Overview
- On Thursday Ron Klain, a former White House chief of staff who recently hosted a fundraiser for Platner, told the Jewish News Syndicate he accepts Platner’s account that the chest tattoo was not meant as a Nazi symbol.
- The tattoo at issue is identified by multiple people as a Totenkopf, the skull-and-crossbones emblem tied to the Nazi SS, and Platner has since covered the ink while denying he intended it as a Nazi symbol.
- The New York Times reported accounts from an ex-partner, Lindsey Fifield, who said Platner called the mark “my Totenkopf” and described volatile behavior during their relationship; Platner has denied the abuse allegations.
- The Republican Jewish Coalition and other critics called on Democrats, including Senate leaders, to withdraw support and urged Klain’s employer Airbnb to respond because of Klain’s recent public defense and his past U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council appointment.
- The dispute has political stakes for Democrats fighting to win the Maine Senate seat against Republican Susan Collins and could prompt further scrutiny of endorsements, campaign ties, and party decisions on whether to keep Platner as the nominee.