Trump says he will hold a Georgia rally honoring Republican billionaire Rick Jackson, who is walking a Trump tightrope in his first campaign
PBS NewsHour and AP reported on Saturday, Oct. 24, that Republican billionaire Rick Jackson is walking a Trump tightrope in his quest to lead Georgia. PBS NewsHour described Jackson, 72, as a healthcare magnate and investor who brings a vastly different persona to his first campaign. PBS NewsHour said his path differs from Trump’s and that, unlike Trump, who was born to wealth, Jackson spent his early years bouncing through foster homes before launching his first company as a young man. Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturday that he would hold a big rally that day in Georgia in honor of Mike Collins, whom he called one of the hardest working and most respected congressmen in D.C., and Jackson, whom he called phenomenal and said would hopefully be Georgia’s next governor.
A candidate in a Republican contest can gain from a president’s backing while presenting himself as a different kind of figure, which is the balance PBS NewsHour’s tightrope phrase describes. Trump’s post makes the backing explicit by naming Jackson as his hoped-for next governor, and a rally in Georgia is a public sign of that support.
If you live in Georgia, the candidates’ own campaign sites and the state’s election officials are the places to check what is on your ballot. The rally’s location and time are not given in the coverage, so local event listings are the place to look.
Trump’s side, as his Truth Social post puts it, is that Jackson is phenomenal and should hopefully be Georgia’s next governor, and that he and Collins are two incredible people worth a rally. On this view, the president is lending his name to Jackson’s campaign.
The view in PBS NewsHour’s account is that Jackson’s path differs from Trump’s: a foster-home childhood and a self-made business career rather than inherited wealth, and a different persona in his first campaign. On this view, Jackson has to show Trump’s voters his loyalty while standing apart from him.
Confirmed across outlets: Jackson is a 72-year-old healthcare investor in his first campaign, and Trump announced a Georgia rally in his honor on Saturday. Not confirmed: the rally’s location or attendance, or how Jackson’s race is polling. Watch for coverage of the rally and for any statement from Jackson.
DailyDrop U.S. No. 20 · October 24, 2026 · Evening