After Democrat Graham Platner finally dropped out of the Maine Senate race on Wednesday night, Thursday’s Morning Joe continued to try to defend him. Co-host Joe Scarborough said Republicans would be “beyond hypocritical” to wade into the issue, as he said it was “fascinating” that some were “summarily calling him a rapist now.” His co-host and wife, Mika Brzezinski, also joined in as she called the controversies, like the Nazi tattoo, “just a Tuesday” for some Republicans. After the show played clips from Platner’s dropout announcement video, Scarborough first detailed Platner’s denials as strong. He said, “First of all, he denied these charges as clearly and as strongly as you can deny these charges.” Scarborough then said it was “fascinating that there are people in the media, people that we know, that are just summarily calling him a rapist now,” as he claimed he and Brzezinski had the same defense for Brett Kavanaugh.   Morning Joe continued defending Graham Platner on Thursday. Joe Scarborough said Platner "denied these charges as clearly and as strongly as you can deny these charges" before he said it was “fascinating” that “people in the media...are just summarily calling him a rapist now.” pic.twitter.com/liT7aMfpLt — Nick (@nspin310) July 9, 2026   He said Republican outrage that Democrats would support Platner was “beyond hypocritical.” He continued: “That that is that is just sheer farce. This is even beyond South Park levels of farce.”  Later in the show, after Scarborough’s whataboutism, MS NOW reporter Jackie Alemany detailed how Platner’s many controversies were now too much for voters: This has been sort of one infraction too many, with this obviously being the most serious of a lot of these allegations. But as we walk through yesterday from the stories about his Nazi tattoo to all of these Reddit posts to then allegations of infidelity, sexting, to now this sexual assault allegation, there is a trust deficit that has emerged amongst voters.   After reporter Jackie Alemany detailed Platner's scandals, including the Nazi tattoo and the sexual assault allegations, Mika Brzezinski remarked, “It's just funny because for that list that Jackie just made, I mean, for some Republicans, that's just a Tuesday. But whatever…” pic.twitter.com/pOlCv17sYs — Nick (@nspin310) July 9, 2026   Brzezinski responded to Alemany’s thoughts and said, “It's just funny because for that list that Jackie just made, I mean, for some Republicans, that's just a Tuesday. But whatever, you know.” Near the end of the 15-minute-plus-long segment on Platner’s demise, Scarborough warned Democrats in D.C. that, despite the many controversies and sexual allegations, many Maine Democrats still support Platner and the “Platner signs are still up.”  He said some Maine voters “think that this is Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries and the Washington establishment coming to get him.”   Scarborough later warned Democrats about the Platner switch and said many Maine voters “think that this was cooked up in Washington DC. He then explained how he and Brzezinski were “scratching their heads” as they received calls about “Platner needing to be off the ballot.” https://t.co/OD0sc4VJtz pic.twitter.com/JbdijJ5xgh — Nick (@nspin310) July 9, 2026   Scarborough later said he and Brzezinski have been bombarded by phone calls and text messages from people who want Graham Platner off the ballot, who are high up in Maine politics.” Scarborough then added he was not saying there was a conspiracy to get Platner, but that he and Brzezinski had been “scratching our heads for the last couple of weeks” as they wondered, “Why are we getting all these calls about Graham Platner needing to be off the ballot?” For a show that did many softball interviews with Platner during his campaign, amidst the many controversies, it is not a surprise that Scarborough, a man who seemed to admire Platner as he compared himself to the now-disgraced candidate, was poised to defend him.  The transcript is below. Click "expand": MS NOW’s Morning Joe July 9, 2026 6:08:57 AM Eastern (...) JOE SCARBOROUGH: So, Willie, a couple things. First of all, he denied these charges as clearly and as strongly as you can deny these charges.  Got to say, it's fascinating that there are people in the media, people that we know, that are just summarily calling him a rapist now.  For Republicans listening, this is something that Mika and I also said about Brett Kavanaugh. So, saying that people would come on this network and call Brett Kavanaugh a sexual harasser or rapist without any due process at all, perhaps they needed to take a deep breath. That said, regardless of how this was going to play out, the Democratic Party said, we're not going to support you. They weren't going to fund him. So he had no pathway for it. I just want to say, really. I mean, Republicans that are spending their time on Fox News and social media -  MIKA BRZEZINSKI: Oh yeah. SCARBOROUGH: Outraged that Democrats would support - dare support a candidate who was accused of sexual impropriety, even when that candidate vehemently denied that. That is beyond hypocritical. That that is that is just sheer farce. This is even beyond South Park levels of farce.  What I am reading on X, what I am reading in social media, what I am seeing on TV after the past decade. And by the way, if you want to talk about morally challenged candidates, you don't have to look at the White House. You don't have to look at Republicans bowing and scraping for the past decade. Just look at Texas! Look at who Republicans are behind as they're trying to suggest that Talarico is gay? But look at Paxton. He's not.  I mean, the hypocrisy. You know, Republicans should just really just shut up. They really should just shut up. If they're going to be critical of Democrats for supporting a morally challenged candidate or one who has been accused of doing things that are morally challenged, it is so hypocritical. Willey, and they should just leave this to the Democrats to clean up their own house. (...) 6:13:21 AM Eastern JACKIE ALEMANY: I mean, we've had a bunch of reporters who have been on the ground in Maine over the last few weeks, Kevin Frye has been there all week, who are hearing that for voters they have sort of crossed the Rubicon here.  This has been sort of one infraction too many, with this obviously being the most serious of a lot of these allegations. But as we walk through yesterday from the stories about his Nazi tattoo to all of these Reddit posts to then allegations of infidelity, sexting, to now this sexual assault allegation, there is a trust deficit that has emerged amongst voters.  It might not have appeared in the polling just yet, but I'm not sure that Graham Platner has as much leverage as he thinks he does. And in the process, he is making, again, not just establishment Democrats, but other Democrats even angrier because he is poisoning the well going forward, he is not necessarily setting up his replacement for success. BRZEZINSKI: It's just funny because for that list that Jackie just made, I mean, for some Republicans, that's just a Tuesday. But whatever, you know. There are so many hypocrisies here that we could go through, but that's not constructive. (...) 6:17:40 AM Eastern SCARBOROUGH: But I will say this. And this is just a word of warning to Democrats in Washington DC. Graham Platner was losing support with independents, no doubt about it. But I will tell you, Mika and I have heard nothing. Let me underline that: nothing but support from Maine Democrats on the ground for Platner. Platner signs are still up. They think that this is Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries and the Washington establishment coming to get him. They all have the same story. They started hearing ten days ago that people were coming up to Maine, and they were desperate to try to get Platner off the ballot, because they thought Susan Collins had too much on him and would destroy him.  I will tell you, without revealing any names, that we have been bombarded by phone calls and text messages from people who want Graham Platner off the ballot, who are high up in Maine politics. And we've been getting that for the last two weeks.  So, why do I say this? Because there's a conspiracy? No, not at all. Go back to what I said at the beginning: A warning to Washington Democrats.  You do need to listen to Graham Platner, because whether it's true or not, just as Katty said about her son, who has been working on this campaign, rank-and-file Democrats who have been supporting Platner from the very beginning, think that this was cooked up in Washington, D.C. with a lot of money behind it, to find anything that could be found to get graham Platner off the ballot.  And I will say, we know nothing about that. We just - Mika and I have been scratching our heads for the last couple of weeks, going: Why are we getting all these calls about Graham Platner needing to be off the ballot? BRZEZINSKI: A 73-year-old woman who is just - SCARBOROUGH: - Like constant, constant calls. So, anyway, that's what Democrats on the ground in Maine believe. So Washington needs to stay out of this. And Maine Democrats need to figure out who is going to replace graham Platner on the ballot. BRZEZINSKI: Soon. SCARBOROUGH: And if Washington thinks they can micromanage this and fix this, they need to listen to what Katty’s son said, because they're going to piss off their base, and their base won't come out and vote in the general election. They just won't. (...)