As Donald Trump’s recent indictment and other legal troubles heighten the stakes for investigations, CNN’s Jake Tapper pressed Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp if the former president “unelectable” at this point.
“Do you think Donald Trump is unelectable on a nationwide scale?” Tapper asked Kemp on Sunday’s “State of the Union.” “Would it be a mistake for the Republican people — Republican party voters — to nominate him?”
“Well, that’s for the people to decide. But my point is exactly what you said — we cannot get distracted,” Kemp said, recalling his own experience running for Georgia governor in 2022 against Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams, who was defeated by Kemp in a rematch, noting that in the “very tough environment” he learned not to take his eyes off the prize.
“You have to tell the voters of your state why they need to vote for you,” Kemp continued. “If we get distracted and talk about other things that the Democrats want to talk about, like these investigations, regardless of what you think about the politics of those, if we get distracted everyday and let the media just talk about that, that only helps Joe Biden. It does not give us the path for Republicans to win.””
Tapper redirected the conversation to address Kemp’s Saturday remarks, which, without explicitly naming Trump, suggested the Republican Party should move on from Trump, and regretfully noted that the GOP “lost winnable races in swing districts and states that will be crucial to our success,” referring to the state of Georgia.
But Tapper pressed further about Trump’s electibility. “Do you think Donald Trump is unable to win Georgia anymore?” he asked, inquiring if voters understand Kemp’s position as a “bulwark” against Trump.
“Well, that’s really my point from yesterday’s remarks, is the road to the White House is coming through Georgia and two or three other states that really, in my opinion, are going to decide the presidential race,” Kemp said.
“I was just laying out the blueprint for, I think, any candidate to be able to win is to talk about what we’re for, focus on the future, not look in the rearview mirror.”
