Former President Joe Biden’s former chief of staff, Ron Klain, is facing intense criticism online after defending Maine Senate Democratic nominee Graham Platner amid a controversy over a tattoo that critics say resembles a Nazi-linked symbol.
The backlash began after Klain responded to an Instagram post from the Republican Jewish Coalition, which condemned Platner and called on Democrats to pull their support. Platner has denied that the tattoo was meant to represent a Nazi symbol. Still, several people familiar with him have described it as an SS skull-and-crossbones design known as the Totenkopf. Platner has since covered the tattoo.
“This is just a partisan attack,” Klain wrote. “The tattoo was a skull and crossbones to remember his fallen comrades from his service in Afghanistan.”
The comment quickly spread beyond Instagram and drew sharp criticism from conservatives and Jewish activists, many of whom accused Klain of minimizing the seriousness of the issue.
“The fact that a Biden WH Chief of Staff Democrat is comfortable downplaying a Nazi tattoo from a different Democrat tells you everything you need to know about today’s Democrats,” PragerU contributor Shabbos Kestenbaum posted.
Klain served as Biden’s chief of staff from 2021 to 2023 and later became Airbnb’s chief legal officer. Biden appointed him to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council in January 2025, though President Donald Trump removed him from the post nearly four months later. The council is the presidentially appointed board that oversees the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
The Republican Jewish Coalition also criticized Klain directly on X, noting that he had hosted a fundraiser for Platner the previous week.
“Here’s former Biden WH Chief of Staff, and @Airbnb Chief Legal Officer, Ron Klain whitewashing Graham Platner’s Nazi SS Totenkopf tattoo,” the group wrote. “As a former United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Council @HolocaustMuseum member, Klain absolutely knows better.”
Other critics joined in. Hudson Institute adjunct fellow Josh Block called Klain’s defense “a disgusting lie” and said Airbnb should be concerned about someone in a sensitive role making such a claim.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman also weighed in, writing, “What has become of us when prominent Jews defend Nazi sympathizers? I am disgusted.”
Republican communicator Matt Whitlock rejected Klain’s explanation that the tattoo honored fallen service members.
“It was NOT to honor his fallen comrades, which is wildly manipulative lie,” Whitlock wrote on X.
Columnist Alex Zeldin urged Klain and other Democrats not to tie themselves to Platner.
“You do not have to debase yourself for Platner. Pick your values over partisanship. Focus on other elections. This man is not worth your self-respect,” Zeldin wrote.
Antisemitism Watch founder Trish Posner pointed to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s continued support for Platner, writing that the highest-ranking elected Jewish official in the country had not withdrawn his endorsement.
The tattoo controversy is only one of several issues surrounding Platner’s Senate campaign. Several of his former girlfriends have alleged that he referred to the tattoo as “my Totenkopf” because he believed his military unit shared traits with the Nazi SS paramilitary forces.
Platner addressed the broader criticism during his victory speech on Tuesday after winning the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Maine.
“Redemption is not just some simple or easy destination. It’s a journey,” Platner said. “I’ve made mistakes in my life, mistakes that I regret, that I live with, that I continue to learn from, and I’m still far from perfect.”
He added that he tries to become “a little bit better and a little bit kinder” each day and said that, if elected, he would be “a senator for the people who cannot afford to buy a senator.”
Platner is running to unseat Republican Sen. Susan Collins. His campaign has already been tested by several controversies, including resurfaced Reddit posts containing inflammatory remarks and allegations of physical misconduct involving a former romantic partner. Platner has denied the misconduct allegations.