CNN Panelist: Ignore Platner Sexting Scandal, Skip ‘Purity Culture’

On Monday’s edition of CNN This Morning, a panel discussing the Senate race in Maine featured Rep. Johnny Olszewski (D-Md.) defending scandal-plagued candidate Graham Platner. While admitting that Platner's scandals would give him pause as a voter, Olszewski quickly pivoted to attacking incumbent Senator Susan Collins. She "isn't doing enough to stand up to Dnald Trump and his corruption."

Are we talking about the same Republican senator who voted to convict President Trump in his second impeachment trial, Congressman? 

Olszewski claimed "I'm looking for candidates who address cost and corruption, and that's something Mr. Platner is doing, notwithstanding the concerns."

Riiiight.

CNN panelist and TikTok babbler V. Spehar then weighed in, agreeing with the freshman congressman: "We need to be talking about what we're gonna do for people, not what any kind of scandal coming up is, because there's so much getting lost in the conversations that we're having if we're trying to police, and do purity culture on every single candidate, and that's kind of an issue."

Great point, V! Because the Democrats and the liberal media haven't spent years obsessing over every real and imagined scandal involving Donald Trump, or literally policing him, right down to mug shots and multiple criminal trials. Oh, wait.

But when one of their own faces serious allegations, suddenly policing "scandals" and “purity culture” are bad -- let's just focus on substance!

The double standard was glaring. For Democrats and their media allies, scandals are only disqualifying when they involve Republicans.

Here's the transcript.

CNN This Morning
6/1/26
6:51 am EDT

AUDIE CORNISH: So I want to ask you about that Maine Senate race. You had Platner really being quite ahead, obviously. Kind of an insurgent campaign that Democrats hadn't really planned for. Now that another scandal has hit him, do you think he should drop out? What do you think the response should be?

JOHNNY OLSZEWSKI: I mean, look, as a voter, the totality of some of the reports we've heard would give me pause. But what also gives me great pause is the fact that the incumbent senator isn't doing enough to stand up to Donald Trump and his corruption, who broke her own pledge to serve, self-imposed term limits, speaking of term limits, and the fact that we have a president who was convicted of sexual assault, who was mentioned and accused by a thirteen-year-old girl in the Epstein files of rape, that no one's talking about that and we're focused here. 

So yes, as a voter, it would give me serious pause. This is gonna be a question for Mainers to weigh. But I'm looking for candidates who address cost and corruption, and that's something Mr. Platner is doing, notwithstanding the concerns.

CORNISH: [Looking a V. Spehar] I saw you nodding there. There have been so many progressive voices who are like, "I'm gonna put my own money into this primary." There's a lot of meddling going on in general.

V. SPEHAR: There is, and we all can't wait for tomorrow to come soon enough, especially in creator land. We're not saved by that.

The thing that I think I was nodding with the congressman about is when he said we need to be talking about what we're gonna do for people, not what any kind of scandal coming up is, because there's so much getting lost in the conversations that we're having if we're trying to police, and do purity culture on every single candidate, and that's kind of an issue.

CORNISH: Ooh! You're gonna like this next one, talking about policing and purity culture. We're going to talk about Pete Buttigieg -- he's always out there talking.