NY Times Shrugs Off Platner Nazi Tattoo: Panicked at Musk Salute, Hegseth, OK Sign
Clay Waters
May 9th, 2026 10:41 PM
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner got a Nazi tattoo in Croatia in 2007 while serving in the Marines – not just a swastika tat either, but a special skull and crossbones “Totenkopf” tattoo, similar to those worn by Hitler’s SS. He had the tattoo covered with new ink in late October 2025 only after it became a controversy during his emerging Maine U.S. Senate campaign. Notably, the offensive tattoo was not removed in a prolonged process of laser removal, but only covered up with another.
What do the writers of the New York Times think of Platner’s Totenkopf tattoo? After all, the paper has spent years pushing the left’s most hypersensitive reactions to any signs of fascism, real or mostly imagined, on the part of Republican-identified figures, like Elon Musk’s so-called Nazi salute. Reporter Ryan Mac wrote in January 2025 under the headlines “Elon Musk Ignites Online Speculation Over the Meaning of a Hand Gesture -- Speaking at a celebratory rally in Washington, Mr. Musk twice extended his arm out with his palm facing down, drawing comparisons to the Nazi salute”).
Certainly the real deal, a deep cut of Nazism emblazoned on the chest of a candidate for U.S. Senate, would inspire true revulsion.
https://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/clay-waters/2026/05/09/ny-times-shrugs-platner-nazi-tattoo-panicked-musk-salute-hegseth-ok
