GOP senator, Trump foe on political climate: ‘We are all afraid … retaliation is real’
A Republican senator, known for breaking with the majority of her party and criticizing President Donald Trump, said at a conference earlier this week that “we are all afraid” in the current political climate.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, made the comments in response to a question while speaking at a gathering of nonprofit and tribal groups in Alaska, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
Murkowski was asked, “What do you have to say to people who are afraid, or who represent people who are afraid?” The senator quickly answered, “We are all afraid, OK?”
After pausing for a few seconds, Murkowski continued.
“It’s quite a statement. But we are in a time and a place where I certainly have not been here before. And I’ll tell you, I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And that’s not right.
“But, that’s what you asked me to do. And so, I’m going to use my voice to the best of my ability. … I’ve got to figure out how I can do my best to help the many who are so anxious and so afraid.”
Murkowski has been one of Trump’s most frequent critics among Republican lawmakers. Last month, she took to the social media site X to call the meeting at the White House between Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “shocking” and said “I am sick to my stomach as the administration appears to be walking away from our allies and embracing Putin, a threat to democracy and U.S. values around the world.”
She also was one of three GOP senators to vote against the confirmation of Pete Hegseth as the nation’s defense secretary, and has been critical of cuts by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, saying that many of her colleagues were afraid of Elon Musk, Politico reported. In 2022, she was one of the few GOP senators to vote to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.
Last month, after Murkowski was one of four senators to join Democrats in voting for a measure aiming to stop Canada tariffs, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the four were “extremely difficult to deal with and, unbelievably disloyal to hardworking Majority Leader John Thune, and the Republican Party itself.”
Former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh, a frequent critic of Trump, was not impressed with Murkowski’s statement this week. Posting on X, Walsh said he had “zero sympathy” for Murkowski.
“Many of us Republicans did publicly speak out against Trump years ago, and we lost everything, we ended our careers as Republicans, and we’ve endured years of threats & hate. And these same Republicans today who say they’re afraid did not stand with us then.”