Graham Platner confronted on controversial tattoo in MS NOW back-and-forth

[ad_1] NEW Now you can hearken to Fox Information articles!

Democratic Maine senate candidate Graham Platner was confronted about his controversial tattoo throughout an interview on MS NOW on Saturday.

MS NOW's Elise Jordan pressed Platner on a CNN KFile investigation that alleged he beforehand acknowledged the that means of his tattoo — recognized because the "third Panzer," a Nazi army unit linked to focus camps — regardless of publicly claiming he was unaware of its significance. Jordan cited Reddit posts that appeared to point out Platner discussing and justifying the image, saying they conflicted together with his account.

"May you reply to the KFiles, CNN, the large investigation they did that mentioned you probably did know the meaning of your tattoo — the ‘third Panzer,’ the unit that ran the focus camps?" Jordan requested. "Fairly infamous. You recognize, like should you’re going to have a Nazi tattoo, it’s like, principally, the worst one you could possibly have. However you mentioned you didn’t know what it was. However then they've all of this documentation of you on Reddit speaking about what it's and in some way justifying it."

Platner denied the allegation, calling it "basically not true." He mentioned the tattoo was supposed to be a skull-and-crossbones image representing his Marine Corps service, which he received whereas deployed in Croatia with fellow Marines.

REPUBLICAN LAWMAKER DIRECTS INVESTIGATION AFTER SWASTIKA VANDALISM DISCOVERED IN DC OFFICE

U.S. senatorial candidate from Maine Graham Platner speaks at a city corridor on the Leavitt Theater on October 22, 2025, in Ogunquit, Maine. (Sophie Park/Getty Photographs)

"I went ashore in Croatia with a bunch of different Marines. We had been machine gunners. We’d served two deployments collectively, and we needed to get a cranium and crossbones collectively to signify our time within the Marine Corps . That’s what we received," Platner mentioned.

Platner said he was later cleared by the State Division to guard the ambassador for Afghanistan and was screened for "hate and gang-related tattoos."

"I’ve been taking my shirt off for 17 years, in entrance of my household, in entrance of mates on the gymnasium, all of the -, it’s by no means as soon as got here up," Platner mentioned. "Not till this.

Platner's marketing campaign shared a video with the " Pod Save America " podcast in October that confirmed Platner lip-syncing to Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball" at his brother's wedding ceremony a couple of decade in the past. Within the video, Platner is shirtless and seems to have a cranium tattoo on his chest that resembles the "Totenkopf, a logo utilized by Adolf Hitler’s SS.

Jordan pressed Platner a couple of Reddit thread wherein he commented on the Totenkopf emblem.

SENATE DEM CANDIDATE WHO WROTE HE 'BECAME A COMMUNIST' NOW SAYS HE WAS JOKING'

Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for Senate in Maine, was confronted about his controversial tattoo on January 31, 2026, on MS NOW. (MS NOW/TheWeekendPrimetime)

Platner mentioned his feedback weren't about his tattoo, however about Marine Corps scout snipers, noting the imagery was as soon as frequent inside that neighborhood.

"The Marine Corps cracked down on it, rightfully so, as a result of it’s not a great look. And scout snipers don’t get that as we speak. However after I was within the Marine Corps, it was well-liked amongst scout snipers," he mentioned.

CNN's KFile reported in October that the Democratic senate candidate's feedback on Reddit, along with an interview with an acquaintance of Platner, contradicted his unique declare that he solely lately discovered in regards to the tattoo's ties to Nazism.

Throughout an interview with the "Pod Save America" podcast in October, Platner mentioned that he was not a secret Nazi .

<img src="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/10/1200/675/graham-platner-tattoo-maine.jpg?ve=1&tl=1" alt="In this photo provided by WGME, Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, points to a cover-up tattoo that had previously been an image recognized as a Nazi symbol, during an interview on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, in Portland, Maine." width="1200" height="675"/> Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, factors to a lined tattoo that had beforehand been a picture acknowledged as a Nazi image, throughout an interview on Wednesday in Portland, Me. (WGME by way of AP)

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE

"I'm not a secret Nazi," Platner mentioned. "Really, should you learn via my Reddit feedback, I feel you possibly can just about determine the place I stand on Nazism and racism on the whole. I would say a lifelong opponent."

Platner additionally recognized himself as a "communist" in years-old Reddit posts. The Democratic senate candidate mentioned it was merely "web s---posting."

Members of the Democratic Occasion commonly examine President Donald Trump 's administration, particularly their deportation efforts, to Nazi Germany.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Many have in contrast ICE brokers to Nazis. Late-night host Stephen Colbert suggested throughout his present final week that ICE brokers may be worse than Nazis as a result of Nazis had been prepared to point out their faces.