At 7:15 tonight, in the historic town of Perry, known as the place “Where Georgia Comes Together,” Donald Trump stood in front of a room full of his most devoted followers and said one of the most out-of-touch and offensive things a President of the United States has ever said.
After being introduced at this latest rally by country music singer Jason Aldean, a man whose marriage reportedly ended not too long after he was seen kissing a woman in her 20s who was over a decade younger than he was at the time, while still married to his high school sweetheart, Donald Trump slapped his upper right thigh and used both hands to pull himself up the stairs.
Once on stage, he embraced Aldean, whispered into his ear, and then began speaking with a hoarse voice. At one point, he appeared to forget why he was even giving this rally when he went on a tirade about how it is fine for Americans to suffer through high gas prices because American oil companies are making “hundreds of billions, trillions of dollars.”
His whole explanation was even worse. He started by acknowledging high oil prices, saying: “And while oil prices are temporarily high and will be falling dramatically in a short period of time, as soon as that war is over, because there’s so much oil all in the Hormuz Strait.”
Then he jumped straight to the truth, calling the candidates he was there to campaign for monsters: “The United States oil and gas business is making hundreds of billions of dollars. So I said, I wonder if I should say this. I’d like a little advice from my two people, my two big monsters that are going to do so well. They’re going to be the biggest stars in the country in a week.”
He was talking about the enormous profits being made by oil and gas companies while everyday Americans are facing an affordability crisis. He was so excited to share just how much money his friends and enablers are making that he decided to ignore the warning about how terrible it would sound to the millions of Americans struggling to afford gasoline.
After that, he went into a deeper explanation about how oil companies were making all of this money because of the war in the Middle East: “So, our country is making hundreds of billions of dollars because of what’s happened in the Middle East because they’re coming to Texas and they’re coming to Oklahoma and they’re coming to Louisiana and they’re taking that oil. They’re making hundreds of billions of dollars, our country is, on oil.”
The President of the United States was trying to twist a global fuel crisis that was caused by the war he started in Iran into a net positive for the American people who are actively suffering because billionaires are getting richer. He tried to convince us that the war is actually good for the economy, even as people struggle to afford basic necessities like groceries, housing, and gasoline. He thought he could really convince the American people that record corporate profits were somehow a sign of economic prosperity for everyone, as though they were benefiting the families who are paying more every time they fill up their cars.
“And then on top of it, we have Venezuela and we have Greenland because Greenland has a lot of oil. So we’re making hundreds and hundreds of billions, trillions of dollars. But my people said, ‘Please don’t mention that, sir, because people are paying a little higher.’ That number is going to come way down. But what we’ve done for this country, we’re making money like this country has never made before.”
Greenland is not ours, and neither is Venezuela. Maybe he has convinced himself that they are, but their people would beg to differ with him. His own advisers, according to Trump himself, had warned him not to brag about the money being made by these oil companies while Americans were paying higher prices. But he does not care about people suffering or how his comments could be received, especially so close to the midterms.
“So I said, Let me say it very gingerly, very softly. Because somebody would say the fake news he’s bragging about making money while people are suffering at the you know because you know you’re still paying lower than Biden and Obama and they don’t have nuclear weapons but they’re going to be coming.”
He is absolutely right that this will be something the news covers, and for good reason. He has lost all touch with reality and the ability to control his words. Actually saying this and expecting anyone other than his sycophants to believe that this is somehow good news is beyond absurd. And then shifting the blame to Biden and Obama all these years later makes absolutely no sense. But what was perfectly clear was that he understood exactly what he was doing. He knew that Americans were suffering because of high gas prices, and he knew that bragging about oil companies making enormous profits would make him look terrible. And he did it anyway.
“No, I could just see the fake headlines. President Trump is talking about all the money they’re making while people are suffering at the pump. That’ll be the headline. But I said I don’t give a damn. I’m going to say it. We’re making a freaking fortune. Our country is getting stronger and stronger all the time, and those pump prices are going to come down.”
He got that exactly right. I couldn’t have said it better myself. Right after those last few words, he went straight back to reading from his teleprompter.
What he said about oil companies and the money they are making might be the thing that gets the most people talking, but he said something else that was even more disturbing. Deeper into his speech, Donald Trump told the audience, and those watching from home, exactly how he plans to use the power of the presidency against any state that dares to elect someone he doesn’t like. “There’s a big difference when a president, president has a lot of power,” he said. Then he acted out an imaginary phone call from Georgia’s Democratic senator, Jon Ossoff, who is up for re-election and whom he loves calling Peewee Herman: “Sir, Peewee Herman’s on. Tell him I’m not in. I’m not in. But he needs money for Georgia. I don’t give a damn what he wants. I’m not in.”
He even stopped to admit that he probably shouldn’t be saying that because people would say it wasn’t appropriate, and then he said the rest of it anyway: “When other people call me, I’m terrible. I’m just terrible.” What we all know, and the President seems to forget, is that he isn’t really talking about Jon Ossoff when he says that. He is talking about hurting the very people in that room, and the others who voted for him, who will need help the next time a hurricane hits. They and the roughly 11 million people who live in Georgia, and who pay their taxes like everyone else, are the people who would suffer if he refused to send help. That money has never belonged to Donald Trump, yet he still stood there and acted like it was his to use to help or hurt those he likes or doesn’t like.
He also spent time bragging about sending the National Guard into American cities, describing the soldiers as “the best looking people you’ve ever seen,” and then told a very strange story about National Guard members who “happen to be very large people” going up to supposed gang members and saying to them, “Why are you guys here? Why you standing here? Don’t hit us because we will hit back. Really?” Then he told the audience that they “beat the sh*t out of them and they send them back to the countries from where they came.” Why he felt the need to tell what sounded like a made-up story about soldiers beating people on American streets and shipping them out of the country right before the elections is anyone’s guess. Maybe he is foreshadowing what he plans to do soon?
The rest of the rally was filled with more Trump absurdities. He told Jason Aldean, with his second wife sitting right there in the audience, “The day you stop selling records, she’s gone,” because he sees everything as transactional, even relationships, although he might be right on this one. He said, “You know, I know more about stone than any human being outside of Italy,” and he once again twisted the unrest in France into an attack on immigrants, claiming that “France is right now burning down because it opens its borders to people who hate it,” when the people marching there are protesting over teacher shortages and crumbling conditions in their schools, a movement that has since grown to include many of the same rising costs Americans are struggling with here. Each one of these absurd statements could pass for the ramblings of a man in mental decline, and they very well may be, but this is the President of the United States of America, who has access to nuclear weapons and the ability to start wars and send our military members into harm’s way.
He has completely abandoned any and all restraint, and it raises the question of exactly what Donald Trump will do if Democrats take back Congress in ten days. This is one of my biggest concerns right now. Will there be another January 6 moment? Will he send another mob to storm the Capitol to stop the certification of another election his party lost?
I also keep asking myself whether he will lean on Mike Johnson to keep people from being seated, because we already know Johnson is willing. Remember last year, when Adelita Grijalva won her special election in Arizona in September, and Johnson wouldn’t allow her to take her oath for 50 days, the longest any member of Congress has ever waited, while two Florida Republicans had been sworn in the day after their own special elections. Remember how her signature was the one that forced the vote to release the Epstein files, and Arizona’s attorney general had to go to federal court while more than 800,000 Arizonans went without a voice. That feels like a lifetime ago now. I had to read through my posts from last year to remember all the details because there is so much corruption and so many anti-American actions by this administration that the details start to fade so new atrocities can take center stage in our minds.
Then there is the fear I carry that is just as heavy when I think about us not taking back Congress. What if the elections are rigged? I don’t mean rigged the way Trump uses that word, as an excuse for losing. I mean actually rigged, by Trump and his yes-men. Or what if not enough people show up, because they are exhausted and have convinced themselves their vote no longer matters? Trump told us tonight what comes next if Republicans hold on: “We will pass voter identification, proof of citizenship, and the Save America Act to defend our sacred American elections very soon,” which would make it harder for millions of eligible Americans, especially married women who changed their names, to register and vote during our next big presidential election in 2028, which will be here before we even know it.
We have to think about what our country will look like at the end of next January. I’ve been finding myself thinking about this more and more, usually late at night, right after I finish writing. I think about the generations that will come after us and what will be left of the country they inherit, whatever version we end up handing them. The answer splits into two very different Americas depending on what happens on November 3rd. In one, a Congress with real power starts asking questions under oath, the courts that have been holding keep holding, and the long, hard work of accountability finally begins. In the other, we face at least two more excruciating years of Donald Trump’s unchecked power.
There could be more wars. Just yesterday, at a rally in Fort Myers, Florida, Donald Trump said, “Don’t worry. We’ll take care of Cuba on our way back from Iran. We’ll do a little stopover.” Then he described exactly what that stopover would look like: “Those beautiful ships will pass Cuba. We’ll have one of them stop about 50 yards off the coast. They’ll raise up their hands, and then we’re going to send Marco Rubio in to finish up the deal.” There could be more troops in our cities, and they might not stop at their current targets. They could begin rounding up others whom this administration has already started targeting. Our LGBTQIA+ neighbors, those who are neurodivergent, especially those on the autism spectrum, politicians like Ilhan Omar, whom Donald Trump singled out again in his speech tonight. The press, whom Donald Trump threatened just today to move out of the briefing room, writing on Truth Social that he “may move the Fake News to a less obnoxious location.” Writers and content creators, and anyone sharing the truth about what is happening in this country. And once he has removed or silenced those voices, what is to stop him from coming for the rest of us who have resisted and refused to remain silent? That is just the authoritarian way.
There is still time to stop this, and it starts with getting as many people out to vote over the next ten days as we possibly can, and more people are stepping up in even bigger ways to make sure that we do. Because while Donald Trump was spreading hate and trying to further divide us, Barack Obama was in Detroit today doing the opposite. He was reminding us what real leadership looks like. He was making us remember that we do not have to live this way and that we each hold the power to change it. He said, “After ten years of chaos, and cruelty, and corruption, and incompetence, tomfoolery, nonsense, the likes of which this country has not seen in modern times at least, you get to say enough is enough.”
Donald Trump saw the writing on the wall today and tried to dismiss Barack Obama’s crowd in Detroit as “empty,” when in reality, more than 4,300 people had shown up, filling the gymnasium and an overflow area at Cass Technical High School. The contrast between what he was claiming and what was actually happening speaks for itself.
Most of us want this to end. We don’t want Donald Trump’s masked men patrolling our streets and kidnapping our neighbors without the constitutional protections of due process, which apply to everyone on American soil regardless of immigration status. We want our kids to grow up with leadership that does not find joy in anyone getting the sh*t beat out of them, and we do not want our brave members of the military risking their lives in another one of Donald Trump’s wars or military actions, whatever he is calling them today. Barack Obama told that overflowing room exactly what we need to do: “find some people who might not otherwise vote,” and make sure they know what is on the line and then help them make a plan to cast their ballot.
Tomorrow, my whole family will be under one roof again, including my two adult daughters, and we are going to drop off our ballots together. It has become our tradition ever since my oldest turned 18 and could vote for the first time. Her first presidential election was in 2020, the year the world felt like it fell apart. Her being able to cast her vote felt like a beacon of light in a very dark time. Standing beside her, I felt the weight of every generation that came before her, the ones who crossed oceans for a chance at this country’s promise, the ones who were kidnapped and enslaved and still fought for it, and the women who marched and were jailed so that she and I could have a say in our own futures.
This election feels every bit as important as that one did. Maybe more, in a different way, because the generations that came before us are counting on us to protect what they fought for, and so are the ones who will come after us. The responsibility we carry extends far beyond our own families and even our own borders. So many people around the world are also affected by the decisions made by the President of the United States, and the responsibility we have to them is resting on us as well.
Donald Trump told the people of Georgia tonight that he doesn’t give a damn what their senator wants. On November 3rd, we get to show him how much we give a damn about each other, about our families, and about a country that has never belonged to him, but has always belonged to us and those who come after us. In ten days, we will make them proud. That is why I still have hope for America. And you should, too.
I’ll see you tomorrow,
Heather
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This commentary represents my personal opinions and analysis of matters of public concern, informed by publicly available information. Any references to individuals constitute opinion and commentary protected under the First Amendment.
Picture of the day: I’m back to my bird-watching days. This little one and her partner have been visiting us for a few months now, stopping by to sit on our windowsills and peek inside, apparently very curious about Pete when he is working on his computer. Curiosity eventually got the better of our little visitor, who actually flew right into our house and seemed perfectly content to stay. Thankfully, our unexpected houseguest was happy to be gently escorted back outside without any ruffled feathers. I hope it keeps coming back, preferably staying on the outside of the windows next time. With everything happening in the world, these little moments with nature are such a welcome reminder that there is still so much beauty and joy right outside our doors. Sometimes all we have to do is look up from everything else long enough to notice it.
Links to sources used in writing this article:
WATCH LIVE | President Trump set to address voters at rally in Perry: YouTube Video
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/12/nx-s1-5606350/adelita-grijalva-swearing-in
https://politifact.com/article/2026/mar/19/SAVE-America-Act-women-vote-citizenship-Trump/
https://aa.com.tr/en/americas/trump-says-us-will-take-care-of-cuba-on-its-way-back-from-iran/4099050
https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/24/politics/live-news/midterm-election-congress
https://law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/amendment-5/exclusion-and-removal-of-non-u-s-nationals
https://ingest.abcnews.com/blogs/entertainment/2013/04/jason-aldean-splits-from-wife-jessica-ussery/
Today in UK a Gale is blowing. It’s always a worry but also a way of looking at being cosy and warm inside listening to the wind.
The news and the world are worrying places so today I wish everyone a peaceful warm cosy day before the real storm leading up to the 3rd of November. Stay strong guys, vote blue and protect your neighbours and friends because all Trump is protecting with his mad minions is his wallet and he could not give a damm about anyone around him.
You give me hope for America everyday. Several times while reading your post, I had to stop bc what I was hearing seemed unbelievable. It’s like living in a dystopian novel. We are so used to it by now that we expect another atrocity every time we pick up our phones. And he ALWAYS delivers. We have the power to stop this on November 3, barring any shenanigans. Please make it so. VOTE!