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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., has shrugged off lingering questions about controversies involving Democrat Graham Platner and reaffirmed his support for the Senate candidate.
Platner, a Marine veteran and oyster farmer, has faced a series of controversies in recent weeks, including criticism for a tattoo with links to a Nazi image, and a Reddit post in which he made inflammatory comments about veterans and reports of sexually graphic text messages exchanged with other women during his marriage.
Speaking to reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday, Schumer was pressed on whether he, as the top Senate Democrat, was satisfied with Platner’s explanations for the scandals surrounding his campaign. In response he said, “I met Graham Platner today, we’re going to hit it off.” [Sen.] Susan Collins and take back the Senate.”
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., reaffirmed his support for Democratic candidate Graham Platner in Maine on Tuesday amid a growing controversy. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Schumer was asked several times if he still supported Platner in the face of the scandal considering his approval came before the entire controversy. He was also asked if Democrats’ support for Platner undermined the party’s credibility in criticizing Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, who has faced similar scandals.
The New York senator did not directly answer these questions. Instead, he repeated: “We’re going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate.”
Schumer tried to get reporters to ask about other topics.
“Do you have any other lessons?” he said. But journalists continued to pour in to support Platner.
After being asked about the candidate for the fifth time, Schumer finally answered, “Like I said, I endorsed Graham Platner.”
“We’re going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate,” he said emphatically before walking away.
SUNNY HOSTIN SUPPORTS GRAHAM PLTNER DESPITE CALLING HIM A ‘LIAR, RACAST, AND MANAGER’
Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner stand together during the “Fighting Oligarchy” tour at the Collins Center for the Arts on the campus of the University of Maine in Orono, Maine, on May 24, 2026. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Platner ran a deeply controversial campaign, in addition to being the subject of various scandals, he faced scrutiny for having a “Totenkopf”.” A Nazi SS tattoo, he then covered it up with a different tattoo.
The far-left Senate hopeful has taken a back seat after his abusive posts were revealed on a now-deleted Reddit account. Under the moniker “P-hustle,” Platner joked about masturbating in public portable toilets, among other lewd posts.
Platner also called himself a Communist, disparaged rural people as “racist” and “stupid” and singled out Black people for not asking.
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Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for the US Senate in Maine, points to a covered tattoo previously recognized as a Nazi symbol during an interview in Portland, Maine, on Oct. 22, 2025. (WGME via AP)
It was also recently discovered that Platner had an active account on Kik, an anonymous social networking site known for its lax authentication methods that allowed for the proliferation of child sexual abuse.
The profile, reviewed by Fox News Digital, includes a sexually suggestive photo of Platner with a towel around her waist. It is unclear when the photo was taken, but Platner created the account in 2016.
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Schumer previously endorsed Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills to challenge Collins. Mills dropped out of the race in April, citing a failure to secure the necessary financial support for his campaign.
His departure left Platner with the lead in the Democratic primary.
