President Donald Trump’s Georgia stop on Thursday blended a campaign pitch on tariffs and the economy with repeated remarks tied to debunked claims about election fraud, despite the White House insisting the trip was meant to spotlight economic issues.
In opening remarks at a local restaurant before he toured a steel company, Trump raised allegations of voter fraud and returned to themes that his campaign has used for months, including a call for voters to show identification before voting and comments about the FBI raid involving election offices in Fulton County, Georgia’s most populous county.
“They came in, they took all those ballots; all those crooked ballots were taken,” Trump said in the restaurant opening minutes, adding that “the Democrats are fighting like hell” and that “they don’t want anyone to see those ballots.”
Later, at Coosa Steel Corporation, Trump argued that Democrats “cheated like dogs” in the 2020 election, returning to the claim that Democrats and President Joe Biden stole the election—a contention that audits, state officials, courts and Trump’s own former attorney general have rejected.
The day’s travel plans also pointed to political strategy tied to the state’s midterm season. Trump’s schedule included appearing in a congressional district previously represented by Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former supporter who resigned in January after feuding with Trump. A special election to replace her is set for March 10, and early voting has already begun.
At the steel company stop, Trump praised the FBI raid and linked it to his broader election narrative, saying: “The FBI came in and raided. They found plenty of your stuff, and now they have the ballots,” before asserting, “You know why? Because they cheated like dogs.”
In remarks at Coosa Steel, Trump also shifted emphasis toward his economic program, saying the tariff would help and linking the visit’s industrial focus to the policy. He shouted about the Supreme Court, which is weighing the legality of what he described as his use of emergency powers to impose worldwide tariffs, adding, “The tariff is the greatest thing that has happened to this country.”
Trump also claimed inflation was no longer a problem in the United States, while blaming Democrats for rising costs and saying, “They caused the affordability problem. And we solved it.” The remarks came after the White House had framed the trip as an economy message.
While Trump’s rhetoric continued to highlight election-fraud claims, parts of Georgia’s Republican establishment signaled caution about turning the Fulton County investigation into a straightforward political cudgel. Janelle King, a member of Georgia’s State Election Board and a conservative commentator, said she was aware of calls for the board—whose majority is aligned with Trump—to take control of elections in Fulton County, but said it was “just not something that we’re looking to do without having all of the information,” and that she expected a clearer picture once the FBI investigation is finished.
At the same time, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump was “exploring his options” regarding a potential executive order teased on social media over the weekend intended to address voter fraud, after Trump used the platform to describe Democrats with charged language and urged that such claims appear early in speeches.
In Georgia, some Republicans said the economy would be the more productive message. Scott Johnson, a longtime GOP leader in Marietta who attended the speech, said “the economy is a winning issue for us,” but he also said he was “not so sure that boosting claims of election fraud from 2020 is a good idea,” adding, “I’m not concerned about relitigating the past. I’m concerned about moving forward in the future.”
Trump’s appearance also unfolded amid public friction with Greene. On Thursday, he did not address new attacks from Greene, who earlier posted that the White House and Republican leaders had met to develop a midterm message and complained about rising health insurance costs, including the impact of the expiration of Affordable Care Act tax credits. The Republican candidates seeking her seat have leaned into Trump’s support, including district attorney Clay Fuller, who described himself as a “MAGA warrior” before Trump took the stage. Another candidate in the race, Republican former state Sen. Colton Moore, said he believed Fuller was “unfortunate” after Trump endorsed him and called Trump “the greatest president of our lifetimes.”