On Friday, MS NOW’s Morning Joe hosted an interview with Democratic Maine Senate Candidate Graham Platner, poised to be the Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine. The supposed anti-establishment candidate went on the largest, liberal establishment morning talk show to discuss his campaign, as the hosts glanced over his controversies, which include Platner’s Nazi tattoo and his past comments on Reddit about women and other topics.The only mention of any controversy was a lobbed softball from occasional co-host Willie Geist about the Republicans’ framing of Platner as “too radical” for Maine.Joe Scarborough’s first question to Platner asked him if he would “actually exercise” Article I of the Constitution, as he set up Platner to go on an anti-Iran war speech.Platner said, “We have seen, time and time again, Congress handing over war powers to the executive branch. And we need people in the halls of power who want to claw that power back.” Co-host Mika Brzezinski asked about current Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) who he would replace if elected. Platner attacked the Big, Beautiful Bill and then went to the normal progressive, Bernie Sanders-like phrases and points about billionaires, corporations, and companies like Palantir: Finally, one of the hosts brought up the backlash to Platner and the points of interest against him, including posts on Reddit and a Nazi tattoo on his chest. But, Geist posed the question as just “Republican attacks” and paired the question of radicalization with, simply, “past comments” that he might regret:Platner took the question first about radicalization, which he based on an economic wealth gap fight, similar to a campaign speech by Bernie and AOC. As for his past comments, he repeated a line about him being isolated after combat tours and said he had become a changed man.Jonathan Lemire then posed a question about Platner as an anti-establishment candidate, while he was on the most Democratic establishment talk show. Platner pledged to work with the Democratic leadership, including Senator Chuck Schumer (NY), but also promised his campaign would remain grassroots. At the end of the interview, Scarborough compared himself to Platner: “It’s what happened to me. I actually, I had party leaders working against me around the clock. Said I was too radical to get elected.”Scarborough definitely did not have a Nazi tattoo on his chest, and he almost certainly was not a Redditor when he ran for Congress. But even with the controversies, he was definitely their candidate now.The transcript is below. Click “expand”:
MS NOW’s Morning Joe
May 1, 2026
Read Full Article: https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/nicholas-spinnato/2026/05/02/morning-joes-graham-platner-love-fest-interview-glances-over
