Donald Trump took to social media to suggest he has the support of running foe Georgia GOP Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday evening.
Kemp had just gone on Fox News to reaffirm his support for Trump, despite their years-long feuding.
‘Thank you to [Kemp] for all of your help and support in Georgia, where a win is so important to the success of our Party and, most importantly, our Country,’ said Trump on Truth Social and X.
‘I look forward to working with you, your team, and all of my friends in Georgia to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!’ he posted.
Earlier Thursday, Trump’s running mate J.D. Vance revealed he spoke to Kemp ‘very briefly’ to try to patch up the lingering feud that could hurt the GOP’s changes in the critical swing state.
Trump went after Kemp’s wife and Georgia First Lady Marty Kemp
‘I read the headlines. ‘Brian Kemp and Donald Trump have had some disagreements,’ Vance told reporters. ‘I can 100% guarantee you that Brian Kemp is behind this ticket. He wants us to win.’
‘Atlanta is like a killing field and your governor ought to get off his ass and do something about it,’ Trump said at a rally just two weeks ago.
He was reigniting feud with the leader of a crucial 2024 swing state that did not end well for Republicans last time.
Ahead of an Atlanta rally, Trump reopened old wounds by calling the crime rate in Georgia ‘terrible’ and the economy ‘average,’ and saying he doesn’t want Gov. Brian Kemp or his wife’s endorsement. In a bitter retort Kemp shot back saying ‘leave my family out of it.’
Trump has long held resentment toward Kemp, the leading Republican in the state, for not more aggressively pursuing unfounded claims of rampant voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Ahead of an Atlanta rally, Trump reopened old wounds by calling the crime rate in Georgia ‘terrible’ and the economy ‘average,’ and saying he doesn’t want Gov. Brian Kemp or his wife’s endorsement. In a bitter retort Kemp shot back ‘leave my family out of it’
‘Brian Kemp should focus his efforts on fighting Crime, not fighting Unity and the Republican Party! His Crime Rate in Georgia is terrible, his Crime Rate in Atlanta is the worst, and his Economy is average,’ Trump wrote ahead of thousands gathering for his speech earlier this month.
Trump then went after Kemp’s wife and Georgia First Lady Marty Kemp.
‘He and his wife didn’t think he could win. I said, ‘I’m telling you you’re going to win.’ Then he won, he was happy, and his wife said, ‘Thank you Sir, we’ll never be able to make it up to you!’ Now she says she won’t Endorse me, and is going to ‘write in Brian Kemp’s name.’ Well, I don’t want her Endorsement, and I don’t want his,’ Trump wrote.
‘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,’ Kemp shot back on X.
‘You should do the same, Mr. President, and leave my family out of it,’ he continued.
Kelly Loeffler, Georgia’s former senator who lost a reelection race in 2021 in what some onlookers blamed on Trump’s attacks on the elections in the state, downplayed the dispute between the two men.
Kelly Loeffler, Georgia’s former senator who lost a reelection race in 2021 in what some onlookers blamed on Trump’s attacks on the elections in the state, downplayed the dispute between the two men
Over the weekend Donald Trump reignited a feud that did not end well for Republicans last time
‘Republicans have always embraced a wide range of views – it’s why we had a competitive presidential primary, while Democrats invalidated 14 million votes and anointed Kamala Harris,’ she told DailyMail.com in a statement.
‘The bottom line is that President Trump and Governor Kemp are working tirelessly to restore America and stop Kamala’s broken agenda from causing even more pain. That is my focus, it’s their focus, and it’s shared by everyone who has been crushed by high prices, crime, the open border, and the many other radical policies of the Biden-Harris Administration.’
Loeffler lost her runoff race in 2021, at the height of Trump’s attacks on Georgia’s election systems that some strategists believe dampened Republican voter turnout.
Georgia Republican Rep. Mike Collins likened the feud to ‘ Thanksgiving dinner or a family reunion’ – but expressed a hope that the two men would ‘reconcile’
Others were more outspoken in their criticism of reigniting old tensions.
‘The Trump rally in Atlanta makes it more likely Kamala Harris wins. He’s his own worst enemy,’ said Georgia-based conservative radio host Erick Erickson.
Trump and Kemp have had a sticky relationship for years, but Trump’s hostility toward the GOP governor escalated after Trump lost Georgia in 2020.
The ex-president reportedly pressured the GOP governor to step in and find the votes to overturn the election results after President Biden won Georgia less than 12,000 votes.
He has also expressed anger that Kemp has not helped him when it comes to the Fulton County case against him over election interference in Georgia.
Trump wrote on Saturday that Kemp is a ‘bad guy’ as he faces another tight race in Georgia in November with Vice President Kamala Harris now at the top of the Democratic ticket.
Kemp enjoys widespread support in the Georgia GOP. He fended off a Trump-backed effort to oust him from the governor’s mansion in 2022 and outperformed Trump’s hand-picked Senate candidate, Herschel Walker.
Trump again went after Kemp at his rally on Saturday.
‘Your Governor, Kemp, and [Secretary of State Brad] Raffensperger, they’re doing everything possible to make 2024 difficult for Republicans to win,’ he said. ‘What are they doing? I don’t know. They’ve got something in mind, you know, they’ve got a little something in mind. Kemp is very bad for the Republican Party.’
Trump again went after Kemp at his rally on Saturday
‘Georgia’s elections are secure,’ Raffensperger wrote in a post Saturday. ‘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.’
Kemp encouraged Trump to focus on the future instead of the past.
‘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,’ Kemp said. ‘You should do the same, Mr. President, and leave my family out of it.’