A Purple Heart vet is getting back at the Maine Senate candidate who mocked him

FIRST ON FOX: A Purple Heart veteran who was ridiculed online by Maine Democratic Senate member Graham Platner issued a scathing response to Platner’s video refusing to apologize or admit remorse for the comments.

“I saw the video and honestly, I don’t want to apologize. I don’t need to apologize. I look at the source of where the comments came from, and I’m the type of person – to be concerned about what you say – first I have to respect it,” said US military veteran Teddy Daniels in response to video taken by Fox News Digital over the weekend when Platner refused to apologize.

“No respect for a man who calls himself a communist,” Daniels said. “You know, the weird thing is, some guys run to guns and some guys run to keyboards, and I think that’s a big difference.”

In a now-deleted Reddit post from June 2019, made under the username “P-Hustle” — an account that Platner admitted he owns — he responded to a video showing Daniels being shot four times during a 2012 Taliban clash, saying Daniels “didn’t deserve to live.”

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“This video never gets old,” Platner wrote before calling Daniels a “dumb mother” and saying the Taliban’s “poor goodness” was the only reason Daniels survived.

Deleted posts can still be found at Maine MonitorPlatner’s website has deleted Platner’s Reddit history, as well as other posts where he described himself as a “Communist” and a “Socialist,” made homophobic allegations, and praised Hamas’ military tactics.

Platner also pointed to “American sniper” Chris Kyle in an undisclosed interview, where he suggested that Kyle kill civilians to cover his numbers.

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Daniels, a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, suggested that Platner’s comments about Kyle were motivated by jealousy.

“This was an interview he was doing where he talked about it and this was planned,” he said. “There was no machine there for him except that Chris Kyle was a man 100 times bigger than Grant Platner and shoes he couldn’t fill.”

Daniels added that if anyone “deserves an apology,” it’s his children and Kyle’s widow.

“I believe you owe them an apology to their face,” said Daniels.

Platner has previously relied on his struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a reason to create fiery posts, an explanation Daniels doesn’t buy.

“I think Graham Platner is using his PTSD as a way to avoid accountability for his actions,” Daniels said. “I have PTSD, obviously, from my journey. I have had 20 or more surgeries to adjust after my trip and have endured pain and recovery after each surgery. So I understood that there may be times, small, small times in time when your PTSD may cause you to say something or do something unethical. “

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Former Pennsylvania lieutenant governor Teddy Daniels speaks at a rally in support of police officers in Pike County. The video of Daniels being burned by the Taliban was mocked by Maine’s Graham Platner. (Preston Ehrler/Getty Images)

Daniels continued, “But this seems to be the behavior that goes on with Graham Platner, and he’s trying to blame. [PTSD]which I think is an insult to all service members who actually suffer from PTSD. Anyone for that matter suffers from PTSD. You are trying to use PTSD as a defense mechanism, as an excuse to avoid accountability. And that’s not right, the first step to being a man is taking responsibility and being accountable for your actions and your words and we’re not saying that here.”

Platner’s supporters have defended some of the controversial posts as “locker room talk” or just an example of soldiers having a “dark” sense of humor to get through tough times.

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Daniels told Fox News Digital that he’s been in countless locker rooms and barracks, and that doesn’t excuse Platner’s comments.

“Graham Platner and his respectable background wouldn’t know the first thing about locker room talk,” Daniels said. “Listen, I understand guys can be rude, rude, internal competitors, whatever, but the things that this guy puts out in the community are unspeakable in the locker room. It’s ugly and disgusting.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Platner campaign for comment.