Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp pushed back on Saturday after President Trump pressed him to help overturn the state’s election results.
Driving the news: Trump asked the Republican governor over the phone Saturday to call a special legislative session aimed at overturning the presidential election results in Georgia, per the Washington Post. Kemp refused.
- The president also took to Twitter, claiming, without evidence, “I will easily & quickly win Georgia if Governor [Kemp] or the Secretary of State permit a simple signature verification. Has not been done and will show large scale discrepancies. Why are these two ‘Republicans’ saying no? If we win Georgia, everything else falls in place!” (He was also referring to Arizona’s Republican governor, Doug Ducey)
- Kemp then pushed back, tweeting: “As I told the President this morning, I’ve publicly called for a signature audit three times (11/20, 11/24, 12/3) to restore confidence in our election process and to ensure that only legal votes are counted in Georgia. #gapol”
- But that didn’t stop Trump, who again demanded that Kemp call a special legislative session, tweeting: “Republicans will NEVER forget this!”
The big picture: Trump, who has refused to concede to President-elect Joe Biden, continues to claim, without evidence, that widespread election fraud took place in Georgia and other states.
- Secretaries of state and election officials throughout the U.S. have reported no instances of widespread voter fraud, whether in-person or mail-in voting.
- Trump is traveling to Georgia on Saturday night to campaign for Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who face runoffs on Jan. 5 that will determine control of the Senate.
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