Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins refused to reveal her 2020 presidential vote during a Sunday morning appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Collins joined anchor Jake Tapper to discuss the state of the Republican Party going into the 2022 midterm elections and she told him that she hadn’t told anyone who she ultimately voted for in 2020 — and that, even months after the election, he wouldn’t be the exception. (RELATED: These Seven Republicans Voted To Convict Trump In Senate Impeachment Trial)
WATCH:
Tapper began by asking Collins about former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment and her comment that she hoped he “learned his lesson.”
“But after Biden won, the president tried to overturn the legitimate election results that culminated in the Capitol attack. Did you think he learned a lesson, but the lesson he learned is that he could get away with anything?” Tapper asked.
“First of all, that was an interview that was grossly misedited,” Collins protested, saying that quite a bit of what she had said had been “chopped out.”
“But to get to your point, I’ve been involved in three impeachment trials,” Collins continued, noting that she had voted to acquit former President Bill Clinton and Trump in his first impeachment, but had voted to convict in Trump’s second impeachment trial.
“It wasn’t really a question about your behavior, it was a question about Trump and whether or not he learned the wrong lesson,” Tapper pushed back. “But let me ask you, as long as we’re on the subject of your feelings about Trump. You didn’t say who you voted for in 2020. You were running for re-election. I could understand that. Maine is a state with a lot of independents and independent-minded people. But now that the election is over, who did you vote for in 2020?”
“Nice try, Jake. I get asked that a great deal and I’m going to keep my vote private,” Collins replied with a laugh, saying that she would continue to work with the president, regardless of party, to do what she thought was best for the state of Maine and for the country.