Overview
- Platner confirmed on Pod Save America that he has a skull-and-crossbones chest tattoo, denied Nazi sympathies, and said he got it in 2007 while drunk in Croatia.
- The Anti-Defamation League said the tattoo appears to resemble the Nazi Totenkopf and called it troubling for a candidate, urging a clear repudiation of the symbol’s meaning.
- Former political director Genevieve McDonald resigned and now says Platner knew the tattoo’s significance, while an acquaintance claims he once called it his “Totenkopf”; the campaign disputes those accounts.
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer publicly endorsed Gov. Janet Mills, escalating the establishment-versus-progressive fight in a primary Democrats view as key to challenging Sen. Susan Collins.
- Platner has apologized for offensive Reddit posts from 2013–2021, and Sen. Bernie Sanders said he is maintaining his endorsement despite the revelations.