Georgia's Republican governor was confronted with Donald Trump's indictment in his state on Friday – but said the legal woes are 'stupid' and a way for Democrats to distract Republicans from choosing the best nominee in 2024.
The question was posed by conservative radio host Erick Erickson at his conference in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday after he promised he would not be bringing up the issue to the presidential candidates at the event because it would overshadow their platforms.
Kemp said he can't comment much on the indictment because he is likely to be a witness in the case, but did dismiss the issue as something that can wait until after the 2024 presidential election.
'One thing is certain about these indictments – in my mind, in my opinion – this trial, despite what dates anybody's asking for, it's not going to happen before the election,' Kemp insisted during his Q&A with Erickson at The Gathering conference in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta.
He added: 'And the Democrats want us to be focused on things like this so we're not focused on Joe Biden's record.'
Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp said at a conservative conference in Atlanta on Friday when asked about Trump's latest indictment: 'We don't need to be focusing on stupid things that aren't going to happen before this election'
The conference is taking place just 10 miles from the Fulton County jail where Trump must surrender before next Friday on racketeering charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.
Fulton County grand jury voted Monday evening to indict Trump and 18 co-defendants on 41 charges. Now Trump will face his fourth arraignment in less than a year.
At the center of the charges is a call Trump had with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger where he told him to 'find 11,780 votes,' which was the exact amount he needed to overturn the state's 2020 election results in his favor.
Kemp claims 'it should be such an easy path for [Republicans] to win the White House back. But if we are looking in the rearview mirror.'
'We have to be focused on the future, not something that happened three years ago,' he said in reference to Trump's insistence that he won the 2020 presidential election and the ensuing legal battles in the years following.
'We don't need to be focusing on stupid things that aren't going to happen before this election,' the Georgia governor added. 'We can deal with that later – after we win.'
His advice instead to Republicans is to 'tell people what we are for. And then we have to have a candidate that can win the election.'
A Fulton County grand jury voted on Monday to indict Trump on 41 charges with 18 co-defendants related to efforts to overturn the presidential election results in Georgia. The latest is Trump's fourth indictment in less than a year
Kemp said the trial will not be set until after the 2024 election and urged his Party to move-on from the 2020 election, saying to conservative radio host Erick Erickson (pictured, left): 'Complaining is not going to help us win'
Kemp says that 'ground zero' for the 2024 election is Georgia and said the state is essential to Republicans if they want to retake the White House in 2024.
'I didn't know a decade later that we would be Ground Zero, but the road to the White House is running through Georgia, ya'll,' he said. 'If we don't win the state, we are not winning the White House. And I thought it was important to get our presidential candidate to Georgia to let them talk to our people and get exposure here.'
But he had one clear message for the around 500 attendees of the conference: 'Complaining is not going to help us win.'
'You can believe whatever you want about the 2020 election. That is your right, I understand that, I have no problem with that,' Kemp said. 'But the thing is, that was three years ago. And if you're still mad about that, quit complaining about that, sign up to be a poll worker, be a poll watcher, get involved in the process, door-knock, phone-call. Do something that will help us win in 2024.'
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