President Donald Trump took aim at Georgia's Republican leaders in a message shared to Twitter on Saturday, as he announced details about an upcoming rally to support the state's incumbent senatorial candidates.
"As badly as we were treated in Georgia by the 'Republican' Governor and 'Republican' Secretary of State, we must have a massive victory for two great people, @KLoeffler & @sendavidperdue on January 5th," he wrote in the tweet. "I will be having a big Rally for them on Monday night, January 4th. WIN!"
Trump's recent post, targeting Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, trailed weeks of recurring criticism. The president's continued lamenting over last month's election loss in Georgia has given rise to increased hostility toward the two public officials, who are often subject to reprimands from the sitting president on social media.
He denounced both the governor and secretary of state numerous times on Twitter, in connection with unsubstantiated claims about voter fraud and misconduct contributing to Georgia's election results.
Trump recently pressured Kemp to override Raffensperger's authority in state election processes and order an additional review of signature matches on absentee ballots, alongside Georgia's official recount. State law prevents the governor from doing this, but Raffensperger ultimately initiated a statewide signature match audit last week.
As badly as we were treated in Georgia by the “Republican” Governor and “Republican” Secretary of State, we must have a massive victory for two great people, @KLoeffler & @sendavidperdue, on January 5th. I will be having a big Rally for them on Monday night, January 4th. WIN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 20, 2020
The secretary of state has defended the security of Georgia's election and legitimacy of its results since November 3. He said the signature review will "provide further confidence in the accuracy, security, and reliability of the vote in Georgia," while noting that results of the presidential race "will not change."
Attacks directed at Kemp and Raffensperger eventually became intertwined with Trump's involvement in Georgia's runoff elections. Since the outcomes of those races will determine whether Democrats are able to gain control of the U.S. Senate, Trump joined prominent Republicans across the country in backing incumbent GOP candidates David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler's respective campaigns.
The forthcoming rally will take place on the eve of Georgia's runoffs, which occur after no candidates receive a plurality of popular votes during initial elections. Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock will challenge Perdue and Loeffler respectively for their seats at the January polls. Their party will only gain a majority in the Senate if both Ossoff and Warnock are able to win.
Despite his ongoing efforts to contradict Georgia's election results—which pointed to President-elect Joe Biden's win during a preliminary vote count and two subsequent audits—Trump has moved to the forefront of initiatives advocating for Perdue and Loeffler's January victories. His expected appearance at the January 4 event will mark Trump's second visit to Georgia amid the Republicans' runoff campaigns, following remarks at another rally earlier this month.
Newsweek reached out to Kemp's office for comment, but did not receive a reply in time for publication.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
