Trump rallies supporters in Atlanta as 2024 presidential race heats up

Michaelah, a student at Clark Atlanta University, attended former President Trump's rally to show support.

Former President Donald Trump invited a young woman named Michaelah Montgomery up on stage while he was delivering a speech at a campaign rally in Atlanta.

Trump explained that he met Montgomery at a restaurant he visited this year. The woman, who was identified by Trump as "Miss Kayla," had commended the president for funding historically black colleges and universities, as a student at Clark Atlanta University.

"She looks at me, says 'It's President Trump. You saved my college.' And I said, 'How the hell do you know that?' ....This one is so smart, so sharp," Trump recalled.

"She grabbed me. She gave me a kiss," he added.

The former president commended Montgomery and told her he would do "whatever I can to help you," before giving her the podium.

"We do need to do our best to get the message out there," Montgomery said to the audience. "The fight is nothing if all we do is talk about it amongst ourselves. "

"I'm gonna give it back to Big T," she concluded.

Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives on stage during a campaign rally at the Georgia State University Convocation Center on August 03, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Speaking to a crowd of thousands on Saturday, former President Trump stressed the importance of his campaign winning the state of Georgia in November.

"In my opinion, they want us to lose," Trump began. "That's actually my opinion. And we can't let that happen."

"Because if we lose Georgia, we lose our whole thing and our country goes to hell," he continued.

Trump added that a Kamala Harris presidency would be damaging to the country.

"We can't have her be president of the United States," he said. "She's grossly incompetent. We can't let that happen."

Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Georgia State University Convocation Center on August 03, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Former President Donald Trump called out critics who called him a "threat to democracy" while addressing supporters at the Saturday rally in Atlanta.

"Remember the words they used? 'They are a threat to democracy,'" Trump recalled. "They've been saying that about me for seven years."

"I think I got shot because of that," he added. "No, I'm the one that is saving democracy. Screw them."

Former US President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives to speak during a campaign rally at the Georgia State University Convocation Center in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 3, 2024. (Photo by CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA/AFP via Getty Images)

Former President Trump told supporters that he doubted Harris would participate in a proposed Fox News presidential debate ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

Trump made the comments at a campaign event in Atlanta on Saturday.

"You know, we're doing [a debate] with Fox if she shows up," Trump said to his fans. "I don't think she's going to show up."

The Republican candidate then said that Harris "can't talk."

"She can read a teleprompter," Trump said. "I'd give her about a six on a scale of ten, six."

"For talking, I'd give her less than a one. We need people that can talk."

Former US President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Georgia State University Convocation Center in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 3, 2024. (Photo by CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA/AFP via Getty Images)

Former President Trump insulted Vice President Kamala Harris while addressing supporters in Georgia on Saturday, calling Harris a "low IQ individual."

"Harris has the most ultra left-wing agenda of any presidential candidate ever in history," the Republican said. "There's never been anybody like this."

"She is considered more left wing than crazy Bernie Sanders," he added. "Look at her. She's worse than Bernie, and she happens to be really a low IQ individual. She really she has a very low IQ."

Vice President Kamala Harris has gone 13 days without holding a press conference since becoming the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Vice President Kamala Harris has gone 13 days without holding a formal press conference since becoming the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

Harris announced that she had locked up the nomination late on July 22, declaring that she had won commitments of backing from a majority of the nearly 4,000 delegates to next month's Democratic National Convention. She has since hit the campaign trail, spoken at various events, and even chatted with reporters here and there, but hasn’t done a formal press conference or wide-ranging interview in the 13 days that have followed.

She also failed to appear at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago, where former President Trump made headlines on Wednesday with a heated question-and-answer session. On Thursday, she briefly addressed reporters at Joint Base Andrews as she and President Biden greeted Americans freed from Russia in a massive prisoner swap, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

Read the full article about Kamala Harris by Brian Flood

Sen. JD Vance on Saturday called former President Trump’s offer to debate Vice President Kamala Harris on Fox News in September a "masterstroke." (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, on Saturday called former President Trump’s offer to debate Vice President Kamala Harris on Fox News in September a "masterstroke."

"I think it's great," Trump’s vice presidential pick told SiriusXM’s "Breitbart News Saturday." "In some ways, it's a masterstroke because, of course, the Kamala campaign has been saying for a long time that President Trump is afraid to debate Kamala Harris, which, of course, is absurd because the last time he debated their nominee, that nominee withdrew two weeks later." 

President Biden pulled out of the race and endorsed Harris as the nominee last month after his weak debate performance in late June drew concerns from Democrats.

Read the full article about JD Vance by Brie Stimson

People wait for the start of a campaign rally with Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump and Republican vice presidential nominee U.S. Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) at the Georgia State University Convocation Center on August 03, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Former President Donald Trump announced his arrival in Atlanta, Georgia, on Truth Social on Saturday afternoon.

The video shows the Republican candidate sitting in Trump Force One and speaking about his plans for the day.

"I just landed in Atlanta," Trump says in the video, explaining that he planned to go to a roundtable with business owners to discuss the economy of Georgia.

"And then I’m going over to the arena," the candidate said. "We have a tremendous crowd of people. I look forward to seeing everybody. It’s really festive."

"These rallies are, absolutely, they’re very special. Never happened before," he added. "There’s never been anything like this before. We want to take our country back we wanna make America great again. That’s what's going to happen."

Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., arrives for a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, June 12, 2024.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Congressman Mike Collins likened Vice President Kamala Harris to Stacey Abrams during a Trump rally in Atlanta on Saturday.

The Georgia Republican made the comparison while speaking to former President Trump's supporters.

"I tell you what Kamala Harris, man, that woman's a mess," Collins said of the presumptive Democratic nominee. "The world is blowing up. Our country is going down the toilet. And y'all, she makes Joe Biden look like a steady hand at the wheel."

"And if all that don't make sense, here's all you got to remember; Georgia didn't want Stacey, and we don't want Kamala," he added.

Supporters of former US President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrive to a campaign rally at the Georgia State Convocation Center in Atlanta, Georgia on August 3, 2024. (Photo by CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA/AFP via Getty Images)

Former President Trump's running mate JD Vance took the stage at a rally in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon, starting off his speech by blasting the current presidential administration.

The Ohio senator began his address by recapping "the last month in political history" to the audience.

"We have to remember, just over a month ago, President Trump wiped the floor with Joe Biden on that debate stage, exposing a massive cover-up of the President's mental incapacity," Vance said.

"He took a bullet for this country and didn't miss a single day of work. Now he did that in one month...now, after covering up Joe Biden's incompetence for the last three-and-a-half-years, our friends in the media are at it again."

Vance further argued that mainstream media is presenting Harris as a moderate, despite her "radical record."

"This is the same media that told us... for three-and-a-half years that Joe Biden, who couldn't complete a sentence, was Albert Einstein, and now they want to tell us that Kamala Harris is Abraham Lincoln."