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[Text/Observer Network Yan Shanshan] Before the campaign rally in the swing state of Georgia began, a post by former US President and Republican presidential candidate Trump was like a thunderclap, "scared" the Republicans.

According to reports from Politico and NBC, on August 3rd local time, Trump "opened fire" at Brian Kemp, the popular Republican governor of Georgia, on the social media platform he created, Truth Social, criticizing him as a "bad guy" and saying that he should focus on fighting crime instead of undermining unity and opposing the Republican Party.

In a speech in Atlanta that day, Trump further attacked Kemp, calling him a "disloyal person" and a "very ordinary governor."

Kemp responded by posting on the X platform, but remained restrained, saying that he was only focused on "saving America" ​​from US Vice President Harris and the Democratic Party, rather than attacking his Republican colleagues or getting bogged down in past disputes, and advised Trump to also show some perspective.

Politico said that Trump is reigniting his "old feud" with Georgia Republicans, which has unsettled the state's Republicans, who warned that Trump's remarks threaten his already shaky prospects in the state and are "too crazy." Republican leaders have also begun to remind Trump to repair the rift with his colleagues in the party and focus on winning this key swing state.

On August 3, 2024, local time, Republican presidential candidate Trump held a campaign rally in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Visual China

Georgia is located in the southeastern United States and was won by Trump in the 2016 presidential election. Four years later, Biden won the state. Trump has been claiming that there was election fraud in Georgia since the 2020 election. He tried to pressure Kemp to call a special session of the state legislature to overturn Biden's narrow victory in the state.

On January 2, 2021, Trump also called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, urging the state's top election official to "find" the votes and overturn Biden's victory. The content of this call became important evidence in the 2023 prosecution of Trump and 18 accomplices by the Fulton District Attorney in Georgia. Trump was charged with suspected crimes such as extortion.

In August 2023, Trump surrendered himself in the case, was jailed for 20 minutes, and took a photo of the suspect, which attracted attention. However, this "failed reversal" case was suspended in June this year because the prosecutor who led the prosecution, Fani Willis, was exposed to be in love with the prosecutor in the same case. The legal process can only continue after the court has reviewed Willis's eligibility to remain in office.

On August 3, 2024, local time, in Georgia, the United States, Trump held a campaign rally in Atlanta. Supporters in the audience held up a photo of Trump in prison with the caption "Never Surrender". Visual China

Obviously, Trump can't forget the disputes with Georgia in recent years.

On August 3rd local time, before going to Atlanta to campaign for the election, Trump issued a message, mentioning the names of Raffensperger, Kemp, and Willis, asking Raffensperger to do his job well to ensure that the election results in November this year will not be "stolen", and focused on criticizing Georgia Governor Kemp.

Trump said that since Kemp took office, Georgia's crime rate has remained high and economic development has been average, saying that Kemp should focus on fighting crime instead of fighting unity and opposing the Republican Party. He also urged Kemp to seek unity, especially not to be ungrateful and not to think about revenge on those who helped him win the gubernatorial election.

Trump complained that Kemp and his wife thanked him for their help in the 2018 gubernatorial election, but now Kemp's wife has turned against him and said she does not support him.

It is worth mentioning that when Kemp ran for re-election as governor in 2022, Trump supported another Republican candidate, David Perdue, but the latter lost to Kemp in the party competition.

Later that day, Trump went all guns blazing at Kemp at a campaign rally in Atlanta, where he was booed by supporters. Kemp was not present that day.

Kemp forwarded a screenshot of Trump's post on the X platform and said that he was focused on winning the November election and hoped to "save America from Harris and the Democratic Party," "rather than making irrelevant personal attacks, attacking Republican colleagues, or getting stuck in the past. You should do the same, Mr. President, and don't drag my family into this."

X Platform Screenshots

Raffensperger also hit back at Trump's remarks, saying that Georgia's elections are safe and the results in November will represent the will of the people. He warned Trump to stop hyping up the so-called election results being stolen, saying that "history has proven that such remarks are not popular in Georgia."

Politico said it was unclear what prompted Trump's disappointment with Kemp. Some Republicans privately speculated that it was because Kemp did not attend the campaign rally, but an unnamed person familiar with the matter said Kemp had not received an invitation.

"I think the bigger point is that you're trying to unite the party and you're directly attacking the most popular politician in the state who has already said he supports you," said a Georgia Republican operative. "That's crazy."

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina also rushed to "mediate the fight". He said on August 4 that Republicans should "repair the rift" and focus on winning the key swing state of Georgia.

"Georgia is right there for us to win. I think Governor Kemp is a great governor who has lowered taxes and reduced regulation. I think if you voted for Kemp and want to vote for Harris, it doesn't make sense," Graham said on Fox News. "If we win Georgia, we will be well on our way to winning the 270 electoral votes (needed to win). If we lose the state, we will have sleepless nights."

Graham also praised Trump while reminding the Republican presidential candidate of the ultimate goal in November: "Let's win this election that we can't afford to lose."

Tom Cotton, a Republican senator from Arkansas, said on a CBS program on the 4th that most of Trump's speech on the 3rd was directed at Harris, not Kemp. "Obviously, they have their differences, but we are united in stopping Kamala Harris."

This article is an exclusive article of Observer.com and may not be reproduced without authorization.