# Are there any reasons to reject Graham Platner in Maine (campaign suspended July 8, 2026) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 4, 2026, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179 "2026-03-04T03:50:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/1 "2026-03-04T03:50:46Z")
He seems to be getting the Mamdani treatment. I know he has a tattoo on his chest that has potential nazi symbolism as its a skull and crossbones. However his argument is he just picked it off a wall and didn’t know the meaning, and after he found out the meaning he got the tattoo changed. Is Platner being criticized for reasons other than just being a more progressive alternative to Mills? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/2 "2026-03-04T04:35:09Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I know he has a tattoo on his chest that has potential nazi symbolism as its a skull and crossbones. However his argument is he just picked it off a wall and didn’t know the meaning, and after he found out the meaning he got the tattoo changed. Not just that. From an article published four days ago: > [@](#): > > Weeks before Graham Platner promoted an antisemitic conspiracy theorist in a now-deleted social media post on Thursday, the controversial Maine Senate candidate appeared on a popular YouTube show whose host has spread specious claims about Jews and Israel. > > Platner faced blowback this week for [boosting](https://jewishinsider.com/2026/02/graham-platner-stew-peters-post-x-maine/) a social media comment about a looming war with Iran by Stew Peters, a neo-Nazi influencer who has frequently espoused antisemitic tropes and engaged in Holocaust denial. Platner’s team said the post was made in error and “immediately” [removed it](https://image.jewishinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/26130544/IMG_5098.jpg?_gl=1*q6qn19*_gcl_au*MTQ1NjQ3NzUzMC4xNzY2NDE0OTY4_ga=2.72248019.1186799155.1771770598-1719576982.1742846020) after learning it elevated a “despicable account.” > > In late January, however, Platner sat for a [lengthy online interview](https://www.youtube.com/live/JLTfYFRF9yc?si=ovjiZi63jR6linbS) with Nate Cornacchia, a retired Green Beret who has also promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories. Near the end of their hour-long conversation, Platner, a fellow military veteran, called himself “a longtime fan” of Cornacchia’s YouTube channel, “Valhalla VFT,” and said it was “an absolute pleasure being” on the show. > **[Platner sat for lengthy interview with antisemitic conspiracy theorist, said...](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/platner-sat-lengthy-interview-antisemitic-075439570.html)** > > Weeks before Graham Platner promoted an antisemitic conspiracy theorist in a now-deleted social media post on Thursday, the controversial Maine Senate candidate appeared on a popular YouTube show whos... ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/3 "2026-03-04T04:35:25Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I know he has a tattoo on his chest that has potential nazi symbolism as its a skull and crossbones. There’s no “potential” about it. It was literally a totenkopf. > [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > However his argument is he just picked it off a wall and didn’t know the meaning, and after he found out the meaning he got the tattoo changed. He knew what it was for years. He only got it removed when the public found out about it. > **[Graham Platner knew his tattoo of a Nazi symbol was a problem weeks ago,...](https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/10/21/politics/elections/graham-platner-tattoo-problematic/)** > > The campaign denied that, calling it “a lie from a disgruntled former employee.” ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/4 "2026-03-04T18:47:20Z")
It’s difficult to know what is in someone’s heart, but detecting bad judgement is pretty easy. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/5 "2026-03-04T19:15:50Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I know he has a tattoo on his chest that has potential nazi symbolism as its a skull and crossbones. Had, it is covered now. And yeah the SS used it, but so do other military units, the Royal Lancers, Pirates, and of course just in Goth fashion. A very bad choice, he got his while in the Marines, in Croatia. Drunk soldiers make some bad choices, but he did three combat tours in Iraq, so we need to cut him some slack. He suffers from diarrhea of the mouth. A loose cannon. Still better than Susan “my brow is furrowed but I will still vote what trump wants” Collins. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/6 "2026-03-04T19:25:07Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I know he has a tattoo on his chest that has potential nazi symbolism as its a skull and crossbones. However his argument is he just picked it off a wall and didn’t know the meaning, and after he found out the meaning he got the tattoo changed. Since then, he keeps “accidentally” doing things like shaking hands with a Nazi mayor wearing a Heil Hitler shirt and letting him post the picture with a caption along the lines of “Platner and I have a lot in common”, or going on a Nazi podcast and telling the Nazi host that he’s a “long time fan” of the Nazi show, or retweeting somewhat innocuous posts that were made by Nazi accounts that mysteriously and “accidentally” showed up on his feed which is full of Nazis. In other words, he’s a Nazi. I think that’s a reason to reject him in Maine, but clearly many others disagree. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/7 "2026-03-04T19:28:43Z")
Details for the Nazi-adjacent dumbassery – Retweeting a Nazi: > **[Tim Dickinson (@timdickinson.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/timdickinson.bsky.social/post/3mfrpyhgsus24)** > > holeee shit. > > quote tweeting Stew Peters is almost worse than the fucking tattoo Nazi-ish podcast: > **[Brittany Page (@brittanyepage.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/brittanyepage.bsky.social/post/3mfzhst46es2c)** > > Graham Platner, the guy who had to cover his Nazi tattoo to save his senate campaign in Maine, went on the YouTube channel “Valhalla VFT” in January where he said he’s a “longtime fan of the show.” Check out these vile racist thumbnails from the... He’s either Nazi-sympathetic or just a massive complete idiot. Either way, if I lived in Maine I’d support Mills in the primary, as much as she sucks (and she does suck). ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/8 "2026-03-04T19:36:12Z")
Oh, just because he has a Nazi tattoo and hangs out with Nazis and goes on Nazi podcasts and joined Blackwater because he wanted to kill minorities and all of a sudden he’s a Nazi? I guess I don’t know what’s in his heart, but if he’s not a Nazi he’s dumb as shit and that’s also disqualifying. Also, it makes it possible to label the Dems as the Nazi party, which the media will gladly do. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/9 "2026-03-05T00:06:45Z")
I don’t much care for ‘Democrats’ who don’t seem to know what they believe in, like John Fetterman, Tulsi Gabbard, Krysten Sinema, Joe Lieberman et al.. Two thumbs down on Platner. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/10 "2026-03-05T00:39:50Z")
This, in conjunction with the post just above this one. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/11 "2026-03-05T00:40:54Z")
TBF it’s so easy to stumble into Nazis these days… /s (Now I have this concept to pitch that would have him teaming up with Pete Hegseth in a roadtrip podcast about tattoo parlors.) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/12 "2026-03-05T01:11:15Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Had, it is covered now. And yeah the SS used it, but so do other military units, the Royal Lancers, Pirates, and of course just in Goth fashion. A totenkopf isn’t just a skull and crossbones. It’s a VERY SPECIFIC type of skull and crossbones, which is neither the one used by the Royal Lancers or associated with pirates in pop culture. I knew plenty of goths in high school. My sister was one. Never saw a single one of them wearing a totenkopf. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/13 "2026-03-05T03:43:30Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > A totenkopf isn’t just a skull and crossbones. It’s a VERY SPECIFIC type of skull and crossbones, which is neither the one used by the Royal Lancers or associated with pirates in pop culture Yup, it’s like saying a lowercase “t” is a crucifix. It’s not just **any** skull-and-crossbones. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/14 "2026-03-05T04:10:04Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > However his argument is he just picked it off a wall and didn’t know the meaning, and after he found out the meaning he got the tattoo changed. Yeah, well, I don’t think the kind of person picks a random tattoo off a wall without knowing what it means should be in the Senate _either_. Call me old-fashioned, but I think senators should have better judgment than that. Meanwhile, there is a well-vetted, well-qualified candidate in the race who has absolutely nothing wrong with her except that she’s an older woman and, apparently, not cool enough. I see no reason to take a chance on a candidate who is, _at best_, extremely flaky. (I also find it … instructive to imagine what this race would look like with the genders reversed. “John Mills” would be popular for the same reasons J.B. Pritzker is, regardless of what he looked like or how charismatic he was. “Grace Platner” would never have recovered from her “Sure, I posted some things on message boards that I regret, but I had PTSD and it was affecting my judgment” moment, and “Sure, I got this tattoo, but it was in Croatia and I was drunk and I didn’t know what it meant” would have been way beyond the pale.) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/15 "2026-03-05T21:01:49Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > Yeah, well, I don’t think the kind of person picks a random tattoo off a wall without knowing what it means should be in the Senate _either_. Call me old-fashioned, but I think senators should have better judgment than that. He was a Jarhead then, _serving,_ not a Senator. What soldiers do in warzones is often not well thought out- My buddy, in the Iraq wars, said the No Booze rule had a weird new thing- take army hot chocolate, mix with instant coffee, eat with a spoon- repeat until on a caffeine high! CWO chopper pilot. Not as bad as a stupid fucking tattoo, sure, but they do silly things when drunk or bored or both. Every war. Platner then covered it up, once he realized. Mind you, not on my “best candidate list” by a long shot but better than Collins. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/16 "2026-03-05T21:33:31Z")
I’m not sure I see how it matters that he was in the military. He was in his twenties, which is plenty old enough to know that getting really drunk in a foreign country and getting a random tattoo is … just a bad idea on many levels. As I said, imagine if this were a female candidate! Not only would nobody consider it a valid excuse for a scandal, it would BE the scandal, a sign of epically poor judgment in itself. People might be willing to cut her some slack if she publicly acknowledged past substance abuse issues and was known to be in recovery, but not otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/17 "2026-03-05T21:40:28Z")
> [@Fretful\_Porpentine](#): > > He was in his twenties, which is plenty old enough to know that getting really drunk in a foreign country and getting a random tattoo is … just a bad idea on many levels. Wait, hold on, no one is _actually_ believing that story, are they? I can think of at least three reasons not to: 1. He kept the Nazi tattoo for 20 years 2. He kept the Nazi tattoo after people pointed out to him that it was a Nazi tattoo 3. He kept the Nazi tattoo while referring to it as a Nazi tattoo in private And that’s without getting into any of the non-tattoo allegations. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/18 "2026-03-05T21:45:24Z")
Whether anyone believes it isn’t the point. My point is that _even if you do believe it_, the story itself is enough of a red flag that it would _already_ have damaged any candidate who wasn’t a charismatic dudebro type, and I’m frankly really tired of charismatic dudebros being held to a lower standard than anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/19 "2026-03-05T22:37:09Z")
“Hans… Are we the baddies?” ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179/20 "2026-03-05T23:25:04Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > He was a Jarhead then, _serving,_ not a Senator. What soldiers do in warzones is often not well thought out Croatia in 2007 was not a “warzone”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-reasons-to-reject-graham-platner-in-maine-campaign-suspended-july-8-2026/1028179.md?page=2)