Even though he launched a barrage of criticisms at a rally a few weeks ago, Donald Trump is now shifting his position on the Republican governor of Georgia.
A victory in Georgia is crucial to the prosperity of our Party and, above all, our Nation. Trump expressed his gratitude to Gov. Brian Kemp for his assistance and support in a social media post.
“I am excited about the prospect of collaborating with you and your colleagues, as well as my friends in Georgia, to contribute to the restoration of American greatness!” he wrote.
Trump’s remarks were a sharp contrast to his remarks at a rally earlier this month, where he blamed the governor for his narrow defeat in the state of Georgia in 2020. The speech took place in an Atlanta arena, which is just steps away from the Georgia Capitol.
On August 3, Trump went on an almost 10-minute rant in which he attacked Kemp for refusing to accept his erroneous claims of election fraud. A local district attorney was going to prosecute him and others for trying to reverse the results, and he said the governor should have stopped them.
“That guy is wicked. He is an unfaithful man. Trump went on to say that he is an ordinary governor. The diminutive Brian Kemp. The villain.
Just before Trump made his speech on Thursday, Kemp made an appearance on Fox News, where he assured Sean Hannity that he will continue to back Trump and do all in his power to ensure that he wins Georgia’s 16 electoral votes.
“We must re-elect Donald Trump as president,” Kemp declared.
Even if some GOP insiders are still worried that Trump’s field brigade won’t be able to turn out enough Republican voters statewide, Kemp might use his own well-funded political operation to do it. Kemp has stated that his group is only active in a small number of state legislature districts at this time.
For conservatives and moderates who have supported Kemp but are on the fence about Trump, his endorsement might send a positive message.
Both may prove pivotal, as the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate and former vice president Kamala Harris has set Georgia on course for yet another nail-biter.
During his interview with Fox News following Harris’ speech at the Democratic National Convention, Trump was asked whether he is actively trying to mend fences with Kemp.
“Well, I caught Brian on a great guy recently; have you heard of Sean Hannity?” “I think we’re going to have a very good relationship with Brian Kemp,” Trump said after his interview with Sean Hannity, in which Kemp was cordial and stated his desire for Trump to win. Kemp also promised to work closely with Trump.
No remark was offered by a Kemp spokesperson.
While campaigning in Valdosta, a city in south Georgia, on Thursday, Republican vice presidential contender and Ohio senator JD Vance claimed to have spoken “very briefly” with Kemp earlier.
“I keep an eye on the news,” Vance informed the reporter. Disputes have arisen between Donald Trump and Brian Kemp. This ticket is being pushed by Brian Kemp, I can assure you of that.
After Marty Kemp informed an interviewer that Trump had not deserved his wife’s vote, Kemp recoiled at Trump mentioning her by name. “Leave my family out of it,” Kemp warned Trump on X, and he encouraged Trump to quit “engaging in petty personal insults, attacking fellow Republicans, or dwelling on the past.”
However, Kemp’s support for the Republican ticket was unwavering, and he continued to relentlessly criticize Harris.
Kemp stressed Thursday on Fox that the team’s success hinges on winning at the highest level. I’ve been saying this for a long time: Joe Biden and Kamala Harris cannot serve another four years in office. Even worse, in my opinion, would be Tim Walz and Kamala Harris.
That’s due in part to the fact that Kemp, who has become more well-known on a national level as the RGA’s vice chair, is obviously still considering his political options, which might include challenging Democrat Jon Ossoff for the Senate in 2026 or possibly running for president himself in 2028. If Kemp were to leave Trump, he would betray the Republican Party, which is now solidly behind Trump, and his chances of being nominated for the Senate would be severely diminished.
However, Kemp has also shown little willingness to humble himself in Trump’s presence. The two have been at odds for quite some time, beginning with Kemp’s 2019 appointment of Kelly Loeffler to the United States Senate, which was in opposition to Trump’s choice of then-Rep. Doug Collins. Even after Trump criticized Kemp for how he handled the outbreak, it persisted. Even though Kemp was already well-positioned to become governor in 2018, Trump has maintained that his endorsement in the Republican primary runoff was crucial to his victory.
However, Trump’s repeated requests that Kemp step in following Democrat Joe Biden’s close 2020 victory in Georgia caused the relationship to deteriorate. In one instance, Kemp rejected Trump’s demand that he convene a special session of the Georgia legislature to replace Biden’s electors with Trump-pledging lawmakers.
In retaliation, Trump enlisted the help of former US Senator David Perdue to undermine Kemp’s reelection campaign in the GOP primary for 2022. However, Kemp shocked both Perdue and Trump when he received over 75% of the primary vote. Following his easy victory over Democrat Stacey Abrams in 2020, Kemp has spent the past two years urging Trump and Republicans to put their differences about the 2020 election in the past and focus on winning over voters with economic issues.
On the Republican side, there had been efforts to mend fences.
Former Georgia state senator and current Georgia Republican Party chair Josh McKoon said, “Kemp made it very clear he was 100% for Trump.”—McKoon has attempted to mediate the disagreement between Kemp and Trump.
Among those who made celebratory remarks Thursday was Loeffler, who continues to be a significant Republican supporter and who attended a Trump fundraiser in April.
Trump battles more for America than anybody else, according to Loeffler’s X post. Among Georgia’s officials, Brian Kemp puts in the most hours. And rescuing this nation from Kamala’s communist coup is the most unifying thing we can do. Joining them in the battle to restore America’s greatness fills me with pride!
