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Sunday, May 10, 2026
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Even Dave Portnoy Won't Touch This Guy: Barstool Founder Torches Democrat's Nazi Tattoo Damage Control

Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner is having the kind of Memorial Day weekend that campaign managers drink heavily over, and it just got worse — Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy publicly torched Platner's team after they had the galaxy-brained idea of reaching out to him for help with their little Nazi tattoo problem.

You read that right. A Democrat with a chest tattoo resembling the Nazi "Totenkopf" — that's "Death's Head" for those of you who skipped History Channel — thought the smart play was to recruit a famously Jewish media mogul to run interference. Somebody on that campaign needs a new career.

Platner's political strategist Jeff Coote reportedly pitched Portnoy, framing the candidate's populist messaging as common ground — describing it as "an example of Graham's populist streak and talking about s— people care about." Coote apparently figured Portnoy's massive audience could be weaponized to help rehabilitate his client's image. Instead, Portnoy took the pitch, lit it on fire, and posted the whole thing on X for millions to see.

"Now this is the Nazi guy right? Yeah I'd be happy to talk to him about that tattoo," Portnoy wrote on May 23rd, dripping with the kind of sarcasm that makes grown campaign operatives weep into their donor spreadsheets.

Then came the kill shot.

"You reached out to a Jew to poo poo a Nazi. I'm not Bernie Sanders," Portnoy fired back, making it crystal clear that whatever Coote was selling, he wasn't buying. The Bernie Sanders line was pure Portnoy — a reminder that some Jewish public figures will bend over backwards to make nice with people who probably shouldn't be in polite company, but he's not one of them.

Platner, for his part, has been in full damage-control mode over the tattoo controversy. His defense? He claims the ink resulted from a drunken decision while he was deployed as a Marine. "I am not a secret Nazi," Platner has insisted, which is one of those statements that really loses its punch when you have to say it out loud during a Senate campaign.

The whole mess escalated further when Platner ran an ad during a Red Sox broadcast on NESN — reportedly pulled during the fourth inning — where he tried the folksy approach. "I approve this message because I miss Mookie Betts," Platner said in the spot, referencing the former Red Sox star now with the Dodgers and a sore subject for Boston fans. Because nothing says "please forget about my Nazi tattoo" like invoking baseball nostalgia.

The ad also featured Platner railing against private equity. "Private equity is taking our homes. It's taking our hospitals. It's taking beloved local businesses," he declared, trying desperately to redirect the conversation to economic populism. Nice try, but when your chest looks like a World War II museum exhibit, people tend to have follow-up questions.

Here's what makes this truly delicious. Dave Portnoy will talk to virtually anyone. The man has interviewed pizza shop owners, college kids, professional athletes, and half the characters on the internet. He platforms people most mainstream outlets wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. And even HE said no to Graham Platner.

When the guy who built an empire on saying the quiet part loud looks at your campaign and says "I'm good, thanks" — per the Daily Wire's reporting on the whole fiasco — that's not a setback. That's a funeral.

Platner's Maine Senate bid was already circling the drain before Portnoy got involved. Now it's got a Barstool-sized boot print on its forehead. Happy Memorial Day, Graham. Maybe next time, don't send your strategist to ask a Jewish media personality to help you explain away a Death's Head tattoo. Just a thought.

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