Former President Donald Trump just pulled in a major endorsement that could help him cinch a victory in the key battleground state of Georgia. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, whom Trump has shared a relationship fraught with tension and mistrust in the past, announced during an interview on Sean Hannity’s Fox News program that he would be backing Trump for the presidency. Again, this is a huge endorsement. Kemp could pull in a number of GOP voters who are a bit more on the moderate side that could tip Trump over the edge come November so that he can take the whole state.
“We gotta win from the top of the ticket on down,” Kemp stated during the interview, according to The Augusta Chronicle. “I’ve been saying consistently for a long time we cannot afford another four years of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and I think Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are to be even worse. So we need to send Donald Trump back to the White House.”
BREAKING: Gov. Brain Kemp throws his support behind President Trump after 4 years of tension between the two. pic.twitter.com/gjftFJgObq
— Melissa Tate (@TheRightMelissa) August 23, 2024
Trump responded to Kemp’s endorsement in a post published on Truth Social. The post was screenshot and shared on various other social media platforms.
“Thank you to #BrianKempGA for all of your support and help in Georgia, where a win is so important to the success of our Party and, most importantly, our Country. I look forward to working with you, your team, and all of my friends in Georgia to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” The former president wrote.
Earlier this month, Kemp and Trump were not exactly on good terms. During a rally in Atlanta, Trump tossed a few barbs in the Georgia governor’s direction, referring to him as “Little Brian Kemp.”
He then said, “He’s a bad guy. He’s a disloyal guy and he’s a very average governor.”
Later, Trump referred to Kemp as a “bad guy” a second time, making the claim that had the former president not given him an endorsement, he wouldn’t have won the governorship.
“Then he won, he was happy, and his wife said, ‘Thank you Sir, we’ll never be able to make it up to you!'” Trump stated on Truth Social. “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.”
Kemp took the opportunity to write up a response to Trump’s reaction to his endorsement on X, saying, “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. You should do the same, Mr. President, and leave my family out of it.”
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.
You should do the same, Mr. President, and leave my family out of it. pic.twitter.com/m8y6CSuZKY
— Brian Kemp (@BrianKempGA) August 3, 2024
Despite their rocky past, the two are now joining forces, which could spell disaster for Democrats who might have previously thought they had the state on lock with Kamala Harris becoming the Democratic Party nominee. Guess they never heard that old saying about assumptions.
“You gotta raise money, you gotta go knock on doors, you gotta make phone calls and then, when early voting starts, we gotta get the vote out,” Kemp remarked. “Every person we can get to go vote Republican from the top of the ticket on down is one less person we gotta worry about as we move into Election Day.”
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