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New York Times opinion columnist Michelle Goldberg says she “deeply” regrets an earlier column praising Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, writing that a rape allegation against him led her to conclude he appears “significantly worse” than the online criticism she had previously dismissed.
Goldberg, who profiled Platner favorably during his rise in Maine Democratic politics, revisited her assessment in a new column after Platner’s former girlfriend accused him of rape, an allegation he has denied.
“While I’m assigning blame, I shouldn’t leave out myself,” Goldberg wrote in the Monday column.
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“Last October, when stories about Platner’s tattoo and Reddit posts first broke, I went to Maine to write about him. I tried to convey what I saw: a campaign that was electrifying angry Maine voters. But I deeply regret that, impressed by Platner’s political charisma, I wrote that he was ‘nothing like the edgelord caricature I encountered online.’ If anything, he seems to be significantly worse.”
On Monday, during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Jenny Racicot, who had previously made allegations against Platner, was asked if she thought Platner had raped her, and she responded, “By definition? Yes, absolutely.”
Racicot’s allegations were first detailed by Politico in a Monday report. She told that outlet over the course of three interviews that Platner forced her to have sex with him against her will in 2021, which Platner has denied. Racicot told Politico that Platner was “almost blackout drunk” when the incident took place.
“I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me,” Racicot told Politico. “I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice.’”
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In June, the New York Times published a story featuring allegations against Platner from women who formerly dated him, including Racicot.
Even though Racicot addressed her relationship with Platner in the Times article, she did not elaborate on the 2021 incident.
Goldberg also singled out Platner’s former political director, Genevieve McDonald, writing that McDonald had tried to warn Democrats about him.
“She quit when the first Platner scandals emerged and has been increasingly outspoken against him,” Goldberg wrote. “Progressive operatives made her seem like a vindictive person eager to curry favor with Maine’s political establishment. In retrospect, she looks much more like someone who took a profound professional risk to do the right thing. I can’t be the only one who regrets not taking her more seriously.”
She continued, “If there’s a lesson here, it might be about the importance of listening hard to the people telling you what you don’t want to hear. Many Democrats, disgusted by their party’s failure to contain Donald Trump, want representatives as furious as they are, and they no longer trust their leaders to tell them who is electable. That opens space up for outsider candidates who wouldn’t have had a chance a few years ago. It also makes it easier for unfit characters to escape proper vetting.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Platner for comment.
Fox News’ Rachel Wolf contributed to this report.
