Georgia’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp, on Saturday hit back at Donald Trump after the former president called him a “lightweight.”
Trump earlier in the day called for a “purge” of dissenting voices within the Republican party, specifically calling out GOP officials in the state of Georgia, where Trump is alleged to have attempted to undermine the vote in the 2020 presidential election. President Joe Biden beat Trump in that vote.
In calling for the purge, Trump specifically targeted Kemp and several others.
“Brian Kemp should focus his efforts on fighting Crime, not fighting Unity and the Republican Party! His Crime Rate in Georgia is terrible, his Crime Rate in Atlanta is the worst, and his Economy is average,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social. “He should be seeking UNITY, not Retribution, especially against the man that got him the Nomination through Endorsement and, without whom, he could never have beaten Stacey Abrams. He and his wife didn’t think he could win. I said, ‘I’m telling you you’re going to win.’ Then he won, he was happy, and his wife said, ‘Thank you Sir, we’ll never be able to make it up to you!’ Now she says she won’t Endorse me, and is going to ‘write in Brian Kemp’s name.’ Well, I don’t want her Endorsement, and I don’t want his. They’re the ones who got Fani Willis and her boyfriend all ‘jazzed up’ and ready to go. He could have ended that travesty with a phone call, but he doesn’t want to end it because he’s a bad guy.”
Kemp didn’t take the Trump attack lying down.
“My focus is on winning this November and saving our country from Kamala Harris and the Democrats – not engaging in petty personal insults, attacking fellow Republicans, or dwelling on the past,” Kemp wrote in response. “You should do the same, Mr. President, and leave my family out of it.”