ATLANTA — More than 1,600 people packed into the Center Stage Theater in Midtown, Atlanta on Sunday for a chance to see Senator Jon Ossoff take the stage.

The Georgia Democrat is locked in an intense and closely watched battle for reelection in the Peach State as he faces a Trump loyalist, Rep. Mike Collins. His campaign has garnered national attention as TikTok videos goes viral and questions swirl on whether Ossoff will consider a 2028 presidential bid (it’s a hard no, the senator says).

Ossoff took the stage and hit many of his regular talking points. He accused Collins of collaborating with white supremacists and white nationalists. He acknowledged his opponent’s ongoing House ethics investigation. Ossoff pointed out Collins’ support of the Big Beautiful Bill and federal cuts to Medicaid.

He also called Trump a product of the “rot” of corruption in Washington, and criticized his “pointless” war in Iran.

But it was a comment that he made about a Trump staffer that caused conservatives to accuse the politician of sexism and misogyny.

“While the sailors on the (U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln) fight (Trump’s) war, while he fruitlessly drains our munitions and oil reserves, the president sleep through his meetings. He golfs and trades stocks. So, he doesn’t want to do the job,” Ossoff said. “He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the Emir of Qatar.”

Who is ‘Natalie’?

Ossoff comment was in reference to Trump aide Natalie Harp, who does not have a public facing official title.

Harp is a bone cancer survivor who was able to receive an experimental treatment through the “Right to Try” law signed by Trump in 2018. The law allows terminally ill patients to access medications not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration in hopes they help where approved treatments have failed. Harp spoke about her experience at the 2020 Republican National Convention, where she vowed to dedicate her life to Trump.

Harp took up a position in the Trump Administration for his second term, appearing with the president around the world. New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman called Harp Trump’s “Binkie” or “comfort blanket” during an appearance on MSNOW.

Her name came up recently as she was chosen to accompany the president when he was secretly removed from Air Force One and transferred to another plane via an airline catering truck amid threats on the president’s life from Iran.

Harp was one of a few select people allowed to accompany the president, according to reports, while officials like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Stephen Miller and a myriad of reporters were left on the “decoy” plane.

Ossoff was asked why he mentioned Harp in his speech during an appearance with Jen Psaki on MSNOW, and the senator said it came down to her reputation as a “security blanket.”

“I’ve heard this particular aide referred to as his security blanket. And I think we could say that about any number of the senior aides in the White House. They’re not telling him what he needs to hear,” Ossoff said.

Ossoff accused of sexism, misogyny by conservatives

Conservatives were quick to jump on Ossoff’s comment, calling it sexist and misogynistic to imply that Harp was with the president for any reason other than her official capacity.

“(Jon), attractive women can be qualified, hard workers, and in positions of power,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna wrote on X. “Your gross implication otherwise only highlights your own insecurity and guilty conscience. I feel bad for your staff if this is what you think of women.”

Former lawmaker Newt Gingrich said Harp deserves an apology.

“Jon Ossoff owes Natalie Harp a personal apology for having smeared her. If a conservative Republican had attacked a liberal Democrat working professional woman the way Ossoff smeared Natalie Harp there would be cries to kick them off the ticket and reject this kind of misogynistic language diminishing and smearing someone who is simply doing their job,” Gingrich wrote on X.

President Trump was also asked about Ossoff’s comments in the Oval Office, to which he responded, “You mean Pee Wee Herman?” referencing a nickname given to Ossoff during a recent speech in Marietta, Georgia.

The question launched another clash between the president and the press, as the president’s official communications account later called the reporter, Kristen Holmes of CNN, a “disgraceful, humiliating embarrassment” to journalism, and called the question a “cheap shot” aimed at the staffer.

“Someday, your children will come across your disgusting and inhumane question. They will be sickened and embarrassed to have a parent be so callous and vindictive. It’s quite troubling,” the Rapid Response 47 account posted on X.

CNN later released a statement supporting Holmes and her question.

In an official statement from White House Spokesperson Davis Ingle, the administration called Harp “one of the most loyal and hardest working aides on President Trump’s team,” according to POLITICO.

“Jon Ossoff is a cringeworthy, feminine theatre kid cosplaying as Barack Obama. Nobody gives a shit what this lightweight loser says,” Ingle told the outlet.

Irene Wright covers Georgia politics as the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA TODAY’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.