Remember what happened after Joe Biden imploded on the debate stage? Democrats and their media allies scrambled to insist they had been deceived about his health all along, and that they had secretly harbored doubts but had been lied to. The same routine is playing out right now with Graham Platner, and Fox News contributor Jessica Tarlov just gave the clearest demonstration of it yet.
On Wednesday, Tarlov appeared on Fox News Democracy '26 and finally decided it was safe to be critical of Platner and glad about his exit from the Maine Senate race. In the wake of a rape allegation against him, she wanted viewers to believe she had seen this coming all along.
"The average Democrat who I talk to, and certainly people within the larger party infrastructure, were always uncomfortable with Graham Platner and his behaviors," Tarlov claimed. She even said that Platner should have been forced out sooner.
Platner is out—good. It should’ve happened sooner.
— Jessica Tarlov (@JessicaTarlov) July 9, 2026
I want to underscore that Republicans don’t get to take a moral victory lap here. They’re still the party of Trump. pic.twitter.com/TyHkdGEesj
Here's the problem for Tarlov: A month earlier, right after The New York Times reported domestic abuse allegations against Platner, she was on The Five making the exact opposite case, with a straight face, to Greg Gutfeld. At that point, Tarlov said that ousting Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) mattered more than any of the claims against Platner.
"So Susan Collins, who touts her independence streak, now votes with Trump 95% of the time," Tarlov said last month. "So she continues to back his agenda. And guess what? There's gonna be one, maybe two Supreme Court seats up, and Susan Collins is gonna vote for his nominee, who will be an even younger Brett Kavanaugh, like she did for Kavanaugh. And you know who won't do that? Graham Platner will stand in the way."
She then pivoted straight to abortion, warning that women would end up "bleeding out" in emergency rooms if Collins won reelection.
That same night, Tarlov read approvingly from Platner's own damage-control speech. "I've made mistakes in my life, mistakes that I regret, that I live with and continue to learn from," Platner had said. "If you give me the chance, I will be a senator for the people who cannot afford to buy a senator." Tarlov dismissed Republican criticism of Platner as hypocrisy that night, pointing to Donald Trump's own history and insisting Republicans had no standing to lecture Democrats on character.
The race is Maine is about change — just like races all over the country.
— Jessica Tarlov (@JessicaTarlov) June 11, 2026
The facts are that Susan Collins votes with Trump 95% of the time, backs his judicial nominees, and then campaigns as an independent voice. That's exactly the disconnect fueling voter frustration across… pic.twitter.com/5bypKx2osY
A credible domestic abuse allegation from one of the most left-leaning newspapers in the country was not a dealbreaker for Tarlov in June. Once Platner's polling collapsed and then the rape allegation came out, Democrats had permission to bail on him. Tarlov, a woman, basically said last month to ignore Platner’s domestic abuse history because winning the seat was more important. Today, winning is still the most important thing, and since the polls show Platner bleeding support, it’s okay to force him out. Tarlov, like the rest of the party, only found her conscience exactly when Platner became a losing bet.
ICYMI: Is Susan Collins in Trouble Now?
Tarlov said as much herself, buried in her own spin. "We want to win the Senate, we are in good position," she said.
That sentence explains everything.
Democrats ran this same routine with Biden. They’re running it now with Platner, and they will run it again the next time a candidate's scandal grows too big to spin.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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