(CNN) Republican Sen. Susan Collins said President Donald Trump "should have been straightforward with the American people" about the threat from the coronavirus, during a debate Friday night in Maine for her state's competitive Senate race. "I have said since the beginning that the President's performance has been uneven and that he should follow the advice of his excellent medical advisers," Collins said Friday. Collins, who has refused to say whether she'll back Trump in November, is facing Democratic state House Speaker Sara Gideon in an expensive contest. When Gideon challenged Collins in Friday's debate on who she thinks should be "leading the country," the senator did not answer, saying the Maine people don't need her advice. Running for reelection in a state Trump narrowly lost in 2016, Collins is balancing the need to appeal to the President's base -- who she also needs to turn out for her -- against not further alienating moderate and independent voters.

Source: CNN September 12, 2020 01:41 UTC