Georgia's GOP governor rebukes Trump: 2020 election "was not stolen"
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaking in Atlanta in November 2022. Photo: Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) rejected former President Trump's unsubstantiated claims of 2020 election fraud in the state, saying on social media on Tuesday that no one has proven any form of fraud in the almost three years since the election.
Why it matters: Trump repeated his claims after he and 18 others were indicted by an Atlanta grand jury on Monday over alleged efforts to fraudulently overturn Georgia's election results that year.
What they're saying: Trump said on social media said he would present a report about on his election fraud claims on Aug. 21 in Bedminster, New Jersey, that he claims would lead to his "complete EXONERATION."
- Kemp said in response to Trump's allegations: "The 2020 election in Georgia was not stolen."
- "For nearly three years now, anyone with evidence of fraud has failed to come forward - under oath - and prove anything in a court of law," Kemp said.
- "Our elections in Georgia are secure, accessible, and fair and will continue to be as long as I am governor."
Flashback: Kemp served as Georgia's secretary of state from 2010 to 2018. He won his first race for governor in 2018 after a surprise primary endorsement from Trump.
- "As you all know, the president's endorsement during the runoff was like pouring gasoline on a fire," Kemp said at the time.
The big picture: Trump and Kemp have had a tense relationship since 2019 — when Kemp decided not to appoint Trump's chosen candidate to fill a vacant Senate seat.
- In the aftermath of the 2020 election, Trump pressed the governor, and other Georgia officials, to join his effort to overturn the state's election results, which Kemp rejected.
- Trump has since railed against Kemp, even backing another candidate in Georgia's 2022 Republican primary.
- Despite the attacks, Kemp bulldozed Trump-backed former Sen. David Perdue in the primary, winning 73.7% of the vote.
Between the lines: In the years following the 2020 election, even as Trump called him a "fool" and a "clown" for not agreeing to overturn the results, Kemp resisted attacking Trump back.
- During his 2022 re-election he told Axios Atlanta he'd "never said a bad word" about Trump.
Go deeper: The Georgia case against Trump is loaded with breathtaking ambition
