The effort to make peace between Donald Trump and Georgia's powerful Republican governor began in a sprawling neo-Victorian mansion in the exclusive Atlanta enclave of Buckhead. It was at an Aug. 9 fundraiser hosted by former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler that fellow Republican Lindsey Graham approached Gov. Brian Kemp, the AP reports. Graham, the South Carolina senator and longtime confidant of the former president, was already planning to attend the fundraiser. Now, Graham had a renewed purpose: to try to ease years of tensions between Trump and Kemp that endangered the GOP's chances in a crucial 2024 battleground. Graham says that after Trump's most recent attack on Kemp—who angered Trump by not supporting his false theories of election fraud in 2020—he told the former POTUS, "You're not going to win Georgia this way. And Georgia is yours to lose."
Graham and Kemp met privately at Loeffler's house. And over the coming weeks, say Graham and others familiar with the matter, allies of both men arranged the two-part détente that played out publicly last Thursday to the surprise of many political watchers.
- First, Kemp did an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity—another Trump ally—in which he said, "We need to send Donald Trump back to the White House."
- Moments later, Trump went on his social media site to praise Kemp for his "help and support."
A true alignment, if it lasts, could benefit both men: Trump may need the help of Kemp's renowned political operation to win back Georgia in a tightly contested race with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, while Kemp wants to be in the good graces of Trump supporters for a future run at the US Senate or the presidency in 2028. Kemp attended a fundraiser for Trump on Thursday and could join more campaign events with less than 70 days before Election Day. (Read the full story of how things played out at the AP.)
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