“The things that have been claimed did not happen. It’s not real,” he said, later adding, “This was the last week to try to get me off of the ballot, and that’s why this is occurring.”

Platner issued a searing indictment of the political establishment he blamed for upending his insurgent Senate campaign.

“We went toe to toe with one of the most entrenched political systems in the history of the world and we won,” he said. “We beat them on June 9 in overwhelming numbers. We did it the right way. We built a campaign, we engaged in electoral politics, we motivated people, we banded together, we did it the way that we were told we are supposed to make change. And we won.”

Then, in words that could later feature in a campaign ad, Platner continued, “And now they are not going to let us have it. Not if it’s me. And so we’re suspending campaign operations.”

“This is exactly the kind of political system that everyone voted against on June 9,” Platner said.

This could easily be read by voters as a failure to take personal responsibility for offensive social media posts, a Nazi tattoo, a sexting scandal, messy romantic relationships, allegations of violent outbursts, and now an accusation of sexual assault from a former girlfriend who broadly shares his politics.

But Planter hails from a movement that believes the American system is corrupt, racist, and oppressive. He is a protege of socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), whose supporters believe he was cheated out of the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 and that the party establishment colluded against him in 2020.

The socialist uprising inside the Democratic Party is billed as an attempt to overthrow the donor class. Now Platner is saying that the donors can stop him from beating Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and effectively erase his primary win.

“We’re not doing it because of the allegations,” Platner said of his decision to suspend his campaign. “We’re doing it because of the structure being taken away from us by those in power.”

If they can take it away from Platner, why not other progressive Democrats?

Noting that it was the last week to remove him from the ballot, Platner again blamed political elites for the end of his campaign. “It’s not the false allegations, though, that have brought us to where we are,” he said. “It’s the fact that they are being used by the political establishment to put structural pressure on us. We live in a political system that is not built for normal people.”

“It is a system that is built structurally to make sure that movements like ours cannot flourish,” he added. “That if they begin to succeed, they can be crushed.”

And if you believe Platner’s rationale for stepping aside, it worked here.

Platner praised his donors, supporters, and grassroots activists, expressing confidence that they could win — if the powers that be would allow it. “But the brutal political reality is, they are going to take everything away from us,” he said. “Those in power who have the ability to do so are using these allegations as an excuse to take away all of the things we need to run a campaign.”

These words could get Platner supporters to redouble their efforts, especially if Maine Democrats choose at their convention one of the other progressive options.

But Platner’s withdrawal speech could keep his voters on the sidelines in November as well, punishing a Democratic establishment that never wanted him to be the nominee in the first place.

Platner didn’t acknowledge that most of his top backers on the Left, including Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), pulled their endorsements and joined calls for him to leave the race.

“Graham Platner made the right decision to step aside,” the Sanders-aligned political group Our Revolution said in a statement. “Our Revolution rescinded our endorsement earlier this week, and we said clearly this is not the Democratic establishment’s opening to hand-pick a replacement.”

“We were asking for real democracy and we did it the right way and we won,” Platner said. “But now the ball is in the court of the Democratic establishment.”

It’s in the court of the Platner wing of the party, too.

FETTERMAN TELLS SANDERS TO APOLOGIZE FOR ENDORSING ‘PREDATOR’ GRAHAM PLATNER

“We’re gonna win someday,” Platner concluded.

A lot is riding on whether his voters believe that.