his name removed. The deadline is 5 p.m. Eastern time on Monday, but there is reporting that he will wait until then to do it.
Alex, what are your thoughts on his decision to drop out and the message in that video?

**Alex Wagner** (3:50)
Asshole, asshole, asshole. Those are my thoughts.
First of all, nobody needed to hear Graham Platner uncensored for 12 minutes. The conceit in that video is preposterous. I guess we're meant to believe that a rape victim is a crisis actor, and that crisis acting as being used by the Democratic establishment to get Graham Platner out of the race, never minding that Platner's exit from the race greatly complicates the race and potentially throws it further into jeopardy.
And there's no mention, we thankfully did not play the whole video, but he never mentions any of the women who came forward on the record talking about violence and aggression, if not outright assault and rape. He never mentions and pushes back on any of those things. He just says this is all part of a deep state plot. I mean, it's totally outrageous, but maybe the most egregious part of it, I think, is the fact that he suggests the system is hopelessly flawed and corrupted and that machine politics would not abide an insurgent grassroots campaign. The mission of the establishment right now is to quash real reform and real accountability, which is you can have jaded views about the establishment, and I'm sure there's every reason for Graham Platner to have some of those and for some of his supporters to, but right now, if the goal really is to oust Susan Collins, Graham Platner needs to make people believe, he does not need to further disillusion his supporters. He does not need to spin paranoid conspiracy theories. He does not need anybody in democratic politics in Maine to feel like this system is entirely rigged against them. He needs people to believe that there can be a good outcome. He needs to put whatever momentum he has left into the next candidate, and he's done exactly the opposite. I mean, I just think it's completely unconscionable that this is the way this guy is exiting the race.