Trump retweeted a call to have him jailed but Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp still won't concede that Trump lost the election
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
- Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he is currently respecting the legal process and will say who won the 2020 election "when all that plays out," in a new interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- His comments come during a week where President Donald Trump has retweeted a call for him to be jailed and tweeted that Kemp is a "clown" and a "fool."
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp wouldn't concede that President Donald Trump has lost the election, even as Trump called him a "clown" and a "fool" this week and retweeted a post that called for him to be jailed.
In a new interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Kemp stalled in regards to questions related to Trump and the presidential election, saying he is currently respecting the legal process and will "reevaluate that when all that plays out." Biden was affirmed the president-elect on Monday after the Electoral College voted, and on Tuesday Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged the election results.
As the Trump campaign and other backers' lawsuits failed in Georgia, Trump has turned his criticism towards Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who he feels are not doing enough to overturn the election in his favor.
"It's ridiculous, quite honestly, that many are blaming me for being responsible for what happened in the election," Kemp told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Kemp also did not address Joe Biden as "president-elect."
"No one has worked harder for the president. I've said that many times, going into the election all the way through November 3, and I've supported his legal efforts under the laws and the Constitution. At the end of the day, I've also got to follow the same laws and the same Constitution," he added.
Raffensperger recently called for a limited audit of signatures of mail-in ballots in Cobb County, which Kemp endorsed. Over the last month, Kemp issued at least three separate calls for a wider Georgia audit, which he reminded Trump on Twitter.
—Brian Kemp (@BrianKempGA) December 5, 2020
In late November, Trump told Fox News he was ashamed to have endorsed Kemp and called on Rep. Doug Collins to challenge Kemp for governor in 2022.
And this week on Twitter, Trump's anger at Kemp was amplified.
"What a fool Governor @BrianKempGA of Georgia is. Could have been so easy, but now we have to do it the hard way. Demand this clown call a Special Session and open up signature verification, NOW. Otherwise, could be a bad day for two GREAT Senators on January 5th," Trump tweeted on December 13.
—Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2020
Two days later, Trump retweeted a sinister warning from Lin Wood, who has filed lawsuits trying to overturn election resutlts, which said, "President Trump is a genuinely good man. He does not really like to fire people. I bet he dislikes putting people in jail, especially 'Republicans.' He gave @BrianKempGA & @GaSecofState every chance to get it right."
—Lin Wood (@LLinWood) December 15, 2020
The tweet included a photoshopped picture of Kemp and Raffensperger in masks with the Chinese flag imprinted on them. "They refused. They will soon be going to jail," Wood tweeted.
In the interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Kemp also sidestepped claims of widespread voter fraud which Raffensperger, state, and federal officials have rejected.
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