I was 99% unconvinced by him until some family persuaded me to listen to the interview (I don’t usually listen to Pod Save America). Now—if I lived in Maine, which I don’t—I would definitely vote for him. He is the second politician I have ever heard to sound really, genuinely authentic, right after Mamdani. I can only recommend listening to the interview, even if one isn’t a fan of the podcast in general.

My understanding of the situation vis-a-vis the skull is that he was drunk in Croacia with some other Marines on leave and got the scariest skull tattoo he could find, not being aware of the symbolizism. He also said in the interview that until now he was not aware of that meaning and no one had ever pointed it out (it’s not obviously an SS tattoo to the layman).

Honestly, I believe him. His reddit history, years and years before he was publicly engaged, serms pretty progressive (calling himself a communist, etc — not the earlier mimimizing sexual abuse towards women in the military). And, like I said, he seems exceedingly authentic and sympathetic to me. This whole thing feels a lot like your typical Republican smear campaign to me, as well.

But I hold no stake in this whatsoever, so my opinion isn’t particularly important. I just wanted to express my surprise at him seeming really genuine to me.