Sen. Bernie Sanders lashed out at a reporter for Fox News Digital when pressed on Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner\u2019s resurfaced vulgar Reddit posts, telling the reporter to \u201cget a better job.\u201d
\n\u201cWho do you work for?\u201d Sanders asked when questioned about Platner\u2019s posts. When told Fox News Digital, Sanders replied, \u201cWhy don\u2019t you talk to your owner Mr. Murdoch and ask him for a raise so you can get a better job.\u201d
\nSanders endorsed Platner in August 2025.
\nSeveral other Democratic senators also declined to weigh in on Platner\u2019s resurfaced Reddit posts and what they could mean for his Senate bid. Some said they had not seen the posts, while others declined to comment altogether.
\nBERNIE SANDERS DEFENDS MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE UNDER FIRE FOR REDDIT COMMENTS<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t seen it,\u201d Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said. \u201cI\u2019m not following it. Sorry.\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m not going to take any position in that election,\u201d Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said. \u201cThat\u2019s my practice since I\u2019ve been in the Senate.\u201d
\n\u201cOn whose?\u201d Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said when asked to comment on Platner\u2019s posts. \u201cNo, I\u2019m not gonna get into that.\u201d
\nSen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore, said the viability of Platner\u2019s candidacy should be left to Maine voters to decide.
\nUNEARTHED POSTS SHOW DEM SENATE HOPEFUL PRAISING VULGAR GRAFFITI, MAKING CRUDE PORTA-POTTY ADMISSION<\/p>\n
\u201cThe people of Maine get to choose who they want to represent them in the U.S. Senate,\u201d Merkley said. \u201cAnd so I encourage you to interview the people in Maine, because that\u2019s what a democracy is all about.\u201d
\n\u201cI have not seen his post, so I\u2019m not going to be able to be in a position to evaluate them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Platner has faced increasing scrutiny after since-deleted Reddit posts resurfaced online, ranging from talking about masturbating in portable toilets to mocking a wounded Purple Heart U.S. soldier.
\nThese posts are among the newest discoveries from his past Reddit history, with previously exposed posts revealing him on rape victims to take responsibility and praising Hamas\u2019 tactics.\u00a0
\nWATCH: COLLINS RIPS MAINE CHALLENGER PLATNER OVER RESURFACED REDDIT POST MOCKING WOUNDED US SOLDIER<\/p>\n
\u201cI still have to jerk off every time I sit in a portas\u2014-er\u2026 that blue water smell conditioned me,\u201d Platner wrote in one resurfaced post.
\nPlatner has publicly addressed some of the posts in the past, attributing them to a troubling time in his life after being in the military and suffering from PTSD. He served three tours in Iraq for the Marine Corps and one tour in Afghanistan for the U.S. Army.
\nThe comments were made under the Reddit account \u201cP-Hustle,\u201d which Platner has acknowledged owning. The posts range from 2009 through as recently as 2021. The entire archive of more than 2,000 posts is available on the Maine Monitor database.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s explained his journey and his evolution and his PTSD from the war, and again, I think it\u2019s a judgment that should be rendered by the people of Maine,\u201d said Merkley.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"