From the tarmac to the rally stage
Trump arrived aboard Air Force One at Robins Air Force Base after traveling from Florida, where he had voted in West Palm Beach. The president, 80, was met on the tarmac by Aldean, 49, and Brittany, 38.
In a video posted on X by Margo Martin, Trump's special assistant, communications advisor and photographer, a reporter asked, "Are you a big Jason Aldean fan?" Trump pointed toward Aldean and replied, "Fantastic."
Aldean, an outspoken Trump supporter, offered his own praise when he introduced the president in Perry. He called Trump his "favorite" president, said he "fights for our country every single day" and declared that he "wouldn't want anybody else in charge right now." Aldean also said he was "proud" to call Trump a friend.
The singer told the crowd that Perry was "15-20" minutes from Macon, where he was born and raised. The rally had originally been planned for Macon before organizers moved it to the Guardian Centers at 600 Perry Parkway, according to 41NBC/WMGT. Doors opened at 3:30 p.m., the event started at 5:30 p.m. and Trump delivered his remarks at 7 p.m. Aldean had been scheduled to greet Trump and appear onstage, but not to perform.
Georgia races and Trump's rally announcements
The event supported Rep. Mike Collins, the Republican challenging Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, and Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson in the November 3 midterms. Atlanta News First reported that Georgia voters had already cast more than 1 million early ballots in an election featuring nationally watched Senate and governor races. Early voting continues through October 30.
Aldean's enthusiastic endorsement came as Trump's approval stood at a historic low in recent pre-midterm polling, according to The Economist's approval tracker.
During his remarks, Trump announced that Audi had committed $4.2 billion to a Georgia manufacturing plant with planned annual production of 200,000 cars. He described the commitment as the largest investment in modern U.S. auto industry history. Local reporting placed the proposed facility at the Middle Georgia Megasite in Peach County and said it was expected to create roughly 4,500 jobs. Audi executives joined Trump onstage.
Trump also proposed $5,000 payments to adult American citizens if Republicans retain both the House and Senate in November. He called the payments a "Trump dividend," saying tariff revenue would fund them and recipients would have to spend the money in the United States. The payments are not guaranteed and would need congressional approval, 41NBC/WMGT reported.
Aldean was seated in the audience when Trump brought him into a discussion of crowd sizes. Trump said his largest crowd had numbered 117,000, "even big for Jason," according to Fox News Digital. He also mocked attendance at a competing rally that former President Barack Obama held that day in Detroit for Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed and gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson.
A friendship that began with an invitation
Aldean has described his friendship with Trump as "cool." Speaking on Country Countdown USA in May 2025, he traced it to an invitation received while Trump was out of office.
"Somebody reached out to us a few years ago, he wasn't in office. They invited us to Mar-a-Lago, then invited to play golf, the convention, and the inauguration," Aldean said. He recalled rehearsing at the convention when he was invited to sit with Trump's family in their box. "I wasn't even dressed for the occasion. Just in a t-shirt & jeans," he added.
The singer said they do not speak "all the time" and described Trump as "not much of a texter" but a "more pick up the phone and call kind of guy." He also called Trump a "pretty good golfer," explaining that he avoids betting against him because he thinks Trump would take his money.
Trump's earlier defense of Aldean
Trump previously backed Aldean during the controversy over his 2023 release "Try That in a Small Town," praising the song and calling the singer a "fantastic guy." Country Music Television removed the music video amid accusations that the song conveyed racist and violent themes, including references to lynching and sundown towns.
Critics also viewed some lyrics as promoting guns and called that stance hypocritical given the mass shooting during Aldean's performance at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas in October 2017.
In a 2018 Associated Press interview, Aldean said "it's too easy to get guns, first and foremost," while explaining that his concerns were not about the guns themselves. He questioned the depth of background checks: "When you can walk in somewhere, and you can get one in 5 minutes, do a background check that takes 5 minutes, like how in-depth is that background check?"
Aldean defended "Try That in a Small Town" as a song about an "unspoken rule" in small communities. As NPR reported, he explained: "We all have each other's backs, and we look out for each other."
