Schumer Backs Platner Despite Nazi Tattoo Scandal
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stood by Democrat Graham Platner on Tuesday even as reporters pressed him about the Maine candidate’s growing list of controversies. Schumer was asked point-blank whether he was satisfied with Platner’s explanations, but he did not really engage the questions head-on.
Instead, Schumer kept repeating the same message about the race in Maine. “I met with Graham Platner today, we’re going to beat [Sen.] Susan Collins and take back the Senate.”
The senator was asked again and again if he still supported Platner after the latest headlines. Reporters also asked whether Democrats were hurting their own credibility by backing Platner while attacking Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton over similar kinds of scandal-driven baggage. Schumer did not answer those questions directly.
He tried to move the conversation along. “Any other subjects you got?” he asked. But the questions kept coming. After the fifth time he was pressed on Platner, Schumer finally said, “As I said, I endorsed Graham Platner.” Then he repeated, “We’re going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate,” before walking away.
Platner’s campaign has been under heavy scrutiny for weeks. The former Marine and oyster farmer has faced backlash over a tattoo tied to Nazi imagery, along with resurfaced Reddit posts where he made crude and inflammatory comments about veterans, Black people, and rural White people. His old online comments have drawn especially sharp criticism because they clash with the image of a fresh, outsider candidate.
There has also been reporting about sexually explicit messages he exchanged with other women during his marriage. On top of that, Fox News Digital reported that Platner has an active Kik account, with a profile that included a sexually suggestive photo of him wearing only a towel around his waist. The account was created in 2016, though it is not clear when the image was taken.
Schumer had previously backed Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills for the race against Collins, but Mills dropped out in April after failing to gain enough financial support. That left Platner as the front-runner in the Democratic primary, and now he is the candidate carrying the party’s hopes in one of the most closely watched Senate contests in the country.