GOP lawmaker stands out for offensive trolling – but largely unknown in Congress: report
Even among far-right Republican lawmakers who stoke outrage and attract attention with eyebrow-raising social media posts, Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) stands out as a vicious troll, according to a new report.
The freshman congressman pushes the limits of acceptable discourse with his X account, which he used last week to celebrate Ole Miss fraternity brothers who hurled racist taunts at a Black pro-Palestine protester and then tastelessly mocked Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s alleged brain worm, reported The Daily Beast.
“You either die a Kennedy with a hole in the brain or live long enough to become a Kennedy with a hole in the brain,” Collins posted.
Collins had angered some of his far-right fans by lamenting the racist taunts shown in the Ole Miss video he shared, although he hasn't taken down that post, but won accolades from those same social media users for comparing Kennedy's brainworm to his uncle's 1963 assassination.
“BALLSY AF!!” cheered right-wing influencer Laura Loomer.
Collins became known as the "memer of the House" not long after he was sworn into office, but his social media presence has drifted steadily rightward and he frequently interacts with blatantly racist and antisemitic accounts, although he keeps a low profile on Capitol Hill, the Beast reported.
“I don’t know who he is,” said Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV), the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, when asked to comment on Collins' posts.
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Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL), the first member of Generation Z to be elected to Congress, was aware of Collins' social media posts but didn't know much about him.
“He’s definitely posted some things, I think, that are not good to post," Frost said. "I saw he apologized for posting that video of the person and the racism. I’m glad he did that ... I don’t really have much else to say though … I’m not as online as he is.”
Collins' father, Mac Collins, served as a Republican in Congress from 1993 to 2005, and the younger Collins defeated the Donald Trump-endorsed Vernon Jones after highlighting misconduct allegations against him by distributing rape whistles with Jones' name printed on them.
“Although some use a rape whistle for protection against sexual assault," Collins posted on X, "a 9mm is the more preferred form of protection.”
Jones filed a police report accusing Collins of encouraging violence with that post, but he still won the GOP primary by more than 50 points, and while his social media posts have frequently put him the spotlight, his colleagues still know little about him.
“I guess he’s a Republican," said Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA). “He's a freshman, he’s new. Give him some grace because he’s all right. He's a pretty conservative vote, and so I’m happy about that.”