At Georgia rally, Trump blames 'turncoat' governor for loss

Former President Donald Trump held a rally in Georgia on Saturday in which he endorsed a slate of candidates and harshly denounced incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp (R), who Trump claims should have done more to overturn President Biden's 2020 victory in Georgia, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

"Trump voters will not go out and vote for Brian Kemp," Trump said at the rally in Commerce, calling Kemp a "turncoat" and a "RINO." To replace Kemp as governor, Trump has endorsed former Sen. David Perdue (R), who lost his seat to Democrat Jon Ossoff in a 2021 runoff election. In Commerce, Perdue said for the first time that the Senate election was "stolen" from him, the Journal-Constitution reported.

According to The New York Times, Perdue trails Kemp by about 10 points in the polls despite early speculation that Trump's endorsement would instantly make Perdue the frontrunner.

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Trump has struggled to settle into his role as a GOP kingmaker. Last week, he rescinded his endorsement of Alabama Senate candidate Rep. Mo Brooks (R) after Brooks suggested Republicans should stop obsessing over the results of the 2020 election. Sean Parnell, who Trump endorsed for a Pennsylvania Senate seat, dropped out of the race in November amid accusations of domestic abuse.

A Fulton County, Georgia, grand jury is investigating Trump over a January 2021 phone call in which Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) to "find" the 11,780 votes needed to reverse Biden's win.

Trump has endorsed Georgia secretary of state candidate Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) in an attempt to unseat Raffensperger.

The former president also dropped the f-bomb while mocking former Secretary of State John Kerry's comments about climate change. "The ocean will rise one hundredth of one percent over the next 300 f--cking years," Trump said.