Exclusive | Trump tells Pod Force One GrahamPlatner is a major sleaze bag, but James Talarico is worse

President Trump blasted the Democrats’ scandal-plagued Senate candidate Graham Platner as a “major sleaze bag” in an interview with The Post’s “Pod Force One,” but said Texas Senate candidate James Talarico is worse. The president gave a blunt assessment of the Democrats’ top Senate contenders in an interview with The Post’s Miranda Devine in the latest episode, which is out Wednesday.“They don’t appeal to anybody,” he said of Democratic candidates, calling them by his new nickname: “The Dumocrats.” He expressed astonishment that Platner is beating Republican Sen.Susan Collins in the polls in their Maine Senate matchup.

The embattled Democrat holds a 7.8% edge over Collins, according to the latest RealClearPolitics polling average.“He’s a major sleaze bag.I mean, you look at him, you can’t imagine that, but yet he’s up in the polls against Susan Collins,” Trump said. Still, he expressed optimism about Collins, whom he’s clashed with in the past.

“But she’s always down in the polls, and she survives.”Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, are standing by Platner even after a deluge of recent reports on the candidate’s racy text messages with other women while he was married.Platner met with party officials behind closed doors in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, slipping in and out of a back entrance to avoid questions from the media.Meanwhile, Trump has even harsher words for Talarico, who is running against state Attorney General Ken Paxton for John Cornyn’s Texas Senate seat.Paxton beat Cornyn for the GOP nomination after receiving Trump’s endorsement.“I think Talarico is worse,” he said.

“Of the two of them, I think Talarico is worse.”“Talarico is horrible,” the president said, repeating his charge that the Texas Democrat is a vegan.Talarico had denied the vegan claim, although his girlfriend does follow the strict no-animal products diet, The Post revealed. Every week, Post colum...