President Trump on Thursday forcefully defended his administration's implementation of tariffs while expressing frustration for how long he has been waiting for the Supreme Court to determine if the authority he used to impose the duties is lawful.
Trump spoke at a steel plant in northwest Georgia, in which he touted how tariffs were benefiting businesses such as Coosa Steel Corp. in Rome, Ga., which he toured before delivering his speech.
He also brought to the stage a number of GOP congressional candidates running in various House districts in the Peach State, including Clay Fuller, a local prosecutor who is running to replace former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) after her falling-out with Trump.
But Trump was most forceful when discussing his tariff policy, in particular referencing a highly anticipated Supreme Court decision that will determine whether his tariffs can stay in place.
"Without tariffs, what would you do? You know what, everybody would be bankrupt," Trump told supporters at the rally.
"And I have to wait for this decision," he roared. "I've been waiting forever, forever. And the language is clear that I have the right to do it as president. I have the right to put tariffs on for national security purposes, countries that have been ripping us off for years. You know what they were doing? They were using tariffs."
The visit is one of a number of trips the president is taking to tout the economy in an effort to boost Republicans ahead of the midterms. The trip also comes ahead of the special election to replace Greene in the state's 14th Congressional District. Several Republicans are vying to replace Greene in the deep-red district, but Trump has backed Fuller, who took the stage at the rally Thursday.
The president and Republicans are working particularly hard to reclaim the issue of affordability from Democrats, who won on the issue in a series of off-year elections in 2025. Trump's speech on Thursday tied tariffs to affordability -- and at one point he declared that no one was saying the word "affordability" because he had won on the issue.
But a number of recent polls show a majority of Americans disapprove of Trump's handling of the economy.
"I have to listen to the fake news talk about 'affordability, affordability,'" Trump told the crowd.
"Do you notice, what word have you not heard over the last two weeks? Affordability. Because, I've won. I've won affordability," he continued. "I had to go out and talk about it, but we inherited a mess."
Georgia is shaping up to be one of the most competitive states on the 2026 midterm map. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the state's open gubernatorial and Senate races as toss-ups.
Trump singled out incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff (Ga.), arguably the most vulnerable Senate Democrat running for reelection, during Thursday's rally.
"He's a real stiff. We don't want people like that representing Georgia," Trump said.
In a statement following the rally, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said Trump has failed to improve the economy in Georgia and across the country.
"Donald Trump promised to lower costs on 'Day One,' but Georgians know that was just another one of Trump's broken promises. As Donald Trump calls affordability a 'fake word' and 'hoax' and spends his time building gilded ballrooms, Georgia families are seeing costs rise, health care get more expensive, and jobs disappear," Martin said.
"While Donald Trump and Georgia Republicans continue to make life more expensive for hardworking families, Democrats in Georgia and across the country won't stop fighting to lower costs and protect health care."