Fetterman calls Platner a ‘creep’ after reports of extramarital sexting

By Manu Raju, Alison Main, Patrick Svitek, CNN

(CNN) — Sen. John Fetterman issued a scathing takedown of Graham Platner as the leading Democratic candidate in Maine’s Senate race has become embroiled in a scandal over reports that he sent sexual text messages to women who were not his wife.

In an interview with CNN Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Democrat also laid into Platner over past social media posts that have haunted Platner’s campaign for months. Fetterman likened Platner to a “Nazi sympathizer” over a now-infamous tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol. Platner has apologized for the past posts and has pleaded ignorance over the meaning of the tattoo, which he has since covered.

“When I was growing up, if someone had a clear Nazi tattoo on them, you probably could conclude that they’re a Nazi sympathizer,” Fetterman said, before rattling off some of Platner’s more incendiary posts. “Are you going to continue to defend that or dismiss that?”

The sharp criticism comes as many Senate Democrats have been reluctant to criticize their party’s top candidate in Maine’s highly competitive Senate race after reports have circulated about Platner’s wife flagging his sexual texts with other women to his campaign.

“I met with Graham Platner today. We’re going to beat Susan Collins, take back the Senate,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday.

Platner met with Senate Democrats in Washington, DC, for about an hour and a half on Tuesday afternoon as he weathers the extramarital sexting scandal.

Platner did not answer questions when he entered the office of the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, and he completely evaded reporters when leaving the building en route to a fundraiser in the city.

A handful of Democrats, including Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand; Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats; Peter Welch; Elizabeth Warren; and Adam Schiff were spotted by CNN entering the building.

Gillibrand, who chairs the campaign committee, told reporters that Platner did answer questions about his past, and “it was a good meeting.”

Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, brushed off the impact of the revelations.

“Now, why do the richest people in this country want to defeat Graham Platner? That should tell you everything you need to know, because he’s gonna stand up for working people, is he a saint? I guess not. I don’t know too many saints here,” he said.

Fetterman, meanwhile, laid into Platner for reportedly having an account on the messaging app Kik with the username, “phustle0331.”

“Oh, phustle,” Fetterman said of Platner. “What kind of a creep? What kind of a creeper has been on … a platform like Kik, and send a dozen explicit kinds of messages and who knows what else?”

Democrats, already facing a difficult path to recapture control of the US Senate, are now grappling with the latest revelations about Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee set to face Collins in a must-win race for the party.

Platner’s wife said in a statement Saturday that she was “deeply hurt” after details of her husband’s messages to other women became public, accusing a former campaign official and confidante of betraying her trust. The statement from Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, came after both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported that shortly after Platner announced his Senate campaign last year, Gertner flagged to campaign staff sexual text messages her husband had with other women.

CNN has not independently confirmed the existence of the text messages. CNN did verify that a Kik account with the user name “phustle0331” appears to belong to Platner. It features a profile photo showing Platner shirtless in a bathroom with a towel on his waist and uses a handle similar to ones on his since-deleted Reddit account and a now-deleted Instagram account.

CNN has reached out to Platner’s campaign to request comment on Fetterman’s criticism.

Platner is also not a fan of Fetterman, whom he has called the “bane of my existence.” Platner has rejected comparisons to the Pennsylvania Democrat, who ran as an everyman outsider in his 2022 Senate race.

While Fetterman stopped short of calling on Platner to drop out of the race, he praised Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who suspended her primary campaign at the end of April due to a lack of sufficient funds, as an “upstanding” and “committed Democrat.”

It “seems like the only thing wrong with her is she happens to be 78,” he added.

Fetterman would not say if he would back Platner if he becomes the Democratic nominee. Pressed on if he would back GOP Sen. Collins over Platner in a general election, he said, “no, no, I don’t know,” before again referring to “whatever kind of creeper stuff” that Platner does online.

Fetterman told CNN that if Platner does win the seat, “we’ll all have to work together,” even if he likes “being a tough guy behind the keyboard.”

Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith told CNN, “I think that Maine voters are going to decide what they think.”

“He’s been a really exciting candidate, and I think that voters are, like, not that interested in people’s text messages. They’re interested in, like, what, you know, are politicians going to actually do something to make their lives work better, and I think that’s why Graham Platner has captured the imagination of so many people in Maine,” she said.

The Democrat, who is retiring after this term, said she doesn’t think this amounts to a stain on Platner’s character, saying, “far be it for me to look inside the complexities of people’s marriages.”

New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Luján said Platner needs to “talk to voters and talk to constituents and answer questions. I think it’s important for people to be forthright and to be honest, and to talk to people, and that’s what’s going to be expected.”

Asked if he backs Platner as the party’s nominee, Lujan responded, “look, he’s the nominee right now. He has to go and earn the trust of voters. And just like every other candidate has to do as well,” before railing against Collins for “devastating” Maine’s economy.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who won in battleground Michigan last cycle, told CNN, “I’m going to work with whoever the state of Maine elects” when asked if she has concerns about Platner.

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CNN’s Ellis Kim and Dugald McConnell contributed to this report.

This story has been updated with additional details.