PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – Sound US Senate campaign under fire from criticism, the Maine Democrat Graham Platner said Wednesday that a tattoo on his chest had been covered up to no longer reflect an image widely recognized as a Nazi symbol.
The first-time political candidate said he got the skull tattoo in 2007, when he was in his 20s and in the Marine Corps. It happened during a night of drinking while he was on leave in Croatia, he said, adding that he was unaware until recently that the image was associated with Nazi police.
Platner, in an interview with The Associated Press, said that although his campaign initially said he would remove the tattoo, he opted to cover it with another tattoo because of limited options where he lives in rural Maine.
“Getting to a tattoo removal center is going to take time,” he said. “I wanted to get this thing out of my body.”
The initial image of the tattoo resembled a specific symbol of Hitler’s paramilitary Schutzstaffel, or SS, responsible for the systematic murders of millions of Jews and others in Europe during World War II. Platner did not give details about the new tattoo, but offered to send a photo to the AP later Wednesday.
The oyster farmer is running a progressive campaign against Republican Susan Collins, who has held the Senate seat for 30 years. The crowded Democratic primary field includes two-term Gov. Janet Mills.
Platner said he was never questioned about the tattoo’s links to Nazi symbols in the 20 years he had it. He said that after serving three tours as a Marine, he then enlisted in the military, which requires screening for tattoos of hate symbols.
“I also passed a full background check to receive a security clearance to join the ambassador’s security detail in Afghanistan,” Platner said.
Questions about the tattoo come after the recent discovery of Platner’s now-deleted online statements, which included dismissing military sexual assault, questioning the gratification habits of black patrons and criticizing police officers and rural Americans.
Platner apologized for the comments, saying they were made after he left the military in 2012, when he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
He resisted calls to give up the race and has the support of Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who has described Platner as a stronger candidate than Mills for the seat. Another primary rival, Jordan Wood, former chief of staff to former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, Democrat of California, said Wednesday that Platner should drop out because “Democrats need to be able to condemn Trump’s actions with moral clarity” and Platner “can’t do that anymore.”
Platner said he is not ashamed to confront his past comments and actions because it reflects the lessons he needed to learn to get where he is today.
“I don’t see it as a handicap,” he told the AP. “I look back on this as a life that I have lived, a journey that has been difficult, that has been full of struggles, that has also brought me to where I am today. And I am very proud of who I am.”
Platner has planned a town hall for Wednesday in Ogunquit, Maine.
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Kruesi reported from Providence, Rhode Island.
