As runoff nears, Trump complicates GOP case by demanding that Gov. Brian Kemp resign

ATLANTA — President Donald Trump demanded that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp resign because he refused his demand to illegally overturn election results, his harshest rebuke yet of his fellow Republican days before crucial Georgia runoff votes for control of the U.S. Senate.

The president’s attack on Kemp, calling him an “obstructionist who refuses to admit that we won Georgia,” further inflames an internal Republican battle between Trump’s loyalists and state GOP leaders who refute his false claims of widespread voter fraud.

And they come as U.S. Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue are trying to project a united Republican front ahead of Tuesday’s runoffs against Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. Adding to the last-minute drama is the fact that Trump is set to headline a rally in Dalton on Monday, the night before the vote.

The attack comes on the heels of a report by Georgia’s top elections official that found an audit of more than 15,000 voter signatures in Cobb County didn’t find a single fraudulent absentee ballot, contradicting allegations that the mail-in voting system was rife with fraud.

Three previous tallies of Georgia’s roughly 5 million ballots have confirmed President-elect Joe Biden’s won the state by roughly 12,000 votes. Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris announced plans earlier Wednesday to stump for Ossoff and Warnock on Sunday and Monday.

It’s not the first time the president has taken aim at Kemp, but it was the most extraordinary attack yet. And it serves as another reminder that the first-term governor will likely face a spirited GOP primary challenger in 2022, perhaps endorsed by Trump.

Still, it comes as little surprise to Kemp and his advisers. Trump has called Kemp a “clown,” predicted he would lose the 2022 Republican primary and said he was “ashamed” for endorsing him in 2018. At his rally in Valdosta, Trump encouraged U.S. Rep. Doug Collins to run against Kemp in two years.

The governor has pushed back, aggressively, against Trump devotees who have assailed his wife and family, as well as other state officials, for refusing to intervene in the state’s presidential election.

“I can assure you I can handle myself,” he said earlier this month. “And if they’re brave enough to come out from underneath that keyboard or behind it, we can have a little conversation if they would like to.”

But he has also been careful not to alienate Trump, who could effectively end GOP chances of winning Tuesday’s runoffs with one negative word about the incumbents. The governor has said he didn’t blame Trump for the wrath he’s facing from Republicans, even though the president has led the charge.

“As far as I know, my relationship with the president is fine. I know he’s frustrated, and I’ve disagreed on things with him before,” Kemp said, adding: “Look, at the end of the day, I’ve got to follow the laws and the Constitution and the Constitution of this state.”

The attack is another unwelcome development for Perdue and Loeffler, who have both tried to appease Trump by refusing to acknowledge Biden’s victory and, most recently, backing his call for $2,000 direct stimulus checks.

Though Loeffler was appointed to the office by Kemp in December 2019, and counts him as one of her most important allies, she has not rushed to counter the president for fear of alienating him.

Asked directly about Trump’s attacks on Kemp during the lone U.S. Senate debate, Loeffler repeated that the president “has the right to pursue every legal recourse to make sure that this was a free and fair election in Georgia” without defending the governor.