Yesterday, Donald Trump put out a statement thanking Georgia governor Brian Kemp for all his help. I quoted it and commented, “Trump backs down.” Some people say that’s a misread: Both sides have buried the hatchet. That’s the way Ed Morrissey sees it: “Kemp made the first move to repair the breech, which Trump also noted with Baier in his phone interview last night.” He’s referring to a Fox interview in which Kemp said, “We gotta win from the top of the ticket on down. We need to send Donald Trump back to the White House. We need to retake the Senate. We need to hold the House.”
Okay, but . . . that’s what Kemp has said consistently. When Trump attacked him and his family three weeks ago, Kemp responded, “My focus is on winning this November and saving our country from Kamala Harris and the Democrats — not engaging in petty personal insults, attacking fellow Republicans, or dwelling on the past. You should do the same, Mr. President, and leave my family out of it.”
I don’t see any change in position on Kemp’s part. I suspect that what happened is that somebody told Trump he has a real race on his hands in Georgia and cannot afford to keep undermining his position there.