Maine Democratic Senate hopeful Graham Platner is facing intensifying backlash after a video surfaced showing what appears to be a Nazi-era SS symbol tattooed on his chest — the latest in a string of disturbing revelations that have thrown his campaign into crisis and raised questions about his fitness for public office.

Platner, a self-styled anti-establishment Marine veteran backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), has already come under fire for past online posts containing racist and misogynistic remarks. But the newly surfaced video — which appears to depict the Nazi Totenkopf, or “death’s head” skull worn by Hitler’s SS units — has pushed the controversy into new territory, fueling bipartisan outrage and eroding confidence among Democratic operatives.

The footage, which Platner’s own campaign provided to Pod Save America in what appears to have been a preemptive damage-control attempt, shows the candidate shirtless and singing while a dark skull tattoo is clearly visible. The Republican National Senatorial Committee immediately labeled it a “Nazi tattoo,” accusing Platner of “trying to whitewash hate.”

In an interview released Monday, Platner insisted the tattoo was a “drunken mistake” from his time overseas.

“I am not a secret Nazi,” he told host Tommy Vietor. “I got the tattoo in Croatia while very inebriated. We just picked a terrifying-looking skull.”

His explanation has done little to calm the storm. Extremism experts note that ignorance is no excuse for wearing a symbol so closely tied to one of history’s most violent regimes. The Anti-Defamation League said the tattoo “appears” to depict the Totenkopf and called it “troubling if true,” while reminding that the image is “synonymous with the Nazi SS and genocide.”

The Army bans tattoos deemed extremist or racist — a rule that makes Platner’s past military service under such a mark even more controversial. Pentagon officials have not commented on whether the tattoo was ever flagged during his enlistment.

The tattoo controversy follows another scandal over Platner’s resurfaced Reddit posts in which he wrote that Black people “don’t tip” and that assault victims should “take some responsibility for themselves.” Platner has apologized for the comments, attributing them to “a period of personal turmoil” after his deployment.

Yet his explanations have not quelled the backlash. EMILYs List President Jessica Mackler blasted Platner’s remarks as “unacceptable and disqualifying,” while other Democrats privately questioned why Sanders continues to stand by him. “This isn’t opposition research — it’s who he is,” one Democratic strategist said.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)