Jon Ossoff mocked Donald Trump’s predictions about Iran and attacked what he called the unprecedented corruption of the president’s family at a campaign rally in Augusta, Georgia, on Saturday, as he sharpened his case for re-election in November. The Georgia senator also mocked the turnout for a JD Vance event in the state on Tuesday, telling the crowd, “I don’t know if you saw, but JD Vance was in Georgia this week. Don’t worry – no one showed up.”
Ossoff’s remarks came as mounting speculation grows that he could seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, but the rally was built around a far more immediate fight: his November re-election race and a message aimed squarely at Trump. He said Americans would pay for the Iran war and the president’s family corruption with cuts to child care and health care, and he argued the White House had requested $200bn to pay for the conflict, money he said would be enough to fund a decade of nationwide universal pre-kindergarten.
He framed the war as a disaster that had already gone on too long and cost too much. According to Ossoff, Trump’s war on Iran had already caused the deaths of 13 US soldiers and thousands of civilians, while also driving sky-rocketing inflation and doing massive damage to the United States’ reputation. He said the regime in Iran remained intact and its stockpile of highly enriched uranium remained intact, undercutting Trump’s claims of success.
“Did you hear what this man said two weeks ago?” Ossoff asked before reciting Trump’s shifting declarations about the war: “The war is very complete,” “Going to be finished pretty quickly,” “We won,” “Getting very close,” “Leaving very soon,” and “Total and complete victory.” Then he cut to the larger accusation that ran through the speech: “Because draft-dodging Donald loves sending other people’s children to war.”
The senator, who is already being watched as one of the Democrats most likely to land on a national ticket in coming years, also returned repeatedly to the theme of money. He said Trump and his family were using the White House to enrich themselves, referred to an AI image of Trump depicting himself as Jesus Christ, and accused the president of plundering health care to cut taxes for the rich while his family’s wealth grew by billions of dollars. As he put it, “The faithless president depicts himself as Christ while he plunges the nation into wars of choice, while he and his family rake in billions from foreign princes, while he plunders our healthcare to cut taxes for the rich.”
That message, not the speculation around 2028, is what gave the rally its force. Ossoff is trying to make November about Trump’s war, Trump’s family, and the cost to ordinary Americans. For now, that is the political line he is betting can carry him through the fall.
