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The Source with Kaitlan Collins

Woman Who Dated Graham Platner Says He Raped Her In 2021; Platner Faces Growing Democratic Calls To Exit Maine Senate Race; Trump's Red Card Call Stirs Political Storm Around World Cup. Aired 9- 10p ET

Aired July 06, 2026 - 21:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: This video of an aurora, aurora shimmering in the Earth's atmosphere, it's incredible.

It was taken by a European Space Agency astronaut, on board the International Space Station. She said it's the most amazing aurora she has seen on her mission. This astronaut was, by the way, has now been in space for more than a 140 days and has orbited the Earth more than 2,000 times. Incredible images.

That's it for us. The news continues. "THE SOURCE" starts now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Tonight. Democrats are pulling their money and endorsements from Graham Platner, after an accuser speaks with CNN about a disturbing new allegation.

I'm Boris Sanchez in for Kaitlan Collins. And this is THE SOURCE.

Tonight, an explosive allegation is rocking a Senate race that could decide control of Congress next year. The Democrat running to flip Maine's Senate seat, Graham Platner, is facing mounting pressure, from his own party, to drop out of the race, after a woman accused him of raping her in 2021.

You will hear what she told CNN's Jake Tapper in a moment.

As tonight, Platner denies the allegations against him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM PLATNER, (D) MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE: I wanted to directly address the troubling, serious, and false allegations against me. Any accusation of nonconsensual behavior is categorically false.

Regardless of the inaccuracy of the reporting, but mindful of the political reality it will inflict, we are taking the time to reflect on the best path forward for the state that I love, the people that I love, the movement I belong to and the goal of defeating Susan Collins.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: A political reality that Platner is already facing tonight, more and more Democrats who stood by him through previous scandals are now rescinding their endorsements. That includes Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, and Senators Ruben Gallego and Elizabeth Warren.

And now, Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer is demanding that Platner exit the race, adding that if he doesn't, Senate Democrats' campaign arm will no longer invest in Maine.

The state's Democratic Party leadership is also calling on Platner to withdraw, pointing to the new allegation from 41-year-old Jenny Racicot, who tells CNN she first met Platner on a dating app, back in 2019. She says they began seeing each other on and off for two years up until one evening in 2021. That's when she says that Platner came to her house drunk, after she explicitly told him not to and forcibly had sex with her, despite her repeated demands that he stop.

Before we play what she had to say to CNN's Jake Tapper, a warning, this interview contains strong language and may be disturbing and triggering for sexual assault survivors.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: So, you described your relationship with Graham Platner as a very good example of what modern dating is like.

JENNY RACICOT, PLATNER ACCUSER: Yes.

TAPPER: What do you mean by that?

RACICOT: What I mean by that is that, you know, I think there's a lot of situationships. I think people are dating multiple people at the same time, whether that's known or not known by the people involved. So, it was just a very -- a very common practice is what I viewed it as.

TAPPER: And kind of casual?

RACICOT: Yes, very casual.

TAPPER: And when did you meet him? And how did you meet him?

RACICOT: Met him on Bumble, actually, in 2019. And I had known who he was. He grew up in the next town over. We had like a mutual family friend. So, I always knew of his existence. But that was when we actually met.

TAPPER: And what'd you think of him?

RACICOT: At first, I thought he was great, he's very well spoken, he's intelligent, he's charming, you know, I thought a lot of good things. We had a great first date. Yes, it went and flowed really well.

TAPPER: He has described himself as self-medicating with alcohol.

RACICOT: Yes.

TAPPER: He has described himself that way.

RACICOT: Yes.

TAPPER: So, I would think maybe that would have reared its head?

RACICOT: Yes, and -- and, unfortunately, that's something that I think a lot of people are desensitized to, in general, heavy drinking, and especially out of the relationship that I had just come out of. So, it wasn't anything abnormal to me. I remember we were out one night, and he was drinking, and that's when he told me that he has PTSD.

TAPPER: When The New York Times story came out, you were in it, but you didn't go as far in that story as you are today.

RACICOT: Yes.

TAPPER: Why not?

RACICOT: I didn't want to. I didn't want to have to violate this huge level of privacy to my own life to be able to infer that this person is not honest and trustworthy. I felt really protective of my own privacy throughout this whole process.

[21:05:00]

And I -- it got to a point where my privacy was no longer going to happen, and that was when I kind of just made the decision that, like, I'm going to say my piece and, and get it out there. I had tried to give the impression that something worse happened, and that's when it was like I refused to comment further.

TAPPER: You definitely alluded to a bad night.

RACICOT: Yes.

TAPPER: So bad that you never saw him again afterwards.

RACICOT: Yes.

TAPPER: But just to underline the point, you're not coming forward because you have any political motivation.

RACICOT: No, not at all. That was actually one of the huge reasons that I didn't come forward and -- and still struggled, like, that was a huge moral conflict to feel like.

TAPPER: Because you'd like a Democrat to be in the Senate?

RACICOT: Yes, yes, I like the things that he speaks about, they're important. They're important to people. I'm one of those people.

TAPPER: But, at the end of the day, you feel he's not being honest.

RACICOT: He's not being honest, no.

TAPPER: And we should note, this is 2021 we're talking about, it's only five years ago. Tell me about that. When was it?

RACICOT: It was at the end of 2021. Remember it being shortly after I moved back into my winter home because, that is where it happened.

And it was a night where him and I were texting back and forth, and he had taken something that I said as an invitation, and that's not how I meant it, and I quickly clarified, and he sent a message back indicating that he would come over, and I said, No, don't come over, like, I'm not in the mood, don't come over, and I was more stern with that message. And then, I didn't hear back from him, so I thought that that meant he got the message or gave up on it, or whatnot.

And so, like, half an hour later, I heard a noise outside my door, and then he -- he came in. He just came into my house. It was unlocked. I live in an area where you don't usually have to lock your doors. I do now, so. He came in, and I realized, OK, he didn't listen, he's in my home.

And I was laying on the couch. It was probably pretty late at night, and I was getting -- I was already ready for bed, I just wasn't in bed. And so, he had kind of like jumped on top of me and indicated that he had intentions that were sexual in nature, and I remember just at first being like, Hey, I'm not into this, like, Don't -- I'm not in the mood, like, Don't, whatever.

And it got to the point where I was like, OK, I feel like I've said this enough times, like, he's not listening to me or he's not hearing me, and I looked at him, and I remember this very specific look in his eyes, and I could smell alcohol, and I was like, This is different, he is heavily intoxicated, like -- and that blank stare was kind of like a photographic memory that -- that I still have of that night and his -- that was me, recognizing what the situation was, and this wasn't just like, Oh, hey, somebody showed up, and I'm going to tell him to go home. Like, he was heavily intoxicated, had intentions with me, and wasn't listening when I said, No. And--

TAPPER: And you were saying No, don't, No, don't, over and over and over?

RACICOT: I remember -- you know, obviously I've had to recall a lot of this. This is something that I tried for many years to forget. And so, small details might get past me, but yes, I remember very specifically saying, I'm not into this.

In my message previously, I had told him, I had had an old back injury, and I remember saying, like, I'm not in this, I've had a long day, and my back hurts like, like I was in that kind of mood, like, the Leave-me-alone mood.

And there was a little bit of like a scuffle, like altercation. The house that I live in has like this antique sewing kit that I kept beside the couch, and that got knocked over. He like backed into it, or something was maybe pushed into it by me, or something happened in that moment, and that thing got spilled and--

TAPPER: Do you remember pushing him away? RACICOT: I remember potentially pushing him away with my legs, like, and then as he backed into it, it spilled, and all of the sewing needles, and tape, and yarn, and everything, went everywhere. Everything had fallen onto the floor.

And in that moment, I -- I evaluated my safety, like, a drunk person who's blackout drunk is in my home, has these intentions with me, you know, has already caused this amount of destruction, and not listening to me. And so, I basically felt safe as just complying.

TAPPER: You normally use protection.

RACICOT: Yes.

TAPPER: And this time he didn't.

RACICOT: Yes.

TAPPER: And you didn't want that.

RACICOT: No.

[21:10:00]

TAPPER: And he didn't care.

RACICOT: No. I don't think I -- my words were falling on deaf ears or drunk ears.

TAPPER: And you were still saying, Don't do this, or, I'm not into this?

RACICOT: I remember specifically him like grabbing at my chest and I like hit his hand, and I said, Don't touch me, and I remember that during the altercation specifically.

TAPPER: And then he kept going?

RACICOT: Yes, and it was this weird mix of like coming in and out of, I don't think consciousness is a word, but like coming to and kind of falling back into that drunken, I don't know what I'm doing state. And yes, and he just -- he would apologize in those moments, and then go back to doing what he was doing.

TAPPER: So, he was aware that he was doing something wrong--

RACICOT: Yes.

TAPPER: --and saying sorry?

RACICOT: I feel like he was. In moments.

TAPPER: Is there any way that he thought this was consensual, or no, just because?

RACICOT: I don't believe that you can think that that scenario is consensual. You have to -- you have to understand that that wasn't, when somebody is repeatedly, I mean, when somebody in the middle of it says, Don't touch me, like--

TAPPER: Yes.

RACICOT: --that's obviously not consensual.

TAPPER: Especially if he's apologizing on occasion?

RACICOT: Yes. Yes. And that next morning -- so, after everything ended, I ran to the bathroom, which is just beside my bedroom, and I was in there for a while, and just trying to like comprehend things, like--

TAPPER: Were you crying? Were you--

RACICOT: I honestly don't -- I don't think I was crying. I was like more in shock, and -- and yes, just trying to understand, like, what had just happened especially, like this is a person I have known and have trusted and have had very consensual relationships with, like, you know, all along until it wasn't. And so, that was a really hard thing to understand that this was the person I trusted.

And so I spent a little bit of time in the bathroom, and when I came back out, he was asleep in my bed. And at that point, I didn't know what my options were, like obviously, I don't want this person in my house.

And when I, you know, earlier had realized how drunk he was, I knew that he had driven over that way, like, I'm surprised he made it to my house. And if I woke him up and sent him home, like I am now making the decision to put somebody that drunk on the road, and I didn't want to live with the fact that, like, if he got into an accident or hurt somebody else.

And I remember thinking that I could -- I could tell him to leave, and I could call the police immediately, and I could at least get him caught for drunk driving. So, I was like, I'm going to let him sleep, and the second he wakes up, I'm going to tell him to leave.

And so, he slept. I lay there in like a state of panic all night, and I remember turning on -- I have like one of those noise machines that you sleep with, and I turn it on ocean waves, and I'm like, I'll just try to meditate. And it didn't work.

So, in the morning, he woke up, and he went to go put his arm around me, and I was like, Whoa and, and realizing this person doesn't know that what happened wasn't OK. And so, I remember taking his arm and throwing it back at him, and I said, Are you fucking serious, Graham? And he's like, What? And I'm like, Do you not remember what happened last night? He's like, No. And I'm like, OK, I need you to get dressed and leave, and never talk to me again, like nothing that happened was OK.

And he did, he just got up and got dressed and left, and didn't seem concerned. TAPPER: He didn't ask you what happened?

RACICOT: He didn't -- he didn't ask me a -- he didn't ask me a single question. And I mean, in the moment, I was like not wanting to talk about it anyway, so maybe I felt fine about that in the moment. But like, I was still like, how can somebody that you've been in a, you know, some type of relationship with, for this long, tells you to never speak to you again about something that you did, and you didn't even ask what you did.

So, he left. He didn't -- he didn't talk to me. And I waited a couple weeks because I knew that with what had happened I could have gotten pregnant, and I wanted to wait and to make sure that that wasn't the case. And so, I wait until that happened, and I sent him kind of like a final send-off message, and.

TAPPER: What did it say?

RACICOT: I remember -- I remember a few pieces of it, and I remember saying that, like, nothing that happened that night was OK or consensual.

[21:15:00]

And I waited on Instagram, it -- you see, when it says Seen, and so I gave it a couple days, it said that it was Seen, and I still didn't hear back out, and at that point I blocked him on everything. I deleted his number, I blocked and deleted his, like, text phone number as well because text and Instagram are, I think, the two ways that we had communication, and I've never heard from him since.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: In a statement to CNN, the Platner campaign says, quote, "For a year, opponents of this campaign have thrown everything they can at Graham -- calling him a Nazi, a war criminal, and a communist. None of it has been true and this is no different. It is not a coincidence that this story comes a week before the ballot deadline, just as the previous false allegations came a week before the primary. Graham began this campaign to fight for a Maine where everyone is treated with dignity and where Mainers are put first, and no amount of desperate smears will stop this movement from seeing that vision through."

Up next. You'll hear Jenny Racicot explain why she came forward now. Our next source provided her with a support network for sexual assault survivors, and has worked to expose allegations against other lawmakers and candidates.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[21:20:00]

SANCHEZ: Back with more of our breaking news. CNN's exclusive interview with Jenny Racicot, the woman who says that Maine's Democratic Senate nominee, Graham Platner, raped her back in 2021. Tonight, Platner is categorically denying, what he calls, false accusations of nonconsensual behavior, as a growing chorus of Democrats calls on him to end his campaign.

Here's more from Jake Tapper's sit-down with Racicot, including her explanation for why she came forward now.

And a warning. This interview does contain strong language that might be disturbing and triggering for victims of sexual assault.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: He posted a comment on Reddit about a video promoting underwear designed to prevent rape.

RACICOT: Yes.

TAPPER: And he wrote, quote, Rape is a real thing, if you're so worried about it to buy Kevlar underwear you'd think you might not get blacked out fucked up around people you aren't comfortable with.

RACICOT: Right.

TAPPER: What did you think when you saw that?

RACICOT: I thought, here's a man who was drunk, and who, by dictionary definition, raped me, and he's blaming drunk women. So, I just felt like that was a very odd take to have on that.

And I also feel like with all of the comments that he made about women, sexual assault, rape, even the comments that he had made, that was in The New York Times article about threatening people with rape, like, why does this person have this issue like, scattered throughout their life, throughout their commentary, like it's on their mind? Why do they have such a strong opinion about women coming forward with allegations? Like, I just feel like this isn't the first time.

TAPPER: I know that you have been very reluctant to tell this story, very reluctant. Why did you ultimately decide to do it? Why -- why come forward?

RACICOT: A few reasons. One of the biggest ones is that I think that there are a lot of men in this world relying on the silence of women, and to be where they are, and I don't want to contribute to that. I also want to just get my life back.

TAPPER: There are going to be people, maybe even his campaign, certainly his supporters, who say this is politically motivated. What would you say to that?

RACICOT: I couldn't disagree more. That was actually one of the reasons that I didn't come out, you know--

TAPPER: Because you agree with his politics.

RACICOT: I do. I really agree with his politics. I think we need somebody with those political stances and who are willing to do the work.

And you know, I see his political videos, they get me fired up as well. I understand why people want someone like him in office, you know, and I felt like me coming forward would essentially potentially take that away, and I felt really uncomfortable with the responsibility of, and the weight of my story, and, and what that might do.

TAPPER: When people hear this from you, are you saying you should not vote for him because of what happened?

RACICOT: I'm not going to go as far as to say that. I'm just here to tell my story, to give a clearer picture of who he is and the type of past that he has, and I just think it's -- it's fair to the democratic process to let people know who they're voting for.

TAPPER: This has obviously been very difficult for you to talk about for five years.

RACICOT: Yes.

TAPPER: And even when you're telling the story, you don't use the word.

RACICOT: Yes.

TAPPER: So, let me just be, and I apologize, let me be as direct as I can. Did Graham Platner rape you?

RACICOT: By definition, yes, absolutely.

TAPPER: Because he had nonconsensual sex with you--

RACICOT: Yes.

TAPPER: --forced himself on you--

RACICOT: Yes.

TAPPER: --even after you had told him, No, and fought him off?

RACICOT: He violated multiple layers of consent that night, by coming into my home when I asked him not to, and by advancing on me when I told him not to, and, and furthermore, another incident that I had told him not to do, and--

TAPPER: With protection.

[21:25:00]

RACICOT: Yes, yes. So, yes. By the way that my nervous system reacted to this experience? Absolutely.

TAPPER: There are going to be Democrats who say, I believe you, but I don't care--

RACICOT: Yes.

TAPPER: --I'm going to vote for him anyway--

RACICOT: Yes.

TAPPER: --because we need a progressive voice in the United States Senate.

Are you going to be OK with that? Are you going to be able to handle that? I'm not saying it's the right answer or the right response, but.

RACICOT: No, I -- I have friends who feel that way, and that's been a hard pill to swallow, and I guess I need to not ask, potentially. Maybe I need to not ask in order to not care what they do.

I understand. I understand that the state of our political environment is so much so that we need a lot of change, and he's offering that change. And you know, I'm not mad at anyone who has voted for him all along. If he wasn't who he was, I would be voting for him as well. And going forward, I don't know what's going to happen.

TAPPER: There's something you said that I just want to find out more about. You say he was -- he was forcing himself on you. It was getting violent. You were pushing him off, you were kicking him off, needles, and sewing equipment was falling all over.

And walk us through the process where you decided that the safest thing you could do was just let him rape -- rape you.

RACICOT: Yes, I had never been in that situation before, and I realized -- I remember it being an instant, where I had recognized that he wasn't listening to me, it wasn't just that he wasn't hearing me or whatnot, and then I recognized his level of intoxication, and I knew in that moment I wasn't safe. And I don't think I was -- I don't think I was safe to physically fight back. He's big, he's strong. And I just had to evaluate my safety and come up with the least worst outcome to this situation. And so, I felt like complying for my safety was the least worst option.

TAPPER: But that's not consenting?

RACICOT: No. Complying is not consenting.

TAPPER: Complying is letting him rape you?

RACICOT: Is getting it over with.

TAPPER: So that he didn't hurt you even more?

RACICOT: I don't -- I don't know what this person is capable of. I don't, you know, I don't think anybody does. And even people you know for years and trust, you don't know the depths of what they're capable of, and.

TAPPER: You were afraid for your safety?

RACICOT: Yes, I was afraid for my safety.

TAPPER: Beyond -- not that rape isn't a horrific thing, but beyond--

RACICOT: Raped.

TAPPER: --rape?

RACICOT: I didn't want to find out how unsafe I could get that night, or how harmed I could be that night.

TAPPER: I know this is probably one of the toughest things you've had to do in your life. So, I just want to thank you for trusting us and sitting down with us.

RACICOT: Yes, thank you. I appreciate you guys being -- being here to do this and to help share these stories very kindly and delicately.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: In a statement to CNN, the Platner campaign says, quote, "For a year, opponents of this campaign have thrown everything they can at Graham -- calling him a Nazi, a war criminal, and a communist. None of it has been true and this is no different. It is not a coincidence that this story comes a week before the ballot deadline, just as the previous false allegations came a week before the primary. Graham began this campaign to fight for a Maine where everyone is treated with dignity and where Mainers are put first, and no amount of desperate smears will stop this movement from seeing that vision through."

Our next source helped bring this allegation to light. Cheyenne Hunt is a Democratic social media influencer and a lawyer, and she has helped surface allegations of sexual assault against lawmakers and candidates, and has counseled survivors as well.

Cheyenne, thanks so much for being with us.

Racicot said that she changed her mind about going public after connecting with you. First, walk us through how that connection came about. Who reached out to who?

CHEYENNE HUNT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, RECKONING ACTION, ATTORNEY: Right. I pulled my personal endorsement of Graham Platner after The New York Times piece was published. It became clear at that point to me that this person had a record of misogyny and disrespecting women that was disqualifying from holding public office.

I made that statement, and we were immediately flooded with DMs and outreach from folks on the ground in Maine, organizers who knew multiple women with stories to tell, and they provided our contact information because they thought we might have some resources that could help, and that was ultimately how we got connected to Jenny.

SANCHEZ: Talk to us about how you walked her through the process of potentially coming forward with these details, and what ultimately it was that led her to doing so. [21:30:00]

HUNT: Reckoning Action was formed to help survivors tell their stories, and to overall fight back against the cultural resurgence of misogyny in American public life. And part of that is holding predators accountable and ensuring that we are not electing predators to positions of power.

But when we meet with survivors, their agenda is first and foremost. That is it. That's all that matters. And so, her level of comfort, her coming out of this, feeling empowered, and like she was heard, and what she had to say was received well, is truly the most important thing. And so, we connected her with resources, pro bono legal counsel, communication support to think through how to tell her story in a way that made her feel comfortable with her boundaries, and that was really how that process got underway.

SANCHEZ: I want to ask you about something that the Platner campaign mentioned. They alluded to your involvement, alleging that Racicot's allegations are politically motivated. They said that the claims are coached and coordinated by out-of-state establishment operatives.

Your response?

HUNT: Establishment is funny. My prior job, before leaving and starting Reckoning Action, I was one of the leading executive directors of one of the foremost progressive advocacy organizations in the country. So, do a little Google search and you'll see that I'm pretty far from establishment.

And I also think coached, is what you say, and it's right out of the Trump playbook of deny, defend, deflect, when there's a credible allegation. We knew that this would happen, and we had to prepare all of the survivors that we've been working with for this, that they will say anything when their back is against the wall, even when there's credible allegations that have been corroborated by a source like CNN.

SANCHEZ: That word, establishment, comes with a connotation about some sort of financial gain. Have you been paid by any political group? Are you -- are you in any way financially benefiting from this work?

HUNT: Absolutely not. Reckoning Action exists to be of service to survivors and to fight against misogyny. And so we, as a nonprofit, were formed to do this work. We are not being paid. We're not in cahoots with any other political campaign. That's not part of what we do.

SANCHEZ: So, when you help surface allegations of sexual assault against former Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell, who denies the accusations against him, you said that Swalwell hired a private investigator to follow you. Have you had any similar experiences with the Platner campaign? Has there been any communication there?

HUNT: So far, we have heard from the Platner campaign. That outreach seemed to be in bad faith. It seemed like a fishing expedition, like they were looking for information on our survivors. We have really strong confidentiality policies, and obviously that was not given.

But what I will say is just like Eric Swalwell, we still live in a country where candidates are allowed to use donor dollars to attack survivors who come forward against them. Eric Swalwell is using donor dollars right now to pay that P.I., to pay his criminal defense attorney defending him against rape allegations.

So, if you want to actually be part of a solution here, you should ask for your donation back if you gave Graham Platner any money because that money could go to be using against survivors, into silencing survivors.

SANCHEZ: Wow.

You mentioned your progressive politics a moment ago. Platner obviously running an anti-establishment campaign in Maine. If he drops out of this race, who would you want Maine voters to focus on as a challenger to Senator Susan Collins?

HUNT: That's up to the State of Maine. The Maine Democratic Party has to nominate a replacement, someone that can champion the values that Maine voters made clear in this primary that they cared about.

I endorsed Graham Platner because I agreed with his platform. I gave him a glowing endorsement, and I rescinded it, obviously, after things came to light.

But I think they've made clear the kind of leader that they want. We need to make sure that that candidate can beat Susan Collins. Because the voters in Maine should not have to choose between a predator and a traitor to women. They need a champion for women, and we need to make sure that that person is on the ballot.

SANCHEZ: Cheyenne Hunt, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate your time.

HUNT: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

Still plenty more news to come tonight on THE SOURCE.

But first, if you or anyone you know has experienced sexual assault, you are not alone. Free confidential support is available 24/7 through the National Sexual Assault Hotline. You can call the number on your screen, 1-800-656-4673. You can also go online to rainn.org.

Up next. With Democrats calling for Platner to step aside, their battle for the majority in Congress is getting more complicated. My political sources will weigh in on this breaking news. Stay with us.

[21:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Back to our breaking news. Democratic pressure is mounting on Graham Platner to drop out of the Maine Senate race, after a woman accused him of raping her while she -- while he was heavily intoxicated nearly five years ago.

Platner is forcefully denying the allegation tonight, saying that he's taking time to reflect on the best path forward.

My political sources are:

Maria Cardona, a Democratic strategist.

And Lulu Garcia-Navarro, New York Times journalist, and co-host of "The Interview" podcast.

Maria, I wonder how much longer we will have to wait until we see what seems inevitable--

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.

SANCHEZ: --that he's dropped out of this race. Is there any way he can stay in this?

CARDONA: I don't think there's any way he can stay in this. It is unsustainable. We have seen his support completely disappear. The people who were behind him, the senators who were behind him, the establishment that got behind him, completely now saying, There will be no money there for Maine if this person does not drop out.

[21:40:00]

And so, from that standpoint to, if you look at the polls, Boris, right? I think it would be one thing. They would be talking from -- from a standpoint of strength, if he was polling well against Susan Collins. He's not. And that's a result of the previous allegations that came out, that were already ugly, that were already huge red flags.

And I was one who, when I saw those allegations -- and Lulu, you interviewed him, so you know this as well -- I knew there was something else that was going to come out. It was just a matter of time.

So now, there's a week between now and when he should drop out, so that then the Maine Democratic Party can actually get together and find another candidate. But it's one week, and then one week. That is not a whole lot of time.

SANCHEZ: We'll look at the future in a moment.

But Lulu, to the point that you spoke with him, you interviewed him, and you asked him about the red flags that had been littered along the way in his campaign, the Nazi tattoo, questions about whether he knew its meaning, the Reddit posts, his comments about women in those posts and minorities, et cetera, and then all of these allegations in past relationships.

I actually want to play a clip of how he answered whether or not there was more to come.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Are there other skeletons from your past that still may emerge in this race?

PLATNER: No.

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, NEW YORK TIMES JOURNALIST & CO-HOST OF "THE INTERVIEW": Is there something new you want to get ahead of?

PLATNER: No. I mean, like, we've -- I've been -- I've lived my life.

I know what I've -- what I've been through. I know what I've -- I know what my behavior has been. I know all of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: What do you make of his response in light of what we just learned?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Well then maybe, you know, every statement is a confession. I don't know.

The allegation that was made here was that he was so inebriated and so blackout drunk that he may not have remembered. However, she was explicit. She said she was explicit about what had happened, and told him not only once but twice, when he left, and then a few weeks later when she messaged him. So, the idea that he wouldn't know that these allegations might be coming, I think probably doesn't hold water at this point.

And I'll say one other thing, which is this: you know, our reporting at The New York Times is showing that there is now trying to be a negotiated sort of exit for Platner. What they're looking for is someone who would replace him that has similar values, that might represent the same progressive agenda that he has been in -- that he is trying to be -- that he has been pushing.

But, at the end of the day, I don't want to lose the focus on what we heard here tonight, the importance of what we heard here tonight. No woman comes forward and talks about this in the way that she has talked about it so publicly, you know, lightly. This is a very, very serious thing. She knows she's going to be exposed, and this is -- it's a very grave matter indeed.

SANCHEZ: So, given that discussion about a replacement that would sort of encapsulate his political argument, Maria. Governor Janet Mills doesn't necessarily do that, right? Who do you see that -- might take that spot?

CARDONA: Well, I think that's going to be the process that we're going to see unfold in the next two weeks. And again, hopefully, Platner understands the nature of what's happening, the timing of what needs to happen. If we are going to have a prayer in the world, to beat Susan Collins at this point, he's got to drop out now. Because then, the deadlines start coming, and then the Maine Democratic Party committee gets together, there is a vote, and then that's how you come up with a candidate. So--

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Two problems, though.

CARDONA: Yes.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Two problems. Among them.

The first problem -- I mean, I -- personally, I think you can -- the Democrats can kiss Maine goodbye.

But two problems here are, first of all, you know, the Democrats already had this problem with Biden and Kamala Harris. For different reasons. But you had a candidate drop out, and then they anointed a successor, and that did not go very well. So, at this point, you do not have a democratic process that can actually hear the Maine voters' will.

CARDONA: That's right.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And that is not going to be looked on kindly, I think, specifically at this point in the race. So, I think that's the first problem.

And then the second problem is precisely this. Who is a known quantity? Who is going to want to step into this hot mess and take it over?

CARDONA: Well, to that point, I do think it has to be a known quantity because this person has to have been vetted.

If there's anything that we learned from this, is how important vetting is, and what huge political malpractice the people in the team around Graham Platner committed by not doing a full-throated, deep vet of this person.

SANCHEZ: Maria Cardona. Lulu Garcia-Navarro. Thank you both for joining us.

CARDONA: Thanks, Boris.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Still ahead. A spot in the World Cup quarterfinals on the line, Team USA taking on Belgium tonight. The U.S. -- as the star U.S. striker is in the lineup after President Trump picked up global outrage with an unprecedented intervention.

[21:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The referee's decision to red card -- I didn't know what the hell a red card was. When I found out, I said, You got to be kidding. This guy just hands up, OK, your best player is not going to play next week or in the next game. I said, Wow, that's a lot of power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Tonight, a phone call from President Trump to FIFA President Gianni Infantino has plunged the international soccer community into a political firestorm, all over FIFA's decision to reverse the suspension of U.S. striker Folarin Balogun for tonight's crucial game against Belgium.

[21:50:00]

Team USA's star player was given a red card and a one-game ban, last week, during a match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. CNN has learned, that decision triggered a full-court press inside the White House, as the head of the World Cup task force Andrew Giuliani, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and other U.S. officials intensely lobbied FIFA to overturn the suspension.

As for what went down during that call with Infantino, here's what President Trump said today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: All I did -- all I did, I asked for a review because I didn't think it was a foul. And you know, again, I'm good at this stuff. I didn't think it was a foul. I thought it was two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled. That was not a -- that was not a guy punching somebody in the face or anything that, you know, would be different.

And I think it's -- I think it's a terrible -- if they wouldn't allow, you know, a top player, maybe the best, maybe among the best players on the team to play, I think it would have had a big stain, and I relayed it, just that feeling. I didn't tell him what to do. I can't tell him what to do, but -- and I don't believe he made the decision. I think it was a committee that made the decision, and they made the right decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: My source tonight is CNN Sports Analyst, and USA Today columnist, Christine Brennan.

Christine, thanks so much for being with us.

You've covered sports for a long time. Have you ever seen a world leader get this involved in international competition?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST, COLUMNIST, USA TODAY: Never, Boris, never. That doesn't mean it has -- hasn't happened, but in -- well, since covering the Olympics in international sports since the mid-1980s, so, a few years, I've never covered a story like this.

And by that, I mean there have been controversies, corruption, the international federations like FIFA, U.S. or the -- Gymnastics Federation has been involved in some scandals, including the Jordan Chiles story, just two years ago in Paris.

There certainly are moments where there are controversies, but never have I covered a story where a head of state has gotten involved in a field of play decision.

In other words, we've seen Tony Blair lobby for London to win the 2012 Olympics. President Barack Obama lobbying for Chicago to win the 2012 Olympics. Jimmy Carter, of course, back in 1980, the boycott that the U.S. led of the Moscow Olympics in a -- a huge story. But that was in the political realm.

Here, we're talking about actual decisions on the playing field unprecedented, and certainly a firestorm, as you well know, as has come from it worldwide, as this story has developed

SANCHEZ: I want to read part of the statement from FIFA President Gianni Infantino today. He said, quote, "I did receive a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues. During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA's independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies." That is how FIFA system works, and that is a principle that I will always uphold.

I mean, is it possible that this decision would have been made without a call from President Trump?

BRENNAN: Boris, it's possible, but I think very unlikely.

That's damage control there. They have seen this story explode in the places where soccer -- men's soccer is most valued and most popular in Europe, strongholds for Gianni Infantino's, for his power within FIFA. And around the world, there certainly has been anger and confusion and sentiment that sadly has taken a little bit from this World Cup, and the joy and the sense of -- that people had about being in the United States or Mexico and Canada.

Obviously, Gianni Infantino has been courting Donald Trump, and vice versa. The number of visits to the Oval Office, the award, the Peace Prize that they just made up to give to the President. There's been this ongoing relationship. So now, obviously trying to backtrack, and that's OK, he can certainly say what he wants. But I think with our own eyes we can see what was happening.

And they do have a process. But as you know, as we were all hearing in those first days after Balogun was out, it was asked and answered, no appeal, no way, no how he was going to miss the game. So then things changed, and obviously that phone call was a big part of things starting to change.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

A sadder report for those folks that decided not to tune in. Spoiler alert, it's not going well for the U.S. Men's team.

Christine Brennan, grateful to see you. Thanks so much for joining us.

BRENNAN: Boris, my pleasure. Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

Up next. The Source Code. We're going to give you the number at the center of a news story today. Can you guess the story? Tonight's Source Code: 1,000. We'll be back in just a moment with the answer.

[21:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Tonight's Source Code is $1,000. That's the amount of federal money invested in each of the 1.4 million eligible Trump Accounts opened for babies across the country.

With the President's ring of the opening bell for NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange inside the Oval Office today, the accounts officially hit their first day of trading.

An exciting day for millions of parents. But for a lucky few kids inside the Oval Office, that's just a -- some of them found the event to be a bit of a snooze. That probably won't be the case in just a few years, however. As CNN's David Goldman notes, if you max out your contribution to the Trump Account, assuming an average 10 percent annual return, your child's account could hit roughly a quarter of a million dollars by the time they turn 18.

[22:00:00]

I don't know what I would have done if I had that kind of money at 18, so perhaps a good thing they didn't have Trump Accounts when I was a kid.

Thank you so much for joining us tonight. Kaitlan is back later this week.

"CNN NEWSNIGHT WITH ABBY PHILLIP" starts right now.