MSNBC's Joe Scarborough shared an alarming reason he said Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and other Republican senators are dropping their objections to some of Donald Trump's "unqualified" nominees for Cabinet posts.
Collins announced her support for Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence despite her previous objections, and the "Morning Joe" host said skeptical Republicans were approving Trump's choices in fear of something more ominous than a GOP primary challenge.
"You know, there's an old saying in soccer, in English football, it's the hope that kills you," Scarborough said. "Yeah, I suspect they have a similar saying in Maine about Susan Collins. It's the hope that kills you.
"I wonder if she was assured by the way Tulsi Gabbard handled her relationship with the butcher of Syria, [Bashar al-]Assad responsible for the murder of 500,000 Syrians, also, who used chemical weapons against his own people or, again, Edward Snowden, where she refused to condemn Snowden in one question after another question after another question."
"Susan Collins, supposedly a traditional Republican," Scarborough added. "There is no way she would ever vote for Tulsi Gabbard except for political expediency and fear, is there?"
Republican senators have said that Gabbard, a former Democratic lawmaker, appeared to be unprepared for their meetings and hearings, and they were "rattled" by her non-answer on Snowden. But some outspoken skeptics on Pete Hegseth and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have made sudden flip-flops on their objections.
"Some members of Congress that I've spoken to said, 'Listen, it's not just the primarying that we have to worry about,'" said journalist Katty Kay. "'It's actually our own personal safety that we now have to worry about. I have to worry about the safety of my spouse, the safety of my children if I defy Donald Trump,' and when you've got Don Jr. coming out very forcefully and saying, 'We want all of these to be a yes,' there is no exception for Tulsi Gabbard. There is no exception for Bobby Kennedy.
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"He is speaking for the MAGA base, and literally I've had members of Congress say, 'Look, you know, you do have to worry in this day and age, you have to worry about your own safety, as well — it's not just the primary factor."
Collins did vote against Hegseth, who was confirmed after Vice President J.D. Vance stepped in to break a 50-50 tie after Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) opposed his nomination. But so far, none of Trump's nominees have attracted a crucial fourth Republican vote against them.
"Let's again underline what Katty just said," Scarborough said. "Members of Congress are telling her that they're not only afraid of primary challenges, they're afraid of violence. They're afraid of violence if they vote against people who are unqualified to run the most important agencies in America."
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