Augusta, Maine - Maine Democratic candidate for Senate Graham Platner vowed to remove a Nazi-inspired tattoo on his chest after its discovery threw his campaign into turmoil.
A viral social media video showed Platner, who is vying for Republican Susan Collins' Senate seat, dancing shirtless at a birthday party while sporting "Totenkopf" skull and crossbones tattoo on his chest.
The symbol was infamously worn by the Nazi SS and has remained a symbol of white supremacy.
Platner addressed the tattoo during an appearance on Pod Save America, explaining that he got it in 2007 while drunk on leave with fellow Marines in Croatia.
"We got very inebriated, and we did what Marines on liberty do, and we decided to go get a tattoo," he said.
"We chose a terrifying-looking skull and crossbones off the wall because we were Marines and, you know, skulls and crossbones are a pretty standard military thing, and we got those tattoos, and we all moved on with our lives."
"It never came up until we got wind that in the opposition research somebody was shopping the idea that I was a secret Nazi with a hidden Nazi tattoo," Platner continued, insisting: "I am not a secret Nazi."
Platner vows to remove Nazi tattoo
Per Politico, Platner on Tuesday claimed "it was not until I started hearing from reporters and DC insiders that I realized this tattoo resembled a Nazi symbol."
"I absolutely would not have gone through life having this on my chest if I knew that – and to insinuate that I did is disgusting," he said. "I am already planning to get this removed."
Platner pointed out that the ink was never brought up or questioned even during physical exams when he served in the military, despite outright bans on tattoos featuring hate symbols.
Some, however, are skeptical of Platner's story, including his now-former political director, Genevieve McDonald, who resigned from his campaign last week after a series of controversial Reddit posts were revealed.
"Maybe he didn't know it when he got it, but he got it years ago, and he should have had it covered up because he knows damn well what it means," McDonald wrote in a post on Facebook.