Donald Trump is heading to Georgia on Saturday for an appearance with Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. The purpose of the visit is supposedly to drive turnout for the runoff election coming in January, but on Tuesday morning Trump had a different message: Let’s call the whole thing off.
Tweeting in response to conspiracy theories about more skullduggery by the Hugo Chavez-inspired Dominion voting systems, Trump sent a message to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp saying that he had allowed the state to be “scammed.” Trump then told Kemp to “call off election. It won’t be needed. We will all win!” How this is supposed to work is completely unclear. Is Trump suggesting that if there’s no election, Loeffler and Perdue win by default? Is this one of those times when Republicans shake their fist at the 17th Amendment and its insidious support of democracy? Is Trump even talking about the Senate election at all, or is he telling Kemp to call off the already certified presidential race?
Who knows. But it’s certainly a perfect tone for Trump to adopt when he makes his visit to the peach state.
As the Associated Press reports, Trump is expected in Georgia on Saturday, where he will … he will … honestly, they don’t know. There’s no better representation of just where the Republican Party is now than the way they are eyeing Trump’s visit. On the one hand, after four years of blind obedience and praise, the degree of Trump’s approval has been converted into the single measure of what it means to be a Republican. For that reason, Trump sharing the stage with the two embattled senators is considered vital in order to get the GOP turnout required to keep the Senate safe for Mitch McConnell.
On the other hand, Trump isn’t just a loose cannon rolling around the party blasting in all directions; his absolute refusal to admit his own defeat has led to Trump blasting both Kemp and Georgia Republican officials. Trump has retweeted numerous not just unproven, but provably false claims about fraud in Georgia while savaging the Republican secretary of state and blaming Kemp for running “the most corrupt election in American history.”
This isn’t the first time Trump has suggested that Kemp skip over the messy idea of holding an election. Back on November 17, Trump said he hoped that Kemp would “see the light” and “take charge” to save Perdue and Loeffler. How that’s supposed to work is a mystery. And Kemp has already been forced to warn Trump against interfering in the state’s elections. Which makes his upcoming visit even more terrifying to the state GOP.
But maybe Trump will explain on Saturday how Georgia can push back on the will of the voters. Or maybe he will just convince his own supporters that “voting” in “elections” is a game for suckers. One thing is clear—Republicans are right to be terrified of Trump’s visit. They’ve painted themselves into a corner. And now Trump wants that corner.
Let’s give GOP Leader Mitch McConnell the boot! Give $4 right now so McConnell can suffer the next six years in the minority.