Trump highlights Republican candidates, urges Senate to pass SAVE Act during Cobb County visit

Facing what is likely to be a difficult midterm election in Georgia and across the country, President Donald Trump touted his economic platform during a visit to Wheeler High School in Cobb County Wednesday. 

Several Republican candidates for statewide office had speaking slots, giving the official White House event a distinctly partisan tint.

To an audience of roughly 3,000 people, the president promoted his newly launched child investment accounts and cast his opponents as “communists” who were threatening to bankrupt the country. But in a wide-ranging 75-minute speech, he also criticized members of the U.S. Senate for failing to pass his signature election bill, known as the SAVE America Act.

The bill would require voters to show proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, before being able to cast a vote. 

But Trump has repeatedly demanded that lawmakers enact the bill, which stalled in the Senate last month largely over concerns that it would create chaos ahead of the November midterms. He refused to sign a landmark, bipartisan housing bill last month over lawmakers’ failure to pass the act and centered last Thursday’s primetime address on the bill.

Trump’s appearance at the public high school had the tone of a campaign rally, with a wide array of downballot Republican candidates appearing onstage to pitch themselves to Georgia voters. He also castigated U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Georgia Democrat running for reelection, for voting against many of Trump’s policy priorities.

Jackson shares stage with Trump; Collins stays in Washington

Cobb County, which was once a reliably red area, flipped blue for the first time in decades during the 2016 election, and has stayed blue since. And despite multiple polls showing Democratic candidates in the lead over Republicans statewide, numerous speakers argued that Georgia is still a GOP stronghold, dubbing the state “Trump Country.”

Rick Jackson, the Republican nominee for governor, recounted his childhood growing up in foster care, and praised First Lady Melania Trump for launching her “fostering the future” initiative. 

“Affordability is not a political problem. Affordability is a business problem. It requires business solutions, just like this man’s been doing all his life,” Jackson said in comments praising Trump. 

Lieutenant governor candidate Greg Dolezal, attorney general candidate Sen. Brian Strickland and secretary of state candidate Rep. Tim Fleming were also among the speakers.

“This is a red state,” Dolezal told the crowd during his speech, appearing to echo false claims of Trump winning Georgia during the 2020 election. “We proved it in 2020, we proved it in 2024, and we’re going to prove it yet again this year in 2026.”

Three counts — including one conducted by hand — affirmed former President Joe Biden’s narrow 2020 victory in Georgia.

Congressman Mike Collins, who is running to unseat Ossoff in the U.S. Senate, was initially scheduled to attend the event, but later said he was needed in Washington D.C. to vote on legislation. 

Democratic officials sharply criticized the event, with state Rep. Lisa Campbell, a Kennesaw Democrat who represents a Cobb County-based House district, accusing Trump of hosting a political rally “at our public school using our tax dollars.”

“The sheer audacity and height of hypocrisy to dismantle the Department of Education and then host a campaign rally at a public school,” Campbell said. 

Ahead of Trump’s speech, protesters lined the sidewalk outside of a shopping center in Marietta about a mile from the school, with cars enthusiastically honking their approval as they passed. Many of them waved school-themed signs, such as “keep MAGA out of our schools” or giving Trump failing grades. A smaller group of protesters also gathered closer to the venue. 

Anna Ferraro, a teacher who lives in Paulding County, said she was tired of Trump “butting into everything” and was particularly unsettled by his appearance at a Georgia public school. Ferraro said she became interested in protesting when she saw others doing it and now she hopes her efforts will have the same effect on others. 

“I’m not just sitting on my phone saying I hate Trump. I’m actually out here trying to make a difference and showing people that they can make a difference,” Ferraro said. 

Democratic candidates were quick to blast their opponents for their participation in the event. 

“A picture is worth a thousand words. Today, Rick Jackson stood next to Donald Trump to again pledge he will be Trump’s ‘favorite governor,’” the Democratic nominee for governor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, said in a statement. “There’s a clear choice in this election: Rick Jackson would work for Donald Trump, I will work for Georgians.” 

Scanning the crowd

The president’s visit attracted a mix of loyal Republicans and curious voters from around the metro Atlanta area. 

Kazi Safi, a 19-year-old Marietta resident who is originally from California, said he attended the event as an observer, not necessarily a supporter of Trump. He said he has several concerns about the way the country is being run, including with immigration policy, politicians accepting money from interest groups and the Iran war.

“I’ll admit I was more of a fan of Trump’s first term,” Safi said. “I agree that we should take out illegal immigrants, but I feel like there’s a process to do that.”

While he approves of some of Trump’s policies, Safi said he does not support Collins and is undecided about Jackson, arguing that voters shouldn’t “blindly” support candidates just because of their party affiliation.

“I feel like Georgia needs a Republican governor,” he said. “Americans should take the time to do their research and then vote based off where they align.”

Another attendee, a 60-year-old Cobb County resident Leasa Brandenburg, said she was excited for the president’s visit, though she was hoping to learn more about Georgia’s top-ticket Republican candidates like Jackson. 

“It’s kind of like meeting somebody and then going out on a date with them,” she said. “You have to date them several times to find out what they’re all about, what they like, what they don’t like, and to determine whether or not they’re someone that would fit in your life.”

She said she was still waiting to see where Jackson lands on a variety of different issues, adding that she’d like to see Republican candidates move past the 2020 election.

“That doesn’t matter anymore. It doesn’t matter to anybody,” she said.

Andra Gillespie, a professor of political science at Emory University, said events like Trump’s rallies are aimed at energizing reliable Republican voters rather than appealing to moderates.

“The idea is to get them so charged up that you basically establish a lead that would be difficult for Democrats to [overcome],” she said.

For candidates like Jackson, who narrowly defeated Trump-endorsed candidate Burt Jones in the race for governor, Gillespie added, the event is a chance to consolidate support from both wings of the Republican Party.

“What I suspect he’s going to do is to use this as an opportunity to reach out to those Jones supporters and say ‘still come out and support me with the same fervor that you would have supported Burt Jones if he had been the nominee,’” she said. “And then he’s going to do a pivot towards voters in the middle and then play up his outsider credentials in order to try to have the best of both worlds.”

Georgia Recorder staff Jill Nolin, Ross Williams and Ellie Fivas contributed to this report.

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