Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) is refusing to drop his endorsement of Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner even after reports broke that Platner has a Nazi-linked tattoo on his chest.
“I personally think he is an excellent candidate,” Sanders said, according to multiple reporters. “I’m going to support him, and I look forward to him becoming the next senator in the state of Maine.”
New: Bernie Sanders defends Graham Platner, calls him an “excellent candidate”
“There’s a young man who served his country in Afghanistan and Iraq, and he went through some really difficult experiences seeing friends of his killed or whatever, and in spite of all of that he had…
— Igor Bobic (@igorbobic) October 21, 2025
Platner revealed the tattoo on an episode of Pod Save America, a move that his former campaign director Genevieve McDonald called an attempt to “get ahead” of news reports on the story. While Platner suggested he was unaware of the tattoo’s symbolism, a former acquaintance of his told Jewish Insider that the candidate openly bragged about the tattoo and referred to it as “my Totenkopf,” a reference to a Nazi symbol of a skull.
McDonald, who resigned from the campaign last week, wrote online that Platner is “a military history buff” who “knows damn well what [the tattoo] means.”
Former Platner political director weighs in on his tattoo pic.twitter.com/YszomLCa2t
— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) October 21, 2025
This is hardly Platner’s first scandal. He sparked controversy last week over leaked Reddit posts in which he said “all” cops are bastards, called white rural Americans racist and stupid, asked why black people “don’t tip,” and blamed sexual assault victims for their own rapes. Platner said during the podcast that he made most of the posts while drunk.
When reporters pressed Sanders on Platner’s Nazi-linked tattoo, the senator lashed out at the “corrupt campaign finance system,” according to Punchbowl News cofounder John Bresnahan.
“We don’t have enough candidates in this country that will take on the powers that be and fight for the working class,” Sanders went on.
4/ When pressed on Platner’s Nazi tattoo, Sanders lashed out at the “corrupt campaign finance system” adding “We don’t have enough candidates in this country that will take on the powers that be and fight for the working class.”
— John Bresnahan (@bresreports) October 21, 2025
