Georgia congressman says he was misunderstood after appearing to endorse antisemitic social media post
Following backlash, Republican Mike Collins posted that he had not meant to amplify antisemitism
Mike Collins, GOP Congressional candidate for Georgias 10th district, speaks during speaks during Senate candidate Herschel Walkers campaign rally in Athens, Georgia, Nov. 5, 2022. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
By Ron Kampeas March 4, 2024
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Rep. Mike Collins, a Georgia Republican, said he had been misunderstood after he appeared to endorse and amplify an antisemitic post on X, formerly Twitter.
On Sunday, an X user called “GarbageHuman,” known for writing racist and antisemitic content, shared a New York Post article criticizing journalist Maura Judkis as soft on crime. GarbageHuman’s post about the article signaled to followers that Judkis is Jewish.
Hours later, Collins replied to GarbageHuman’s post, writing, “Never was a second thought.” The reply suggested that Collins was also flagging Judkis’ Jewish identity.
Collins and his office did not reply to inquiries from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Judkis did not reply to an emailed request for comment, and her Twitter account is not visible to the public.
But on Monday afternoon, following backlash, including from Georgia state lawmakers, Collins posted on X that he had not meant to amplify antisemitism. Rather, he wrote, he intended to endorse the message of the New York Post article. He did not apologize, and blamed his critics for misunderstanding him.
“I guess pointing out that a Washington Post journo excusing crime because she believes USA is on ‘stolen land’ makes her a garbage human is anti-Semitic? Y’all just see stuff that ain’t there,” he wrote.
Collins boasts that he runs his own X account, which has previously veered into parody. Last year, when Republicans were in crisis and could not elect a speaker of the House, he ran a mock campaign. “Press releases are out, memes are in,” was in his mock platform.
He has attracted negative attention for his posts in the past. Last month, he posted that an undocumented immigrant who had been arrested for allegedly beating up a police officer should be thrown out of a helicopter. X removed the post and for a period locked him out of his account.
“Or we could buy him a ticket on Pinochet Air for a free helicopter ride back,” the post read, a reference to Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet’s “death flights,” in which political dissidents were killed by being thrown out of helicopters.
When his account was restored, Collins tweeted, “I’m back 😎 Never delete. Never surrender.”
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
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