A bitter public feud between Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner is exposing growing fractures within the Democratic Party as left-wing activists and establishment figures increasingly find themselves at odds ahead of the 2026 midterms.
The latest clash erupted Sunday when Platner, speaking at a town hall in Maine, referred to Fetterman with a profanity while discussing lawmakers he would potentially work alongside in Washington. &#8220;The Senate really is a place of relationships,&#8221; Platner <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/platner-calls-fetterman-a-hole-town-hall-democratic-feud-heats-up">told supporters</a>. &#8220;You can&#8217;t just go down there and be John Fetterman and just sort of be an a**hole.&#8221;
When audience members reacted, Platner doubled down, adding, &#8220;He&#8217;s said mean things about me, I&#8217;m allowed to say that.&#8221;
The comments marked the latest escalation in a war of words that has increasingly become a proxy battle over the future direction of the Democratic Party.
Fetterman has emerged as one of Platner&#8217;s most vocal Democratic critics in recent weeks, repeatedly attacking the Maine progressive over a growing list of controversies that have dogged his Senate campaign. The Pennsylvania senator has <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/02/politics/graham-platner-senate-democrats-maine">referred</a> to Platner as a &#8220;creeper,&#8221; questioned his past conduct, and accused fellow Democrats of overlooking behavior they would ordinarily condemn.
&#8220;What kind of a creeper has spent a decade on a platform like Kik, and send a dozen explicit kinds of messages and who knows what else?&#8221; Fetterman said during a recent CNN interview. In another appearance, Fetterman argued that Democrats were supporting Platner primarily because of party loyalty rather than enthusiasm for the candidate himself. &#8220;If they&#8217;d just be honest, they&#8217;d say, &#8216;Well, the only thing I can say about him is, well, he&#8217;s a Democrat,'&#8221; Fetterman <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/06/politics/video/fetterman-roasts-maines-dem-senate-candidate">said</a>. &#8220;He&#8217;s not really technically a Democrat — in his own words, he said, &#8216;I&#8217;m a communist socialist.'&#8221;
Platner has fired back repeatedly, accusing Fetterman of abandoning progressive principles and aligning himself with more moderate and pro-Israel factions within the party. Over the weekend, Platner <a href="https://x.com/grahamformaine/status/2063395224592761326">wrote</a> on X that Fetterman had become &#8220;a stooge for AIPAC and the Republican Party,&#8221; highlighting one of the major ideological fault lines driving the dispute.
The increasingly personal nature of the conflict comes as Fetterman himself has become a controversial figure among many leftists due to his strong support for Israel, criticism of anti-Israel activists, and willingness to break with fellow Democrats on several high-profile issues.
While Democratic leaders have largely attempted to focus attention on defeating Republicans in November, the Fetterman-Platner fight underscores deeper tensions simmering beneath the surface. Those divisions pit an ascendant hard-left contingent that embraces democratic socialism and confrontational politics against more moderate Democrats who argue the party risks alienating voters through ideological purity tests and controversial candidates.
The dispute could also offer an early preview of broader battles expected to intensify ahead of the 2028 presidential election. As Democrats search for a post-Biden identity, competing factions within the party are increasingly wrestling over questions of ideology, messaging, foreign policy, and the type of candidates they want representing the party on the national stage.
For now, those disagreements are playing out in Maine, where Platner remains the heavy favorite to secure his party&#8217;s Senate nomination. But the increasingly public feud with Fetterman suggests that even if Democrats remain united against Republicans at the ballot box, unity within the party itself may prove far more difficult to maintain.
If Platner wins the nomination and advances to a general election showdown against incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins, Democrats may face a difficult balancing act: defending a candidate embraced by the party&#8217;s left-wing grassroots while answering questions raised by one of their own sitting senators.

Senate Votes on Reconciliation

Fetterman Vs. Platner: The Democrat Civil War Is Getting Ugly

Democrat

Democratic Party

graham platner

John Fetterman

Politics

Senate

Making faith a center point of his Senate campaign, James Talarico says he doesn’t want to “claim” Jesus for the Democratic Party. Yet the woke church that molded him uses Christ to justify support for abortion, transgender procedures on kids, and protesting immigration enforcement.
A review of Talarico’s Texas church and its activist pastor — who Talarico calls a “mentor” — shows how closely his political views have been shaped by a leftist conception of Christianity. These positions, such as the promotion of abortion and acceptance of transgenderism, put Talarico at odds with many of the Texas voters the media have suggested could be amenable to the Democrat’s religious pitch against Republican Ken Paxton. 
Talarico’s church, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian in Austin, has pushed leftist activism for years while undermining traditional Christian beliefs such as the historical resurrection of Jesus. The church’s theological and political positions face scrutiny as Talarico looks to become the first Democrat to win statewide office in Texas for decades on a platform of defeating Christian nationalism and removing faith from “partisan politics.” 
“I&#8217;ve been the chief opponent of Christian nationalism in the Texas legislature. I believe the separation of church and state is a sacred boundary that doesn&#8217;t just protect the state, but also protects the church,” Talarico told religious leaders during a podcast earlier this year. “I&#8217;m trying not to claim Jesus for the Democratic Party. I&#8217;m trying to wrestle away Jesus from partisan politics.”
From a review of the church&#8217;s website, one would hardly guess that Talarico is interested in a non-partisan Jesus. St. Andrew’s, whose webpage features a cross draped in an LGBTQ flag, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-book-is-gay-read-the-sexually-explicit-volumes-james-talaricos-church-gives-kids">maintains</a> a “banned books” library filled with sexually explicit material aimed at young people and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/james-talaricos-church-funds-abortions-trans-summer-camps">donates</a> part of its annual budget to abortion giant Planned Parenthood. 
<div id="attachment_1108063" style="width: 1076px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1108063" class="wp-image-1108063 size-full" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-02-at-8.24.33-AM.png" alt="" width="1066" height="810" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-02-at-8.24.33-AM.png 1066w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-02-at-8.24.33-AM-300x228.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-02-at-8.24.33-AM-758x576.png 758w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/Screenshot-2026-06-02-at-8.24.33-AM-768x584.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1066px) 100vw, 1066px" />St. Andrew&#8217;s Presbyterian</div>
In the name of <a href="https://www.staopen.org/inclusive-language">inclusivity</a>, Talarico’s church avoids referring to God as “Father” as Christians have done for thousands of years. Instead, the church recommends using “non-gendered” language for God. 
“Inclusive language, when used to refer to God, is non-gendered. Therefore, God is not referred to as ‘He’ or ‘Father’, nor as ‘She’ or ‘Mother,’” the church’s website says. 
This contradicts the Bible’s description of Jesus’ instructions to his disciples to refer to God as “our Father” when praying. In the biblical Gospels, Jesus refers to God as “Father” well over 100 times. 
The “Inclusive Bible” used by St. Andrew’s makes awkward gender revisions. The version changes the Lord’s Prayer, one of the most beloved and ancient Christian prayers, from “our Father who art in heaven” to “our Father-Mother in heaven.” 
Talarico appears to have adopted this belief during his time in the legislature, saying that “God is non-binary” while arguing against a Texas law keeping males out of female sports. 
In addition to not calling God &#8220;Father,&#8221; St. Andrew&#8217;s avoids referring to Jesus as “king,” as Christians have done for thousands of years. 
“When referring to God, we do not use the words ‘King’ and ‘Lord,’ because that would make God male,” the church says on its website. “When referring to Jesus, we do not use ‘king’ and ‘lord,’ because it hints at a hierarchy that we believe Jesus repudiated.”
&#8220;To say that our divine source is male is perhaps the most sexist comment a person can make,” the inclusive language guide says. “To equate the Almighty with masculinity might or might not hurt a particular victim of abuse, but it will definitely teach a view of life where our little girls will be more likely to be abused in the future.&#8221;
Many of the heterodox positions taken at St. Andrew&#8217;s come from Jim Rigby, Talarico’s “mentor” and a pastor at the church. In addition to his leftist political positions, he diverts from historic Christian belief that Jesus rose from the dead in a historic event called the resurrection. 
In a Christmas Day Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jim.rigby.12/posts/957972940944180">post</a> from 2015, Rigby suggested that resurrection could actually be understood as “a poem about the whole life process.”
“Apparently, because I don&#8217;t believe in a literal resurrection, I&#8217;m not really Christian. This unfortunately also means I won&#8217;t be going to heaven with many of you,” he said, adding that he was told by a Christian that “we have to LITERALLY believe Jesus&#8217; corpse got up. If you believe all the above you will get to be with God in heaven. Let&#8217;s just hope God has a handle on that anger problem by now.”
Talarico, who <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/us/politics/james-talarico-christian.html">told the</a> New York Times that he believes in a historical resurrection unlike his mentor, said his faith is a “biblical Christianity.” 
Despite this difference of opinion, Talarico greatly credits Rigby for his worldview and closely mirrors his political positions. 
“Our pastor, Dr. Jim Rigby, who I&#8217;ve known since I was 2 years old, he married my parents. He baptized me,” Talarico said during a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4832vfsmf4">podcast</a>. “He is still my pastor today. And he showed me what it means to act with courage from the pulpit.”
In 2023, Rigby and St. Andrew’s <a href="https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-texas-el-paso/news/2023/01/17/social-justice-sermons">worked</a> to oppose legislation supported by Texas Republicans to shield kids from transgender procedures. 
“Anyone who preaches hate in Jesus’ name and we remain silent, then we are complicit,” Rigby said during the time of his involvement in the campaign against a bill to protect kids from puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender surgeries. 
Talarico has taken a similar approach as a state lawmaker. He <a href="https://journals.house.texas.gov/HJRNL/88R/PDF/88RDAY63FINAL.PDF">voted against</a> the 2023 law that protected kids from transgender surgeries and cross-sex hormone procedures.
Talarico also <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CVD-Gi-FbWh/?hl=en&amp;img_index=3">attacked</a> Republicans for passing a bill in October 2021 keeping males out of female sports.
“Texas Republicans have passed their anti-trans bill. Over and over, Christians used scripture to justify bullying trans kids,” he said at the time. “I told them in my faith, God is non-binary.”
Abortion is another issue where Talarico closely follows Rigby. In 2016, Rigby cited the so-called &#8220;constitutional right to an abortion” in an <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/Rigby-New-fetal-remains-rule-is-a-Trojan-Horse-10689637.php">op-ed</a> lamenting proposals requiring the dignified burial of fetal remains and ultrasounds before ending the life of their unborn child. 
“It is chilling to witness politicians overriding science and medicine to impose their own beliefs on women,” he wrote. “The real reason politicians are pushing this seems to be the belief that a soul enters the body at conception, therefore making the fertilized human egg the moral equivalent to a fully gestated human being.”
Unlike many Christians, Rigby said he disagreed with that position. 
“Where is the religious freedom for the millions of us who believe that women&#8217;s bodies are not community property simply because they get pregnant? Where is the religious freedom for those of us who respect the moral agency of women?” he wrote. 
St. Andrew’s is a “reproductive freedom congregation,” meaning that it <a href="https://justtx.org/rfc/">affirms</a> that abortion is a “blessing” and a “moral and social good.” 
Talarico, running on a platform of enshrining Roe v. Wade into federal law, argues that Christianity is silent on abortion and actually supports the life-ending procedure. He grounds his support for abortion in the biblical account of an angel visiting the Virgin Mary and telling her that she would miraculously conceive and give birth to Jesus Christ. 
“I say all this in the context of abortion, because before God comes over Mary, and we have the incarnation, God asks for Mary’s consent,” he said during an appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast. “You cannot force someone to create … so that’s how I come down on that side of the issue.”
In 2016, St. Andrew’s became part of a <a href="https://www.texasobserver.org/faith-leaders-pledge-offer-sanctuary-immigrants-facing-deportation/">movement</a> of woke churches offering to shelter illegal immigrants, and Rigby was <a href="https://www.fox7austin.com/news/pulpit-to-soapbox-austin-preacher-wants-immigration-reform">arrested</a> for trespassing inside the state capitol in 2017 while protesting a proposed law targeting sanctuary city policies. 
If elected, Talarico says he will go after ICE and ban them from shielding their identity while conducting operations. 
“We have to ban ICE agents from wearing masks, from kidnapping people off our streets without a warrant,” he said on a podcast. “We have to require them to identify themselves like any law enforcement official. And we have to end this policy of mass deportations that again is terrorizing our communities across Texas and across this country.”
Another issue that has plagued the Talarico campaign is the question of veganism. While he once boasted about having a meat-free campaign, he now says he proudly consumes Texas barbecue. His church <a href="https://www.staopen.org/earth-care">encourages</a> people to “eat a plant based diet for the planet’s health and yours.”

Screenshot 2026-06-03 at 11.14.56 AM

At James Talarico’s Church, Its Offensive To Respect God’s Pronouns — But Abortion’s OK.

Abortion

Bible

Christianity

James Talarico

Texas

U.S. Politics

Facing increasing questions about his personal character, embattled Maine Democrat Senate candidate Graham Platner is ramping up the leftist rhetoric. 
Platner posted a video on Thursday showing clips from a recent speech where he called for the abolition of ICE, claiming that the agency has been used to “terrorize&#8221; and &#8220;murder&#8221; Americans. The video comes after reports revealed that Platner sent sexually explicit messages to multiple women while married. He also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/see-it-graham-platner-has-active-profile-on-predators-paradise-messaging-app">maintained</a> an account on a platform frequently criticized by child-safety advocates, as first reported by The Daily Wire. 
“We do not need ICE. It is an agency that has been turned into a political weapon by the Trump administration to terrorize communities, and, quite frankly, murder American citizens in the streets,” Platner said. 
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“It has been turned into a tool, not to enforce immigration law, but merely as a tool of political coercion. And an agency that&#8217;s been doing that, in my opinion, does not deserve to exist in the future,” Platner added. 
While some Democrats have attempted to distance themselves from complete opposition to ICE, the agency in charge of arresting illegal immigrants who have committed crimes against Americans, Platner has doubled down on his calls to get rid of the agency. 
Platner is looking to be the Democrat nominee for Maine to take on Republican Senator Susan Collins. If elected, Platner said he would never vote to fund the agency and work to “get rid of it entirely.” 
“If an agency has a culture in which it has no accountability, and people are essentially incentivized to go out of their way and break the rules, you can&#8217;t reform that,” he said. “There&#8217;s no amount of body cams or extra training that&#8217;s going to fix that. You need to get rid of it all and you just start over entirely.”
In recent days, Platner’s campaign has been rocked by reports of his previous sexual escapades. On Tuesday, Platner <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/platner-promises-dem-senators-there-will-be-no-new-accusations">met</a> with top Senate Democrats who asked him if there would be any more serious allegations against him they needed to know about. He insisted that no credible allegations of sexual assault were forthcoming.
“It’s not a secret I’ve had a messy, complicated life,” he told senators. “The worst of the rumors we’ve all heard are not true.”

Maine Democratic Candidate For Senate Graham Platner Campaigns Across The State

The Federal Agency Nazi-Tattooed Graham Platner Wants Erased

Illegal Immigation

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Maine

An adviser to Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner threatened the female former staffer who went public with Platner&#8217;s sexually explicit text messaging habits.
Morris Katz, a strategist for Platner who also advises New York City&#8217;s democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani, sent a message through a third party to former state Rep. Genevieve McDonald, warning her not to cooperate with The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal on stories that dug into Platner&#8217;s explicit texts to multiple women.
&#8220;Just want to be clear on where we are right now,” Katz wrote in the message McDonald first shared with <a href="https://www.bangordailynews.com/2026/05/31/politics/top-graham-platner-adviser-threatened-former-aide-over-sexting-stories/">The Bangor Daily News</a>, warning her that she would face a smear campaign if she assisted with the story. “If the story goes in its current iteration we’ll communicate directly on the record, and by name, that Genevieve violated the personal trust of Amy and Graham and shared explicit falsehoods to sabotage the campaign.&#8221;
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McDonald was working on another campaign for Jordan Wood, also a Democrat, who is running in Maine&#8217;s 2nd Congressional District — but she quit over the weekend in an effort to shield Wood from any negative publicity she might get in the aftermath of the Platner stories going to print. The message from Katz was delivered to McDonald through another of Wood&#8217;s advisers.
Katz also appeared to lash out at McDonald via an X post, though he did not name her specifically, when the stories were published, saying, &#8220;It’s no one’s f*cking business what happened in Graham &amp; Amy’s marriage before he was ever a candidate for office. There should be no place in our politics for incompetent, opportunistic operatives who violate privacy, betray trust, and prioritize vengeance over decency.&#8221;
Platner has been dogged by a number of scandals throughout his campaign, from the discovery of a Nazi-inspired tattoo that he&#8217;s since had covered up to his Reddit posts <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/didnt-deserve-to-live-leftist-candidate-appears-to-mock-wounded-soldier-in-resurfaced-post">trashing a wounded veteran</a> and Purple Heart recipient. The sexually explicit texts — to which his campaign has admitted — and his still-active profile on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/see-it-graham-platner-has-active-profile-on-predators-paradise-messaging-app">predators&#8217; paradise Kik</a> were only the latest wrinkles in his very bumpy campaign.

Democratic Senate Candidate For Maine Graham Platner Campaigns Around The State

Platner Campaign Threatened Female Staffer Who Exposed Sexual Deviancy

Democrats

Sexual Misconduct

Sexually explicit

The loudest Democratic critics of the “Epstein class” continue to carve out exceptions for Senate candidate Graham Platner, despite new revelations that he exchanged sexually explicit text messages with many women and maintained an active profile on a platform notorious for enabling sexual predators.
Over the weekend, The Daily Wire exclusively <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/see-it-graham-platner-has-active-profile-on-predators-paradise-messaging-app">reported</a> that Platner created an account on the Kik platform, which the National Center on Sexual Exploitation has described as a “predator’s paradise.” The revelation followed another weekend disclosure that his wife, Amy Gertner, previously flagged messages that her oyster farmer husband exchanged sexually explicit texts with as many as a dozen women.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hostage-video-platners-wife-attempts-damage-control-over-creepy-sex-scandal?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=%E2%80%98Hostage+Video%E2%80%99%3A+Platner%E2%80%99s+Wife+Attempts+Damage+Control+Over+Creepy+Sex+Scandal">The one-two punch</a> sent national Democrats — who view Maine as their best shot to flip the U.S. Senate — into defense mode.
“I’ve not followed this story as others have, but Graham Platner is somebody who served our country, he’s served his community; he’s also made mistakes and he’s admitted that,” Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) said when asked about Platner’s character. 
“Character also involves standing up to people who are bankrupting and corrupting this country. And this race is going to be a contrast between somebody who has put his life on the line for this country, against somebody who is literally empowering the moral hollowing-out of our nation from the White House,” he added.  
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
When asked whether Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner passes the “character test,” after CBS confirmed reporting that Platner&#8217;s wife told his campaign about sexually explicit texts he sent to other women, Sen Chris Murphy (D-CT) says Platner has lived a life of… <a href="https://t.co/coKBizY1aD">pic.twitter.com/coKBizY1aD</a>
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) <a href="https://x.com/FaceTheNation/status/2061122039591673970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 31, 2026</a></blockquote>
Murphy’s deflection of Platner’s misconduct follows months of the Connecticut Democrat railing against the &#8220;Epstein class&#8221; as a pretext to oppose the Trump administration.   
“The Epstein class&#8217;s kids won&#8217;t die in this war. Poor families&#8217; kids will. Billionaires won&#8217;t suffer. Middle class families will pay more for everything,&#8221; he said in March. 
In November 2025, a more definitive Murphy accused President Donald Trump of being in “daily panic mode” over the release of the Epstein files, calling it the “biggest scandal in presidential history.” 
“Clearly, Donald Trump was at the center of a child sex ring. That is heartbreaking that the president of the United States was involved in that kind of gross, craven immorality,” <a href="https://x.com/BulwarkOnline/status/1989380599124046297?s=20">he said to The Bulwark’s Sam Stein.</a> 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://x.com/samstein?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@samstein</a>: “What is your take on how this is playing out and why he’s acting in an incredibly guilty fashion?”<a href="https://x.com/ChrisMurphyCT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChrisMurphyCT</a>: “He wouldn’t be acting this way if he wasn’t so deeply worried about what sits in those files…Clearly, Donald Trump was at the center of a child sex… <a href="https://t.co/EuRUKMEh36">pic.twitter.com/EuRUKMEh36</a>
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) <a href="https://x.com/BulwarkOnline/status/1989380599124046297?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
California Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, who teamed up with defeated Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) to push for Epstein-related disclosures, doubled down on his support for Platner.
“I am proud of<a href="https://x.com/grahamformaine"> @grahamformaine</a> for having the character to stand up against the war in Iran, against genocide, and against an unfair &amp; lopsided economy,” he posted on social media. “I am proud of him for having a vision for a new deal for our time. Excited to campaign with him June 5!”
Platner’s scandal-ridden campaign, which has already faced intense scrutiny over his Nazi tattoo, his mocking of a wounded American soldier, and derogatory social media posts about women, doesn’t appear to be worrying other progressives down the ballot. 
A smiling Matt Dunlap, the Democrat running in Maine’s red-leaning 2nd congressional district, said Monday that he still backs Platner. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
GROSS: Maine Democrat Matt Dunlap says he still supports Graham Platner, exposed for his Nazi tattoo, cheating on his wife &amp; using a notorious &#8220;predator&#8217;s paradise&#8221; app.<a href="https://x.com/dunlap4congress?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@dunlap4congress</a> says he thinks this makes for “a good senator.” <a href="https://t.co/KQ2yM445r7">pic.twitter.com/KQ2yM445r7</a>
— NRCC (@NRCC) <a href="https://x.com/NRCC/status/2061474963110981773?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
<a href="https://spectrumlocalnews.com/me/maine/public-safety/2026/04/02/dunlap-picks-up-khanna-s-endorsement-in-maine-2nd-cd-race">Khanna endorsed Dunlap</a> in April, calling him a “progressive champion” who supports “holding the Epstein class accountable.”
On CNN, Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA) dismissed concerns that Platner is suitable to serve in the upper chamber. 
“Well, he certainly has many good attributes. He has a great background. He comes to this issue with strength, both of personality and determination, as well as history. But, like most everybody, there are stumbles along the way, and there&#8217;s some things that he regrets having done, and I&#8217;m sure the public will hear about them,” <a href="https://x.com/RNCResearch/status/2061446597720912089?s=20">Garamendi said.</a> 
A strategic divide appears to be deepening between elected Democratic officials eager to take back power and a left-leaning commentary class focused on the party’s broader brand.
“And I will say, as a Democrat, I find it really problematic when we stand by people who do not pass muster when it comes to some basic judgment and moral values. We stand by them because they&#8217;re on our side. How is that different than Republicans doing the same thing? I find it really problematic,” Democratic activist Lauren Leader-Chivee said. 
Leader-Chivee appeared to predict defeat before the November matchup between Graham Platner and Susan Collins began.
“It was a long shot to begin with, to think that Democrats are going to take out Susan Collins. She&#8217;s been there since 1996. The polls are wrong every single cycle. She [has] extraordinary resilience,” she said. “And now you have this very problematic guy.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Democratic activist Lauren Leader-Chivee (<a href="https://x.com/laurenleaderAIT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@laurenleaderAIT</a>) on Graham Platner: &#8220;How are we different than Republicans&#8221; if we stand by him &#8220;just because he’s on our side?&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/EGIcb4OExq">pic.twitter.com/EGIcb4OExq</a>
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) <a href="https://x.com/tomselliott/status/2061449971862274317?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2026</a></blockquote>

Sen. Chris Murphy

Epstein-Obsessed Democrats Carve Out Exceptions For Graham Platner

Chris Murphy

Jeffrey Epstein

News

Embattled Democratic candidate Graham Platner dispatched his wife to do damage control over the discovery that the Senate hopeful exchanged sexually explicit text messages with as many as a dozen women and posed shirtless on a platform notorious for enabling sexual predators.
His wife, Amy Gertner, quickly flagged the messages days after Platner launched his Senate bid in August 2025. The campaign, however, chose not to disclose them publicly, characterizing the issue as a personal matter between the couple, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/popular-dem-senate-candidate-caught-by-wife-exchanging-raunchy-texts-with-women?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=4&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Graham+Platner+Caught+By+Wife+Exchanging+Raunchy+Texts+With+Women">The Daily Wire previously reported</a>.
The sexually explicit messages mark the latest controversy to engulf the oyster farmer’s campaign, which has already faced intense scrutiny over his Nazi tattoo, his mocking of a wounded American soldier, and derogatory social media posts about women.
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Over the weekend, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/see-it-graham-platner-has-active-profile-on-predators-paradise-messaging-app?author=Tim+Rice&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=SEE+IT%3A+Graham+Platner+Has+Active+Profile+On+%E2%80%98Predator%E2%80%99s+Paradise%E2%80%99+Messaging+App">The Daily Wire exclusively revealed</a> that Platner maintains an active account on a platform notorious for attracting sexual predators and exploiting children. Platner is a registered user on Kik, a Daily Wire review found. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation considers the anonymous messaging app a “predator’s paradise.&#8221; 
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-1105603 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/IMG_6917-2048x947-1-1024x474.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="474" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/IMG_6917-2048x947-1-1024x474.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/IMG_6917-2048x947-1-300x139.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/IMG_6917-2048x947-1-768x355.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/IMG_6917-2048x947-1-1536x710.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/06/IMG_6917-2048x947-1.avif 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
The Platner campaign appeared to dispatch Gertner to diffuse the crisis, painting a bumpy picture of the couple&#8217;s marriage and launching profanity-laced attacks against media outlets. 
&#8220;I&#8217;m walking up and down my road right now, and this is like my 20th take. It&#8217;s very hard to do, but I just really wanted to make sure that everyone knows that Graham and I have a great marriage,&#8221; Gertner said in a nearly five-minute walking video. &#8220;Being married is hard. Being newly married is hard. Being newly married and going through infertility is hard. Being newly married, going through infertility, and Senate campaign is hard.&#8221;
&#8220;I don&#8217;t even know if I have the right words to describe what we&#8217;ve been going through,&#8221; she added. 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="The plot thickens in Platner&#039;s hookup app drama" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ss8nSwpy5fk?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Gertner then attempted to chalk up her husband&#8217;s unfaithfulness to the stress he faced in the U.S. military. 
&#8220;I knew the man that I married had been through an immense amount of violent, active combat, and he&#8217;s been in therapy for years. I just &#8230; I admire the f*ck out of him. So, when there are news articles about our marriage, it&#8217;s just extra sh*tty,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I think it&#8217;s shameful behavior to spend time, energy, and resources on negative ads and negative stories on Graham when all he&#8217;s trying to do is improve the lives of people who work for a living, and that&#8217;s it.&#8221; 
<a href="https://x.com/TheKevinDalton/status/2060919145437487388?s=20">One X user said</a>, &#8220;This is a hostage video. Is she blinking in Morse code?&#8221;
&#8220;Your presence on a site selling all manner of an extreme sexual perversion, including illegal material involving children, is absolutely relevant for voters to weigh,&#8221; Daily Wire reporter Megan Basham <a href="https://x.com/megbasham/status/2060895066860752950?s=20">said</a>. 
Platner is expected to cruise to victory in Maine’s Democratic primary on June 9 after his top rival, Governor Janet Mills, suspended her campaign. <a href="https://kalshi.com/markets/senateme/maine-senate-race/senateme-26">Prediction markets</a> still favor Platner in November’s general election against Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), though those odds could flip as Republicans dump more opposition research. 
&#8220;The problem is his judgment, which he clearly has been lacking in as an adult. It&#8217;s one thing to have foolish, youthful indiscretions, but I&#8217;m sorry, you cannot get past. It is not a Nazi-style tattoo. It is the tattoo of concentration camp guards. It is the very worst tattoo you can get if you are getting anything Nazi, and that&#8217;s a pretty high bar there,&#8221; MS NOW commentator Elise Jordan said. 
&#8220;So this has been a slow-motion train wreck ever since that tattoo and knowledge of it hit the world, and it&#8217;s only gonna get worse. These texts: There are multiple women. Are all those women going to keep their mouth shut from now until Election Day?&#8221; 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
MS NOW&#8217;s <a href="https://x.com/Elise_Jordan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Elise_Jordan</a> blasts Maine Democrat Graham Platner:
&#8220;The problem is his judgment, which he clearly has been lacking in as an adult. It&#8217;s one thing to have foolish, youthful indiscretions, but I&#8217;m sorry, you cannot get past. It is not a Nazi-style tattoo. It is the… <a href="https://t.co/nESAS6OYbl">pic.twitter.com/nESAS6OYbl</a>
— Bobby LaValley (@Bobby_LaVallley) <a href="https://x.com/Bobby_LaVallley/status/2061449104119533585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 1, 2026</a></blockquote>

Maine Senatorial Candidate Graham Platner Speaks To Voters During Town Hall

‘Hostage Video’: Platner’s Wife Attempts Damage Control Over Creepy Sex Scandal

After being caught up in multiple sex scandals, Maine Democrat Graham Platner lashed out at the &#8220;establishment media&#8221; for reporting on his sexual escapades. 
Platner attacked the media on Sunday after reports surfaced over the weekend that he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/popular-dem-senate-candidate-caught-by-wife-exchanging-raunchy-texts-with-women?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Graham+Platner+Caught+By+Wife+Exchanging+Raunchy+Texts+With+Women">sent</a> sexually explicit messages to other women while married and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/see-it-graham-platner-has-active-profile-on-predators-paradise-messaging-app?author=Tim+Rice&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=SEE+IT%3A+Graham+Platner+Has+Active+Profile+On+%E2%80%98Predator%E2%80%99s+Paradise%E2%80%99+Messaging+App">maintains</a> an active account on Kik, a platform plagued by accusations that it enables sexual predators. The Senate hopeful’s account on Kik was uncovered by The Daily Wire and features a profile picture of a shirtless man with a towel wrapped around his waist.
“It’s no surprise to me that the establishment media outlets are just gonna run gossip instead of wanting to talk about the things that actually matter in this race, which are the material realities that the Mainers are working with,” Platner <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLsdtYe5jFs">told</a> ABC&#8217;s Portland, Maine, affiliate WMTW on Sunday. 
Platner’s Kik profile was created on June 26, 2016. The Democrat, looking to unseat Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), was almost 32 years old when he joined the app, on which an estimated 70% of users are between the ages of <a href="https://www.searchlogistics.com/learn/statistics/kik-user-statistics/">13 and 24</a>. Though the app recently required users to be 18 or older to join, for most of its history it welcomed users <a href="https://gethuman.com/customer-service/Kik/faq/What-age-group-is-Kik-intended-for/pEkg4L">13 and older.</a> Despite those guidelines, the app still does not require <a href="https://www.wave3.com/2025/10/23/messaging-app-allegedly-used-louisville-sex-crimes-case-described-predators-paradise/">official age verification.</a>
“These people are gonna try to make this race about anything but what it’s supposed to be about, which is policy. They never want to talk about policy,” Platner said Sunday. “Amy and I have a very loving and very happy marriage. They would very much like to try to rip that apart.”
Platner also accused The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times of “journalistic malpractice” for publishing stories on the sexually explicit messages he sent to multiple women while married. He claimed the outlets “ran stories without any evidence besides the gossip from a former staffer. I’m sorry that’s, frankly, journalistic malpractice. We pushed back on it, they won it, they did it anyways.”
A Platner campaign official <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/31/us/politics/booker-platner-democrats-senate-midterms.html">told</a> The New York Times that Platner was pushing back on the number of women he explicitly messaged, not that the messages existed. 
Many Democrats are still rallying behind Platner despite the latest revelations. 
When asked if Platner passed the character test after the latest reports on his sexual escapades, Democrat Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) <a href="https://x.com/RNCResearch/status/2061102582781600081">said</a> he had “not followed this story as closely as others have.”
“Graham Platner is somebody that served our country. He served his community. He&#8217;s also made mistakes, and he has admitted that,” he said. “Character also involves standing up to people who are bankrupting and corrupting this country.”
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Senator Bernie Sanders Holds Fighting Oligarchy Event With Senate Candidate Graham Platner

Graham Platner Finds A Scapegoat After Reports On Sexual Escapades

Susan Collins

For many self-described religious Democrats, squaring their support for abortion and radical gender ideology with their faith is a challenge. But at Texas Democrat James Talarico&#8217;s church, supporting abortions is part of the congregation&#8217;s &#8220;goals for the world.&#8221;
At the Texas church where the Democrat senate hopeful preaches sermons on the need for abortion in the “trans community,” church funds are sent not only to abortion giant Planned Parenthood, but also to radical organizations that pay to help facilitate out-of-state travel for women to kill their unborn babies, and an organization that runs a summer camp for transgender-identifying kids as young as 11. 
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, the woke Austin church attended by Talarico, <a href="https://www.staopen.org/benevolences">lists</a> Planned Parenthood, which ends the lives of hundreds of thousands of unborn babies every year, as one of the organizations that shares its “vision and goals for the world.”
The church, which The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-book-is-gay-read-the-sexually-explicit-volumes-james-talaricos-church-gives-kids?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=8&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=‘God+Is+Queer’%3A+See+The+Sexually+Explicit+Books+James+Talarico’s+Church+Gives+Kids">reported</a> last week stocks sexually explicit books aimed at young people in its library, sets aside money every year for Planned Parenthood, according to its website. It also describes itself as a “Reproductive Freedom Congregation,” <a href="https://justtx.org/rfc/">meaning</a> it believes that “abortion is a blessing.&#8221;
Donating to Planned Parenthood is not the only way that St. Andrew&#8217;s promotes abortion. 
Through its Social Justice Committee, the church <a href="https://www.staopen.org/social-justice">backs</a> a project called “Field of Hope.” The project was created as a memorial for the AIDs epidemic, but now <a href="https://fieldofhopeaustin.org/gender-reproductive-justice.html">promotes</a> a variety of other activist organizations. One such organization is the Lilith Fund, which <a href="https://www.lilithfund.org/get-help/">provides</a> money for Texans to travel out of state to kill their unborn babies. 
It also promotes a <a href="https://janesdueprocess.org/about/">similar organization</a> called Jane’s Due Process, which says it provides “abortion and practical support funding for young people under 18 traveling out of Texas for abortion care.” This means it openly funds teenagers looking to leave Texas for abortions. 
The church&#8217;s position on abortion is in line with Talarico’s own <a href="https://jamestalarico.com/issue/health-care/">suppor</a>t for codifying Roe v. Wade into federal law to create a so-called right to an abortion. Talarico grounds his support for abortion in the biblical account of an angel visiting the Virgin Mary and telling her that she would miraculously conceive and give birth to Jesus Christ. 
&#8220;I say all this in the context of abortion, because before God comes over Mary, and we have the incarnation, God asks for Mary’s consent,” he said during an appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast. “You cannot force someone to create… so that’s how I come down on that side of the issue.”
Talarico’s opponent, Paxton, has gone after leftist activists that ship abortion pills into Texas during his time as attorney general. Much of his attacks on Talarico have focused in on the Democrat’s leftist statements on religion, abortion, and transgenderism.
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The radical pro-abortion groups are just a sliver of the liberal causes supported by the church. Other organizations St. Andrew’s lists on its donation page included Out Youth Austin, the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, Evergreen Action, and the Carbon180. 
Out Youth Austin <a href="https://www.outyouth.org/about/mission">describes</a> itself as a group that provides “a safe space for LGBTQ+ youth to come together, receive support, and make friends who understand who they are.” One of the programs it offers is a summer camp for kids between the ages of 11-17 who identify as gay or transgender. 
The organization says that recent actions in Texas have “caused distress” for “trans and non-binary youth” and points to a number of radical groups that support transgender procedures on kids. For people 18 and older, Out Youth Austin will help them <a href="https://www.outyouth.org/resources/social-services">obtain</a> the “necessary letters” for “this important step in your transition.”
The U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights is an anti-Israel organization that says it is <a href="https://uscpr.org/about-us/#team">focused</a> on “collective liberation” opposed to “all forms of bigotry” which it defines as “Zionism, racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism, sexism, queerphobia, transphobia, classism, and ableism.”
Evergreen Action is <a href="https://www.evergreenaction.com/about/">focused</a> on the fight to “defeat climate change” founded by staffers who used to work for Washington Democrat Governor Jay Inslee. Carbon180 <a href="https://carbon180.org/our-approach/">wants</a> to “bring carbon removal solutions to gigaton scale” by shaping federal policy.
The latest <a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/senate/general/2026/texas/talarico-vs-paxton">polling</a> between Talarico and Paxton has the race virtually tied. Democrats haven&#8217;t won a U.S. Senate seat in Texas since 1988.

The Vox Media Podcast Stage At SXSW – Day 2

Abortions, Trans Summer Camps… See What Else James Talarico’s Church Bankrolls

Ken Paxton

In a recently resurfaced clip, Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico said he opposes voter ID and claimed it is unnecessary. 
In a <a href="https://youtu.be/0Ia-shuHvsE?si=gi2J8NK4Ow9QFBwy">primetime</a> Fox News appearance with Pete Hegseth in July 2021, Talarico argued that &#8220;Texas is one of the hardest places to vote in the whole country&#8221; for simply requiring a photo ID to verify your identity prior to casting an in-person ballot. Voters only have to present one of seven acceptable forms of identification.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Talarico in 2021: “I oppose voter ID.&#8221;
Add it to the ever-growing list. <a href="https://t.co/bXeoxM1kYD">pic.twitter.com/bXeoxM1kYD</a>
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) <a href="https://x.com/WesternLensman/status/2060120062913081377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Talarico and Hegseth debated SB 1, Texas&#8217;s voter ID requirement for mail-in ballots, which was subsequently signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on September 7 of that same year. Hegseth pointed out that Texas already allowed 12-13 days of early voting, and that SB 1 expanded early voting hours as well.
Talarico also recently slammed Texas&#8217; voter laws, saying, &#8220;I will say that we already have a lot of voter suppression in Texas. It’s baked into our laws. I’ve fought fiercely against many of those laws when they were coming through the legislature. And Texas is one of the hardest places to vote in the country as a result. It’s why we see such low voter turnout in our state compared to other states.&#8221;
When applying for and returning a mail-in ballot under SB 1 provisions, Texans simply have to provide the last four digits of their Social Security number, which is assigned to almost every American citizen at birth at no cost.
According to the <a href="https://cdce.umd.edu/sites/cdce.umd.edu/files/Voter%20ID%20Report%20Texas.pdf">Center for Democracy &amp; Civic Engagement</a>, 99% of Texans have at least one of the seven forms of photo identification required to vote. In states like California, voter ID laws are extremely lax, and people do not need to show any form of physical ID to register to vote. In some states, people only have to provide a name and address along with a signature approved by the poll worker. 
If elected to the Senate, Talarico would likely become another lawmaker opposed to federal voter ID legislation such as the SAVE Act, which passed the House but is pending in the Senate. The 2026 Texas Senate race is shaping up to be one of the most consequential national races in determining the direction of the United States regarding voter integrity.

FLASHBACK: Where James Talarico Stands On Election Security

Voter ID

The Texas church where Democrat James Talarico has delivered his radical sermons is pushing radical gender ideology on children, featuring books filled with sexually explicit content and transgender ideology.
Talarico, the Democrat nominee for the crucial Senate election in November, attends St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Austin. There, children have access to a library stocked with “banned books” that promote ideas rejected by most Christians, including books that contain descriptions of anal rape, incest, and oral sex, according to a Daily Wire review of its offerings.
Books found in the St. Andrew’s catalog include the book “Gender Queer,” which includes illustrations of oral sex and masturbation, and the book “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” which discusses anal rape and incest.
“This Book Is Gay,” <a href="https://www.amazon.com/This-Book-Gay-Juno-Dawson/dp/1492617830" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has</a> a chapter on the “ins and outs of gay sex,” while the book “Becoming Nicole” tells the story of a gender-confused teen boy who identifies as girl with the support of his family. In “The Courage to Be Queer,” the author <a href="https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/eEmUCgAAQBAJ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claims</a> that “God is queer.”
Other books in the church catalog include “Trans Kids, Our Kids: Stories and Resources from the Frontlines of the Movement for Transgender Youth,” “Called OUT: The Voices and Gifts of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Presbyterians,&#8221; and “Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family.”
Talarico, looking to flip a Senate seat in a state President Donald Trump won by 14 points in 2024, has faced criticism over comments he made on transgender ideology. It will likely be a central theme in the campaign against him — in his first speech as the official Republican nominee on Tuesday night, Republican Ken Paxton referred to Talarico as both &#8220;Six-Gender Jimmy&#8221; and &#8220;James Tala-FREAKO.&#8221;
Republican congressman Brandon Gill on the same stage went after Talarico over the Daily Wire report earlier this year on the time he said the thing he loved most in the world was &#8220;trans children.&#8221;
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-james-talarico-says-he-loves-trans-children-in-unearthed-clip">WATCH: James Talarico Says He Loves ‘Trans Children’ In Unearthed Clip</a>
St. Andrew’s, the church where Talarico <a href="https://x.com/greg_price11/status/2029210425879892253?s=20">delivered</a> his sermon that asserted that &#8220;our trans community needs abortion care too,&#8221; <a href="https://www.staopen.org/banned-books" target="_blank" rel="noopener">says</a> it offers banned books so that children can find “affirmation in the books they read.&#8221; It boasts that the books “shift our perspective, develop empathy, and see more clearly the call to justice among all people.&#8221;
“We are a safe haven for controversial narratives right in the heart of Texas, the state that takes the top prize in challenged books. Take a moment to browse our collection of banned books and see what you notice &#8230; common themes … particular experiences and identities being censored,” the church says of its banned books collection.
Talarico has voted in the state legislature against keeping men out of women&#8217;s sports and claimed it was “abusive” and “destructive” if parents did not accept their child&#8217;s alleged gender identity.
He has also stated his belief that &#8220;god is nonbinary,&#8221; and that Jesus was a &#8220;radical feminist.&#8221;
St. Andrew’s is <a href="https://www.staopen.org/about-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">part</a> of the Presbyterian Church (USA), generally known as a liberal denomination with unorthodox views on gender and sexuality. Talarico&#8217;s church refers to itself as a “Reproductive Freedom Congregation,” <a href="https://justtx.org/rfc/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meaning</a> it believes “abortion is a blessing.&#8221; The Democrat candidate himself has argued that the Bible doesn&#8217;t oppose abortion.
The church <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/it-turns-out-james-talaricos-church-is-as-weird-as-he-is" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recently</a> held a training linked to the anti-Trump “No Kings” protest movement.

Featured Session: State Of Being: How To Care in 2024 with Ilana Glazer, Danny Brown, State & Local Politicians, and the ACLU – Conference – SXSW 2024 Conference and Festivals

‘God Is Queer’: See The Sexually Explicit Books James Talarico’s Church Gives Kids

Special Reporting

Transgender

The widow of the late American hero Chris Kyle ripped into Maine Senate hopeful Graham Platner for disparaging her dead husband. 
Taya Kyle told Fox News on Sunday that Platner was &#8220;cowardly&#8221; for lying about her late husband, and accused the Democrat of using a &#8220;cheap political trick&#8221; to distract from Platner&#8217;s controversies. 
In a resurfaced podcast episode, Platner in 2024 suggested Kyle, the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history, intentionally killed civilians to inflate his sniper kill count. Kyle was murdered in 2013 by a veteran suffering from PTSD he was trying to help.
&#8220;To me, nothing says, &#8216;I want attention&#8217; more than disparaging a national hero who&#8217;s also dead,&#8221; Taya <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6396510537112">said</a>. &#8220;It&#8217;s transparent, it&#8217;s cowardly, it&#8217;s lowbrow to lie about somebody else, and it distracts from &#8230; I think some things that he has said.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s this cheap political trick to say, &#8216;Ya know, I haven&#8217;t done a whole lot, so let me attach my name to somebody who&#8217;s beloved, and if nothing else, I&#8217;ll get out in the news,'&#8221; the widow continued. &#8220;And that&#8217;s working for him to get that notoriety. But to me, it shows a total inability to lead with character. So for me, he would be out of the running immediately.&#8221;
Platner&#8217;s comments have hurt the Kyle family, Taya said. &#8220;My kids are 21 and 20 — they&#8217;re grown adults, and I wish I could tell you that it doesn&#8217;t hurt, but it does.&#8221;
Taya added that it&#8217;s &#8220;obvious&#8221; to her family that Platner did not know her late husband, yet still made his disparaging remarks. &#8220;I can&#8217;t imagine anyone voting for someone like that,&#8221; she said.
Robert O&#8217;Neill, the Navy SEAL credited with killing Osama bin Laden, recently sounded off on Platner&#8217;s comments, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/navy-seal-killed-bin-laden-rips-platner-barbaric-post-trashing-soldier-fire-line">calling</a> the candidate jealous.
&#8220;That would just stem from jealousy, maybe because Chris Kyle&#8217;s name became famous for a whole bunch of confirmed kills,&#8221; O’Neill said. &#8220;The jealousy is there. I&#8217;ve seen the jealousy too, but professional jealousy, stuff like this is really, really rare between veterans.&#8221;
Platner is also taking heat over <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/purple-heart-hero-mocked-by-graham-platner-has-one-question-for-dems?author=Jordan+Schroeder&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Hotwire&amp;rowType=Four+Column+Grid&amp;title=Purple+Heart+Hero+Mocked+By+Graham+Platner+Has+One+Question+For+Dems">resurfaced Reddit comments</a> showing the candidate mocking Purple Heart recipient Ted Daniels and saying he “didn’t deserve to live” following a brutal firefight in Afghanistan.
Daniels recently told the New York Post he wants liberal lawmakers like Senators Elizabeth Warren, Chuck Schumer, Bernie Sanders, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to explain to his children why they are backing a candidate who mocked the possibility of their father being killed in combat.
Additionally, Platner has been criticized for resurfaced images allegedly showing the Democrat with a Nazi-linked tattoo.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/purple-heart-hero-mocked-by-graham-platner-has-one-question-for-dems?author=Jordan+Schroeder&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Hotwire&amp;rowType=Four+Column+Grid&amp;title=Purple+Heart+Hero+Mocked+By+Graham+Platner+Has+One+Question+For+Dems">Purple Heart Hero Mocked By Graham Platner Has One Question For Dems</a>

Graham Platner. Taya Kyle

‘American Sniper’ Widow Torches Graham Platner For Smearing Late Husband

2026 Midterms

U.S. Military

America’s most hated time ritual may finally be clocking out.
Twice a year, Americans collectively stumble through the same bizarre routine: forgetting how microwaves work, showing up early to church, late to brunch, and spending three straight days wondering why they suddenly feel exhausted.
Now, Congress is finally inching toward ending the clock-changing madness for good.
The Republican-led House Energy and Commerce Committee just advanced <a href="https://trackbill.com/bill/us-congress-house-bill-7389-motor-vehicle-modernization-act-of-2026/2808412/?utm">legislation</a> that could eventually make daylight saving time permanent nationwide, pushing the long-running “lock the clock” movement closer to reality than it has been in years.
The proposal, known as the Sunshine Protection Act, was folded into a larger transportation package this week and passed out of committee by a massive 48-1 vote.
In other words, Washington may have finally found the one issue capable of uniting exhausted Americans.
Florida Republicans Sen. Rick Scott and Rep. Vern Buchanan have been leading the charge after years of public frustration over changing clocks twice a year. The effort was previously championed by now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose version famously passed the Senate in 2022 before dying in the House.
Buchanan celebrated the latest momentum this week, calling the twice-a-year clock change “outdated and unpopular.”
At this point, changing clocks feels like one of those strange traditions Americans continue mostly because nobody in Washington can quite figure out how to stop it.
If the legislation eventually becomes law, most Americans would remain on the brighter summer-style schedule year-round. That means sunsets after 5 p.m. during winter instead of darkness arriving before many people even leave work.
Of course, there’s a catch.
Sunrises in some parts of the country would drift past 8 a.m. — and in certain areas, even closer to 9 a.m. Critics argue that could create problems for children heading to school in darkness and potentially affect sleep and health.
Some Democrats and sleep experts are already pushing back. During Thursday’s markup, Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-CA) warned about possible health concerns tied to permanent daylight saving time.
But honestly, Americans increasingly seem willing to accept almost any trade-off if it means never having to manually reset the clock in a car dashboard again.
Nineteen states have already passed laws supporting permanent daylight saving time if Congress approves it federally. Maine and Texas joined the list last year.
There are still several hurdles before anything changes nationally. The full House would need to pass the package, the Senate would need to agree, and President Donald Trump would ultimately need to sign it.
Until then, Americans can look forward to once again pretending they totally remembered the time change when clocks roll back this November.

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