'You own this': Internet rips Susan Collins for offering tepid objection to Trump’s use of the word ‘lynching’

President Donald Trump has described the impeachment inquiry by Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives as a “lynching,” and Trump’s critics have been responding that no, it’s the type of perfectly legitimate congressional oversight that the U.S. Constitution calls for. Sen. Susan Collins, in an October 22 tweet, asserted that Trump shouldn’t be using the word “lynching” so casually — and some of Collins’ critics have responded that the GOP senator from Maine is among those who has “enabled” Trump.

The word “lynching,” Collins tweeted, “brings back images of a terrible time in our nation’s history, and the president never should have made that comparison.” And Kevin A. Reilly, in response, posted, “This is on you, Sen. Collins. You enabled and have supported this behavior. You own this.”

There were other angry responses as well, and a recurring theme was that Collins’ tweet criticizing Trump was too little too late. @Jeannine8Carol tweeted, “Pathetic Collins. Bye bye, senator” — an obvious reference to the possibility of Collins being voted out of office in 2020.

@Cubbies108 posted, “@SenatorCollins I see you are again troubled by his behavior. Perhaps you’ll even furrow a brow.  We won’t expect anything more beyond that... We’ve learned from the past to only expect the bare minimum from you lest you upset the Mad King!” And @manny1856 tweeted, “@SenatorCollins Thank you for your bare minimum response. I'm sure you’ve got some judges to vote on.”

@Daytripper2772 urged Collins to “do what your constituents want and help remove him from office.” And @michellechel reminded Collins, “He’s your party’s leader. So I hold you as responsible as I hold Pres. Trump.”