As eager supporters packed into the Georgia International Convention Center, a marching band played, and cheers erupted in support of Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.). About a thousand people attended the Feb. 7 rally as Ossoff seeks re-election later this year. Before his entrance, Ossoff’s campaign hosted speakers to discuss topics such as health care, tariffs and the Trump administration. The speakers included small business owners, community leaders and an Affordable Care Act (ACA) recipient.
Supporting local businesses was at the forefront of the event’s rhetoric, with speakers discussing the direct impacts Trump’s administration had on them. Elaine Read, who owns a small craft chocolate business, spoke first and pointed to Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, which she said has threatened the security of the United States’food and agricultural systems.
“It’s not just the cost of tariffs that cause our prices to go up,” Read said. “It’s also the chaos and the uncertainty. If we can’t know what our main ingredient is going to cost in six months, there is no way for us to plan our company’s growth or hire new employees or purchase more products from our local suppliers.”
Another speaker, Teresa Acosta, discussed the current state of health care in the United States, sharing her personal experience as a mother to a son with Type 1 diabetes. Acosta criticized Trump’s scrutiny of the ACA as a “scam,” and discussed how the ACA has been a “blessing” for her and her son.
“It wasn’t a scam to me,” Acosta said. “It was life saving.”
For Emily Robinson, a Druid Hills High School teacher from Decatur, Ga., Ossoff made the event more enticing by inviting community members to speak, rather than politicians.
“It was basically just [Ossoff] and some community members,” Rovinson said. “I liked that. It felt a little bit more down-to-earth, and it really made it come closer to home when we hear, ‘I’m a local business person.’”
During his speech, Ossoff discussed topics ranging from unemployment to price inflation due to tariffs and government corruption. He described the current government as the “Epstein class,” or the “ultra-rich.” Attendees, speakers and Ossoff alike criticized the current Trump administration, with Ossoff encouraging the crowd and Americans in general to not give in to “doubt” and “division.”
“The power of the presidency is nothing compared to the power of the American people,” Ossoff said.
While Ossoff discussed broad issues affecting the United States, he also spoke to how they directly impacted Georgia.
“While prices are going up and jobs are getting hard to find, they decided to let health insurance premiums double for more than 20 million Americans, including more than a million Georgians,” Ossoff said.
Ryamn Campbell, a teenager from Milton, Ga., said he came to the rally because he wants to become more politically engaged.
“He seems like he’s on the right side of history, and he seems really active in the community,” Campbell said.
Attendee Courtney Rogers complimented Ossoff’s leadership skills, saying she wants Ossoff to continue to represent Georgia in the U.S. Senate.
“He stands up for what he believes in,” Rogers said. “He’s very well spoken and outspoken, and he represents Georgia well.”
Ossoff closed the rally on a positive note, looking toward the future, saying he hopes voters will“recommit” themselves to the values that have shaped the United States.
“History is calling: the question, ‘What kind of a people are we?’” Ossoff said. “I believe the measure of our success is not how many of the poorest and most vulnerable families we hunt down and shackle and imprison and deport. The measure of our success is whether each generation achieves greater health and prosperity than the last.”
Amelia Bush (28C) is double-majoring in English and PPL (philosophy, politics and law). She is from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and enjoys walking around its many lakes. Outside of the Wheel, you can find her reading, scrapbooking, or attempting a New York Times crossword.
