A freshly surfaced Reddit post attributed to Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner appears to mock a teenage girl's failed suicide attempt, and the fallout from Republicans and even some fellow Democrats is intensifying by the day.
The New York Post reported Saturday that an account using Platner's former Reddit handle "P-Hustle" responded to a 2012 post about a high school girl who tried to jump from a window after her cousin died. The original post showed classmates physically holding the girl to keep her from falling, with a caption reading: "A girl at my old high school tried jumping from a window because her cousin died the day before. These students saved her. I have hope."
The P-Hustle account's reply: "Someone clearly isn't trying hard enough."
The suicide post is only the latest in a long trail of online writings attributed to Platner that have drawn sharp criticism. The 41-year-old won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate on June 9 at a watch party held at a YMCA in Blue Hill, Maine. He aims to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins. But the more voters learn about his digital footprint, the harder that task becomes.
Fox News Digital reported that Platner's Reddit activity has been a focus of scrutiny since last year. The posts span nearly a decade and cover ground that ranges from disturbing to bizarre.
In September 2013, Platner wrote on his now-deleted Reddit account: "There are times in this world when, for the good of tolerance and humanity, you need to kill a motherf*****." He added: "Sadly most people who are true believers in tolerance and humanity find that activity repulsive. Which I suppose is morally good, but pragmatically a shortfall."
In a 2021 post, he called all cops "b******s" and described himself as a "communist." On September 1, 2020, he responded to a politics subreddit post titled "White People Aren't as Racist or Stupid as Trump Thinks" by writing: "Living in white rural America, I'm afraid to tell you they actually are."
As we have previously reported, the suicide mockery post has drawn particular revulsion because of its casual cruelty toward a vulnerable teenager.
The New York Post also reported this week that Platner praised a video recording of Hamas terrorists shooting at Israeli soldiers and attempting to kidnap one of them. Responding to the 2014 combat footage, the account attributed to Platner wrote: "Looks like an all around well executed and successful small unit raid to me."
In another post, Platner reportedly mocked a Purple Heart recipient's return home, attributing the soldier's survival to "poor marksmanship on the Taliban's part." He also wrote that the recipient "didn't deserve to live."
The Washington Post separately reported on resurfaced Reddit posts in which Platner downplayed sexual assault concerns, writing that "rape is a real thing" but that people should "take some responsibility for themselves" and stop "having sex with someone they don't mean to."
These are not cherry-picked one-liners pulled out of context. They form a years-long record, one that also includes posts describing cocaine purchases and drug use, that Platner himself has struggled to explain away.
In a statement previously given to CNN, Platner attempted to wave off the posts as the product of a difficult period in his life. He said:
"I was [expletive] around on the internet at a time when I felt lost and very disillusioned with our government who sent me overseas to watch my friends die. I made dumb jokes and picked fights. But of course I'm not a socialist. I'm a small business owner, a Marine Corps veteran, and a retired s***poster."
That explanation asks voters to believe that a man who mocked a suicidal teenager, praised Hamas, ridiculed a wounded American soldier, called himself a communist, labeled all police officers with a profanity, and spoke casually about killing people was merely joking, for roughly a decade. The defense strains credulity on its face.
Fox News Digital said it reached out to Platner and his campaign for comment on the latest revelations but did not hear back before publication.
Maine State House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham did not mince words. He told Fox News Digital:
"Graham Platner is clearly a person with deep and disturbing psychological issues that predate his military service and continue to this day."
Maine Republican Party Executive Director Jason Savage was equally direct:
"Yet another example of abject cruelty from Graham Platner. When someone tells you who they are, believe them. Platner has told us repeatedly. Sadly, this time he was mocking the pain of a young woman facing a terrible loss. If this doesn't show you who Graham Platner is, what will?"
Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer called the suicide post the worst of the lot: "Of all the rotten, troubling, and warped things Platner has done and said, his mocking encouragement of a young girl to commit suicide is the worst." Fleischer added: "There is something seriously perverted and wrong with Graham Platner," and questioned how "anyone" could support his candidacy amid the mounting controversies.
President Trump also weighed in, calling Platner "a thug" while praising Sen. Collins. Trump described the broader situation around Platner as a "criminal enterprise."
The criticism is not confined to the Republican side. As we have covered, at least one Democratic member of Congress has publicly stated that Platner has disqualified himself from the race. That kind of intra-party rejection is rare this early in a general election cycle and speaks to the depth of concern about what the nominee's record reveals.
Platner has also drawn criticism for a history of having a Nazi tattoo, though the full details and timeline of that controversy are not entirely clear from current reporting. What is clear is that the list of transgressions keeps growing, and Platner's "retired s***poster" defense is being asked to carry more weight with each new revelation.
Even before the primary, warning signs were flashing. Platner's own former campaign director publicly warned Maine voters against him in the hours before ballots were cast. Democratic primary voters chose him anyway.
The open questions here are straightforward. What evidence beyond the username links the "P-Hustle" account to Platner? Platner has not denied ownership of the posts, his CNN statement effectively concedes authorship while trying to reframe the content as dark humor. And what, if anything, will Maine's Democratic establishment do now?
The pattern is not subtle. Over roughly a decade of Reddit posts, the account attributed to Platner mocked a suicidal teenager, praised an enemy terror group's tactical execution against Israeli soldiers, belittled an American combat veteran's wounds, advocated killing in the name of tolerance, called all law enforcement officers a profanity, downplayed sexual assault, and disparaged white rural Americans, the very voters he now needs in a general election.
Reports about Platner's personal conduct from former girlfriends have added yet another layer to the picture of a candidate whose past keeps catching up with him.
Platner calls himself a retired internet troll. Maine voters will decide whether that résumé qualifies a man for the United States Senate. But if a decade of cruelty, extremism, and casual contempt for victims is just "messing around," one has to wonder what Platner looks like when he's serious.
