Onlookers were outraged Tuesday after Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) gave an underwhelming answer to a key question during the state's Senate debate.
Collins faced off in a debate with Democratic challenger Troy Jackson, where Collins was asked to defend her record supporting Trump's policies. At one time, the moderator asked Collins point-blank if Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh lied to her when he said he considered Roe v. Wade to be settled law, a case that he later sided with the conservative majority to overturn.
"I do not feel that he lied, but I think he should not have said it is settled law," Collins said. "And to be fair, you can't ask a nominee how he might vote in some hypothetical future case."
Collins' answer sparked a firestorm on social media.
"Pathetic. He lied to your face and you rolled over like a dog," Adam Cochran, a policy analyst, posted on X.
"You can’t 'feel' that someone lied or did not lie. A lie is a lie, as proven by a record we call 'reality' as it ensues thereafter. Did he vote to overturn Roe or not? And if he didn’t lie, does that mean he told you privately he’d overturn it? And you still voted to confirm?" Julian Andreone, Capitol Hill reporter at Drop Site News, posted on X.
"It doesn't really matter what she 'feels.' Objective facts still exist, believe it or not," the MeidasTouch Network posted on X.
"Well, if he didn’t lie, she got fooled," Josh Dorner, a Democratic communications strategist, posted on X.
"You can't be both pro-choice and not be pissed at Kavanaugh for lying to you about Roe v. Wade. People are sick of being lied to. And she looks like the one doing the lying. I think that's going to be the difference in 4 weeks when it gets right down to it," lawyer Jeffrey Evan Gold posted on X.
Q: You said that Kavanaugh said that he considered Roe v. Wade settled law. Do you feel at any level that Kavanaugh lied to you?Collins: I do not feel that he lied https://t.co/qS9f8WgzHM
— Acyn (@Acyn) October 6, 2026
