Maine Democrat Graham Platner apologizes for using 'R-word' in interview on tattoo scandal

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2026 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG. In a CBS News interview, Democrat Graham Platner said his time in a "hyper-masculine, hyper-violent" military culture shaped past controversial views. Republican veterans, including Rep. Don Bacon and Sen. Tim Sheehy, pushed back on the claim. Progressive U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner apologized on Wednesday for using the R-word during a recent interview regarding his tattoo controversy. Speaking with the Maine Monitor last week, Platner described his reaction to learning he had been accused of having a Nazi tattoo after it was revealed he had a skull-and-crossbones tattoo resembling the Totenkopf used by Hitler’s SS paramilitary forces. "I was like, ‘Well, that’s the f---ing most r------- s--- I’ve ever heard in my life,’" Platner said. "‘No, I don’t have a White supremacist tattoo,’ and I never thought about it again. And then it came up lat