Sen. Susan Collins Names Jewish Donors "Financing" Her Opponent's Campaign

On August 6, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) went on conservative Maine radio host, Mike Violette, to discuss her reelection campaign. Towards the end of the interview, Collins specifically named three men “financing” her opponent, Sara Gideon. All three of the men Collins named — donors George Soros and Donald Sussman, and Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) — are Jewish:

“I’ve been grossly outspent and attacked by Chuck Schumer’s PAC. Chuck Schumer wants to be Majority Leader of the Senate more than he wants anything in the world and more than policy perspective. He’s motivated by power and he has poured more money into Maine than any state in the nation.

There’s also all these left-wing hedge fund owners that are financing super-PACs, and financing Sara’s campaign, such as Donald Sussman and George Soros.”

By exclusively naming Jews, and characterizing a Jewish politician supporting Collins’ opponent as “motivated by power” the Senator from Maine promoted antisemitic tropes about Jewish financiers, Jewish wealth, and Jewish power. Sara Gideon, Collins’ Democratic challenger, is not solely funded by Jewish donors or supported by Jewish politicians.

Collins’ decision to focus on Jewish funders is a continuation of the Republican Party’s demonization of and emphasis on liberal Jewish donors — particularly George Soros, who has long been the conservative movement’s favorite bogeyman. The GOP’s emphasis on Jewish politicians is not restricted to Senator Schumer. The official Republican Party and the Trump campaign have increasingly pushed the message that Senator Bernie Sanders — arguably the most famous Jewish politician in the United States — is the “puppet-master” behind presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.