Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) weighed in on Tuesday following additional claims from former President Donald Trump that the 2020 presidential election was rigged in Georgia.
“The 2020 election in Georgia was not stolen,” Kemp posted on social media.
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“For nearly three years now, anyone with evidence of fraud has failed to come forward — under oath — and prove anything in a court of law. Our elections in Georgia are secure, accessible, and fair and will continue to be as long as I am governor,” he said.
The 2020 election in Georgia was not stolen.
For nearly three years now, anyone with evidence of fraud has failed to come forward – under oath – and prove anything in a court of law. Our elections in Georgia are secure, accessible, and fair and will continue to be as long as I… pic.twitter.com/jaru2iBDo7
— Brian Kemp (@BrianKempGA) August 15, 2023
He directed readers to turn to 2024 rather than 2020. “The future of our country is at stake in 2024 and that must be our focus,” Kemp said.
The Georgia governor was responding to a Truth Social post from Trump announcing he would hold a press conference on Monday in Bedminster, New Jersey, where he will present a report detailing election fraud in Georgia during the 2020 presidential election. He said, “Based on the results of this CONCLUSIVE Report, all charges should be dropped against me & others — There will be a complete EXONERATION!”
Trump’s campaign referred the Washington Examiner to spokeswoman Liz Harrington’s response to Kemp on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Georgia has among the most corrupt elections in the country — and they haven’t gotten better since 2020, they’ve gotten worse!” she wrote. “Tune in Monday!”
Georgia has among the most corrupt elections in the country — and they haven’t gotten better since 2020, they’ve gotten worse!
Tune in Monday! https://t.co/2kINUUeg1o
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) August 15, 2023
Trump and Kemp have maintained a complicated relationship over the years. The former president supported Kemp in his gubernatorial bid in 2018, which he won. But when the Georgia governor didn’t embrace his claims of widespread election fraud in Georgia in 2020, Trump turned on him.
“@BrianKempGA should resign from office,” Trump tweeted in 2020. “He is an obstructionist who refuses to admit that we won Georgia, BIG!”
Asked about Trump’s tweet at the time, Kemp said, “I mean, I’ve supported the president.”
“I’ve said that many times. I worked as hard as anybody in the state on his reelection up through November the 3rd. I’ve supported the legal process that him or any other campaign can go through in this state. But at the end of the day, I also have to follow the laws in the Constitution,” he explained.
Trump later supported a primary challenger to Kemp in former Sen. David Perdue during the 2022 elections. However, he failed to take down Kemp, who received 73.7% of the GOP primary vote.
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Kemp has been pointed to as an example of one of the only Republican leaders to push back against Trump and have his political career survive to tell the tale. Others have posed Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) and Gov. Kim Reynolds (R-IA) as examples of leaders who have successfully navigated dealing with Trump.
Despite the Georgia governor’s rocky relationship with Trump, he didn’t rule out endorsing him in 2024. In an interview last month, Kemp indicated that he will support the 2024 Republican nominee, even if Trump wins the primary.
