Tipsheet

Tim Walz Doesn't Seem to Object to Graham Platner's Use of This Word That 'Incites Violence'

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  May 01, 2026 3:15 PM

What a (D)ifference a Senate seat makes. 

Back in December, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was hopping mad about President Trump calling him "seriously retarded" over the massive Somali fraud scandal in his state. Walz said the President's taunts led to people in that notorious MAGA country known as deep blue Minneapolis to drive by his house calling him a "retard." At the time, Walz said those taunts can lead to violence.

Gee, you mean like calling the President "Hitler," a "pedophile," and a "rapist" led to Cole Allen attempting to assassinate President Trump and his Cabinet members?

But now that Graham Platner is the Democratic nominee for the Senate in Maine, Walz is going to let bygones be bygones, it seems. Two weeks ago, Platner used "retarded" in remarks that earned him criticisms from disability rights groups.

Here's more from the Bangor Daily News:

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.’”

And here's a reminder of what Walz said just a few months ago.

"I'd never seen this before. People driving by my house and using the R-word in front of people," Walz said. "This is shameful. And I have yet an elected official, a Republican elected official, say 'You're right, that's shameful. He should not say it.' So, look, I'm worried. We know how these things go: they start with taunts, they turn to violence."

Simply incredible.

Not a single Democrat has called anything Platner's said and done, including his Nazi tattoo, shameful.

It's a shtick that no longer works.

He's a peach.

Possibly.

Because it's (D)ifferent, of course.

They probably would do this, too.

It shows that all their bluster about President Trump being a fascist was just that: bluster. They didn't mean it, they don't believe it. But they want their supporters to, and to act on that belief.