Bernie Sanders Refuses to Apologize for Backing Alleged Rapist, Claims No Regrets Over Catastrophic Endorsement

Sen. Bernie Sanders stood by his trainwreck judgment this weekend, brazenly declaring he has zero regrets about championing scandal-plagued Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner—a disgraced oyster farmer now facing explosive rape allegations.

The Vermont socialist’s stunning admission on CBS’s “Face the Nation” exposes everything wrong with the modern Democratic Party’s moral bankruptcy and their willingness to overlook credible accusations of sexual violence when political expediency demands it.

“No, I don’t think so,” Sanders flatly told host Margaret Brennan when asked if he regretted propping up Platner for months despite a parade of red flags that would make any reasonable person run for the exits.

A Pattern of Willful Blindness

Sanders wasn’t just a passive supporter—he was Platner’s political godfather. His early endorsement transformed the unknown oyster farmer into a Democratic darling practically overnight, launching what should have been a doomed candidacy into the national spotlight.

Then came the revelations. One after another. Like dominoes falling in slow motion.

Disturbing social media posts. Marital infidelity. A Nazi tattoo. Multiple accusations of sexual misconduct from different women.

And through it all, Sanders stood firm, defending his man while sanctimoniously lecturing about “outside money” and portraying Platner as some working-class hero fighting the establishment.

Too Little, Too Late

Only after Politico published devastating rape accusations from Jenny Racicot did Sanders finally—finally—pull the plug on his endorsement. Even then, he waited a full day before issuing his tepid call for Platner to withdraw.

Sanders’s excuse? He needed to “get on the phone” and “talk to him” first. Because apparently vetting your candidates before endorsing them is too much to ask from America’s most prominent socialist.

“When we heard the serious allegations made against him, I wanted to get on the phone,” Sanders explained with characteristic evasiveness. “I wanted to talk to him. I did.”

How noble. How principled. How utterly pathetic.

The Vetting Problem Democrats Won’t Address

The real bombshell came when Brennan pressed Sanders on whether his stable of endorsed candidates—including the newly anointed Troy Jackson and Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed—were properly vetted before receiving his coveted stamp of approval.

Sanders’s response should alarm every American voter: “There are hundreds of candidates. I don’t know who has been ‘fully vetted.'”

Read that again. The man who positions himself as the moral conscience of the Democratic Party just admitted he’s throwing endorsements around like confetti without bothering to do basic background checks.

This isn’t just political malpractice—it’s a damning indictment of the progressive movement’s priorities. They’re more concerned with ideological purity than actual character. More interested in “standing up for the working class” than protecting women from predators in their own ranks.

Jackson: Same Failed Formula, New Face

Democrats have now scrambled to install former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson as their replacement nominee against incumbent Sen. Susan Collins. Sanders, naturally, is already singing Jackson’s praises despite the former logger’s underwhelming third-place finish in the gubernatorial primary.

“I’ve known Troy for many years,” Sanders declared, before launching into his tired class-warfare rhetoric about billionaires and rigged economies—the same populist pablum he served up to justify backing Platner.

The senator claims Jackson “stands an excellent chance to win,” conveniently ignoring that this is precisely what he said about his last catastrophic Maine endorsement.

The Oligarch Excuse Rings Hollow

True to form, Sanders blamed “oligarchs” and “the billionaire class” for throwing “unbelievable amounts of money” into campaigns to protect establishment candidates. It’s his default deflection when progressive candidates implode spectacularly.

But here’s the inconvenient truth Sanders won’t acknowledge: No amount of outside spending forced Graham Platner to allegedly rape a woman, get a Nazi tattoo, or engage in serial sexual misconduct. Those were choices. Character failures. Moral bankruptcy.

And Bernie Sanders either missed every warning sign or chose to ignore them because Platner checked the right ideological boxes.

The Real Scandal

The Platner debacle isn’t just about one bad candidate or one misguided endorsement. It’s about a progressive movement so drunk on its own righteousness that it abandoned basic due diligence and common sense.

It’s about political leaders who claim to champion women while defending men accused of horrific sexual violence.

It’s about the hypocrisy of demanding moral perfection from Republicans while giving Democrats a pass when they’re promoting “working-class champions.”

Sanders admitted to generating “enormous grassroots excitement and enthusiasm” for his slate of candidates. What he won’t admit is that excitement without vetting is recklessness. Enthusiasm without character assessment is dangerous.

No Accountability, No Lessons Learned

Perhaps most galling is Sanders’s complete refusal to accept responsibility or demonstrate any humility whatsoever. No apologies. No acknowledgment of error. No promise to implement better vetting procedures going forward.

Just the same self-righteous posturing about billionaires and the working class, as if populist rhetoric absolves him from basic judgment failures.

The American people deserve better than political leaders who prioritize ideology over integrity, who value endorsements over ethics, and who refuse to learn from catastrophic mistakes.

Bernie Sanders had a chance on Sunday to show some contrition, to admit he failed the women who accused Graham Platner of sexual violence, to promise reforms that would prevent similar disasters.

Instead, he doubled down on defending the indefensible.

And that tells you everything you need to know about where the Democratic Party’s priorities truly lie.