Obama expresses hope in flipping Georgia blue at Atlanta rally
Former President Barack Obama took his talents to Georgia Monday afternoon to campaign for Biden and Democratic senate candidates there, telling supporters at a drive-in rally in Atlanta he had one word for them: "Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow, after four years of failure, you have the power to change America. Tomorrow, you can put an end to the politics that tries to divide a nation just to win an election, that tries to stoke conspiracy theories and -- and fear at a time when we need competence and we need hope," Obama began his remarks.
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"And right here in Georgia, you've got an even bigger power to deliver the change that we need. You can be a state that sends Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the White House," Obama said, projecting confidence as Democrats sense an opportunity to flip the state.
Obama went on to rail against Trump's handling of COVID-19 and defend the nation's top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, whom he worked with during the Ebola and H1N1 crises.
"They've already said they're not going to contain the pandemic. Now they want to fire the one person who could actually help them contain the pandemic," Obama said. "So Georgia, if you think they've done a bad job of managing COVID so far, basically what they're telling you now is you ain't seen nothing yet."
Arguing the case to elect Democratic senate candidates in the state, Obama also slammed the leadership of Georgia's incumbent Republican senators.
"If President Trump and your senators had been focused on COVID from the beginning instead of their portfolios or their TV ratings, cases wouldn't be reaching new record highs across the country just this week."
The former president also preemptively discredited Trump for trying to declare victory on election night, making a comparison to how he said Trump prematurely declared victory against the coronavirus pandemic.
"Well, that's just what he did on this virus, and how's that turned out?" Obama said. "America deserves better than this. Georgia, you deserve better than this."
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As Trump paints an apocalyptic-image of America if Biden were elected president on his rally tour, Obama concluded with a message of unity and a reminder to Georgians of the sacrifices made there and across the country to make the United States better for everyone.
"I'm asking you to remember what this country can be Georgia is a better place than it used to be. There used to be a lot of violence and cruelty in this place. And it's a better place because some folks went out there and made sacrifices, Black and white," Obama said. "And America, it's a better place than it used to be. But it can be better now. But you've got to do the work," telling Georgians, "It's all up to you now."