Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) endorsed Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner on Wednesday, a day after he confirmed backing from the progressive wing of the party. Platner once had a Totenkopf tattoo on his chest, the “Death’s Head” symbol used by the Nazi SS.
Warren personally called Pete Hegseth’s “Deus Vult” tattoo disqualifying for federal office during his 2025 confirmation hearings. “Deus Vult” is a Latin phrase meaning “God wills it,” used in Christian tradition for centuries. Warren wrote at the time that it “was a Christian expression associated with right-wing extremism” and labeled Hegseth a potential “insider threat.”
Platner’s Totenkopf tattoo came to light last October after reporting from Jewish Insider. He told reporters he was a “very inebriated” Marine who plucked a “terrifying-looking skull” design off a wall in Croatia without knowing its origins. Former acquaintances told Jewish Insider they recall Platner identifying the symbol by its German name at a Capitol Hill bar in 2012.
His own former political director, Genevieve McDonald, rejected the explanation publicly. She posted on social media that Platner, a self-described military history enthusiast, “knows damn well what it means.”
Platner’s online history has drawn scrutiny beyond the tattoo. His Reddit posts, surfaced earlier this year, include a description of himself as a “communist.” He also referred to police as “bastards” in online discussions.
Warren’s January 2025 letter to the Senate Armed Services Committee cited the “Deus Vult” tattoo as evidence that Hegseth was unfit to serve as Defense Secretary. “We cannot have a Defense Secretary whose fellow servicemembers feel concerned enough about to report as a potential insider threat,” she wrote.
Republican strategist Greg Price noted the contrast on social media Wednesday. “When Pete Hegseth was going through his confirmation hearing, Elizabeth Warren wrote an entire letter about how his ‘Deus Vult’ tattoo made him ‘a right wing extremist’ unfit for service,” Price wrote. “She just endorsed the guy with the Nazi tattoo.”
