Mehdi Hassan on MAGA, Maine and media cowards
6/10/202630 min
How should Democrats be feeling today about their Senate candidate for Maine? Graham Platner has a Nazi tattoo, a dodgy past and quite a lot of baggage. But his fans call him an authentic voice that’s ready to shake up the election in a seat they just can’t seem to win.
We ask journalist and broadcaster Mehdi Hasan what’s going on in the Democratic Party more widely - and as turmoil strikes the heart of Americas legendary 60 minutes show - where is the backbone to US media companies?
The News Agents USA is bro...
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Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMehdi Hasan· Guest0:00
[upbeat music] This is a Global Player original podcast.
Jon Sopel· Host0:05
There are convulsions going on at one of the main networks in America, CBS.
Mehdi Hasan· Guest0:10
Trump said recently CNN will be better when, you know, the new owners take over. That's a very dark moment for a country that's always celebrated the free press. He's threatening to pull the license from ABC because a comedian mocked him. I mean, this is the kind of thing you hear in a tin pot dictatorship. You have a bunch of right-wing billionaires controlling much of the mainstream media that people have relied on for years. That is a very scary prospect.
Jon Sopel· Host0:29
No one's closing you down.
Mehdi Hasan· Guest0:30
Not yet.
Speaker 3· Soundbite0:31
CBS News projects Graeme Plattner has won Maine's Democratic primary for US Senate. Plattner has been engulfed in a cascading series of controversies, but he beat Governor Janet Mills, who suspended her campaign in April, yet remained on the ballot.
Emily Maitlis· Host0:48
Graeme Plattner is officially the Democrats' nominee for Maine. If you haven't met him before, you're gonna hear an awful lot about him now. This remarkable rise of the unknown oyster man, a working man from Maine, with progressive politics in his head and a Nazi tattoo on his back.
Jon Sopel· Host1:12
What does it tell us about American politics today that it almost seems vital that you have a checkered backstory, that you're not squeaky clean? Is it that the Democrats are learning finally