Whoopi Goldberg raised eyebrows Thursday on The View after suggesting that Democratic Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s Nazi tattoo might have been the result of drunken mistakes rather than hateful beliefs.
Platner, who’s running for the seat, admitted he got the skull-and-crossbones tattoo 18 years ago while drunk and claimed he didn’t realize it was a Nazi symbol. Goldberg appeared to defend him, saying she too had made poor choices under the influence. “I’m sorry, when I was drinking, strange stuff came out of my mouth,” Goldberg said. “I can’t tell you that when I used to get drunk, I didn’t do stupid stuff.”
Co-host Joy Behar pushed back, saying she’d never said racist things while drunk. The rest of the panel agreed that intoxication isn’t an excuse for behavior like Platner’s.
Platner posted on Instagram Wednesday that he has since covered the tattoo with a Celtic knot featuring dog imagery, calling the Nazi connection “appalling.” He also expressed regret for his past actions.
Despite the controversy, Sen. Bernie Sanders is standing by his endorsement, telling Axios that there are “more important issues” than an old tattoo.
Experts have pointed out, however, that the symbol Platner originally bore — the Totenkopf — was prominently used by Nazi concentration camp guards and is one of the regime’s most recognizable emblems.
Adding to Platner’s troubles, The Bangor Daily News reported that his campaign’s political director, Genevieve McDonald, resigned after his old Reddit posts surfaced. The posts included violent rhetoric, comments downplaying sexual assault in the military, and derogatory remarks about gay men and rural white Americans.
Platner said on Pod Save America that he was “utterly horrified” by his past words, blaming them on post-traumatic stress disorder from his military service.