Maine Senate candidate says he has covered up controversial tattoo
Graham Platner, a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate from Maine, said he has covered up a tattoo he got nearly 20 years ago that resembles a Nazi symbol.
A Ministry of Labor social media post has drawn criticism for appearing to recreate Nazi-era slogans from the early 20th century.
On January 10, the ministry posted to X: “One homeland, one people, one heritage. Americans, remember who you are.”
Dozens of users commented and reposted, expressing alarm and anger at what the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum called an alarming echo of what it describes as one of the central slogans used by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Its slogan is “One People, One Realm, One Leader.”
The department’s post was accompanied by an 11-second video showing a bust of George Washington over a black-and-white montage of iconic paintings from American history. These include several posters depicting the American Revolution, as well as popular propaganda posters from World War I and World War II.
The agency did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment on the post.
This is not the first time the administration has come under fire for using images and language that reflect those used by white supremacist groups, including those with ties to Nazi Germany.
The White House and the Department of Homeland Security both posted images of a man flying a stealth bomber through snowy mountain terrain. Above the image it says, “We will take back our homes again,” encouraging people to join Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Adam Tooze, a British historian and author who has written about the Third Reich and Nazi Germany, said on social media that the phrase comes from a “hymn to white supremacy.”
In August 2025, the Southern Poverty Law Center investigated the Department of Homeland Security’s social media posts and web content and said the department used “white supremacist and anti-immigrant images and slogans in recruiting materials.”
Rockwell heirs slam Department of Homeland Security
Administration officials have also begun using images that idealize American history, including its agricultural and economic heydays.
Descendants of Norman Rockwell accused the Department of Homeland Security in November 2025 of sharing the iconic American painter’s work without permission. The agency shared three of Rockwell’s works and added the words “Defend the American Way,” “Manifest Heroism,” and President Calvin Coolidge’s quote, “No one who does not want to participate in the American spirit should settle in America.”
In an op-ed published in USA TODAY, the family said the government had misrepresented Rockwell and accused government agencies of using Rockwell’s work “for purposes of persecution against immigrant communities and people of color.”
That same month, the Department of Labor announced a social media campaign featuring Rockwellian images depicting mostly white men working in various jobs. The image is reminiscent of government posters from the 1940s and 1950s. Only one of the posts features a non-white man.
The campaign primarily promoted the government’s efforts to expand apprenticeships and limit foreign workers, with slogans such as “Build the future of our country!” and “Reclaim the American Dream!”
Kathryn Palmer is USA TODAY’s political reporter. She can be reached at the following address: kapalmer@usatoday.com And to X@Kathryn Purml. Sign up for her daily politics newsletter here.
