Kemp reportedly declined Trump's request for help overturning Georgia election results

Brian Kemp.
(Image credit: Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)

President Trump on Saturday called Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), requesting that he call a special session of the state legislature to get lawmakers to override the presidential election results and appoint electors to vote for him instead of the winner, President-elect Joe Biden, a person familiar with the conversation told The Washington Post. He also reportedly demanded the governor order a signature audit for absentee ballots. Kemp declined on both accounts, the person said.

A spokesman for the governor confirmed he spoke with Trump, and Kemp — who has traditionally been an ally of the president, but has recently become a frequent target of his criticism — mentioned in a tweet that he talked to Trump on Saturday morning, adding that he's asked for a signature audit several times.

The phone call is the latest longshot attempt by the president to overturn the election, which he falsely claims he lost because of widespread voter fraud, despite being unable to produce evidence that it occurred in Georgia or any other state. The president is heading to Georgia on Saturday to stump for Sens. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.) ahead of their runoff elections. Read more at The Washington Post.

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.