Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jun 10
Purple Heart Recipient Teddy Daniels Rebukes Graham Platner Over 2012 Combat Mockery
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jun 10

Purple Heart Recipient Teddy Daniels Rebukes Graham Platner Over 2012 Combat Mockery

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 10

Summary

  • Teddy Daniels, a Purple Heart recipient shot four times in Afghanistan, said PTSD does not excuse comments linked to Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner that mocked his survival.
  • The resurfaced Reddit post from the account "P-Hustle," archived by the Maine Monitor, said Daniels "didn't deserve to live" after a 2012 helmet-cam video of his firefight with Taliban fighters.
  • Daniels said Platner has neither contacted him nor apologized, adding that Gold Star families deserve an apology more than he does because the comments appeared to cheer combat deaths.
  • Platner said in an October 2025 X video that he abhors the old posts and tied them to PTSD, depression and disillusionment after serving three tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan.
  • The controversy hits as Platner heads into a November race against Republican Sen. Susan Collins after winning Maine's Democratic Senate primary.

Insights

What defines the line between personal struggle and public accountability for a candidate's harmful actions?
Can a political candidate’s controversial online past ever be truly left behind in the digital age?