Trump Surrenders to Kemp
Georgia governor stares down the defeated president again.
In the aftermath of his losing 2020 campaign, former President Donald Trump marked Georgia as the bullseye of his political vengeance tour and positioned Governor Brian Kemp at the dead center of the target.
Trumpās motive was clear. He was furious at Kemp for refusing to āfind the votesā to flip Georgiaās election results in his favor. But after a year of threats and bluster, Trump is now nowhere to be seen in the Peach State. His last appearance was on March 26, when he made what reporters described as a ārescue missionā to resuscitate the candidate he recruited to primary Kemp, former Sen. David Perdue.
The effort failed: Kemp continued to batter Perdue in the polls, even though Trump invested more into Perdue than any other candidate, ever. Trump has adjusted accordinglyāin a reverse of the January 2021 Senate runoff, when Trump went all-out for Perdue up to the eve of the election. This time around, Trump abandoned Perdue on the field. Trump isāquite literallyāphoning it in. In the final weeks of the campaign, Perdue was MIA on the campaign trail. So call it what it really is: Total surrender.
Think about the split-screen: Trump is probably at home in Mar-a-Lago right now stewing, looking for screwy things to āReTruthā on his pretend social media platform. Meanwhile, IRL, Republican governors are flocking to Kempās side. Kemp ran Trump outta Georgia with his tail between his legs. Kemp wonāt say that, of course. Heās a politician courting Trump voters. But, hereās the real rub for Trump: Former Vice President Mike Penceāwho shares with Perdue the distinction of having defied Trumpās demands to block Joe Bidenās electionāwill be in Georgia today to campaign alongside Kemp on the eve of his all-but-certain victory.
Perdue didnāt always appear to be such a hapless candidate hoping to coast by on nothing more than Trumpās endorsement and āStop the Stealā desperation. Kemp made his own destiny in this race by outhustling the former senator on almost every issue and leaving him with nothing else to campaign on.
Kemp is a canny operator. Think of him as a savvier Ron DeSantis without the fratty antics. Both are popular GOP governors who know how to cater to the base. Kemp, however, is craftier when it comes to delivering the goods. Heās a rarity in that he has accomplished his legislative achievements despite Trump, not in hopes of pleasing him or transparently hoping (as DeSantis has) to succeed him in MAGA hearts.
For instance, Kemp was so far ahead of the curve when it came to how Republicans felt about COVID that Trump criticized Kemp in April 2020 for reopening Georgia too early. That decision was a boon to Kemp, and he has made it a feature of his campaign without the āDonāt Fauci My Floridaā-style buffoonery.
Even though Kemp didnāt cave to Trumpās āStop the Stealā demands, he did go on to sign an āelection integrityā bill that rolled back some of the COVID-related voting expansions. Republican voters liked it, and they hated it when President Biden distorted it, calling it āJim Crow 2.0.ā Major companies, such as Major League Baseball, Delta Airlines, and Coca-Cola, followed the Democratsā lead and denounced the law. Kemp fired back with a promise never to back down and decried corporate ācancel cultureā and āwoke political activists.ā GOP voters liked that, too. He proved he wouldnāt back down from a fight, an all-important quality for the modern conservative pol. Kemp has been proven right. The bill didnāt cause voter suppression. According to the Washington Post, voting is surging in the Georgia primaries.
Kemp also signed Georgiaās āfetal heartbeatā bill, which prohibits abortions once a fetal heartbeat is present. The bill was challenged in the courts, but last September the Eleventh Circuit paused the case so it could await the Supreme Courtās consideration of this termās major abortion case. If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, Georgiaās law will presumably be upheld. Then, Kemp can take credit for implementing one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the countryāa law that permits abortion beyond the point of a fetal heartbeat (around six weeks) only in cases of rape, incest, saving the motherās life, or the āmedical futilityā of the baby. Abortions in cases of rape or incest would require that an āofficial police reportā be filed āalleging the offense of rape or incest.ā The law includes language to provide unborn children āpersonhoodā status for the purpose of āalimony and child supportā and claiming unborn children as ādependent minor[s] for income tax purposes.ā
In just the last few weeks, as Kempās re-election campaign has progressed, he has signed several other laws meant to please the conservative base. He banned mask mandates in schools. He delivered a āparental rightsā education bill that prohibited teaching ādivisive conceptsā about racism and allowed the Georgia High School Association to ban transgender athletes. He signed another bill to preserve free speech on college campuses.
Kemp also made it difficult for Perdue to outflank him on gun rights issues by signing legislation to allow permitless open carry of handguns in public.
And he signed a $1 billion tax cutātwisting the knife in Perdueās dying campaign by holding the signing ceremony in one of Perdueās favorite restaurants. Oh, and as if that werenāt enough, Kemp held a campaign event with Sonny Perdue, one of Georgiaās most respected political playersāand David Perdueās cousin.
To top it all off, Kemp gave Georgians a gas tax holiday, which is very conveniently set to expire one week after the primary.
Given his record and his ability to triangulate MAGA, the real question is why Kemp isnāt being talked up as a possible 2024 presidential contender. Pulling off back-to-back wins in a purple-trending state should, theoretically, shoot him to the top of the list.
Maybe itās too soon. To really amp up the speculation, Kemp will have to win the general election, of course. And Trump isnāt necessarily out of options.
If Trump is genuinely committed to defeating Kemp, Trump could support Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, which is actually a position he has toyed with in the past. At a Georgia rally last September, Trump said, āStacey, would you like to take his place? Itās okay with me. . . . Having her, I think, might be better than having your existing governor, if you want to know the truth, might very well be better.ā
He could test that theory. It would be a suicidal gamble for any Republican who wants to keep Georgia red. That said, Trump does have a well-established losing record. First the House, then the Senate, then his re-election campaign. The 2022 midterms will be another test. For now, the important thing to note is that the scoreboard will soon read Kemp 2āTrump 0.
