As people debate whether Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner is fit for office, political strategist James Carville threw all of the embattled Democratic nominee's baggage on the lap of his GOP opponent.
Platner won the Democratic primary for the Maine Senate race, but not before wading through hot water over a slew of allegations about a Nazi tattoo, sexting with other women while married, and acting aggressively towards his ex-girlfriends, which he disputes.
Carville jumped to his defense during an interview with journalist Chris Cuomo, and said that Platner's troubles stem from decisions made by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). Platner will square off against Sen. Collins for a critical Senate seat that could help the party steal a majority from the GOP.
"First of all, four combat deployments," Carville said, speaking about Platner. "In all of the deployments, you know what all four have in common? These were wars that Susan Collins supported."
Carville expects that those deployments "would have some kind of effect on your mentality," he said, and blamed the toll of that combat for the scandals plaguing Platner's campaign today.
"That's the larger issue," Carville said. "He's dealing with this from Susan Collins' wars."
Voters understand that, Carville explained. He expects that voters would therefore think, "Well, I would be radicalized myself if something like that happened," Carville said.
"And maybe it would be a good idea in the United States Senate to have a veteran who has struggled with mental issues and put him on the Veterans Affairs Committee because he's not the only veteran," Carville said. "He's not the only combat veteran that's profoundly affected by what happened to them during these wars."