Capehart Says Trump And Republicans Are Why Platner Shouldn't Drop Out

Alex Christy
June 6th, 2026 9:39 AM

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MS NOW host Jonathan Capehart joined Friday’s PBS News Hour to discuss the abuse allegations made by Lyndsey Fifield against far-left Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner. When asked if Platner should drop out of the race, Capehart eventually said no because it is unfair to hold anyone running for office to any moral standard because Donald Trump is currently the president. Thankfully, The Atlantic staff writer David Brooks was not his usual amenable self and countered that if Democrats vote for Platner then he doesn't want to hear any more denunciations of Trump.

After recapping Fifield’s accusations and Platner’s denials, host Amna Nawaz asked Capehart, “Jonathan, this is a candidate who has now had to explain away a Nazi tattoo, sexting other women early in his marriage, and now this. He's not dropping out of the race, should he?”

 

 

Initially, Capehart spent several words not answering the question. Eventually, he did get around to declaring, “I look at Platner through the prism of where we are in terms of the Trump administration and the Trump world, given who Trump is, given the allegations against the president, given the way that lots and lots of people in the Republican Party just turned a blind eye and decided, we still want to vote for this guy.”

He closed with a warning, “The one last thing that everyone in Maine has to worry about is Senator Susan Collins. I mean, Democrats really want that seat, but Senator Collins has shown over multiple campaigns that, one, she runs like she's losing, and then, on Election Day, she outperforms the polls.”

Nawaz then turned to Brooks, “David, I should also note here, because the woman, Lyndsey Fifield, we mentioned has worked for Republican and conservative campaigns and issues in the past, some people are dismissing this as politically motivated. How are you looking at all this?”

Brooks wasn’t having it and added some more Platner scandals to the conversation, “The guy is a moral degenerate. The abuse of women, the sexting, the Nazi tattoo, I don't even need to say anything beyond his Reddit posts, which are not in the past, by the way. He did that for a long time, abusing rape — people who might have been raped, diminishing rape in the military, insulting fellow military officers, calling himself a communist.”

He added, “It's just — it's a pathetic empty guy who postures in a way that's kind of repulsive. There are 330 million Americans, and there are 100 senators. We can't have a decent human being in those 100? Like, we have got to settle for this?”

 

 

Brooks also dreaded, “Democrats are supporting Platner for the same reason the Trump people are supporting Trump. It's because 20 or 30 or 40 or 50 years ago, we sort of privatized morality. We told people we're not going to teach morality in schools. We're going to — you — it's up to you to come up with your own values.”

Describing his criteria for electing a senator, Brooks elaborated, “First, is the person we're electing to a public office a person of basic integrity? And, second, do I agree with them? But if you haven't — if you have gotten rid of the first criteria, then you have weakened your democracy. And Republicans clearly did that with Trump. And now Democrats really — if they side with Platner, I don't want to hear too much about Trump in the future and his moral degeneracy.”

Nawaz then turned back to Capehart, “Jonathan, to that point, I guess, it is absolutely, ultimately up to the people of Maine, right? They will vote and they will decide and have their voice. We're old enough to remember congressional Democrats pushing Al Franken out of office. Right? So have the standards changed over time, but also based on how close they are to the election process?”

Capehart alleged they had while absurdly claiming he agreed with Brooks, “Yes, I think standards have changed a little bit. And, you know, David's moral indignation over Platner is something that I share. But I'm also looking at the fact that, well, we do have Donald Trump in the White House and that, yeah, moral degeneracy is coming right from the top.”

 

 

He concluded by stating, “And, to David's point, there is a cost to that if he does win. If he doesn't win, it's going to be very painful for Democrats and, in the end, painful for the country, from the Democratic perspective, because they're hoping that seat puts them — helps to put them in the majority.”

Nawaz and Capehart want to keep talking about Trump, but you could always look further back in history. Before Trump there was Democrats’ defense of Bill Clinton. Still, Franken was replaced by another Democrat, but it was not that long ago that there was a liberal Democratic senator from dark red Alabama because the GOP candidate was also an alleged sexual predator. Meanwhile, Susan Collins is the most liberal Republican senator, the kind of Republican liberals say they want, but Capehart wants the seat because he wants Democrats to have power, and it really is that simple.

Here is a transcript for the June 5 show:

PBS News Hour

6/5/2026

7:27 PM ET

AMNA NAWAZ: Jonathan, this is a candidate who has now had to explain away a Nazi tattoo, sexting other women early in his marriage, and now this. He's not dropping out of the race, should he?

JONATHAN CAPEHART: You know, I think there's some Democrats in the Senate in particular who would love for him to step aside. There's a story in The Washington Post today about how he'd been telling folks, Democrats, don't worry — when the Nazi tattoo thing came out, don't worry, there are no other skeletons in the closet. And yet this past week, we have seen two big skeletons come out. 

The fact that Governor Mills only suspended her campaign, did not drop out, and telling people at least twice now, “Hey, I'm still on the ballot,” signaling maybe could more things be coming, and also signaling to Democrats, “Hey, if something does happen with Platner and he has to get out, I'm still here.”

But the issue here is, it's not going to be congressional — it's not going to be congressional Democrats, national Democrats who are going to tell Platner to get out of the race. Folks in Maine are still behind him. Some of the interviews that we have had on MS NOW, you have had folk — Mainers saying, he's not perfect, he's not this, he's not that, but we need a change.

And so that's the one thing he has going for him. And, again, I look at Platner through the prism of where we are in terms of the Trump administration and the Trump world, given who Trump is, given the allegations against the president, given the way that lots and lots of people in the Republican Party just turned a blind eye and decided, we still want to vote for this guy.

And so I think there might be — there are a lot of Mainers who are thinking the same thing, that he is their guy. But the one last thing that everyone in Maine has to worry about is Senator Susan Collins. I mean, Democrats really want that seat, but Senator Collins has shown over multiple campaigns that, one, she runs like she's losing, and then, on Election Day, she outperforms the polls.

NAWAZ: David, I should also note here, because the woman, Lyndsey Fifield, we mentioned has worked for Republican and conservative campaigns and issues in the past, some people are dismissing this as politically motivated. How are you looking at all this?

DAVID BROOKS The guy is a moral degenerate. The abuse of women, the sexting, the Nazi tattoo, I don't even need to say anything beyond his Reddit posts, which are not in the past, by the way. He did that for a long time, abusing rape — people who might have been raped, diminishing rape in the military, insulting fellow military officers, calling himself a communist.

It's just — it's a pathetic empty guy who postures in a way that's kind of repulsive. There are 330 million Americans, and there are 100 senators. We can't have a decent human being in those 100? Like, we have got to settle for this?

You know, I just think the people — the Democrats are supporting Platner for the same reason the Trump people are supporting Trump. It's because 20 or 30 or 40 or 50 years ago, we sort of privatized morality. We told people we're not going to teach morality in schools. We're going to — you — it's up to you to come up with your own values.

And the problem when you do that is that unless your name is Aristotle you probably can't come up with your own moral philosophy. And so what happens, you have a lot of people in this country, Republicans and Democrats, who are good people, but they're morally inarticulate. They're morally undeveloped. They haven't developed the criteria to even think about, what is my role here?

What is his role? How — what is excellence to find in this role? What is moral excellence as a journalist, as a teacher, as a senator? And we're going to make decisions on a two-stage basis? First, is the person we're electing to a public office a person of basic integrity? And, second, do I agree with them?

But if you haven't — if you have gotten rid of the first criteria, then you have weakened your democracy. And Republicans clearly did that with Trump. And now Democrats really — if they side with Platner, I don't want to hear too much about Trump in the future and his moral degeneracy.

NAWAZ: Jonathan, to that point, I guess, it is absolutely, ultimately up to the people of Maine, right? They will vote and they will decide and have their voice. We're old enough to remember congressional Democrats pushing Al Franken out of office.

CAPEHART: Yeah.

NAWAZ: Right? So have the standards changed over time, but also based on how close they are to the election process?

CAPEHART: Yes, I think standards have changed a little bit. And, you know, David's moral indignation over Platner is something that I share. But I'm also looking at the fact that, well, we do have Donald Trump in the White House and that, yeah, moral degeneracy is coming right from the top.

And I'm looking at this, again, through the prism of Democrats, particularly Mainers. I don’t want to put all Democrats saying that they're supporting Platner, but the folks in Maine have clearly decided, if you look at the latest polling, that they right now don't care about his past, they just want to win the seat.

And, to David's point, there is a cost to that if he does win. If he doesn't win, it's going to be very painful for Democrats and, in the end, painful for the country, from the Democratic perspective, because they're hoping that seat puts them — helps to put them in the majority.

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