Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner on Thursday said he could not explain why a former girlfriend was describing his controversial chest tattoo as a Nazi symbol months before he said he learned of its meaning.
Appearing on MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes,” Platner was asked about text messages reviewed by CNN and The New York Times showing that his former girlfriend, Lyndsey Fifield, told friends 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 used by Nazi SS units.
Asked how Fifield appeared to know the tattoo’s Nazi associations before he says he did, Platner maintained that he was unaware of the symbol’s meaning at the time but acknowledged he could not account for her apparent knowledge.
“Well, she certainly didn’t send that text to me,” Platner said. “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 part of a broader New York Times report on Platner’s past relationships with women, which included now on-record claims from Fifield that he was aware of the tattoo’s meaning years ago. Platner has strongly denied any wrongdoing.
