- Friday, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp tweeted photos of himself and his daughter, Lucy, snapping photos amidst the lavish holiday backdrop of the White House.
- Despite the festivities, Trump is still furious with Kemp for failing to help him reverse the results of the presidential election in Georgia, where President-elect Joe Biden took the state by just over 12,000 votes.
- The governor posted the White House photo just hours after Trump questioned his conservative credentials, as well as those of GOP Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
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Despite President Donald Trump’s devastating attacks on Georgian Governor Brian Kemp for certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s presidential victory in the state, his invitation to a White House Christmas party was not lost in the mail.
Friday has the Republican governor tweeted photos of himself and his daughter, Lucy, snapping photos amid the holiday decor and festivities at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
“Lucy and I had a great time at the @White House Christmas today, “Kemp wrote.” Merry Christmas, everyone! ‘
—Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) December 19, 2020
Many conservatives, including some high-profile Republicans, were unenthusiastic about the message.
Jenna Ellis, a prominent member of the Trump campaign legal team, responded to Kemp’s tweet with one word, “Seriously?”
—Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) December 19, 2020
GOP Florida State Rep. Anthony Sabatini responded to the tweet, calling the governor “scum”.
– Rep. Anthony Sabatini (@AnthonySabatini) December 19, 2020
Kemp has angered Trump and many ordinary Republicans and activists over what they see as a lack of support in investigating unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud in the state.
The governor posted the White House photo just hours after Trump questioned his conservative credentials, as well as that of Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, another favorite GOP target of the president.
“The Secretary of State and the Governor of Georgia, both so-called ‘Republicans,’ will not allow Fulton County to go through the crucial process of voter signature verification,” Trump wrote. “Also, they don’t allow Republican ‘viewers’ to attend and verify!”
Despite Trump’s claims, the state already requires signature verification and official viewers from both parties were in attendance across the country during the 2020 election.
Last week, the president hit Kemp again, retweeting a post from attorney Lin Wood calling for the governor and Raffensperger to be jailed for not contesting the election results in the state.
“President Trump @realDonaldTrump is a really good man,” Wood wrote. ‘He doesn’t really like firing people. I bet he doesn’t like putting people in jail, especially “Republicans.” He gave @BrianKempGA & @GaSecofState every chance to get it right. They refused. They will soon go to jail. “
—LLin Wood (@LLinWood) December 15, 2020
Biden’s narrow victory in the state was confirmed by a first count and two ratings. On December 14, the Electoral College convened in Atlanta and certified the state’s 16 Electoral College votes for president-elect.
Still, Kemp has endured most of Trump’s attacks.
In a November interview with Fox Business presenter Maria Bartiromo, the president said he was “ashamed” to support Kemp in his 2018 governor campaign against Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams.
Earlier in December, Trump called Kemp for help in reversing the election results, arguing that the governor could hold a special legislative session that would install pro-Trump voters.
Kemp refused to reinstate the state legislature.