Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner (D) mentioned on Monday that his previous remarks on Reddit were intended to “motivate people to rise up.”
“That was my goal, to get people on the internet energized,” Platner said during an appearance with Tommy Vieter. “They didn’t represent my views at that time.”
Platner, a seasoned oyster farmer, is running a populist campaign with support from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), youth Democratic groups, and labor unions.
A review of his Reddit activity revealed that he had used offensive language toward individuals with special needs, identified himself as a “communist,” labeled all police officers as “bastards,” and characterized rural white Americans as “actually” racist and dumb, according to CNN’s KFILE.
During his podcast segment, Platner claimed that as he travels around Maine, residents will come to understand that those comments do not reflect his true beliefs.
“People will recognize that this isn’t at all the person they thought they knew,” he remarked.
In 2013, Platner, who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, minimized the challenges military members face in reporting sexual assault, suggesting that victims should not be overly distressed. This was reported by The Washington Post.
He addressed these remarks in a video posted on social media platform X, explaining that they stemmed from his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder after returning from Afghanistan in 2011. “I was unaware of what I was dealing with,” Platner disclosed.
On the topic of sexual assault, the Department of Defense reported over 8,100 incidents for fiscal year 2024.
Platner noted that his experiences are primarily from a male-only infantry unit in Afghanistan. After returning and studying at George Washington University, he developed friendships with female veterans. “I realized that my perspective was limited to that environment,” he commented. “Honestly, that wasn’t the kind of world I could engage with.”
With the entry of Maine Governor Janet Mills (D) into the race last week as a strong contender, Platner now faces a crowded field. Republican incumbent Susan Collins is also vying for a sixth term in the Senate.
