It was a stunning display of venom aimed at Georgia’s Republican governor by the party’s presidential nominee.
On Saturday, at a campaign rally in Atlanta, Donald Trump referred to Brian Kemp at least twice as “little Brian.” He described him as a “very average governor.” He said, “Atlanta is like a killing field, and your governor ought to get off his ass and do something about it.”
Most bitterly of all, Trump accused Kemp, state first lady Marty Kemp and Secretary of State Brian Raffensperger of “disloyalty” — in particular, the governor and secretary of state for failing to secure election victory in Georgia in 2020 and accusing them of “doing everything possible to make 2024 difficult for Republicans to win.”
Reaction has been both swift and illustrative of the divisions within the state GOP, as Republicans struggle over what loyalty to Trump means — even if it entails withering, personal criticism of the state’s top elected Republican official and his wife.
State Rep. Jesse Petrea (R-Savannah) came to the governor’s defense: “The most popular Republican in Georgia…bar none. Proud of our great, conservative Governor and our lovely First Lady.”
Notably silent among Coastal Georgia Republicans was U.S. Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter, who for months has touted Trump’s endorsement in fundraising pitches on his social media pages. As of Monday evening, the normally voluble Coastal Georgia congressman had neither praised Trump nor defended Kemp on his social media pages. Nor had he called for an end to intraparty squabbling and loyalty tests.
Atlanta-based conservative talk show host Erick Erickson said yesterday Trump’s criticism of Marty Kemp could hurt his candidacy among a constituency whose support he needs.
“If you want to understand the problem Trump created for himself in Georgia, today on the radio, 9 out of 10 callers are women, and they’re all mad at him for attacking Brian Kemp’s wife,” Erickson tweeted.
In response to scathing criticism by the former president, posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, hours before he took the stage in Atlanta, Kemp himself said:
“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.”
Dozens of party luminaries attended the Trump rally on Saturday. They, it seemed, had passed the loyalty test.
Singled out for praise, sometimes lavishly so, were state GOP chairman Josh McKoon; Lt. Gov. Burt Jones; former gubernatorial candidate (and St. Simons resident) David Perdue; U.S. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Mike Collins; State School Superintendent Richard Woods; Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John King; state Sen. Brandon Beach; and Republican state election board members Janice Johnston, Rick Jeffares and Janelle King.
A day before the rally, McKoon, the state GOP chairman, seemed to follow Trump’s cue when it comes to those who are “loyal” and those who aren’t.
He issued an open letter calling for the Republican National Committee to ban former Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan from the party and announcing he will present a resolution to the state GOP expelling him from the party. He cited Duncan’s acts of “disloyalty” to Trump and the party, including his endorsement of Kamala Harris.
McKoon was immediately praised by the Georgia Republican Assembly, an ultraconservative faction of the state’s Republican Party. It said in a Facebook post it was “feeling excited” by McKoon’s move against Duncan.
The assembly has repeatedly urged that Republican candidates be barred from running under the party’s banner if they fail to meet their definition of a “true” Republican.
After Trump’s rally on Saturday, Duncan, a self-described “lifelong conservative Republican,” called the former president’s speech as an example of his “incoherence and vindictiveness.”
If you could see through the words, he said in a statement, “you saw a Donald Trump who does not care about uniting this country or speaking to the voters who will decide this election. Millions of Americans are fed up with his grievance-filled campaign focused only on himself.”
Given the two choices in this election, Duncan said it wasn’t an “easy decision” to back Harris. But he did so, he said, because she will “fight for all Americans, right, left or center, and will stand up for the Constitution.”