‘Completely barbaric’: Navy SEAL blasts Democrat candidate’s Taliban remarks

The comments attributed to Platner were especially brutal. In the resurfaced post, the user mocked the soldier’s weight and survival, writing: “Poor marksmanship on the Taliban’s part is the only reason this mouthbreather made it home.”

Veterans and military families piled on almost immediately, blasting the rhetoric as anti-American and grotesque. One commenter called it “a slap in the face to every veteran,” while another said Platner represented “a new low point” for Democrats.

The political fallout could become especially dangerous in Maine, a state with a strong veteran population and a long tradition of moderate politics. Even some conservatives who can’t stand longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins admitted online that Platner’s comments crossed a line so severe they could reshape the race.

Others, however, used the controversy to vent frustration with Collins herself, arguing Republicans need stronger turnout and more enthusiasm if they want to keep the seat out of Democratic hands.

Meanwhile, Democrats have largely avoided directly addressing the substance of the resurfaced remarks, a silence critics say speaks volumes. The lack of loud condemnation from prominent party figures only fueled conservative accusations that Democratic leadership tolerates extreme rhetoric when it comes from their side.

And for many Americans — especially veterans who spent years watching friends bleed overseas — that may be the ugliest part of the whole spectacle. It’s the kind of rhetoric that leaves voters wondering how far the country’s political culture has fallen — and whether anyone in either party is still willing to say enough is enough.