A far-left Maine Democratic Senate hopeful who once had a Nazi-linked tattoo has called upon his “fellow comrades” to resist President Trump in the wake of his actions in Venezuela and “retake’’ the US.
“Friends and comrades, we have a fight ahead of us. This is gangsterism on an international scale,” Graham Platner raged at a gathering with supporters Saturday in Portland.
Platner’s rallying cry came hours after the Trump administration launched a major operation in the South American country and took its dictator, alleged narco terrorist Nicolas Maduro, and his wife into custody.
“The only way for us to retake our country is through building power,” Platner said.
Some of the Maine candidate’s backers showed up to the event with signs such as “ICE Out of Maine Now,” which were seemingly mismatched for his speech to address Maduro’s ouster.
Platner, an oyster farmer and military veteran, is a far-left candidate seeking the Dem nod to challenge incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). Senate Democrats widely see that seat as one of their top pick-up opportunities in the 2026 midterms.
The Democratic hopeful, who drew national headlines last year for having a Nazi-tied tattoo he claimed to have gotten while inebriated without realizing its meaning, accused Trump of trying to distract from the controversy over late sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.
“Quite frankly, we’re doing this because Donald Trump is afraid of what’s in the Epstein files, and they want us focused on something else. That’s what’s going on,” Platner claimed in a separate video message posted on X.
Graham Platner’s Emergency Portland Protest
“Fellow Comrades” (lackluster crowd & speech)Democrat Socialists held an emergency meeting in Portland, Maine & across the nation – many using the exact same cookie-cutter flier.
Graham fails to rally the crowd as many are still… pic.twitter.com/ogkGtKFseg
— TheUnquirer (@unquirer) January 3, 2026
The 41-year-old wannabe senator blasted Congress for failing to advance a War Powers Act resolution last year that could have restricted Trump from carrying out the daring military operation in Venezuela.
“Over the next couple of weeks, wherever this goes, just understand that this is a failure of the American political system. This is an absolute failure of our government. We are allowing an out-of-control rogue presidency to invade foreign nations and kidnap their leaders,” Platner sniped.
“This is going to reduce us on the international stage.”
The government of the United States has illegally invaded a foreign country and kidnapped its leader.
We need to all turn out in opposition to this egregious failure of our government, and stop it. pic.twitter.com/eOFeYdrx2f
— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) January 3, 2026
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has argued that the military operation was justified because the US and dozens of other countries did not recognize Maduro as the leader of Venezuela.
The Biden administration put a $25 million bounty on Maduro, which Trump’s team later doubled, and did not recognize him as the rightful leader of Venezuela after raising concerns about him stealing the 2024 election in the South American nation.
US special forces captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a stunning military operation in Caracas during the wee hours and have transported them both back to New York City to face trial for drug-trafficking crimes.
Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, has since taken the reins of Venezuela in an acting capacity, though Rubio has said the Trump administration is not recognizing her as its legitimate new ruler.
The Trump administration has made clear that it wants to see a transition and an election to determine the next leader.
