ROME, Ga. — The White House insisted that President Donald Trump was visiting Georgia to promote the economy.
But in the opening minutes of his first stop at a local restaurant, the president raised debunked claims of voter fraud, talked up his plan to require voters to show identification before casting ballots, and discussed the recent FBI raid of election offices in the state's most populous county.
“They came in, they took all those ballots; all those crooked ballots were taken," Trump said. “And the Democrats are fighting like hell. They don’t want anyone to see those ballots. Let’s see what happens.”
He added, “We're going to clean it up."
The White House has long said Trump would focus more on the economy, and he frequently complains that he doesn’t get enough credit for it. But recent months have been dominated by other issues, including deadly clashes during deportation efforts in Minneapolis, potential military action in Iran, and his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
Trump's destination in Georgia suggests he has something else on his mind, too. After his stop at The Varsity Restaurant, he headed to a steel company in the congressional district previously represented by Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former supporter who resigned in January after feuding with Trump.
There's a special election to replace her on March 10.
Trump, who was especially surly during his public remarks, also used his Georgia appearance to talk up his tariffs and rail against the Supreme Court, which is weighing the legality of his novel use of an emergency powers law to impose worldwide tariffs.
“I’ve been waiting forever, forever, and the language is clear that I have the right to do it as president,” Trump shouted. He added, “The tariff is the greatest thing that has happened to this country.”
Meanwhile, new research tied to one of America's leading banks showed on Thursday that tariffs paid by midsize U.S. businesses tripled over the course of the past year.
The additional taxes have meant that companies that employ a combined 48 million people in the U.S. — the kinds of businesses that Trump had promised to revive — have had to find ways to absorb the new expense, by passing it along to customers in the form of higher prices, employing fewer workers or accepting lower profits.
False claims of voter fraud
The Georgia visit comes less than a month after federal agents seized voting records and ballots from Fulton County, home to the state’s largest collection of Democrats.
Trump has long seen Georgia as central to his false claim that the 2020 election was stolen by Democrats and President Joe Biden, a fabrication that he reiterated Wednesday during a White House reception on Black History Month.
“We won by millions of votes but they cheated,” Trump said.
Audits, state officials, courts and Trump’s own former attorney general have all rejected the idea of widespread problems that could have altered the election.
Some Republicans are now pushing for Georgia’s State Election Board, which has a Trump-aligned majority, to take control of elections in Fulton County — a step enabled by a controversial state law passed in 2021. Board member and conservative commentator Janelle King said she was aware of calls for a takeover, but said Wednesday that “it’s just not something that we’re looking to do without having all of the information.”
She said she expects to have a clearer picture once the FBI is done with its investigation. But she and the other two members of the board’s majority said they had serious concerns about Fulton County and were glad to see the federal government get involved.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump was “exploring his options” when it comes to a potential executive order he teased on social media over the weekend designed to address voter fraud.
Trump described Democrats as “horrible, disingenuous CHEATERS” in the post, which is pinned to the top of his social media account. He also said that Republicans should feature such claims “at the top of every speech.”
Scott Johnson of Marietta, a longtime GOP leader in Georgia who gathered at the Coosa Steel Corporation in Rome to see the president, said “the economy is a winning issue for us.”
He's not so sure that boosting claims of election fraud from 2020 is a good idea.
“I’m not concerned about relitigating the past. I’m concerned about moving forward in the future," he said.
Greene has not gone quiet
Trump may be distracted by fresh attacks from Greene, once among the president's most vocal allies in Congress and now one of his loudest conservative critics.
In a social media post ahead of Trump's visit, Greene noted that the White House and Republican leaders met earlier in the week to develop an effective midterm message. She suggested they were “on the struggle bus" and blamed them for health insurance costs that ballooned this year.
“Approximately 75,000 households in my former district had their health insurance double or more on January 1st of this year because the ACA tax credits expired and Republicans have absolutely failed to fix our health insurance system that was destroyed by Obamacare,” she said. “And you can call me all the petty names you want, I don’t worship a man. I’m not in a cult.”
Early voting has already begun in the special election to replace Greene, and the leading Republican candidates have fully embraced Trump.
Trump was traveling on Thursday with his preferred candidate, Clay Fuller, a district attorney who prosecutes crimes in four counties and described himself as “a MAGA warrior” before Trump took the stage.
Other candidates in the race include Republican former state Sen. Colton Moore, who made a name for himself with a vociferous attack on Trump’s prosecution in Georgia. Moore, the favorite of many far-right activists, said he’s been in communication with Trump even after Trump endorsed Fuller, calling the choice “unfortunate.”
“I think he’s the greatest president of our lifetimes,” Moore said.
___
Peoples reported from Washington. AP writer Kate Brumback in Atlanta contributed.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
