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Graham Platner, the Democrat’s presumptive nominee for Senate in Maine, described the US Military as “absolute trash” and “filled with fats, lazy trash who would slightly not be in uniform” in posts on his now-deleted Reddit account.
“I spent one other 4 within the Military after the Corps, and whereas I used to be very fortunate to serve in some sh–t scorching models with good dudes, as an entire the group is absolute trash,” Platner wrote in April 2019. “I’m not one to completely unhealthy mouth the Military. It does have some squared away combating models and good guys, in addition to some higher doctrine right here and there. However it’s completely missing within the warrior ethos and management obsession that the Corps has, and usually attracts a decrease normal of particular person.”
The resurfaced posts embrace a separate 2019 remark about wounded Military veteran Teddy Daniels, who was shot by the Taliban and later awarded the Purple Coronary heart. In that put up, Platner criticized Daniels’ battlefield ways and wrote that the “dumb motherf—er didn’t should reside.”
Platner’s feedback about Daniels and different now-deleted Reddit posts — together with posts wherein he used slurs, demeaned white rural Individuals and recognized as a Marxist — have develop into a significant marketing campaign difficulty within the Maine Senate race, the place he seeks to unseat GOP incumbent Sen. Susan Collins.
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Senate candidate Graham Platner, D-Maine, speaks at a city corridor on the Franco Heart in Lewiston, Maine, on Oct. 15, 2025. (Libby Kenny/Solar Journal through AP)
Platner served within the Marine Corps and the Maryland Military Nationwide Guard, the place he accomplished a number of fight excursions in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s not unusual for members of 1 department of the armed forces to be harshly essential of different branches.
“The Military does issues in a different way, and as an entire, they do issues a lot worse,” Platner wrote in March 2019. “As a corporation it’s terrible. Filled with fats, lazy trash who would slightly not be in uniform.”
Platner wasn’t solely damaging, as he praised the Military for having “some stable mild infantry, reconnaissance, and SOF models which can be s— scorching, in addition to entry to some nice faculties.”
He was additionally open concerning the necessity of inside criticism inside the armed forces.
“Civilians could be as dumb f–k ret—ed as they need, however WE have an obligation to be brutally trustworthy,” Platner wrote in 2013. “I would like civilians to suppose our capacity to combat is unmatched, however I additionally need us to be brutal in our inside criticism.”
Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks at a information convention Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Lewiston, Maine. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP PHoto)
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The Washington Free Beacon first reported on Platner’s disparaging feedback directed in the direction of the Military.
The posts had been made beneath the Reddit account “P-Hustle,” which Platner has beforehand acknowledged as his.
“I’m sorry for this. Simply know that it’s not reflective in any respect of who I’m,” Platner mentioned of his resurfaced Reddit posts again in October. “I don’t need you to guage me on the dumbest factor I ever wrote on the web. I would favor if individuals may choose me on the particular person I’m as we speak.”
Graham Platner, a U.S. Marine and Military veteran and oyster farmer, launched a Democratic run for the U.S. Senate in Maine in August. (Graham Platner marketing campaign)
In 2019, Platner reacted to a video of an American soldier being shot by the Taliban by stating that the “dumb motherf—er did not should reside.” Platner’s put up criticized the soldier, who was later awarded the Purple Coronary heart, for using poor ways.
The Senate hopeful’s commentary has attracted criticism from another veterans.
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“We do not make jokes about our brothers and sisters dying, that is not one thing we do, that is not regular,” Adam Schwarze, a former Navy SEAL and Marine veteran working for Senate as a Republican in Minnesota, mentioned of Platner.
Graham Platner, left, pictured alongside Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, proper. (Graeme Sloan/Getty Photographs; Heather Diehl/Getty Photographs)
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Platner attributes his habits to psychological trauma he developed from being deployed to the Center East, in addition to the “crude humor” he had gotten used to whereas within the Marines.
The Senate hopeful’s controversial statements concerning the army haven’t been confined to Reddit.
Throughout a 2024 podcast interview, Platner implied that deceased Navy SEAL Chris Kyle killed civilians to inflate his numbers.
“[Kyle’s] tales about how many individuals he was capturing definitely tracked with the habits I witnessed,” Platner mentioned. “It is comparatively straightforward to get excessive numbers like that in case you’re rather less discriminating in your hearth than, say, a extra skilled unit can be.”
He additionally accused Navy SEALs of being usually incompetent on his Reddit account, although he had form phrases for the Military Rangers.
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“Graham Platner’s vicious assaults on wounded service members and open contempt for the Military are disgusting and disqualifying,” Nationwide Republican Senatorial Committee press secretary Bernadette Breslin advised Fox Information Digital. “The extra we study him, the extra his prime Democrat allies like Elizabeth Warren are compelled to dodge questions on why they ever supported him within the first place.”
The Platner marketing campaign didn’t reply to a request for remark when reached by Fox Information Digital on Thursday.
