Reports have found additional controversial social media posts Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner made years before his bid to oust Sen. Susan Collins (R).
The Bangor Daily News wrote that Platner — who has already disavowed his previous posts on Reddit — reportedly asked why Black people “don’t tip” in a thread of questions users “have always wanted to ask someone of another race.”
“I work as a bartender and it always amazes me how solid this stereotype is,” Platner reportedly wrote. “Every now and again a black patron will leave a 15-20% tip, but usually it [is] between 0-5%. There’s got to be a reason behind it, what is it?”
Reports also revealed Platner posted comments related to violence and sexual assault in the military, which he disavowed in separate statements to outlets.
Politico uncovered posts from Platner reportedly stating people who “expect to fight fascism without a good semi-automatic rifle … ought to do some reading of history” and that “an armed working class is a requirement for economic justice.”
The Washington Post reported Platner had also posted messages related to sexual assault, casting doubt on difficulties female military members can face when reporting incidents of assault by superiors.
“I can honestly say I did not know what the f‑‑‑ I was talking about,” Platner told the Post. “I have been for quite some time on the opposite side of this conversation.”
“I don’t want people to judge me off the dumbest thing I said on the internet 12 years ago,” he said. “I would like people to engage with who I am today.”
The Hill reached out to Platner’s campaign for additional comment.
Platner’s posts on Reddit first began surfacing this week. He reportedly had previously posted about being a “communist” and called cops “bastards.”
He told outlets he joined Reddit after serving in the military, an experience that he said left him “very disillusioned with our government,” which sent him overseas to watch his
friends die.”
Platner is a Marine and U.S. Army veteran who served four combat tours in Iraq. He entered the Senate race against Collins in August, making headlines for drawing strong crowds and raising more than $4 million in funding in the weeks after he filed to run. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) previously described him — before the controversy — as “a great working class candidate for Senate in Maine who will defeat Susan Collins.”
Platner’s Reddit posts were deleted prior to launching his Senate campaign.
His comments surfaced after Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) announced she would run for Senate. If elected, Mills, 77, would be the oldest first-term senator to ever serve in Congress.
