Perdue says viral clip didn’t influence decision to cancel debate, rally with Trump
Republican U.S. Sen. David Perdue said in Columbus Friday that his decision to back out of a Senate debate and instead attend a Georgia rally with President Donald Trump was not influenced by his most recent debate performance.
A clip of his opponent, Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff, criticizing Perdue during a debate Wednesday went viral on social media.
“Absolutely not,” Perdue said. “He’ll accuse me of all this stuff with no proof, no verification. ...Jon Ossoff will be a rubber stamp for this outrageous and dangerous agenda Democrats are trying to perpetrate right now.
“We’ve got the President coming ... and right now, we are doing what we are supposed to do and that is getting the vote out,” Perdue added.
Viral attack
The clip, posted by Ossoff’s campaign on Twitter on Oct. 28, is from the second debate held by WTOC news in Savannah. In it, Ossoff criticized Perdue’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, his stock trades and accused the senator of attempting to end protections for people with preexisting medical conditions. The clip has been viewed 12.4 million times on Twitter as of Friday afternoon.
“Perhaps Sen. Perdue would have been able to respond properly to the COVID-19 pandemic if you hadn’t been fending off multiple federal investigations for insider trading,” Ossoff said. “It’s not just that you’re a crook, senator. It’s that you’re attacking the health of the people that you represent.”
Ossoff appeared Thursday at the “Drive-In With The Democrats’ Get Out The Vote Rally” at the Columbus Civic Center where he continued to attack Perdue, claiming the incumbent feels “entitled” to the seat and that he “doesn’t want to answer any more questions”
“This Senate seat belongs to the people, but to claim it, we’ve got to vote…. We need to vote like we’ve never voted before in the history of this state,” Ossoff told the crowd.
Mocking Ossoff and Biden
Perdue, who spoke for a little over five minutes, spent a portion of his speech mocking Ossoff’s appearance at the event and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s Warm Springs stop earlier this week.
“I think Jon Ossoff may have been in town last night. There’s some meeting over there where they’re about 25 feet apart and there might be 10 people there. You saw what happened in Warm Springs, right? There are more people here, by the way, than came to see Biden in Warm Springs,” Perdue said as the crowd of roughly 60 people cheered.
Perdue also addressed concerns that Democratic politicians such as Ossoff would cut military spending.
“I’m running against a guy who denies that. He says one thing in Washington. He says one thing in Atlanta to his radical supporters, (and) another thing to his financial supporters in California,” Perdue said. “Then he comes down here and says (he’s) going to protect the military. Don’t you believe it.”
Support for Perdue
Those in attendance to hear Perdue speak included several local Republican candidates and officials, including Muscogee County Sheriff candidate Mark LaJoye.
Teresa Davis, a Columbus resident, was there with her nine-year-old grandson Elijah Freund. Davis, who already voted for Perdue, said that he appeals to her because he’s not a “typical politician” and he cares about small businesses.
Perdue brought Freund on stage as the senator stressed the importance of voting for Republican politicians to prevent Democrats from implementing a “one-party system” and “fooling around with the Electoral College.” The senator later signed Freund’s shirt and rally sign.
“My mom and dad were public school teachers,” Perdue said. “But somehow, God had a different path for me. But in most other countries in the world, I wouldn’t have had that choice. And (Elijah) won’t have it either unless we stand in the breach right now.
“I don’t think (Trump) wins the Electoral College if he doesn’t win Georgia,” he added.
National polling shows Perdue and Ossoff are neck-and-neck. Cook Political Report lists the race as a toss-up. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll has Ossoff ahead by 1, but the Real Clear Politics poll average has Perdue up by 0.2. Monmouth University has Ossoff ahead of Perdue, 49% to 48%, while Libertarian Shane Hazel is polling at 2%. It’s possible Ossoff and Perdue could end up in a January runoff if neither one gets more than 50% of the vote.
Trump’s Sunday Georgia rally will be held at 8:30 p.m. at Richard B. Russell Regional Airport in Rome.
“God is great. I’m telling you, I think he’s moving right now. I don’t believe he brought us to this point to let us turn socialist,” Perdue said. “I just don’t believe it.”
This story was originally published October 31, 2020 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Perdue says viral clip didn’t influence decision to cancel debate, rally with Trump."