The headlines regarding President Donald Trump’s Saturday rally in Georgia made it appear as though he only talked about his own election and his voter fraud claims instead of rallying support for Georgia’s Republican senators facing runoff elections.
The Washington Post headlined its article, “At Georgia rally, Trump spouts election falsehoods, amplifies old grievances.” The New York Times’ headline read, “At Rally for Georgia Senators, Trump Focuses on His Own Grievances.” The examples go on.
As the Washington Examiner’s Byron York reported, however, Trump did not only talk about himself while ignoring Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. He didn’t even spend most of his time talking about his own election while lacking in his support for the Republican candidates whose election losses could flip control of the U.S. Senate.
In his morning newsletter, York noted that “Trump delivered for Perdue and Loeffler.”
“Yes, he talked a lot about the presidential election. But he also talked a lot about the Senate races, stressed the importance of the races, and pushed repeatedly for Georgians to vote in the runoffs. He even took took [sic] a not-so-veiled shot at his own allies who have been urging Georgia Republicans to boycott the race,” York reported.
Trump said early on in his speech during the rally that the election in Georgia was historic.
“There’s never been a case where a state has had this prominence in Senate races because they’re never together,” Trump said. “This is something that’s very important and you have to get out and you have to vote…David and Kelly are running against radical Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock…You must go vote and vote early starting December 14th. You have to do it.”
As York noted, a huge sign behind Trump said: “Request your absentee ballot right now.” “If you aren’t planning to vote by mail, vote early in-person or vote on Election Day,” Trump said during his speech. “Whatever you do, I need each of you, every one of you, your friends, your family, to go and vote.”
Trump did speak about his thoughts on his own election and his voter-fraud theories, but that was not the bulk of his speech.
As The Daily Wire’s Ryan Saavedra reported, Trump emphasized the importance of the runoff elections, even bucking two of his supporters – attorneys L. Lin Wood and Sidney Powell – who suggested Republicans not vote in Georgia to send a message.
“We built the greatest military in the world, and the better it is, the less likely it is that we’re gonna have to use it,” Trump said. “But everything we’ve achieved together is on the line,” Trump said at the rally.
“If you don’t vote, the socialists and the communists win; they win,” he added. “Georgia patriots must show up and vote for these two incredible people, and I’m telling you, they are two of the finest people you’ll ever meet.”