¶ Overview
Susan Collins was a fake bipartisan who voted with Trump 95% of the time and stood behind Trump—literally—while holding her MAGA hat and Trump swag bag. Trump praised Collins’ work in the Senate and cheered for her reelection. JD Vance came to Maine to “give a shout-out to Susan Collins” and stump for Collins’ reelection.
Message: Collins was a typical MAGA lackey who backed Trump at nearly every opportunity.
¶ Collins Was MAGA, Not A Moderate
¶ Collins So Called Defiance Of Trump Rarely Led To Her Stopping Him
HEADLINE: In The Senate, Collins Often Defies Trump But Rarely Stops Him [New York Times, 10/11/26]
While Collins Touted That She Was An Independent-Minded Republican Who Broke With Trump In The Senate, But Her Votes Rarely Blocked Trump’s Agenda. According to the New York Times, “Throughout Mr. Trump’s two terms, Ms. Collins had frequently criticized the president and voted against his initiatives more often than anyone else in her party. She cherished her reputation as one of the few remaining independent-minded Republicans in the Senate, which helped explain her enduring popularity in her purple home state. Yet she had more rarely blocked the president’s agenda outright.” [New York Times, 10/11/26]
While Collins Broke With The Party More than Other Republican Senators, Her Votes Rarely Thwarted Trump In His Second Term. According to the New York Times, “A New York Times analysis of Ms. Collins’s voting record over the last decade paints a more complicated picture. It shows that she breaks with her party more than any other Republican senator. It also reveals that her defections — which frequently helped Democrats block parts of Mr. Trump’s agenda during his first two years in office — have rarely thwarted the president during his second term.” [New York Times, 10/11/26]
¶ Collins Could’ve Stopped Cuts To Public Broadcasting But Refused To
Collins Claimed To Oppose Trump’s Recessions Bill That Cut Billions From Foreign Aid And Public Broadcasting. According to the New York Times, “On that night last summer, Ms. Collins had the chance to do so. The senator, the chairwoman of the committee that controls federal spending, was deeply opposed to a bill Mr. Trump had demanded to cancel $9 billion in foreign aid and public broadcasting money that Congress had approved.” [New York Times, 10/11/26]
Collins Had A Prepared Amendment To Shield The Corporation For Public Broadcasting From Cuts Which Had Bipartisan Support But The Amendment Could Doom The Entire Recessions Bill. According to the New York Times, “She had prepared an amendment to shield the Corporation for Public Broadcasting from the cuts, a move that had bipartisan support. But if she succeeded, conservatives loyal to the president would all but certainly refuse to back the spending cuts. Given Republicans’ slim majority, their opposition could have doomed the bill, blocking Mr. Trump’s plan altogether.” [New York Times, 10/11/26]
Collins Decided To Not Move Forward With The Amendment And Voted “No” On The Final Bill In a Largely Symbolic Move. According to the New York Times, “After hours of wavering, Ms. Collins decided not to try to make the change. In what amounted to a largely symbolic move, she voted ‘no,’ on the bill, registering her opposition to revoking the spending even though it was clear the measure had enough Republican votes to pass.” [New York Times, 10/11/26]
¶ Collins Voted To Allow The One Big Beautiful Bill Onto The Floor
Collins Voted To Allow The One Big Beautiful Bill Onto The Floor. According to the New York Times, “Ms. Collins voted against the bill, expressing deep reservations about its cuts to Medicaid. But she did not stand in the way of Republicans as they sought to bring it to the floor, siding with her party on a key procedural vote that cleared the way for its eventual passage.” [New York Times, 10/11/26]
¶ Susan Collins Voted With Trump 95% Of The Time
Collins Voted With Trump 95% Of The Time. According to the Center For American Progress, “Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) voted with Trump 94 percent and 95 percent of the time, respectively. Collins’ seven votes and Murkowski’s nine votes that differed from the White House were largely the more controversial nominees—Defense Secretary Hegseth, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Judge Emil Bove for the 3rd Circuit—who were nevertheless confirmed, along with some larger budget bills that passed anyway.” [Center For American Progress, 9/18/25]
¶ Collins Stood Behind Trump With A MAGA Hat And MAGA Swag Bag As Trump Praised Her Senate Performance
2026: Collins Stood Behind Trump In The Oval Office, Holding Her MAGA “America Is Back” Hat, While Trump Praised Her For “Doing Good” In The Senate. According to the Maine Beacon, “Any past divisions between Pres. Donald Trump and Maine’s senior senator weren’t in view on Tuesday as Sen. Susan Collins stood next to Trump at a bill signing, held a red hat emblazoned with the slogan “America is Back” and received his praise. ‘All right, you’re doing good,’ Trump told Collins, as he lauded a series of lawmakers and signed a budget bill that he called ‘a great victory for the American people.’ Trump noted that the bill cuts funding for PBS and NPR, “continues the closure of USAID,” and cuts funding for tax evasion enforcement at the IRS.” [Maine Beacon, 2/4/26]
2025: Collins Wandered The Oval With A Full Bag Of Trump Merchandise. Senator Bill Cassidy tweeted, “Always good catching up with President @realDonaldTrump. Talked Louisiana, the #SchumerShutdown — and yes, he signed my Gulf of America hat. 🇺🇸” [Twitter, @BillCassidy, 10/21/25]
¶ Trump And Vance Campaigned For Collins Won And Praised Her As “A Good Person”Who Was “Doing A Great Job”
Trump Hoped That Collins “Wins” Her Senate Race And Claimed She Was “A Good Person, Actually.” The Bulwark tweeted, “Trump: ‘Murkowski from Alaska…she's a very difficult person, very terrible person to be honest with you. And you have Collins…I hope she wins…She's a good person, actually.’” [Twitter, @BulwarkOnline, 3/26/26]
Vance Gave “A Shout-Out To Susan Collins” At A Maine Campaign Event And Claimed Collins Was “Doing A Great Job.” According to The Washington Post, “Vance conceded that he could ‘get frustrated’ with Collins, who voted to impeach Trump in 2021 and against his sweeping domestic policy bill last year. But Vance framed Collins’s moderate reputation as a positive. ‘If she was as partisan as I sometimes wish that she was, she would not be a good fit for the people of Maine,’ Vance said. ‘So let’s give a shout-out to Susan Collins, who’s doing a great job.’” [Washington Post, 5/14/26]
¶ Trump Officially Endorsed Susan Collins For Re-Election
[VIDEO] Trump Endorsed Susan Collins And Said She Was A “Sane Person” Who “Never Missed A Vote.” “Jon Decker: Are you all-in in supporting Susan Collins? Does she have your full support and endorsement in her Senate re-election? Donald Trump: She does because she’s a sane woman. She’s not my best friend at all, these guys are. I get along, but she’s a sane person. And she’s a person that’s never missed a vote in many years. She’s had 10,000 votes. She’s had 10,000 votes, she never missed a vote, unfortunately because sometimes she voted against me. She’s a sane woman and she’s a respected person. Maybe a little different ideology than me.” [Fox News, 6/10/26]