How Brian Kemp Resisted Trump's Pressure to Overturn the Georgia ...

He was determined to absorb the president’s rage, hoping it would prevent Trump from punishing Loeffler, a Republican, who was facing a tough challenge from Democrat Rev. Raphael Warnock, and couldn’t win without the president’s full-fledged support.When I asked him directly how he dealt with the misinformation efforts, Kemp would speak only in broad brushstrokes, saying he told deniers, “Look, I’m telling you the truth, I’m being honest with you, but I can’t make you believe me,” before acknowledging that “some people are not at the point where they can believe that yet.”The fact that Trump was very clearly one of them made the pair of runoff elections — one between Loeffler and Warnock, the other between Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff — a nightmare for the governor. But at the end of the day, I’ve got to follow the laws of the constitution of this state and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”A former state election official, Kemp knew he lacked the legal power to overturn Trump’s defeat, and he didn’t want to leave any wiggle room for the president and his allies to think otherwise. But Kemp knew that if he were to summon lawmakers back to the Capitol for a special legislative session, it would turn the statehouse into a made-for‑TV media circus with the potential for violent demonstrations.Just a week after the election, the governor issued a joint statement with Lieutenant Gov. Geoff Duncan and House Speaker David Ralston, both fellow Republicans, that any effort to reverse the election results through the legislature would lead to “endless litigation.” Kemp and his aides had been told that both Loeffler and Perdue were on board, but as the pressure on the senators intensified to “fight for Trump,” Perdue pushed Kemp to reverse course, in part because he hoped it would fire up the base.Ahead of a Dec. 3 fundraiser at Truist Park, Kemp called a meeting with the two senators and three of their top aides to hash the matter out. Looking Kemp directly in the eye, the senator told the governor that he wanted a special session to prove to the party’s base that their elected officials would go to the mat for the president. “I’ll take the arrows to make sure y’all win.”(Kemp’s aides dispute this account, saying Perdue never directly asked Kemp to call a special session.)Three days later, the governor delivered a similar message to a room full of state lawmakers at a training session in Athens, Ga., making a point to let his words to the gathered Republicans sink in.“This is not an option under state or federal law,” Kemp said. “I sound like a broken record,” he told Kemp one day, “but this thing is going to go from bad to worse unless you do that.”There was nothing to indicate that Trump would be placated by half measures, though, and when Kemp didn’t comply with his demands to reverse his defeat, the name-calling ramped up. Perdue relayed the president’s fury to Kemp, urging him to find some way to appease Trump.Even as Georgia Republicans fretted about Trump, the two Senate incumbents sorely needed a late push by the president in heavily conservative parts of the state.