Georgia Governor Brian Kemp would not admit that President Donald Trump lost the election, even when Trump called him a “clown” and a “fool” this week and retweeted a post calling for jail time.
In a new interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Kemp paused regarding questions related to Trump and the presidential election, saying that he currently respects the legal process and “will re-evaluate that when all that happens.” Biden was confirmed as President-elect on Monday after the Electoral College voted, and Senate Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday acknowledged the election results.
While the Trump campaign and other lenders’ lawsuits in Georgia failed, Trump focused his criticism on Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who he says are not doing enough to overturn the election in his favor.
“It is frankly ridiculous that many blame me for being responsible for what happened in the election,” Kemp told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Kemp also did not address Joe Biden as “elected president.”
“No one has worked harder for the president. I’ve said that many times, I’ve been in elections through November 3, and I’ve backed his legal efforts under the laws and the constitution. At the end of the day” I have to also follow the same laws and the same constitution, “he added.
Raffensperger recently called for limited post-in ballot signatures in Cobb County, which Kemp endorsed. In the past month, Kemp has made at least three separate calls for a broader audit in Georgia, which he said remembered Trump on Twitter.
—Brian Kemp (@BrianKempGA) December 5, 2020
In late November, Trump told Fox News he was embarrassed to support Kemp and called on Rep. Doug Collins to challenge Kemp as governor in 2022.
And this week on Twitter, Trump’s anger at Kemp was heightened.
“What a foolish governor @BrianKempGA is from Georgia. It could have been so easy, but now we have to do it the hard way. Require this clown to call a special session and open signature verification now. Otherwise, January 5 could be a bad day for two BIG senators, ”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 to overturn election results, saying, “President Trump is a really good man. He doesn’t really like firing people. I bet he’s there. hates firing people in prison, especially “Republicans.” He gave @BrianKempGA & @GaSecofState every chance to get it right. “
—LLin Wood (@LLinWood) December 15, 2020
The tweet featured a Photoshopped photo of Kemp and Raffensperger in masks with the Chinese flag printed on them. “They refused. They will go to prison soon,” Wood tweeted.
In the Atlanta Journal-Constitution interview, Kemp also sidestepped claims of widespread voter fraud that Raffensperger, state and federal officials have dismissed.