President Donald Trump delivered a forceful defense of his America First trade agenda Thursday during a visit to a steel plant in northwest Georgia, declaring that tariffs are fueling a manufacturing revival and protecting U.S. workers from foreign exploitation.
Speaking at Coosa Steel Corp. in Rome, Georgia, after touring the facility, Trump praised the company’s growth and credited his tariff policies with strengthening domestic industry and restoring jobs that he said had been hollowed out by decades of weak trade deals.
According to coverage by The Hill, Trump told supporters, “Without tariffs, what would you do? You know what, everybody would be bankrupt,” arguing that protective duties have leveled the playing field for American companies long undercut by foreign competitors.
In video of the remarks released by the White House and circulated on social media, Trump addressed the pending Supreme Court decision that will determine whether the authority he invoked to impose tariffs on national security grounds is lawful.
“And I have to wait for this decision,” Trump said during his speech in Rome, as shown in footage posted online by his campaign. “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.”
Trump told workers gathered on the plant floor that the Constitution and existing trade law give the president broad authority to defend American industry when foreign competitors threaten national security.
The Georgia visit marked one of several economic-focused stops the president is making as Republicans gear up for the 2026 midterm elections, with Trump working to bolster GOP candidates and highlight what he calls a turnaround from the economic “mess” he inherited.
On stage with Trump were several Republican congressional candidates, including Clay Fuller, a local prosecutor running to replace former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District.
Fuller thanked the president for his endorsement and pledged to support the America First agenda, telling the crowd that Georgia needs “fighters in Washington who will stand with President Trump and put American workers first,” according to remarks carried by local media outlets covering the rally.
The president tied his tariff policy directly to affordability, contending that stronger domestic production and fairer trade practices ultimately reduce costs for American families.
“I have to listen to the fake news talk about ‘affordability, affordability,’” Trump said, according to video of the event aired by regional television stations.
“Do you notice, what word have you not heard over the last two weeks? Affordability. Because, I’ve won. I’ve won affordability,” Trump continued. “I had to go out and talk about it, but we inherited a mess.”
Georgia is shaping up to be a major battleground in 2026, with the Cook Political Report rating the state’s open gubernatorial and Senate races as toss-ups.
Trump singled out Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., who is seeking reelection and is widely viewed by Republicans as one of the most vulnerable Senate Democrats on the ballot next year.
“He’s a real stiff. We don’t want people like that representing Georgia,” Trump said, according to multiple media reports covering the rally.
In a statement released after the rally, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin criticized Trump’s economic record and accused him of failing to lower costs, saying, “Donald Trump promised to lower costs on ‘Day One,’ but Georgians know that was just another one of Trump’s broken promises.”
Martin added that “Georgia families are seeing costs rise, health care get more expensive, and jobs disappear,” while asserting that Democrats would continue pushing policies they say are aimed at lowering costs and protecting health care.
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