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Georgia Governor Brian Kemp Backs Donald Trump After Disagreement
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Georgia Governor Brian Kemp Backs Donald Trump After Disagreement

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Former President Donald Trump appears to have ended his feud with Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.

Kemp endorsed Trump during a Thursday interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, and Trump responded on Truth Social with a post thanking the governor.

The tone of the exchange stands in stark contrast to earlier this month, when Trump insulted Kemp at a rally in Atlanta, calling him “Little Brian Kemp.”

Trump’s disdain for Kemp dates back to the 2020 presidential election, when Kemp refused to help Trump’s efforts to overturn the election results. Their new alliance comes as Vice President Kamala Harris is gaining ground in key swing states including Georgia.

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From feud to friend: Kemp supports Trump

Earlier this month, Trump repeatedly insulted the governor, calling him “Little Brian Kemp.”

“He’s a bad guy. He’s a disloyal guy and he’s a very average governor,” Trump said.

Trump renewed the attacks on Truth Social, claiming the governor would not have won without Trump’s support.

Kemp responded to those attacks on X by saying, “I’m focused on winning this November and saving our country from Kamala Harris and the Democrats — not on making petty personal insults, attacking fellow Republicans, or dwelling on the past. You should do the same, Mr. President, and leave my family out of this.”

But as Democrats wrapped up a four-day celebration of Harris’ nomination, Kemp voiced his support for Trump.

“We have to win from the top of the ticket all the way down,” Kemp said, urging his supporters to get involved. “I’ve been saying consistently for a long time, we can’t afford four more years of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and I think Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are going to be even worse. So we have to send Donald Trump back to the White House.”

“Thank you to #BrianKempGA for all your support and help in Georgia, where a win is so critical to the success of our party and, more importantly, our country,” Trump posted in response to Truth Social. “I look forward to working with you, your team, and all my friends in Georgia to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Trump lost Georgia by less than 12,000 votes, Harris gains ground

After winning Georgia by more than 5 percentage points in 2016, Trump lost the state in 2020 by fewer than 12,000 votes, a margin of 0.2%.

In December 2020, Trump urged Kemp to force the state legislature to overturn Joe Biden’s victory, but Kemp refused. Trump is also a co-defendant with 18 others in a Georgia election fraud case.

Harris’ national average poll numbers have risen since she took over the top spot on Biden’s Democratic ticket.

On Friday, FiveThirtyEight’s national polls showed Harris trailing Trump by 0.6 percentage points in Georgia, a narrower margin than on July 30, when she trailed by 1.4 percentage points.

Contributors: Matthew Brown, Melissa Cruz