Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, a Democrat, distanced himself from outdated, now-deleted social media posts the place he referred to himself as a “socialist” and a “communist.”
CNN printed an interview with Platner, a army veteran and oyster farmer, and a deep dive into his former Reddit deal with, P-Hustle.
“That was very much me f**king around the internet,” he informed CNN’s KFile in an interview. “I don’t want people to see me for who I was in my worst Internet comment – or even frankly who I was in my best Internet comment … I don’t think any of that is indicative of who I am today, really.”
“I’m not a communist. I’m not a socialist. I own a small business. I’m a Marine Corps veteran,” Platner additionally informed CNN.
Platner’s seemingly uninhibited posts had been largely left-leaning and, at occasions, private. They is also curt and inflammatory.
For instance, CNN discovered that Platner repeatedly used an ableist slur to insult social media customers. He additionally referred to as army veterans who participated within the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol rebellion “traitors,” “f**king morons” and “f**king p*ssies.”
In a Reddit trade, a person mentioned, “Bastards. Cops are bastards.”
“All of them, in fact,” Platner responded.
In 2020, Platner responded to a submit titled, “White people aren’t as racist or stupid as Trump thinks.”
Platner flatly disagreed: “Living in white rural America, I’m afraid to tell you they actually are.”
Photograph: Graham Platner / Fb
In keeping with Platner’s web site, he served in america Marine Corps and the Maryland Military Nationwide Guard. After having been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, Platner navigated PTSD and bodily challenges, his web site says.
He additionally described how his army service radicalized him, prompting him to change into extra left-leaning.
In a single submit in 2021, he mentioned he’s “a vegetable growing, psychedelics taking socialist these days. After the war, I’ve pretty much stopped believing in any of the patriotic nonsense that got me there in the first place, and am a firm believer that the best thing a person can do is help their neighbors and live a loving life.”
“Still got the guns though,” he added. “I don’t trust the fascists to act politely.”
In one other 2021 submit, he mentioned: “My time in America’s imperial wars definitely radicalized me further, and I’m significantly more left today than I was back then.”
“I did used to love America, or at least the idea of it. These days I’m pretty disgusted by it all,” he added.
Platner boiled down his responses to “just being an asshole on the Internet,” in keeping with CNN.
The posts had been deleted earlier than Platner, a politics beginner with an endorsement from Sen. Bernie Sanders, launched his marketing campaign in August. He’s vying for incumbent Sen. Susan Collins’ seat.
The race is a high-stakes one, with many Democrats hoping to flip Collins’ seat in an effort to get a Dem majority within the Senate subsequent yr. Former Maine Gov. Janet Mills additionally introduced that she will likely be operating within the Democratic main for a similar seat. Regardless of her superior age, which is a matter for a lot of Maine voters, Mills has already obtained an endorsement from the Democratic Senatorial Marketing campaign Committee.
Platner and the Democratic Senatorial Marketing campaign Committee didn’t instantly reply to HuffPost’s request for remark.
