by WorldTribune Staff, May 24, 2026 Non-AI Real World News
A Democrat who hopes to knock Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins out of her U.S. Senate seat is refusing to apologize for a social media post in which he mocked an American soldier who received the Purple Heart after being wounded by a Taliban fighter.
Graham Platner in June 2019, using the Reddit account “P-Hustle,” which he has acknowledged owning, posted in reference to a viral video taken of Pfc. Ted Daniels during a clash with Taliban fighters in 2012 that ended in Daniels being shot four times. He was awarded the Purple Heart.
Platner wrote: “Dumb motherf—– didn’t deserve to live. At least his stupidity and fat a– wheezing are available for all future infantrymen to witness and hold in contempt. Poor marksmanship on the Taliban’s part is the only reason this mouthbreather made it home. He managed to make every possible s— decision possible when it comes to small unit combat.”
Platner, a Marine Corps veteran, said he would not apologize when asked by Fox News Digital what he would say to any Maine voters who were offended by his post:
“Do you know how many of my friends have Purple Hearts, do you know how many of my friends got wounded?” Platner responded, before adding, “yeah, a lot of them, thank you.”
Daniels told Fox Business of Platner: “People like this don’t say stuff like this to my face. It’s online, and that right there tells me, Graham, you’re a coward.”
Rob O’Neill, the U.S. Navy SEAL who is credited with killing Osama bin Laden, was one of many veterans to speak out in response Platner:
“This is completely barbaric. I don’t understand. If you swear an oath to the country, it doesn’t even matter what the politics are. Every single time you fight it’s for the man next to you, it’s for the person next to you. Politics goes out the window. And to wish ill on someone like that under fire is just, you know, like I said, it is the opposite of everything I’ve ever been raised to believe.”
Platner is running in the Democrat Senate primary in Maine on June 9 against David Costello. The winner will face off against incumbent Collins who is seeking her sixth term.
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