Lefty Senate candidate Graham Platner makes unthinkable gaffe, flubs Bernie Sanders’ name twice in fiery ‘Fight the Oligarchy’ rally
Far-left darling Graham Platner stumbled over Sen. Bernie Sanders’ name twice during an impassioned rally speech just one week ahead of the Maine primaries.
US Senate hopeful Platner front-lined a “Fight the Oligarchy” rally alongside Sanders in Portland, Maine on Sunday. While trying to boost the self-declared democratic socialist, Platner struggled with his pronunciation.
“The last time, well before last night, I shared a stage with Senator Standers, it was here in Portland 13 days after we launched this campaign. It felt surreal then, and to tell you the truth, it still feels as surreal today,” Platner said.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Democratic US Senate candidate Graham Platner stand together during a Fighting Oligarchy tour stop at the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus on May 24, 2026 in Orono, Maine. Getty Images
He gaffed the pronunciation a second time while closing out his speech, which was a lead-in to Sanders’ own address.
Platner’s grandstanding came after a series of damning social media posts resurfaced online last week.
In one comment linked to Platner’s burner Reddit account, he branded an American soldier who fearlessly threw himself into a line of fire to help his squad mates get to safety as a “dumb motherf—er.”
“This video never gets old. Dumb mother—er didn’t deserve to live. At least his stupidity and fat ass wheezing are available for all future infantrymen to witness and hold in contempt,” Platner, then a 34-year-old, chided.
“Poor marksmanship on the Taliban’s part is the only reason this mouthbreather made it home, he managed to make every possible s— decision possible when it comes to small unit combat,” he added.
The soldier, who survived the harrowing rescue, was later awarded a Purple Heart.
Platner’s grandstanding came after a series of damning social media posts resurfaced online last week. REUTERS
Platner salivated at gross graffiti of male genitalia and gleefully recounted pleasuring himself in porta-potties in posts linked to the same defunct Reddit account.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee seized on Platner’s incriminating digital footprint and launched an AI-generated short mocking him.
The spot showed a man who resembles Platner entering a porta-potty and ends with a child leaving one of the adjacent toilets.
“This is who Graham Platner is. Don’t ignore the signs,” the NRSC chided on X.
Platner is gunning for incumbent Republican US Senator Susan Collins’ seat. He emerged as the presumptive Democratic nominee after Maine Governor Janet Mills suspended her campaign.
