Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner on Thursday mentioned he couldn’t explain why a former girlfriend was describing his controversial chest tattoo as a Nazi image months before he mentioned he discovered of its that means.
Appearing on MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes,” Platner was requested about textual content messages reviewed by NCS and The New York Times exhibiting that his former girlfriend, Lyndsey Fifield, informed mates in August 2025 that Platner “has a Nazi tattoo on his chest” and that “it’s a Totenkopf” — a reference to the skull-and-crossbones emblem utilized by Nazi SS items.
Asked how Fifield appeared to know the tattoo’s Nazi associations before he says he did, Platner maintained that he was unaware of the image’s that means on the time however acknowledged he couldn’t account for her obvious data.
“Well, she certainly didn’t send that text to me,” Platner mentioned. “So whoever she sent it to and was talking to, that’s — I can’t say why, but I will say that I certainly didn’t know. And the text messages she’s sending to friends who may have recognized it, that’s — they didn’t tell me that, so.”
The tattoo controversy resurfaced this week as a part of a broader New York Times report on Platner’s previous relationships with girls, which included now on-record claims from Fifield that he was conscious of the tattoo’s that means years in the past. Platner has strongly denied any wrongdoing.
Platner has previously said he had not understood the image’s Nazi significance when he received the tattoo whereas serving within the Marine Corps and was made conscious of its that means solely final October.
But Fifield informed NCS that Platner referred to it years earlier as “my Totenkopf,” recalling that he used what she mentioned was a foreign-sounding accent when he mentioned it — a element she mentioned made the remark notably memorable.
Fifield beforehand offered textual content messages reviewed by NCS exhibiting that she informed mates in August 2025 that Platner had a Nazi tattoo.
Platner and his marketing campaign declined to remark to NCS final yr on the texts in regards to the tattoo. The marketing campaign is standing by his previous denials now.
Platner mentioned in an interview final yr he received the cranium and crossbones tattoo in 2007, when he was in his 20s and within the Marine Corps throughout an evening of consuming whereas on depart in Croatia, including he was unaware till lately that the picture has been related to Nazi police.
“I am not a secret Nazi,” Platner mentioned on the “Pod Save America” podcast hosted by former Obama administration officers.
On Thursday on MSNOW, Platner strongly denied Fifield’s claims.
“No, I did not,” Platner mentioned when requested about Fifield’s claims that he knew its significance years in the past. “And I also think it’s important to note that it’s very likely, and I think that she is that same source. She’s the person who’s been telling people this from the beginning,” Platner mentioned, including that, “We’re kind of rehashing the thing we’ve been through.”
Platner argued that he had the tattoo for 17 years with out anybody elevating considerations about Nazi symbolism, noting that he acquired a State Department safety clearance, reenlisted within the Army after being screened for gang and hate-related tattoos, and usually appeared shirtless round relations, together with Jewish kinfolk.
“Any statement saying that I did know is, is, again, totally false,” Platner mentioned.
Fifield, a conservative activist and former girlfriend of Platner’s, was amongst three girls who lately described troubling conduct by Platner to The New York Times.
Fifield mentioned that he grabbed her by the shoulders usually, typically arduous sufficient to depart marks. She additionally alleged to the Times that in an argument, she recalled Platner twisting her arm behind her again, shoving her right into a bed room and holding the door closed so she couldn’t get out.
In a press release to NCS, Platner disputed claims of bodily intimidation and mentioned essentially the most critical allegations have been false and politically motivated.
“Throughout this campaign, I’ve been open about what was a very dark period of my life where I struggled with undiagnosed PTSD, too often self-medicated with alcohol, and was a far from perfect boyfriend,” Platner mentioned within the assertion. “I take responsibility for all of that, and wish I had been better. Any characterization beyond that is false, and I believe, politically motivated. I’m not proud of who I was then, but I am proud of the work I’ve done since, and the movement we are building in Maine.”