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FIRST ON FOX: Robert O’Neill, the U.S. Navy SEAL who is credited with killing Osama bin Laden, is weighing in on the unearthed social media posts from Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner that have caused an uproar in recent days.
“Mr. Platner was way out of line talking about a soldier that way,” O’Neill told Fox News Digital days after a resurfaced Reddit post showed Platner trashing a soldier seen in a viral video that was wounded in a clash with Taliban fighters saying, “Dumb motherf—– didn’t deserve to live.”
“This is completely barbaric,” O’Neill said. “I don’t understand. If you swear an oath to the country, it doesn’t even matter what the politics are. Every single time you fight it’s for the man next to you, it’s for the person next to you. Politics goes out the window. And to wish ill on someone like that under fire is just, you know, like I said, it is the opposite of everything I’ve ever been raised to believe.”
Platner has leaned into his struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to explain the bevy of incendiary social media posts that have surfaced since he announced his Senate run. O’Neill described Platner’s post as “vile hatred” and said that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) isn’t an excuse.
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“PTSD shouldn’t do that to you, especially if you do it again and again, which he’s done on this and then on Reddit and things like that,” O’Neill said. “Just the vile hatred. I don’t even know why, instead, you know, he should be seeking to get some of the Ibogaine therapy that I’ve done for PTSD, if it’s that bad that you’re out there wishing American soldiers to die under fire.”
Platner, a combat veteran, has also faced recent criticism over a resurfaced video disparaging “American Sniper” Chris Kyle and suggesting he killed civilians to inflate his numbers.
“That would just stem from jealousy, maybe because Chris Kyle’s name became famous for a whole bunch of confirmed kills,” O’Neill said. “The jealousy is there. I’ve seen the jealousy too, but professional jealousy, stuff like this is really, really rare between veterans.”
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In recent days, Fox News Digital has reported on Democrats in Congress ducking questions on the Platner controversy as more and more inflammatory posts continue to trickle out into the public, something O’Neill took issue with.
“He’s obviously been picked by someone and he’s being groomed by the same group of people because you’ve seen even with the other Democrats right now, as this stuff comes out, they refuse to condemn it because they do not care about the American people,” O’Neill said.
“They care about votes for their party. I cannot say that enough. That’s all this is about. Can he get a seat in Congress somewhere for the Democrats? That’s why you won’t hear stuff from Chuck Schumer. You won’t hear stuff from Elizabeth Warren. You’re not hearing anything from Hakeem Jeffries. They’ll pretend they didn’t see it.”
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Some of the controversial posts from Platner have been brushed off by his allies as “locker room talk” and O’Neill acknowledged some of that is legitimate but said ultimately, he believes Platner has shown overall through the resurfaced posts that he’s not qualified for the U.S. Senate.
“Everything from the Nazi tattoo on his chest and wishing a soldier would die under fire, no, I don’t think he’s fit for the Senate,” O’Neill said.
O’Neill did defend Platner as someone who is possibly personally struggling and said “some of the stuff he might have been saying to get attention” and “some of the stuff he might’ve said because he was drinking some alcohol.”
“I’ve been there,” O’Neill said. “I’ve had drinks and said some dumb stuff, too. That’s part of the reason I quit. So some of that’s there, and he is moving forward, and so, for the benefit of the doubt, I would personally like to see how he handles himself from here on out… I am a believer in forgiveness.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Platner campaign for comment.
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