{"id":2613306,"date":"2026-06-11T08:11:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T12:11:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/graham-platners-victory-proves-the-left-never-had-a-problem-with-trumps-moral-deficiencies\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T08:15:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T12:15:11","slug":"graham-platners-victory-proves-the-left-never-had-a-problem-with-trumps-moral-deficiencies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/graham-platners-victory-proves-the-left-never-had-a-problem-with-trumps-moral-deficiencies\/","title":{"rendered":"Platner&#8217;s Victory Proves Left Doesn&#8217;t Care About Moral Deficiencies"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgraham-platners-victory-proves-the-left-never-had-a-problem-with-trumps-moral-deficiencies%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2613306&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/economist-rejects-uighur-genocide-determination\/\" title=\"\u2018Economist\u2019 Rejects Uighur Genocide Determination\">article argues<\/a> that Democrats have long claimed \u201ccharacter\u201d and moral fitness should determine political eligibility-especially in contrast to Donald Trump\u2019s conduct-but that this standard doesn\u2019t hold when the candidate is a Democrat.It points to Graham Platner\u2019s landslide win in a Maine primary despite controversies, including a Nazi tattoo sustained for years and remarks the author describes as excusing or minimizing sexual violence.  <\/p>\n<p>The piece highlights that Platner beat other candidates on the ballot,and then asks why the same Democrats who criticized Trump\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-calls-for-cuomo-to-face-impeachment-top-dems-distancing-from-ny-gov\/\" title=\"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Calls For Cuomo To Face Impeachment, Top Dems Distancing From NY Gov\">personal behavior<\/a> supported a nominee with similarly serious or worse allegations. It cites figures like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren as having argued in Trump\u2019s case for resignation\/decency and that \u201cdecent people\u201d should draw clear lines, yet the author says they later backed Platner-implying Democrats <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/jack-smith-went-after-a-republican-before-case-got-overturned-by-scotus-unanimously\/\" title=\"Jack Smith previously pursued legal action against a Republican, but the Supreme Court unanimously overturned the case.\">prioritize winning<\/a> and electoral advantage over consistent moral standards.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Ovj0H_Rws3Y>WMTW-TV\/ Youtube <\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/11\/graham-platners-victory-proves-the-left-never-had-a-problem-with-trumps-moral-deficiencies\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Graham Platner\u2019s Victory Proves The Left Never Had A Problem With Trump\u2019s Moral Deficiencies&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/11\/graham-platners-victory-proves-the-left-never-had-a-problem-with-trumps-moral-deficiencies\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Graham Platner\u2019s Victory Proves The Left Never Had A Problem With Trump\u2019s Moral Deficiencies&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/11\/graham-platners-victory-proves-the-left-never-had-a-problem-with-trumps-moral-deficiencies\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/11\/graham-platners-victory-proves-the-left-never-had-a-problem-with-trumps-moral-deficiencies\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Graham Platner\u2019s Victory Proves The Left Never Had A Problem With Trump\u2019s Moral Deficiencies&#038;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/11\/graham-platners-victory-proves-the-left-never-had-a-problem-with-trumps-moral-deficiencies\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>Since he came down the escalator 11 years ago, Donald Trump\u2019s personal conduct made him uniquely unfit for office and Americans had a moral obligation to oppose him, <em>so said Democrats. <\/em>Character mattered in politics, they told us.<\/p>\n<p>But on Tuesday, nearly 150,000 Mainers sent a different message. Democrats handed Graham Platner a landslide primary victory, a decisive win for the man who had a Nazi tattoo. And to be clear, Platner wasn\u2019t the only candidate on the ballot. Incumbent Gov. Janet Mills and former Democrat Senate nominee in 2024 David Costello were on the ballot as well. And yet it was a landslide victory for Platner. <\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-3396902878\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Platner spent 18 years bearing a Nazi tattoo and only had it removed when it became ever so slightly (emphasis on slightly) politically inconvenient. He also said women worried about rape should not \u201cget blacked out, f*cked up around people\u201d they aren\u2019t \u201ccomfortable\u201d with. He also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jun\/04\/graham-platner-maine-new-york-times-report\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">allegedly<\/a> said that if someone ever broke into his home, he would \u201crape them \u2026 [but] not in a sexual way, not in a gay way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Nazi tattoo alone would have been career suicide if it belonged to a Republican candidate, let alone all the additional scandals surrounding Platner. And yet the same people and party that <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >spent years insisting<\/a> that Trump\u2019s personal behavior (which really isn\u2019t comparable to a literal Nazi) made him uniquely disqualified from holding office just elected Platner to be their nominee. <\/p>\n<p>If character were truly the defining issue as we\u2019ve been told for a decade, why didn\u2019t the standard apply here?<\/p>\n<p>The answer is obvious if you just look at some of the very same Democrats who spent years lecturing Americans abut decency standards. <\/p>\n<p>In 2017, Sen. Bernie Sanders <a href=\"https:\/\/www.factcheck.org\/2017\/12\/trumps-rare-apology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">suggested<\/a> it was \u201cabsurd\u201d that Trump had not offered his resignation over the <em>Access Hollywood<\/em> tape. The message was that certain conduct disqualifies someone from holding office. Yet Sanders has been one of Platner\u2019s most outspoken supporters, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=BhxCPnM_fMk\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">saying<\/a>, \u201cThere are no saints in the United States Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/politics\/elizabeth-warren-labels-trump-a-loser-but-also-a-threat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Elizabeth Warren<\/a> has called Trump a \u201cbully\u201d who \u201cattack[s] women\u201d and is indecent \u2014 something \u201cdecent people everywhere\u201d should say \u201cNo more\u201d to. Despite Platner\u2019s excusing of rape and alleged sexual and physical abuse of women, Warren has thrown her support behind Platner. <\/p>\n<p>For years, Democrats asked voters to consider moral fitness above political party, Warren herself implored Republicans to prioritize decency over politics. And yet when faced with a candidate on their own side with baggage that would \u2014 and should \u2014 disqualify any Republican, those same people who lectured us on \u201cdecency\u201d are now defending the indecent and indefensible because the truth is, Democrats\u2019 don\u2019t <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hbos-new-season-of-true-detective-is-a-shallow-woke-slap-in-the-face-to-the-series-fans-and-legacy\/\" title=\"HBO&#039;s latest &#039;True Detective&#039; season disappoints fans and tarnishes the series&#039; legacy\">prioritize character<\/a>, they prioritize winning. Democrats never actually had a problem with Trump\u2019s moral hiccups, they just had a problem that he was beating them. It\u2019s the inverse reason why they have no problem with Platner: if he can give the party an extra vote, that\u2019s all that matters.<\/p>\n<p>Heck, at this point I\u2019m convinced Democrats would elect Hitler himself if it meant gaining an extra Senate seat. <\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Brianna Lyman<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/briannalyman2\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@briannalyman2<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/briannalyman\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/bernie-sanders\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Bernie Sanders<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/elizabeth-warren\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Elizabeth Warren<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/graham-platner\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Graham Platner<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/maine\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Maine<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Democrats once said character mattered and that Trump was uniquely unfit for office. But despite Graham Platner\u2019s Nazi tattoo and other allegations, nearly 150,000 Mainers still gave him a landslide primary win. The piece argues Democrats preached decency only when it helped them politically, and will overlook serious misconduct to win elections<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2613307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-10-at-11.31.12-PM-scaled-e1781148893660-1024x577.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3728,50798,5894,36625],"class_list":["post-2613306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-election","tag-liberalism-2","tag-politics","tag-social-justice"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-10-at-11.31.12-PM-scaled-e1781148893660-1024x577.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2613306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2613306"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2613306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2613311,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2613306\/revisions\/2613311"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2613307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2613306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2613306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2613306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}