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Who will replace Susan Collins? Internet demands #FireSusan after she let ‘Trump off the hook’

The Republican said, 'The president was impeached and that’s a pretty big lesson. I believe that he’ll be much more cautious. I’m very concerned.'

The senior United States Senator for Maine and Republican Susan Collins is being severely criticized for “betraying” people who believed she would condemn President Donald Trump’s administration. Her statement supporting Trump in one of the videos that has gone viral on Twitter has people urging for her to be fired ahead of the November 3 elections, as she seems to have changed her political stance. 

Following the first presidential debate held on September 29, Collins was critical of Trump’s comment regarding the White supremacists. When moderator Chris Wallace asked the president in a segment addressing race if he would condemn Proud Boys, a self-described “western chauvinist”  group who were involved in organizing the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Virginia, which saw the killing of one counter-protestor, Trump first responded “sure”. However, he went on to say the group should “stand back and stand by” when his opponent and former vice president Joe Biden mentioned the name of the group. 

Reacting to Trump’s response to the question surrounding Proud Boys, Collins reportedly said that White supremacy “have no place in our country”, according to Bangor Daily News. She further expressed that “The President should always condemn any kind of hate, and he should have done so last night” and opined that the first presidential debate between Trump and Biden was “the least educational debate of any presidential debate I’ve ever seen”.  

However, on October 2, a video featuring Collins interview with CBS Evening News has gone viral giving rise to the trend #FireSusan, as she’s seen taking Trump’s side with regard to the treatment of the peaceful protestors in Oregon, who were cleared by mounted police during a non-violent demonstration. The Republican is heard saying, “I believe that the president has learned from this case. The president was impeached and that’s a pretty big lesson. I believe that he’ll be much more cautious. I’m very concerned.”

A significant number of people have stated on Twitter that should the video get more attention and over 2000 tweets, then it would be aired nationwide. Meanwhile, Collins has represented Maine since 1997 and will be seen running along with Democrat Sara Gideon, Independent candidates Max Linn, Lisa Savage, Tiffany Bond and Douglas Fogg in the general election for U.S Senate Maine on November 3. 

Reacting to the video one Twitter user wrote, "Susan Collins let trump off the hook. She thought he "learned his lesson." She was WRONG. Senator Concernicus needs to be FIRED. #FireSusan", while another added, "I'm quite concerned and disturbed that Susan is under such stress. As such, in order for her to de-stress, we must #FireSusan so that she need not carry such a heavy burden." One said, "We are not messing around. If we get 2,000 retweets on the tweet below this will be aired nationwide tonight. #FireSusan"

Meanwhile, a few of them have extended their support to the independent candidate Lisa Savage in the upcoming elections. One Tweeted, "Absolutely #FireSusan, and while we’re at it, #FireSusanCollins. She ceased to be relevant long ago. She can only be counted on to nearly always do the wrong thing at voting time after wringing her hands to seem “concerned”. What Maine really needs is Lisa Savage@LisaForMaine" Another added, "my endorsement to Lisa Savage (@LisaForMaine), Maine’s only progressive candidate running for the United States Senate. This is your chance to vote for someone who will actually represent the people of Maine, not someone who's the lesser of the two evils."