Trump hits Georgia to rally Republicans despite party divisions in battleground state

DALTON, Ga. (AP) — Donald Trump's midterm campaign blitz arrived 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.

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 GOP enthusiasm in an election that could reshape the final years of his second presidency.

Yet, unlike some of Trump’s recent trips to solidly Republican states like 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.

Jackson appeared briefly onstage before Trump arrived at the arena and didn’t mention the president at all — a notable turn for a man who once compared his bid to Trump’s 2016 campaign, promised to be “this guy’s favorite governor” and lead “like Trump, but with a Southern tone.”

Ossoff said he was "surprised Georgia Republicans want the president here.”

“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,” he said.

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.

“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. Trump won the district by about 37 points in 2024 In an April special election to replace former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican Rep. Clay Fuller won by only 12 points.

People attending Friday's event said they believe Trump has done better on kitchen table issues than his low national approval ratings suggest.

“I think it’s a heck of a lot better than it was under Joe Biden. That’s for sure. Or any other Democrat president for that matter,” said Dianne Leveridge, who said she voted for Trump three times would do it again if she could.

Leveridge acknowledged high gas prices but said “the oil companies aren’t playing fair.”

Cindy Massengill, 67, said Trump is “doing as good as he can do with the fight he has to fight” against “the people in office that are fighting him,” despite Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress.

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.

“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.

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.

Gov. Brian Kemp did not endorse Collins until September, and he warned voters during the primary that the congressman could not win in November.

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.

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.

Georgia gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson speaks before President Donald Trump arrives at a campaign rally at Dalton Municipal Airport, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in Dalton Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Georgia Attorney General candidate Brian Strickland speaks before President Donald Trump arrives at a campaign rally at Dalton Municipal Airport, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in Dalton Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

President Donald Trump gestures as he boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

President Donald Trump speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House during an event for first responders, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House press secretary Katie Zacharia is transitioning out of the role after a brief and rough tenure as President Donald Trump’s chief spokeswoman.

A person familiar with the matter said Zacharia is transitioning out of the job. The person was granted anonymity to discuss a personnel decision not yet made public.

But Trump cast significant doubt on Zacharia’s future earlier Friday, telling reporters that he would have a discussion with her following his weekend travel and that if he were her, he would reconsider the job.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back for updates. AP’s earlier story follows below.

President Donald Trump signaled Friday that his embattled new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, may be on her way out — a mere week after he picked her for the post.

Zacharia had come under immediate scrutiny when she appeared uncomfortable during her inaugural briefing on Tuesday, delivering halting remarks touting the president and his accomplishments. Her 14-minute briefing was followed by criticism that the conservative commentator had long called herself a lawyer when she had not passed a bar exam nor was otherwise credentialed to practice.

Zacharia was a surprise choice when Trump announced her appointment on Oct. 9, as the successor to Karoline Leavitt, the youngest-ever White House press secretary who had been part of Trump’s inner circle for years. The chaos surrounding her appointment was reminiscent of some of Trump’s short-lived staff picks from his first term.

Trump said he told Zacharia that she might want to change her mind about the job, and said he thought she had been treated unfairly by the press.

“I told her, ‘I think you’re better off being happy,'” Trump told reporters on the White House lawn as he left for a rally in Georgia. “I said, ‘Honestly, if I were you, I’d reconsider.’ I said, ‘You think about it, but I would reconsider.’”

Messages to Zacharia seeking comment were not returned on Friday, and the White House offered no immediate comment.

In his own comments, Trump said he told his press secretary, "'Katie, do you need this? I don’t think you need this,’” and that he wanted "her to have a good life” and not be subjected to criticism, which he likened to being “brutalized by the media.”

The president said he’d make a final determination later, perhaps after his campaign travel on Friday and this weekend, adding, “When I get back, we’re gonna talk.” He was asked who might replace Zacharia, and said that there were a lot of people who wanted the job.

Zacharia's short tenure has been defined by questions about her professional background and lack of polish in fielding questions from journalists. In her briefing on Tuesday, she took questions from just three reporters, all from conservative-leaning or Trump-friendly outlets, and left after only about 14 minutes.

Zacharia has said she wanted to keep her briefing short to ensure Trump had enough time later that morning for his own question-and-answer session with reporters, and that she had not been fully briefed by White House staff beforehand.

She later traveled with Trump when he held rallies on Wednesday and Thursday in Alaska, Arizona and Montana — but did not hold more press briefings.

In an appearance on Fox News Channel earlier Friday, Zacharia was asked if she had the president’s confidence and responded: “I hope to be able to build the trust and confidence of everyone around me.” But she also wouldn't say when her next press briefing might be.

Zacharia, a Pepperdine University law graduate, also faced criticism for describing herself as a lawyer when appearing as a commentator on conservative television outlets. Zacharia said the term was a proper one to use when she was offering legal analysis, and said she had worked as a lawyer in China.

Zacharia said Friday on Fox News that she wasn’t asked about passing the bar before becoming press secretary, and Trump noted in his subsequent comments that she was hired as a spokesperson for the White House, not as an attorney.

Before joining the White House, Zacharia had been working in communications for Trump Media, the company that oversees the president’s social media site, Truth Social. She also briefly worked at the Department of Homeland Security during the second Trump administration.

Associated Press reporter Michelle L. Price contributed from Dobbins Air Force Base, Georgia.

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia, center, White House aide Natalie Harp, left, and Danielle Alvarez, right, walk on the South Lawn as they arrive at the White House with President Donald Trump, early Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

President Donald Trump speaks to the reporters as he walks to board Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026, in Washington, as White House press secretary Katie Zacharia looks on. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

White House press secretary Katie Zacharia arrives with President Donald Trump at Glacier Park International Airport, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, in Kalispell, Mont. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)