Why Trump's Crimes Require Punishment: Candidate

The Daily Beast Podcast

The Daily Beast

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4.6 • 8.4K Ratings

🗓️ 20 January 2026

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Graham Platner joins Joanna Coles for a blunt conversation about Donald Trump, power, and accountability, arguing that Trump’s abuses must be investigated and punished—not waved away. The insurgent Democratic Senate candidate from Maine takes on the Epstein files, the weaponization of ICE, tariff fallout, and why even Trump voters feel betrayed, while explaining why he’s challenging Susan Collins and defying the Democratic establishment in a race that’s become a test of whether the rule of law still applies at the top. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	So Graham, if you were to be elected to the Senate, would you be up for using the law against
0:08.3	Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump? Would you want to see the Senate opening investigations against
0:13.3	them? Of course. If we regain power, there should not be a moment where we all just shake hands
0:18.9	and decide that, okay, well, that was it. That was a weird little moment. No, absolutely not. The crimes that have been committed must be
0:26.7	investigated and punished. The power that has been abused, those that did it need to be held
0:32.8	accountable for doing so. Senate oversight is, I think, one of the most effective places to bring that about,
0:38.6	which is one of the reasons I'm running for Senate. I'm Joanna Coles. This is the Daily Beast podcast,
0:44.6	and we have for you an energizing conversation with an insurgent candidate who wants to see Pete
0:51.8	Hegzeth and Donald Trump not only brought to justice, but he wants to see
0:56.6	them punished. He's also causing a frisson in the Democratic Party because he's standing to be
1:04.2	the Democratic candidate in Maine. I'm talking about Graham Platner, who is really challenging the democratic establishment in a way that they are finding hard to contain.
1:16.6	We had a far-ranging conversation. We delved into some of his past tweets, which he's embarrassed about, as he well should be, his ideas for universal health care.
1:27.1	And the reason he believes that Donald Trump is. as he well should be, his ideas for universal health care,
1:34.2	and the reason he believes that Donald Trump is extracting Venezuelan leadership,
1:42.0	going after Greenland, sending ice into Minneapolis to escape, of course, the inevitable,
1:46.8	the Epstein, Epstein of it all.
1:49.3	I think you will enjoy this conversation.
1:52.1	I want you to leave your comments about him.
1:56.8	Is this way you see the future of the Democratic Party going?
1:57.9	Let us know. But welcome to Graham Platner, who is, as we recorded this, in Norway, and he will tell you why.
2:08.0	Graham Platner, you are joining us from Norway. And at this point, the lighting in the Airbnb
2:16.7	way you're staying is making you look like a Rembrandt painting.
	...

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