Oops! Justice Alito Is Making the TV Rounds, and Maine Dem Makes the Case for Collins

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito will be all over Americans' screens over the next few days while making the TV news show rounds.

In a preview of the interview with CBS News, which will air in full on Monday, he was asked by chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford whether a Supreme Court vote on his part had ever required "courage."

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization case, which overturned Roe v. Wade, required “courage” from all of the justices in the majority.

"We didn't know it when we produced the draft that was leaked, but it required courage… pic.twitter.com/hFfHE6ZZsS

— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 2, 2026

Alito answered:

"The leading example is Dobbs, I think that required courage by all of the justices in the majority [overturning Roe v. Wade]. It actually involved- we didn't know it at the time we produced the draft that was leaked, but it required courage to go ahead with that because of the implications."

In a sweet anecdote, he then talked about meeting a man at a highway rest stop, just after Alito took part in the confirmation hearings to become a Supreme Court justice:

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said he doesn't get recognized in public often. "I was recognized much more frequently after my confirmation hearings," he recalled.

CBS News chief legal correspondent @JanCBS sat down with Alito on the bleachers of the New Jersey baseball… pic.twitter.com/NxI2xc8zkk

— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 2, 2026

He also spoke about the possibility of his retiring from the bench, something that Troy Jackson, the Democrat running against Republican Sen. Susan Collins for the Maine Senate seat, tried to swiftly seize on as a cudgel against Collins.

Ironically, he may have done just the opposite. 

This election will determine who confirms the next Supreme Court justice.

Susan Collins voted to confirm three of the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, and she's voted with Donald Trump 96% of the time.

She's no "independent" and she can't be trusted to decide… https://t.co/5MHr0Rf5RA

— Troy Jackson (@TroyJackson207) October 2, 2026

Jackson wrote:

This election will determine who confirms the next Supreme Court justice.

Susan Collins voted to confirm three of the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, and she's voted with Donald Trump 96% of the time.

She's no "independent" and she can't be trusted to decide our Supreme Court justice. Look at her receipts.

Of course, like any radical Dem, he made sure to tie in pro-abortion rhetoric, too

There's just one problem. Alito never said he was retiring. Here was his actual comment to CBS News.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito told CBS News' @JanCBS that he decided to remain on the court after considering whether he could still make a “valuable contribution.” The 76-year-old said he expects to reconsider his decision each year. pic.twitter.com/siSHKoQr49

— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 2, 2026

"It's something I think that somebody at my age has to think about, but I thought that I could still make a valuable contribution, which is why I became a justice and a judge in the first place," he said. When Crawford pressed him on whether he would be reconsidering and rethinking the prospect every year, Alito smiled and said, "Yeah, I think I have to."

Back briefly to the Maine election. As my colleague Nick Arama wrote on Thursday, Troy Jackson already made a major misstep this week, with some awful remarks and the release of a tone-deaf ad featuring Dr. Evil.

What's funny about the X post on Friday is that the Democrat senatorial nominee accidentally reminded voters that Collins helped confirm SCOTUS justices he and the Left hate for all the wrong reasons, including returning the abortion debate where it belonged all along - to the states. And she votes like a Republican who is fulfilling the America First agenda MAGA voted for. Nothing wrong with that for many voters.

Thanks for your help with those receipts, Troy! To paraphrase something Inigo Montoya loved to say in "The Princess Bride," he keeps using that word. I don't think it means what he thinks it means. 

In a spicy preview of the justice's appearance on Fox News Channel's  Fox News Sunday with host Shannon Bream, Alito says that he has thoughts on who leaked the Dobbs decision.

🚨 JUST IN: Supreme Court Justice Sam Alito thinks he has a LEAKER SUSPECT for who dropped the Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade to the media

“I do have an opinion…But the evidence available at this time is not strong enough for the court or for me to say this is the…

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 2, 2026

Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.

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