BAR HARBOR, Maine — Rep.Ro Khanna of California on Friday said that Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner should apologize to the women who recently came forward describing disturbing behavior they experienced with him.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.In a brief interview with NBC News, Khanna — here to rally on behalf of Platner and other Democratic candidates before Tuesday’s primary — said that he rejected the behavior Platner allegedly displayed against three women who described their past relationships with Platner to The New York Times.Add NBC News to GoogleWomen who dated Graham Platner detail 'unsettling' behavior in NYT article05:10Khanna said that Platner has shown redemption.
When asked whether Platner should go further and apologize to the women, Khanna agreed.“I think he should apologize.I believe what he did was wrong, was misogynistic, was toxic or volatile,” he said in a brief interview with NBC News.
“I know he’s ashamed of it and I certainly think it would be appropriate to apologize and say how he now understands why it’s important to stand up to a misogynistic culture.”Three former girlfriends described “toxic” and “unsettling” behavior from Platner when they dated, and one woman, Lyndsey Fifield, said Platner once “twisted her arm behind her back, shoved her into a bedroom and held the door closed from the other side so she couldn’t get out, telling her to remain there until she was ‘calm.’”Platner disputed some of the allegations, including that he had been physically abusive.In an interview with MS NOW on Thursday, Platner said, “Anything alleging physicality, anything alleging that I knew what my tattoo was, these are the statements of someone who’s politically motivated.”Fifield has worked for conservative groups and Republican campaigns.Khanna is the highest-profile national figure to back Platner, a day after the serious alle...