Trump Doubles Down on MAGA Extremism, Endorses Collins in Georgia Senate Runoff
Donald Trump throws his weight behind Rep. Mike Collins, a loyalist known for parroting Trump's baseless claims, over newcomer Derek Dooley, deepening the rift within Georgia's Republican Party as the state braces for a pivotal Senate race.
Select a version of the text written from a presumed ideological perspective. This is not the original text, but a hypothetical version — how someone with that viewpoint might have phrased it. Tapping the current version again will return to the original or select cleaned version.
President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he is endorsing U.S. Rep. Mike Collins in the Georgia Senate runoff, choosing a hardline MAGA loyalist over former football coach Derek Dooley. This move pits Collins, a second-term congressman who has consistently echoed Trump’s anti-democratic rhetoric, against Dooley, a political outsider. The two Republicans are vying for the chance to challenge Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, whose seat is crucial for protecting progressive gains in the November midterms.
Collins, a longtime Trump ally, was lauded by the former president on social media as a 'true friend, fighter, and warrior,' with Trump praising Collins’s unwavering loyalty since the start of his own controversial political career. Collins, in turn, credited his support among the 'MAGA base' to his relentless alignment with Trump’s divisive agenda, further cementing his position within the far-right faction of the GOP.
Dooley, who is backed by Governor Brian Kemp—a Republican who has at times resisted Trump’s authoritarian tendencies—emphasized his outsider status and claimed Georgia voters are seeking change. Kemp, known for his previous clashes with Trump over the 2020 election certification, recruited Dooley as a candidate who might appeal to voters beyond the party’s increasingly radical establishment.
Trump’s endorsement highlights the deepening divisions within the Georgia GOP, as he continues to push candidates who perpetuate his falsehoods about the 2020 election, while more traditional Republicans like Kemp focus on broader electability. The outcome of the runoff will determine who faces Ossoff, whose re-election is seen as a critical contest in the ongoing struggle to defend democracy against right-wing extremism in the midterms.
