US Senate candidate Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee for Maine’s congressional race, faces renewed scrutiny after archived posts from his now-deleted Reddit account surfaced online. The posts, originally published under the pseudonym “P-Hustle” and later acknowledged by Platner as his own, contain explicit commentary about a deceased soldier that has drawn sharp criticism across social media.
The most contentious remarks appeared in a June 2019 post referencing a viral video of U.S. Army private First Class Ted Daniels, who was fatally wounded during a 2012 firefight with the Taliban and awarded a Purple Heart for his injuries. In the now-deleted post, Platner wrote: “Dumb motherfucker didn’t deserve to live,” followed by additional statements condemning Daniels’ combat performance, including claims that “his stupidity and fat ass wheezing are available for all future infantrymen to witness and hold in contempt” and “poor marksmanship on the Taliban’s part is the only reason this mouthbreather made it home.”
The posts gained widespread condemnation after being documented by the Maine Monitor’s database. Platner, who became the Democrats’ presumptive nominee following Maine Governor Janet Mills’ withdrawal from the race in April 2025, previously expressed regret over a Nazi-symbol tattoo he covered up in October 2025—admitting he had no knowledge of its historical association with extremist groups when he obtained it two decades ago. His campaign has not yet responded to inquiries about the recent revelations.
