Todd Gurley joined President Trump on stage in Dalton after flying Air Force One, a high-profile boost for Georgia Republicans with midterms two weeks out.
The former Georgia Bulldogs running back and NFL standout rode with President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One into the state on Friday, then traveled in the motorcade to a rally in Dalton. Toward the end of his remarks, Trump brought Gurley on stage as he pressed Georgians to back Republican candidates with the midterm elections just over two weeks away.
Breitbart reported that Gurley thanked the president for the ride and for welcoming him into the White House, then closed with a cheer for his college team.
Trump used the moment to spotlight Gurley’s record and to urge turnout for Republican Senate candidate Mike Collins and GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson. The appearance fits a broader pattern of the president campaigning alongside well-known athletes in key states.
Gurley did not deliver a long policy speech. He kept it personal and local.
He told the crowd he wanted to thank the president for the experience of flying on Air Force One and being welcomed at the White House. He also thanked the state that launched his career.
"[I] want to thank President Trump today for the experience: being on Air Force One, welcoming me into the White House. Thank you so much. Thank you to the state of Georgia for everything y’all done to me and go Dawgs."
He added a short, familiar closer: “Go Dawgs!”
Trump introduced him with a rundown of the football résumé that made Gurley a household name in Georgia and across the league. The president pointed to awards and production from Gurley’s years with the St. Louis and Los Angeles Rams and later the Atlanta Falcons.
"Well, he was the NFL Rookie of the Year. He was the NFL Offensive Player of the Year. He led the NFL in rushing touchdowns, and was the youngest player in NFL history to reach 50 career touchdowns. That means he is a good player."
That framing put a popular former pro, and a Georgia college product, next to the president at a moment when Republicans are trying to convert name recognition into votes. For readers tracking the wider Trump orbit, the stop lands alongside other recent coverage of Trump’s midterm campaign push and Republican turnout strategy.
The rally was not only a celebrity photo op. Trump turned the stage over to the Senate race and called for a change in Washington’s Georgia seat.
He told the crowd it was time to remove Sen. Jon Ossoff and replace him with Collins, whom he described as one of the most respected men in the capital.
"It’s time to fire John Ossoff and elect Mike Collins, one of the most respected men in Washington."
Collins, invited on stage, stressed that early voting had already started and that the contest was within reach if supporters showed up and brought others with them.
"Listen, this thing, this race is sitting, it’s sitting right here. It’s right here in front of us. Early voting’s already started. All we got to do is reach out and grab this, grab it and hang on."
He followed with a simple instruction: go vote, and take people with you. Collins also said that if elected he would be one more vote for the SAVE America Act, which he described as a measure to safeguard American elections.
The message was turnout first. With early voting underway and the election window short, the Republican ticket treated the Dalton stop as a chance to lock in ballots rather than wait for Election Day.
Trump also urged votes for Rick Jackson in the governor’s race and called him “a truly great patriot.”
He drew a sharp contrast with Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor. Trump said she eliminated cash bail for vicious criminals, turned Atlanta into a deadly sanctuary city, and would ruin the state if she becomes governor.
"She’s an incompetent disaster who eliminated cash bail for vicious criminals, turned Atlanta into a deadly sanctuary city, and if she becomes governor, she will ruin your state."
Those lines put law-and-order and border-related city policy at the center of the governor’s race pitch. Trump presented Jackson as the safer choice for voters who want accountability for violent crime and limits on sanctuary-style approaches. Separate recent reporting on Trump administration foreign-policy decisions has shown the same pattern of the president driving the agenda while opponents object, here the fight is state-level crime and elections.
Gurley’s Dalton appearance was not an isolated sports crossover. Trump has already campaigned with other big names in other states.
He appeared with baseball great Roger Clemens in Texas, boxing legend Mike Tyson in New York, former NFL head coach John Gruden and YouTuber-boxer Jake Paul in Ohio, and undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather in Arizona. The Georgia stop added a former NFL rushing star with deep local roots.
The common thread is visibility. High-profile athletes draw cameras and crowds; the president uses that attention to push specific candidates and a get-out-the-vote message. In Georgia that meant Collins for Senate, Jackson for governor, and a direct attack on Bottoms’ record as Trump defined it.
Family and political-circle stories around the Trump brand continue on other fronts as well, including coverage of Donald Trump Jr. and related personal developments, even as the president himself stays focused on the midterm map.
For Georgia voters the practical stakes are immediate. Early voting is open. The Senate and governor races are the prizes Trump named from the stage. Gurley’s role was to stand with the president, thank the state, and put a familiar sports face on a Republican turnout drive.
That is the exchange on offer: a popular former Bulldog and NFL star shares the spotlight, and the ticket asks supporters to convert the energy into ballots before the window closes.
When soft-on-crime leadership and open-border city policies become the ballot choice, voters get a clear alternative, and Friday in Dalton, Trump put that choice on stage with a Georgia football hero beside him.
