Susan Collins pretends she might finally stop supporting Trump in 2020

Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) helped Trump secure a major win by voting for his tainted Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. But now Collins is trying to recover her reputation as a “moderate” by waffling on whether she’ll support Trump’s re-election.  

When Collins was asked Tuesday by PBS host Judy Woodruff about whether she will endorse Trump in the 2020 election, Collins replied that she’ll “have to see what happens.”

“I don’t know. I’m going to have to see what happens between now and then and look at what his record is,” Collins said.

Collins clearly sees a political advantage in trying to distance herself from Trump. She is facing re-election in 2020 in Maine, where only 45 percent of voters approve of Trump’s presidency and 51 percent disapprove. And she has long claimed to be an independent who is willing to buck her party on issues like supporting reproductive rights for women.

Yet Collins will have a hard time explaining to Maine voters why she was willing to do Trump’s dirty work in the Senate — and sell out women — by providing a key swing vote to install Kavanaugh, an accused sexual predator who is also suspected of lying under oath, onto the Supreme Court.

Kavanaugh made a disastrous appearance before Congress to respond to allegations from Christine Blasey Ford that he had attempted to rape her in high school.

In a shrill, belligerent meltdown, Kavanaugh fumed about how unfair it was that he might be denied a seat on the highest court in the land. He also made several statements about his high school years that seemed like obvious lies — and that may soon get him investigated by Congress for possible perjury.   

After this display of petulance, Collins’ home newspapers made it clear that Kavanaugh was unfit for the high court.

“A no vote on his nomination is appropriate and necessary,” The Bangor Daily News editorial board wrote.

“Based on what he demonstrated in his own testimony, Kavanaugh lacks the character and judgment to serve on the Supreme Court,” the Portland Press Herald editorial board said.

The majority of Americans agreed: Kavanaugh was the least popular Supreme Court nominee in the history of Gallup polling.

But Collins ignored the people she is supposed to represent,  and instead voted to confirm the accused abuser to a lifetime seat on the court.

In addition to the assault allegations, Kavanaugh has a terrible record on women’s issues and would likely provide the fifth vote to gut Roe v. Wade and abortion rights in America. Collins claims to support reproductive rights, but naively chose to believe that Kavanaugh wouldn’t dare to harm them.

After Republicans lost from coast to coast in 2018, Collins is the only Republican in New England’s congressional caucus. She is likely to struggle to win re-election if she backs the unpopular Trump.

But when it really counted, Collins picked Trump over Maine voters and women across the country. It won’t be easy for voters to forget that, no matter what Collins says about Trump now.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.