A vote for Collins advances Trump agenda, threatens democracy | Column

 Shortly before the 2016 presidential election I spoke with a woman who favored Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump. “Why would any smart person vote for Trump?” I asked. “My husband is smart,” she said, “He went to Harvard, and he’s voting for Trump. He says the political system is broken and Trump can blow it up and then fix it.” Ten years later, I’m wondering if that man believes that Trump has “fixed the system.” Is America better off as a nation because of Trump’s presidency? Before addressing this question, let’s take a little history lesson. Maine Sen. Susan Collins voted to acquit Trump after the first impeachment trial, claiming that he had “learned his lesson.” After he lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden, Trump led an insurrection on the Capitol. He was impeached again, and Collins joined a handful of her Republican Senate colleagues in voting to convict Trump. Credit her for that move, although she knew that her vote wouldn’t make a difference. So, here we are in 2026. What lessons did Trump learn from his first term in office that he could use in this second term? Well, he learned that he better surround himself with “yes” people so he wouldn’t have to deal with those pesky guardrails designed to protect the Constitution. He learned that if he played his cards right he could use the power of the presidency to make millions and millions of dollars. (NOTE: Space precludes listing all the ways that Trump has used the presidency to enrich himself, his friends and his family. I invite any Trump apologist who refutes this claim to join me for an open debate at Curtis Memorial Library to discuss this issue.) Trump also learned that he could pardon all those wonderful “patriots” who were convicted after storming the Capitol to overturn an election. Hey, in for a dime in for a dollar. Why not create a special bill that would pay these “good people” who were “wrongly convicted?” Let the American people pay for that. What’s wrong with paying a few “patriotic” rioters who beat up security guards? And while we’re at it, why not create a law that exempts the entire Trump family and its businesses from tax audits for life? Yippee! Advertisement What’s all this have to do with Sen. Collins? Many legal scholars who have studied the limits of presidential power believe that Trump has taken many actions worthy of impeachment. And that requires a vote of at least 67 senators to convict for impeachment. And that means the Democrats must take control of the Senate and convince enough Republican senators to join them to convict the man who has zero regard for the balance of power enshrined in the Constitution. Trump is terrified at the prospect of being impeached a third time. He’s lost control of a few Republican senators who he had primaried because of their disloyalty to him, a cardinal sin. As anyone who’s been paying attention knows, Trump is the Prince of Pettiness, the Baron of Bullying. In his effort to help Collins save her Senate seat, he’s resorted to torching Graham Platner, her opponent in the upcoming election. He says, “Platner is the worst human being who ever ran for office. He’s a thug. He’s like a pig.” Not surprisingly nearly 100 billionaires have supported Collins. They don’t want to upset the money-driven political scenario that has made them even richer. Let’s stop for a moment and compare Trump and Platner when it comes to the military and other issues. Platner served three deployments in Iraq for the Marine Corps and one in Afghanistan for the U.S. Army. And Trump? He got deferments for bone spurs, although he likes to refer to the military as “my military” and generals as “my generals.” During his last campaign for president, Trump promised to start “no new foreign wars” and then he did just that with the war of choice against Iran. Moreover, in a “Meet the Press” interview, he denied that he had ever made that promise. In fairness, we’ve become so accustomed to Trump’s habitual lies that we just shrug it off. Advertisement Platner, by contrast, has experienced the devastating impact of war on our troops. Trump will never admit he made a mistake. Platner openly admits his mistakes. Although Trump promised to end inflation, he’s taken no steps to achieve that goal. He’s more focused on building fancy ballrooms and getting his name on currency and staging grotesque fights on the White House lawn than on helping average Americans. Trump chose to celebrate his birthday by hosting a brawling UFC fight on the White House lawn. What a nice way to thank his billionaire buddy Dana White, the UFC president, who has long been one of his biggest supporters. Trump and his MAGA minions, many of whom are white Christian nationalists, got an extra thrill when one of the UFC fighters declared that Michelle Obama was a man in his victory speech. That same guy also gave thanks to his savior Jesus Christ. Do you think that Jesus would have been a big UFC fan? You can’t make this stuff up. Some critics suggest that Graham Platner is too extreme for Maine. Maine voters will have to decide if the basic elements of his platform are too extreme. To wit: Ban billionaires from buying elections by overturning Citizens United. Create a single-payer healthcare system. Protect Social Security before it’s too late. Support a federal guarantee of a woman’s right to choose. Stop the mass deportation machine and pass real immigration reform. Stop launching endless costly wars. Pass term limits on Congress. (Although Collins first pledged to serve only two terms she’s now running for her sixth term.) Raise the minimum wage. One thing is clear: The Platner vs. Collins battle will be costly. Let’s hope that Mainers look beneath the surface and beyond the name calling to make the best choice for the future of the average citizen, rather than members of the wealthy elite. _David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary and suggestions for future “Just a Little Old” columns at [\[email protected\]](/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection)._ [](https://www.bowdoin.edu/?utm_source=TimesRecord&utm_medium=SupportingSponsorship) **The Times Record Sustaining Sponsor **We believe a community must be informed to thrive. [**bowdoin.edu**](https://www.bowdoin.edu/?utm_source=TimesRecord&utm_medium=SupportingSponsorship) Copy the Story Link Tagged: [maine politics](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/maine-politics/), [Times Record](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/times-record/), [Times Record Community](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/times-record-community/)