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The issue exploded back into public view after reporters approached Platner over the weekend and asked whether he wished to apologize for the remarks.
Instead of offering any form of regret, Platner appeared unwilling to back down.
When questioned, he reportedly responded by asking, “Do you know how many of my friends have Purple Hearts?”
That answer did not impress Daniels.
“I consider the source,” Daniels told Fox News Digital. “In order for me to worry about what you say, first I have to respect you.”
He then delivered an even sharper assessment.
“There’s zero-to-no respect for a self-proclaimed communist.”
Daniels contrasted military service with online activism, saying, “Some guys run towards gunfire and other guys run toward keyboards – and I think that’s a big difference.”
The exchange has become one of the most talked-about moments in Maine’s Senate race, particularly because Platner has attempted to explain some of his past online conduct by referencing his PTSD diagnosis stemming from military deployments.
Daniels, however, rejected that explanation entirely.
As someone who has battled his own service-related trauma and endured more than twenty surgeries following combat injuries, Daniels argued that accountability matters.
“This appears to be a continuing course of conduct with Graham Platner,” Daniels said. “He is trying to blame PTSD as a crutch to avoid accountability. The first step of being a man is taking responsibility for your actions – and we’re just not seeing that here.”
What makes the controversy even more damaging is another archived post allegedly written by Platner several years ago.
In a discussion involving a former Marine who blamed PTSD for abusive behavior toward animals, Platner showed little sympathy.
“Don’t buy into that bull——,” he wrote. “I did 4 tours in the infantry to Iraq and Afghanistan, saw all kinds of awful things, have a PTSD diagnosis and STILL manage not to beat defenseless animals to death for fun. That’s just giving excuses for garbage behavior.”
Critics quickly pointed out the contradiction between those statements and his current defense.
The backlash has spread beyond Daniels.
Former Navy SEAL Robert O’Neill, widely known for his role in the mission that killed terrorist leader Usama bin Laden, condemned the comments directed at Daniels.
O’Neill described the post as “completely barbaric.”
“Every single time you fight, it’s for the man next to you,” O’Neill said. “Politics goes out the window.”
The controversy has also reignited scrutiny over other remarks linked to Platner’s online history.
Among the most controversial are comments targeting legendary sniper Chris Kyle, whose military service inspired the bestselling memoir and blockbuster film American Sniper.
Platner allegedly questioned Kyle’s wartime record and suggested he exaggerated aspects of his service.
Daniels was visibly angered by those comments as well.
“This was premeditated. There was no trigger. Chris Kyle was a man 100 times greater than Graham Platner and shoes he could never, ever fill.”
Daniels added that an apology should be delivered directly to Kyle’s surviving family.
As additional archived posts continue to surface, Republicans and military advocates are questioning whether Platner’s past statements reflect the values expected of someone seeking a seat in the United States Senate.
Reports indicate the deleted posts included praise for socialist ideology, criticism of the U.S. military, inflammatory language, and other controversial remarks that disappeared before his campaign officially began.
Even some Democrats have struggled to distance themselves from the growing controversy.
While prominent party leaders have largely avoided discussing the issue publicly, the story continues to gain traction among voters who view military service and sacrifice as beyond partisan politics.
For many observers, the contrast has become impossible to ignore.
One man earned a Purple Heart after surviving enemy gunfire on a battlefield thousands of miles from home.
The other now finds himself defending years of deleted online comments that refuse to stay buried.
