Ex-Platner Staffer Calls BS On Dem’s Excuse For Nazi Tattoo, Troubling Behavior

The former political director of Graham Platner’s Democratic Senate campaign blew the whistle on her former boss, alleging the Senate hopeful knew the meaning behind his Nazi tattoo and “exhibits a pattern of dishonest behavior.” 

In an op-ed for The Washington Post, former Maine state representative Genevieve McDonald wrote that her enthusiasm for the Platner campaign collapsed after she learned of his misconduct.

“Taking the job meant leaving a position as a senior policy adviser at a government relations firm in the state, but I thought that Platner and I shared the same goal: fighting for the working people of Maine,” she wrote on Monday. “I quit the campaign in October, disturbed by what I learned about the candidate and concerned about his potential impact on the Democratic Party’s prospects in my home state.” 

The op-ed fires a warning to the Democratic Party as voters prepare to head to the polls on Tuesday to pick a challenger to face incumbent Republican Senator Sudan Collins. 

Democracy dies in darkness.

Thank you to the @washingtonpost for the opportunity to share my experience in my own words. Thank you to my friends who have stood by me, and to my daughters who inspire me. https://t.co/JgNTVxBWqa

— Genevieve McDonald (@Genevieve_207) June 8, 2026

In September, Platner told McDonald he had a “problematic” tattoo that could raise questions, but chalked it up to it being a “military thing.”  

“I believed him,” she wrote in the WAPO. “ Then, I began receiving calls from Washington warning me he was not who he seemed: “Have you read his oppo file?” I had not. I trusted that his out-of-state consulting team had thoroughly vetted him.

Her account appears to corroborate reporting from The New York Times that he was aware of the meaning of his infamous tattoo. The accusations cut against Platner’s previous claim that he did not understand the significance of the symbol, which was used by Nazi Germany’s SS. 

McDonald quit the campaign following resurfaced Reddit comments in 2013 that caught Platner downplaying sexual assault. 

After leaving the campaign, she said she turned down a $15,000 offer to sign a nondisclosure agreement.

McDonald railed against progressives defending Platner’s behavior, including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who said, “Is he a saint? I guess not. I don’t know too many saints here.”

“His comment reflects one of the deepest problems in American politics today. We have learned to excuse what we should condemn,” McDonald wrote. “There are two other named candidates on Tuesday’s ballot. If Platner wins the nomination but later withdraws, Maine Democrats can hold a convention and choose a different nominee.”

“The answer to a broken political culture is not to accept it. Demand better from those entrusted with power or seeking it. Enough is enough,” she added. 

Republicans have already signaled that every scandal surrounding Platner will become fresh ammunition for the November general election. 

With no active or formal opposition, Platner is expected to cruise to victory in Tuesday’s primary. The remaining question is how many Democrats will choose to withhold their support from a candidate whose controversies could jeopardize one of the party’s best opportunities to flip a Senate seat.