Jon Ossoff tells Trump-backed Mike Collins ‘you’ve hired half the Third Reich’ in debate clash
WASHINGTON, DC: Senator Jon Ossoff didn't hold back during his first debate with Republican challenger Mike Collins. He went straight after Collins' record, accusing him of hiring people linked to racist and antisemitic beliefs. Ossoff delivered a particularly stinging remark, saying Collins had hired “half the Third Reich,” turning the debate into a heated exchange.
Ossoff pressed Collins over reports linking people associated with his campaign to white nationalist groups and the circulation of racist images. Collins countered by portraying Ossoff as an out-of-touch wealthy Democrat who does not understand ordinary Georgians.
Jon Ossoff accuses Mike Collins of ties to white supremacists
Ossoff zeroed in on accusations involving people in Collins' inner circle. He claimed Collins surrounded himself with individuals who had expressed white nationalist and antisemitic views.
"You hired half the Third Reich to staff your office ... If John Lewis were marching today, Mike Collins would be grabbing a billy club" -- here's a supercut of Jon Ossoff SMASHING Mike Collins during tonight's debate https://t.co/26uGjqI2Ez
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 9, 2026
These accusations put a spotlight on several of Collins' associates. One former intern and contractor for Collins' leadership PAC apparently posted a photo online wearing robes associated with white supremacist organizations.
Collins' son-in-law also came under scrutiny after old social media posts surfaced showing racist imagery.
“If John Lewis were marching today from Selma to Montgomery,” Mr. Ossoff said, “Mike Collins would be grabbing a billy club.”
A spokesman for Collins said the two people were unpaid volunteers and that the campaign did not know about their past associations.
Onstage, Collins did not directly deny the allegations. He said he has “condemned racism, antisemitism, hate.”
Jon Ossoff challenges Mike Collins over tariffs and Iran
Ossoff kept challenging Collins over his support for Trump’s agenda.
At least eight times, Ossoff demanded a clear answer on how Trump's tariffs had helped people in Georgia. He also criticized Collins for supporting the war in Iran and backing a major policy bill that cut Medicaid funding and raised health insurance premiums.
In a statement shared by Team Ossoff, the senator attacked Collins' record and questioned his background as a trucker.
“Each time Mike has called himself a trucker tonight, you'd think he's cruising down 85 behind the wheel,” Ossoff said.
He continued by criticizing Collins for inheriting a seat in Congress, running his father's trucking company and voting for the war in Iran, tariffs and healthcare cuts.
Ossoff: Each time Mike has called himself a trucker tonight, you'd think he's cruising down 85 behind the wheel. This is a congressman's son who inherited a seat in Congress, who now runs his daddy's trucking company, who voted seven times for the war in Iran, who voted for the tariffs, who voted to cut your health care — all so he could give a tax break to data center developers and some of the wealthiest people in the country. His office has been in cahoots with some of the most notorious white supremacists in America. He's already brought disgrace to our state. But I am so grateful to Georgians for investing the trust in me to represent Georgia in the Senate. I've stood up to the drug companies, to the big tech companies, and to the insurance companies who are denying us the care that we need when we need it. And I humbly ask for your continued support in this election.
— Team Ossoff (@TeamOssoff) October 9, 2026
Ossoff also accused Collins of supporting policies that benefited data center developers and wealthy Americans. He said Collins' office had been associated with some of the country's most notorious white supremacists.
Ossoff contrasted Collins' record with his own work, saying he had stood up to drug companies, big tech companies and insurance companies.
Jon Ossoff and Mike Collins clash over Trump's agenda
The question of Trump's policies was central to Ossoff's strategy of holding Collins accountable for his voting record over the past year.
In addition to tariffs, Ossoff repeatedly challenged Collins over his support for the war in Iran and his vote for Trump's signature domestic policy bill, which included Medicaid cuts and changes affecting health insurance premiums.
“Whatever Donald Trump says," Mr. Ossoff said, “Mike Collins does.”
The candidates also clashed over whether the federal government should set voting rules. Rather than offering a simple answer, Ossoff criticized Collins and Trump over their focus on overturning the 2020 election.
Georgia played a central role in the election dispute after Trump called the state's Republican secretary of state and pressured him to “find” enough votes to reverse the result in his favor.
Collins fired back by criticizing Ossoff's opposition to the SAVE America Act, federal legislation that would tighten voter ID requirements and require proof of citizenship from voters.
Mike Collins from the top rope: Jon Ossoff is a TRUST FUND KID who’s never had a real job. https://t.co/UaSpQYGapn
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) October 8, 2026
Mike Collins faces scrutiny as Georgia Senate race heats up
The exchange added to the scrutiny surrounding Collins as he campaigns to unseat Ossoff in a race that could affect the balance of power in the Senate.
Despite Trump's backing, Collins faced questions about his voting record, his support for the president's agenda and the controversies involving people associated with his campaign.
The debate gave Ossoff an opportunity to raise those issues directly with Georgia voters and connect them to Collins' record on economic policy, healthcare, immigration-related voting rules and the war in Iran.
