Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) commented on Sunday that former President Trump’s criticism of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) is rooted in personal grievances, following Kemp’s public admission that he did not vote for Trump in the 2024 primary.
Mullin explained on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Dana Bash, “There’s clearly a personal issue here. Kemp sought Trump’s endorsement during his gubernatorial campaign, but then distanced himself from Trump when he needed him. That’s the crux of the problem.”
Senator Markwayne Mullin stressed that Kemp’s public choice to not endorse Trump in the primary plays a central role in the current election
According to Mullin, Trump’s irritation with Kemp is tied to issues of loyalty. “As a friend, if someone has supported me, I’ll go all in for them. I won’t play politics when it comes to loyalty,” Mullin asserted.
When Bash questioned whether Mullin would consider overturning the election, Mullin replied, “That’s a separate matter entirely.”
Mullin emphasized that Kemp’s choice to publicly withhold support from Trump in the primary is central to the current election. “This is about what’s happening now, not four years ago,” he said.
Trump had previously endorsed Kemp in 2018 but did not support him in 2022 after Kemp resisted Trump’s pressure to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results, which Biden won.
In a June 2024 CNN interview, Kemp revealed that he cast a blank ballot in the primary, citing that the race was essentially decided by the time the primary arrived. Trump won Georgia’s primary, with Nikki Haley securing 13.2 percent of the vote. Although Kemp later endorsed Trump as the better choice over Biden, he did not explicitly commit to voting for Trump in the general election.
