Maine Senate candidate Platner says tattoo recognized as Nazi symbol has been covered

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI and PATRICK WHITTLE
Updated 10:31 AM CDT, October 22, 2025

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — His U.S. Senate campaign under fire, Maine Democrat Graham Platner said Wednesday that a tattoo on his chest has been covered to no longer reflect an image widely recognized as a Nazi symbol.

The first-time political candidate said he got the skull and crossbones tattoo in 2007, when he was in his 20s and in the Marine Corps. It happened during a night of drinking while he was on leave in Croatia, he said, adding he was unaware until recently that the image has been associated with Nazi police.

Platner, in an Associated Press interview, said that while his campaign initially said he would remove the tattoo, he chose to cover it up with another tattoo due to the limited options where he lives in rural Maine.

“Going to a tattoo removal place is going to take a while,” he said. “I wanted this thing off my body.”



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/maine-platner-senate-trump-mills-tattoo-collins-fa8328a3c8aa5d5e0f34adb379e977b8

[EYESORE 9001]

1. Can they do that for his brain too?

That despicable symbol, which he proudly wore until getting busted, may be gone, but the pathological issues remain the same.

[TheRickles]

3. There's no evidence that he "proudly wore" it. Seems legit that he only recently made the connection.

In the same vein, what actions has he taken in recent years that show these "pathological issues" determine his behavior? He doesn't act or talk like a Nazi sympathizer, that's for sure.

[stopdiggin]

5. well there WAS the bit about him slagging accounts

of sexual assault in the military. So, yeah - more than one boneheaded 'jock' type move.
On the other hand - maybe he's just one of these jocks that has a propensity to run his mouth (particularly when with a 'load on' ) - without regard to any sort of real 'thinking' involved.

[TheRickles]

9. Macho/bro/jock, but not Nazi.

[stopdiggin]

19. that's a bit of a Venn diagram thing .. ?

Or a color wheel? With one thing kind of bleeding into the other .. ?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[MarineCombatEngineer]

13. Really?

And just how do you know he "proudly" wore it?

[everyonematters]

2. I think that it is believable that he didn't know of the association with Nazis. A swastika be different.

[stopdiggin]

4. except that this guy is a self describe 'history buff' - with special interest in WWII

So - the alternative explanation is that he's just kind of a clueless numbnuts
(which would also give one pause - at least in some quarters)

But, ya know - Semper Fi ! He'll no doubt fit right in with a certain brand ...

[IronLionZion]

6. Sounds like he made a mistake. He's a populist Democrat, not a Nazi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_Platner#US_Senate_campaign

His views are pretty progressive across the board. So I believe he didn't know what it meant when he got the tattoo.

[SoFlaBro]

23. Then why the fuck is he so worried about if black people fucking tip or not?

[MichMan]

34. Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner admits using 'indefensible' antigay slurs in unearthed Reddit posts

Comments made when he was in his mid thirties, not as an inebriated twenty year old.

A progressive U.S. Senate candidate in Maine, who has already apologized for earlier misogynistic and racially insensitive remarks and said he did not realize that a tattoo on his chest resembled a Nazi SS emblem, is again under scrutiny, this time for anti-LGBTQ+ comments.

In an interview on Wednesday afternoon with The Advocate, Graham Platner, a 41-year-old Marine and Army veteran running in Maine’s Democratic primary, seeking to become the nominee to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, confirmed that he authored a series of Reddit comments that include homophobic slurs, anti-LGBTQ+ jokes, and sexually explicit stories denigrating gay men.

The existence of the comments, posted under the handle P-Hustle between 2016 and 2021, has not previously been reported. The Advocate obtained the posts independently this week. The revelations come on the same day Platner is scheduled to hold a town hall in Ogunquit, a seaside resort long known as one of New England’s most prominent LGBTQ+ destinations, featuring a thriving gay community and Pride celebrations that draw visitors from across the region.

“I have no reason to deny [that the posts are mine],” Platner said in a Zoom interview. “I made a lot of comments over the years and talked a lot of shit on the internet. I have no reason to doubt that at some point I used language that I would not be using today.”

He paused, then added, “It’s indefensible.”

https://www.advocate.com/politics/graham-platner-homophobic-posts

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

7. I'd have to be very drunk to get a skull&crossbones tattoo (or any other tattoo), but ...

... but if I was very drunk AND it was "talk like a pirate" day, I might have thought it was a great idea.

I would not have made any connection with Nazi symbols. A swastika or a Maltese cross, ok, but a skull and crossbones? A Jolly Roger?

[MarineCombatEngineer]

14. That's how I ended up with a skull and crossbones tattoo on my left shoulder,

myself and a few of my fellow Marines were on leave in Da Nang and being fresh out of the bush, we got hammered and, on a dare, we all got tattoos.

I still regret getting that tattoo but rather than have it removed or redesigned, I've kept it all these decades to remind myself why I quit drinking.

[thebigidea]

20. it didn't look anything like a skull and crossbones. It looked like the SS Death's Head that you'd see in any Nazi movie

would love to see some pirate media that used the fucking Totenkopf for their pirates

[tblue37]

32. What movie is that?

[mcar]

8. 20 years later?

[Blasphemer]

10. Uh huh.

Still doesn’t explain the Reddit posts about Black people, sexual assault, etc. This guy is not credible.

[Intractable]

11. I'm usually with Bernie, like 99% of the time.

I think this will be part of that missing 1%.

At this point, Platner is damaged goods in an election that must be won.

[Irish_Dem]

27. Same here.

[berniesandersmittens]

12. I'm glad he got it covered

Now it's time for him to bow out, and support Mills. It's too bad because I thought he had a lot of potential. He still may ...one day. But he's clearly not ready for this big of a race at this point in time.

[rogue emissary]

15. I know we're desperate to win.

I'm old and resigned to the fact we're going to give up on many people of color, female and older candidates so we can gain power.

Do we have to accept the white guy with a Nazi tattoo for a candidate?

He's apparently so stupid in eighteen years he never bothered to figure out what he got tattooed on his chest. (I don't believe he didn't know what the image represents)

One more example there's nothing you can do as a white man that most democrats will tolerate.

[70sEraVet]

17. So, a skull.

When I was in the Navy, EVERY port had a couple of tattoo parlors right above a bar. There were more than a few sailors who woke up next morning, regretting their choices the night before!
I can't hold that against anybody.
I need to find out more.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

18. MaddowBlog-Maine's Graham Platner faces difficult questions about his record -- and a tattoo

Once a Senate candidate reaches the point at which he has to deny being a secret Nazi, his campaign isn’t quite where it should be.

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/maines-graham-platner-faces-difficult-questions-record-tattoo-rcna239152

Things changed, however, when Platner’s honeymoon period came to a rather sudden end.

The first sign of trouble came to the fore last week, when Politico reported that Platner “once suggested in online posts that violence is a necessary means to achieving social change.” Around the same time, CNN reported on since-deleted comments Platner had made online in which he “once called himself a ‘communist,’ dismissed ‘all’ police as bastards, and said rural White Americans ’actually are’ racist and stupid.”

The candidate disavowed his earlier rhetoric, but other revelations soon followed. Indeed, also last week, The Bangor Daily News reported that Platner also posted messages online in which he asked why Black people “don’t tip” and suggested people concerned about being raped shouldn’t be inebriated around people they don’t feel comfortable with.

After that report reached the public, Platner’s political director resigned.

That was late last week. This week, we learned about the Senate hopeful’s choice in tattoos. Politico reported:

Democratic Maine Senate hopeful Graham Platner expressed regret over getting a tattoo that appears similar to a Nazi symbol nearly two decades ago and plans to have it removed, his latest mea culpa after a week of damning headlines over resurfaced social media posts. ... Platner reiterated that he got the tattoo while out drinking with fellow Marines in Croatia, choosing the skull and crossbones off a wall at the tattoo parlor. He said the similarity to Nazi iconography never came up, including when he underwent physical exams mandated by the U.S. Army, which prohibits tattoos of identified hate symbols.

In other words, Platner’s defense is that he didn’t know he had a tattoo on his chest that resembles a Nazi symbol. What’s more, on Wednesday morning, he and his team said the image has now been covered......

Whether or not that’s true, once a Senate candidate reaches the point at which he has to deny being a secret Nazi, his campaign isn’t quite where it should be.

Democratic officials had already started rallying behind Mills, who has said she’ll only serve one term if elected. In light of the revelations about Platner’s record, it’s likely that party support will intensify. Watch this space.

[OrwellwasRight]

25. It didn't end well for the "I'm Not A Witch" Candidate

So that's a good point.

[herding cats]

21. Why can't we do better?

There's what? About a freaking million adults in Maine? And the guy with a Nazi death head tattoo, and shady Reddit posting history is our best?

What? Why?

I don't want to see us Fetterman ourselves again here, but I have a sick feeling that's where we're heading.

[Miguelito Loveless]

22. We do not need any more stealth Nazis

in government. We need to be wary of these "independent" candidates who show up out of the blue.

[EX500rider]

24. "...unaware until recently that the image has been associated with Nazi police." ?!?

Is that what we are calling the Death Camp guards now?!? Police??

[Blue Owl]

26. Too late, you get the happy Nazi ending anyways

[marble falls]

28. If we only knew about all those with tatoos borne of youthful indiscretion. That stupid tatoo is not enough to ...

... disqualify him for me.

[Basso8vb]

30. It's a fucking nazi tattoo.

👎👎👎

[marble falls]

33. It's a tatto that is buried under another tatoo. Were you in the service, 'cause I can tell you about a lot regretted ..

... tattoos. My ex-marine dad had a forearm full of regrettable tatoos. Including several women's names not my mom.

I still have the swastika I carved on my hand at eight or nine years old. Hard to see these days, but if I point it out you'd see it clear as day. Maybe I should be kicked off DU? I grew up in neighborhoods in Cleveland and Akron that were largely displaced persons from eastern Europe. I know exactly how evil Nazis were.

Going after someone with a tattoo that's been hidden out of understanding what a significant evil it is and fixed it, is short sighted.

I bet TACO and Stephen Miller don't have a tattoo between them.

[Basso8vb]

29. Fetterman 2.0

I'm not buying his bullshit.

[tirebiter]

31. He stood up and he did the right thing. Let it go

My uncle had a buddy who figured out how with a pen and a needle to make tattoos. He did it in prison. He had stories to tell and died from alcoholism. Give this guy a break. This could be a positive thing. It already is. The guys got experience living the tough side. We need more Democrats, especially the kind that have bare knuckled their way out of things.

[Americanme]

35. My first tattoo, back in the 80's,

was done with a jailhouse rig, comprised of a cassette motor, ink pen barrel, and a guitar string. Guy was fresh out of the joint. I have since had hundreds of sittings. I have several skulls on me, none of them represent any political views. Most tattoos on most tattooed people don't really represent anything. Many people show up at the ink shop with no definite idea, they see a drawing that looks cool, and say "I'll take that".

[Mysterian]

36. Seems pretty flaky to me

Damn. That's the fucking nazi skull and everybody knows it.