Susan Collins Lands a Solid on Graham Platner As

That the Democrats are pinning their hopes and desires of retaking the U.S. Senate in the 2026 midterms on goofs like Graham Platner exhibits us absolutely the state of issues on the left, and it, of course, will not be good.

Platner is seemingly using high proper now as the get together’s presumptive Senate nominee for Maine, with the full backing of members of the socialist wing, which incorporates Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and considerably favorable polling numbers forward of the anticipated normal election matchup between himself and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).

He’s been in a position to do this despite (or maybe because of?) a wave of damaging tales that began early in the first and which have continued that largely heart around a prolonged historical past of sexist, racist, homophobic, and inflammatory Reddit feedback where he is blamed inappropriate assault victims for being raped, spouted derogatory remarks about black people, has insulted rural white Americans, and bragged about being a communist. He even went so far as to want some of his fellow army veterans had died horrible deaths in fight.

READ MORE: Graham Platner Was Already Disgusting — These Latest Unearthed Posts Make It Much Worse

Between all that, bizarrely bragging about self-pleasuring in a porta-potty, and even the Nazi tattoo scandal, the cringe against Platner is stacking up, which is not good for a man who wants to win not just Democrats but some unbiased voters if he hopes to defeat Collins in the autumn.

The latest instance comes from Platner’s repeated insistence that Collins “voted to send me to Iraq,” a marketing campaign line he is been utilizing since at least mid-May, when he uttered it in a New York Times interview:

The anger that I really feel is for the people that despatched me, who are frankly still the same people who are sending people off proper now to be in hurt’s approach so we are able to have this silly battle with Iran. Susan Collins voted to ship me to Iraq, and she’s also there to help Donald Trump continue this completely insane battle in the Strait of Hormuz.

Except Susan Collins voted for the Iraq battle decision in 2002. Platner did not enlist until late 2003, a number of months after the battle began.

Others at the time pointed to feedback Platner posted on Reddit, where he famous how enthusiastic he was about enlisting, so that he “could kill some people”:

The next time you hear @grahamformaine say that @SenSusanCollins despatched him off to battle. Just bear in mind what he said himself. pic.twitter.com/lWFKpyX1mc

— Jeff (Opinion Contributor) (@magine_3037) May 13, 2026

Since Platner has continued with the baseless assault, reporters are still speaking about it, and Collins was requested about it during a Thursday groundbreaking in Maine.

She landed a stable on him, stating that not only did he enlist twice after the battle began, but that he “also went to work for a controversial security company” someday after his service was over. Further, she made the purpose that Platner was “not drafted” to serve:

Collins also took issue with Platner’s repeatedly saying she despatched him to Iraq by voting in 2002 to authorize President George W. Bush to start the battle, which started in March 2003. Platner enlisted in the Marines later that 12 months, after ending high faculty, and served three fight tours in Iraq. In 2009, he enlisted in the Army, which deployed him for one fight tour in Afghanistan.

Collins said, “He not only enlisted twice, after the war was started, but he also went to work for a security company, a controversial one named Blackwater, after his term in the service was over. So, I respect anyone who steps forward to serve their country. But the fact is, that was Platner’s decision to serve. He was not drafted.”

Watch:

Senator Collins responds to the scurrilous declare from Graham Platner that she despatched him to “die in Iraq.”

“That was Platner’s decision to serve. He was not drafted.” pic.twitter.com/3hyPjxkfyn

— The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) May 28, 2026

Incredibly, Platner’s response was to fake she was attacking veterans, and to fake he was their defender after years of disparaging them:

Just to spell out Platner’s sport right here — he is falsely accused Susan Collins of voting to ship him to Iraq. She responded by stating that Platner volunteered 2 years after her Iraq vote. Now, he is framing her response as an assault on ppl who served https://t.co/xNjCsyRndS

— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) May 28, 2026

Here’s what Platner wrote in 2012, back when he wasn’t operating for political workplace. https://t.co/xNjCsyRndS pic.twitter.com/3VDetQDfNf

— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) May 28, 2026

One of the “selling points” Platner and his outstanding backers, like Sanders and Warren, have been utilizing is that he is a veteran who supposedly served honorably.  Yet, his Reddit assaults on his fellow service members, including the late Navy SEAL and American sniper Chris Kyle, and now this, where he first falsely offered himself as a sufferer of Collins’ Iraq battle vote, and then pretended to be a defender of veterans whom Collins didn’t assault as she called him out, is a fairly dishonorable factor to do, in my opinion.

It is unlikely to sit properly with people for whom serving their nation meant a lot more than enlisting just so they “could kill some people.” Just how a lot that impacts his normal election marketing campaign stays to be seen, but good on Collins for guaranteeing that gap Platner retains digging for himself will get a little deeper.

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will decide the destiny of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must preserve control of both chambers of Congress.

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