'A Trump stooge': Lincoln Project takes aim at Republican Susan Collins for not speaking out against president

'Maine is done with her weakness and excuses,' narrator says

A new Lincoln Project attack advert has targeted Republican Senator Susan Collins, accusing her of not speaking out against the president.

The advert, released by the Republican anti-Trump political action committee (PAC) on Wednesday brands Sen Collins a "Trump stooge".

The footage begins by listing prominent past Maine politicians, including former Margaret Chase Smith – the first woman to serve in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and who famously stood up to Sen Joseph McCarthy during the anti-communist witch-hunts of the early 1950s.

“Sen Collins never stands up to Donald Trump,” the advert then announces in comparison, going on to accuse her of being a “fraud”.

“Sen Collins isn’t an independent,” the voiceover reads. “Mitch Mconnell and Donald Trump control her voice”.

Although the PAC is mostly known for its scathing anti-Trump videos, it has also been targeting a handful of Republican senators up for re-election in 2020. Democrats have been campaigning to swing several of these seats to secure control of the Republican-controlled Senate.

“The Lincoln Project joins at least 13 other Democratic billionaire-funded groups who have tried to come into Maine and buy this Senate race with false advertising,” Riley Ploch, a spokesperson for the Collins campaign, told The Boston Globe on Wednesday.

"Mainers know Sen Collins, and they’ve shown over and over again that this type of venomous, DC-style scorched earth politics doesn’t work in our state.”

Sen Collins had not yet replied to The Independent's request for comment.

The senator played a key role in the acquittal of Mr Trump during his impeachment trial as a key swing voter who ultimately sided with the president.

In February the senator told CBS News that she believed he had "learned his lesson" from the trial.

She later told Fox News that her earlier comment was more “aspirational” than factual.”It’s more that I hope that he’s listened to the many voices in the Senate who have pointed out that the call was very problematic,” she said.

She also supported Brett Kavanaugh's ascension to the Supreme Court, saying she did not believe he was the man who assaulted Christine Blasey Ford.

“I do believe that she was assaulted,” the Maine Republican said at the time. “I don’t know by whom and I’m not certain when."