Reports have found additional controversial social media posts Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner made years before his bid to oust Sen. Susan Collins (R).<\/p>\n
The Bangor Daily News wrote<\/a> that Platner \u2014 who has already disavowed his previous posts<\/a> on Reddit \u2014 reportedly asked why Black people \u201cdon\u2019t tip\u201d in a thread of questions users \u201chave always wanted to ask someone of another race.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI work as a bartender and it always amazes me how solid this stereotype is,\u201d Platner reportedly wrote. \u201cEvery now and again a black patron will leave a 15-20% tip, but usually it [is] between 0-5%. There\u2019s got to be a reason behind it, what is it?\u201d<\/p>\n Reports also revealed Platner posted comments related to violence and sexual assault in the military, which he disavowed in separate statements to outlets. <\/p>\n Politico uncovered posts from Platner<\/a> reportedly stating people who \u201cexpect to fight fascism without a good semi-automatic rifle … ought to do some reading of history\u201d and that \u201can armed working class is a requirement for economic justice.\u201d<\/p>\n The Washington Post reported<\/a> Platner had also posted messages related to sexual assault, casting doubt on difficulties female military members can face when reporting incidents of assault by superiors.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI can honestly say I did not know what the f\u2011\u2011\u2011 I was talking about,\u201d Platner told the Post. \u201cI have been for quite some time on the opposite side of this conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want people to judge me off the dumbest thing I said on the internet 12 years ago,\u201d he said. \u201cI would like people to engage with who I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n The Hill reached out to Platner\u2019s campaign for additional comment.<\/p>\n Platner\u2019s posts on Reddit first began surfacing<\/a> this week. He reportedly had previously posted about being a \u201ccommunist\u201d and called cops \u201cbastards.\u201d<\/p>\n He told outlets he joined Reddit after serving in the military, an experience that he said left him \u201cvery disillusioned with our government,” which sent him overseas to watch his Platner is a Marine and U.S. Army veteran who served four combat tours in Iraq. He entered the Senate race against Collins in August, making headlines for drawing strong crowds and raising more than $4 million in funding in the weeks after he filed to run. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) previously described him<\/a> \u2014 before the controversy \u2014 as “a great working class candidate for Senate in Maine who will defeat Susan Collins.”<\/p>\n Platner’s Reddit posts were deleted prior to launching his Senate campaign. <\/p>\n
friends die.\u201d<\/p>\n