Warren downplays Nazi-linked symbol after scrutinizing Hegseth’s Christian tattoos
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., skipped Democratic Maine Senate member Graham Platner’s Nazi-linked tattoo in her glowing endorsement Thursday, despite previously expressing dismay at Defense Department Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Christian tattoos.
Warren, one of the most liberal senators looking to recruit candidates, endorsed Platner’s campaign in a video posted on social media Wednesday, calling him “the real deal.”
“Graham Platner has the power to oppose and fight for what is right,” said Warren. “And the people of Maine are angry and happy for the change.”
The 41-year-old oyster farmer has been widely criticized for having skull and crossbones chest tattoo similar to the Nazi-linked symbol associated with the SS. Platner has previously had this tattoo removed and pleaded not guilty, saying he did not know the meaning of the symbol.
Graham Platner, a member of the Democratic Alliance in the US Senate from Maine, points to a previously covered tattoo of an image recognized as a Nazi symbol, during an interview Wednesday in Portland, Me. (WGME via AP)
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When asked about Platner’s many arguments, Warren dismissed them.
“Look, he’s apologized for that, and he’s out talking to the people of Maine every day,” Warren told Huffpost on Thursday.
Warren’s words stand in stark contrast to his assessment of Hegseth for his Christian tattoos. Before Hegseth’s confirmation hearing in early 2025, Warren suggested that Hegseth could be a heretic by having some Christian symbols on his body.
The Massachusetts Democrat cited a Reuters report detailing Hegseth’s dismissal from the National Guard at the inauguration of former President Joe Biden as the commander, apparently making the suspicious assumption that he could be an “insider threat” with his Christian tattoos.
Hegseth had volunteered for security as a member of the DC National Guard and was employed by Fox News at the time. A senior member of the National Guard has expressed concern over its depictions of the Jerusalem Cross and the Latin phrase “Deus Vult,” which translates to “God’s will.”
Four years later, Warren used the incident to question Hegseth’s loyalty to the United States, despite completing multiple deployments overseas and earning two Bronze Stars.
“We will not have a Secretary of Defense whose staff members feel concerned enough to report it as an internal threat,” Warren wrote in a 33-page letter to Hegseth.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Warren’s office for comment.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., criticized Pentagon secretary Pete Hegseth for his Christian tattoos in early 2025. (Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images; Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
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Hegseth defended his tattoos in an exchange with Sen. Kristen Gillibrand during her confirmation hearing. Gillibrand, who is the chairman of the Senate Democrats’ campaign, strongly supports Gov. Janet Mills, Platner’s opponent in the lower house of the Senate.
Both Mills and Platner are vying for the Democratic nomination to unseat longtime Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
The tattoo appears in a new attack ad against Platner launched by the Mills campaign.
The ad, which Mills’ campaign says is spending six figures to run nationwide, closes with a video of Platner shirtless as the spot’s narrator says, “The closer you look, the worse it gets.”
A controversial comment Platner made a decade ago on Reddit about rape is also included in the ad.
I Mills campaign site highlights Platner’s comments while the actor – in a candidate-like voice – reads the comments aloud. Among these statements was one that came out in 2013, which Platner later deleted, saying that people who are worried about rape should not “be happy until they end up sleeping with someone they didn’t mean to.”
Four women in Mills’ ad responded to the comments, calling them, “an awful thing to say,” “disgusting” and “inappropriate.”
Platner apologized for his controversial Reddit posts after he made headlines last week after launching his Senate campaign.
To those who read these things and were offended, read these things and saw a stranger, I’m very sorry,” he said in a video that went viral.
Senator Graham Platner of Maine, left, and Gov. Two-term incumbent Jane Mills is running for the Democratic state Senate. (Sophie Park/Getty Images; Scott Eisen/Getty Images)
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The Mills ad was launched as Platner appeared to be gaining momentum as he drew crowds to campaign events across the state. According to recent polls, Platner has held the lead over Mills for less than three months until Maine’s No. 1 school.
Democrats see Collins as a vulnerable candidate as he seeks a sixth Senate term in the left-leaning New England state. The race is considered a must-win for Democrats as they try to wrest the majority from the GOP in the midterms.
