Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia has launched a scathing attack on President Donald Trump's handling of the US-Israel war on Iran, accusing the president of “re-rigging” a corrupt system for his own benefit. In a speech at a rally in midtown Atlanta on Sunday afternoon, Ossoff described Trump's actions as “uniquely despicable” and accused the administration of lying the nation into war.
Ossoff, who is running for re-election in November, has increasingly used such sharp rhetoric, stoking speculation that he is positioning himself for a potential 2028 presidential bid. His speech targeted not only Trump but also Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, whom he accused of lying about the conflict.
Accusations of Deceit and Corruption
“They made you pay more for everything, and took us to war on lies, and spent most of last year trying to cover up for the world’s most famous pedophile while the crook president and his crook family raked in billions while your tax dollars were put to work backing Trump’s businesses,” Ossoff said to the crowd.
The senator pointed to the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, whose sailors have endured a record-setting deployment of nearly nine months. Trump suggested last week that the sailors had not been deployed “nearly long enough,” a comment Ossoff seized upon.
“While the sailors on the Lincoln fight his war, while he fruitlessly drains our munitions and oil reserves, the president sleeps through his meetings,” Ossoff said. “He golfs and trades stocks. See, he doesn’t want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by the amir of Qatar.”
Ossoff appeared to reference Natalie Harp, Trump’s executive assistant, who has drawn scrutiny for her closeness to the president. It emerged last week that Harp accompanied Trump when he left key officials, including Marco Rubio and Scott Bessent, on a decoy plane as they departed Turkey under threat of Iranian attack in July.
Lying as a Virtue in the White House
Ossoff’s stump speeches, characterized by plain and sharp language tailored for social media, have become a staple of his campaign. He accused the administration of persistent deceit.
“They’ve lied non-stop about this war like they lie about everything. And they know they’re lying, but they lie and they keep lying anyway because in this White House, they view persistence in deceit as a virtue,” the senator said. “And there’s something uniquely despicable about lying a nation into war, treating citizens as fools and those who serve as pawns.”
Early voting in Georgia begins in eight weeks, and Ossoff has maintained a lead in polls above the Republican nominee, US Representative Mike Collins, well beyond the margin of error. However, Ossoff has framed his campaign as more than a referendum on his term, raising broader questions about American tolerance for corruption.
“Corruption in American politics runs a lot deeper than Donald Trump,” Ossoff said, pointing to the “coin-operated” politics of political action committees. “Trump promised to attack a broken system. I get it. Right target. Yes, the system is really rigged. But he’s not unrigging it. He’s re-rigging it for himself.”
Financial Conflicts and Market Manipulation
Ossoff’s personal wealth is held in a blind trust. He has pursued a ban on stock trading by members of Congress and their families as a signature issue. The Ending Trading and Holdings In Congressional Stocks Act passed out of the preliminary committee stage in July 2024 but has not been put to a vote in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Ossoff also highlighted the vast increase in Trump’s personal wealth since he returned to office in January 2025. He recalled Trump’s tariff announcement, which he called “liberation day” and which crashed the markets.
“When he first announced the tariffs, you remember that? He called it liberation day and it crashed the markets because it was clown policy,” Ossoff said, noting how the president then purchased stock a week after the markets fell. “And then the very next morning, April 9th, he posts on Truth Social. ‘This is a great time to buy.’ Three exclamation marks.”
“OK, now listen to this. Three hours and 41 minutes after that post, one day after he bought millions in stock, he cancelled the tariffs and triggered one of the biggest same day rebound rallies in market history. He’s trying to get money.”
Trump launched a subscription service on 1 August charging up to $100,000 a month for early access to his posts on Truth Social. The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation have filed a lawsuit against Trump, two of his aides, and the executive office of the president over the service.
Ossoff attacked the president over the offering. “Just understand what’s for sale here,” he said. “The sitting president’s pronouncements on war and peace and economic policy delivered first to paying customers. What an absolute crook.”
