Ossoff: Georgia Republicans ‘do not want the president to come’

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), who is running for reelection, said Wednesday that Republicans in Georgia “do not want” President Trump to campaign for them in the Peach State.

“I know for a fact, because I talked to some of the Republican officeholders, folks here in Georgia, Georgia Republicans do not want the president to come,” Ossoff told MS NOW’s Chris Hayes on “All In.”

“My Trump puppet opponent, the bigot Congressman Mike Collins, is probably the only Republican in Georgia who actually wants Donald Trump to come,” he added.

“The president’s deeply unpopular here. The war is unpopular. The tariffs are unpopular. The healthcare cuts and doubled health insurance premiums are deeply unpopular.”

However, Ossoff also added that, “if the president wants to come to Georgia right now, that’s OK with me.”

Trump is set to rally in Dalton, Ga., on Friday , amid rocky political territory for the president and his party. As the midterm elections near, the GOP is dealing with issues including the unpopular war in Iran, Trump’s slumping approval ratings and concerns about the cost of living.

According to a polling average from Decision Desk HQ, Trump’s approval rating was sitting at 38.7 percent on Thursday morning, with his disapproval rating at 59.4 percent .

The war in Iran has driven up energy prices in the U.S., with the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the oil industry, closed amid the fighting. According to AAA, the average price of a gallon of regular gas in the U.S. was about $4.33 on Thursday morning, up from about $3.07 last year at the same time.

The Hill has reached out to Rep. Mike Collins’s (R-Ga.) campaign and the White House for comment.