Georgia Representative Mike Collins was attacked by political opponents on Sunday for commenting on a social media post by an antisemitic meme account.
Collins, a republican congressman, replied to a post on X that drew attention to Washington Post reporter Maura Judkis's Jewish background.
Never was a second thought.
— Rep. Mike Collins (@RepMikeCollins) March 3, 2024
Georgia State Representative Esther Panitch, urged Collins to delete the comment.
"Congressman, I will assume you mistakenly agreed with a virulent antisemitic account calling out a reporter because she is Jewish," the Democrat wrote on Monday.
Collins says critics 'grasping at straws'
When Collins received backlash over the comment and accusations of antisemitism, he said that critics were grasping at straws.
Some of y'all having a rough time wanting to see something that ain't there. But don't give up! pic.twitter.com/7LPOKIfvpj
— Rep. Mike Collins (@RepMikeCollins) March 4, 2024
"In case you were wondering, yes she is," wrote the meme account.
"Never was a second thought," Collins responded.
"Some of y'all having a rough time wanting to see something that ain't there. But don't give up!" said Collins.
Pantich said that "It's one thing to mistakenly respond to an antisemitic account. It's another thing to double down on it and gaslight us like it never happened."
Collins did not immediately respond to request for comment.