Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s deleted Reddit account has continued to cause headaches for his campaign in recent months, and a recently resurfaced post appearing to mock a U.S. soldier almost killed in combat is stirring up more controversy.
“This video never gets old,” the Reddit account “P-Hustle” — which Platner has acknowledged he owned — posted in June 2019, in reference to a viral video from the helmet cam of Pfc. Ted Daniels taken during a clash with Taliban fighters in 2012 that ended in Daniels being shot four times. He earned a Purple Heart for his injuries.
“Dumb motherf****** didn’t deserve to live. At least his stupidity and fat ass 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 mouthbreather made it home, he managed to make every possible shit decision possible when it comes to small unit combat.”
The post was deleted but can be found on the Maine Monitor’s database of Platner’s deleted Reddit history.
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Daniels said in later interviews that he purposely moved into the open to draw fire away from other men in his unit, and while he expressed embarrassment and said “tactically” it was “not a sound thing to do,” ultimately, “I put my a– on the line for other guys.”
Platner, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, is garnering criticism over the deleted post from a variety of sources ranging from the internet, to the National Republican Senate Committee, to a former Marine who spoke to Fox News Digital.
“We don’t make jokes about our brothers and sisters dying, that’s not something we do, that’s not normal,” Adam Schwarze, a former Navy SEAL and Marine veteran running for U.S. Senate as a Republican in Minnesota, said about Platner mocking a fellow soldier on social media in an open forum.
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Schwarze acknowledged that Marines can sometimes have a “dark” sense of humor and give each other a hard time about tactics when speaking privately, but said that Platner’s post was something different.
“We don’t post about our brothers getting wounded in action.”
Schwarze also took issue with posts from Platner’s account related to law enforcement, including that “all police are bastards”, given that so many members of law enforcement are former active duty military.
“I think it’s very dangerous to say, ‘Hey, this is how veterans think and talk’ because that’s just not true. I served 21 years, nine deployments, I don’t know one combat veteran who makes comments like cops are bastards.”
Schwarze said he believes Platner has “mental issues.”
“I feel bad for him. I think he should get some help. He deserves help from his time down range, from his PTSD and his mental health issues, but he certainly shouldn’t be running for the United States Senate.”
NRSC Regional Press Secretary Samantha Cantrell added, “Anyone who makes fun of the American soldiers who gave their lives for freedom and cheers on terrorists has no place serving in the United States Senate.”
“That’s what Platner thinks about his fellow Americans at war,” journalist Magdi Jacobs, who first published the deleted entry on social media, wrote on X. “If they’re not good at killing or broader tactics, he has contempt for them. He displays no empathy. The opposite, in fact.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Platner campaign for comment.
Platner, a first-time candidate who is backed by progressive champions Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, has previously responded to questions about his social posts by saying he was joking.
“You should read the comments in context. It’s very clear I’m joking,” he previously told Fox News Digital when asked about other comments. “It’s called s—posting. It’s when you argue with people on the internet and try to bother them. So, yeah, no, it’s very obviously not true.”
Other posts Platner has been questioned about, including in a recent interview with The New York Times, include a 2013 post, which Platner later deleted, that people concerned about rape should not “get so f—ed up they wind up having sex with someone they don’t mean to.”
Platner has also faced scrutiny for more recent Reddit posts, including one from five years ago in which he described himself as a “communist” and “socialist.” Additionally, Platner’s posts have contained alleged homophobic slurs and praise for military tactics used by Hamas.
Platner became the Democrats’ presumptive nominee after his rival for the nomination, two-term Gov. Janet Mills, ended her campaign last month after trailing Platner in polling and fundraising.
If he wins the June primary, Platner will attempt to defeat five-term incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins this fall in a closely watched race that could have a significant impact on the balance of power in the U.S. Senate.
