Republican Sen. Susan Collins has been roasted after making an unintentionally entitled remark during a debate.
The 73-year-old, a vulnerable five-term senator from Maine, took part in the first of four Senate debates with her Democratic challenger Troy Jackson, 58, on Tuesday night.
In one moment, the debate saw Jackson press Collins on dwindling rural healthcare access in the state, and her role in casting a key vote to allow Donald Trump’s divisive “Big Beautiful Bill” to move forward in the Senate, leading to Medicaid cuts and increased healthcare costs.
Jackson then pointed out that Collins “has been a government employee her entire life, she’s always had healthcare, she’s always had a steady income coming in. That’s not the way it is for most of us; healthcare is a real challenge and she’s made it worse by advancing the ‘Big Beautiful Bill.’”
Calling out the high costs of accessing healthcare, Jackson added, “That is what Senator Collins wants to keep going: big health insurance, Big Pharma. They can make all the money, it’s about greed.”
After his comments, Collins waved her finger to correct Jackson, saying, “First of all, I have not been insured my whole life.”
She then stated, “I spent a year, when I was running for governor in 1994, where I could not afford health insurance. So Troy, you’re just out-and-out wrong on that.”
Jackson pulled a quizzical expression on his face after Collins’ remarks.
Collins ultimately lost her 1994 bid for governor of Maine, coming in third. She became a senator in 1996.
Collins, whose base salary is $174,000 per year, was swiftly roasted online for her out-of-touch comment.
MediasTouch called it “a rough moment for Collins.”
Maine journalist Alex Seitz-Wald said on X that mentioning her brief lack of insurance 32 years ago was, “Maybe not the most relatable way to say you understand struggling to afford health insurance.”
“Oh wow poor Susan Collins didn’t have health insurance for ONE year…..in 1994,” the political and cultural commentary account Wu Tang is for the Children posted on X.
Another social media user posted, “Please spare a thought for Susan Collins who didn’t have health insurance for one whole year in 1994.”
Collins revealed in September that she has had a health condition she has kept secret for decades.
“What I have is an extremely common condition that is called a benign essential tremor,” Collins told News Center Maine. “I have had it for the entire time that I have served in the United States Senate. It has absolutely no impact on my ability to do my job or on how I feel each day.”
Jackson holds a narrow lead of 49.3 percent to Collins’ 46.5 percent in a new poll conducted by the Maine People’s Resource Center. A Marist poll, meanwhile, also shows Collins trailing Jackson by 4 points, fueling the possibility that she could lose her Senate seat after almost three decades. The same survey found Trump struggling in Maine, with just 40 percent of registered voters approving of his job performance, compared to 59 percent who disapprove.
The debate also saw Collins shirk a direct answer when questioned over whether Trump would visit Maine as part of his travels across the U.S. ahead of the midterm elections.
“I don’t think that President Trump is going to come to Maine. He’s talking about going to a lot of different, uh, states. I’ve heard nothing from his office, and I’m not exactly his favorite, uhh, senator, I...” Collins said.
When asked by the moderator for a yes or no, she stated, “I would say that he is not coming to Maine,” she said.
The Daily Beast has contacted Collins’ office for comment.
