‘Is There More Out There?’ Morning Joe Host Confronts Graham Platner About Sexting Scandal After Big Win

Morning Joe’s Mika Brzezinski pressed Maine Senate hopeful Graham Platner on his sexting scandal following his big win this week.

Platner joined Morning Joe on Wednesday morning after being declared, by a wide margin, the projected winner of his Democratic primary race in Maine.

Platner will go on to challenge incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) for her seat.

Platner has faced multiple major controversies during his campaign, and he argued on Wednesday that reports about his sexting with other women early in his marriage had been “blown out of proportion.”

Brzezinski noted that Platner had previously faced a grilling from her colleague Chris Hayes on the sexting subject. Still, she argued he “deflected” when it came to what pictures or messages could be floating around.

She also asked whether his colorful background would prevent him from being able to call out sexual abuse and push for the release of the Epstein files.

“How many concerning pictures and or text messages are in the possession of other people that could be used against you? And I’d like to know if there are pictures, concerning pictures,” she asked.

“I’ve been very open about the fact that I struggled, very open about the fact that I had a long list, litany of failed relationships for years because I myself was not in a good place. And then every now and again, we will have a media outlet or a politically motivated attack come up and try to drag it all up, but it’s all very much within the exact same story that I’ve told this entire time,” Platner said.

Check out the full exchange below:

MIKA BRZEZINSKI: If I’m in your campaign or if I’m high up in the Democratic Party, at this point I have a few questions in terms of the health of your campaign moving forward into the general, which is a whole different ball game. So here’s my first. You were asked this question by Chris Hayes about the issue of, is there more out there? What else could be out there that might be revealed during the campaign? And you deflected, said among other things, this is between you and your wife, which was understandable to a limit because for Maine voters in a general election the question is, what is out there? What is not in your possession that you sent to others who may have in their possession? How many concerning pictures and or text messages are in the possession of other people that could be used against you? And I’d like to know if there are pictures, concerning pictures.

GRAHAM PLATNER: I will just say that the nature of Amy and I’s relationship has been blown, I would say, totally out of proportion. Early in our marriage, we had some struggles. And we worked through them, because that’s what you do when you’re in love with somebody. And it made our marriage much stronger, made us, frankly, a much happier and communicative couple. I was single for the majority of my adult life. I was in my 20s and 30s, and I dated, and that’s in the modern age, that’s what happens. You date people, and you use dating apps, and you do all the stuff. And frankly, that all happened long before I got married and happened long before I decided to run for United States Senate. I can just tell you, there is nothing out there that will run counter to any of the stories that I’ve talked about openly this entire campaign. And I know everyone continues to be like, oh, what else is coming? Ironically, the whole what else is coming has essentially been the same thing the whole time, which is I’ve been very open about the fact that I struggled, very open about the fact that I had a long list litany of failed relationships for years because I myself was not in a good place. And then every now and again we will have a media outlet or a politically motivated attack come up and try to drag it all up, but it’s all very much within the exact same story that I’ve told this entire time.

BRZEZISNKI: Okay, so you say there’s nothing out there that could be concerning. And this may seem a little bit rich—

PLATNER: Let me just make this clear. There’s nothing out there that’s actually concerning. People will make everything seem very concerning because that’s what people do in politics, but, you know, I think the thing about all of this is, what I find to be kind of most curious, is this is what everyone wants to make the campaign about. So we do not talk about the struggles of working men. We do not about the fact that, I know someone in my hometown here who works three jobs and pays over 60% of her income in rent. I think that matters a lot more than the details of my relationship before I ran for United States Senate. That’s just me.

BRZEZINSKI: Okay, so then let me ask you this way, can you just talk about the nature of the sexting in terms of can you call for the release of the Epstein files and can you call out those who have abused women and not be conflicted in any way?

PLATNER: Yes, of course. I mean, I engage in consensual romantic activities with adults at an earlier part in my life. That seems like a fairly normal thing most people do. Going to an island with billionaires to possibly assault children is a vastly, vastly different thing.

BRZEZISNKI: Okay, do you wish that this had come out earlier and in your own way?

PLATNER: No, I mean, this was a very private thing for my wife and I. And the only reason it’s out is because we confided in someone we trusted on the campaign who then went and broke that trust. So it’s, I’m mean, Amy and I have a very strong marriage and it’s mostly strong because of some of the challenges we faced early on and the work we did to get through it. So no, I’ve been, I’m not happy it’s out, but it’s also, it’s not — again, I would say it’s been entirely blown out of proportion as to what the reality of the situation is.

Watch above via MS NOW.

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