LEILA FADEL, BYLINE: The path to turning the Senate blue runs in part through the state of Maine. And that hinges on the presumptive Democratic nominee, Graham Platner, an oyster farmer and Marine Corps veteran plagued with scandal. The antiestablishment candidate seemingly came out of nowhere to fight for the seat that Republican Susan Collins has held for nearly 30 years.
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GRAHAM PLATNER: Everybody knows that this system is built to screw working people. And what we need in this country is a clear political message about who is to blame, because it isn't immigrants. It's not trans kids. It's billionaires. It's corporations.
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FADEL: But Platner's controversial past keeps catching up with him. Over the weekend, The Wall Street Journal reported that Platner exchanged sexually explicit messages with multiple women early in his marriage. Soon after the story published, Platner's wife, Amy Gertner, defended him in a video posted to X.
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AMY GERTNER: I think it's shameful behavior to spend time and energy and resources on negative ads and negative stories on Graham, when all he's trying to do is improve the lives of people who work for a living.
FADEL: The controversies around Platner don't end there. Last fall, old Reddit posts showing him making racist comments and blaming sexual assault on victims came to light. He's apologized repeatedly since. I recently sat down with him before the weekend's revelations and asked why so many voters had either forgiven him or turned a blind eye.
PLATNER: Well, I think it's mostly forgiveness because when I explained it, I just pointed out that, look, I've not always been who I am today. I grew up in the infantry. The infantry is a place of hyper-masculinity. It's a place of intense violence. Things that are seen as virtues there are generally not seen as virtues in the normal world. And then I had to struggle with - how do I come out of that and integrate back into society? And I think a lot of people recognize that the ability to transform, the ability to change, is kind of just a normal human trait.
FADEL: There was also a tattoo that resembled a Nazi SS symbol. He said he got it on a drunken night with fellow Marines in 2007 and didn't know its Nazi connection.
The one thing that I heard from regular people who were trying to figure out whether they believed you, specifically about this tattoo - 'cause you said, I didn't know what it was. But you've also described yourself as a military history buff.
PLATNER: Yeah.
FADEL: And their question is, how did he not know, if he is a military history buff?
PLATNER: Because that motif I have seen on French Foreign Legion units. I have seen it on U.S. Special Forces ODAs. I've seen it on other Marines. Skulls and crossbones of a myriad of versions are, for fairly obvious reasons, incredibly popular in combat units throughout history. So that's why.
FADEL: I spoke with Platner last week in Maine as part of our Newsmakers video podcast series. When the latest controversy came to light, I offered a follow-up interview. His campaign said he was too busy, but Platner provided a statement that said in part that he and his wife went through something hard because of him and, quote, "people don't care about gossip or headlines. They care that you're fighting for their hospitals, their paycheck, their kids." Together, though, the controversies raise a big question. Does Graham Platner have too much baggage to carry on, or can his political plans that have generated so much enthusiasm carry him through?
PLATNER: I mean, I don't think there are a lot of Americans that want the world to think that everything they ever said when they were 25 is who they are forever.
FADEL: But it also still comes up with your own party. I mean, just a few days ago, Congressman Jake Auchincloss said the tattoo that was once on your chest that you've now covered up should be disqualifying. And he wants Maine voters to agree with him, meaning not choose you.
PLATNER: Right. So I guess he wants to choose Susan Collins - interesting choice for a Democrat. One, Jake Auchincloss lives in Massachusetts, so I'm not actually all that worried about what he thinks. Also, what's disqualifying, for the record, is the fact that Susan Collins has not represented the people of Maine. The fact that we are seeing our healthcare system collapse in the state - that's disqualifying. It's very clear that here in the state of Maine, the voters really do understand that I am who I claim to be. I'm a very real person, warts and all.
FADEL: Platner often points to the PTSD he said he suffered from what he saw in combat as a way to explain his past behavior.
PLATNER: When I kind of visit my darkest moments after my military service, I mean, I was extremely isolated. I was very alone. And I felt that, like, if I opened up to people, if people saw my weaknesses, they would, like, judge me for it, and so the best thing to do was kind of put on this sort of tough guy persona. And that was the unhappiest I've ever been.
FADEL: Those memories are also why he opposes today's war with Iran.
What do you think the U.S. military's role in the world should be? I mean, we hear from Secretary Hegseth a particular view of warriors who pursue, quote, "maximum lethality." What do you see the U.S. military's role in the future to be?
PLATNER: Defending the United States in the interests of the American people. I do not see how the war in Iran is doing either of those things. I mean, I fought in two wars that, when I look back on them, didn't really seem to have much point. There was an immense amount of suffering. We spent - it looks like in the end, it's going to be somewhere around $8 trillion on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, for nothing. Just a bucket of blood that we just dumped cash into for 20 straight years. That is not protecting the interests of the average American. That is using militarism and war as a excuse for people to make profit and for people in power to try to protect themselves electorally, to wrap themselves in the flag so they don't have to talk about the fact that their domestic policies are garbage and are not helping the average person. I just don't have any patience for it.
And as someone who had to see all of that close up and personal - for someone who, frankly, still has to deal with the fact that I know what it looks like when American-made high explosives interact with children - it's an awful thing, stays with you the rest of your life. Knowing that I went through those experiences because people in political power simply see war as a game or a tool, Pete Hegseth is literally using the U.S. military to make up for the fact that he's insecure about his own military service. That's insane.
FADEL: That's what you think he's doing?
PLATNER: Yeah. I mean, he was a National Guard major. No shade to the National Guard at all. I was in the National Guard. But his combat record doesn't look like the combat record of a lot of other people, and I think deep down inside, it makes him insecure. And so now he gets to literally start wars so he can pretend that he's this big tough guy. Never went to Ranger School, so, you know, I'm not sure how tough he actually is.
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FADEL: That was presumptive Democratic nominee for Senate in Maine, Graham Platner. You can hear more about his policies, his thoughts on masculinity and his own party on NPR's video podcast Newsmakers. Find that on NPR's YouTube channel or the NPR app. Also, we asked Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to sit down with us for an interview to speak about the criticisms here and his larger policies. We haven't heard back. That invitation remains open.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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