Can Graham Platner survive another controversy? | NPR’s Newsmakers
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hi, it's Layla Faldin here with a special episode, a conversation from our sister show, NPR's Newsmakers, where we interview some of the most influential people of our time. Today, Graham Platner, Democratic Senate candidate from Maine. You can hear more interviews like this one on Newsmakers. Follow or subscribe to the show on Spotify, YouTube or wherever you watch or listen. You can also find it in the NPR app.
What controversies surround Graham Platner's campaign?
And now here's our episode with Graham Platner. The path to turning the Senate blue runs in part through the state of Maine, and that hinges on the presumptive Democratic nominee, Graham Platner. But Platner's controversial past keeps catching up with him. On May 30th, reports emerged that Plattner exchanged sexually explicit messages with multiple women early in his marriage.
His wife, Amy Gertner, defended him in a video posted on X. I think it's shameful behavior to spend time and energy and resources on negative ads and negative stories on Graham when all he's trying to do is improve the lives of people who work for a living.
The controversies around Plattner don't end there. And they raise a big question. Does he have too much baggage to carry on? Or can his anti-establishment political message that has generated so much enthusiasm among the Democratic base... carry him through. I spoke to Graham Plattner in Maine before news broke of these explicit messages. We offered him a follow-up interview to discuss the latest scandal. His campaign said he was too busy. But Plattner provided a statement that read in part, I've learned throughout this campaign that people don't care about gossip or headlines. They care that you're fighting for their hospitals, their paycheck, their kids.
How does Graham Platner view the role of organized labor in politics?
Thank you so much for sitting down with me.
Of course. Thanks for having me.
So we're sitting here. This is Maine Carpenters Union?
Yep.
I want to talk about why we're having the conversation we are here at this place, what it means to you.
I firmly believe that... re-empowering organized labor is going to be one of the keys to building the power necessary to really take back our democracy from corporate interests, honestly, from the interest of money, from the interest of billionaires. Historically, organized labor has always really been the kind of foundation of any kind of real movement politics that is able to advocate for working people. And so being able to build a close relationship with labor being able to go be an advocate for labor in the United States Senate. This is a pretty, I don't know, core part of my politics. And so the relationships I've been able to build with the unions here in Maine, I mean, it's been an absolute honor.
And it also is, I think, kind of core to the project we're undertaking, which is turning the Democratic Party back into the party of working people. back into the party that represents the interests of those who work and, frankly, those who are often exploited. And you can't represent the interests of those who are exploited and represent the interests of those who are exploiting them at the same time. But for quite some time now, there's an element of the party that has tried to do that.
So you're saying the Democratic Party right now is not a party for the working class?
I think if you ask working people in this country, which they would say no, which is reflected in the polling at the moment and has been for quite some time.
Why does Platner believe the Democratic Party needs to change?
The disapproval ratings for the president are bad, but for the party, they're worse.
That's right.
So why did you choose to run as a Democrat?
Oh, because I am one. I mean, I've been a registered Democrat my entire life, and I firmly believe that the Democratic Party should be the party of labor unions, should be the party of community organizations, should be the party of civil rights organizations, should be the party that advocates continuously for systemic and structural change that is going to make this society uplift all of us, instead of creating structures that allow for the consolidation of wealth and power and keep that wealth and power in the hands of very few.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:03–0:32
2
What controversies surround Graham Platner's campaign?
0:32–1:56
3
How does Graham Platner view the role of organized labor in politics?
1:56–3:39
4
Why does Platner believe the Democratic Party needs to change?
3:39–5:51
5
What qualifications does Platner claim to have for the Senate?
5:51–7:32
6
How does Platner respond to accusations about his past?
7:32–8:58
7
What is Platner's stance on masculinity and its portrayal in politics?
8:58–10:36
8
How does Platner differentiate his campaign from traditional politics?
10:36–49:17
Speakers
5 identifiedMore from Up First from NPR
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