Political Rewind: Trump's rally in Commerce; Updates under the Gold Dome; Ginni Thomas' texts

Caption

Former President Donald Trump holds a rally in Commerce, Ga., on March 26, 2022. Trump visited Georgia in support of his chosen slate of candidates running against a number of incumbent Republicans.

Credit: Stephen Fowler / GPB News

The panel:

Chuck Williams —  Reporter, WRBL

Donna Lowry —  Host, GPB's Lawmakers

Ken Foskett — Chair of the Atlanta Press Club Board of Directors

Jim Galloway —  Retired columnist, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Stephen Fowler — Politics and election reporter, Georgia Public Broadcasting

The breakdown: 

1. Former President Donald Trump returned to Georgia for a rally over the weekend. 

• Trump's ticket of Republican candidates spoke at the rally, including David Perdue, Herschel Walker and Rep. Jody Hice. 
• GPB's Stephen Fowler and Riley Bunch attended the rally.
• The former president repeated lies about the election being stolen.
  • Trump lost in the 2020 election to President Joe Biden by around 12,000 votes in Georgia.

2.  The state Senate passes a bill to give teachers a boost, but more "culture wars" bills focus on schools.

• There are only four more days left in the legislature to pass everything before Sine Die on April 4.   
• Lawmakers' host Donna Lowry discussed the education bills in the Legislature.
  • The Georgia Senate set up final negotiations with the House last week.
    • The plan would give teachers at $2,000 raise in the new $30.2 billion budget. 
  • Senate Bill 226 would allow parents to establish a process for parents to formally complain about books and materials they deem harmful.

3. Ginni Thomas' text following the 2020 elections were revealed. 

• The New York Times reports, following the 2020 presidential election, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was involved in a range of efforts to keep President Donald J. Trump in power.
• The calls for Thomas to recuse himself from cases surrounding Jan. 6 continue.

Tomorrow on Political Rewind:

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Tamar Hallerman hosts Tuesday's show.