As scandal-plagued candidate Graham Platner claimed victory in the Democratic Maine Senate primary, the Democratic party and media establishment quickly warmed up to their new hope to seize the Senate. On Tuesday night, CNN’s The Source host Kaitlan Collins interviewed Congressman Ro Khanna on his stance on Platner and his multitude of scandals. Fortunately, Bulldog Award Winner Shermichael Singleton was ready to push back.
Khanna was of course quick to defend his potential future ally in the Senate, avoiding mention of the scandals that brought so much attention to the Maine primary and instead focused on attacking his opponent, Susan Collins:
Graham Platner is running, saying, ‘I served three tours of duty and I'm opposed to these foreign wars.’ And he's also going to take on Susan Collins in terms of being- putting Kavanaugh on the court and rolling back women's rights and cutting health care. And that's why he's resonating.
Singleton set the record straight:
You have this guy who's saying he's going to make a speech to make a con- or draw a contrast against himself and Susan Collins. He stands up for women. She does not, because she voted for Brett Kavanaugh. Yet we just had, not more than a week ago, very serious allegations against this very same guy who's now the defender of women?
He also pointed out the double standards Democrats have been committed to for the last few weeks: their typical moral outrage over scandals like Trump’s disintegrating the moment one of their candidates is culpable:
But now that there's a political electoral opportunity to maintain their majority in the Senate, and Graham Platner could [un]seat Susan Collins, you know what? It doesn't necessarily matter, the ten-plus years of arguments we've made about morals and ethics against Trump and Republicans who empower Trump, because we can win a seat.
Khanna tried to deflect from the Democrat double standard, instead attacking Trump and trying to pity Platner. Singleton quickly drew the issue back to the actual topic of discussion, emphasizing Collins’ moderate stances and reinforcing the unfairness of the Democratic hypocrisy. Khanna attacked Collins on her Supreme Court vote once again, unable to actually grapple with Singleton’s main point.
KHANNA: My argument against Donald Trump was that he didn't recognize a legitimate election. My argument was that he's given tax breaks to billionaires, that he has betrayed his promise to the working class and gotten us in foreign wars. He had four criminal trials against him.
So, the idea that someone who served three tours of duty had post-traumatic stress disorder and is acknowledging it - a dark chapter in his life, and his redemption, is far closer to George W. Bush's story than Donald Trump's story. I mean, he has said he was addicted to alcohol, he had an ugly chapter, and he has redeemed himself. And Americans love redemption stories.
By the way, Donald Trump has never said- I haven't heard him express shame or guilt for anything.
SINGLETON: But Congressman, if I could just rebut quickly. Is Graham Platner running against Donald Trump or Susan Collins? I understand PTSD, I know a lot of soldiers, you know I'm a gun guy, that's a big issue to me, and I care a lot about it. And the alcoholism, I don't take that for granted, a lot of Americans deal with that as well, and we should support those who are recovering from that issue.
That said, this is a guy who's trying to draw a contrast against a woman who's been there a long time. She is, by all accounts, even by many of her colleagues on the Democratic side, a moderate, someone that they can work with, they have a- counted on her for many times in many very serious votes against her own party.
And yet Democrats are making the argument that now, everything they said about Trump, about those who supported Trump, like Susan Collins, was wrong, yet somehow we should excuse them for saying that Graham Platner is okay because they could win?
KHANNA: No one is questioning Susan Collins' personal character-
SINGLETON: How do you maintain any moral authority when you make that justification?
KHANNA: -because Harry Reid- Harry said- Reid had said, you can always count on Susan Collins when you don't need her. And the reality is Democrats are very upset that she put Kavanaugh on the court.
In this fight for the truth, voices like Shermichael Singleton are essential. As long as the media continues to deny, deceive, and deflect, we will need people like Singleton who are willing to stand up to them and fight back against the egregious bias of the media, to defend the integrity of the journalistic institutions so necessary for American democracy to continue to function.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read.
CNN’s The Source With Kaitlan Collins
June 10, 2026
09:09:16 Eastern
(...)
KAITLAN COLLINS: I mean, and congressman, you're backing Graham Platner in this race. Obviously we've seen people come out and talk about, you know, where this stands, whether or not they're still standing by Graham Platner, it's made a lot of your colleagues uncomfortable, what has come out about him. Why not you?
RO KHANNA: I was up in Maine. There were huge crowds. I think the key issue today is the anti-war platform. I mean, on a day we’re retaliating against Iran, Graham Platner is running, saying, I served three tours of duty and I'm opposed to these foreign wars. And he's also going to take on Susan Collins in terms of being- putting Kavanaugh on the court and rolling back women's rights and cutting health care. And that's why he's resonating.
Now, if he's over 70 percent, and obviously it's early, I think that's going to be decisive. I mean, he's beaten a sitting governor. Granted, she suspended her campaign, but she kept playing cute, saying my name is still on the ballot. You can vote for me. For someone who has not held elective office to beat a sitting governor and be around 70 or higher, I think would be pretty decisive.
COLLINS: But Jeff mentioned the margin that we'll be watching tonight. That means, you know, who does vote for Janet Mills in this race, given she suspended her campaign? If that number is significantly high, what will that tell you about how voters do feel about what they've learned about Graham Platner?
KHANNA: Well, if there was a real protest vote and you had 40 percent or something, still voting for other candidates, then people- he'd have work to do. But a sitting governor who is saying, “I'm still on the ballot” is going to get some percent of the vote. And if he is anywhere near 70 or above, I think that's going to be pretty decisive, given the enthusiasm. And I think Democrats will rally around him on an anti-war platform, on someone who's going to take out Susan Collins, who put Kavanaugh on the court, and who's voted to cut health care.
COLLINS: Shermichael. I mean, you heard Arlette's reporting about what he's going to say about Susan Collins.
SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON: I have, I find that a bit ironic. For a long time now, Democrats have long argued that what fueled their passions against Trump was a sense of righteous indignation. They were standing up for justice. They were upholding morality that they said Trump was an affront to. And now what we all realize is that that was all a facade.
You have this guy who's saying he's going to make a speech to make a con- or draw a contrast against himself and Susan Collins. He stands up for women. She does not, because she voted for Brett Kavanaugh. Yet we just had, not more than a week ago, very serious allegations against this very same guy who's now the defender of women?
So to me, it seems like maybe a defender of women for my Democratic friends, when it's convenient for them. But now that there's a political electoral opportunity to maintain their majority in the Senate, and Graham Platner could [un]seat Susan Collins, you know what? It doesn't necessarily matter, the ten-plus years of arguments we've made about morals and ethics against Trump and Republicans who empower Trump, because we can win a seat.
It's very Machiavellian in many ways, and to me, any argument that Democrats have framed against Trump, against Republicans is now null and void. They have revealed themselves to be nothing but hypocrites, nothing but liars.
And I think as we get into the general election, you're going to see the case made by Susan Collins, made by the NRSC, that Democrats are not the people that they said that they are. Look at who they're supporting: the guy with the Nazi tattoo.
KHANNA: My argument against Donald Trump was that he didn't recognize a legitimate election. My argument was that he's given tax breaks to billionaires, that he has betrayed his promise to the working class and gotten us in foreign wars. He had four criminal trials against him.
So, the idea that someone who served three tours of duty had post traumatic stress disorder and is acknowledging it - a dark chapter in his life, and his redemption, is far closer to George W. Bush's story than Donald Trump's story. I mean, he has said he was addicted to alcohol, he had an ugly chapter, and he has redeemed himself. And Americans love redemption stories.
By the way, Donald Trump has never said- I haven't heard him express shame or guilt for anything.
SINGLETON: But Congressman, if I could just rebut quickly. Is Graham Platner running against Donald Trump or Susan Collins? I understand PTSD, I know a lot of soldiers, you know I'm a gun guy, that's a big issue to me, and I care a lot about it. And the alcoholism, I don't take that for granted, a lot of Americans deal with that as well, and we should support those who are recovering from that issue.
That said, this is a guy who's trying to draw a contrast against a woman who's been there a long time. She is, by all accounts, even by many of her colleagues on the Democratic side, a moderate, someone that they can work with, they have a- counted on her for many times in many very serious votes against her own party.
And yet Democrats are making the argument that now, everything they said about Trump, about those who supported Trump, like Susan Collins, was wrong, yet somehow we should excuse them for saying that Graham Platner is okay because they could win?
KHANNA: No one is questioning Susan Collins' personal character-
SINGLETON: How do you maintain any moral authority when you make that justification?
KHANNA: -because Harry Reid- Harry said- Reid had said, you can always count on Susan Collins when you don't need her. And the reality is Democrats are very upset that she put Kavanaugh on the court.
COLLINS: And to be fair, Susan Collins once said, she didn't trust Harry Reid when she was trying to keep her record in terms of voting.
