Skip to main content
Join Now
Team Avatar
Georgia

Gunner Stockton speaks at President Donald Trump's rally in Rome: 'This is an awesome experience'

Byington mugby: Alex Byington02/19/26_AlexByington

Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton got his first introduction into the political realm Thursday when he joined President Donald Trump on stage during his rally at the Coosa Steel factory in Rome. The 21-year-old Stockton was even invited to speak behind a podium bearing the presidential seal.

It was a quite an experience for the Bulldogs’ second-year starter, who is originally from Tiger, Ga., a small north Georgia town with a population of fewer than 600 people according to the 2020 census.

“This is a great opportunity, just to meet a president, Donald Trump,” Stockton said as he repeatedly shook the president’s hand, via @Acyn on X/Twitter. “This is an awesome experience, and I’m just glad to be here.”

Stockton was joined on stage by another Bulldogs legend in Herschel Walker, the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner and the current U.S. Ambassador to the Bahamas. Walker was also a former Republican Senate candidate during the 2024 election cycle, where he lost to Democratic incumbent Ralphael Warnock.

Stockton and Walker were also among a contingent of state representatives on hand to greet Trump after Air Force One touched down at the Richard B. Russell Regional Airport in Floyd County ahead of Thursday night’s political rally.

“Gunner is a big star and a really talented quarterback, but I heard, much more importantly, he’s a Trump fan, so he was standing at the plane,” Trump said while introducing Stockton and Walker on stage Thursday. “And anybody that likes me, I like them, but I hear he’s got a fantastic future.”

Trump is making his first visit back to the state of Georgia since his 2025 re-election to promote his administration’s economic agenda. The rally is in the heart of Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, which is in the midst of early voting for a special election to replace former GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who stepped down at the beginning of the year following a falling out with the president.

As part of the visit, Trump was scheduled to visit The Varsity restaurant in Rome, participate in a podcast interview and tour a local factory before giving remarks about the economy and affordability. The rally was held Thursday afternoon inside the Coosa Steel Corporation in Rome.

Nick Saban, Urban Meyer play round of golf with President Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis on Sunday

Trump played 18 holes with legendary college football coaches Nick Saban and Urban Meyer, as well as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, on Sunday at his West Palm Beach Golf Club in South Florida, according to White House pool reporter Isaac Arnsdorf and the Wall Street Journal‘s Alex Leary.

Meyer reflected on the opportunity during this week’s episode of The Triple Option podcast.

“What brought this on is just conversation about the positives and negatives of not just college football, college sports,” Meyer said. “The Governor of the State, our Governor, I live in the State of Florida, played baseball at Yale. The President of the United States has been very interested in sports and just listened.

“And, obviously, Coach Saban, already being the greatest coach of all time, has a hell of a golf swing, Mark (Ingram II), you know that. He doesn’t swing it like he used to, but he’s got a hell of a swing, and obviously a great person, so we had a great day.”