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President Donald Trump said Wednesday night that the political fallout surrounding Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner, who abandoned his campaign following a sexual assault allegation, ultimately centers on whether people “believe the woman.”
Jenny Racicot, 41, detailed the alleged 2021 assault to Politico in an article published Monday. Racicot stated that she had maintained an intermittent relationship with Platner, but alleged that he arrived at her residence intoxicated one evening in 2021 and forced her to have sex with him.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, the president said that Platner is in a “bind” over the disclosure. “It’s really a question of whether you believe the woman,” he said. “A lot of people say big falsehoods.”
The president’s commentary preceded Platner’s formal announcement that he was suspending his campaign. Despite exiting the race under mounting pressure from Democratic Party leadership, Platner continued to deny the accusation.
“I have faced some very serious allegations, and I just want to make it clear, this is all false,” Platner said in a video statement. “The things that have been claimed did not happen. It’s not real.”
“With no time to truly respond, no time for investigations before a corporate media system and the political establishment got to act as judge, jury and executioner,” Platner said in the video. “Accusations are supposed to be the beginning of things, not the end. This was the last week to try to get me off of the ballot, and that’s why this is occurring.”
Prior to the assault allegation, Platner’s campaign had already been weighed down by separate complaints regarding toxic behavior toward other women he had dated, as well as a history of sexually explicit text messages sent to women during the early years of his marriage.
The Maine Democratic Party has until July 27 to designate a replacement nominee. The chosen candidate will challenge incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins in the November general election.