Have the Democrats found a new strategy to scare Trump?
Americast
BBC
4.3 • 3.1K Ratings
🗓️ 17 April 2026
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Why has an oyster fisherman from Maine - criticised for having a Nazi tattoo - become a frontrunner for the Democrats, and one of their best hopes to help take back the US Senate in this year’s midterm elections?
The north eastern state of Maine has become integral for Democrats as they look to unseat Republican senator Susan Collins, and elect their first Democrat senator in decades. But it also tells a bigger story, about how the Democratic party is looking to take on Donald Trump more widely, beyond this November’s midterms and into the 2028 presidential elections.
Justin and Anthony unpack what Maine tells us about Democrat strategy and why Graham Platner, currently polling first, is not a typical Democrat candidate. And does it tell us something significant about what voters want in 2026? Plus, we speak to Josh Keefe, a reporter for the nonprofit Maine Monitor, who went to school with Graham Platner. He discusses his memories of Platner, what Mainers think about his tattoo and Reddit scandals, and he tells us what he loves about his state as in the return of our United States of Americast feature.
HOSTS: • Justin Webb, Radio 4 presenter • Anthony Zurcher, North America Correspondent
GUEST: • Josh Keefe, Reporter for the Maine Monitor
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This episode was made by George Dabby with Alix Pickles and Grace Reeve. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The series producer is Purvee Pattni. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts |
| 0:04.5 | Newscast is on the face of it, a podcast about the news. |
| 0:11.2 | But it's also perhaps the world's most athletic podcast, |
| 0:14.0 | we have BBC correspondents dashing in and out, |
| 0:16.3 | ready to give us a deeper understanding of the biggest stories of the day. |
| 0:19.9 | Thankfully, we let them catch their breath before we actually start recording the podcast. |
| 0:24.2 | Listen to Newscast every day on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:27.9 | The state of Maine, with its tiny population, surrounded mostly by Canada and by the sea, |
| 0:33.7 | is launching itself into the very centre of America's political debate, because Maine is about to play a major role in who has control of the US Senate. |
| 0:43.8 | And it's happening now. The Democratic candidate likely to go through is young, is controversial, and perhaps even a little bit Trumpy. |
| 0:52.9 | A candidate like him would previously have been unthinkable in the party. |
| 0:57.7 | What is changing and what does it mean for the future of American politics? |
| 1:01.9 | Welcome to AmeriCast. |
| 1:05.6 | AmeriCast from BBC News. |
| 1:08.7 | You hear that sound? |
| 1:09.9 | Oh, I think when I hear that sound, it reminds me of money. |
| 1:13.6 | We didn't start this war, but under President Trump, we are finishing it. |
| 1:17.8 | This is a big cover-up, and this administration is engaged in it. |
| 1:21.2 | This guy has Trump-arrangement syndrome. |
| 1:23.1 | I have four words for you. Turn the volume up. |
| 1:32.4 | Hello, it's Justin in the worldwide headquarters of AmeriCast in London, England. |
| 1:36.4 | And it's Anthony in the American headquarters of AmeriCast in Washington, D.C. |
... |
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