Trump pushes kid accounts, GOP candidates at Georgia high school stump

ATLANTA (CN) — President Donald Trump visited a metro-Atlanta high school Wednesday to speak about his plans for “Trump Accounts,” a federal set-aside of $1,000 for children born between Jan 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028.

The program went live this month. It was designed to help American children build investment knowledge and wealth they can only access when they turn 18. Parents can contribute to the accounts, as can employers and organizations with a $5,000 annual cap.

Children born outside the age window can still have an account opened on their behalf by a parent, legal guardian, or qualifying relative, but they will not receive the initial $1,000 government deposit.

Michael Dell, technology entrepreneur and founder of Dell Technologies, and his wife Susan pledged $6.25 billion to seed the accounts. Over 50 additional companies have committed contributions for their employees’ kids.

“We’re giving every American child a fair shot at the American dream,” Trump said.

However, Trump spent little time discussing the initiative. When he walked out, he immediately began touting his administration’s war on Iran, border control efforts, the White House ballroom construction and seizing “millions of barrels of oil” from Venezuela.

He also criticized Georgia Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, who is running for reelection, calling him a Pee-Wee Herman lookalike and a communist.

Hundreds of Trump supporters filled the auditorium of Wheeler High School in Marietta, as well as students of the school who were invited to sit behind him. But the event was not without protests and public concern that local tax dollars were being misused to host a political spectacle rather than preparing classrooms for incoming students.

The Cobb County Democratic Committee criticized the addition of Republican candidates, including gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson, as turning the event into a political showcase to boost their campaigns.

“The people are demanding accountability and getting a political sideshow,” Essence Johnson, chair of the Cobb County Democratic Committee, said.

“This is not who Cobb County is and we as a community will not stand for it,” Johnson added. “These cretins can use their own campaign funds to hold a rally, but leave our schools alone!”

Jackson, who appeared beside Trump, said if he is elected governor he will push the state to match the federal contribution of $1,000 and that he will personally donate it himself if the legislature does not.

“I am going to be this man’s favorite governor,” the billionaire healthcare executive said.

State Senator Brian Strickland, the Republican nominee for attorney general, Senator Greg Dolezal, the lieutenant governor nominee and Representative Tim Fleming, who is running for secretary of state, also made appearances.

Despite the plethora of children in the crowd as account recipients, Republican speakers did not hesitate to interject praise of the Trump administration’s controversial policies and attack Democrats, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

U.S. Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent referred to the Trump accounts as “a triumph for capitalism over socialism.”

In Cobb, Democrats hold a majority of partisan countywide offices, the district attorney’s post, the county commission, the sheriff’s office, as well as legislative seats. On the county’s education board, Republicans hold a narrow 4-3 majority.

Cobb County School Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said he was honored to host the president and that the Trump accounts will boost the next generation’s success.

Once a majority-white, Republican county, Cobb has become more racially and ethnically diverse in recent years, and it has a core of affluent, college-educated voters.

As the state’s third most populous county, Cobb was a key driver in Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Georgia.

Yet, the county had more Republican ballots cast in the May primary and June’s runoff for the U.S. Senate than any other county. Cobb also produced more Trump votes in 2024 than any Georgia county except Gwinnett, another Democratic stronghold.

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