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'He's Scared... and He Should Be,' Platner Says of Trump Calling Him Worst Person to Ever Run for Office
"Donald Trump and all of his depraved billionaire friends who think that they can get away with disgusting acts... that they're above the law, they're about to find out that they're not," said the Maine Democrat.
Jun 12, 2026
Just a few days after winning Maine's Democratic primary for US Senate by over 52 points, Graham Platner on Friday shared a short video of his reaction to Republican President Donald Trump calling him a "thug" and "worse than any human being that's ever run for office, probably."
In the video posted on social media, Platner holds a laptop and watches 20 seconds of the president's comments, chuckling, before responding: "Wow! I got to say, being called a thug and the worst person to ever run for office by Donald Trump might be the highest compliment that I have ever received."
Since Trump's Wednesday attack on Platner in the wake of his decisive primary victory, critics have pointed out that the president has used his position to enrich himself and his family while gutting programs for working families and cutting taxes for the rich. He was also found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, accused of sexual misconduct by more than two dozen women, and reportedly named over a million times in files related to his former friend, convicted sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.
"He's also right: There might not be a lot of other people like me who've run for office," Platner said. "You know, people that actually serve their country, fought in this nation's wars, came home, started the business, lived down here in the real world, have spent years and years being involved at the local level in the community, and then one day decided to go run for US Senate."
When Platner launched his campaign last August, he named "the oligarchy"—the billionaires, and the politicians who do their bidding, including Maine's Republican Sen. Susan Collins—as "the enemy." The combat veteran and oyster farmer quickly won support from progressives such as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), and Mainers across the state, who have stood by him amid media and public scrutiny of his old Reddit posts, a tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol that he's now covered up, and his personal relationships.
Platner's primary challenger, Gov. Janet Mills, suspended her campaign in April, citing a lack of financial resources. The seat long held by Collins is a key target for Democrats, who aim to reclaim majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives, to continue fighting against Trump—and potentially impeach him for a historic third time.
According to Platner, the reason Trump is now attacking him personally, less than five months away from the general election, "is that he's scared... He knows that we're coming after him. He knows that when we win this election, when we take this kind of politics down to Washington, when we retake this seat for working-class Mainers, when we retake the Senate with fighting Democrats who actually want to hold Trump and his cronies and all their corruption accountable, he knows that's coming—and it's got him shaking in his boots."
"And he should be, because we are coming, because we're building something here in Maine the likes of which has not been seen before. We are really building a true, broad-based, working-class coalition, to build power the old-fashioned way, organizing people and taking it," he continued. "Taking it to fight for a better future."
"The Epstein class... Donald Trump and all of his depraved billionaire friends who think that they can get away with disgusting acts, think that because of their money and their power and their wealth and their influence that they're above the law, they're about to find out that they're not, and it's got them terrified," he added. "And they should be."
Platner's video came on the heels of The Maine Monitor publishing an analysis of campaign finance data showing that nearly 100 billionaires and their spouses have contributed to Collins' reelection bid so far, dumping nearly $10 million into her campaign committee and political action committees supporting her.
"While Susan Collins' campaign is backed by billionaire donors, our campaign is built on a movement funded by the people, with an average donation of $26," said Ben Chin, Platner's campaign manager. "The establishment can bring it on—they cannot defeat the will of working Mainers, 15,000+ volunteers, and a campaign powered by small-dollar donors from nearly every ZIP code in Maine."Keep ReadingShow Less
'This Is Oligarchy': Nearly 100 Billionaires Are Funding Susan Collins' Reelection Bid
"While Susan Collins’ campaign is backed by billionaire donors, our campaign is built on a movement funded by the people, with an average donation of $26," said Graham Platner's campaign manager.
Jun 12, 2026
A new analysis of campaign finance data shows that nearly 100 billionaires and their spouses have contributed to Republican Sen. Susan Collins' reelection bid so far, funneling nearly $10 million to the incumbent's campaign committee and PACs supporting her effort to fend off progressive challenger Graham Platner.
The Maine Monitor on Thursday published a list of billionaires who have donated to Collins and Platner, who has called his Republican opponent a "corrupt" protector and beneficiary of an oligarchic political system. The outlet noted that Collins' billionaire donation total "stands in stark contrast with the fundraising of her opponent... whose campaign has mostly attracted smaller amounts of funds but from many more people."
The $9.8 million that Collins' fundraising network received from billionaires and their spouses between January 2025 and late May 2026 represents "a third of what groups supporting Collins raised from all donors," according to The Maine Monitor's analysis.
Platner's reelection bid has received donations from billionaires George Soros, Pat Stryker, Jon Stryker, Christy Walton, and Jennifer Pritzker. Those contributions represent "a fraction of 1% of his total haul," The Maine Monitor noted. The Democratic candidate's campaign said Thursday that "grassroots donors chipping in $200 or less have given Graham Platner $9.6 million."
“While Susan Collins’ campaign is backed by billionaire donors, our campaign is built on a movement funded by the people, with an average donation of $26,” Ben Chin, Platner's campaign manager, said in a statement. “The establishment can bring it on—they cannot defeat the will of working Mainers, 15,000+ volunteers, and a campaign powered by small-dollar donors from nearly every zip code in Maine.”
Collins' largest billionaire donor to date came from Ken Griffin, a hedge fund manager who pumped $2.5 million into Pine Tree Results, a Super PAC supporting the five-term Republican incumbent. Collins' network has also received at least $1 million from Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, New Balance chair James Davis, and hedge fund manager Paul Singer.
this is oligarchy — pass it on pic.twitter.com/hU3nsRx9w4
— David Sirota (@davidsirota) June 12, 2026
The Maine Monitor observed that "the majority of the billionaire donations to Collins this cycle are from billionaires who made their money in alternative investments, including hedge funds and private equity."
In 2017, Collins voted for legislation that delivered massive tax breaks to large corporations and American billionaires, whose collective wealth surged to $8.1 trillion last year. ProPublica reported that private equity became Collins' "most reliable source of donations" after she withdrew an amendment to the 2017 legislation that would have targeted one of the industry's beloved tax breaks.
On top of billionaire funding, Collins' campaign has benefited from massive ad spending by dark-money groups such as One Nation. The group, which is aligned with Sen. Mitch McConnell, has spent more than $19 million on advertising for Collins so far.
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Trump Official Lies That 'No One Was Kicked Off' SNAP as Millions Lose Food Aid—Including Kids
"Did 700,000 children simply not apply?" asked one advocate in response to USDA chief Brooke Rollins' Senate testimony.
Jun 10, 2026
The head of the US Department of Agriculture on Wednesday falsely told senators that "no one was kicked off" the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, claiming that the millions of people—including many children—who have lost federal nutrition assistance in recent months were no longer eligible for aid or decided not to apply for it.
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins declared that "no one in Washington or in America wants to see a family go hungry," but insisted that anyone who is no longer receiving SNAP benefits has "chosen not to reapply or they're an able-bodied adult that can either work for 20 hours a week or volunteer."
Rollins' testimony conflicts with a growing number of anecdotal reports and expert analyses showing that families across the United States are losing SNAP benefits at the fastest rate in decades. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) estimates that at least 700,000 children have lost SNAP since President Donald Trump signed into law a Republican budget package last summer, enacting the largest-ever cuts to the federal nutrition program.
Rollins: No one was kicked off of SNAP. If they are not on SNAP, they have chosen not to reapply or they are an able bodied adult that can work. pic.twitter.com/eaiVO9XRwb
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 10, 2026
"Did 700,000 children simply not apply?" Rachel Sabella, director of the No Kid Hungry New York campaign, asked in response to Rollins' remarks.
Katie Bergh, a CBPP policy analyst, pointed to recent reporting by NBC News, which spoke to a mother of two in Arizona who said her "benefits stopped without warning three months ago" after the state began implementing new eligibility requirements included in the Republican budget law.
"It's been really hard," the mother said. "We've been going to food banks every week... We're eating less, we're eating more frozen stuff."
Rollins, a multimillionaire, has openly celebrated the massive and rapid decline in SNAP participation during Trump's second White House term, claiming that the roughly 4 million people who have been "moved" off the program are closer to realizing "the American dream"—even as hunger grows to levels not seen since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"This is a celebration of work and the dignity of work," Rollins told senators on Wednesday.
But CBPP concluded in an analysis released in late April that the "dramatic" loss of SNAP benefits across the country "cannot be explained by a rapid improvement in people’s economic well-being or reduced need for help affording food."
"Labor force data show that the unemployment rate was flat between July 2025 and March 2026, the most recent data available," the think tank observed. "A more likely explanation for why people are losing access to food assistance is that states are now facing new challenges as they respond to the cuts in [the Republican budget law]—the largest in the program’s history."
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