Exclusive Georgia's Republican governor, Brian Kemp, has insisted that “the road to the White House runs through Georgia,” downplaying former President Donald Trump's scathing remarks against him earlier this month as “a little tiff in the past” and saying he is focused on the future.
Kemp, a popular conservative governor who served two terms in key southeastern battleground states, emphasized in an exclusive national interview with Fox News Digital that “there is no path for former President Trump or the Republican candidate to win and win 270 seats.” [electoral votes] Without Georgia.”
“If all the necessary steps are taken, Georgia should be a winnable state for us,” Kemp said in an interview on Tuesday, the day before Vice President Harris began a two-day bus visit to Georgia. “I'm working hard to help in a variety of ways and to get more Republican votes.”
“I believe we cannot afford another four years. [President] Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, or Kamala Harris and [Minnesota Gov.] “I think Tim Walz is probably going to be worse than Biden and Harris,” Kemp said.
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Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp is interviewed by Fox News Digital on June 3, 2024 in Chalmette, Louisiana. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)
A few days before the governor's interview, President Trump praised Kemp in a social media post, saying, “Your outreach and support in Georgia. A victory in Georgia is so important to the success of our party and, more importantly, our country.”
“I look forward to working with you, your team, and all of our friends in Georgia to help Make America Great Again!” the Republican presidential candidate added.
When it came to the Georgia governor, Trump's comments marked a significant change in tone.
Two years after his 2020 presidential election loss to President Biden, which included a narrow defeat in Georgia, Trump has attacked Kemp for failing to overturn the state's election results.
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Trump toned down his criticism of Kemp after he defeated former Sen. David Perdue, a Trump-backed former senator, in the 2022 Republican gubernatorial primary.
Earlier this month, President Trump gave Gov. Kemp a 10-minute blast at a rally in Atlanta, just blocks from the Georgia Capitol, where he criticized the governor not only for failing to overturn the 2020 vote but also for not blocking a county prosecutor from indicting former president Kemp for trying to overturn the election results.
Republican vice presidential candidate and Ohio Senator J.D. Vance greets former Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump during a campaign rally at Georgia State University in Atlanta on August 3, 2024. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
“He's a bad guy. He's a dishonest guy. And he's just an average governor,” Trump said. “Little Brian. Little Brian Kemp. A bad guy.”
“I don't know exactly what happened leading up to the rally. I've heard different stories and people's accounts of what happened,” Kemp told Fox News.
“For me, that was a little hiccup in the past,” Kemp added.
And Kemp said Republicans “need to stay focused on the future. … We need to tell people why they should vote for us, what we're going to do to make it better than it is. And I think there are a lot of issues where we can compare Kamala Harris and her record.”
“To me, that's what we should be focusing on, not the turmoil from a couple of weeks ago.”
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Asked about Trump's change of policy last Thursday, Kemp said, “You have to ask him those questions. I've been consistent over the last few years in saying that I will support whoever the nominee is in Georgia. That's exactly what I'm doing right now, and that's exactly what I've done.”
But Trump's comments came shortly after Kemp appeared on Fox News Channel and reiterated to host Sean Hannity that “we need to send Donald Trump back to the White House.”
Asked Tuesday whether he had been in contact with Trump since last week, Kemp said: “I haven't spoken to him.”
“I've spoken with a lot of other people and I think we all understand where we stand and my position hasn't changed,” Kemp said. “I've supported him and all of the candidates in Georgia and I still do and I'll continue to do so through November.”
Republican strategists agree that to take back Georgia, Kemp will need the help of his well-funded and well-run political organization to mobilize Republican voters to vote.
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“I am working hard to garner Republican votes and ensure we win this state in November,” Kemp said.
“What that looks like and how it proceeds will depend on how things unfold, which states are involved, who moves where and when,” Kemp added.
“My role with the Republican Governors Association includes other responsibilities, including traveling around the country to help raise funds to win North Carolina and hold on to New Hampshire, as well as supporting the congressional races here.”
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R) attends a Republican Governors Association press conference with other Republican governors at an oil refinery in Chalmette, Louisiana, on June 3, 2024. (Fox News/Paul Steinhauser)
Kemp also acknowledged that he had sought legal advice from the state attorney general about whether he could remove from the State Election Commission three conservative members of the five-person panel that pushed for and passed a series of controversial new rules that mandate additional requirements for county election officials to certify election results.
“We've asked the attorney general for his opinion on whether this will become a formal complaint and we're waiting to hear back. So I can't really comment too much on this because we're seeking legal advice,” Kemp told Fox News.
Trump, who is indicted on election interference charges in Fulton County, Georgia, praised the three who pushed for the new rules, calling them “pit bulls who fight for honesty, transparency and to win.”
Georgia Democrats have objected to the new rules, saying they are a “concerted effort to subvert democracy” and could delay the certification of the election and spark major conflict.
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