Graham Platner, whose Senate campaign has been marred with scandal from the outset, maintains an active account on a platform notorious for enabling sexual predators.
The Maine Democrat, who is seeking to unseat incumbent senator Susan Collins, is a registered user on Kik, a Daily Wire review found. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation deems the anonymous messaging app a “predator’s paradise,” thanks to a number of features that allow underage users to join the app and communicate with adults.
Platner’s Kik account bears the username “phustle0331,” which is strikingly similar to his Instagram handle, Phustle0331, as well as the username for a Reddit account where he infamously mocked American soldiers as “fat and lazy” and endorsed fascist beliefs.
The profile picture on the Kik account — which, though inactive, is not deactivated — features an image of a shirtless man with a towel wrapped around his waist. The image shows a man with tattoos that match Platner’s — including the Chinese character for “love” on his chest, a tattoo on his arm, and a tattoo on his shoulder.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1105407" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/image-4-576x576.png" alt="" width="576" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/image-4-576x576.png 576w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/image-4-300x300.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/image-4-150x150.png 150w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/image-4-768x768.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/image-4.png 1000w" sizes=" (max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px" /></div>
On Saturday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Platner’s wife, wife Amy Gertner, flagged for campaign staff a year ago that her husband had exchanged <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/popular-dem-senate-candidate-caught-by-wife-exchanging-raunchy-texts-with-women?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=Graham+Platner+Caught+By+Wife+Exchanging+Raunchy+Texts+With+Women" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sexually explicit text messages</a> with multiple women. Platner’s campaign has been dogged by revelations of the candidate’s sexually explicit statements, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-candidate-complained-about-thai-prostitute-loophole-closing?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Dem+Candidate+Complained+About+Thai+Prostitute+%E2%80%98Loophole%E2%80%99+Closing" target="_blank" rel="noopener">including</a> a 2017 social media post in which Platner said he had to “jerk off every time I sit in a portash*tter.”
In another post, Platner described graffiti of a penis as “beautiful,” “engorged and veiny,” and moving “towards its penetrative glory.”
<div id="attachment_1105419" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1105419" class="size-large wp-image-1105419" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/IMG_6917-1024x473.jpeg" alt="" width="1024" height="473" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/IMG_6917-1024x473.jpeg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/IMG_6917-300x139.jpeg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/IMG_6917-768x355.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/IMG_6917-1536x710.jpeg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/IMG_6917-2048x947.jpeg 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Screenshot of Platner’s active Kik profile</div>
Platner’s Kik profile was created on June 26, 2016. The Democrat was almost 32-years-old when he joined the app, on which an estimated 70% of users are between the ages of <a href="https://www.searchlogistics.com/learn/statistics/kik-user-statistics/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">13 and 24</a>. Though the app recently required users to be 18 or older to join, for most of its history it welcomed users <a href="https://gethuman.com/customer-service/Kik/faq/What-age-group-is-Kik-intended-for/pEkg4L" target="_blank" rel="noopener">13 and older.</a> Despite those guidelines, the app still does not require <a href="https://www.wave3.com/2025/10/23/messaging-app-allegedly-used-louisville-sex-crimes-case-described-predators-paradise/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">official age verification.</a>
A <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2017/08/03/kik-has-a-massive-child-abuse-problem/#53f0fc31a142" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Forbes investigation</a> found that Kik had a “huge child exploitation problem,” while the BBC found that the app was at the center of over <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-45568276" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1,100 child sexual abuse cases</a> in the United Kingdom between 2013 and 2018.
But even among consenting adult users, Kik is no ordinary messenger. The platform has been <a href="https://www.wave3.com/2025/10/23/messaging-app-allegedly-used-louisville-sex-crimes-case-described-predators-paradise/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">described</a> as “the app with the most severe sexual content.” Kik offers sexually explicit live chats with women, and is often found at the center of “sexploitation” cases, wherein predators coax someone to send nude photos, and then use the images for blackmail, the New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/06/us/social-media-apps-anonymous-kik-crime.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> in 2016.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-1105409" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-30-at-6.33.48-PM.png" alt="" width="542" height="428" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-30-at-6.33.48-PM.png 542w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/Screenshot-2026-05-30-at-6.33.48-PM-300x237.png 300w" sizes=" (max-width: 542px) 100vw, 542px" /></div>
That report — released four months before Platner created his Kik account — chronicles a litany of heinous acts perpetrated by predators on the app, including a man who used the app to distribute child pornography, several who sent and solicited sexually explicit messages from minors, and one instance where a man attempted to kidnap a 14-year-old girl. Kik was also where 13-year-old Nicole Madison Lowell chatted with two Virginia Tech students who kidnapped and killed her.
In<a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/pr/sedgwick-man-sentenced-60-years-producing-child-sexual-abuse-material" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> June 2025</a>, a Maine man was sentenced to 30 to 60 years in jail for producing videos of children being raped and distributing the videos in a Kik chatroom that existed solely for that purpose.
Platner, a leftist who describes himself as an “oyster farmer” has been plagued by more than just allegations of sexual impropriety. The Democrat was infamously revealed early in his campaign to have a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maine-senate-candidate-downplays-ss-skull-tattoo-i-am-not-a-secret-nazi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nazi tattoo</a> on his chest, and in recent days refused to apologize to a Purple Heart recipient whom Platner called a “dumb motherf*cker” who “didn’t deserve to live.&#8221;
Platner currently leads Collins by nearly 8 points, <a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/senate/general/2026/maine/collins-vs-platner" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the RealClearPolitics polling average.

Untitled design – 2026-05-30T183915.025

SEE IT: Graham Platner Has Active Profile On ‘Predator’s Paradise’ Messaging App

Crime

graham platner

Maine

Pedophilia

Sexual Abuse

Susan Collins

The wife of Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner discovered that her husband had exchanged sexually explicit text messages with multiple women and flagged the texts for Platner&#8217;s campaign last year, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.
Platner&#8217;s wife Amy Gertner flagged the messages for some of Platner&#8217;s aides in August 2025, but the campaign ultimately decided to keep the scandal under wraps and label it a personal matter between the couple and their marriage counselor, the Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/elections/graham-platners-wife-flagged-sexually-explicit-texts-to-his-senate-campaign-628ec832">reported</a>.
The messages came to light within the Platner campaign just before he appeared on stage with democratic-socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for a Labor Day weekend rally where Sanders officially endorsed the leftist&#8217;s Senate bid. Exactly how many women Platner exchanged sexually charged messages with was not specified in the Journal&#8217;s reporting.
Platner tied the knot with Gertner in fall 2024, and she first discovered the sexually explicit messages just months later in spring 2025. Gertner told the Journal that she and her husband worked through the infidelity, and their &#8220;marriage today is stronger than ever before.&#8221;
“We did the hard work that marriage requires. We went to counseling. We were honest with each other in ways that weren’t easy,” she said. “And we came through it, not in spite of how much we’ve been through, but because of how much we love each other and the life we’ve built.&#8221;
&#8220;I know who Graham is. I know the man I married and the husband he has been to me on the best and the worst days of my life. That hasn’t changed, and it won’t,&#8221; she added.
National Democrats have rallied behind Platner, pushing him as a political outsider and lowly &#8220;oyster farmer&#8221; who&#8217;s prepared to be a thorn in the side to Republicans.
The text revelations, however, add yet another scandal to a campaign defined by Platner&#8217;s long list of disturbing comments and actions that include defending his Nazi tattoo, mocking a wounded American soldier, and making derogatory comments about women. Earlier this month, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dem-candidate-complained-about-thai-prostitute-loophole-closing?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Dem+Candidate+Complained+About+Thai+Prostitute+%E2%80%98Loophole%E2%80%99+Closing">reported</a> that Platner once lamented the closing of a loophole that allowed military contractors to save money on taxes by spending their time off “banging hookers in Thailand.”
“Spend your leave banging hookers in Thailand instead of getting b*tched at by the wife back home, and you could sell it as avoiding federal income tax,” Platner wrote on Reddit in June 2019. “Once the Afghans started using our paychecks as a personal piggy bank, that whole loophole disappeared.”
Platner is expected to cruise to victory in the Democratic primary in Maine on June 9 after his top Democratic opponent, Governor Janet Mills, suspended her campaign last month. Platner also holds a polling lead over Republican incumbent Sen. Susan Collins in the general election.

Graham Platner

Graham Platner Caught By Wife Exchanging Raunchy Texts With Women

Democrats

U.S. Senate

A decorated U.S. Army combat veteran took to the pages of <a href="https://www.wsj.com/opinion/im-the-soldier-grahamplatner-mocked-2a6c3dbc?mod=opinion_lead_pos5">The Wall Street Journal</a> on Thursday to deliver a thunderous beatdown to Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, exposing the presumptive nominee as a keyboard coward who rooted for the Taliban to kill American soldiers.
Purple Heart recipient Teddy Daniels eviscerated Platner, calling him an &#8220;entitled brat&#8221; and an elitist phony who pretends to be a working-class champion while secretly harboring deep contempt for blue-collar Americans.
The fury erupted after investigative reports unearthed a shocking digital paper trail from Platner’s past. Using the anonymous Reddit handle &#8220;P-Hustle,&#8221; Platner left a trail of <a href="https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/politics/maine-politics/sen-susan-collins-criticizes-challenger-graham-platner-comments-about-her-and-2019-reddit-post-teddy-daniels/97-54f2209c-e5c5-4737-8876-4f7fa7b71a5d#:~:text=Collins%20added%20that%20she%20and,combat%20in%20Afghanistan%20in%202012.">1,800 comments</a> — including a stomach-churning June 2019 post in which he watched a viral helmet-cam video of Daniels getting shot multiple times during a 2012 Taliban ambush in Afghanistan.
Instead of showing respect for a wounded soldier, Platner mocked him.
“This video never gets old. Dumb motherf*cker didn’t deserve to live,” Platner wrote online, mocking the bleeding soldier as a &#8220;mouthbreather&#8221; who only survived due to &#8220;poor marksmanship on the Taliban’s part.&#8221;
“I received a Purple Heart for my injuries, but Mr. Platner cheered for my death from behind a keyboard,” Daniels wrote.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rLHU-_OhT8g?si=UQbA6Xl1Hlb1Kf26" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Daniels used his Journal op-ed to rip the mask off the 41-year-old Democrat. &#8220;The tough-talking Marine veteran struts around in a Carhartt jacket and jeans &#8230; He also plays up his job as an &#8216;oyster farmer,&#8217; but the only client mentioned in his federal financial <a class="ekxajjj0 css-i0lbhy-OverridedLink" href="https://www.themainewire.com/2025/11/platners-long-delayed-financial-disclosure-raises-new-questions-mills-granted-filing-extension/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-type="link">disclosure</a> was the restaurant his mother owns.&#8221;
&#8220;I couldn’t care less about the comments he made about me, but they are a reflection of his character,&#8221; Daniels wrote, comparing Platner to &#8220;Tim Walz on steroids&#8221; and pointing out that Platner has also used his keyboard to trash-talk Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and Vice President JD Vance. &#8220;I never thought I’d see the day when Democrats would even consider backing a candidate like this.&#8221;
The disgusting revelations have added another scandal to Platner’s campaign just two weeks before the Maine primary, drawing a furious rebuke from incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins.
Collins, <a href="https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/politics/maine-politics/sen-susan-collins-criticizes-challenger-graham-platner-comments-about-her-and-2019-reddit-post-teddy-daniels/97-54f2209c-e5c5-4737-8876-4f7fa7b71a5d">speaking</a> at a fire station groundbreaking in Auburn, Maine, revealed that outraged veterans from all across the United States have been flooding her office to voice their disgust. For Collins, the insult is deeply personal — her own father was a World War II veteran who earned two Purple Hearts at the Battle of the Bulge, where he was wounded just after turning 19.
“You have Graham Platner using profanity and saying that this wounded soldier doesn’t deserve to live,” a visibly appalled Collins told reporters. “These are men and women who are risking their lives for our country &#8230; for him to ridicule this soldier and saying that he doesn’t deserve to live is just appalling.”
Platner tried to salvage his campaign by releasing a frantic video statement, attempting to blame Collins for sending him to war because of her 2002 vote to authorize military action in Iraq.
But Collins instantly nuked that defense, pointing out that Platner wasn&#8217;t drafted — he voluntarily enlisted twice long after the war had already begun, and then chose to cash in by working for the controversial private mercenary firm Blackwater.
The U.S. Senate primary in Maine is on June 9. Platner is expected to cruise to victory in the Democratic primary after his main opponent, Democratic Governor Janet Mills, suspended her campaign.

Maine Democrat Graham Platner Is Winning Voters All ‘Pissed At The Same Thing’

Purple Heart Hero Levels Radical Dem Who Mocked His War Wounds

Afghanistan

purple heart

The widow of the late American hero Chris Kyle ripped into Maine Senate hopeful Graham Platner for disparaging her dead husband. 
Taya Kyle told Fox News on Sunday that Platner was &#8220;cowardly&#8221; for lying about her late husband, and accused the Democrat of using a &#8220;cheap political trick&#8221; to distract from Platner&#8217;s controversies. 
In a resurfaced podcast episode, Platner in 2024 suggested Kyle, the deadliest sniper in U.S. military history, intentionally killed civilians to inflate his sniper kill count. Kyle was murdered in 2013 by a veteran suffering from PTSD he was trying to help.
&#8220;To me, nothing says, &#8216;I want attention&#8217; more than disparaging a national hero who&#8217;s also dead,&#8221; Taya <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6396510537112">said</a>. &#8220;It&#8217;s transparent, it&#8217;s cowardly, it&#8217;s lowbrow to lie about somebody else, and it distracts from &#8230; I think some things that he has said.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s this cheap political trick to say, &#8216;Ya know, I haven&#8217;t done a whole lot, so let me attach my name to somebody who&#8217;s beloved, and if nothing else, I&#8217;ll get out in the news,'&#8221; the widow continued. &#8220;And that&#8217;s working for him to get that notoriety. But to me, it shows a total inability to lead with character. So for me, he would be out of the running immediately.&#8221;
Platner&#8217;s comments have hurt the Kyle family, Taya said. &#8220;My kids are 21 and 20 — they&#8217;re grown adults, and I wish I could tell you that it doesn&#8217;t hurt, but it does.&#8221;
Taya added that it&#8217;s &#8220;obvious&#8221; to her family that Platner did not know her late husband, yet still made his disparaging remarks. &#8220;I can&#8217;t imagine anyone voting for someone like that,&#8221; she said.
Robert O&#8217;Neill, the Navy SEAL credited with killing Osama bin Laden, recently sounded off on Platner&#8217;s comments, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/navy-seal-killed-bin-laden-rips-platner-barbaric-post-trashing-soldier-fire-line">calling</a> the candidate jealous.
&#8220;That would just stem from jealousy, maybe because Chris Kyle&#8217;s name became famous for a whole bunch of confirmed kills,&#8221; O’Neill said. &#8220;The jealousy is there. I&#8217;ve seen the jealousy too, but professional jealousy, stuff like this is really, really rare between veterans.&#8221;
Platner is also taking heat over <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/purple-heart-hero-mocked-by-graham-platner-has-one-question-for-dems?author=Jordan+Schroeder&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Hotwire&amp;rowType=Four+Column+Grid&amp;title=Purple+Heart+Hero+Mocked+By+Graham+Platner+Has+One+Question+For+Dems">resurfaced Reddit comments</a> showing the candidate mocking Purple Heart recipient Ted Daniels and saying he “didn’t deserve to live” following a brutal firefight in Afghanistan.
Daniels recently told the New York Post he wants liberal lawmakers like Senators Elizabeth Warren, Chuck Schumer, Bernie Sanders, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to explain to his children why they are backing a candidate who mocked the possibility of their father being killed in combat.
Additionally, Platner has been criticized for resurfaced images allegedly showing the Democrat with a Nazi-linked tattoo.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/purple-heart-hero-mocked-by-graham-platner-has-one-question-for-dems?author=Jordan+Schroeder&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Hotwire&amp;rowType=Four+Column+Grid&amp;title=Purple+Heart+Hero+Mocked+By+Graham+Platner+Has+One+Question+For+Dems">Purple Heart Hero Mocked By Graham Platner Has One Question For Dems</a>

Graham Platner. Taya Kyle

‘American Sniper’ Widow Torches Graham Platner For Smearing Late Husband

2026 Midterms

Senate

U.S. Military

The heroic Army veteran at the center of a nasty controversy involving Maine Senate hopeful Graham Platner is now speaking out, and he says the Democrats still backing Platner owe his children an explanation.
According to the New York Post, Purple Heart recipient Ted Daniels blasted top Democrats for continuing to support Platner after resurfaced Reddit comments showed the candidate mocking Daniels and saying he “didn’t deserve to live” following a brutal firefight in Afghanistan.
The controversy around Platner has only intensified after online critics also resurfaced images allegedly showing the Democrat with a Nazi-linked tattoo, fueling even more backlash surrounding the campaign.
Daniels, whose helmet-cam footage from a 2012 Taliban ambush went massively viral years ago, told the Post he doesn’t even want an apology from Platner anymore because it wouldn’t feel genuine.
Instead, he said he wants liberal lawmakers like Elizabeth Warren, Chuck Schumer, Bernie Sanders, and Hakeem Jeffries to explain to his kids why they are backing a candidate who mocked the possibility of their father being killed in combat.
Daniels went viral years ago after helmet-cam footage showed him sprinting into open fire during a Taliban ambush while bullets ripped around him.
<div id="attachment_1101357" style="width: 804px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1101357" class="wp-image-1101357 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/www-youtube-com-watch-v-128305259_04f886-794x576.webp" alt="" width="794" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/www-youtube-com-watch-v-128305259_04f886-794x576.webp 794w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/www-youtube-com-watch-v-128305259_04f886-300x218.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/www-youtube-com-watch-v-128305259_04f886-768x557.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/www-youtube-com-watch-v-128305259_04f886.webp 1434w" sizes=" (max-width: 794px) 100vw, 794px" />FUNKER530 / YouTube</div>
His team survived the onslaught, but not before Daniels, who drew the enemy fire away from his squad, was hit four times. He earned a Purple Heart for his actions.
Years later, Platner, now the presumptive Democratic Senate candidate in Maine, allegedly mocked Daniels on a burner Reddit account, calling him a “dumb motherf*cker” and saying he should not have survived.
<div id="attachment_1101359" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1101359" class="wp-image-1101359 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2276754943-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2276754943-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2276754943-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2276754943-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2276754943-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2276754943-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2276754943-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/05/GettyImages-2276754943-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)</div>
The <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/05/24/us-news/purple-heart-vet-graham-platner-said-deserved-to-die-slams-dems-backing-him-say-that-to-my-face/">New York Post</a> reported that Platner has since deleted large portions of the account history.
Daniels also criticized Platner over past comments targeting Chris Kyle and Vice President JD Vance over their military service.
“I don’t understand the hatred toward veterans who served honorably,” Daniels told the New York Post. “That part gets me.”
Platner has defended himself by pointing to his own military service, saying accusations that he disrespects veterans are “offensive” and “slanderous.” He has not apologized for the comments.
Despite everything, Daniels said he is not attacking Platner’s military record and still considers him “a brother” because of his service.
But he also suggested it’s a lot easier to trash someone online than say those things face-to-face.
The controversy exploded even further after Dave Portnoy publicly torched Platner over the tattoo controversy while rejecting an apparent attempt by the campaign to get Barstool involved in an anti-private-equity Red Sox message push.
Portnoy blasted Platner in a private exchange. “Yeah I’d be happy to talk to him about that tattoo and him being a Nazi,” Portnoy wrote before later posting screenshots of the exchange online.

Purple Heart Hero Mocked By Graham Platner Has One Question For Dems

Election

Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner is refusing to apologize after resurfaced online posts appeared to show him mocking a Purple Heart recipient who was almost killed in a firefight with the Taliban.
Platner was confronted near his home in Sullivan, Maine, and asked whether he regretted a since-deleted Reddit post in which he said wounded Army veteran Ted Daniels “didn’t deserve to live,” <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/watch-platner-doesnt-apologize-purple-heart-recipient-voters-when-confronted-post-mocking-soldier" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">according</a> to Fox News. Platner initially refused to answer directly before attempting to defend his own military record, referring to the accusations as &#8220;slanderous and offensive.&#8221;
“I did four tours in the infantry, any attempt to say that I disrespect veterans is slanderous and offensive,” Platner responded.
The outlet asked Platner if he owed Daniels an apology. The Democratic candidate remained defiant, saying, &#8220;Do you know how many of my friends have Purple Hearts? Do you know how many of my friends got wounded? Yeah, a lot of them, thank you.&#8221;
The <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/platners-deleted-reddit-sparks-outrage-appears-mock-wounded-soldier-didnt-deserve-live" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">post</a>, written in 2019, was a brutal takedown of a viral video from the helmet-cam of Pfc. Ted Daniels, during a 2012 firefight with the Taliban, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/didnt-deserve-to-live-leftist-candidate-appears-to-mock-wounded-soldier-in-resurfaced-post" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a>. Daniels received a Purple Heart after being shot four times during that firefight — but Platner argued in a post attributed to his old account, “P-hustle,” that Daniels did not “deserve to live” because he’d made “sh*t” decisions in combat.
“This video never gets old,” the commentary began. “Dumb motherf*cker didn’t deserve to live. At least his stupidity and fat-*ss wheezing are available for all future infantrymen to witness and hold in contempt. Poor marksmanship on the Taliban’s part is the only reason this mouth breather made it home, he managed to make every possible sh*t decision possible when it comes to small unit combat.”
The Platner’s comments have received significant backlash. He is currently backed by progressive Democrats, including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Veterans groups, Republican officials, and former military servicemembers have condemned his comments, Fox News reported.

Maine Senatorial Candidate Graham Platner Speaks To Voters During Town Hall

Platner Refuses To Apologize After Mocking Purple Heart Recipient

nazi tattoo

With midterm primaries in the news, the left-wing media has been focusing a lot of its attention on Republican candidates. For instance, the New York Times, a former newspaper, recently ran an article with the headline, “Bad Trump Ruins Everything,” in which columnist Nicholas Kristof speculated that the primary defeat of anti-Israel congressman Thomas Massie may have been due to an attack by Israeli rape dogs, imaginary animals whom Kristof claims have been trained to sexually assault antisemites. Kristof’s article was about to go on to examine the power of Trump’s endorsements, when he suddenly emitted a high-pitched scream, after which the article fell ominously silent.
In another Times article, this one headlined, “Trump Bad, Everything Ruined,” the author speculated that Trump’s endorsement of Ken Paxton for Senate may turn deep red Texas into a blue state, if Republicans are unable to vote because they’re too busy laughing at this article. A third Times article, headlined, “Trump Trump Trump Bad Bad Bad Ruin Ruin Ruin,” merely contained those words repeated at random for several pages.
Now, of course, it’s always important to hear what the left-wing media is saying. In the same sense, it’s always important to hit yourself in the groin with a hammer. But for a change of pace, we here at the Daily Wire have decided to take a closer look at candidates on the Democrat side, because we’ve just come from watching the monkeys at the zoo throwing dung at random passersby, and we want the fun to continue.
In Texas, the Democrat Senate candidate is James Talarico, a Christian theologian who argues that the role of the Virgin Mary in giving birth to Jesus proves that God is in favor of crushing the heads of unborn children, then tearing their bodies apart limb from limb. A spokeswoman for the Queen of Heaven says that the Virgin Mary will not be responding to Talarico’s comments because she can’t use the words that would properly convey her opinions, because she’s the Virgin Mary.
Socialist Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez not only won her primary but is jockeying to position herself as a 2028 presidential candidate. AOC, who studied economics at Sister Ignoramuses School for Wayward Girls, explains her socialist economic theory this way:
<blockquote>
“There’s this big pile of money that comes from somewhere. Then, just as we’re about to share it out equally, Elon Musk suddenly rushes in and steals so much of it, there’s not even enough left for me to pay off my psychiatrist with taxpayer dollars. This is why I’ve said repeatedly that Elon Musk is stupid, because if I could see a psychiatrist, I wouldn’t be talking like this.” 
</blockquote>
Unfortunately, Elon Musk was unable to respond to being called stupid because he’d just flown to Mars in his new electric space-car, but had not yet installed the final communications satellite link that would allow him to call Earth from the offices of the new terraforming company he’s built on the Red Planet. AOC reacted to this by saying, “Now you see what I mean. If Elon Musk is so smart, how come his crappy Mars phone doesn’t work?”
Another possible Democrat presidential candidate is California Governor Gavin Newsom, who lists his achievements as: causing the weather to be consistently good in Santa Barbara, looking very concerned as Los Angeles burned to the ground, and receiving a hundred billion dollars for Medicare and a high-speed train, both of which he plans to provide as soon as he finds out what happened to the hundred billion dollars. Newsom says he also proved himself a great leader during the Chinese Flu pandemic, because he never let himself despair like some of those idiots who stayed home all the time wearing useless masks.
In Maine, Democrats are running Graham Platner for Senate. Platner sports a Totenkopf, or death’s head tattoo, favored by Nazi SS officers. But in his memoir, entitled Maine Kampf, Platner explains that the tattoo does not mean he sympathizes with Nazis, but simply refers to his wish to slaughter every Jew on earth and then take over Europe. Platner does admit that, if his plans are carried out, he’s sort of going to miss those hot rape dogs.

Kristof Risograph

Trump Panic Drives The New York Times To Wag The Antisemitic Dog

antisemitism

Ken Paxton

Nicholas Kristof

The New York Times

They used to say that theater kids became politicians. Now, for the Democrat party, murderous, Nazi-loving freaks are becoming politicians.
The party that resoundingly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/jay-jones-who-fantasized-about-murdering-republicans-will-be-virginias-next-attorney-general">elected</a> Jay Jones to Virginia attorney general — a man who texted a colleague that he hoped his opponent&#8217;s children would bleed out in their mothers&#8217; arms — and the party that championed an alleged rapist and Chinese-spy-loving farter as a leading candidate for California governor before he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/eric-swalwell-to-resign-from-congress-over-sexual-misconduct-scandal">dropped out</a>, is now rallying behind Graham Platner for Maine Senate. Platner is currently in hot water for posting about masturbating in porta-potties and gushing over graffiti of the male genitalia.
Yeah. I’ll let you read the “D*ck Art” posts and erotic “Portash*tter” comments <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/05/19/us-news/maine-senate-dem-candidate-graham-platner-gushed-over-phallic-graffiti-boasted-about-porta-potty-sex-acts-in-reddit-posts/">yourself</a>.
If the name Graham Platner sounds familiar, it&#8217;s because we all know and hate him <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/maine-senate-candidate-downplays-ss-skull-tattoo-i-am-not-a-secret-nazi">as</a> the &#8220;guy with the Nazi tattoo.&#8221; He has since covered up his Totenkopf, the &#8220;death&#8217;s head&#8221; symbol used by the Nazi SS, but the image has already been seared into our brains.
Even if Mainers could look past the blue-eyed, blond-haired, supposed Jew-hater having that particular piece of skin art, they&#8217;d still have to clear a few other <a href="https://archive.ph/ifBMa">hurdles</a>. Platner called himself a &#8220;communist&#8221; in 2021, declared &#8220;all cops&#8221; were bastards that same year, and used anti-gay slurs in 2018. His high school yearbook named him &#8220;most likely to start a revolution.&#8221; Last week, he <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/16/magazine/graham-platner-interview.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share">told</a> the New York Times, &#8220;We need a political revolution in this country.&#8221; Some things never change.
The cherry on top: in 2019, Platner <a href="https://x.com/magi_jay/status/2056550688818098395?s=20">posted</a> a chilling response to a video of American soldier and father of two Ted Daniels being wounded by the Taliban gunfire:
<blockquote>This video never gets old. Dumb motherf*cker didn&#8217;t deserve to live. At least his stupidity and fat *ss wheezing are available for all future infantrymen to witness… Poor marksmanship on the Taliban&#8217;s part is the only reason this mouthbreather made it home.</blockquote>
The most alarming part: Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) all lined up behind him anyway. VoteVets, the most influential Democrat-aligned veterans’ political organization, <a href="https://votevets.org/press-releases/votevets-pac-endorses-graham-platner-in-maine-u-s-senate-race">backed</a> him even after those anti-military comments surfaced. This isn&#8217;t a glitch. This is the feature.
That does it, Platten that Graham Cracker like a pancake — in the polls.
He can <a href="https://x.com/i/status/2055696604925927473">call</a> conservatives &#8220;fascists&#8221; and white rural <a href="https://mainemorningstar.com/2025/10/17/unearthed-reddit-comments-present-first-stumble-in-platners-rise/">Americans</a> &#8220;racist&#8221; and &#8220;stupid.&#8221; We&#8217;re used to that, but cheering a soldier&#8217;s death at the hands of the Taliban is another matter entirely, and apparently, for the Democratic machine, not even a dealbreaker.
And they say Republicans are extreme?
What exactly does this character stand erect for besides phallic art and blue porta-potty water? He&#8217;s <a href="https://x.com/i/status/2056042288896262497" target="_blank" rel="noopener">furious</a> America spent billions of dollars on the Iran war and isn&#8217;t &#8220;talking about healthcare.&#8221; A man who relishes the thought of a wounded American soldier wants to manage your healthcare. The United States already spends $5.8 trillion on it annually. The <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/04/08/us-news/operation-epic-fury-military-success-in-iran-by-the-numbers/">military</a> consumes only 3% of GDP, and less than 10% of that went to Operation Epic Fury. His platform is the progressive greatest hits: higher taxes, bigger unions, more immigration, larger government, and less enforcement of the rule of law.
His opponent, Senator Susan Collins, the longest-serving female Republican in the Senate and the only GOP member of Congress from New England, has spent decades legislating on behalf of moderate, everyday folk. As the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Collins has delivered real results for Maine: federal funding, bipartisan legislation, and a temperament that doesn&#8217;t include cheering Taliban marksmanship. Losing her seat doesn&#8217;t just flip a vote; it hands the Left a gavel.
We get it, Platner. You&#8217;re angry at the world, and apparently at yourself. You&#8217;re seething with unprocessed trauma and expressing it through grotesque, sexualized hatred. We appreciate your service and genuinely hope you get the help you need, but that help won’t come from leading 1.4 million people, more than half of whom you likely despise based on their race, gender, religion, or ethnicity. Let’s stop rewarding insanity with power and condemn these insane behaviors to small, uninfluential dark chambers.
His primary win in June is all but certain after Gov. Janet Mills dropped out, which shows how full steam ahead the Democrat train is heading toward crazy town. It’s becoming more and more obvious that the Left has a type: unhinged, radical, and propped up by the full weight of the progressive establishment.
Theater kids in Congress were quaint. What the Left is fielding now is a communist with a covered SS tattoo, a porta-potty fetish, and open contempt for the troops his party pretends to honor.
Maine doesn&#8217;t need a revolution; it needs normalcy. It needs Susan Collins.

graham_Platner_flattened

Let’s Platten This Graham Cracker

DW Opinion

Maine Democrat Senate candidate Graham Platner once lamented the closing of a loophole that allowed military contractors to save money on taxes by spending their time off “banging hookers in Thailand” instead of getting “b*tched” at by their wives back in the United States.
 “Spend your leave banging hookers in Thailand instead of getting b*tched at by the wife back home, and you could sell it as avoiding federal income tax,” Platner wrote on Reddit in June 2019. “Once the Afghans started using our paychecks as a personal piggy bank, that whole loophole disappeared.”
Platner made the comments under the name “P-Hustle,” a handle he admitted to using after an archive of his Reddit posts was <a href="https://themainemonitor.org/platner-reddit-comments/">reported</a> by the Maine Monitor. 
“Hell, with those DoD static contracts, those poor bastards literally are just making 65 a year,” Platner posted under the user name “P-Hustle” on a <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/USMC/comments/bx52aq/comment/eq4szvj/?sort=top">thread</a>. “Sadly, the Afghan tax f***ed everybody on the 330 game.&#8221;
That appears to be a reference to <a href="https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/foreign-earned-income-exclusion-physical-presence-test">IRS regulations</a> allowing a significant portion of income to be exempt if a person spends at least 330 days in a foreign country during a 12-month period. This allows American military contractors to avoid paying higher federal income taxes if they spend significant time overseas. 
During the final decade of the United States’ military operation in Afghanistan, contractors said the Afghan government taxed their income significantly more than the bilateral agreements between the two countries allowed. In 2013, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/audit-afghanistan-levied-93m-in-taxes-on-us-contractors-which-should-have-been-exempt/">found</a> that the Afghan government had levied $93 million in taxes on money that should have been exempt.
Platner went to Afghanistan multiple times, including once with the Maryland Army National Guard as an infantryman in 2010 and later in 2018 as a contractor for the State Department.
The Democrat has faced a barrage of criticism over past posts and statements in his bid to unseat Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). These comments have ranged from posts calling the Virgin Mary a “skank” to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/deeply-disturbing-dem-candidates-sexually-explicit-porta-potty-posts-resurface?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=‘Deeply+Disturbing’%3A+Dem+Candidate’s+Sexually+Explicit+Porta+Potty+Posts+Resurface">discussions</a> on masturbating in portable public toilets. 
“I still have to jerk off every time I sit in a portash*tter… that blue water smell conditioned me,” he wrote in March 2017 in a thread on nostalgic military smells. In <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/deeply-disturbing-dem-candidates-sexually-explicit-porta-potty-posts-resurface?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98Deeply+Disturbing%E2%80%99%3A+Dem+Candidate%E2%80%99s+Sexually+Explicit+Porta+Potty+Posts+Resurface">another thread</a> titled “GWOT Dick Art,” Platner described graffiti of a penis as “beautiful,” “engorged and veiny,” and moving “towards its penetrative glory,” according to Fox News. 
Platner has characterized many of his previous posts as jokes and apologized for his former comments about women. His campaign began with a burst of controversy when it was revealed that he had a tattoo on his chest that closely resembled a Totenkopf, the skull-and-crossbones emblem adopted by an infamous Nazi SS unit.
The Democrat <a href="https://www.mainepublic.org/politics/2025-10-22/democratic-senate-hopeful-graham-platner-gets-tattoo-of-nazi-symbol-covered-up" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> he received the tattoo while serving in the Marine Corps during a drunken night in Croatia and claimed he was unaware of its historical meaning at the time. The <a href="https://apnews.com/article/maine-platner-senate-trump-mills-tattoo-collins-fa8328a3c8aa5d5e0f34adb379e977b8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press</a> later confirmed that he had the tattoo covered once the comparison became public, saying he did not want a symbol associated with hate on his body.
As of this writing, Platner leads Collins by 7.5 points, <a href="https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/senate/general/2026/maine/collins-vs-platner">according</a> to the RealClearPolitics polling average.

Democratic Senate Candidate For Maine Graham Platner Campaigns Around The State

Dem Candidate Complained About Thai Prostitute ‘Loophole’ Closing

Far-left Senate candidate Graham Platner (D-ME) has once again landed in hot water over a now-deleted Reddit post that appears to mock a wounded soldier.
The <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/platners-deleted-reddit-sparks-outrage-appears-mock-wounded-soldier-didnt-deserve-live">post</a>, written in 2019, was a brutal takedown of a viral video from the helmet-cam of Pfc. Ted Daniels during a 2012 firefight with the Taliban. Daniels received a Purple Heart after being shot four times during that firefight — but Platner argued in a post attributed to his old account, &#8220;P-hustle,&#8221; that Daniels did not &#8220;deserve to live&#8221; because he&#8217;d made &#8220;sh*t&#8221; decisions in combat.
&#8220;This video never gets old,&#8221; the commentary began. &#8220;Dumb motherf*cker didn&#8217;t deserve to live. At least his stupidity and fat-*ss wheezing are available for all future infantrymen to witness and hold in contempt. Poor marksmanship on the Taliban&#8217;s part is the only reason this mouth breather made it home, he managed to make every possible sh*t decision possible when it comes to small unit combat.&#8221;
Daniels, in later interviews, has explained that the actions he took were not tactically the best ones he could have made, but said that he had to make decisions in the moment he believed would &#8220;draw fire&#8221; away from others in his unit.
&#8220;I put my *ss on the line for other guys,&#8221; he said, even as he conceded it was not &#8220;a sound thing to do.&#8221;
Army Ranger veteran and Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) minced no words in his response to Platner&#8217;s comment: &#8220;Graham Platner is a lying, antisemitic fraud who has no business serving in the Senate.&#8221;
&#8220;Let’s see the courageous Democrat vets defend this one … can’t wait to hear it,&#8221; Navy SEAL veteran and Senator Tim Sheehy (R-MT) added.
Rep. and retired Navy SEAL Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) unloaded on Platner as well, saying, &#8220;This Nazi tattooed raging a*shole should be resoundingly condemned by every active duty military member and veteran. He is a disgrace to the uniform he previously wore and should be mocked and shamed.&#8221;
Platner has faced criticisms over a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nazi-tattoo-dem-blames-u-s-army-culture-for-ink-nasty-social-media-posts">Nazi tattoo</a> — which he recently had covered — as well as several offensive and vulgar social media posts, but still managed to rise as the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in Maine. He will face longtime incumbent Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) in November.

Platner Mocks Purple Heart Recipient In Resurfaced Post: ‘Didn’t Deserve To Live’

Far-Left Maine Candidate Says Wounded Soldier 'Didn't Deserve To Live'

Soldiers

Veterans

Maine Democrat Senate candidate Graham Platner made sexually explicit comments on social media about masturbating in portable public toilets, according to newly surfaced social media posts. 
&#8220;I still have to jerk off every time I sit in a portash*tter… that blue water smell conditioned me,” he wrote in March 2017 in a thread on nostalgic military smells, Fox News <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/unearthed-posts-show-dem-senate-hopeful-praising-vulgar-graffiti-making-crude-porta-potty-admissions">reported</a>.
In another reported thread titled “GWOT Dick Art,” Platner described graffiti of a penis as “beautiful,” “engorged and veiny,” and moving “towards its penetrative glory,” according to Fox News. 
The graffiti was found inside a portable toilet Platner used during one of his overseas deployments. Platner served three combat tours in Iraq as a Marine and went to Afghanistan in the infantry. 
&#8220;Oh sh*t!!!,&#8221; Platner added regarding the sexually explicit drawing in March 2021. &#8220;You’ve got the Hot Rod C*** from Manas!&#8221;
Describing his reaction to the explicit drawing, Platner said he “sat there in sheer awe&#8221; and was taken by &#8220;the soul filling joy to be allowed to witness such glory.&#8221;
Platner, looking to unseat Senator Susan Collins, made the most under the name &#8220;P-Hustle.” In the past, he has faced criticism for several vulgar posts he made from that account on women and Christianity. 
Platner’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 
National Republican Senatorial Committee spokeswoman Samantha Cantrell called Platner’s posts “disturbing.” 
&#8220;Graham Platner’s explicit sexual behavior in public restrooms is deviant and deeply disturbing, especially from a man who blamed victims of sexual assault for their own rapes,&#8221; she said in a statement. 
Platner previously faced criticism for Reddit posts he made <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/attack-ad-targets-democrat-over-vulgar-past-comments-about-women?author=Cameron+Arcand&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Attack+Ad+Targets+Democrat+Over+Vulgar+Past+Comments+About+Women">saying</a> that women should “act like an adult for f*** sake” and “not get so f***ed up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to” if they are fearful of being raped.
He also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-under-fire-for-posts-calling-jesus-a-zombie-virgin-mary-a-skank?author=Cameron+Arcand&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Democrat+Darling+Under+Fire+For+Posts+Calling+Jesus+A+‘Zombie%2C’+Virgin+Mary+A+‘Skank’">called</a> the Virgin Mary a “skank” and said Jesus Christ was a “zombie.” 
“I’ve spent 8 years in the infantry, Marine Corps, and Army, and I’ve been about as crudely atheist as one can be the entire time (zombie jesus jokes and Mary sucking at covering up being a skank, as examples),” he wrote in 2012.
Platner has characterized many of his previous posts as jokes and apologized for his former comments about women.

‘Deeply Disturbing’: Dem Candidate’s Sexually Explicit Porta Potty Posts Resurface

Reddit

With Gov. Janet Mills out of the Democratic primary for Sen. Susan Collins’s seat, Mainers are going to get a clearer look at the kind of choice in front of us. And if we’re not careful, Maine could end up importing New York City’s latest far-left political experiment.
In last year&#8217;s mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani campaigned on radical policies like government-run grocery stores, free buses, and free child care. He spent more of his time attacking President Donald Trump or appeasing the antisemitic wing of his base rather than explaining how he would realistically implement any of his extreme — and costly — agenda.
Now, just over four months into Mayor Mamdani’s term, most of his promises have predictably fallen <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/04/10/us-news/here-are-the-promises-zohran-mamdani-broke-in-his-first-100-days-in-office/">flat</a>, and the city is in bad shape. Basic services are under strain in New York City; costs continue to rise, and leaders are pushing policies that make it harder for businesses and the jobs they create to stay. All of this is unfolding alongside a record $125 billion budget proposal and plans for major tax increases that are already driving workers and employers out.
Mainers should take this as a warning of what could come to the Pine Tree State, because the same playbook is starting to play out here.
The same Democratic activist networks that propelled Zohran Mamdani from obscurity to power are now lining up behind U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner in Maine.
Platner’s campaign is being run by Morris Katz, a Washington, D.C. strategist who helped engineer Mamdani’s rise from single-digit polling to a double-digit primary upset. In fact, Katz was recruited by Democratic operatives to find and build a candidate in that same mold, and he landed on Platner.
Platner has the same policy positions and extreme views as Mamdani, just packaged a little bit differently. Despite <a href="https://freebeacon.com/democrats/working-class-graham-platner-attended-elite-75k-a-year-prep-school-known-for-famous-government-alumni/">attending</a> an expensive and elite prep school, Platner has leaned heavily into anti-establishment rhetoric, pretending to be a champion of the “working class” while calling for dismantling what he describes as a “billionaire economy.”
Like many candidates in this lane, his campaign launched with a viral video designed to tap into frustration and division, backed by national progressive networks tied to figures like Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Elizabeth Warren, and, of course, Zohran Mamdani.
The Democrat operatives behind Platner’s campaign might be having him dress a certain way or embrace this false persona to try to relate to some Mainers, but the reality is that Platner’s policies are the same as those of Mamdani, Ocasio-Cortez, and Sanders. He has held a series of positions well outside the mainstream in Maine. He backs the Green New Deal and sweeping expansions of federal control over the economy. He has called for abolishing ICE and prosecuting its agents. He has supported efforts to target political opponents through impeachment and legal action, as well as pursuing the impeachment of conservative Supreme Court justices.
And despite Platner’s complete rebrand over the course of the campaign, he cannot hide his true colors and long-standing extremism.
In since-deleted posts, Platner <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/16/maine-senate-candidate-promoted-violent-political-action-in-since-deleted-online-posts-00613037">described</a> himself as a “communist.” Platner has also referred to our police officers as “<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/10/22/democrats-graham-platner-political-fantasy-00618031">opportunistic cowards</a>,” made <a href="https://emilyslist.org/sound-the-alarm/sound-the-alarm-graham-platner-says-sexual-assault-victims-should-take-some-responsibility-in-now-deleted-reddit-posts/">remarks</a> assigning responsibility to victims of sexual assault, and posted <a href="https://themainemonitor.org/platner-reddit-posts/">racially charged comments</a>. He <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/16/politics/kfile-graham-platner-maine-senate-candidate-deleted-reddit-posts">said</a> rural white Americans “actually are” racist and stupid. Then, of course, there is the <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/21/graham-platner-tattoo-nazi-00617686">Totenkopf tattoo</a> across his chest, a symbol long associated with Nazi units who terrorized Jews, the disabled, and supporters of democracy.
None of this sounds like the Maine we all know and love.
As a State Representative in Maine, the conversations I have with constituents are a lot more grounded. People are worried about the cost of living, rising electricity bills, and whether their kids will have the opportunity to stay and build a life here. They want safe communities, a stable economy, and leaders who are focused on practical solutions. And they definitely don’t want Mamdani-style big city socialism.
Maine has always valued independence and common sense. We don’t need to follow this path of experimenting with extreme policies that drive up costs and create uncertainty. We need leaders who understand our state, respect the people who live here, and are focused on delivering real results.
Platner’s campaign may be fueled by national attention and outside influence. But this election will be decided by Mainers and the direction we choose for our state.
***
Laurel Libby is a member of the Maine House of Representatives.

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