Sunny Hostin looked America in the eye and called Graham Platner a liar, a racist, and an anti-Semite.
Then she said she would vote for him anyway.
What Hostin said when Farah Griffin confronted made the original admission look tame.
Sunny Hostin Called Graham Platner a Racist and Anti-Semite on The View
Six weeks before Alyssa Farah Griffin called her out on The View, Sunny Hostin sat at that same table and ran through Platner's record herself.
Platner was the Maine Democrat running to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins – the man who had a Nazi Totenkopf skull tattoo on his chest for nearly 20 years, unearthed Reddit posts mocking sexual assault victims, and a series of allegations about his treatment of women.
Hostin looked at the camera and ticked off his offenses.
"So he's a liar, a racist, an anti-Semite," she said. "He's a homophobe."
Her next sentence is why no one on the Left will ever win a debate about character.
Hostin then made the calculation explicit – the Democrats needed to retake the Senate, winning Maine was part of that math, and character would have to wait.
Hostin just told America that character is negotiable for Democrats when a Senate seat is on the table.
Hostin Said She Would Still Vote for Him After the Sexual Assault Allegation
Hostin did not quietly walk it back.
When Politico reported in July that a former girlfriend accused Platner of forcing himself on her in 2021 – telling him to stop while he continued – Hostin doubled down on live television.
"If I lived in Maine I would have plugged my nose and voted for him anyway," she said July 7.
Co-host Sara Haines was direct: "If you are one of those people that was willing to plug your nose, you're the problem."
Hostin agreed. "Well, then I'm the problem."
She turned immediately to attacking Republicans – the reflex of anyone whose argument has collapsed.
Joy Behar added that the Republicans confirmed Pete Hegseth, as if that settles the argument that she would back a man she personally called a racist and an anti-Semite.
Farah Griffin Confronts Hostin and Whoopi Goldberg Over Nazi Tattoo Defense
The recent segment came after Platner had already withdrawn from the race.
The panel was discussing whether character still matters for political candidates when Farah Griffin turned to face her co-hosts directly.
"I love you guys, but a lot of you guys defended a guy with a Nazi tattoo who was credibly accused of a number of things," she said.
Every one of them had a reason it was not their fault.
Behar immediately said, "Don't look at me. I did not."
Hostin said, "I did, but I didn't know most of his background."
That is not true.
Hostin called Platner a liar, a racist, and a homophobe before she said she'd vote for him anyway.
She knew plenty of the background.
Whoopi Goldberg took a different approach entirely, claiming the Totenkopf skull was not obviously a Nazi symbol and that nobody told her.
The Totenkopf was the insignia of the SS Death's Head Units – the division that ran the concentration camps.
Goldberg said that should be left to Maine voters to sort out.
How Democrats From Elizabeth Warren to Chuck Schumer Lined Up Behind a Nazi Tattoo Candidate
The Platner saga gives the clearest possible window into how the Left calculates morality.
Elizabeth Warren called Platner "the real deal" and backed him despite the tattoo controversy.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani endorsed him.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer only pulled the plug when internal polling made the math impossible – announcing the national party would not invest in Maine if Platner stayed on the ballot.
Every single one of them stayed on board through the Nazi tattoo.
The Reddit posts where Platner dismissed military sexual assault changed nothing.
Reports of explicit messages sent to other women while he was married did not move them.
Politico's rape allegation did – but only after the numbers cratered.
Hostin accidentally described the Democrat Party's actual moral code: defend your own until the polls tell you not to.
They will call your candidate a Nazi, a rapist, and a liar – and vote for him the moment he might flip a Senate seat.
Sources:
- Paul Steinhauser and Adam Pack, "Warren warned Hegseth's tattoo made him a potential 'threat' — now she backs candidate with Nazi-linked ink," Fox News, March 21, 2026.
- Hanna Panreck, "Sunny Hostin called out by fellow 'View' co-host for prior support of Platner in tense exchange," Fox News, July 7, 2026.
- Staff, "The View host calls out fellow co-hosts for defense of Graham Platner despite his Nazi-linked tattoo," Fox News, July 23, 2026.
- Amy Curtis, "Sunny Hostin's 'Vote Blue No Matter Who' Brain Rot: Ride or Die for Accused Democrat Graham Platner," Townhall, July 8, 2026.
- Nicholas Fondacaro, "Sunny Hostin Urges Maine Democrats to Replace Platner After Allegations," NewsBusters, July 8, 2026.
- Staff, "View Audience Applauds When Whoopi Goldberg Says America Must Elect Candidates in the Midterms Who'll Oppose Trump," Breitbart, July 23, 2026.
