Senate candidate Graham Platner mocked Purple Heart soldier, veterans say

Veterans hit out after resurfaced posts showed Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner calling the Army “full of fat, lazy assholes” and mocking a soldier who was shot multiple times in combat before receiving a Purple Heart.

“I’m a decorated veteran, and people need to understand what serving in the Army cost me: congestive heart failure, bilateral hearing loss, COPD, sleep apnea, high blood pressure, hypothyroidism, and PTSD,” Holland “Ricky” White, a Vietnam War veteran who served in the Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade, told Fox News Digital.

The 173rd Airborne Brigade, also known as the “Swarm,” was one of the first ground combat units to deploy to Vietnam, where it endured some of the most intense fighting of the war.

“I understand being mocked better than most. I’ve been mocked not only as a Vietnam veteran, but also as a black man,” White continued. “I lost friends there, and it still hurts to talk about them. I often ask God: ‘Why did you forgive me and not my friends?’ “I believe God is not done with me when I come home, and that’s why I’m trying to make a difference today.”

“That’s why comments like Graham’s are so offensive,” White said.

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The veteran oyster farmer is running for Sen. R-Maine in one of the nation’s most closely watched 2026 Senate races. Backlash over Platner’s deleted Reddit account adds to the growing controversy as he tries to challenge Susan Collins. Platner relied heavily on his military background to introduce himself to Maine voters, but the resurfaced posts threaten to derail his campaign as his use of slurs, embrace of socialism and criticism of the armed forces come under scrutiny.

Perhaps Platner’s most controversial Reddit post came in 2019, when he harshly criticized a soldier who had been shot multiple times by the Taliban in 2012.

“Stupid mother—-she didn’t deserve to live. At least her stupidity and fat growl is something all future infantrymen can witness and despise,” Platner wrote on Reddit, reacting to footage of the fight posted by another user. “The Taliban’s poor marksmanship is the only reason this mouth-breathing man is returning home.”

The video Platner commented on came from the helmet camera of Ted Daniels, a U.S. Army veteran who was shot four times and awarded the Purple Heart.

Steve, who has lived in Iraq and Afghanistan and has a large following on social media, told Fox News Digital: “As a Purple Heart recipient, someone who was wounded on behalf of my country, I find his comments particularly despicable.” “Mocking an American who came under enemy fire to protect his unit demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of brotherhood and selfless service.”

Steve requested that Fox News Digital withhold his last name for privacy reasons.

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U.S. Navy and Army veteran and oyster farmer Graham Platner is running for the Democratic Party for U.S. Senate in Maine in August. (Graham Platner’s campaign)

Platner expressed his general distaste for the Army in since-deleted forum posts.

“I spent 4 more years in the Army after the Corps, and while I was very lucky to serve in some shitty units with good guys, the organization as a whole is complete garbage,” Platner wrote in April 2019. “As an organization, it sucks. It’s full of fat, lazy assholes who would rather not be in uniform.”

“A Senator who called soldiers ‘trash’ and mocked a man’s Purple Heart showed who he really is,” Bill Brown, a retired Navy SEAL who served in Iraq, told Fox News Digital. “A Senator votes to send soldiers to war, approves the generals who lead them, and funds the equipment that protects them. Platner’s own words in his deleted post prove that those who protect us cannot be trusted to do right.”

PLATNER’S DELETED REDDIT OPENED THE DISCOUNT AGAIN WHEN FOLLOWED WITH WOUNDED SOLDIER: ‘DON’T DESERVE TO LIVE’

Graham Platner, left, next to Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, right. (Graeme Sloan/Getty Images; Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

VETCOMM CEO and Marine Corps veteran Kate Monroe told Fox News Digital: “Being a veteran doesn’t make someone honorable. Honor is how you carry yourself, how you treat others, and how you talk about those who serve alongside you. In this case, the uniform may have been earned, but the respect clearly wasn’t.”

John Rourke, a retired Army staff sergeant who participated in combat during Operation Iraqi Freedom, supported Monroe’s sentiments, saying that Platner’s sarcasm did not make him “edgy or bitter” but that it was “an embarrassment to the uniform.”

Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner is facing renewed criticism over his deleted Reddit history. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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Some of Platner’s potential future colleagues who have served in the Senate and served in the armed forces also condemned his comments.

“As a combat veteran, I have seen the cost of war up close. I have watched brave Americans come home with visible and invisible scars they will carry for the rest of their lives,” Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, told Fox News Digital. “To mock soldiers for being injured or killed is absolutely despicable. These are our brothers and sisters, people who are willing to risk everything for this country.”

Iowa Republican Senator Joni Ernst speaks at the U.S. Capitol. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Ernst served 23 years in the Army Reserve and Iowa Army National Guard, including as a company commander in Kuwait during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and retired as a lieutenant colonel.

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Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, points to a covered tattoo previously considered a Nazi symbol during an interview in Portland, Maine, on October 22, 2025. (WGME via AP)

“Platner’s comments about American soldiers are shameful, but that’s what we should expect from a communist with a Nazi tattoo,” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., told Fox News Digital.

Cotton served as an Army infantry officer on combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Let’s see brave Democratic veterans defend this … I can’t wait to hear it,” Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., a retired Navy SEAL, said of Platner’s remarks.

Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Montana, at the U.S. Capitol. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of some Democratic veterans serving in the Senate on Friday. None responded to requests for comment.

The Platner campaign also did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

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“The motto and ethos of the Marine Corps is Semper Fidelis; always loyal. That means loyalty to the Marines and other service members,” Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Afghanistan, told Fox News Digital.

“This man failed this test.”