President Donald Trump very much told on himself when he attempted to cry foul over Maine Democrat Graham Platner's primary win for U.S. Senate following Platner's unearthed controversies.
Trump is an adjudicated rapist whose name appears in the Epstein files 38,000 times. His supporters participated in a failed insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in 2021 and he was even convicted in a campaign finance fraud case. He has launched a war in Iran that kicked off a global energy crisis, sending gas prices soaring and exacerbating a nationwide affordability crisis.
He has been pretty much mired in controversy since his days as a real estate mogul propped up by his wealthy father and leads an administration that has thought nothing of committing egregious human rights violations and prosecuting political opponents left and right.
And despite all of that, he seems convinced that there's "never been a guy" like Platner running for office, criticizing Democrats for deigning to support him:
"He was so bad. He's a bad guy, just a bad guy. He must be laughing up his sleeve when he looks at these idiots going, 'He's okay, he's okay.' Can you imagine if the Republicans had him?”
“I really believe it, if it meant losing the Senate, you would not let that happen. It's a terrible thing, watching it unfolding. There’s never been a guy like that who’s ever run for office at any level.”
"And the excuses they come up with every day with everybody coming forward with proven stuff. Even his business... he's not a businessman at all. His parents supported him. The guy's a loser. Other than that, he might be very nice."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
When Trump made his remarks with no sense of irony, he was responding to news that Platner secured the Democratic nomination by decisively defeating incumbent Governor Janet Mills and Professor David Costello. He had roughly 75% of the vote compared with Mills' 19% when the race was called on Tuesday evening.
Platner's candidacy has been overshadowed by a string of controversies, including old offensive Reddit posts, a tattoo that critics said resembled Nazi imagery before it was covered up, and allegations that he exchanged sexual messages with other women while married. Those issues have raised questions about his ability to defeat Susan Collins this November.
And while Platner has continued to face questions while pledging to "be a senator for the people who cannot afford to buy a senator," Trump really is the last person who should be speaking out against Platner running for office considering his own sordid history and that of Republicans who've run for office despite sexual assault accusations and a host of other scandals.
Perhaps the biggest race Americans have their eyes on this year is the one in Texas, where Democrat James Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton, the state's attorney general, are competing for the Senate.
Did we mention that Trump endorsed Paxton, who was indicted in 2015 on state securities fraud charges and was later impeached on charges of improperly helping a political donor who allegedly bribed him, misusing state resources, retaliating against whistleblowers, interfering in his securities fraud case, and failing to accurately disclose financial interests?
Trump was swiftly called out for his hypocrisy.
For all of Trump's hand-wringing, it's worth noting that Republicans have often overlooked similar or more serious controversies involving their own candidates.
If Platner had an "R" next to his name, many in the GOP would likely dismiss his scandals and rally behind him anyway, much as they have with Trump himself.

















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