Rep. Mike Collins received backlash on social media for his connections with the American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC). Users specifically targeted the donation amount he has received from the organization.
Rep. Collins doesn’t normally receive criticism on 'X' because he is quite popular on the platform. In fact, the post that invited this criticism was rather inoffensive.
Collins met with the ambassador from Israel, Yechiel Leiter, at a faith-based event. He stated that he had taken the opportunity to stand with Israel as an ally.
Collins stated, “Proud to have the opportunity to be with Ambassador (Yechiel Leiter) at today’s Faith & Freedom of Georgia’s roundtable, and to stand with our ally Israel.”
In response to this post, an account known as ‘AIPAC Tracker’ posted an infographic. The image claims that Collins has received just $9 from the pro-Israel lobby.
This post garnered a lot of attention and received over 17,000 likes and 2,000 reposts. To put this in perspective, Collins’s original post received 360 likes and 45 reposts.
Users responded with harsh criticism, claiming that Collins was a cheap sellout. What made this so shocking to users was how little money he had received from lobbyists. Usually, representatives will receive tens of thousands to help fund campaigns, for example.
Users could have assumed that Collins preferred not to receive so much donor money and be free from leverage. Instead, they assumed the worst and that Collins was just easy to buy out.
Something to note is that Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr posted something similar. He also met with the Israeli Ambassador to renew his support for Israel and the Jewish community.
Carr stated, “As we mourn the murder of two (Israeli) staffers, the hostages still being held, and all those who have lost their lives at the hands of Hamas terrorists, we will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel and the Jewish people to combat antisemitism in all its forms.”
Carr didn’t receive any backlash for this statement whatsoever. It seems that Collins just so happened to be a popular and easy target at the same time.
