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.
Gulfstream recently announced a $5 million investment in Georgia education, welcoming students and leaders to its Savannah headquarters.
ATHENS, Ga. – Designated hitter Daniel Jackson and centerfielder Rylan Lujo combined for nine RBI Sunday, leading fifth-ranked Georgia to a 12-1 win over LSU at Foley Field.
Georgia improved to 41-11 overall, 21-6 in the SEC, while LSU dropped to 29-24 overall and 9-18 in conference play.
The Tigers return to action at 6:30 p.m. CT Thursday when they play host to Florida in Game 1 of a three-game SEC series in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field. Thursday’s game will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network and streamed on SEC Network +.
“Georgia won the moments in this series,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “They’re going to score, so you’ve got to capitalize against them when you have scoring opportunities on offense.”
Georgia starting pitcher Caden Aoki (8-0) was the winner, limiting LSU to one run on four hits in 5.0 innings with two walks and seven strikeouts.
LSU right-hander Casan Evans (2-3), making his first appearance since April 17 versus Texas A&M, started the game Sunday and was charged with the loss, working 1.2 innings and allowing four runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
“I thought Casan’s stuff looked great, and that’s good for him from a health standpoint,” Johnson said. “He’s a guy that the more he pitches, the better he is, so there might have been a little bit of rust, but I thought he competed fine.”
Georgia struck for four runs in the bottom of the second inning in an outburst highlighted by Jackson’s two-out, two-run single and an RBI single by second baseman Ryan Black.
The Tigers narrowed the gap to 4-1 in the third when designated hitter Omar Serna Jr. delivered an RBI single.
Georgia extended its lead to 7-1 in the fourth as Jackson launched a two-run homer and centerfielder Lujo lined a run-scoring single.
Lujo unloaded a grand slam in the fifth, giving the Bulldogs an 11-1 advantage.
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