Georgia
Seeking to woo voters, Trump puts aside his beef with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. For now
Former president Trump put aside his differences Friday with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, meeting Kemp in the hurricane-ravaged community of Evans, Ga, for their first joint appearance since Kemp refused to help Trump overturn his 2020 election loss.
After shaking hands at a press briefing, Trump praised Kemp. “Your governor’s doing a fantastic job,” Trump said.
It was a significant public turnaround, one calibrated to bring Georgia Republicans together ahead of a tight Nov. 5. election.
Over the last four years, Trump has repeatedly tried to undermine Kemp, blaming the Georgia GOP leader for not doing enough to overturn his 2020 loss and endorsing a rival gubernatorial candidate in 2022. Just months ago, he insulted Kemp as a “bad guy.”
But getting conservatives to the polls and wooing undecided voters is key for Republicans in this Southern battleground state.
Biden won Georgia in 2020 by fewer than 12,000 votes and polling averages compiled by FiveThirtyEight.com show Trump ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris in Georgia by just 1.3 percentage points, within the margin of error.
With Trump and Harris neck and neck, the two men presented a united front.
“It is my honor, and I want to thank President Trump for coming back to our state again for the second time to … keep a national focus on our state as we recover,” Kemp said after the two GOP leaders attended a briefing on hurricane damage in Evans, a conservative suburb of Augusta that suffered severe storm damage.
Asked about his relationship with the governor, Trump said: “We’ve always worked together very well.”
Georgia political observers stress that it would be unwise for Trump to make an enemy of Kemp, Georgia’s most popular and powerful elected official.
“The joint appearance might calm some Republicans upset about the attacks on Kemp,” said GOP strategist Brian Robinson, a former communications director for former Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal. “It doesn’t add votes really, but it’s important for Trump to keep Kemp on the team rowing in the same direction. Kemp would never be publicly opposed, but it would be harmful if he was.”
Earlier this week, Kemp did not join Trump when the former president traveled to Valdosta, Ga., to survey the damage from Hurricane Helene.
At a rally this week, Trump criticized Biden for “sleeping” after the hurricane brought torrential rain to the region and falsely claimed that Kemp could not reach Biden for federal assistance — a claim that Kemp later disputed.
Speaking at an August Atlanta rally, Trump shocked many Georgia conservatives when he rebuked Kemp as “little Brian.” He said that under Kemp’s leadership and the state had “gone to hell” and Atlanta was “a killing field.” He also accused of Kemp’s wife, Marty, who months earlier told a reporter she planned to write in Kemp’s name for president, of disloyalty.
“Leave my family out of it,” Kemp retorted on X. “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.”
Many Georgia Republicans united against Trump in support of Kemp — a popular GOP player across the state who crushed a Trump-endorsed challenger in the 2022 GOP primary before winning against Democrat Stacey Abrams.
Still, Kemp refused to get sucked into the drama, insisting he would use his robust political machine this fall to boost Trump’s 2024 bid for the White House.
“This is still a state we can win if we have all the mechanics and the things you need to do to win an election,” Kemp said in August. “We’ve raised enough money and we have good candidates.
Just before Harris accepted the nomination at the Democratic National Convention, Trump made overtures to Kemp via the social platform X, thanking him for his “help and support in Georgia, where a win is so important.”
“I look forward to working with you, your team, and all of my friends in Georgia to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
And last week he extended that overture, calling Kemp “fantastic” at a visit in Savannah before the hurricane hit.
Still, Trump’s praise for Kemp may not last long. Trump has been indicted in Georgia — an 98-page indictment by Fulton County Dist. Atty. Fani Willis
claims the former president “unlawfully conspired” to change the election outcome — and Kemp could serve as a possible trial witness against Trump.
Georgia
Federal defunding of public media raises concerns for Georgia stations from viewers, educators
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — More than $1 billion in federal funding is being pulled from public media nationwide, money that supports more than 1,500 television and radio stations across the country.
For nearly six decades, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) helped deliver children’s programming, public affairs reporting and emergency information to homes across the state. Shows like “Sesame Street” introduced generations of children to letters, numbers and social-emotional learning.
“I loved learning, and having educational programming right there made a big difference,” said Bailey Matthews.
In Georgia, the cuts are raising concerns about jobs, children’s educational programming, and access to news and emergency alerts, particularly in rural communities.
Educators and child development experts say programs featuring puppets as characters can be especially effective for young learners.
“Kids see a puppet as a living character, and that makes learning easier,” said Beth Schiavo, executive director for the Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts.
Congress voted last year to defund CPB through the Rescissions Act of 2025, clawing back $1.1 billion that had already been approved. This week, CPB’s board voted to dissolve the organization entirely.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Corporation for Public Broadcasting votes itself out of existence
Some Georgia Republicans who supported the move say the decision comes down to federal spending priorities and concerns about political bias in public media.
“The news that these entities produced is either resented or increasingly tuned out and turned off by most of the hardworking Americans who are forced to pay for it,” said former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.
The loss of federal funding has immediate financial implications for Georgia stations. Georgia Public Broadcasting says CPB funding made up about 10% of its budget, or roughly $4.2 million this year.
At Atlanta’s WABE, the city’s PBS affiliate and main NPR affiliate, they must replace $1.9 million — about 13% of their annual budget.
Both GPB and WABE say they are not shutting down but acknowledge the loss of federal support means relying more heavily on donations and community backing moving forward.
“Public radio, to continue to be funded, allows for us to meet the needs of people who live in news deserts,” said NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher.
Former Georgia Teacher of the Year Tracey Nance said the impact extends beyond broadcasting. The Georgia Budget and Policy Institute estimates more than 77,000 Georgia teachers have accessed GPB educational content more than four million times.
“It is absolutely providing essential services — not a luxury, but essential services that provide a foundation that all kids deserve,” said Nance.
Nance is calling on state lawmakers to use the state surplus to intervene.
Copyright 2026 WANF. All rights reserved.
Employees of the Migration Department of Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs, as part of recent special operations, have deported 13 citizens from Turkmenistan, Iran, Cuba, Türkiye, Thailand, and Azerbaijan.
According to the information released by the ministry, the Migration Department carried out comprehensive immigration control measures in close coordination with the relevant departments, The Caspian Post reports, citing local media.
It is noted that, under current legislation, deported persons are prohibited from re-entering the country.
According to official statistics, the total number of foreign citizens deported from Georgia last year was 1,311.
No. 18 Bulldogs bring 13-1 record into Tuesday night game against defending national champion Gators in Gainesville.
Georgia coach Mike White (right) talks with guard Jeremiah Wilkinson during the Bulldogs’ win against Cincinnati in a Holiday Hoopsgiving game Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Georgia won 84-65. (Jason Getz/AJC)
ATHENS — Georgia basketball is back on the map, ranked in the AP Top 25 for a third consecutive week for the first time in nearly 23 years.
The Bulldogs (13-1, 1-0 SEC) are ranked No. 18 in the AP Top 25, up five spots from last week’s ranking, on the strength of a 104-100 overtime win over Auburn on Saturday.
It’s the highest Georgia has been ranked in the AP Top 25 poll since Jim Harrick coached the program and came in at No. 17 on Feb. 3, 2003 — the most recent season UGA has been ranked in the poll three or more consecutive weeks.
Unbeaten teams Arizona (14-0), Michigan (13-0) and Iowa State (14-0) hold the top three spots in this week’s AP Top 25, with UConn (14-1) and Purdue (13-1) rounding out the top five.
Vanderbilt (14-0, 1-0) is the SEC’s highest-ranked AP Top 25 team, coming in at No. 11, while Alabama (11-3, 1-0) is at No. 13, Arkansas (11-3, 1-0) is No. 15 and then No. 18 Georgia is the league’s fourth-highest-ranked team entering into this week’s games.
“Our guys have been so eager, probably like most teams in our league and throughout other leagues, at the highest level of college basketball,” UGA fourth-year coach Mike White said about the start of SEC play.
“We were playing a bunch of midmajors through the holidays, and you can’t let the moment be too big.”
Georgia’s schedule strength jumped from 298th to 231st with the win over Auburn, and it figures to get another boost when the Bulldogs play at Florida (9-5, 0-1) at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
“Our confidence comes from within, we know what we have in our locker room,” said Georgia guard Jeremiah Wilkinson, a transfer from Cal who scored 31 in the win over Auburn and leads the Bulldogs with 18.3 points per game this season.
“We knew what we were capable of before coming into the (Auburn) game, and we told each other before the game: Let’s act like we’re supposed to win the game. Let’s act like we’re supposed to be here.”
Georgia leads the nation in scoring offense (99.4 points per game), fast-break points (27.0 per game) and blocked shots (8.0 per game).
The Gators, featuring preseason All-SEC players Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh and Boogie Fland, were the media’s preseason pick to win the league.
Georgia — which didn’t have a player picked on the first, second or third team — was picked to finish 14th in the SEC.
White, who coached Florida from 2015-2022, leading the Gators to four NCAA tournaments and an Elite Eight appearance in 2017, said Georgia is looking forward to the opportunity to play the defending national champion.
“We’ll fly around, we’ll play hard, we’ll be prepared,” White said. “This team has a pretty healthy level of intrinsic confidence, and you’ll need that to be competitive down there against a team that’s coming off a national championship.”
Georgia split with Florida last season, losing 89-59 in Gainesville, Florida, on Jan. 25 and then handing the Gators their last loss of the season, 88-83, on Feb. 25 in Athens.
“It’s nothing different than what we’ve just seen tonight (against Auburn),” said UGA guard Marcus “Smurf” Millender, who leads Georgia with 54 assists and a 40% 3-point shooting clip.
“They put their jerseys on like we put our jerseys on. We’re going to give them our best game and hope they bring it too.”
Florida fell out of the AP Top 25 poll this week after losing its SEC-opening game at Missouri 76-74 on Saturday and is among other teams still receiving votes.
Georgia has lost six consecutive games in Gainesville dating back to a 61-55 win on March 2, 2019, in Tom Crean’s first year leading the Bulldogs.
Mike is in his 10th season covering SEC and Georgia athletics for AJC-DawgNation and has 25 years of CFB experience. Mike is a Heisman Trophy voter and former Football Writers President who was named the National FWAA Beat Writer of the Year in January, 2018.
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