Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner faced sharp criticism Monday from co-hosts of ABC's The View, including one who said she still supports his candidacy despite her own characterization of his character.
Sunny Hostin said on air that she found herself conflicted over Platner's mounting controversies. She acknowledged serious concerns about him but argued that Democratic control of Congress outweighs those concerns.
"So he's a liar, a racist, an anti-Semite. He's a homophobe," she said. "So he has all the things and character does matter. But we have someone that has almost unbridled power in the White House at this point. There are no checks and balances and the only way that we can maybe bring a bit of our democracy back is by having a Congress that functions and that has these checks and balances. And I do think one of the only ways is to win that seat in Maine."
Platner has faced a series of controversies in recent weeks. They include criticism over a tattoo with links to Nazi imagery, resurfaced Reddit posts containing inflammatory comments about veterans, sexual assault, and political opponents, and reports of sexually explicit messages exchanged with other women during his marriage. His campaign confirmed the explicit text exchanges to Politico after a Wall Street Journal report first surfaced the story.
Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin took a different position. She argued that Platner's character issues went far beyond the text message controversy.
"To be honest, his sexting is the least of my concerns with this guy," she said. "Graham Plattner trashed a Purple Heart recipient, said he didn't deserve to live, defamed fallen Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, downplayed how hard it is to report sexual assault in the military, repeatedly used anti-gay slurs and homophobic posts as recently as 2021, called himself an avowed communist, and has a Nazi tattoo for 20 years that he's since covered up."
Griffin also pushed back on the idea that Platner's seat was the only path to a Democratic Senate majority. "This guy just seems like a guy of not very good character, and there are a lot of options in this country. And by the way, there are other paths for Democrats to win," she said.
Co-host Sara Haines agreed that Platner was unfit for office. She focused specifically on comments he made about a decorated veteran.
"The Purple Heart recipient, by the way, the video he insulted, was a man who took fire to save his team. And he said, this stupid guy should have died. It's only because they didn't have good aim that he's here. If you were capable of saying that at any time in your life, you've shown me who you are, and I heard you," Haines said.
"This man should be nowhere near Congress," she continued. "We've already got a wealth of people we need out. We're not sending one like this in."
Platner's campaign did not return a request for comment from Fox News Digital. The controversy has also prompted speculation about a little-known Maine ballot replacement provision that could affect the race before November.
