Georgia is one of the states that Donald Trump needs to win to get back into the White House. It should be an easy win — and it still could be if Trump would stop trying to sabotage himself.
However, the former president is still nursing a grudge against Gov. Brian Kemp (R-Ga.). It stems from Trump’s pushback against the 2020 election results in the Peach State. Trump and many of his most ardent supporters wanted Kemp to violate the state’s constitution to overturn the election results.
Trump ran former Sen. David Purdue as his handpicked primary candidate against Kemp in 2022. Kemp trounced Purdue in the primary and went on to handily defeat Democrat Stacey Abrams in November. Kemp’s popularity and clout were so strong that the GOP won every statewide office in that election. The only Democrat victory was in the Senate race, in which too many voters were skittish about football legend Herschel Walker, who was Trump’s handpicked candidate.
Kemp continues to govern the Peach State as a solid conservative, and he remains popular. Yet Trump is listening to the whispers from the voices who falsely believe that Kemp either sabotaged or failed to ensure a Trump victory in 2020.
Among those voices is Bill White, who is still pouting that Kemp didn't enthusiastically back his movement to spin the tony Atlanta neighborhood of Buckhead into its own city. White moved to Mar-a-Lago and has been disparaging Georgia to Trump at every turn.
Trump continued to attack the governor before and during his rally in Atlanta. In a post on Truth Social, Trump badmouthed Kemp’s wife Marty and called the governor “a bad guy” who “should be seeking UNITY, not Retribution, especially against the man that got him the Nomination through Endorsement and, without whom, he could never have beaten Stacey Abrams.”
He didn’t let up at the rally. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:
He then sharpened his broadsides after he took the stage at Georgia State University’s arena, calling Kemp a “bad guy, a disloyal guy and a very average governor” and blasting his wife Marty for saying she cast her presidential primary ballot for her husband rather than Trump.
“I don’t want her endorsement. I don’t want his endorsement. I just want them to do their job for Georgia,” he said to boisterous applause, accusing the two of working to hinder his campaign for the battleground state in November. “In my opinion, they want us to lose.”
Nothing could be further from the truth. Kemp has been toiling diligently through his Hardworking Americans PAC to defeat the Democrats and ensure that Republicans, including Trump, win their elections.
Related: Fiddle-De-Dee! Kamala Sounds Like She's Never Met a Southerner
Kemp spoke out on X:
My focus is on winning this November and saving our country from Kamala Harris and the Democrats - not engaging in petty personal insults, attacking fellow Republicans, or dwelling on the past.
— Brian Kemp (@BrianKempGA) August 3, 2024
You should do the same, Mr. President, and leave my family out of it. pic.twitter.com/m8y6CSuZKY
So did Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, whom Trump attacked as well:
Georgia’s elections are secure. The winner here in November will reflect the will of the people. History has taught us this type of message doesn’t sell well here in Georgia, sir. pic.twitter.com/G8yjxtvjPJ
— GA Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (@GaSecofState) August 3, 2024
Other people noticed Trump’s bad form:
Trump has a political death wish in Georgia.
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) August 4, 2024
Attacking Brian Kemp, the popular governor who defeated his hand-picked GOP primary challenger by 70-30, is so stupid. Republicans cannot win if they are divided, yet Trump continues to divide them. https://t.co/BqQejXIBKM
All that Governor Kemp and GSU bashing from Trump felt like having guests at your home for dinner who insult your house, the food, and call your dog and kids ugly.
— DJ Lane (@DJordanLane) August 4, 2024
Donald Trump is really trying to build unity in Georgia by attacking the sitting Republican Governor whose ground game he will need to win and also that Governor’s wife. FFS he can’t help himself. And if he loses, it’ll be because of this stuff, not a stolen election.
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) August 3, 2024
In a tightening presidential race, it’s not smart to attack a popular, successful governor. Georgia IS a great place to live, with a strong economy, and heading in the right direction.
— Tony West (@TonyWestAFP) August 3, 2024
To win Georgia, Trump must have the support of “Kemp Republicans”. This ain’t it. #gapol https://t.co/hMXOCHajXY
In another lengthy X post, Erick Erickson pointed out that "attacking a guy who has endorsed you whose ground game you need to win in 2024 is not wise. Luckily for Trump, Kemp is not a petty man. Unfortunately for Trump, he’s reminding those 40,000+ voters who wouldn’t vote for him in 2020 in Georgia why they didn’t vote for him."
Erickson added, "The state leans Republican right now and leans Trump, but there are ninety days for Trump to further screw it up."
On his podcast Monday morning, Albert Mohler noted that Trump's vengeful mindset isn't a good look for 2024. Mohler didn't specifically mention the feud with Kemp, but his words fit the scenario.
"The other big concern on the part of Republicans, and this includes many supporters of the former president, is the fact that he’s been leaning into the politics of personal grievance in a way that keeps bringing back issues from 2020 rather than dealing with the issues of the day," Mohler said, and he added that "when he deals with the politics of personal animosity, quite frankly, leveling scores and being elected president of the United States are just not compatible strategies, and so he’s going to have to decide on one or the other."
As a lifelong Georgian who will vote for Trump in November but who also wholeheartedly supports Kemp, I hope and pray that Trump's attacks don't cost him too many votes in the Peach State. I don't expect Trump to apologize or even bury the hatchet, but if he would stop rehashing this silly grudge, it would go a long way toward maintaining unity among Georgia's conservatives.
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