Progressive podcaster Emma Vigeland drew a wave of criticism this month after commenting on the political implosion of Maine oysterman Graham Platner.
Vigeland, a former correspondent for The Young Turks and current co-host of The Majority Report With Sam Seder, said during an appearance on a Vox podcast that a candidate’s personal history matters less to her than their policy agenda — even using an intentionally provocative “Nazi” example to make the point.
“I am wary of over-focusing on an individual’s personal character over their platform. You know, I’ve said this before. I don’t really care if say like Bernie Sanders or AOC go home and they’re a secret Nazi, but they go out and they vote for the right things. Like we’re talking about politicians…” Vigeland, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, said on the podcast, which was published earlier in July.
Vox host Astead Herndon quickly interrupted as she trailed off, asking, “You don’t care?”
Vigeland clarified that she was offering an “extreme example,” arguing that elected officials should primarily be judged as vehicles for a party platform, including policies such as “taxing billionaires” and delivering “material differences to people’s lives.”
“And that’s what I value more than anybody’s individual conduct because … how many horrible people are in Washington right now who are centrist or center-right,” she added.
Herndon later noted that many voters do consider a candidate’s moral character to be a legitimate qualification for public office. Vigeland responded by arguing that some of the people celebrating Platner’s downfall had also supported former President Bill Clinton and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, both of whom have faced allegations of sexual misconduct that they denied.
The exchange prompted sharp backlash on X, where one user posted an edited image of Vigeland in a Schutzstaffel uniform and wrote, “In the 1940s, Emma Vigeland would have volunteered to the SS.”
Another critic called socialism and communism a “dark road these people are going down,” noting the party platform includes extremist proposals like abolishing the US Senate and branches of federal law enforcement.
“It is sold to the people with false claims and utilizing those base instincts that are powerful but difficult to manage in a civil society.”
Vigeland’s comments come after years of socialist and far-left groups and individuals repeatedly derogatorily branding conservatives and Trump supporters “fascists” — a political movement invented by then-Italian “Duce” Benito Mussolini; a close ally of German Chancellor Adolf Hitler during World War II.
Fox News Digital reached out to Vigeland via her Majority Report program and to Platner’s campaign for comment.
