JD Vance meets in Floyd County, Georgia

Lindale, Georgia – What was once a working factory and one of the largest employers in the city of Lindale is now a great place to have wedding and prom photos taken or, in the case of politics, a great place to have a to hold a meeting. A sign on the outside wall of the once mighty mill ironically read: “Jobs! Jobs! Jobs!” Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance came to Floyd County to talk to voters just days after participating in a debate with Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. The debate was a talking point among the hundreds of people who attended the meeting on Friday, October 4.

Vance used that momentum from the debate to turn his first visit to Floyd County into an opportunity to talk about the economy, the “American Dream,” fracking, gun control and Harris the “Border Czar.”

Vance also answered questions from the media. From two separate phases, members of the local and national media asked Vance election-related questions. The Atlanta Voice asked him if he thinks Trump should debate Harris again and take a note from his book by sticking to fair policies and less name-calling?

In response to that question, Vance said, “Kamala Harris already had the opportunity to have a second debate, but she turned it down. I really think it’s important for the media to understand this story. She said she did not want to debate on Fox News and that this is her decision to deprive the American people of a second presidential debate.”

During his speech, Vance used Trump’s popular slogan “drill, baby, drill” and said Harris wants to take guns away from American citizens, while drug cartels and illegal immigrants want access to weapons.

“This is a great country, my friends. Never forget that,” said Vance, who added that the American dream is still possible, but only with a Trump-Vance administration.

“We’re not running this race just because it will be fun to beat the Democrats,” Vance said. “Although it will be fun to beat the Democrats.”

Among the six black people who attended the meeting was Carolyn Stallworth. She wore a black ‘Trump’ cap, a black T-shirt, jeans and matching patent leather loafers. She told me The Atlanta Voice that she was there for Vance and had been a Republican for a long time.

“I have been supporting Trump since he came down the escalator in 2016,” Stallworth said. She said she has been to Trump rallies in the past, most recently when she lived in Michigan, but Friday afternoon at a renovated and converted factory would be the first time she would see Vance in person. “Obviously I want to see JD,” she said.

Stallworth said the civility of the debate was something that stood out to her. She said she believes this is the way political discourse used to be. “It’s better for all of us if it is like this,” she added.

Former US President Donald Trump was also in Georgia on Friday. He held no rally, but instead toured Hurricane Helene-ravaged Valdosta. United States Vice President Kamala Harris was in Augusta on Wednesday, October 2, touring the city’s hurricane-damaged neighborhoods.

Georgia Senator Majorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Lt. Governor Burt Jones, Georgia State Representative Katie Dempsey, Floyd County Commissioner Scotty Hancock, Trump campaign senior adviser and Third Congressional District candidate Brian Jack, and other local representatives took the stage to welcome Vance to Floyd County. During the opening prayer, Dempsey asked God to “Please, please protect President Trump” and to “Please give (Vance) your courage.”

Jack received a big ovation after saying that Republican supporters should vote en masse. “Donald Trump took a bullet for us, the least we can do is vote for him,” he said.

Greene used her time on stage to blame Harris for an influx of immigrants entering the country through the border. She also used the mill as an example of what has become a problem across the country.

“This mill represents everything that has happened to America in the last four years,” she said. “This is like a skeleton that represents the latest American policy of the current administration.”

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