After many weeks of covering up for Maine Democrat Senate candidate Graham Platner’s Nazi tattoo and Reddit post scandals, a new sexting scandal finally forced the Elitist Media Evening News to cover everything. However, there still remains one notable holdout.
The CBS Evening News broke the ice tonight, with a full report near the top of the newscast. Below is that report in its entirety (click “expand” to view transcript):
WATCH: @CBSEveningNews runs a full A-block report on the various Platner scandals. Sexting, Nazi tat, Reddit posts. The report closes by noting that Janet Mills is still on the ballot.
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) June 2, 2026
TONY DOKOUPIL: Staying with politics and the new questions of character hanging over a key… pic.twitter.com/OulutFqGt4
CBS EVENING NEWS
6/1/26
6:36 PM
TONY DOKOUPIL: Staying with politics and the new questions of character hanging over a key race not in Texas this time but in Maine, where Democrats’ plans to retake control of the U.S. Senate involve flipping a seat with a popular outsider candidate named Graham Platner. Trouble is that candidate, married since 2023, has been texting sexual messages to women not his wife. CBS News Political Correspondent Caitlin Huey-Burns has details.
HUEY-BURNS: The likely Senate Democratic nominee, Graham Platner, is under fire tonight after he sent sexually explicit text messages to at least half a dozen women after he got married in 2023. The Maine oyster farmer and Marine Corps veteran called it "gossip."
GRAHAM PLATNER: The Wall Street Journal and New York Times ran stories without any evidence.
HUEY-BURNS: But his own campaign confirmed the texts are real. His wife Amy had alerted campaign staff about the messages, worried they could be a liability in the race.
AMY PLATNER: No marriage is perfect. And I don't want a perfect marriage. I want my marriage.
HUEY-BURNS: Platner is not new to controversy. After saying he didn't know a chest tattoo he got while drunk in 2007 was a recognized Nazi symbol, he had it covered up.
PLATNER: This far more represents who I am now.
HUEY-BURNS: In now deleted Reddit posts, he called himself “a Communist” and said "Why don't black people tip?" Many Democrats have been hoping Platner could flip the Senate seat long held by Republican Susan Collins, a seat they need to win to take the Senate majority. But reaction among Democrats to the newest controversy is mixed.
BERNIE SANDERS: Graham Platner is running an extraordinarily strong campaign.
CORY BOOKER: Yeah, I have concerns. The guy has questions to answer and that's what campaigns are for.
HUEY-BURNS: Now, the Democratic primary is just eight days away, and Platner is still poised to win. His top opponent, Democratic Governor Janet Mills, dropped out of the race but as she reminded a local newspaper today, her name will still be on the ballot next week. Tony.
DOKOUPIL: Caitlin, thank you very much.
This is a full story, with reporting on the sexting scandal, the Nazi tattoos, and the Reddit posts (with some damning quotes). Although correspondent Caitlin Huey-Burns framed Platner as the likely Senate nominee, she closed out her report by noting that Governor Janet Mills is still on the ballot.
NBC Nightly News was the first of the broadcast network newscasts to break the ice on Platner last night, and followed up with another report today. Here is the fresh report from Congressional Correspondent Ryan Nobles in its entirety (click “expand” to view transcript):
WATCH: @NBCNightlyNews runs a second full report on the various Platner scandals. SS Totenkopf tat in full view for the first time.
— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) June 2, 2026
TOM LLAMAS: We want to turn to the midterms now because it may be the most important Senate race for both parties this year, and tonight, the… pic.twitter.com/vSlb0UT47S
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS
6/1/26
6:39 PM
TOM LLAMAS: We want to turn to the midterms now because it may be the most important Senate race for both parties this year, and tonight, the Democratic candidate in Maine is facing a new scandal with revelations he was sending sexually explicit texts to half a dozen women while married. Now the candidate and his wife are speaking out. Here's Ryan Nobles.
NOBLES: Tonight, Graham Platner, the oyster farmer whose insurgent Senate campaign caught fire with Democrats in Maine now addressing his latest scandal.
GRAHAM PLATNER: Amy and I have a very loving and happy marriage. They would very much like to rip that apart.
NOBLES: His campaign admitting he sent sexually explicit text messages to half a dozen women while he was married. His wife had brought the texts to the campaign’s attention. Their existence was leaked to the media by a former staffer.
AMY PLATNER: I find it really shameful that there's a group of media outlets and people who are willing to spread gossip.
NOBLES: The sexting scandal the latest controversy for Platner, who is running against longtime GOP Senator Susan Collins. There's a series of Platner's inflammatory social media posts including where he blamed victims for rape, and said a Purple Heart veteran who was shot by the Taliban “didn't deserve to live.”
SUSAN COLLINS: I can't tell you the number of veterans who have contacted us to say how deeply offended they were by Platner's comments.
NOBLES: And then there's the tattoo Platner acquired during his time in the military that resembles a Nazi SS symbol. He said he was unaware of the meaning of the tattoo and has since covered it up, and has apologized for some of his posts. Tonight, Platner facing Democratic criticism…
CORY BOOKER: Yeah, I have concerns. The guy has questions to answer and that’s what campaigns are for.
NOBLES: …but also renewed support.
BERNIE SANDERS: Do I think he can win? Absolutely. And we desperately need somebody like him here in the US Senate.
NOBLES: The latest polling shows Platner leading Collins. The last time she ran for reelection, Collins was trailing in the polls but still won comfortably. Tom.
LLAMAS: Ryan, thank you.
The report hit familiar themes: Platner’s popularity, the sexting scandal, the wild Reddit posts, and the Nazi tattoo. Here, for the first time, NBC gives the public a first viewing of the Nazi SS Toenkopf tattooed on Platner’s chest. The report then cuts to a video of Platner showing off the new tattoo that covered up the Totenkopf.
The report closes out with the same Democrat soundbites as CBS (Bernie Sanders and Cory Booker as pro/con), and with the same bit of campaign uncertainty. While CBS closed out by noting that Janet Mills is still on the ballot, NBC closed out by acknowledging that Collins has previously overcome big polling disadvantages.
For those keeping score, that’s two reports for NBC, one for CBS, and none for ABC- which could not muster the time to cover this ongoing cluster of scandals. Instead, World News Tonight went with Sabrina Carpenter’s stalker, the NC cop that got fired for roughing up a woman, and the latest update on the hunt for the missing Laos gold miners.
One reasonably imagines that a Republican with Platner’s scandal history would draw (D)ifferent coverage at ABC. But Platner himself? They can Nazi themselves covering these scandals- at least not yet.
