Senate Democrats Were Confronted Over Graham Platner and Every Single One of Them Ran

Bernie Sanders told a Fox News reporter to get a better job.

Now the rest of his party is following his lead – by saying nothing at all.

And what Senate Democrats just did when asked about their own candidate will tell you everything about who these people really are.

The Post They Cannot Explain

In a resurfaced Reddit post, Graham Platner watched a video of a wounded American soldier under Taliban fire.

He didn't pray for the man. He wrote that the video "never gets old" and called the soldier a "dumb motherf—er" who "didn't deserve to live."

The only reason the soldier made it, Platner wrote, was "poor marksmanship on the Taliban's part."

That's the man Senate Democrats are running to flip Susan Collins' seat in Maine.

The Candidate Democrats Can't Quit

The soldier post is just the beginning.

Platner wrote in 2013 that people who don't want to end up in a "compromising situation" should "act like an adult" – his response to a conversation about sexual assault.

He's been photographed with a tattoo his own campaign acknowledged resembles a Nazi SS death's head symbol.

Fox News reporting has documented resurfaced posts in which he used racial slurs and referred to terrorists as freedom fighters.

That's the guy. Sanders is all in. The progressive base chose him over sitting Gov. Janet Mills, who ran attack ads featuring women responding to his sexual assault posts – and lost anyway.

What Democrats Said When Asked to Comment

Fox News Digital cornered Democratic senators this week and asked them point-blank about Platner's record.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois gave the whole game away in six words.

"I'm not following that race closely," Durbin said.

Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont had five.

"It's up to Maine," Welch said. "It's up to Maine's people."

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey at least tried to sound responsible.

"I have not been focusing on this race," Booker said – before promising he would do his "due diligence" and review the "full body of evidence."

Then Booker made it worse: Platner has "a case to make to the voters, not to people like me."

The Only Democrat Willing to Show His Hand

Sanders had the most revealing response of all.

When a Fox News Digital reporter approached him about Platner's posts, Sanders didn't defend the record.

He attacked the reporter.

"Why don't you talk to your owner Mr. Murdoch and ask him for a raise so you can get a better job," Sanders snapped.

Don't answer. Attack the messenger. Move on.

That's the Democratic Party's entire posture on Graham Platner in one sentence.

Why the Silence Is the Story

Democrats need this seat.

Maine has been trending left for years, and Collins – who has held it since 1997 – is one of the most vulnerable Republican incumbents on the map.

Chuck Schumer has called Maine a top-tier pickup target.

The last time Democrats ran this seat, Collins beat them 51% to 42%.

So the party is trapped.

The progressive base chose Platner. The money is behind Platner. Sanders owns this decision.

And now every other Senate Democrat has to decide: own it, or pretend you're not following the race closely.

They're all pretending.

A man who wrote that video of a wounded American soldier "never gets old" is their candidate for the United States Senate – and Dick Durbin can't be bothered to form an opinion.

That tells you exactly what these people think of the men and women who wear the uniform.

They'll use veterans as props at campaign rallies and go silent the moment one of their own mocks an American getting shot by the Taliban.

Your senators. Your country.

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Sources:

• Leo Briceno, "Dem senators deflect questions on Platner's scandal-plagued campaign: 'Not following that race closely,'" Fox News, May 22, 2026.
• Hannah Brennan, "Sanders caught on camera snapping at reporter over Platner's posts: 'Get a better job,'" Fox News, May 22, 2026.
• Robert Schmad, "Top off-the-wall Reddit posts haunting Graham Platner's Maine Senate bid," Fox News, May 21, 2026.
• Hanna Panreck, "Maine Senate candidate cites combat trauma when confronted on 'terrible' posts about sexual assault," Fox News, March 23, 2026.
• Fox News Digital, "Navy SEAL who killed Bin Laden rips Platner for 'barbaric' post trashing soldier under fire: 'Out of line,'" Fox News, May 2026.