比尔·巴罗 亚特兰大讯——唐纳德·特朗普的中期选举竞选活动周五抵达佐治亚州，与该州顶尖共和党候选人举行集会。佐治亚州长期以来一直是总统关于选举舞弊虚假说法的震中。
BILL BARROW ATLANTA — Donald Trump’s midterm campaign blitz arrives in Georgia on Friday for a rally with top Republican candidates in a state that has long been the epicenter of the president’s false claims about election fraud.
在保守派西北佐治亚州人口中心达尔顿，特朗普将与参议院候选人迈克·柯林斯和州长候选人里克·杰克逊同台，这是白宫为提振共和党选民热情而开展的努力的一部分。这场选举可能重塑特朗普第二任期的最后几年。
In Dalton, the population center of conservative northwest Georgia, Trump will appear with Senate candidate Mike Collins and gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson as part of the White House effort to boost Republican enthusiasm in an election that could reshape the final years of Trump’s second presidency.
“特朗普总统是共和党无可争议的领袖、最佳传播者和无与伦比的激励者，”白宫发言人戴维斯·英格尔说。
“President Trump is the unequivocal leader, best messenger, and unmatched motivator for the Republican Party,” said White House spokesperson Davis Ingle.
然而，与特朗普近期前往一些坚定的共和党州——阿拉巴马州、蒙大拿州、田纳西州——的行程不同，佐治亚州是一个关键的摇摆州。这意味着亿万富翁商人杰克逊和两届国会议员柯林斯，除了特朗普的铁杆支持者外，还需要更多选票才能击败各自的民主党对手——前亚特兰大市长基莎·兰斯·博特姆斯和参议员乔恩·奥索夫。
Yet unlike some of Trump’s recent trips to solidly Republican states — Alabama, Montana, Tennessee — Georgia is a critical battleground. That means Jackson, a billionaire businessman, and Collins, a two-term congressman, need more than Trump stalwarts to defeat their respective Democratic opponents, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Sen. Jon Ossoff.
“我很惊讶佐治亚州的共和党人希望总统来这里，”奥索夫说。“总统来镇上，提醒佐治亚州人，唐纳德·特朗普和迈克·柯林斯推行的政策，已将杂货、燃料和医疗保健的成本推至历史最高水平。”
“I’m surprised Georgia Republicans want the president here,” Ossoff said. “The president coming to town reminds Georgians that Donald Trump and Mike Collins” have pushed policies that have “driven the cost of groceries, fuel and healthcare to their all-time highs.”
柯林斯的发言人迈耶·西格弗里德表示，这位国会议员欢迎总统的关注。但他也强调，柯林斯是一位“两党合作的勤奋工作者，愿与任何人合作”，并补充说“奥索夫对特朗普的憎恨胜过对本州的热爱”。博特姆斯似乎也对特朗普的来访感到高兴。
Collins spokesperson Meyer Siegfried said the congressman welcomes the president’s attention. But he also stressed that Collins is a “bipartisan workhorse who will work with anybody,” while adding that “Ossoff hates Trump more than he loves our state.”Bottoms also seemed thrilled with Trump’s visit.
“当唐纳德·特朗普说他想让人们想象他正在选票上时，我正在要求佐治亚州的人民也这样做，”她说道，并指向杰克逊承诺成为特朗普的“最爱州长”。即使在特朗普将要访问的佐治亚州深红的共和党腹地，风险也已经显而易见。那里的选民曾将特朗普的昔日盟友马乔里·泰勒·格林送入国会，但在她与总统决裂并辞职之前。特朗普在2024年以大约37个百分点的优势赢得了该选区，而格林则以29个百分点获胜。在为替换格林而举行的4月特别选举中，共和党众议员克莱·富勒以12个百分点的优势获胜。
“When Donald Trump says he wants people to imagine that he is on the ballot, I am asking the people of Georgia to do just that,” she said, pointing to Jackson’s promise to be Trump’s “favorite governor.”The risks have been evident even in the heavily Republican corner of Georgia where the president will visit. Voters there sent erstwhile Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene to Congress before she broke with the president and resigned. Trump won the district by about 37 points in 2024 and Greene won by 29. In the April special election to replace Greene, Republican Rep. Clay Fuller won by 12 points.
达尔顿活动将是今年秋天杰克逊和柯林斯首次在同一场地出现。这与奥索夫和巴特姆斯在全州范围内举行联合集会形成对比，下一次联合集会将于周六在亚特兰大外的科布县举行。
The Dalton event will be the first time this fall that Jackson and Collins have appeared at the same venue. That contrasts with Ossoff and Bottoms holding joint rallies across Georgia, with the next scheduled for Saturday in Cobb County outside Atlanta.
柯林斯一直因筹款乏力和争议而备受困扰，甚至让一些共和党人对他能否击败奥索夫产生怀疑。杰克逊则专注于与其他全州范围内的共和党提名人和党领袖同台，且没有人提及柯林斯。
Collins has been dogged by anemic fundraising and controversies that leave even Republicans questioning his viability against Ossoff. Jackson has focused on sharing the stage with other statewide Republican nominees and party leaders, and none mention Collins.
“这不是疏忽，”特朗普前农业部长兼前佐治亚州州长桑尼·珀杜在一次集会后说道。“我认为这确实是在尊重里克·杰克逊的活动，并专注于他作为州长的竞选。”
“That was not a neglect,” Trump’s former agriculture secretary and onetime Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue said after one rally. “I think it was really respecting a Rick Jackson event and focusing on his election as governor.”
当被问及联合集会时，杰克逊的发言人仅表示：“里克将在达尔顿，并期待提醒佐治亚州选民，糟糕的市长不会造就好的州长。”特朗普最后一次访问达尔顿是在2021年1月4日，也就是奥索夫和民主党参议员拉斐尔·沃诺克赢得同一天参议员决选的前一天。当时他已经在总统竞选中输给了乔·拜登，但不愿接受这一结果。
Asked about the joint rally, a Jackson spokesman said only, “Rick will be in Dalton and looks forward to reminding Georgia voters that bad mayors do not make good governors.”Trump was last in Dalton on Jan. 4, 2021, the day before Ossoff and Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock won concurrent Senate runoffs. He had already lost the presidential campaign to Joe Biden but was unwilling to accept it.
“我们不可能失去乔治亚州，绝对不可能，”特朗普当天如此说道。“那是一场被操纵的选举，但我们仍在继续斗争。”科林斯于2022年当选国会议员，他一直在重复特朗普关于2020年的谎言。本周在奥索夫的辩论中追问时，科林斯拒绝收回这些观点。“那次选举存在很多疑问。是的，乔·拜登是总统，”科林斯说，但并未说明拜登是合法当选的。
“There is no way we lost Georgia. There’s no way,” Trump said that day. “That was a rigged election but we’re still fighting it.”Collins was elected to Congress in 2022, and he’s echoed Trump’s lies about 2020. He declined to recant those views this week when Ossoff pressed him during a debate. “There was a lot of doubt in that election. Yes, Joe Biden was the president,” Collins said, without saying Biden was duly elected.
特朗普在科林斯6月的决选胜出前几天就对其表示支持，当时科林斯击败了前足球教练德里克·杜利。特朗普宣布这一决定时抱怨说，杜利已经承认拜登是合法当选的。
Trump endorsed Collins days before his June runoff victory over former football coach Derek Dooley. When announcing his decision, Trump complained that Dooley had conceded that Biden was elected legitimately.
州长布赖恩·肯普直到9月才支持科林斯，并在初选期间警告选民，这位国会议员在11月无法获胜。
Gov. Brian Kemp did not endorse Collins until September, and he warned voters during the primary that the congressman could not win in November.
特朗普直到杰克逊在共和党初选决选中击败总统最初挑选的副州长伯特·琼斯后才予以支持。琼斯曾参与特朗普推翻拜登胜选的行动。总统在背书时提到了琼斯的忠诚。
Trump did not endorse Jackson until after he’d won a Republican primary runoff over the president’s original pick, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who had been part of Trump’s effort to overturn Biden’s victory. The president cited Jones’ loyalty in his endorsement. Jackson doesn’t regularly mention Trump like he did during the primary campaign, when the first-time candidate compared his business background to Trump. He’s more likely in recent weeks to compare himself to Kemp.
杰克逊在初选期间曾频繁提及特朗普，将自己的商业背景与特朗普相提并论，而如今他更倾向于在近期将自己与肯普相比较。但据其首席政治顾问称，这位州长周五不会与其他共和党人同席。“那天他有家庭事务要处理，”科迪·霍尔说。
But the governor won’t be with his fellow Republicans on Friday, according to his top political adviser. “He has a family obligation that day,” said Cody Hall.