Mediaite71%
‘Sounds Like… the End of a Candidacy’: Bret Baier Says Platner Seems Like He’s About to Drop Out 46%
By Michael Luciano56%
7/7/2026, 12:00:24 AM
BS Summary: This article contains 24 faulty reasoning types, including Negativity Bias, Availability Heuristic, and Confirmation Bias, with Biased Writer Voice as the most egregious example at 27% saturation with 120 hits. Analysis detected 1,179 faulty-reasoning hits from 445 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 48% and a BS Rank of 46% (11,611 of 21,198 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 54.80% of the article peer group.
Bret Baier did some reading between the lines on Monday while reacting to a statement from Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner.
On Monday, Politico ran a piece in which 41-year-old Jenny Racicot accused Platner of raping her.
Racicot said she met Platner on a dating app in 2019 and had consensual relations with him before he forced himself on her one night in 2021 when Platner came to her house after she texted him not to.
She said Platner, who she said reeked of alcohol, raped her despite her repeated objections.
“POLITICO also spoke with a man Racicot dated and confided in the years after the alleged incident, and reviewed documents, including emails between Racicot and her therapist and messages between Racicot and an acquaintance whom she warned against getting involved with Platner years before he ran for office,” the outlet reported.
On Monday's Special Report, Baier welcomed Fox News Chief Political Correspondent Brit Hume and played a clip of Platner denying the allegation.
"Any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false," Platner said in a video statement in which he also announced he is pausing his campaign.
"Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to, and the goal of defeating Susan Collins."
Baier responded, "That sounds, Brit, like the end of a candidacy.
But I don't know yet.
They have until July 13 to change the nominee in Maine."
Hume replied by noting Platner's other liabilities, which include a totenkopf tattoo and aggressive behavior toward women.
"I think Republican strategists looking at this are probably trying to figure out whether it's better for them if he gets out or better for them if he stays in," Hume stated.
"He is carrying a ton of baggage from his Nazi tattoo to the sexual allegations that are out there and other exotic statements he's made that are politically damaging, I think.
So, obviously it's gonna be awkward and hurried for the Democrats to try to womp up another candidate at this stage."
He went on to note that Maine was one of just a handful of states Democrats hope to flip in their efforts to retake the Senate, which Republicans control 53-47.
Watch above via Fox News.
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100%flagged-word coverageBrit Hume
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