The Senate candidate responds to posts discovered on Reddit where he called himself
Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner distanced himself from old, now-deleted, social media posts in which he referred to himself as a “socialist” and “communist.”
CNN published an interview with Platner, a military veteran and oyster farmer, and a deep dive into his former Reddit name, P-Hustle.
“That was very much me fucking around on the Internet,” he told CNN’s KFile in an interview. “I don’t want people to see me as I was in my worst Internet comment, or even, frankly, who I was in my best Internet comment… I don’t think any of that is indicative of who I am today, really.”
“I’m not a communist. I’m not a socialist. I’m a small business owner. I’m a Marine Corps veteran,” Platner also told CNN.
Platner’s seemingly uninhibited publications were largely left-leaning and occasionally personal. They could also be abrupt and inflammatory.
For example, CNN found that Platner repeatedly used an ableist slur to insult social media users. He also called military veterans who participated in the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection “traitors,” “damn idiots,” and “damn idiots.”
In a Reddit exchange, one user said: “You bastards. Cops are bastards.”
“All of them, in fact,” Platner responded.
In 2020, Platner responded to a post titled “White people aren’t as racist or stupid as Trump thinks.”
Platner disagreed at all: “Living in rural white America, I’m afraid they really are.”
Photo: Graham Platner / Facebook
According to Platner’s website, he served in the United States Marine Corps and the Maryland Army National Guard. After being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, Platner overcame post-traumatic stress disorder and physical challenges, his website says.
He also described how his military service radicalized him, prompting him to become more leftist.
In a 2021 post, he said he is “a socialist who grows vegetables and takes psychedelics these days. After the war, I pretty much stopped believing in all the patriotic nonsense that got me there in the first place, and I firmly believe that the best thing a person can do is help their neighbors and live a loving life.”
“I still have the weapons though,” he added. “I don’t trust fascists to act politely.”
In another post from 2021, he said: “My time in America’s imperial wars definitely radicalized me even more, and I am much more left-wing today than I was back then.”
“I loved America, or at least the idea of it. Nowadays I’m quite disgusted by all this,” he added.
Platner boiled his responses down to “just being an asshole on the Internet,” according to CNN.
The posts were removed before Platner, a political newcomer with the backing of Sen. Bernie Sanders, launched his campaign in August. He is running for incumbent Sen. Susan Collins’ seat.
The race is high-stakes, and many Democrats hope to flip Collins’ seat in an effort to gain a Democratic majority in the Senate next year. Former Maine Governor Janet Mills also announced that she will run in the Democratic primary for the same seat. Despite his advanced age, which is a problem for many Maine voters, Mills has already received the endorsement of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Platner and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee did not immediately respond to News themezone’s request for comment.