CNN’s Michael Smerconish isn’t buying presumptive Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner’s explanations for once having a Nazi-linked tattoo.

On Saturday, Smerconish opened his show by calling out what he called a “blindspot” for the Democratic Party, which he explained is excusing certain behavior and troublesome candidates simply because they passionately oppose President Donald Trump.

Smerconish pointed to Platner as a prime example of this “blindspot,” citing both a Nazi-linked tattoo that has since been covered and recently-discovered Reddit posts where the candidate mocked a veteran over a video of him overseas in a firefight.

Platner had a skull and crossbones tattoo that heavily resembled the Totenkopf, which is historically linked to the Nazis. Platner said he got the tattoo in 2007 while intoxicated and with fellow soldiers. He said he had no idea what the tattoo was and picked it from a group of images.

Smerconish argued Platner removed the tattoo for political purposes, but living with it for 18 years makes it more than a “drunken mistake.”

He said:

As for the tattoo, he didn’t cover it until October of 2025, 18 years after getting it, and only when it became a political problem. Think about that for a moment, 18 years of getting out of the shower, 18 years looking into the mirror and seeing the Totenkopf. That’s not a drunken mistake in Croatia, that’s a daily choice sustained for nearly two decades.

Smerconish called out prominent Democrats supporting Platner, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), whom Smerconish noted took issue with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s choice in tattoos.

The difference with Platner, Smerconish argued, is he has real potential to flip a Senate seat in Maine currently held by a Republican, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).

He said:

Representative of the Democratic mainstream is Elizabeth Warren who endorsed Platner effusively calling him the real deal. Warren was not deterred by the Reddit posts or how he referred to himself as a communist or the 18 year old tattoo. It’s the same Elizabeth Warren who eviscerated Michael Bloomberg, you’ll remember, on a debate stage over NDAs signed by women who settled claims against him. And the same Elizabeth Warren who flagged Pete Hegseth’s Christian tattoos as a potential disqualifier. Nazi-linked tattoo on a Democrat? For that, there’s a workaround because Plattner might beat Susan Collins in Maine.

Watch above via CNN.

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