Donald Trump Makes New Promise to Deepen Port in Swing State

Former President Donald Trump promised rally attendees in Georgia that he will work with the state’s governor, the Army Corps of Engineers and transportation officials to quickly “deepen the port” in coastal Savannah.
Trump focused the first part of his speech Tuesday in Georgia, a crucial state in the 2024 election, about car manufacturing. The Republican nominee said more production will take place in the U.S. under his administration and they will be “exported through the port of Savannah.”
“Under my leadership, we helped deepen the port,” Trump said. “Now I understand that they want to do it again. We will get in and we will do that very quickly.”
The Republican nominee promised to quadruple traffic to the port “as your power” will lead to a “manufacturing boom.”
“With a world-class port and a world-class workforce, this city will soon become one of the premier export hubs anywhere on Earth,” Trump said.
Trump said a lot of the work to make the port “deeper” follows with his tariff policies. He told the crowd he would place tariffs on all imports so that manufacturing will “come roaring back.”
In 2019, Trump asked Congress for an additional $130 million to continue to deepen the shipping channel to Savannah’s seaport, allowing for the harbor expansion to be completed in 2022.
Dredging along 40 miles of the Savannah River between the port and the Atlantic Ocean began prior to Trump’s term. It reached the halfway mark in 2018.
In 2022, Governor Brian Kemp celebrated the completion of a $973 million expansion of the shipping channel.
This year’s election is likely to hinge on seven states. Georgia has been a contested state, and Trump’s appearance Tuesday is just the most recent for both campaigns.
A survey of 9,794 swing state voters published September 23 by Redfield & Wilton Strategies for The Telegraph found the state leaning toward Trump, who is leading by two points against Vice President Kamala Harris, with 48 percent support.
Another poll by the Institute for Global Affairs, which involved 1,835 respondents surveyed between August 15 and 19, included Georgia in its tally of swing-state results.
In the poll, Trump’s lead widens on the question of specific foreign policy issues, with 58 percent of swing-state voters he is more likely to end the wars in Ukraine and Gaza than Harris (41 percent).
Trump is also the more trusted candidate in the swing states when it comes to China, with 58 percent believing he would “respond effectively if China attacks Taiwan,” compared to only 42 percent for Harris.
Update 9/24/24, 1:48 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with more information.