As Democrats and much of the national press focus on the Maine U.S. Senate primary and the ongoing controversies surrounding candidate Graham Platner, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., announced Monday night that he "will do everything I can to make sure Graham Platner is the next senator from Maine."

Sanders, a self-styled socialist and two-time Democrat presidential hopeful, told interviewer Bob Costa during a conversation at the National Press Club that he has had "many interactions with [Platner]" and was aware of the charges against him.

These include brutish behavior with women, sexually oriented texting, and Platner receiving a tattoo in Croatia with what is considered a Nazi insignia, which the candidate has apologized for and had covered.

"What [opponents] do not mention is that Republican super PACs have spent $99 million promoting these [controversies]," said Sanders. "Or that he is a strong voice against oligarchy or that he had four tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, as a Marine and in the Army, and he experienced some horrible things."

The Vermont lawmaker added that Platner received "VA [Veterans Affairs] care and overcame PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder]. This gave him new strength, and he is now married to a nice young woman and has his life together."

Sanders went on to assert many of his Senate colleagues "are not saints" and "they threw 15 million Americans off healthcare, start a war in Iraq that is not based on law, and a terrible war in Iran.

"We need allies now who have the guts to say everyone is entitled to healthcare and don't go into a war unless it's based on truth."

In response to other questions, Sanders said that there are signs that socialist politics is succeeding in the elections of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and New Jersey's newly elected Rep. Analilia Mejia.

He also hailed his political hero, six-time Socialist presidential candidate Eugene Debs, as a "Christlike" figure who would "give you the shirt off his back."