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(CNN) – US President Donald Trump heads to Georgia on Saturday to campaign for two Republican senators a month before a critical runoff that will determine which party controls the Senate. But Trump’s visit comes as he has spent the past few weeks consumed by his own electoral defeat as he lashes out at party officials in the state, casts doubt on his voting process, and questions one of the lawmakers urging voters to to choose.
According to two sources, during a recent phone call Trump criticized Republican Georgia Governor Brian Kemp as an “idiot” and “insane” and asked why Senator Kelly Loeffler did not get a majority of votes on Election Day, placing her on a runoff against Democrat Rev. Raphael Warnock. Last December, Trump had lobbied Kemp to fill the Johnny Isakson vacancy with Doug Collins, not Loeffler, but Kemp appointed Loeffler anyway, a factor Trump has insisted on in recent days.
Trump’s public and private broadsides have raised concerns among Republicans that his interference could do more harm than good in fundamental races.
If the Democrats can win both races, it will dramatically change the trajectory of the first two years of Joe Biden’s presidency. It would bring the Senate to a 50-50 tie between the two caucuses, allowing Vice President-elect Kamala Harris the deciding vote, giving her a much greater margin to appoint her cabinet and confirm justices. But if Republicans elect just one of the seats, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will retain control of the House, forcing Democrats to take a much more compromising position.
But Trump’s impending campaign rally in Georgia has some nervous Republicans worried that Trump may reduce turnout among his base if he continues to criticize Georgia’s electoral system and launches more attacks on Kemp.
“It doesn’t help if you go there and attack the governor for an hour and a half. But really, what has to happen is that you have to say a couple of things, the right things, that it will be loaded into a teleprompter and that you can cut and use for television, “said a Trump adviser. “If you say the few things we need you to say, it will be helpful.”
Despite his popularity with Republicans, Trump was reluctant to campaign in Georgia and reluctantly agreed to visit him a month before the critical race after being pressured by multiple allies, according to multiple sources.
Perdue and Loeffler called Trump before Thanksgiving and urged him to campaign in their state before the second round, said a Republican familiar with the conversation.
Others, like Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, have also encouraged Trump to campaign in Georgia, leading him to believe he can take credit for a Loeffler and Perdue victory in January if he campaigns in Peach State.
Trump will hold a rally in an airport hangar in Valdosta, Georgia on Saturday following Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to the state on Friday. Kemp, whom Trump called “hapless” this week, was scheduled to meet Pence at the track but canceled at the last minute due to a “family emergency.” It is unclear whether he will meet Trump on the track on Saturday.
Multiple sources who have spoken to Trump in recent days described a president more obsessed with his own electoral defeat than with preserving the power of the Republicans in the Senate, despite how many members of his party have privately expressed a desire to leave. back the 2020 elections and focus on the Georgia runoff.
Trump shot a 46-minute video this week that was filled mostly with recycled complaints and lies about the election, despite his own attorney general declaring this week that the Justice Department had uncovered no evidence of voter fraud that would change the outcome of the elections. Trump questioned how Republicans would have done so well in the 2020 race while he lost.
“It is statistically impossible that the person, me, who spearheaded the prosecution lost,” Trump falsely claimed in the video.
Trump’s rally is being funded by the RNC rather than his campaign, which generally pays the bill, but not for lack of cash. In the past month, Trump’s campaign has inundated supporters with appeals to raise funds for their unsubstantiated claims that the election was rigged. Refusing to admit to the White House race has proven to be a lucrative endeavor for the president, given that his political operation has raised more than $ 207 million since Election Day.
When asked about Trump’s reluctance to travel to the state, Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh told CNN: “Control of the United States Senate is at stake in the two runoff elections. of Georgia and the President knows that it is imperative that Senator Perdue and Senator Loeffler succeed. The President is going to Georgia to rally Republicans and remind them of the stakes. “
CNN reported this week that Georgia Republicans are increasingly concerned about Trump’s rally as some prepare for a tirade to reverse his loss that could damage the party’s effort to maintain control of the chamber. A group of prominent former Georgia Republican officials, including former Governor Nathan Deal and former Senators Isakson and Saxby Chambliss, issued a statement Wednesday urging the party to unify and focus on the challenge of protecting its majority in the Senate. .
When asked if he thought the president would change his mind on Saturday, Chambliss told CNN that he does not predict what Trump will do. “And that’s part of the concern I have,” he said.
“I want you to come here talking about Kelly and David, and how important they are to the future of the country, and how their choice is so important to their legacy,” said the former senator. “If you want your legacy to last, then you must ensure that we win both seats, and you must say that in no uncertain terms.”
The Trump team and the RNC have been coordinating with the Perdue and Loeffler campaigns to get the vote in Georgia. Donald Trump Jr. has made it clear that his father’s supporters must back the Republican ticket. Trump Jr. is starring in a series of ads that will air on conservative media designed to get Trump’s vote out.
CNN’s Alex Rogers and Ryan Nobles contributed to this report.
This story was first published on CNN.com “Trump’s Criticism of Republican Senate Candidates Has Republicans Concerned Ahead of the Rally”
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