Overview
- Graham Platner told MSNBC he learned his chest tattoo had Nazi overtones after The New York Times contacted his campaign and said he covered it within days.
- Jen Psaki pressed him on accountability for past posts and the tattoo, and he rejected the idea he is shirking responsibility while vowing to stay in the race.
- An anonymous source and his former political director have alleged he knew earlier that the design was problematic, a timeline Platner disputed on air.
- Early UNH polling showed Platner with a wide lead, but a SoCal Strategies survey taken after the tattoo story found Gov. Janet Mills ahead by five points, with a larger gap when voters were informed about the tattoo.
- The controversy has unfolded as tattoo-removal providers describe growing demand to erase hate imagery and say they screen clients to gauge whether they are renouncing beliefs or concealing them, with the ADL cataloging such symbols.