Democrat Ro Khanna Backs Platner AccuserThen Blames Iraq And Iran Wars For His Behavior

The California Democrat appeared Sunday on CBSs Face the Nation, where he was pressed about the mounting allegations against Platner, a Senate hopeful whose personal conduct and rhetoric have drawn national scrutiny. As reported by Breitbart, Khanna simultaneously affirmed the credibility of a woman accusing Platner of disturbing behavior, criticized his own partys efforts to discredit her, and attempted to reframe the controversy around the broader costs of Americas foreign interventions and the ongoing war with Iran.

Host Margaret Brennan opened by detailing the accusations from Lyndsey Fifield, a conservative who dated Platner for roughly two years and has gone public about their relationship. She said he left an AR 15 lying around his Capitol Hill apartment when he lived here, told her if anyone broke in hed rape them to show hes dominant, Brennan recounted, adding that Fifield did say he never hit her or punched her, but said he could be rough, and she described being grabbed by her shoulder and him pulling her arm as she was refusing to get out of a car.

Brennan then invoked the old Democratic slogan believe all women and asked Khanna directly, Do you believe her? Khanna did not hedge, replying, Yes, and I dont think our side should be attacking her, and I appreciate her courage from coming forward. He acknowledged that some Democrats have tried to dismiss Fifield because shes a Republican, but insisted, I think that is irrelevant. I believe her.

Khanna went on to condemn Platners conduct in stark terms, even as he argued that Maine voters are prepared to forgive him. I think Graham acted shamefully, and he acted as The New York Times characterized it, as a toxic relationship, he said. It is shameful. It is ugly. It happened in a dark period of his life, and the Maine voters that I met said they dont like it. According to Khanna, those voters knew that he had these chapters yet are willing to extend him grace and redemption, and theyre focused now on what hes running for, but he reiterated, I do not think we should be attacking her.

Brennan noted that it was his campaign, the Platner campaign, that described the accuser as a GOP operative who has dedicated her career to electing Republicans, and asked whether Khanna would advise them to stop. Absolutely. They should not attack her. They should not attack the New York Times reporters who wrote the story, Khanna responded, stressing that he personally knows those reporters and that they have written things critical of me. Thats what journalists do.

In a pointed contrast aimed at Republicans, Khanna declared, Donald Trump is the one who attacks the press. Our party doesnt attack the press. He added, Our party believes that you treat women with equality and respect in all aspects of their lives. Graham Platner did not do that in the early 2000s. Khanna argued Platner should just say what he has said to Maine voters, that was a shameful period in his life. Hes ashamed of that conduct, and thats what makes him different, is that hes taken accountability for that period of his life. Others, like Trump, have never taken accountability.

Brennan then shifted to Platners repeated references to his post-traumatic stress disorder, noting that he has been very open about what he went through, coming back from, I believe, three tours in Iraq, and then he worked in a private capacity in Afghanistan. She pointed out that some veterans groups have said that, you know, hes basically using it as an excuse for bad behavior and maligning them in that way. Khanna began, I dont think before Brennan interjected that it sounds like its being used as an excuse.

Khanna insisted he does not see PTSD as a justification for Platners alleged misconduct. Its- its not an excuse, it doesnt justify him being in toxic relationships or saying misogynistic things he said, before clarifying, Well, I dont view, in fact, in my remarks I said its not an excuse, its- but its the truth, its his truth of who he was. He then pivoted to a broader indictment of Americas foreign policy, arguing, what it should tell us is we broke a lot of people in this country by sending people to Iraq.

Khanna explicitly blamed establishment Republicans and long-serving moderates for those decisions, singling out Maines incumbent GOP Senator. Susan Collins sent people to Iraq, and now on the 100th day of a war in Iran, were breaking more people, he charged. He tied that critique to kitchen-table concerns, saying, Gas is through the roof, food is through the roof, and this Iran war is an illegal war, immoral war, an unstrategic war, and Graham Platner is running to stop it.

According to Khanna, that anti-war message is what truly animates voters in Maine, not the personal scandal surrounding Platners past. That is the big issue that Maine voters were talking about, the war thats increasing gas prices, the lack of healthcare, but I dont believe PTSD should be an excuse for bad behavior, he said. But we do need to recognize the toll these wars are taking on people.

Brennan noted that Platner did protest against the war, but that was before he enlisted in the Marines, and that he subsequently worked in a private capacity in Afghanistan, another war zone. Khanna portrayed Platners trajectory as both patriotic and disillusioned, saying, He was patriotic. Look, I ran against the war in Iraq in 2003. That was how I started. He was opposed to the war.

Khanna argued that the Iraq invasion was a fundamental strategic blunder that continues to reverberate. We have made a mistake by getting into the war in Iraq. Now he served the country, but one of the reasons he went into PTSD, if you talk to him, as he said, I realized that my service did not have a purpose for doing good, Khanna explained. He then turned his fire back on Sen. Collins, asserting, And now youve got Susan Collins, who has been an apologist for the war in Iran on this 108 What have we achieved?

In Khannas telling, the war has failed on its own terms while inflicting economic pain at home. You still have an Iranian regime there, they still have the nuclear fuel there, the gas prices are through the roof, he said, framing Platners candidacy as a referendum on endless interventionism. And why is Platner in the race? Because hes saying stop these foreign wars.

For conservatives, Khannas appearance underscores several tensions within the Democratic Party: a professed commitment to believe all women colliding with the instinct to protect a vulnerable Senate candidate, a willingness to blame Republicans like Susan Collins for wars that enjoyed bipartisan support, and a continued effort to deflect from a Democrats personal misconduct by invoking systemic trauma and foreign policy failures. While Khanna insisted that PTSD is not an excuse and that Platners behavior was shameful and toxic, he also framed the candidate as a vehicle to stop these foreign wars, even as Americans grapple with soaring gas and food prices and a political class that rarely accepts responsibility for the consequences of its decisions.