Trump also has endorsed a parade of Republicans with their own personal baggage — but that didn’t stop him from faulting the other side for doing the same.
“He’s a thug, and they’re trying to make excuses for him,” Trump said of top Democrats. “I mean, he’s worse than any human being that’s ever run for office, probably.”
The criticism follows Platner’s decisive primary victory
Asked about Trump’s comments, Platner’s campaign said the candidate remained focused on issues facing Maine.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, in response, issued a statement focused on Collins, who is considered one of the most vulnerable senators up for reelection this year.
“Susan Collins is facing backlash in Maine after voting with Trump 96 percent of the time, being the decisive vote for the justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, and selling out to the special interests that fund her campaigns after three decades in the Senate, and that’s why Trump praised her today in the Oval Office,” spokesperson Josh Marcus-Blank said in a statement.
The White House defended Trump’s comments by noting Platner’s past social media posts.
“Graham Platner proudly referred to himself as a ‘communist,’ called all police ‘bastards,’ and said rural White Americans ‘actually are’ racist and stupid. President Trump is absolutely correct that Platner is both a thug and a pig. Attempting to compare President Trump to Graham Platner is exactly why trust in legacy media outlets like the failing Associated Press is at an all-time low,” White House spokesperson Kush Desai said in a statement.
‘Can you imagine if the Republicans had him?’
“He’s like a pig,” the president said, adding that perhaps “pigs would be very upset” to be associated with Platner, drawing laughter from assorted Republican lawmakers in the Oval Office with him.
Trump then brought up another scandal that has swirled around him dating back to his first term as president: his former friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump sought to paint Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer as a hypocrite, saying he “goes crazy over this or that or Epstein, Epstein, Epstein” but instead should be concerned about Platner.
Later, Trump offered, “Can you imagine if the Republicans had him?”
Setting aside the allegations Trump has faced over the years, Republicans have had candidates who were accused of serious misconduct who nonetheless won Trump’s backing.
Trump also didn’t back away from endorsing 2017 Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore, who was accused of sexual misconduct involving teenage girls decades earlier. Trump, at the time, noted Moore’s denials and said his vote was needed for Republican priorities. Moore’s eventual loss gave way to the first Alabama Democratic senator in a quarter-century.
He endorsed 2024 North Carolina gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson and declined to rescind the backing after CNN reported that the candidate had made lewd and racist comments on a pornography website — though he did try to distance himself. Robinson, who later acknowledged making the posts, handily lost the general election in the swing state.
That includes Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was accused of sexual assault and denied it, and Trump’s initial choice for attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who faced a Justice Department sex trafficking investigation and a House Ethics Committee investigation into sexual misconduct.
Gaetz denied wrongdoing and withdrew his name from consideration. The DOJ investigation ended without federal charges against him.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Photos You Should See – June 2026
