Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) is and always has been a problem for Trump because she comes from a very moderate state.
Maine is not a MAGA stronghold, so Collins has to be very careful about what policies she supports and passes on. This has created a massive rift with Trump, and now it is impacting the polls in what will be a very difficult re-election campaign.
Trump regularly rails against Collins, especially when there is legislation that he knows she cannot support.
Even if they don’t support Trump, all the negative coverage is bound to take a toll on the perception of the job she is doing.
To that point, her latest approval rating is down to 38%, not what you want to see in an election cycle.
Compare that to 2024, when she had a 50% approval rating (before Trump took office).
I have never been a fan of Trump going after GOP politicians when they don’t support his legislation, but I also understand their loyalty is to their constituents first, not the president.
That is not a very popular stance, and I get it in this charged environment, but that is not how Trump works.
When Collins recently opposed two big initiatives that Trump was backing, Trump posted, “Republicans, when in doubt, vote the exact opposite of Senator Susan Collins.
“Generally speaking, you can’t go wrong. Thank you for your attention to this matter and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Collins does not exactly have a strong presence, but I have never heard her being heckled during an event, but that just happened, and she was clearly rattled by it.
During a recent event, Collins was interrupted while making a point, then the heckler yelled out, "I’m so disgusted with the cuts the Republican Party has made to this big ugly bill.... Get outta here!" After Collins tried to get control of the room, asking the person to listen to her suggestions, the heckler then yelled out, “Vote for Graham Platner,” who is her Democrat opponent.
Platner sounds like a younger version of Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), so I am not sure how that will play with voters either.
During her last election, Collins won by a very comfortable 8-point margin, so she has room to play with, but is it enough?
