WASHINGTON – Former President Donald Trump tore into Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Saturday, claiming the guy Republican was hurting his reelection marketing campaign within the Peach State. Trump additionally criticized Kemp for not serving to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
“He’s a nasty man. He’s a disloyal man and he’s a really common governor,” Trump mentioned at a marketing campaign rally in Atlanta in considered one of a number of feedback aimed toward Kemp, together with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, one other Republican who resisted Trump’s efforts to overturn his loss to President Biden within the state. “Little Brian Kemp,” Trump referred to as the governor.
Trump’s assaults reignited tensions between him and Georgia Republicans. The previous president misplaced the state narrowly in 2020 and closely pressured Kemp and Raffensperger to reverse his defeat. Trump was indicted final 12 months by an Atlanta grand jury for his try to overturn the election.
“For my part, they need us to lose,” Trump mentioned of Kemp and Raffensperger.
Trump’s assaults on Kemp and Raffensperger are notable given Georgia is considered one of a handful of battleground states that can decide the winner of the upcoming presidential election and Kemp is standard within the Peach State.
Kemp hit again at Trump earlier on Saturday, responding to a put up the previous president made on Fact Social which additionally went after the governor’s spouse, Marty Kemp.
“My focus is on successful this November and saving our nation from Kamala Harris and the Democrats – not participating in petty private insults, attacking fellow Republicans, or dwelling on the previous,” Kemp mentioned in a put up on X, previously Twitter. “It is best to do the identical, Mr. President, and depart my household out of it.”
Throughout his rally, Trump claimed Kemp was responsible for crime in Georgia, saying “Atlanta is sort of a killing discipline,” underneath his management. Georgia “has gone to hell,” Trump mentioned.
Kemp didn’t vote for Trump on this 12 months’s GOP primaries, telling CNN in June he as an alternative casted a clean poll as a result of “at that time, it didn’t actually matter.” In the end although, Kemp mentioned he’ll vote for the GOP ticket.