Graham Platner’s Tattoo Sparks Tough Questions in Maine Senate Race
Graham Platner, a first-time Senate candidate from Maine backed by Bernie Sanders, is under fire after critics dug up old posts and a controversial tattoo that resembles the Nazi SS Totenkopf.
The image, a skull-and-crossbones-style design, was reportedly inked while Platner was on leave from the Marine Corps in 2007, a decision he says came during a night of drinking in Croatia and from a flash tattoo wall.
In a public video he explained the pick came out of a rough moment with fellow Marines and offered this line exactly as he said it: “We thought it looked cool,” which does little to calm voters who expect judgment from those seeking high office.
Platner has said he did not grasp the tattoo’s historical baggage at the time and insisted he has “lived a life dedicated to anti-fascism, anti-racism, and anti-Nazism” while expressing shock that the mark resembled a hate symbol.
Rather than remove the ink, he covered it with a Celtic knot and images of family dogs as a personal tribute, showing the new work on camera and declaring, “This far more represents who I am now than even the skull and crossbones did.”
He also explained practical limits around removal, telling reporters, “Going to a tattoo removal place is going to take a while,” and adding, “I wanted this thing off my body,” which underscores a messy mix of intent and convenience in his choices.
The tattoo controversy arrived alongside resurfaced Reddit posts in which Platner appeared to mock sexual assault survivors, criticize police, and make racially charged comments, items he later apologized for and attributed to depression and PTSD following his deployment.
Despite the apology, primary rival Jordan Wood has demanded Platner step aside and made a pointed statement that lands hard: “Graham Platner’s Reddit comments and Nazi SS Totenkopf tattoo are disqualifying and not who we are as Mainers or as Democrats,” she said, adding, “With Donald Trump and his sycophants demonizing Americans, spewing hate, and running roughshod over the Constitution, Democrats need to be able to condemn Trump’s actions with moral clarity. Graham Platner no longer can.”
Platner rejects the idea that this episode ends his candidacy, framing it as part of a larger life journey and saying plainly, “I don’t look at this as a liability. I look at this as a life that I have lived, a journey that has been difficult, that has been full of struggle, that has also gotten me to where I am today,” followed by, “And I’m very proud of who I am.”
He has accused establishment forces of turning the tattoo into a distraction and warned voters away from what he calls manufactured controversies, insisting that “Every second we spend talking about a tattoo I got in the Marine Corps is a second we don’t talk about Medicare for All.”
The Democratic field in Maine is crowded, with Platner running against Jordan Wood and two-term Governor Janet Mills, while longtime GOP Senator Susan Collins has yet to weigh in on the dispute.
From a Republican perspective, this episode highlights the need for strict vetting and clear standards: elected candidates must show judgment and transparency, and voters deserve straight answers about past behavior and symbols associated with hate.
