Platner Accuser: 'I Really Agree with His Politics', That's One Reason 'I Didn't Come Out'

During an interview aired on Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” Jenny Racicot, who is accusing Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner of rape, said that “I really agree with his politics. I think we need somebody with those political stances and who are willing to do the work. And I see his political videos. They get me fired up as well. I understand why people want someone like him in office.” And that is one reason she was reluctant to come forward.

Host Jake Tapper asked, “There are going to be people, maybe even his campaign, certainly his supporters, who say this is politically motivated. What would you say to that?”

Racicot answered, “I couldn’t disagree more. That was actually one of the reasons that I didn’t come out.”

Tapper then cut in to ask, “Because you agree with his politics?”

Racicot answered, “I do. I really agree with his politics. I think we need somebody with those political stances and who are willing to do the work. And I see his political videos. They get me fired up as well. I understand why people want someone like him in office. And I felt like me coming forward would essentially, potentially, take that away. And I felt really uncomfortable with the responsibility of and the weight of my story and what that might do.”

Tapper then asked, “When people hear this from you, are you saying you should not vote for him because of what happened?”

Racicot responded, “I’m not going to go as far as to say that. I’m just here to tell my story, to give a clearer picture of who he is and the type of past that he has. And I just think it’s fair to the democratic process to let people know who they’re voting for.”

Later, Tapper asked, “There are going to be Democrats who say, I believe you, but I don’t care, I’m going to vote for him anyway, because we need a progressive voice in the United States Senate. Are you going to be okay with it? Are you going to be able to handle that? I’m not saying it’s the right answer or the right response, but –.”

Racicot cut in to answer, “No, I have friends who feel that way, and that’s been a hard pill to swallow. And I guess I need to not ask, potentially. Maybe I need to not ask in order to not care what they do. I understand. I understand that the state of our political environment is so much so that we need a lot of change, and he’s offering that change. And I’m not mad at anyone who has voted for him all along. If he wasn’t who he was, I would be voting for him as well. And, going forward, I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

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