Mike Collins

The heated fight for who will represent Georgia in the U.S. Senate got an extra spark last week when a member of Republican Mike Collin's campaign posted an inappropriate comment on their official platform.

What was the offensive Brandon Phillips, Mike Collins post?

On Friday, the "Mike Collins War Room" account on X replied to a post from Luke Thompson who was sharing a new poll on the runoff election, showing a drop in popularity for Collins. The reply, which has since been deleted, read "Matt Lauer's sloppy seconds chiming in to take an L" and in a follow up called him "a Yankee with poor judgement on women and GA politics."

It was reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the poster was Brandon Phillips, a major yet controversial political operative in the Collins camp, who was fired.

Who is Matt Lauer?

Matt Lauer was a major figure of NBC and was the host of the "Today" show for 20 years. He was infamously fired in 2017 due to alleged sexual misconduct, though he has not faced any charges.

Thompson is the husband of Brooke Nevils, a former NBC talent assistant who accused Lauer of sexual assault in 2017, an account she wrote about for "The Cut" earlier this year.

Mike Collins statement on offensive post

Collins issued a statement on the post, saying it was made without his knowledge or approval, calling it "despicable" and "in no way represents or reflects my values or the values of this campaign." He then apologized and said he has "made staffing changes to ensure this type of behavior never happens again."

Reactions to Brandon Phillips, Mike Collins offensive post

Thompson said of the initial post "Collins surrounds himself with unprofessional and incompetent cretins. This is not a team capable of holding its own against the Ossoff war chest. Just a deeply stupid group of low grade operators."

A video of Nevils reacting to the post was shared on the Blue Georgia X platform:

Derek Dooley, who is running against Collins for the Republican nomination, said "This kind of disgusting behavior does not represent Georgia values—or frankly any values—and is exactly why Mike Collins cannot be our nominee this November. A vote for Collins is a vote for Ossoff."

Ossoff has not publicly commented on the post.

The topic was discussed during a Fox 5 segment called "Red Clay Rundown" during which Republican strategist Brian Robinson called the post "an earthquake," stalling momentum, and delaying or even preventing an endorsement from President Donald Trump. Paramount Consulting Group CEO Tharon Johnson said during the show that, with just a month before the runoff election, this is an unwelcome distraction for the campaign, but they can survive this.

Who is Brandon Phillips?

The AJC chronicled a colorful history of Phillips, describing him as a hard-edged, inflammatory political operative which endeared him to some politicians. As Collins' former chief of staff, he's helped craft Collins' combative online personal and attention-grabbing political attacks. He was also Trump's Georgia state director.

Phillips is currently facing a House Ethics Committee investigation on whether or not he misused taxpayer funds to pay his girlfriend for a no-show internship. He has also faced multiple allegations of physical violence through the years, pleading guilty in 2008 to criminal trespassing and battery, according to the AP.

While Collins has spoken out against Philips' recent inflammatory post, he is suffering backlash for continuing to stand by Phillips over the years and for not directly naming him in his recent statement.

GA primary election results

Last week's Georgia Primary Election ended with a runoff for the Republican nomination between Mike Collins with 40.5% of the vote and Derek Dooley with 30.19%. The narrow runner up was Earl "Buddy" Carter with 25.11%.

When are Georgia runoff elections?

The runoff will take place on June 16. Early voting will be offered no later than June 8-12.