{"id":343544,"date":"2026-05-31T12:47:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T07:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=343544"},"modified":"2026-05-31T12:47:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T07:17:22","slug":"who-is-graham-platner-politicians-sexting-scandal-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/31\/who-is-graham-platner-politicians-sexting-scandal-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Is Graham Platner? Politician\u2019s Sexting Scandal Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Maine\u2019s Senate hopeful Graham Platner<\/strong>\u2019s candidacy has been embroiled in multiple controversies.<\/p>\n

One recurring attack that his opponent, Republican incumbent Susan Collins<\/strong>, and her allies have seized on is that Platner got a tattoo in 2007 that resembles a Totenkopf, a \u201cskull and bones\u201d symbol adopted by Nazi troops during World War II. Platner maintains that he was not aware of the inflammatory meaning of the tattoo on the time he got it and later had it covered up.<\/p>\n

Still, debate raged over whether the tattoo was politically disqualifying, with Democratic Representative Jake Auchincloss<\/strong> of Massachusetts refusing to endorse Platner\u2019s candidacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been clear about Graham Platner. I find that tattoo and his commentary about it to be personally disqualifying,\u201d Auchincloss, who’s Jewish, told CNN on May 25. \u201cI hope Maine voters agree with me. I feel it will be a mistake for the Democratic Party to think that Graham Platner\u2019s brand of the Democratic Party is what wins us durable majorities throughout this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, Platner has faced more negative headlines for past reddit posts about military service and alleged sexting that his wife, Amy Gertner<\/strong>, privately disclosed to his campaign.<\/p>\n

Keep scrolling for more about Platner\u2019s campaign controversies and his background.\n<\/p>\n

Graham Platner Was Involved in a Sexting Scandal<\/h2>\n

The Wall Street Journal<\/em><\/a> reported in May 2026 that Platner had an account on the messaging app Kik that he allegedly used to exchange sexually explicit text messages with women. Per the outlet, his wife, Gertner, discovered the alleged messages in late Spring 2025 and subsequently reported them to his campaign staffers in August over fears that they might impact his Senate bid.<\/p>\n

Purported pictures from the account, which were obtained by the Recent York Post<\/em><\/a>, showed Platner bare-chested and only wearing a towel to cover the lower-half of his body.<\/p>\n

His wife, Gertner, told Us Weekly<\/em> in an announcement, \u201cI confided deeply personal details about my marriage to someone I considered a friend. Within the months since, I actually have had to look at as she spread malicious gossip to anyone who would take her call. I trusted this person with essentially the most private chapter of our lives \u2013 the early days of our marriage before any campaign was on our mind \u2013 and I’m deeply hurt by her betrayal and the invasion of our privacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not any secret that Graham and I actually have struggled on our fertility journey. We did the labor that marriage requires. We went to counseling,\u201d she went on. \u201cWe were honest with one another in ways in which weren\u2019t easy. And we got here through it, not despite how much we\u2019ve been through, but due to how much we love one another and the life we\u2019ve built. Our marriage today is stronger than ever before.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI do know who Graham is. I do know the person I married and the husband he has been to me on the perfect and the worst days of my life. That hasn\u2019t modified, and it won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graham Platner Addressed Having an Offensive Tattoo<\/h2>\n

The oyster farmer is a lifelong resident of Maine, having grown up within the coastal town of Sullivan. He enlisted within the Marine Corps in 2003 and served three combat tours of Iraq throughout his military profession.<\/p>\n

He told \u201cThe Takeout\u201d podcast\u201d in April 2026 that he got here out of the military in a \u201chyper-masculine, hyper-violent place.\u201d Platner confirmed that he and other Marines got a skull-and-bones tattoo \u2014 often known as a Totenkopf \u2014 while on leave in Croatia, not knowing it had Nazi symbolism. (He has since had the offensive tattoo covered over.)<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce I left and got here out [I] interacted within the civilian world with plenty of different individuals with very different experiences than my very own,\u201d he explained<\/a>. \u201cA lot of those beliefs and thoughts and even just language modified significantly over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graham Platner Faced Scrutiny Over His Old Reddit Posts<\/h2>\n

A lot of Platner\u2019s past Reddit posts have generated backlash<\/a> but none more so than a comment under footage of a U.S. soldier taking fire in Afghanistan in 2012.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis video never gets old,\u201d he allegedly wrote. \u201cDumb motherf***** didn\u2019t should live. At the very least his stupidity and fat ass wheezing can be found for all future infantrymen to witness and hold in contempt. Poor marksmanship on the Taliban\u2019s part is the one reason this mouthbreather made it home, he managed to make every possible s*** decision possible relating to small unit combat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Collins seized on the controversy in an announcement, insisting she was \u201coffended\u201d as \u201cthe daughter of a World War II veteran who earned two Purple Hearts within the Battle of the Bulge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Platner responded to the Reddit controversy by telling Fox News<\/em><\/a>, \u201cI did 4 tours within the infantry, any try and say that I disrespect veterans is slanderous and offensive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Graham Platner Has Called for an Investigation into President Donald Trump<\/h2>\n

Chatting with NBC News<\/a> in April 2025, Platner vowed to dam the Trump administration\u2019s conservative policies should he win Maine\u2019s Senate seat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to shut the White House down,\u201d Platner said. \u201cI would like us to, for the subsequent two years, be dragging each person within the White House, each person in all these agencies which were conducting themselves in illegal and unconstitutional ways. They have to be dragged by subpoena in front of Senate committees again and again and another time.\u201d<\/p>\n

He accused the administration of \u201cmurder\u201d for \u201cdropp[ing] a bunch of bombs on boats within the Caribbean all last fall\u201d as a part of \u201cOperation Southern Spear\u201d against drug traffickers in late 2025.<\/p>\n

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\n Campaign signs for 2026 Maine Senate race.<\/span> Sophie Park\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe drag people who find themselves involved in putting ICE agents in our streets, murdering Americans, terrorizing communities,\u201d Platner insisted.<\/p>\n

He also accused the Trump administration of \u201crank corruption\u201d and said the president has \u201cabsolutely\u201d committed impeachable offenses.<\/p>\n

As for whether he\u2019d support impeachment, Platner told NBC News, \u201cI’ll say this, though, on that front: If we don\u2019t have the votes within the Senate to convict, I don\u2019t think we should always waste our time with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Republican National Committee spokesperson responded by telling Us Weekly<\/em>, \u201cIt\u2019s no surprise the very first thing on his agenda can be to attack our government, obstruct the progress this Administration has made, and weaken our justice system. He’s a dangerous, power-hungry individual who would put Mainers directly in harm\u2019s way simply to pursue his socialist dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n

On April 7, 2026, Representative John Larson<\/strong>, of Connecticut\u2019s first district, introduced 13 articles of impeachment<\/a> against Trump within the House of Representatives.<\/p>\n

While the articles of impeachment are unlikely to go through the House Judiciary Committee, Larson argued that Trump has \u201cblown past every requirement to be faraway from office\u201d by threatening on April 7 that \u201can entire civilization\u201d in Iran would end unless the Strait of Hormuz was opened. (Trump subsequently agreed to a brief ceasefire with Iran through the intervention of Pakistan and said in May 2026 that he was negotiating a framework for an end to the war.)<\/p>\n

Impeachment calls have come from outside of Washington D.C. as well. Hollywood icons Robert De Niro<\/strong> and Meryl Streep<\/strong> have each publicly demanded legal motion against Trump if Democrats win the 2026 midterm elections, while a distinguished group of the president\u2019s most previous supporters \u2014 including Candace Owens<\/strong>, Alex Jones<\/strong> and Tucker Carlson<\/strong> \u2014 have also criticized his conduct of late. (Trump called the trio \u201csilly people\u201d while firing back via Truth Social on April 9.<\/p>\n

Graham Platner Desires to Make Fundamental Changes to the Supreme Court<\/h2>\n

Platner told NBC News in April 2026 that there may be \u201ca compelling case\u201d to pursue impeachment against conservative-leaning Supreme Court judges, Clarence Thomas<\/strong> and Samuel Alito<\/strong>. (Impeachment requires a majority vote within the House and two-thirds support within the Senate.)<\/p>\n

\u201c[There] are absolutely reasons for removal,\u201d he argued.<\/p>\n

The Maine politician wouldn\u2019t rule out supporting efforts to \u201cpack the court,\u201d or change the variety of judges on the Supreme Court to attain a balance in ideologies.<\/p>\n

\u201c[I\u2019m] definitely open to doing more, including adding seats on the court,\u201d Platner said.<\/p>\n

Graham Platner Paused His Campaign to Pursue IVF with His Wife<\/h2>\n

Platner announced<\/a> in January 2026 that he was putting his campaign on pause with a purpose to accompany his wife,Gertner, for in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments in Norway. (Platner tied the knot with Gertner, a college teacher and paid campaign adviser, in 2024.)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe expense of this [treatment] in the US is astronomical, $25,000 for a primary attempt,\u201d he explained in a campaign video.<\/p>\n

Platner and Gertner clarified that they were searching for treatment in Norway because one round of IVF treatment only costs $5,500 there.<\/p>\n

\u201cGraham has great sperm,\u201d Gertner quipped within the video. \u201cThe infertility was something that was a part of my body.\u201d<\/p>\n

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