Collins: Trump Should've Spoken Out From 'Very Beginning'

LEWISTON, Maine - Sen. Susan Collins says GOP President Donald Trump should've spoken forcefully against racism, bigotry and anti-Semitism "from the very beginning.''
 
The Maine Republican also said she's surprised that the president suggested both sides were responsible for violence surrounding a rally featuring white supremacists and neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, Virginia.
 
Collins spoke to reporters Thursday in Lewiston, Maine, where she was attending an L.L. Bean event.
 
She said it's the president's job to "lift our country up and stand for high moral standards.''
 
She also said racism is a concern in Maine, where Ku Klux Klan fliers were recently distributed.
 
Collins said "we Mainers need to send a strong message that this kind of vile hatred has no place in our state, or anywhere in our country.''