Over the last seven weeks, few officials have generated as much presidential fury as Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), a former Donald Trump loyalist and steadfast White House ally. The Washington Post recently reported that the president believes the governor has brutally betrayed him by honoring his state’s election results instead of rigging the process in the outgoing president’s favor.
For his trouble, Kemp has been on the receiving end of a flurry of angry Trump tweets, though this morning’s installment was a bit different.
President Trump on Wednesday called for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to resign, escalating his criticism of a fellow Republican who has refused to intervene in the state’s presidential election or embrace Trump’s baseless claims of widespread fraud. “@BrianKempGA should resign from office,” Trump said in a tweet. “He is an obstructionist who refuses to admit that we won Georgia, BIG!”
A quick reminder: Trump narrowly lost Georgia this year. Kemp “refuses to admit” the outgoing president won the state because the outgoing president did not actually win the state.
It’s also worth emphasizing that gubernatorial resignations are fairly unusual. The most recent example came two years ago, when then-Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (R) was forced to resign following a sexual misconduct scandal and a felony charge involving possible campaign finance violations. Other 21st-century gubernatorial resignations include Oregon’s John Kitzhaber (D), Illinois’ Rod Blagojevich (D), New York’s Eliot Spitzer (D), Illinois’ George Ryan (R), New Jersey’s James McGreevey (D), and Connecticut’s John Rowland (R).
In nearly every instance, these governors were forced from office after being credibly accused of corruption. In 2020, Trump wants Brian Kemp to resign for not being corrupt enough.
And while the Georgian will very likely brush off this morning’s presidential tweet, he may not be able to ignore Trump’s contempt indefinitely.
Two weeks ago, the outgoing president called on his followers to vote Kemp out of office when the Georgia Republican seeks re-election in two years, and last week, Politico reported that Trump “has instructed his top political advisers to begin monitoring potential 2022 GOP primary targets, as he lashes out at fellow Republicans whom he deems disloyal.”
At the top of the list is Brian Kemp. In fact, at a recent rally in the governor’s home state, Trump got the ball rolling, suggesting Rep. Doug Collins (R) prepare to launch a GOP primary challenge against the incumbent governor in 2022.
The ugliness will not be limited to Georgia, but it’s likely be the epicenter of the intra-party conflict.
