Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin said Sunday that Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s old Reddit posts that resurfaced last week are not “disqualifying” but “offensive” and “offensive.”
“I don’t think they’re disqualifying, but they’re certainly not right, and I’m glad he apologized for them,” Martin told CNN on Sunday. “They are indefensible, offensive and offensive.”
Platner posted a lengthy video apology on X on Friday after CNN reported last week that Platner had previously made comments on Reddit about police officers, called rural Americans “stupid” and referred to himself as a “communist.”
In an apology video Friday, Platner said, “I’m very sorry to those of you who read this stuff and were offended, read this stuff and saw something that you don’t recognize.”
Graham Platner. (Graham of Maine)
He also explained that many of the messages were written years after he returned home from multiple tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan and that he was “frustrated” at the time.
“I’ve made comments that I’m not happy with, that I don’t agree with, but they came at a certain time and in my life, and when I look at or read the comments that were posted, I see myself changing,” Platner said Friday. “My language is becoming less coarse, my thoughts and feelings are becoming much less coarse. I’m almost more frustrated though, and it’s important to know that this was a period of my life when I was very difficult.”
In Reddit comments seen by NBC News, Platner called himself a “communist” and wrote, “I got old and became a communist.”
He also called himself a “modern-day vegetable-growing, psychedelic-taking socialist.”
Platner told CNN last week: “I’m not a communist. I’m not a socialist. I have a small business. I’m a Marine Corps veteran.”
Otherwise, Platner responded to the 2020 a post by a user who wrote: “White people aren’t as racist or stupid as I think Trump is.”
“I live in white rural America, I’m afraid to tell you they actually are,” Platner replied.
He also called cops “scumbags,” writing, “Scumbags. Cops are scumbags. Actually, they all are,” echoing a phrase popularized after the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.
In other comments, Platner downplayed the challenges service members face in reporting sexual assault and urged people to “act like adults” and “not cover up” to prevent rape.
“You choose to use enough substance to lose self-control. So if you don’t want to get into trouble, act like a grown-up for the trouble,” Platner wrote. “Rape is a real thing, if you’re worried about it you’d buy kevlar underwear, you’d think you wouldn’t get blacked out around people you’re not comfortable with.”
CNN and The Washington Post first reported the comments.
“I’m sorry for that. Just know that it doesn’t reflect who I am at all. I don’t want you to judge me for the dumbest thing I’ve ever written on the internet. I’d like people to judge me for the person I am today,” Platner said in a social media video on Friday.
On Sunday, Martin said he believed Plattner when he said he disagreed with his earlier comments today.
“I believe in second chances. I believe a lot of people say things at their most vulnerable, they say things when they’re young that, again, are hurtful,” Martin told CNN’s Dana Bash.
“And, you know, I wonder if they’re actually learning from them, if they’re actually reflecting on it, if they’ve made a sincere apology and, more importantly, if they’ve changed their behavior,” the DNC chair added. “And listening to Graham Platner, I have full faith in his repentance. I think he recognizes that the words he used were hurtful and hurtful to so many people across the country.”
Platner is running for Senate in Maine, where Democrats are again trying to flip the Senate seat held by GOP Sen. Susan Collins for nearly 30 years.
Plattner, a military veteran and oyster farmer, quickly gained momentum after being killed in August. started a campaign, received extremely important I-Vt. the endorsement of Sen. Bernie Sanders and the support of several state unions.
Last week, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, 77, also entered the race, creating a competitive Democratic primary. Collins won his last re-election race in 2020 by almost 9 percentage points.
Shortly after the start of the campaign, Mills faced questions about his age and told NBC News that he did not plan to serve more than one term in the Senate.
Martin dismissed concerns about Mills’ age when asked about them by CNN on Sunday, saying party leadership would not interfere in the Democratic primary in Maine or elsewhere.
“It’s up to the primary voters in all of these states to decide who they think will be the best candidate to represent us as we take on Republicans in each of those states,” Martin said. “My job as DNC chair is to build the infrastructure that we really need to win, and then when those voters actually decide who our nominee is, to really fight like hell to make sure that they win against the Republicans. That’s where I’m going to focus. We’re not going to put anybody on the scales. You know, if others want to do it, that’s their preference.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com