A rising House Democrat and top Biden congressional ally torched Maine candidate Graham Platner’s Nazi tattoo as a “disqualifying” factor in a CNN interview Monday, Yahoo News reported.
Democrat Rep. Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts warned Maine voters against supporting controversial candidate Graham Platner, who is challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins for Maine’s Senate seat in November.
“It would be a mistake for the Democratic Party to think that Graham Platner’s brand of the Democratic Party is what wins us durable majorities throughout this country,” Auchincloss said, according to Yahoo News.
A mid-May poll showed Platner leading Collins 48 percent to 41 percent, with 11 percent of voters undecided.
Platner gained national attention after videos circulated online showing a chest tattoo depicting a Nazi SS ‘Totenkopf’ symbol. Platner claimed in an October podcast interview that he was unaware of the image’s meaning when he got the tattoo and has since covered it.
“I’ve been clear about Graham Platner,” Auchincloss told CNN. “I find that tattoo and his commentary about it to be personally disqualifying.” (RELATED: Dave Portnoy Torches Graham Platner Over Nazi Tattoo After Looking For Barstool’s Help With Political Ad)
Auchincloss, a Harvard graduate and former Marine, is known in the Democratic Party as a staunch Biden defender who lashed out against criticism and concerns regarding the former president’s physical and mental health issues — even as Biden’s decline raised bipartisan questions.
“The answer is not to tear down Joe Biden,” Auchincloss told Yahoo News in 2022. “Joe Biden is standing in the abyss right now, at a time when our democracy is fragile. We should be focused on making him a success in the latter half of his first term.”
WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 13: Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Alex Vindman and Ryan O’Leary outside the US Captiol on March 13, 2024 in Washington, DC. VoteVets held a press conference with senators and representatives pushing for an aid bill for Ukraine. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for VoteVets)
Auchincloss, who represents the country’s historically most liberal district, voted for Biden’s policies 100 percent of the time from 2021 to 2022, according to analysis from FiveThirtyEight.
Notably, Auchincloss serves as the inaugural chairman of Majority Democrats, a super-PAC launched in 2025 by center-left elected officials. Other members include Democrats Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Texas state Rep. and Senate candidate James Talarico.
Platner became the likely Democratic candidate challenging Collins in the Maine race after Democrat Gov. Janet Mills dropped out in late April.
Platner’s campaign has proved tricky waters for Democrats to navigate. Several of Platner’s old Reddit comments also circulated last October, in which the former Marine called himself a “communist,” labeled white Americans as “racist” and “stupid,” and referred to law enforcement as “bastards,” saying “F— these cops.”
BREAKING – A Newly uncovered post from Democrat Senate candidate for Maine Graham Platner shows him wishing for the capture and killing of a U.S. soldier by the Taliban.
“This video never gets old. Dumb Mfer didn’t deserve to live. Poor marksmanship on the Taliban’s part.” pic.twitter.com/jmSZnCWOIi
— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) May 20, 2026
The Maine oyster farmer has won endorsements from some of the staunchest progressives, including Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Democrat Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
Platner told the New York Times that he spoke to Democratic Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York after Mills dropped out, earning the support of the Jewish lawmaker who had previously backed Mills.
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin, speaking with CNN, called Platner’s comments “indefensible, hurtful, and offensive,” although he did not deem them disqualifying. (RELATED: Leaked DNC 2024 Autopsy A Case Study In Stunning Incompetence)
Democrat California Rep. Ro Khanna told MSNBC in October that there was “no justification” for Platner’s comments, but said, “I don’t believe in this politics of personal destruction.”