ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel became the first broadcast network comedian to mention Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner and his many scandals. However, Kimmel did not do so to condemn Democrats but to claim that if he loses, Republicans will nominate him for president in 2028. Later in his primary election recap, Kimmel would continue his strange new respect for Republicans like Thomas Massie and Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Kimmel recapped that, “There were primary elections in four states yesterday. In Maine, Democrats overwhelmingly voted for Graham Platner for Senate despite a number of embarrassing scandals, including revelations of a Nazi-esque tattoo on his body, sexting with women while he's married, and allegations of abuse.”
Jimmy Kimmel broke his silence on Graham Platner and it was dumber than you thought, "Democrats overwhelmingly voted for Graham Platner for Senate despite a number of embarrassing scandals, including revelations of a Nazi-esque tattoo on his body, sexting with women while he's… pic.twitter.com/Ief8ghxJt5
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) June 11, 2026
Quickly getting back to his regular programming of attacking Republicans, Kimmel added, “If Democrats cannot get him into the Senate, word is the Republicans are planning to nominate him for president in 2028.”
While Republicans aren’t going to nominate someone who has spoken well of communism, Kimmel moved on to primaries in South Carolina, “Senator Lindsey Graham won his primary in South Carolina. That wasn’t an easy race. It was Lindsey’s biggest win since he scored that sweet little mermaid bubble wand at Disney World. Also, in South Carolina, Congresswoman Nancy Mace did not make the cut for the November runoff for governor. Mace ended in fifth place, or as Republicans in California call it, she won. And while Nancy can now get back to her important work monitoring the genitalia of people going into public restrooms.”
However, he did have one positive thing to say about Mace: “She was also one of few Republicans pushing for the release of the Trump-Epstein Files. Trump went after all of them. Thomas Massie, Nancy, Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene. It’s almost as if he has something to hide in these things.”
Kimmel’s strange new respects are quite telling. While Democrats stand by their guy, Kimmel claims Republican voters are actually attracted to Platner’s tattoo. In reality, they successfully primaried Massie, who spent his concession speech spreading tropes about nefarious Jewish money—something Greene has also been known to traffic in—and has recently spent his time trying to resurrect conspiracy theories about the USS Liberty. However, none of that matters to Kimmel.
Here is a transcript for the June 10-taped show:
ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live!
6/11/2026
12:23 AM ET
JIMMY KIMMEL: There were primary elections in four states yesterday. In Maine, Democrats overwhelmingly voted for Graham Platner for Senate despite a number of embarrassing scandals, including revelations of a Nazi-esque tattoo on his body, sexting with women while he's married, and allegations of abuse. If Democrats cannot get him into the Senate, word is the Republicans are planning to nominate him for president in 2028.
Senator Lindsey Graham won his primary in South Carolina. That wasn’t an easy race. It was Lindsey’s biggest win since he scored that sweet little mermaid bubble wand at Disney World.
Also, in South Carolina, Congresswoman Nancy Mace did not make the cut for the November runoff for governor. Mace ended in fifth place, or as Republicans in California call it, she won. And while Nancy can now get back to her important work monitoring the genitalia of people going into public restrooms, she was also one of few Republicans pushing for the release of the Trump-Epstein Files. Trump went after all of them. Thomas Massie, Nancy, Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene. It’s almost as if he has something to hide in these things.
