Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said that she is “not prepared” to endorse President Trump for re-election in 2020.
“I’m not prepared at this point to make that decision,” she told PBS Tuesday.
When asked if, as a Republican, she would eventually endorse Trump’s re-election bid, Collins said that she did not know.
“I’m going to have to see what happens between now and then, and look at what his [Trump’s] record is,” said Collins. “I’m neither ruling it in, nor ruling it out.”
[Opinion: The challenge for any 2020 primary challenge to Trump]
.@JudyWoodruff: “Are you, at this point, prepared to endorse President Trump?”@SenatorCollins: “I’m really focused on my own [re-election] campaign for 2020, and I really haven’t focused on the presidential campaign. So, I’m not prepared at this point to make that decision.” pic.twitter.com/b31DzPJ9L3
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) January 29, 2019
Collins, a moderate, said that she was more focused on her re-election campaign coming up in 2020 and wasn’t paying much attention to the presidential campaign.
“I’m going to focus on 2020 in 2020,” Collins said, adding that she couldn’t imagine herself endorsing a Democratic candidate, but left the door open to endorsing a different Republican candidate.
Earlier this month, Collins said that she was open to seeing a Republican challenger face Trump in 2020.
“I see nothing wrong with challengers — that is part of our democratic system. It’s healthy for our democracy,” Collins said, adding that any challenger would have an “uphill climb” when facing Trump.
