Graham Platner is a leftist Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Maine. He is a self-described communist, holds all manner of radical policy stances, and admittedly views white, rural Americans with outright contempt. He wrote that “all” police are bastards and appeared to endorse political violence. As his ideological and personal baggage have mounted, the Democratic base in his state and around the country has rallied to the cause. They love what they see.
According to various polls, Platner now enjoys a commanding lead over his party’s incumbent governor — the enervated Democratic establishment’s choice for the Senate nomination — as well as a slight edge over the sitting occupant of the upper chamber seat he’s seeking. (It must be noted that centrist Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) was written off six years ago, trailing in literally every single publicly available general election survey for months, before winning reelection fairly comfortably.
One of Platner’s possible electability pitfalls, though apparently not in the eyes of his left-wing base, is the Nazi tattoo he has emblazoned on his chest. This was one of the issues that triggered a burst of resignations from his campaign late last year. He apologized for the Nazi tattoo. He covered up the Nazi tattoo with new ink. He claimed he wasn’t aware of the Nazi tattoo’s connotations, having gotten it while drunk, though that excuse didn’t appear to hold water. CNN reported his spin has been discredited and undermined by years-old internet postings from Platner, as well as testimony from a longtime acquaintance.
Platner later effectively un-apologized for his Nazi tattoo. And now, in an interview with Major Garrett of CBS News, Platner has a new scapegoat for his Nazi tattoo: The United States Marines. None of this is really his fault, you see, because he’s a product of the Marines’ culture of toxic masculinity, an affliction he’s since shed. But he’s far more enlightened these days, never fear.
“Much of it was because of the culture I had come out of. … When I left the military, I came out of a hypermasculine, hyperviolent place. … I did four tours in the infantry. We have a crude sense of humor in the infantry. We certainly have a, I would say, narrow view of a lot of topics, and that colored my opinions and my beliefs.”
X users offered a helpful “community note” in response to CBS’s framing of Platner’s tattoo as “resembling a Nazi symbol,” clarifying that the Democrat’s tattoo was not ‘resembling’ a Nazi symbol. His tattoo *was* a Nazi symbol, specifically the second version of the SS-Totenkopf, used from 1934 to 1945 by [the] German SS.”
He was allegedly well aware of this, previous spin notwithstanding. Platner’s shameless and craven blame shift did not sit well with many others, including scores of military veterans. A Marine infantryman veteran and veteran advocate named Joshua Harley scathingly replied to Platner’s deflection: “Neither I nor any of those I served with had this tattoo or other explicitly Nazi tattoos,” he wrote. “This is an attempt to blame the Marine Corps for his decision. Graham needs to pick an excuse and stick with it–preferably owning his decision.” He added, “To allow him to pass this off as a Marine Corps issue is an insult to the institution and to the many who have served and are currently serving.”
Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) quoted the above clip with the caption, “I must have missed the day in basic training where they taught us to get Nazi tattoos and say women deserve to be raped.” That latter bit is a reference to a comment from Platner.
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Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) justifiably piled on, echoing Sheehy. “Blame the Marine Corps for Nazi tattoos and rape comments? Wasn’t in my training manual,” he posted. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), an Air Force veteran, joined in. “I served nearly 30 years and never saw a Nazi tattoo on one of our servicemen or women,” he wrote. Conservative writer Kurt Schlichter, an Army veteran, expressed matching offense: “In 27 years in the Army I never met a Nazi. You’re trash squared for trying to put your moral failings onto vets.” Similar responses have flooded in.
Platner has offered various explanations for his Nazi tattoo and a flurry of problematic online posts, floundering between feigned contrition, indignant defenses, and unaccountable finger-pointing. Trying to project his own terrible decisions onto his brothers in arms writ large represents a new low. This dishonorable move may well delight his ideological comrades, who have only flocked to his defense with each passing revelation. But will mainstream Mainers conclude that such a man is worthy of representing them in Washington? Assuming he breezes through his primary, we’ll know soon enough.