Army vet mocked by Graham Platner says Nazi-tattooed candidate is 'Tim Walz on steroids'

Graham Platner onstage campaigning with Bernie Sanders.

A veteran of the U.S. Army and Purple Heart recipient who was mocked by Graham Platner, the leading candidate to take on longtime U.S. Senator Susan Collins in the November election in Maine, fired back in a Wall Street Journal op-ed and in an interview on Fox News.

“Flannel shirt and all, Graham Platner is Tim Walz on steroids. An entitled brat who campaigns with socialist Bernie Sanders," Teddy Daniels, who was wounded in 2012 fighting the Taliban, wrote in The Wall Street Journal this week. 

Platner, who has survived a bevy of controversies, including having a Nazi symbol tattooed on his chest and provocative remarks about sexual assault, mocked Daniels in a post made on Reddit in 2019 that has since been deleted. Platner was commenting on helmet cam video that showed Daniels being shot four times by Taliban militants. 

"This video never gets old," Platner remarked. He then labeled Daniels a "dumb motherf**ker" who "didn’t deserve to live." Platner has acknowledged that the anonymous account that made the comment was owned by him, but has refused to apologize to Daniels for the incendiary remarks. 

Daniels didn't hold back in the op-ed about his opinion of Platner, writing, "he presents himself as 'relatable' to working-class Americans, but in reality he’s a typical elitist who believes blue-collar, hardworking, salt-of-the-earth rural Americans are stupid and racist. I couldn’t care less about the comments he made about me, but they are a reflection of his character. I never thought I’d see the day when Democrats would even consider backing a candidate like this.”

Daniels also spoke out in an interview on Fox News this week, drawing a distinction between Platner and himself and Chris Kyle, the late Navy SEAL and author of American Sniper who Platner has smeared, and Vice President JD Vance, who's also been disparaged by Platner.

"There's zero to no respect for a self-proclaimed communist," Daniels said. "You know, the ironic thing is, some guys run towards gunfire, and other guys run toward keyboards, and I think that's a big difference." Below, watch a clip of Daniels remarks on Fox News.