Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner told NBC News his campaign is in a stronger position despite scrutiny over a tattoo resembling Nazi imagery, past online posts, backlash from Democrats and Republicans, and the resignation of senior staff.
NBC News reported Monday that Maine Democrat Senate hopeful Graham Platner said his campaign is “stronger” following weeks of negative attention tied to multiple resurfaced issues. Platner argued that he is still “more electable” than Maine Gov. Janet Mills in the Democratic primary and criticized what he called “establishment politics,” adding he believes his “lack of experience” is a “positive.”
Last month, on Pod Save America, Platner acknowledged that a tattoo on his chest resembles the Totenkopf and claimed he got it while drunk in Croatia with fellow Marines. Platner denied being a Nazi and maintained he would not have gone through life with the tattoo had he known its significance.
Breitbart News columnist John Nolte cited prior Reddit posts in which Platner asked why Black people do not tip, questioned why women should “take some responsibility for themselves and not get so f—ed up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to,” referred to himself as a communist, called police “bastards,” and described white rural voters as racist and stupid. Nolte stated these Reddit posts were deleted after Platner became a candidate and added that Platner’s former political director, Genevieve McDonald, resigned after the posts became public.
Nolte noted that Democrats have continued backing Platner in the race despite the tattoo and the Reddit statements and pointed to the endorsement from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
Sanders defended Platner, saying he was more concerned that “50,000 Americans may die unnecessarily” than his past comments.
Nolte highlighted information that Platner once specifically acknowledged the tattoo was a Totenkopf more than a decade ago, including an acquaintance describing Platner saying, “Oh, this is my Totenkopf,” and also referenced comments from Platner’s former political director, Genevieve McDonald, who asserted he “knows damn well what it means.”
Platner has apologized for his Reddit posts and covered the tattoo on his chest, saying he is confronting his past “head-on”: “I want to talk about my evolution as a human being,” he said. “A lot of Americans also want to have hope that you can change and that you can evolve, and that we can have a society that gives grace and forgiveness to people. Because if we can’t, if we think that people are just ossified into who they are right now, and can never be something different, then what’s the point?”
Platner’s past drew attention on ABC’s The View, where co-hosts referred to the tattoo as a “Nazi tattoo,” questioned Platner’s explanations, and contended the conduct was not just a “whoopsie.” Whoopi Goldberg asked why Platner did not bring the information forward sooner, arguing that now it “sounds like you’re making excuses,” and added that responsibility should be taken “before it’s uncovered by other people.”
Sunny Hostin noted that some Democrats were defending Platner in an effort to unseat Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) but agreed he should have addressed his past behavior with more than an “Oops,” adding that when a candidate is denying on a podcast that he is a Nazi, “I think it’s over.”
Collins responded to Platner’s since-deleted Reddit posts, calling them “terrible” and “really offensive,” and told reporters she was “appalled” when she read them. Collins also objected to Platner’s prior description of white people living in rural Maine as “racist and stupid,” saying “just the opposite is the case.”
Platner continues to insist the controversies have not weakened his effort.“It is amusing for me to watch the campaign described in the media as collapsing or falling apart — when internally, we frankly have not felt this strong since the beginning,” he continued. “It hasn’t sunk my campaign. In fact, it seems, in many ways, it’s strengthened us.”
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