President Trump called for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s (R) resignation on Wednesday, hammering him for refusing to back up the president’s claim that he carried Georgia in the November presidential election — despite his loss by 12,000 votes, a result that has survived multiple recounts and court challenges.
“@BrianKempGA should resign from office,” Trump tweeted. “He is an obstructionist who refuses to admit that we won Georgia, BIG! Also won the other Swing States.”
President-elect Joe Biden carried Georgia and it’s 16 electoral votes in the November election, becoming the first Democrat presidential candidate in nearly three decades to win the longtime Republican stronghold.
Trump has refused to concede his defeat and his campaign team has continued to challenge results, ringing up a string of court losses in the process.
Trump and his allies have trained their grievances at Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R), accusing the duo of mismanaging the election in Georgia. Trump’s tweet on Wednesday, however, marked the first time the president has called for Kemp to step down.
Trump has also sought to pressure Kemp and other Georgia officials to call a special session of the state General Assembly in a bid to toss out the state’s election results and appoint pro-Trump electors. That effort fell flat, however, and Georgia’s electors cast their votes for Biden on Dec. 14.
Last month, Sens. David Perdue (R-Ga.) and Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), who are facing competitive runoff elections on Jan. 5, demanded that Raffensperger resign over his handling of the election. That demand was immediately dismissed by Raffensperger.