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Veterans are ripping Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner after resurfaced posts confirmed him calling the Military “filled with fats, lazy trash” and mocking a soldier who was shot a number of instances in fight earlier than receiving a Purple Coronary heart.
“I’m a adorned veteran, and folks want to know what serving within the Military value me: congestive coronary heart failure, bilateral listening to loss, COPD, sleep apnea, hypertension, hypothyroidism and PTSD,” Holland “Ricky” White, a Vietnam Struggle veteran who served within the Military’s 173rd Airborne Brigade, instructed Fox Information Digital.
The 173rd Airborne Brigade, often known as “The Herd,” was one of many first floor fight models to deploy to Vietnam, the place it endured among the warfare’s most intense preventing.
“I perceive ridicule higher than most. I used to be ridiculed not solely as a Vietnam veteran, however as a black man as effectively,” White continued. “I misplaced buddies over there, and it nonetheless hurts to speak about them. I typically ask God, ‘Why did You spare me and never my buddies?’ I imagine God wasn’t achieved with me after I got here house, and that’s why I proceed making an attempt to make a distinction right this moment.”
“That’s the reason feedback like Graham’s are so offensive,” White mentioned.
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Graham Platner, the Democrats’ presumptive Senate nominee in Maine, holds an power occasion in Ellsworth, Maine on Monday Might 11, 2026. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox Information)
The backlash provides to a mounting controversy over Platner’s deleted Reddit account because the veteran-turned-oyster farmer seeks to problem Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in one of many nation’s most carefully watched 2026 Senate races. Platner has leaned closely on his navy background in pitching himself to Maine voters, however the resurfaced posts threaten to derail his marketing campaign as his use of slurs, embrace of socialism and criticism of the armed forces come below scrutiny.
Maybe Platner’s most controversial Reddit submit got here in 2019 when he sharply criticized a soldier who was shot a number of instances by the Taliban in 2012.
“Dumb motherf—er did not need to stay. Not less than his stupidity and fats a– wheezing can be found for all future squaddies to witness and maintain in contempt,” Platner wrote on Reddit, reacting to fight footage one other person had posted. “Poor marksmanship on the Taliban’s half is the one motive this mouthbreather made it house.”
The video that Platner was commenting on got here from the helmet cam of U.S. Military veteran Ted Daniels, who was shot 4 instances and awarded the Purple Coronary heart.
“As a Purple Coronary heart recipient myself – having been wounded for my nation, I discover his feedback to be particularly vile,” Steve, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan who has constructed a big social media following, instructed Fox Information Digital. “Mocking a fellow American that took enemy fireplace, to guard his squad reveals an absence of primary understanding of brotherhood and selfless service.”
Steve requested that Fox Information Digital withhold his final title for privateness causes.
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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)
Platner expressed a basic distaste for the Military in his deleted discussion board posts.
“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 sizzling models with good dudes, as a complete the group is absolute trash,” Platner wrote in April 2019. “As a corporation it’s terrible. Stuffed with fats, lazy trash who would somewhat not be in uniform.”
“A Senator who calls troopers ‘trash’ and mocks a person’s Purple Coronary heart has proven who he actually is,” Invoice Brown, a retired Navy SEAL who served in Iraq, instructed Fox Information Digital. “A Senator votes to ship troopers to warfare, confirms the generals who lead them, and funds the gear that protects them. Platner’s personal phrases in his deleted submit show he can’t be trusted to do proper by those who shield us.”
PLATNER’S DELETED REDDIT SPARKS OUTRAGE AGAIN AS HE APPEARS TO MOCK WOUNDED SOLDIER: ‘DIDN’T DESERVE TO LIVE’
Graham Platner, left, pictured alongside Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, proper. (Graeme Sloan/Getty Photographs; Heather Diehl/Getty Photographs)
“Being a veteran doesn’t make somebody honorable. Honor is the way you carry your self, the way you deal with others, and the way you talk about those that served beside you. On this case, the uniform might have been earned, however respect clearly was not,” Kate Monroe, the CEO of VETCOMM and a Marine Corps veteran, instructed Fox Information Digital.
John Rourke, a retired Military workers sergeant who noticed fight throughout Operation Iraqi Freedom, seconded Monroe’s sentiments, saying that Platner’s mockery would not “make him edgy or robust” however “a shame to the uniform.”
Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner is going through renewed criticism over his deleted Reddit historical past. (Joe Raedle/Getty Photographs)
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A few of Platner’s doable future colleagues within the Senate who served within the armed forces have additionally condemned his feedback.
“As a fight veteran, I’ve seen the price of warfare up shut. I’ve watched courageous Individuals come house with wounds, seen and invisible, that they’ll carry for the remainder of their lives,” Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, instructed Fox Information Digital. “Mocking servicemembers for getting wounded or killed is completely despicable. These are our brothers and sisters, individuals who volunteered to place all the pieces on the road for this nation.”
Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst talking from the U.S. Capitol. (Alex Wong/Getty Photographs)
Ernst served 23 years within the Military Reserve and Iowa Military Nationwide Guard, together with as an organization commander in Kuwait throughout Operation Iraqi Freedom, and retired as a lieutenant colonel.
MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE CITES COMBAT TRAUMA WHEN CONFRONTED ON ‘TERRIBLE’ POSTS ABOUT SEXUAL ASSAULT
Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, factors to a lined tattoo that was beforehand acknowledged as a Nazi image throughout an interview in Portland, Maine, on Oct. 22, 2025. (WGME through AP)
“Platner’s feedback about American servicemembers are disgraceful, nevertheless it’s what we must always count on from a communist with a Nazi tattoo,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., instructed Fox Information Digital.
Cotton served as an Military infantry officer with fight excursions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Let’s see the brave Democrat vets defend this one … can’t wait to listen to it,” Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., a retired Navy SEAL, mentioned of Platner’s remarks.
Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Montana, within the U.S. Capitol. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Name, Inc through Getty Photographs)
Fox Information Digital reached the places of work of some Democratic veterans serving within the Senate on Friday. None responded to requests for remark.
The Platner marketing campaign additionally didn’t reply to a request for remark when reached by Fox Information Digital.
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“The motto and ethos of the Marine Corps is Semper Fidelis – at all times trustworthy. This implies constancy to Marines and fellow service members,” Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Afghanistan, instructed Fox Information Digital.
“This man has failed that check.”
