Collins: Republican Party is not led by one person

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said on Sunday that the Republican Party is not led by one person, appearing to push back on the notion that former President Trump is the leader of the GOP.

Collins was responding to a recent event in Utah during which fellow GOP Sen. Mitt Romney (Utah) was booed by a crowd of people after he said he wasn’t a fan of Trump’s “character issues.”

“I was appalled. Mitt Romney is an outstanding senator who serves his state and our country well,” said Collins while appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union.” She called on her fellow Republicans to remember the “fundamental principles” of their party such as “belief in personal responsibility, individual freedom, opportunity, free markets, a strong national defense.”

“We are not a party that is led by just one person,” Collins added. “There are many prominent, upcoming younger men and women in our party who hold great promise for leading us. And I think that all of us who abide by those principles should remember Ronald Reagan’s admonition to Republicans that the person who agrees with you 70 or 80 percent of the time is your friend, not your enemy.”

Republican Sen. Susan Collins says that she was “appalled” by the Utah GOP booing and attempting to censure Sen. Mitt Romney. “We are not a party that is led by just one person.” #CNNSOTU https://t.co/KE6cvsT64I pic.twitter.com/KPXkUgWhcX

— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) May 2, 2021

Collins’s remarks echoed those of Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) who said during a recent House Republican retreat that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy are the leaders of the Republican Party when asked about Trump’s future involvement in politics.

“I think right now, the Republican Party is headed by Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy in the House. I think our elected leaders, you know, are the ones who are in charge of the Republican Party,” Cheney said.

Cheney voted in favor of impeaching Trump while Collins supported convicting the former president following the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Host Jake Tapper asked Collins whether it was “dangerous” to be like Cheney, someone who “tries to stand up for facts and truth regarding the election and the insurrection.”

“Liz Cheney is a woman of strength and conscience. And she did what she felt was right. And I salute her for that,” Collins said. “We need to be accepting of differences in our party. We don’t want to become like too much of the Democratic Party, which has been taken over by the progressive left. We need to have room for a variety of views, especially since we adhere to those core principles that I mentioned earlier.”