Mike Collins Is the Hardest-Working Troll in Congress

For a moment it seemed Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) knew that, this time, he’d taken it too far.

Last week, the prolific shitposter lauded a group of fraternity brothers at Ole Miss who jeered a Black pro-Palestine protester—including one who made racist monkey noises at the woman—as “Ole Miss taking care of business.”

The mainstream media and left-leaning politicians’ response to Collins’ statement was swift and scathing. The archconservative freshman lawmaker is no stranger to controversy—in recent months he’s dubbed Haiti a “sh*thole” country and suggested an undocumented migrant be thrown from a helicopter—but this time, even Collins acknowledged his post amplifying naked racism warranted some damage control.

Biden’s Playing Dumb Politics With Threat to Cut Israel AidC’MON, MAN

Matt Lewis, Anthony L. Fisher

While he said the racist taunting was not the “focal point” of the video he shared, “there certainly seems to be some potentially inappropriate behavior that none of us should seek to glorify.” (The video itself remains up on Collins’ X feed.)

But instead of simply smoothing over the situation with his non-apology, Collins lost precisely the people he’s spent months attracting with his hard-right provocations.

One verified anonymous account called Collins a “coward” for his conciliatory tone. “No wonder the GOP is a failing party,” they sniped.

Another X account with nearly 150,000 followers describing itself as a “purveyor of ‘hateful conduct’” responded, “This is weakness. Tired of it.”

It wasn’t long before Collins returned with another eyebrow-raising post that seemed perfectly calibrated to collect both another round of outraged headlines and the trust of his ultraconservative internet groupies.

“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, comparing the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy to current independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s alleged brain worm.

And with that, Collins was back on the board.

“BALLSY AF!!” cheered far-right influencer Laura Loomer.

As Collins has tried to forge a name for himself online—flouting all the internet etiquette presumed of a sitting congressman—he’s bringing the Republican party’s far-right internet underbelly to the spotlight.

Collins told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an April interview that he’s aware of the scrutiny around his posts, but that those outraged aren’t his target audience, adding that he’s being himself.

“That’s people that probably weren’t ever going to be happy with me anyway,” he told the AJC. “But that’s OK.”

He’s not the first Republican lawmaker to outwardly embrace ultraconservative rhetoric disguised as jokes, but he’s one who seems to be getting away with it. After months of posts decried in the media—both mainstream and social—as racist, antisemitic, and, at times, violent, some lawmakers on both sides of the aisle consider him little more than a burr in their side.

The far-right internet culture Collins engages with has become as unremarkable to the Republican Party as it is intractable. As the GOP has tacked to the right under former President Donald Trump’s reign atop the party, shocking behavior like Collins’ posts have become routine.

And yet, as far-right internet culture has become a major component of the GOP’s base, even mainstream Republicans in competitive races have to play ball with ultraconservative social media trolls, or risk being branded Republican in name only (RINO).

“NEVER WAS A SECOND THOUGHT”

Collins, of course, is an extreme example of this dynamic. But it didn’t start out that way in Congress. Capitol Hill circles got to know Collins’ X posts during last year’s weeks-long battle over the House speakership. Collins proudly became the so-called “memer of the House” delighting Capitol Hill with levity to break up the House’s chaotic, leaderless purgatory.

Perhaps his most beloved meme from that era depicted a couple in bed. A woman stared at her partner wondering, “He’s probably thinking about other women.” The man, instead, was thinking, “Who can get to 217?”—the number of votes needed to elect a speaker.

While Collins still shares plenty of innocuous humor on X, his social media presence has shifted noticeably rightward since then. In March, Collins responded to an anonymous racist account (calling itself “Garbage Human”) after it made a veiled reference to a Washington Post reporter being Jewish.

“Never was a second thought,” Collins wrote in response. (Collins later said his comment was not antisemitic, but rather, his critics “just see stuff that ain’t there.”)

Collins’ office did not respond to repeated interview requests or written questions from The Daily Beast.

Despite his online persona, Collins keeps a relatively low profile on the Hill. Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV)—the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus—told The Daily Beast that he wasn’t aware of a Mike Collins in Congress so couldn’t possibly weigh in on his social media posts.

“I don’t know who he is,” Horsford said.

Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL)—the first member of Generation Z in Congress—was at least aware of Collins’ social media persona, but struck a diplomatic tone to describe Collins, his neighbor in Washington, D.C.

“He’s definitely posted some things, I think, that are not good to post. I saw he apologized for posting that video of the person and the racism,” Frost said. “I’m glad he did that.” Though Frost added, “I don’t really have much else to say though… I’m not as online as he is.”

To be sure, Democratic lawmakers have called out Collins. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), for one, replied to the Georgian’s post about Ole Miss with the comment, “Mike Collins is fueling white supremacy.”

RFK Jr. Compares His Anti-Vax Stance to MLK’s ActivismSERIOUSLY?

Jake Lahut, Anthony L. Fisher

When Collins called Haiti a “sh*thole” country in March—parroting Trump’s infamous 2019 line—Democrats seized on the comment. Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA) said the post “displays the extraordinary contrast between how Democrats take a look at foreign affairs… versus those who just want to demean those who are suffering these things.”

(Collins, for his part, doubled down, telling The Hill that it “seems like all the money we’ve spent over the years propping up Haiti was a bad investment, and current events should not be used as an excuse to import more foreigners into America.”)

But for a Democratic Party seeking to highlight hard-right extremism as they try to reclaim the House of Representatives, the response to Collins has been relatively muted. Back in 2021, the House censured Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ)—a far-right lawmaker who had a history of associating with white supremacist and right-wing militia groups—for posting a cartoon video that depicted him killing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).

Though Collins has not publicly advocated for violence against his fellow lawmakers, he stoked yet another round of social media fury in February when he suggested using “Pinochet Air” tactics against an undocumented migrant, referring to Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet’s use of so-called “death flights” to throw detractors from a helicopter into the ocean or the Andes mountains. (Even Elon Musk’s X admitted at the time that the post violated standards, but the statement remains public.)

But House Republicans have repeatedly tried to censure Democrats for criticizing Israel’s military conduct in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, successfully censuring Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) last year, and launching a new effort to censure Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) last week. If Democrats wanted to go tit-for-tat with their GOP foes, Collins social media posts are ripe for condemnation.

Rep. Frost said that sort of thinking misses the point.

“Should it be censured at all? I don’t know,” Frost said of Collins’ Ole Miss post. “They're the ones that censure people every week, right? We're focused on legislation.”

In a chamber where the likes of Gosar and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)—who once infamously blamed Jewish space lasers for California wildfires—routinely make attention-grabbing moves that are breathlessly written up in the media, Collins may be the least of Democrats' problems.

As his profile grows among the far-right online community, Collins hasn’t quite gotten the same warm reception within his own party on Capitol Hill. He reliably votes with conservatives and has a 100 percent rating from Heritage Action—which makes him more aligned with the conservative think tank than his fellow Georgian, Greene.

THIRSTY FOR THE SPOTLIGHT

Beyond his social media presence, his first major foray into the spotlight was in response to University of Georgia student Laken Riley’s murder by an undocumented migrant.

Collins—who represents the district in which UGA resides—spearheaded legislation in Riley’s name that would require federal officials to detain undocumented migrants who commit crimes until they can be deported. Nearly 40 Democrats joined the entire House GOP conference to pass the bill which is under consideration in the Senate.

At the State of the Union address in February, just weeks after the murder, Collins invited Riley’s parents to the address. They declined, and ultimately Collins’ attempts to draw attention to the issue were overshadowed by Greene interrupting Biden’s speech, demanding he “say her name.”

But generally, lawmakers told The Daily Beast that Collins is not much of an operator. As is typical for first-term representatives, he has little sway as a junior member of committees. Even Collins’ fellow Georgia Republicans didn’t have much to say about him. Conservative Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) put his description of Collins bluntly, “I guess, he’s a Republican.”

“He's a freshman. He’s new,” Clyde told The Daily Beast. “Give him some grace because he’s all right. He's a pretty conservative vote, and so I’m happy about that.”

Back in Collins’ home district, Charles Bullock—a University of Georgia professor and expert on Peach State politics—told The Daily Beast that Collins could hold the seat for years if he wanted to. Given his record, he’s safely inoculated himself from a challenge on the right. Plus, the district reliably elects Republicans despite encompassing the liberal enclave of Athens, Georgia, home to UGA.

Bullock described Collins as a worthy successor to the district’s conservative tradition. “I haven’t heard any negatives about him,” he said of Collins. “He’s around. He’s visible.”

Collins’ family is well known in the district. His father, Mac Collins, served as a Republican in Congress from 1993 to 2005, but had more of a moderate lean than his son. Collins is also the wealthy heir to a trucking dynasty that allowed him to self-fund over $500,000 for his 2022 campaign.

Congress’ Odd Couple—Jeffries & Johnson—Mystifies LawmakersFRENEMIES

Riley Rogerson, Reese Gorman

That 2022 election offered an early glimpse at Collins’ inappropriate flair for the dramatic online.

Collins ran against Trump-endorsed Vernon Jones, who had a background in Democratic politics. Jones also faced accusations of misconduct toward women. Though Jones denied the claims, Collins capitalized, distributing rape whistles with Jones’ name on it.

Collins then took to X to write, “Although some use a rape whistle for protection against sexual assault, a 9mm is the more preferred form of protection.”

Jones filed a police report against Collins for encouraging violence. It didn’t matter—by 9 p.m. on election day, Collins was on his way to beating Jones by over 50 percentage points.