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Transcript: Trump Delivers Remarks At Midterm Rally In Dalton, Georgia

President Donald Trump rallied supporters in Dalton, Georgia, October 16, 2026 urging voters to back Rep. Mike Collins for U.S. Senate against Sen. Jon Ossoff and Rick Jackson for governor ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. In a wide-ranging speech, Trump touted border security, record economic numbers, military operations in Venezuela and Iran, and promised a $5,000 “Trump dividend” for adult citizens if Republicans win the House and Senate. Here is the full transcript of Trump’s midterm rally remarks in Dalton, Georgia.

Opening Remarks: “Pretend I’m on the Ballot”

DONALD TRUMP: Well, I want to say a very big hello to a very, very special place. Hello, Georgia, and hello, Dawgs. We like Dawgs a lot. Two years ago, I won this state with more votes than any presidential candidate or any political candidate in the history of Georgia.

I’m very proud of that. And eighteen days from now, the people of Georgia are going to defeat your weak, arrogant, hate filled, radical left senator who is really… I call him Pee-wee Herman. Pee-wee Herman. Looks like Pee-wee.

His name is Jon Ossoff, highly overrated. And we’re going to send Mike Collins to the United States Senate. And we’re going to send a great friend of mine and an amazing man, Rick Jackson, will be your next governor. Amazing. Incredible.

And we’re going to elect a strong Republican House, and they’re all here right now. Look at these people, warriors, warriors. Oh my. We have a lot of victory. In this election, I’m asking you to… You have to pretend I’m on the ballot. Okay. The story is this. We get 49% more vote when I’m on the ballot. When I’m not on the ballot, I guess it’s a compliment, but people don’t show up so much.

So this is really, I think, the most important midterm election maybe we’ve ever had because there’s never been anything like what we’ve done. And we can’t have them take it away from us and from our country because we’ve made America greater than we ever thought even possible, and it’s going to go to lengths that you’ve never seen. But you have to go out and vote. You have to go out and vote.

So pretend I’m on the ballot, get that 49% of the people, and if you have the 49, you’re going to have Rick, you’re going to have Mike, you’re going to have every one of these people, and they’re going to do a job for you because they love you and they love your state.

Early Voting in Georgia

DONALD TRUMP: Early voting in Georgia is already underway. Early voting’s underway and continues through October 30, so you really have to get out there. And if you’re voting by mail, make sure that you request your ballot by October 23.

And to find out how or where you have to go to vote, which I’d be surprised if anybody in this group… I mean, “Where do I go to vote? Please help me.” But if you do want to know that, swampthevoteusa.com. It’s all very simple.

The 2017 Special Election and Jon Ossoff

DONALD TRUMP: And in June 2017, we had a candidate for Congress who was losing badly. I felt so badly for him. You know who it was? Ossoff. But he was losing very badly in special election to a guy that looked like Pee-wee Herman and still does, in my opinion. I don’t know. Somebody said, “He’s a good looking man.”

I don’t think he’s a good looking man. I actually think Mike Collins is a good looking man. And he’s all man. He’s all man. I’m not sure about… And I actually think that Rick Jackson’s a very handsome, distinguished, beautiful looking guy.

But anyway, so Ossoff was leading by a lot, and they called me in to help. It was a special election. It was the only one. And I came in, and I held a massive rally for the person, very nice woman. And we ended up beating ourselves.

So I beat him, and that was in 2017. I beat him once, and now we’re going to beat him, more importantly, a second time. And the woman won, very nice person, Karen, won 52 to 48 in the special election, and it was a shocker at the time. Nobody could believe it because he had a massive lead.

It actually started where he had a big lead and there were about six or seven candidates and he got 49.9… Think of this. He got 49.9% of the vote. So he had to go into his special election, but he thought he was going to win that easily. And she beat him 52 to 48. It was pretty amazing.

And you know what? That was the best thing that happened to him. He lost and then he became a senator. How the hell does that happen, Rick? But that’s life, isn’t it? I didn’t know I was helping him, actually. But we knocked his ass, and now he’s going to do it again. We’re going to beat… You’re going to have, in my college, you’re going to have one of the best senators.

Mike Collins: “Central Casting”

DONALD TRUMP: Anyway, he’s one of the most respected people in Washington. There’s nobody more respected than Mike. The job he’s done as a congressman, the congressman will tell you, they’re all here. They’re one of the most respected guys, and he is central cast. Stand up.

Look at this. If I’m casting a movie for a senator, I like the white hair. I like the big, strong build. Big, strong guy. But that’s what I want, but he’s a respected man.

David Perdue and the 2020 Election

DONALD TRUMP: Then you had the election with Ossoff against David Perdue, a really good guy, senator. David Perdue, and it was a rigged election. You know that. And David actually won that election. He won it by a lot.

I sent David to China.