President Donald Trump called Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia “Pinky Herman” during a July 22 rally in Marietta, then corrected himself to say “Pee-wee Herman,” stumbling over a punchline he intended as mockery of the one-term senator facing a tough reelection fight.
“He reminds me of Pinky Herman. Did you ever see ‘Pinky Herman?'” Trump said in his remarks at Wheeler High School in Marietta, according to USA Today. The reference was meant to invoke the 1980s television and movie character “Pee-wee Herman” played by late actor Paul Reubens.
Trump later got it right during his lengthy speech as he talked up U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, his endorsed Republican challenger to Ossoff. “Maybe the most important man in this room right now is not here. His name is Mike Collins and he’s going to beat Pee-wee Herman,” Trump said, per USA Today.
Trump’s trip to Georgia came as part of a campaign stop billed as an official White House visit to promote Trump Accounts, new savings accounts designed for newborns that would receive $1,000 in government funds. The event drew roughly 1 hour and 15 minutes of remarks from the president, according to PBS NewsHour.
The president spent much of his speech attacking Ossoff and Democrats more broadly. “Jon Ossoff and the Democrat communists want to let the Marxists into power, bankrupt your families and leave you totally independent with wide open borders,” Trump said, according to USA Today. He also claimed Ossoff “is not respected at all in Washington. You don’t even hear his name mentioned. He’s not even a factor.”
This is not Trump’s first verbal misstep in recent weeks. In early July, Trump referred to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as “President Putin” during a joint press conference and called Iran the “Islamic Republic of Japan,” according to CNN reporting from July 12. These gaffes have drawn renewed scrutiny as Trump campaigns for Republicans ahead of November’s midterm elections.
Republicans see Georgia as perhaps their best opportunity to flip a Democratic-held Senate seat in the 2026 midterm election. The race between Ossoff and Collins is shaping up as one of the most competitive in the nation. Recent polling, however, shows Ossoff maintaining a slight lead, according to USA Today. Ossoff won his seat in 2020 as part of a Democratic sweep that also brought in Sen. Raphael Warnock and helped Joe Biden carry Georgia—a state that had voted Republican since the 1990s.
Trump has a history with Ossoff. In 2017, Trump backed the Republican side in a special election for a Georgia congressional seat, which Ossoff narrowly lost. “I fought Ossoff before, and as you know, we won,” Trump said at the July 22 rally, per USA Today. Ossoff’s campaign did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Trump’s latest remarks.
Collins, a congressman since 2023 and close Trump ally, was unable to attend the event due to congressional obligations in Washington, issuing a video statement ahead of the rally, according to USA Today.
Sources
- USA Today — Trump’s “Pinky Herman” comment, the correction to “Pee-wee Herman,” details of the rally speech, Trump’s prior 2017 race against Ossoff, polling data, and Ossoff’s campaign response
- PBS NewsHour — Duration and focus of Trump’s Georgia rally remarks
- CNN — Trump’s recent verbal gaffes in July 2026, including the Zelenskyy and Iran references
- NBC News — Mike Collins’ role as Trump-endorsed challenger and the 2026 Senate race dynamics
