Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Saturday mocked former President Donald Trump for his reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, accusing him of following orders from America’s most sensible infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, saying he “took the arguments of the media. “”.
Kemp, a Republican in his second term, has been cold to the MAGA leader and his allies since rejecting Trump’s alleged demands to overturn the effects of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election.
Kemp recently infuriated Trump and his allies by refusing to hold a special consultation to potentially remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who led the investigation that resulted in the former president’s fourth indictment last month. Trump, the front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, and 18 other co-defendants have been charged with conspiracy similar to the Georgia election results. Meanwhile, Trump has pleaded guilty in the case.
The governor’s rejection of Trump has widened the gap between the Republican Party in his state and MAGA loyalists such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones.
Kemp lashed out at the former president on Saturday, this time criticizing Trump for his reaction to the pandemic. Kemp said Trump, who recently condemned the new COVID mandates, opposed reopening Georgia just over a month after businesses and schools closed in 2020. In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the governor responded to a week-old video. The MAGA leader lashed out at “all COVID tyrants. “
Newsweek reached out to Kemp’s and Trump’s representatives for email on Saturday.
When Kemp announced in April 2020 his goal to begin reopening some businesses, Trump said he “totally” disagreed with the decision, saying it was “too soon. “
The Georgia Republican said he had not forgotten Trump’s public opposition in his message Saturday afternoon. Kemp’s post followed an abridged edit of a viral video of the former president condemning establishments that reinstated mask mandates in the wake of two new COVID-19 variants. The original video, just over a minute and a half long, garnered more than 4. 3 million views on X.
In the 14-second clip, shared on X via right-wing outlet The Daily Caller on Aug. 31, Trump pledges not to abide by COVID-19 mandates.
“To each and every COVID tyrant who needs to rob us of our freedom, heed those words: We will not deliver,” Trump said. “So don’t even think about it. “
Kemp criticized Trump for listening to the recommendation of Fauci, a former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and a member of the Trump White House’s coronavirus task force. Fauci has become a lightning rod for right-wing contempt during the pandemic, with others calling for his resignation or pressuring Trump to remove the doctor.
“The fact is that former President Trump led the opposition to my resolution to reopen Georgia, the first state in the country to do so,” Kemp said in his message. “As I listened to Fauci and the media speak, I listened to Georgian workers. He may not remember it, but I do. “
The fact is, former President Trump led the opposition to my resolution to reopen Georgia, the first state in the country to do so. As he listened to Fauci and repeated the media’s talking points, I listened to Georgian workers. Remember, but I do. https://t. co/8eWPidlnfP
In the full video shared by Trump’s crusade team on X, the former president denounced the announcement that some hospitals, businesses and schools would require masks again due to the emergence of new variants of the coronavirus, which have emerged recently and led to a surge in COVID cases. Hospitalizations similar to August.
Trump said that if re-elected, he will “use any and all available powers to reduce federal investment in any school, university, airline, or public transportation formula that imposes a mask or vaccine mandate. “