Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine was quick to praise billionaire racist Elon Musk hours after it was disclosed that his super PAC, America PAC, spent funds to help her win her Senate race this fall.
At an event on Thursday, Collins was asked to react to the news that Musk has reportedly spent about $170,000 on electioneering in Collins’ favor against her Democratic challenger Troy Jackson.
Collins claimed she “wasn’t aware” of the specific spending by Musk, but added that she knew he would use his fortune to back Republican candidates in the midterms.
“Elon and I had discussions when he was head of DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency],” she said. “I didn’t support many of the cuts that he proposed. I did support others where I felt that he did ferret out waste and fraud and abuse that was costing taxpayers money.”
“I don’t agree with him on everything, but I do agree with him that we need to eliminate waste and be much more efficient in government,” she added.
Collins didn’t get into her specific areas of agreement with Musk—whether that is support of his racist ideology, his opposition to transgender rights and existence, or perhaps his reported need to breed with multiple women in advance of an impending “apocalypse.”
But even in the area where she got into specifics—DOGE—Musk’s record is one of significantly overpromising on cutting so-called waste and fraud. When DOGE did make cuts, it was often to vital international programs, with repercussions that have led to death and forced sex work, according to multiple reports.
Collins certainly did not echo the views of Jackson, who previously recorded a video calling on Musk to keep his “dirty money” out of the state.
Recent polling of the Maine Senate race perhaps explains why Musk is trying to bail out Collins, who has held her seat since 1997. All recent polls show Jackson with a lead over Collins, ranging from 2 to 8 percentage points. That’s a bad sign for an incumbent Republican in a year that seems determined to favor Democrats.
But with Musk’s money comes baggage. So far, Collins doesn’t seem to have a problem with it.
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