Senate hopeful says US should be 'far more cooperative' with China to fight climate change
Maine Democrat Graham Platner is vowing to pursue closer ties with China if elected to the Senate, arguing that the U.S. should be "far more cooperative" with the communist state...
By Fox News · Fox News
Maine Democrat Graham Platner is vowing to pursue closer ties with China if elected to the Senate, arguing that the U.S. should be "far more cooperative" with the communist state on issues like climate change. "I think our position towards China should be one of cooperation instead of one of opposition," Platner said during a livestream in February, arguing it would be "absurd" to have an aggressive approach toward Beijing, citing its trade relationship with the United States. "I am not a China hawk, not by any stretch of the imagination," he continued. "I think we need to be figuring out how to integrate, or at least be far more cooperative, especially to fight challenges like climate change." Platner, a staunch progressive, is running to unseat Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in November’s midterm elections. His views on China appear to be well outside the political mainstream and place him to the left of many Democratic lawmakers, who see the country as the United States’ most formidable strategic competitor or a geopolitical threat. LEFT-WING DEM HIT WITH HOMETOWN CHURCH BLOWBACK OVER 30-SECOND AD The Senate hopeful has also argued that fascism followed by climate change is the top two challenges facing the United States on the world stage. "Before the rise of fascism, I would have said that the biggest challenge we have … globally is climate change," Platner, an oyster farmer and combat veteran, said during the livestream. Platner referred to federal immigration officers as "armed thugs," accusing them of murdering American citizens, an apparent reference to two fatal shootings during an immigration enforcement surge in Minneapolis earlier this year. He has previously advocated for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and dragging agents in front of Congress to testify about their work. Platner’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment. The Republican National Committee (RNC) sharply criticized Platner’s remarks in a statement to Fox New…