Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp endorses Donald Trump, reversing feud amid Dems' rising odds
Former President Donald Trump appears to have ended his feud with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
Kemp endorsed Trump during a Thursday interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News, and Trump responded on Truth Social with a post thanking the Governor.
The tone of this exchange represents a stark contrast from earlier this month, when Trump insulted Kemp at an Atlanta rally, calling him "Little Brian Kemp."
Trump's disdain for Kemp dates back to the 2020 presidential election, when Kemp refused help Trump in efforts to allegedly overturn the election results. Their new alliance comes as Vice President Kamala Harris gains ground in key battleground states, including Georgia.
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From feud to friend, Kemp endorses Trump
Earlier this month, Trump threw multiple insults at the governor, calling him "Little Brian Kemp."
"He’s a bad guy. He’s a disloyal guy and he’s a very average governor," Trump said.
Trump echoed the attacks on Truth Social, claiming the Governor would not have won without Trump's endorsement.
Kemp responded to those attacks on X, saying "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. You should do the same, Mr. President, and leave my family out of it."
But as Democrats wrapped up a four-day party nominating Harris, Kemp came out in support of Trump.
"We gotta win from the top of the ticket on down," Kemp said, calling on supporters to get involved. "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 are to be even worse. So we need to send Donald Trump back to the White House."
"Thank you to #BrianKempGA for all of your support and help in Georgia, where a win is so important to the success of our Party and, most importantly, our Country," Trump posted on Truth Social in response. "I look forward to working with you, your team, and all of my friends in Georgia to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Trump lost Georgia by less than 12k votes, Harris gaining ground
After winning Georgia in 2016 by more than 5 percentage points, Trump lost the state in 2020 by less than 12,000 votes, a margin of 0.2%.
In December of 2020, Trump urged Kemp to compel the state legislature to overturn Joe Biden's victory, but Kemp refused. Trump is also a codefendant with 18 others in a Georgia election racketeering case.
Harris' national average polls have been rising since she stepped up to take the top spot on the Democrats' ticket from Biden.
As of Friday, FiveThirtyEight's national polling average shows Harris trails Trump in Georgia by 0.6%, a smaller margin than July 30 when she was behind by 1.4%.
Contributing: Matthew Brown, Melissa Cruz
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp endorses Donald Trump after feud