Full Speech | Rally with Jon Ossoff in Athens, GA | 09.13.2026

[music]. HELLO, [screaming]. ATHENS. [cheering]. >> ATHENS. Thank you all so much for coming. out today. And thank you to Miss Ella. Coker for that kind introduction. Give. it up for Ella. [cheering] Would.

every veteran, every military service. member, every military spouse, please. raise your hand high if you can and hold. them high to be honored by all of us for. your service to our country. Thank you. so much. Thank you. [cheering]. [applause]. Now, Athens, the polls open. >> in one month. >> One month till early vote.

>> One month till you can cast your ballot. to save our republic. >> Athens, turn to your neighbor and say, "One month.". >> Say, "Lock in.". >> Lock in. Because Athens, the country is. counting on us again. And the crowds. I've seen over the last year at rallies. like this one and in backyards and. living rooms across our state. And the. army of volunteers already knocking tens. of thousands of doors each week. All.

leave no doubt that Georgia's about to. make history again. Athens, ARE YOU READY TO WIN? [cheering]. >> NOW, I know many of you are here today. because you just can't stand what's been. done to our country. [cheering]. >> Our whole government made a corrupt tool. of one man's vengeance and power.

>> and wealth. The president's critics. prosecuted or bullied off the airwaves. Prices soar while the president ras in. billions. >> Cancer patients lose insurance while the. rich get another tax cut. We sink in the. quicksand of reckless war. >> As immigrant families are torn apart and. private prisons grow in size and in. squalor. The Justice Department and even our.

intelligence services are twisted to. serve the president's vendettas. But in one month, Athens, we will vote. to rebuke him so decisively, no. president will dare such abuses. [cheering] again for centuries. [cheering]. In one month, we'll vote to defeat the. bigot congressman Trump puppet Mike. Collins.

>> [cheering]. >> In one month, our juggernaut Democratic. coordinated campaign will get out the. vote to elect Josh McLaren, Penny Brown, Reynolds, Tanya Miller, and Democrats up. and down the ballot across our state. [cheering and screaming]. And Athens, in one month, we'll vote to. elect a Medicaid expanding governor. bottoms and end our state's healthcare. emergency. [cheering].

In between now and then, Athens, >> we need you to work. >> Not for my sake, >> but for the sake of our state and our. country. >> Because some people just happen to live. at times and in places where history is. made. And this year, once again, that's. us. So, Athens, ARE YOU READY TO WORK? NOW, ATHENS, if you're ready to win, let's do this real quick. Pull out your.

phones. I want to see you hold your. phones up in the air. This is something. you can do right now. >> to make a difference. Let me see those. phones when you've got them up in the. air. >> All right. Now, you're going to create a. new text message. Okay? [laughter]. I'm serious. You're going to create a. new text message. I'm going to give you. the number you're going to text. Are you. ready? The number is 5105. That's 51015.

And you're going to text the word join. to 51. 015. Now hold your hands and your phones back. up when you've texted join to 51015. Y'all good? Y'all done it? Good. Because. it's going to take all of us. Athens. >> It's going to take all of us. Now remember, Trump promised to lower prices on day. one.

>> But last week, the broken old man threw. a two-day party in Texas while it costs. more than ever to fill up your truck, to. stock your fridge, and to power your. home. Under the failed President Donald J. Trump. Food, diesel, and health care all. just hit their all-time highs. They. doubled your insurance premiums and. slashed Medicaid to cut taxes for their. corporate donors and the ultra rich. They made you pay more for everything.

They lied us into war and spent most of. the last year covering up for the. world's most famous pedophile. All while the crook president and his. crook family rad in billions from all. over the world. >> He promised to lower prices on day one.

and he also promised peace. Instead, the draft dodging. commanderin-chief builds a monument to. himself while plunging us deeper into a. war he doesn't know how to end or how to. win. >> The biggest foreign policy debacle since. Iraq. >> And once again, it's a war based on. lies. >> Remember last year they claimed Iran's.

nuclear program had been obliterated. Do. you remember that? And then this year they claimed that. same nuclear program posed an imminent. threat. Both times lies. >> On day four of the war, day four, the. president declared victory. >> On day 11, Trump said, quote, "The war. is very complete.". Day 13, quote, "We won.".

Day 21, getting very close. Day 32. leaving very soon. On day 40, the. president declared quote total and. complete victory. >> And this Wednesday. will be day 200. >> 18 Americans are dead and hundreds. wounded. The president calls this small. potatoes. >> [cheering]. >> Iran still has its uranium and its.

drones and its missiles and Hormuz is. still closed. They drained our stock. piles to achieve nothing. And while Pete Hegsf. while Pete Hegsf squanders our military. power, his Pentagon funnels your money. to the first family. >> Just listen to this. 5 days after his father was reelected,

Prince Don Jr. becomes a partner at 1789. Capital, a venture firm founded by. right-wing activists [snorts] and Trump. donors. 1789 Capital then buys a stake in Vulcan. Elements, a tiny startup that says it. plans to produce the high-tech magnets. needed in drones, missiles, and. satellites. And about a month after Don Jr.'s 's. venture firm buys its stake in Vulcan.

Elements. Pentagon officials learned. that Peter Navaro, a convicted criminal, Don Jr.'s close friend and a top White. House official, wants the Pentagon to. give your tax dollars to Vulcan. Elements. >> One Pentagon official said, quote, "The. call came from the White House. We have. to get this done.". and Athens. To be clear, getting this. done means funneling your money to the. president's son's investment.

>> And so, of course, like clockwork, on. November 21st, just 3 months after Don. Jr. and his friends bought their stake, Vulcan gets a $620 million taxpayer loan. from Pete Hegs Pentagon, paid for with. your money. [cheering]. See, while the world burns and you pay. more for everything, >> your tax dollars become the royal. family's wealth.

>> because it pays to be a Trump. >> Especially when the whole world knows. daddy's a crook. >> Half a billion from the Emirati spy. chief to Trump family crypto business. months before the administration granted. the Emirates access to our most. sensitive AI chips. $1.6 billion dollar of your money. backing the Trump boy mining interests. in Kazakhstan. Jared Kushner on the Saudi payroll while. he pretends to lead our Middle East.

diplomacy and on and on. >> The Mara Lago mafia. really has taken American corruption to. spectacular new heights. But Athens, corruption in American. politics runs a lot deeper than Donald. Trump. >> And see, I get why people voted for him. Because even before he came on the. scene, American politics was coin.

operated. >> Money goes in, >> favors come out. It's been running on. corporate money, secret money, billionaire money, both sides. That's. right. >> And when members of Congress aren't. fundraising from lobbyists and corporate. packs, they're trying to dodge getting. bombed by these super PACs. Spectacular wealth buys an ever greater. share of power over our national. affairs. And this corruption is why. nothing works for ordinary people.

>> It's why you pay a fortune for. prescriptions. It's why your insurance. company gets away with denying your. cancer treatment after you paid your. premiums for decades. >> So Trump promised to attack a broken. system. I get it. Ripe target. Yes, the. system really is rigged, but he's not. unrigging it. He's rerigging it for. himself. >> So how do we unrig American politics?

>> Well, first we follow the money. See, Citizens United was the most. destructive Supreme Court decision in. modern American history. [cheering]. [applause]. And Donald Trump's rise is a symptom of. this deeper disease. And I suspect many of you are here. because you recognize that our task is. not just to contain his wickedness,

>> but to cure the rot that gave rise to. it. >> That this moment, this broken moment, is an opening not for restoration, but. for reformation. Because who really supports allowing. unlimited secret political money to bend. the nation's agenda in darkness. >> in Athens or Albany or Columbus or. College Park, if I ask anyone, Democrat, independent, Republican, none of the.

above. If I ask them whether this is how. things should work, it doesn't matter. who they are, the answer is no. >> No. >> So let the defenders of secret corporate. money and politics come out and defend. it. They'll lose the debate. and Athens. If it takes a constitutional. amendment to end Citizens United, we'll. deliver a united Georgia to ratify it, [cheering]. [applause].

[cheering]. [applause]. a united Georgia. Every day, our wave grows taller and our. tent grows bigger. Because this isn't just a campaign for. Democrats. Folks come up to me at. airports or on the street. They tell me. they're lifelong Republicans, but this. year they're voting for a Democrat for. the first time. [cheering]. [applause].

down in Valdasta. The mayor's name Scott. James Mat, a lifelong conservative. Republican. We expanded Valdasta transit. system together. We upgraded Moody Air. Force Base together. When Hurricane Hela. hit, I called him up in the middle of. the night to check on the city. And when. the storm cleared, I was there alongside. him going block by block to help. We. served hot meals to folks who had just. lost their homes. And when I got back to. Washington, I delivered federal disaster. relief for South Georgia. And now I'm. honored to have conservative Republican.

Mayor Mat's support in this re-election. campaign. [cheering]. See, just about every week I dial up. Georgia mayors and pastors and farmers. to find out how I can help. And one day. I called up Mayor Julie Smith just up. the road from Valdasta in Tiffan. Mayor Smith's a Republican, too. She told me that Tiffan Hospital needed. new dialysis equipment. She explained.

how Tiffan's dialysis center serves 12. South Georgia counties and they just. couldn't meet the need. So, I delivered the funds to upgrade. that South Georgia clinic and now it can. serve 200 dialysis patients. [cheering]. And Republican Mayor Julie Smith is. backing this campaign, too. [cheering]. Up north in Takcoa.

[laughter]. >> Up north in TCOA. Then mayor then mayor Gail Fry, another. Georgia Republican, told me TCOA's gas. lines were wearing out and a leak could. risk lives. We needed to get moving. quick to replace miles of old pipes. So. I delivered the funds for TCOA's new gas. lines. and Georgia Republican Gail Fry. backing this campaign, too.

[cheering]. Because see, hurricanes and diabetes and. gas leaks don't check party affiliation. when they hit. And when it comes to. serving Georgia, I don't either. [cheering]. But there's another reason so many. Republicans are backing our campaign. And it's the bigot Congressman Mike. Collins,

>> who's only a congressman because his. daddy was a congressman. >> surrounded at work and at home by. neo-Nazis and white nationalists. See, Brian Kemp was right about Mike. >> There's a reason Rick Jackson won't. commit to campaigning with Mike. Why. Brad Raffensburgger refuses to endorse. him. Why conservative WSB radio host. Shelley Winter called Mike a bottom.

feeder. Why Coach Douly condemned Mike's quote. blatant taxpayerf funed corruption and. said Mike's quote disgusting behavior. does not represent Georgia values or. frankly any values. Why Eric Ericson. said Mike quote knowingly hired a. sociopath with a criminal record who's. alleged to have used your and my tax. dollars to subsidize his girlfriend. There's a reason one of the founders of.

the Tea Party said this summer, quote, "I cannot in good conscience vote for. Mike Collins. He is unfit for office.". And warned that Collins would quote drag. down the whole Republican ticket in. Georgia. [applause]. And that reason is Mike Collins is a. known bigot under federal investigation. for the illegal misuse of tax dollars. widely known for his poor character and. low integrity and unfit for any elected.

office in the United States. [cheering]. >> In Athens, now the bigot wants a. promotion, but this year will end his. political career instead. [cheering]. An hour up the road from here is St. Mary's Hospital in Leavonia. It's in Mike's district and they just.

closed their maternity unit, citing the. Medicaid cuts Mike Collins voted for in. order to fund tax cuts for the rich. So now, thanks to Mike Collins, delivering mothers Mike Collins. represents have to drive an hour in. labor to get to a labor and delivery. unit. In a state where we've already lost 21. hospitals in 20 years, where life.

expectancy, if you're born today in the. state of Georgia, is shorter than if you. were born today in Lebanon, >> where, thanks to Donald Trump and Mike. Collins in their attacks on the. Affordable Care Act, 300,000 Georgians. lost their health insurance this year. and a million saw their premiums double. Shame, shame, shame, shame, shame. >> Now, what what could drive a man,

even one as spoiled and hateful as the. congressman's son, Mike Collins, to cast a vote that closes a labor and. delivery unit in his own district or. doubles his own constituents insurance. premiums? It's not just the money that's corrupted. our politics. It's a moral corruption. The cynical indifference of powerful. people,

>> evil, >> see, my office is known for worldclass. service. And what amazes me is how. surprised people are to be treated well. Nancy Lancy's 81 years old in Jessup. Her husband died after years of. dementia. She was worn out and alone. And now her affairs as a widow were all. wrapped up in this bureaucratic. labyrinth from the VA to the IRS and. Social Security. So, we took care of.

things for her. And I'll never forget. what she said about it. She said, quote, "This was a new experience to have. someone caring about me.". >> A new experience to have someone caring. about me. How has it come to pass that for so many. Americans, the experience of genuine. care is rare and surprising? Official indifference and corporate. disrespect have become systemic.

When millions are just one medical bill, short paycheck, or bad alternator from. disaster, you work harder and harder, but the treadmill gets faster and. steeper and the bills get higher and. higher. A 60-hour work week still needs. snap. >> Come on now. or that bucket list trips. off the table for good. And then instead of reading your. daughter her favorite book, that. precious spare hour after work, you're. on the phone begging the insurance. company to cover the medicine that. prevents her seizures.

>> The army lost the records you need to. claim your VA benefits, and it takes a. year and 12 calls to fix it. You report the black mold to your. landlord who doesn't fix the leak. And. the ambulance for your toddler's asthma. is followed by a $3,000 bill. >> And it's the worst for the most. vulnerable. >> Maybe you saw my investigation of. Georgia foster care. >> In just four years, hundreds of Georgia.

children likely sex trafficked while in. state care. >> Many more abused and neglected. children. in the care of the state. Rachel Aldridge testified about her. two-year-old daughter, Brooklyn. See, over Rachel's repeated objections, defax had placed 2-year-old Brooklyn in. the care of her father and his. girlfriend, despite their criminal. histories. State officials ignored Rachel's please.

They skipped mandatory background. checks. And two months later, Rachel's precious, perfect, irreplaceable two-year-old girl. was dead. And when she testified before my. committee, Rachel said she'd flown on an. airplane for the first time in her life. just so she could tell senators her. story. And she begged us, "Please. remember Brooklyn.". Tiffany Mlan Camp entered foster care at. 15. She testified she was moved 20 times. in three years,

went eight months without a visit from a. case worker in a locked psychiatric. facility where she was forcibly injected. with sedatives, was housed in group homes where staff. used drugs, and she was sexually. assaulted. She testified her newborn son. spent three weeks in the NICU and then. the next six weeks of his new life in a. homeless shelter because defax couldn't. find them a placement. while Tiffany went six months after. delivery without seeing an OB/GYN. Listen to this. Georgia DeFax is so.

broken. that when they couldn't find enough. placements for kids with special needs, juvenile court judges testified that the. defax commissioner tried to lock those. kids up in jails for children. But the judges refused and reported it. to my office. They tried to put special needs kids in. jail. And then when my investigation brought. all this to light, when we held Senate. hearings and exposed it all, instead of.

resigning, or at least leaping into. action to fix it, state officials. retreated into denial and PR and. counterattack. Because foster kids don't have lobbyists. or a super PAC. >> Neither do the women subjected to. medical abuse and ICE detention. Neither. do the female inmates sexually abused by. the warden and the chaplain in their. federal prison. or the young military family neglected. by the defense contractor with a 50-year. lease on privatized housing at Fort. Gordon. But they deserve leaders who see.

them and expose those who abuse them. And that's exactly what I'll keep doing. [cheering]. [applause]. because we're all in this together. Every day I think about Congressman. Lewis. His portrait hangs right above my. desk in my Senate office. And even in. his final moments, he kept reminding us. that we all live in one American house,

that we all live in one world house. Do. you remember. John Lewis called it the inevitable. truth that we're all members of one. human family? And I suspect many of you are here today. because you're so deeply troubled by the. pain that so many of our fellow human. beings are enduring right now. >> The terror of a child watching ice take. away his mother. >> The despair of a cancer patient losing.

coverage mids treatment. of a silent. panic of a grandmother when she sees the. receipt for her groceries and then. remembers there's three weeks left until. her next social security check and that. ache in your heart, that pit in your. stomach, don't ignore that. Don't just. keep scrolling. Feel it. Turn it into. action. Because that feeling is what. reminds us we're all human. >> That we're not just one United States. We're one united people. E pluribus. unum. Out of many one. [cheering].

>> Out of many one. >> [applause]. >> That feeling is what spurred thousands. to lace up their shoes and march. alongside John Lewis. It's what. channeled a great depression into. retirement security and a minimum wage. And it's what fueled the Georgia. patriots who stood up to a tyrannical. king in Savannah and at Kettle Creek. How inspiring. that the most powerful nation on earth. proclaims [snorts] as its core values. that all are created equal with.

inalienable rights to life, liberty, and. the pursuit of happiness. See, Americans aren't a race. We're a. people united not by ethnicity, but by. shared convictions. And that is what. makes us exceptional and a beacon to the. world. And see, this is what small men like. Donald Trump and Mike Collins will never. understand. That our national greatness.

flows not through our blood or our. genes, but through our ideas and our. aspirations and our care for one. another. Mike Collins, whose office kept some of America's most. notorious white supremacists apprised of. its efforts supporting a Holocaust. denier. And we've seen some of the record. because some of it leaked, but Mike. still refuses to release those. communications in full. Mike Collins.

needs to release every email, every. text, every call, every single. communication between those white. supremacists and his office. >> [applause]. >> Then there's the ex-staffer posting. swastikas and clan regalia. Did you see. that? >> And the neo-Nazi with a million. followers who produces neo-Nazi. propaganda at Mike Collins house while. at the same time producing promotional.

content for Mike Collins business. >> Just stop and think about this for a. second. a sitting congressman currently running. for Senate hosts a neo-Nazi at his house. and that neo-Nazi produces neo-Nazi. propaganda from the congressman's house. and the congressman won't or maybe can't. get the neo-Nazi in his house to stop. producing neo-Nazi content from his. house while he's running for Senate.

But Athens, a man who won't take. responsibility for what happens under. his own roof can't be trusted with our. national affairs. [cheering]. [applause]. And Mike still refuses to answer whether. his business paid the neo-Nazi or he. just accepted the neo-Nazi service as a. gift. >> The press asked him and he ran away. He.

literally ran away from a press. conference. Did you see that? It was. Mike Collins alone standing in a field. A reporter asks if he paid the neo-Nazi. Mike won't answer. Another reporter asks. if Mike Collins endorses white. nationalism. Mike won't answer. Mike. literally gets so scared you can see his. hand shaking at the podium until he. flees. >> A crumbling little bigot. >> and the sad spectacle of his collapsing.

campaign. But that's not the only question Mike. won't answer because Mike's like a. scandal piñata. Every time you shake. him, more misdeeds fall out. And he's not just surrounded by. neo-Nazis. He's also under federal. investigation for the illegal misuse of. tax dollars. And he's dodging those. questions, too. There's the public money he and his. chief of staff who'd been convicted of. criminal battery funneled to a.

girlfriend. Then there's the thousands and thousands. of dollars of quote unquote. reimbursements funded by taxpayers and. paid to his staffers with receipts Mike. refuses to release. And rather than come clean the office of. congressional conduct, that's the. nonpartisan body, but investigates. misconduct by members of Congress. It. reports that Mike quote refused to. cooperate. They recommended he be. subpoenaed and forced to testify. And.

Mike still refuses to say if he will. listen, Athens, Mike Collins needs to. testify. [cheering]. >> See, Georgia deserves so much better. >> than Mike Collins. >> and America deserves better than Donald. Trump. [cheering]. Just think 250 years on what the. founders would see. if they visited us today. They'd see.

that slavery had been abolished. They'd see that Americans without land. and then women and them descendants of. slaves had secured voting rights. They'd. see that our science and technology. propelled human knowledge to. unimaginable heights and that those 13. colonies grew into a superpower if it. defeated the Nazis and communism. They'd see a pluralist democracy, people. descended from every point on earth of. all colors, stitched together out of. many nations into one.

But they'd also see a nation that at the. height of its wealth and power fell into. the very traps they most feared, consumed by bitter conflict between. rival factions captured by special. interests, losing touch with that great. national spirit that defeated fascism, the spirit that landed men on the moon. and passed civil rights laws. They'd see. that we did those great things, but then succumbed to a small and.

selfserving politics, unmed from fixed moral principles, incapable of inspiration or great. national achievement with no real. horizon beyond the next election. And they'd see that what's required of. us now is far far greater than what that. small self-serving politics can muster. I've got two little girls at home. Eva's. four and Laya's one. And I'm so grateful.

to this country for the security and. opportunity it affords them. But this. isn't the world I want to leave them. >> That's right. >> Soon enough, they'll learn there's now. plastic and human blood and breast milk. That toxic forever chemicals are in half. the country's drinking water. Eva loves animal documentaries. She'll. learn that the butterflies are dying. off. She'll learn about the nuclear. weapons that still threaten. annihilation. She'll ask me why I. allowed these things to happen.

And when you step back and consider it, the situation is absurd. This week, we were warned again of. existential risk to the human species. Did you see it? And what fills us with dread is the. crushing weakness of our politics. against the massive stakes of our times. Tech titans dig bunkers while warning us. the new intelligence they're creating.

risks human extinction. Congress debates youth sports and the. president builds a ballroom. An ancient establishment barely capable. of email sleepwalks into a technological. revolution while the president. dismantles precautions and calls us. fools for worrying. Just listen to this. On day one, Donald. Trump rescended the AI safety order. meant to guard against catastrophic. risks, including the engineering of. bioweapons.

Meanwhile, Don Jr.'s 1789 capital bought. big money stakes in data centers and AI. labs. 4 days before inauguration, the. Emirati spy chief committed $500 million. to the Trump family crypto business. And. four months later, the Trump. administration granted the Emirates the. rights to buy our most sensitive AI. chips. See, a capable president would move. swiftly to secure and reassure the.

American people. rush inspectors into. frontier labs, fortify the nation. against bioteterrorism, demand. legislation from Congress, and lead the. world toward an AI treaty. But President. Trump is compromised. A capable Congress would engage every. committee in investigation and. legislation to act swiftly and wisely. Those CEOs would be under oath next. week, >> but instead the president and the. speaker of the house sit on their hands. and hope for the best.

So you see this scenario and you look at. the state of our politics and it shakes. your faith in the future. I understand. But Athens, we can and will reclaim. control over our own destiny. [cheering]. We can and will meet our obligations to. our children. And that begins with. victory this fall. >> [applause].

>> Because Athens, I refuse to leave my. girls a world as dark and dangerous and. cruel as this one threatens to become. >> And I can't stop thinking about it. I. refuse to accept that Eva and Laya will. grow up with artificial friends and. teachers in a society where the sick die. not because there's no cure, but because. they have no money. on a poisoned planet. rearming for world war where human life. is cheap and might makes right.

See, when Eva is old enough to ask me. why I let this happen, I'm determined to. answer truthfully that I didn't. >> That I didn't. [cheering]. I'll tell her how the same year she. turned five, Georgia overcame every. doubt and dirty trick, not just to win, but to set a new course for our state. and our country [cheering] and our. world.

That our generation didn't shrink from. its obligations to hers. That instead we. came together cleareyed about the stakes. and what was required of us. We. protected the sanctity of the vote from. those who attacked it. that we elected those who understood the. moment and had the will to meet it. >> That we restored American leadership. toward peace and human rights. >> Guaranteed healthc care for every. citizen. >> And mastered technology instead of.

letting it master us. [cheering]. that we ensured each generation achieves. greater health and prosperity than the. last and lived up to the promise of. equal justice for all. [cheering]. [applause] We can and will do these. things and it starts with victory in. Georgia because Athens our powers right. there just waiting for us to pick it up. And a wave is building.

>> The kind of wave that comes once a. generation when people have been pushed. too far. and they decide all together all at once. to say enough is. >> enough. The polls open in one month. Athens, are you ready to work? >> ARE YOU READY TO WIN? [cheering]. >> THANK YOU. GOD BLESS YOU. LET'S GET IT. DONE TOGETHER. THANK YOU SO MUCH, ATHENS. [cheering] THANK YOU.

[cheering]. [music]. [cheering and music].