Trump seeks a détente with Kemp after simmering feud
Republicans in Georgia have been worried about the affects of the former president’s attacks on the governor.
By Meridith McGraw and Natalie Allison
Donald Trump on Thursday night drastically pivoted his stance on Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican who, just weeks ago, he called a “bad guy” and “average governor.”
In a post to Truth Social, Trump thanked the governor for all his “help and support 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!” Trump added.
Trump’s post came less than 10 minutes after Kemp appeared on Sean Hannity’s prime-time Fox News show and reiterated his support for electing Republicans up and down the ballot — including Trump. Kemp said he was working to support efforts on the ground.
“We’ve got to win. We have to win from the top of the ticket down. I have 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 going to be even worse,” Kemp told Hannity.
He said, “We need to send Donald Trump back to the White House, we need to retake the Senate, we need to hold the House, we need to hold our legislative majorities that we have in the great state of Georgia.”
There have been growing anxieties in Georgia about the impact Trump’s slights against Kemp and his wife could have on the former president’s prospects in the state. Polling has tightened between Trump and Harris in Georgia, and while the Trump campaign has maintained it is well positioned in the state for the November election, some Republicans in Georgia have expressed concern about the state of the GOP ground game and turnout there.
Kemp, who has been praised for his robust ground game, said that Republicans had been in the field knocking on doors and “turning out the base for the whole ticket.”
Hannity, who is close to the former president, also asked Kemp to talk about his efforts to bring “integrity to the election process.” Kemp said he expects the 2024 election to be “secure, accessible, and fair,” and mentioned passing the Election Integrity Act in 2021 that overhauled election laws in the state. Much of the bad blood between the two men stems from Kemp resisting Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election results based on his baseless claim the election was rigged.
A person familiar with the situation, granted anonymity to speak freely, said they “suppose [Trump] liked” Kemp’s appearance on Hannity’s show Thursday night. And the kind words were enough to prompt a dramatic about-face by Trump.
Later Thursday night, more than an hour after he posted about Kemp, Trump was interviewed by Fox News’ Bret Baier, who asked him: “Are you making a specific effort in Georgia to make up, if you will, with the Governor of Georgia Brian Kemp?”
“Well I just saw Brian … a very good man — did you ever hear of a man named Sean Hannity? And he was interviewed by Sean Hannity and he was very nice,” Trump replied. “He said he wants Trump to win and he’s going to work with me 100 percent and I think we will have a very good relationship with Brian Kemp.”
On Thursday afternoon, Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, said he spoke with Kemp earlier in the day and is convinced the Georgia governor “wants us to win, because he believes the policies of Kamala Harris are disastrous for this country.”
“I read the headlines. Brian Kemp and Donald Trump have had some disagreements. I am 100 percent, guarantee you, that Brian Kemp is behind this ticket,” Vance told reporters.
Kemp’s team maintained that his comments on the prime-time Fox News show were merely his “long held position of supporting the nominee and working hard to win Georgia.”
While declining to endorse Trump during a competitive Republican primary, Kemp earlier this year confirmed that he would be “supporting the ticket” this fall, regardless of which GOP nominee was on it.
As in other battlegrounds, Trump has lost his strong lead in polling in Georgia since Harris replaced President Joe Biden atop the Democratic ticket, with Trump and Harris now effectively tied in the state. In response, the Trump campaign is pouring over $20 million into advertising in the state, and the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. is including Georgia as part of a massive $100 million ad buy in battleground states.
Trump’s truce with Kemp is, in many ways, expected. Longtime Republican operatives in Georgia told POLITICO in recent days that they expected the two men would come together — with both their ambitions in mind.
Two weeks ago at Mar-a-lago, Trump took credit for Kemp’s election win but told reporters he would “love to see [his relationship with Kemp] get repaired.”
Earlier this month, Kemp said at a political summit held by Erick Erickson that Trump’s recent comments about him will not change his support for the former president.
“Despite all of that noise, my position has not changed,” Kemp said. “I said a long time before the presidential primary ever started … that I was going to support the nominee and we were going to use our political operation to win Georgia.”
Kemp echoed the same sentiment at a private fundraiser for Senate Republicans hosted by Kelly Loeffler, Sen. Lindsey Graham told Fox News.
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