WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump mistakenly referred to Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff as "Pinky Herman" during a July 22 speech in Marietta, Georgia, intending to mock him by referencing the 1980s character "Pee-wee Herman" played by Paul Reubens. Trump later corrected himself while promoting U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, Ossoff's Trump-endorsed Republican challenger, saying Collins would "beat Pee-wee Herman."

Republicans view Georgia as their best chance to flip a Democratic Senate seat and maintain their 53-47 majority. Recent polling shows Ossoff leading in the race he won in 2020, when Democrats swept the state. Trump attacked Ossoff as a "Democrat communist" and claimed, "I fought Ossoff before, and as you know, we won," referencing a 2017 special election Ossoff narrowly lost.

Trump's visit, billed as an official White House event, resembled a campaign stop. He repeated baseless claims about the 2020 election, urging supporters to "make it too big to rig." The FBI is investigating Georgia's 2020 results, and Trump previously pressured Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes." Collins missed the event due to congressional duties.