CHICAGO — Former President Donald Trump signaled openness to burying the hatchet with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), whom he has sporadically attacked in recent weeks.
“I just saw Brian … was interviewed by Sean Hannity, and he was very nice, and he said he wants Trump to win, and he’s going to work with me 100%,” Trump told Fox News in an interview Thursday after Vice President Kamala Harris wrapped up her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.
“I think we’re going to have a very good relationship with Brian Kemp,” he added before going off on a tangent about Independent presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Trump had lashed out at Kemp during an Atlanta rally early this month sniping, “He’s a bad guy. He’s a disloyal guy. And he’s a very average governor.”
“Little Brian, little Brian Kemp. Bad guy,” Trump added at the rally, raising eyebrows from observers due to the importance of Georgia to winning the presidency.
Georgia has 16 Electoral College votes and despite having a Republican governor and state legislature, the Peach State voted against Trump in the 2020 election cycle. It is widely regarded as one of the top seven battleground states ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
Trump had been miffed at Kemp’s refusal to go along with his machinations to challenge President Biden’s 2020 Peach State election victory.
The Republican governor has pushed back against Trump from time to time, defending his actions while stating that he will back Trump on election night. Kemp had heaped praise on Trump during an interview with Sean Hannity.
“We’ve got to win. We’ve got to win from the top of the ticket on down,” Kemp told Hannity. I’ve been saying consistently for a long time we cannot afford another four years of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. And I think Kamala Harris and Tim Walz would be even worse.”
“We need to send Donald Trump back to the White House,” he continued.
Trump responded to that on Truth Social saying, “Thank you to #BrianKempGA for all of your help and support in Georgia, where a win is so important to the success of our Party and, most importantly, our Country.”
“I look forward to working with you, your team, and all of my friends in Georgia to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he went on in the post.