Maine Democratic Senate nominee called US Army ‘fat, lazy trash’ on Reddit

In posts on his now-deleted Reddit account, Graham Platner, the presumptive Democratic nominee for the Maine Senate, described the U.S. Army as “utter garbage” and “full of fat, lazy garbage who would rather not wear uniforms.”

“I wasted 4 more recruits in the Army after the Corps, and while I had the chance to serve in some shitty units with good guys, the organization as a whole is complete garbage,” Platner wrote in April 2019. “I’m not one to speak completely badly about the Army. It has some checkered fighting units and good guys, as well as better doctrine in places. But it certainly lacks the warrior ethos and obsession with leadership that the Corps has, and attracts a lower standard of people overall.”

The resurfaced posts include a separate 2019 comment about Teddy Daniels, a wounded Army veteran who was shot by the Taliban and later awarded the Purple Heart. In this post, Platner criticized Daniels’ battlefield tactics and wrote that “the stupid mother does not deserve to live.”

Platner’s comments about Daniels and other deleted Reddit posts — including ones in which he used slurs, disparaged white rural Americans and described himself as a Marxist — have become a key campaign issue in the Maine Senate race where he is trying to unseat GOP incumbent Sen. Susan Collins.

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Platner served in the Marine Corps and Maryland Army National Guard, where he completed multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is not uncommon for members of one branch of the armed forces to harshly criticize other branches.

“The military does things differently and does things much worse as a whole,” Platner wrote in March 2019. “As an organisation, it sucks. It’s full of fat, lazy assholes who would rather not wear uniforms.”

Platner wasn’t entirely negative, as he praised the Army for having “some solid light infantry, reconnaissance and very hot SOF units, as well as access to some great schools.”

He was also open about the need for internal criticism within the armed forces.

“Civilians can be as stupid as they want, but WE have a duty to be brutally honest,” Platner wrote in 2013. “I want civilians to think that our ability to fight is unmatched, but I also want us to be relentless in our internal criticism.”

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks at a news conference on Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Lewiston, Maine. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo)

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Washington Free Sign first reported About Platner’s derogatory comments towards the Army.

The posts were made under the Reddit account “P-Hustle,” which Platner has previously acknowledged as belonging to him.

“I’m sorry about this. Just know that this does not reflect who I am at all,” Platner said of the Reddit posts that resurfaced in October. “I don’t want you to judge me for the stupidest thing I’ve ever written on the internet. I’d rather people judge me for who I am today.”

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 reacted to the video of an American soldier being shot by the Taliban in 2019, stating that “the stupid mother does not deserve to live.” Platner’s post criticized the soldier, who was later awarded the Purple Heart, for using poor tactics.

The Senate hopeful’s comment was also criticized by some other veterans.

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Former Navy SEAL and sailor Adam Schwarze, who is running for Senate as a Republican in Minnesota, said of Platner: “We’re not kidding about our brothers dying, it’s not something we do, it’s not normal.”

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

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Platner attributes his behavior to the psychological trauma of being deployed to the Middle East, as well as the “crude humor” he became accustomed to while in the Marine Corps.

The Senate hopeful’s controversial statements about the military weren’t limited to Reddit.

During a 2024 podcast interview, Platner implied that the late Navy SEAL Chris Kyle was killing civilians to inflate his numbers.

“[Kyle’s] The stories about how many people he shot definitely relate to the behavior I witnessed, Platner said. “If you’re a little less discriminating about shooting than a more professional unit, it’s relatively easy to get high numbers like that.”

He also accused Navy SEALs of being incompetent in general on his Reddit account, but had kind words for the Army Rangers.

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Bernadette Breslin, press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told Fox News Digital: “Graham Platner’s violent attacks on wounded soldiers and open disparagement of the Army are disgusting and disqualifying.” “The more we learn about him, the more top Democratic allies like Elizabeth Warren are forced to dodge questions about why they support him.”

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