Graham Platner can’t explain why ex-girlfriend knew tattoo’s Nazi link before he says he did

By Andrew Kaczynski, CNN

(CNN) — 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.

Platner has previously said he had not understood the symbol’s Nazi significance when he got the tattoo while serving in the Marine Corps and was made aware of its meaning only last October.

But Fifield told CNN that Platner referred to it years earlier as “my Totenkopf,” recalling that he used what she said was a foreign-sounding accent when he said it — a detail she said made the comment particularly memorable.

Fifield previously provided text messages reviewed by CNN showing that she told friends in August 2025 that Platner had a Nazi tattoo.

Platner and his campaign declined to comment to CNN last year on the texts about the tattoo. The campaign is standing by his past denials now.

Platner said in an interview last year he got the skull and crossbones tattoo in 2007, when he was in his 20s and in the Marine Corps during a night of drinking while on leave in Croatia, adding he was unaware until recently that the image has been associated with Nazi police.

“I am not a secret Nazi,” Platner said on the “Pod Save America” podcast hosted by former Obama administration officials.

On Thursday on MSNOW, Platner strongly denied Fifield’s claims.

“No, I did not,” Platner said when asked about Fifield’s claims that he knew its significance years ago. “And I also think it’s important to note that it’s very likely, and I think that she is that same source. She’s the person who’s been telling people this from the beginning,” Platner said, adding that, “We’re kind of rehashing the thing we’ve been through.”

Platner argued that he had the tattoo for 17 years without anyone raising concerns about Nazi symbolism, noting that he received a State Department security clearance, reenlisted in the Army after being screened for gang and hate-related tattoos, and regularly appeared shirtless around family members, including Jewish relatives.

“Any statement saying that I did know is, is, again, totally false,” Platner said.

Fifield, a conservative activist and former girlfriend of Platner’s, was among three women who recently described troubling behavior by Platner to The New York Times.

Fifield said that he grabbed her by the shoulders regularly, sometimes hard enough to leave marks. She also alleged to the Times that during an argument, she recalled Platner twisting her arm behind her back, shoving her into a bedroom and holding the door closed so she couldn’t get out.

In a statement to CNN, Platner disputed claims of physical intimidation and said the most serious allegations were false and politically motivated.

“Throughout this campaign, I’ve been open about what was a very dark period of my life where I struggled with undiagnosed PTSD, too often self-medicated with alcohol, and was a far from perfect boyfriend,” Platner said in the statement. “I take responsibility for all of that, and wish I had been better. Any characterization beyond that is false, and I believe, politically motivated. I’m not proud of who I was then, but I am proud of the work I’ve done since, and the movement we are building in Maine.”

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