Politics
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Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner’s use of the word “retarded” in a recent interview sparked condemnation from disability-rights advocates, giving critics more fodder to challenge his message that voters shouldn’t judge him over old social media posts.
Platner’s significant polling and fundraising lead over Gov. Janet Mills in the primary for the right to take on U.S. Sen. Susan Collins since the October disclosure of Reddit posts and a tattoo of a skull-and-crossbones symbol linked to Nazis. He has maintained a commanding position even after a recent Mills ad blitz focusing on past comments about sexual violence.
The candidate used the “R-word,” considered a slur by many advocates, several times on Reddit in 2021. He also used it during an interview with the The Maine Monitor for a story that ran this past weekend, saying when he was told last year that his tattoo had Nazi ties, his reaction was, “‘Well, that’s the f———- most retarded s—- I’ve ever heard in my life.’”
Platner’s fresh comments sparked backlash on social media. They also resonated in Maine’s disability-rights community at a time when Mills continues to make the case that Platner could face an insurmountable onslaught of negative campaigning from Collins and Republicans in one of the most-watched Senate races in the country.
“For decades, people with disabilities and their allies have fought to eliminate the use of the R-word — an ableist term rooted in discrimination and exclusion,” Kim Moody, CEO of Disability Rights Maine, said in a statement. “This language is not harmless; it reinforces stigma, diminishes dignity, and undermines the value and contributions of disabled individuals in our communities.”
Mills’ campaign did not respond to a request for comment on Platner’s remark, while Collins’ team suggested such language was unprofessional without criticizing the Democratic frontrunner directly.
“Public service comes with a responsibility to treat people with respect and to represent Maine with professionalism,” Collins campaign spokesperson Shawn Roderick said.
Platner in more than 55 town halls and events since last summer has focused on advancing progressive policies and overhauling Washington’s power structure. Along the way, he’s touted the fact that he’s not a polished politician. He has apologized for using inflammatory language after returning home from war that he now finds offensive and wrong.
Platner’s campaign points to his experience as a disabled veteran informing his policy positions, including support for Medicare for All, targeting Big Pharma and the insurance industry over prescription drug prices, expanded access to mental health care, improved safety and staffing for nurses and doctors and funding to care for veterans, homeless Mainers and survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.
Mills has not been able to catch up in polling or fundraising despite trying to remind voters in a series of ads of the controversies that rocked Platner’s campaign in the fall. The latest few polls show Platner leading Mills by at least 27 percentage points. David Costello, a former Maine and Maryland government official who ran against U.S. Sen. Angus King in 2024, is also running.
Use of the word has increased in recent years among conservatives and free-speech advocates, The New York Times reported in January. President Donald Trump has faced criticism for labeling many people with it, including former President Joe Biden and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
In February, a Trump spokesperson called U.S. Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, and Ro Khanna, D-California, “some of the dumbest retards ever to be in Congress” after the unmasking of a few men who had no ties to the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Khanna is one of the prominent Democrats who have endorsed Platner. Khanna and progressive supporters U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, and Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, did not respond to requests for comment on Platner’s use of the word.
