On September 21, 2025, Kakha Kaladze, the current mayor of Tbilisi and mayoral candidate from Georgian Dream, called journalists “abusers” and verbally insulted them.

“You are the first abusers, you are the ones who abuse and who try to… then you’re surprised when sometimes a microphone is hit against your head… then you wonder why.”

After this comment, a journalist asked Kaladze whether his statement was an encouragement of violence. The Georgian Dream mayoral candidate replied that he had not attempted to encourage violence and continued verbally insulting the journalists.

“This kind of politeness, generally, is taught in the family… It is clear and obvious what you represent, who you are, what you are, and that’s why you are so miserable, wretched, and degraded.”