Sen. Ossoff Blushes, Chuckles at Question from TMZ Reporter: ‘Come On, My Brother’

 
Jon Ossoff

Screenshots via X.

Sen. Jon Ossoff’s (D-GA) re-election campaign seems to be going well, but a question from a TMZ reporter briefly stopped him in his tracks.

TMZ DC reporter Charlie Cotton caught up with Ossoff Friday as he was about to enter an elevator and commented on the senator’s rosy campaign prospects.

“Hey Jon,” said Cotton. “A lot of people have been saying that you’ve got BDE — you know, BDE?”

Ossoff broke out in a grin and chuckled, “Come on, my brother.”

The slang abbreviation is short for “big d*ck energy,” which the Urban Dictionary defines as “subtle, sexy confidence,” “swagger,” and “confidence without cockiness.”

“Yeah, a lot of people have been saying you’ve got like — you walk with confidence, you carry yourself –” Cotton continued.

“Only an Aussie would ask me that,” Ossoff said, still grinning.

“Right!” Cotton agreed.

“You doing ok?” Ossoff asked.

“I’m doing very good, thank you very much,” replied Cotton.

“Good to see you, man,” Ossoff bid him farewell as he turned to get on the elevator. “Have a good one!”

“Catch you around, you too!” said Cotton.

“Take care!” said Ossoff.

Cotton shared the clip on his social media with a cheeky caption, “too far?” His TMZ DC reporting partner, Jacob Wasserman, crowed about the video, writing, “My man [Charlie Cotton] really asked Ossoff if he knows what BDE is.”

TMZ, which has been expanding its political coverage in Washington, D.C. lately with its new “TMZ DC” team, shared the video, commenting about the “one very personal question” Cotton had posed to Ossoff, “Maybe we crossed the line in D.C., but BDE might finally be back in the Democratic Party!”

Ossoff is on the ballot in November, defending the Senate seat he won during a runoff election in 2021.

His Republican opponent, Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), has been mired in a messy scandal regarding white nationalist posts by his son-in-law and has fallen far behind Ossoff in fundraising.

The polling has long favored Ossoff and Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball ratings just shifted their assessment of the race from “Leans D” to “Likely D.”

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Sarah Rumpf is an attorney and Contributing Editor focusing on politics, law, and the media. She joined Mediaite in 2020. A native Floridian, Sarah attended the University of Florida, graduating with a double major in Political Science and German, and earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the UF College of Law. Sarah's writing has been featured at National Review, The Daily Beast, Reason, Law&Crime, Independent Journal Review, Texas Monthly, The Capitolist, Breitbart Texas, Townhall, RedState, The Orlando Sentinel, and the Austin-American Statesman, and her political commentary has led to appearances on television, radio, and podcast programs across the globe. Follow Sarah on Threads, Twitter, and Bluesky.