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PoliticsQuiet 3d · day 9

Susan Collins defends quiet, behind-the-scenes pushback against Trump ahead of Maine debates

The Maine Republican says private lobbying — not public confrontation — has won her results Trump critics can't match, as she faces Troy Jackson in a tossup race.

newest coverage 2d agosummary written 7d ago42 pieces2.1k likes & upvotes34 comments NewswiresMastodonRedditXGoogle NewsBluesky

Part of a larger narrative

Maine Senate 2024

4 stories · since Oct 2 · newest 6h ago — The race between incumbent Susan Collins and Democrat Troy Jackson to represent Maine in the U.S. Senate is tightening, with major endorsements and polling…

  1. Collins Super PAC's Attack Ads Target Wrong Portland by 3,000 Miles
  2. Ossoff and Collins clash bitterly in first Georgia Senate debate
  3. Susan Collins defends quiet, behind-the-scenes pushback against Trump ahead of Maine debatesyou are here
  4. New poll shows Collins-Jackson Maine Senate race deadlocked

What to know

  • Collins, in a tight reelection race against Democrat Troy Jackson, says private lobbying of Trump officials — not public confrontation — has reversed decisions hurting Maine on immigration enforcement, research funding and tariffs.
  • She argues Maine would lose its direct line to the Trump Cabinet if she loses, framing her backchannel approach as more effective than Jackson's presumed public criticism.
  • Trump has largely avoided attacking Collins while his policies (tariffs on Canada, NIH grant control, rescinded spending) continue to create problems for Maine that she must navigate.
  • Democrats are running ads tying Collins to a ProPublica report on her links to a defense contractor, and the Collins-Jackson debate series beginning Tuesday will test whether her quiet strategy satisfies anti-Trump voters.

“He’s making the lives of Maine families difficult, and Maine’s businesses and Maine’s communities difficult. And obviously, he’s not thinking about the implications for them or for me.”

Susan Collins, U.S. Senator, R-Maine · Semafor ↗ · Oct 5

Susan CollinsSusan Collins Incumbent Republican senator from MaineTroy JacksonTroy Jackson Democratic Senate nominee, former Maine statehouse leaderDonald TrumpDonald Trump U.S. PresidentKevin CramerKevin Cramer Republican senator, R-N.D.

Susan Collins defends quiet, behind-the-scenes pushback against Trump ahead of Maine debates
Semafor

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

Peak 5 pieces in two hours at Oct 6, 11 AM; 42 pieces over 9 days (15 articles · 26 posts · 1 comment) Oct 5, 5 AM — 2 pieces · 1 article · 1 post — Mastodon 1, Newswires 1Oct 5, 7 AM — quietOct 5, 9 AM — quietOct 5, 11 AM — quietOct 5, 1 PM — quietOct 5, 3 PM — quietOct 5, 5 PM — quietOct 5, 7 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Oct 5, 9 PM — quietOct 5, 11 PM — quietOct 6, 1 AM — quietOct 6, 3 AM — quietOct 6, 5 AM — 2 pieces · 1 article · 1 post — Mastodon 1, Newswires 1Oct 6, 7 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Oct 6, 9 AM — quietOct 6, 11 AM — 5 pieces · 3 articles · 2 posts — Newswires 3, Mastodon 2Oct 6, 1 PM — 4 pieces · 4 posts — Mastodon 4Oct 6, 3 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Oct 6, 5 PM — quietOct 6, 7 PM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Mastodon 1, Reddit 1Oct 6, 9 PM — quietOct 6, 11 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Oct 7, 1 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Oct 7, 3 AM — quietOct 7, 5 AM — quietOct 7, 7 AM — quietOct 7, 9 AM — quietOct 7, 11 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Oct 7, 1 PM — quietOct 7, 3 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Oct 7, 5 PM — quietOct 7, 7 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Oct 7, 9 PM — quietOct 7, 11 PM — quietOct 8, 1 AM — quietOct 8, 3 AM — quietOct 8, 5 AM — quietOct 8, 7 AM — quietOct 8, 9 AM — quietOct 8, 11 AM — quietOct 8, 1 PM — quietOct 8, 3 PM — quietOct 8, 5 PM — quietOct 8, 7 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — X 1Oct 8, 9 PM — quietOct 8, 11 PM — quietOct 9, 1 AM — quietOct 9, 3 AM — quietOct 9, 5 AM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Oct 9, 7 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Reddit 1Oct 9, 9 AM — 1 piece · 1 comment — Reddit 1Oct 9, 11 AM — quietOct 9, 1 PM — quietOct 9, 3 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Google News 1Oct 9, 5 PM — quietOct 9, 7 PM — quietOct 9, 9 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Oct 9, 11 PM — quietOct 10, 1 AM — quietOct 10, 3 AM — quietOct 10, 5 AM — 2 pieces · 1 article · 1 post — Newswires 1, Mastodon 1Oct 10, 7 AM — quietOct 10, 9 AM — quietOct 10, 11 AM — quietOct 10, 1 PM — quietOct 10, 3 PM — quietOct 10, 5 PM — quietOct 10, 7 PM — quietOct 10, 9 PM — quietOct 10, 11 PM — quietOct 11, 1 AM — quietOct 11, 3 AM — 3 pieces · 2 articles · 1 post — Mastodon 2, Newswires 1Oct 11, 5 AM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Mastodon 2Oct 11, 7 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — X 1Oct 11, 9 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Bluesky 1Oct 11, 11 AM — 2 pieces · 2 articles — Newswires 2Oct 11, 1 PM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Mastodon 2Oct 11, 3 PM — quietOct 11, 5 PM — quietOct 11, 7 PM — quietOct 11, 9 PM — quietOct 11, 11 PM — quietOct 12, 1 AM — quietOct 12, 3 AM — quietOct 12, 5 AM — quietOct 12, 7 AM — quietOct 12, 9 AM — quietOct 12, 11 AM — quietOct 12, 1 PM — quietOct 12, 3 PM — quietOct 12, 5 PM — quietOct 12, 7 PM — quietOct 12, 9 PM — quietOct 12, 11 PM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 3 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 7 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 3 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 7 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quietToday, 1 AM — quietToday, 3 AM — quiet 1
Oct 6Oct 7Oct 8Oct 9Oct 10Oct 11Oct 12now · 5:36 AM ET
  1. upcoming

    Democrats air ad tying Collins to ProPublica defense-contractor report — National Democrats are spending millions on an ad attacking Collins over a ProPublica story about her links to a corrupt defense contractor.

  2. background

    Collins and Jackson open series of Senate debates — Collins' strategy becomes a national political story as she and Troy Jackson kick off a series of Senate debates on Tuesday night.

  3. 1

    Collins tells Semafor her strategy is unwinding Trump decisions quietly

    In an interview ahead of the campaign's final stretch, Collins said her political challenge is making Mainers aware of what she has accomplished through private talks rather than public criticism, warning Maine would lose its direct line to the Cabinet if Jackson wins.

    “When you take that kind of adversarial approach, you’re unlikely to get the results, and I got results.”
    — Susan Collins

    • Susan Collins "does what Trump needs her to do to enact his agenda, and sometimes casts a protest vote—but only if she can prearrange it to be meaningless. She is a snake disguised as a muppet."

      @BulwarkOnlineX2d ago1.9k▲view on X ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 15 posts in this stretch
    • dandrezner.bsky.social

      If I’m Troy Jackson’s campaign I’m blasting this excellent @nytimes.com analysis of Susan Collins’ voting record everywhere.

      dandrezner.bsky.socialBluesky2d ago91▲view on Bluesky ↗

    • It’s not clear whether Collins’ backchanneling will be enough to satisfy anti-Trump voters in Maine — or at least enough of them to put her over the top yet again. But her strategy will become a national political story on Tuesday night, when Jackson and Collins kick off a series of Senate debates. Read more from Burgess Everett:

      semafor@threads.netMastodon7d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    all of them →
  4. background

    Collins negotiates Canada tariff exemptions for Maine goods — When Trump hit Canada with new tariffs, Collins negotiated on the side with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to exempt concrete and road salt, a commodity critical to Maine winters.

  5. background

    Collins calls Lutnick to restore Maine sea grants — After the Commerce Department cut off sea grants for Maine's flagship university, Collins called Secretary Howard Lutnick directly to get the funding restored.

  6. background

    Collins privately lobbies Noem over Maine ICE enforcement deaths — After immigration enforcement deaths sparked bipartisan calls for Kristi Noem's resignation, Collins privately lobbied her to stop the enforcement surge in Maine rather than call publicly for her ouster.

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 2 outlets Susan Collins Is the Living Worst

    first by The Bulwark, 6d ago · also The Washington Post

    1 more headline
  2. 2 outlets Susan Collins is too close to Trump | Letter

    first by The Portland Press Herald, 7d ago · also Independent UK

    1 more headline
  3. 2 outlets In the Senate, Collins Often Defies Trump but Rarely Stops Him

    first by New York Times, 2d ago · also NYT Politics

and 4 smaller pieces

What people are saying 11 voices from 3 sites · best of 15 · verbatim