RNC Says Ruben Gallego 'Lost His Mind' by Endorsing Graham Platner

Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) continues to take heat over his endorsement of Graham Platner, who is running for Senator in Maine.

Platner has faced controversy for running a Reddit account that displayed contempt for police and rural Americans, endorsed political violence, downplayed rape and sexual assault in the military, including controversy over an alleged Totenkopf tattoo on his chest.

Platner had previously appeared on Nate Cornacchia's podcast "Valhalla VFT" in January, which has espoused antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes, including claims that conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated by Israel for supposedly retracting his support for the Jewish State.

The Maine Senate candidate had also boosted a post condemning war with Iran by Stew Peters, an antisemite, after the State of the Union address by President Donald Trump.

Other Reddit posts allegedly made by Platner in the past include an insensitive question about why African Americans "don't tip" and that people who were sexually assaulted while inebriated should "take some responsibility for themselves and not get so f—-ked up they wind up having sex with someone they don't mean to?"

Platner has explained that his comments during his time on Reddit were made during a time when he "felt lost and very disillusioned with our government, who sent me overseas to watch my friends die."

In response to Gallego's endorsement, the Republican National Committee's Nick Poche said in comments to Cactus Politics that Sen. Gallego's endorsement suggests that "Ruben Gallego has lost his mind and is either too extreme or too owned by his consultants to represent Arizonans. Democrats like JoAnna Mendoza, who have trumpeted his endorsement, need to clearly answer whether they like the company they're in or reject Gallego's endorsement."