Democrat Graham Platner cites combat trauma when questioned on Reddit posts
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She described her combat deployments and subsequent struggles when Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner confronted her during an interview published Sunday about her past social media posts about sexual assault.
CNN’s Manu Raju said, “I wonder how politically damaging you think this thing could be, though, because I read these posts and you know, these are bad. These posts suck.” he said.
Gov. Janet Mills, who is running against Platner in the Democratic Senate primary, launched an ad campaign featuring women reacting to comments he made about rape on Reddit a decade ago. Mills’ campaign is highlighting Graham’s comments by having an actor with a voice reminiscent of the candidate read excerpts of those comments aloud. The comments included a 2013 comment that Platner later deleted; His advice is that people worried about rape “don’t get so angry and end up having sex with someone they don’t want to.”
Platner said that he regretted these posts under pressure from Raju.
U.S. senatorial candidate Graham Platner from Maine speaks during a town hall at the Leavitt Theater on October 22, 2025 in Ogunquit, Maine. (Sophie Park/Getty Images)
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“Oh, sure… Yes, deeply. But after I returned from my combat deployments, I was at a time in my life where I was really struggling,” Platner told Raju. “I was so isolated, so lonely, so frustrated, so angry. And I think like a lot of people, I went online to find some kind of community or serotonin boost.”
He added that he was able to reconnect with his community and said he wouldn’t have gotten to this point without the struggles in his past.
“After coming back into the community over the years, I reconnected with my community, obviously reconnected with the great state of Maine, which really helped me become the person I am today, which I’m very proud of. But I wouldn’t be the person I am today without the struggles that I’ve had to go through,” Platner added.
Platner also said he spoke to Raju about the posts in October and allowed Maine residents to ask him directly about the posts.
Senate candidate Graham Platner (left) of Maine and two-term Gov. Jane Mills face off in the state’s Democratic Senate primary. (Sophie Park/Getty Images; Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
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“I’ve been all over the state of Maine for months and letting people ask me anything directly. And I think for a lot of people in the state, we’re seeing this come up again, months and months after we’ve talked about it,” he said.
He added, “I would say that the feedback we’re getting across the state is that people see all of these things as things they hate about politics. And I think that’s more politically damaging in the state of Maine than the fact that people can understand that I’ve morphed and changed as a person over time, which I think a lot of people can actually identify with.”
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Platner also faced backlash for a tattoo widely seen as a Nazi symbol.
He announced in October that he had covered up the tattoo.
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Platner, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. and is supported by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. The primary election will be held on June 9.
The eventual Democratic nominee will face incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who has held the seat since 1997.
