Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said that he has endorsed Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner, despite mounting controversy surrounding the candidate’s past conduct and a tattoo associated with a Nazi symbol.
During a press conference in Washington on Tuesday, reporters repeatedly asked Schumer about his support for Platner, who is seeking to unseat Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). Democrats view Collins’s seat as a key pickup opportunity in their effort to regain control of the Senate. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 majority in the chamber.
Asked several times about Platner, Schumer, whose book about antisemitism in America was published in 2025, initially responded, “We’re going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate.”
On the final question, Schumer added: “I endorsed Graham Platner. We’re going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate,” before leaving the podium.
Platner has faced scrutiny over a tattoo that resembled the Nazi SS “Totenkopf” symbol, which he has since covered up. The former Marine and oyster farmer has said he was unaware of the symbol’s Nazi associations when he received the tattoo in Croatia in 2007. He has also come under fire for past online comments, including remarks about Hamas and U.S. service members.
The Republican Jewish Coalition called the Democratic Party “spineless and shameful.”
“A literal Nazi tattoo that glorifies the SS is not enough for the self-proclaimed ‘Shomer’ Chuck Schumer to rescind his endorsement of Graham Platner,” the RJC stated.
