CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — The Golden Age came to the banks of the Cumberland River on Saturday. One night after packing Syracuse, President Donald J. Trump touched down at Fort Campbell on Air Force One, his first visit ever to the home of the 101st Airborne, and rolled into a jam-packed F&M Bank Arena in downtown Clarksville. Patriots had lined up since 10:30 the night before, and the line stretched up College Street in the rain. It was only the second time a sitting president has ever visited Clarksville; the last was George H.W. Bush in 1992.
Kid Rock set the tone. “He’s without a doubt the toughest, most resilient president we’ve ever had,” the Detroit rocker told the crowd. “Knocked down, counted out, constantly dragged through the mud, and yet he gets up every day and fights for you and me.” He ran through the record, from the Abraham Accords to the Big Beautiful Bill to no tax on tips and overtime, noting the President “shut down the border in about five days,” and brought the house down: “We are not, and we will never be, ‘One Nation Under Mohammed,’ because we are, and we always will be, ONE NATION UNDER GOD!” Then: “Show up, vote red,” and “please welcome the 45th, probably the 46th, definitely the 47th President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump.”
The President walked out to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” and went straight to the mission. Marsha Blackburn, he said, is going to do a “great job” in the Governor’s Mansion, and he urged every voter to “pretend that I’m running,” because turnout soars when he is on the ballot. He thanked the voters who sent him back to the White House, joking that he hardly has to campaign in a state this red. The program showcased Tennessee’s winning team: Sen. Bill Hagerty, up for reelection; Rep. Matt Van Epps, who walked out to “Danger Zone” and reminded the crowd that “peace comes through strength”; and Blackburn, who promised Tennessee “never becomes California.” State House Speaker Cameron Sexton predicted all nine of Tennessee’s congressional seats will go Republican for the first time.
The President drew the contrast. Democrats, he said, gave America a dark age of weak borders, a weak military and high taxes, and now “we’re in a golden age.” He renewed his promise that if Republicans hold the House and Senate, every adult citizen gets $5,000, and he warned that a Democrat Congress would bring economic depression. He touted record incomes and record-low poverty, Korea Zinc’s $6 billion smelter coming to Montgomery County, and the destruction of Iran’s navy and air force — “They’re a lunatic country,” he said. He even floated a new name for an ocean before he leaves office: “We call it Trump Ocean or Ocean of the Americas.”
Tennessee early voting begins Wednesday, October 14, and Election Day is November 3. Even on the road, the President was taking care of the Southeast: he approved federal emergency declarations for Alabama and Georgia as the remnants of Hurricane Isaias pushed inland. Clarksville answered his call with a roar. Watch the Official White House video.
