Senator JD Vance (R-OH) on Wednesday told reporters gathered at his rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, that the end of the feud between former President Donald Trump and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, as well as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s and former Representative Tulsi Gabbard’s recent endorsements of the Trump-Vance ticket, prove Republicans are now the “big tent party.”
Vance’s remarks come after Kemp endorsed Trump earlier this month, despite the former president describing him as “disloyal” in a recent rally. The relationship between the former president and Georgia’s governor first deteriorated publicly as Trump contested the state’s election results in 2020.
The vice presidential candidate argued Kemp and Trump ended the feud “because we’re a big tent party,” pointing to high-profile endorsements from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Nikki Haley as evidence.
“The president just got RFK’s endorsement, he just got Tulsi Gabbard’s endorsement, and on the other side he’s got Nikki Haley’s endorsement, he’s got Brian Kemp’s endorsement,” said Vance. “He is the president of common sense in this country. People are sick of being lied to and they’re sick of the craziness.”
Vance acknowledged the men share “personal disagreements” but said “they’re both big enough to put the country over personal interests.”
He argued, “I think people from across the political spectrum should take something from this, that Brian Kemp is willing to say… we are the big tent party, we stand for common sense and sanity, and we’ve got to kick that insane politician named Kamala Harris out of the White House.”
Vance made the remarks to a CNN reporter at the rally after he reportedly played a role in calming the relationship between Georgia’s governor and the former president. He called the governor to mend fences after the “disloyal” remark.
After Vance related his conversation with Georgia’s governor to NBC News, the outlet reported the senator told Kemp, “I’m not going to convince you that you should change your mind on the president in the same way that I’m not going to convince the president that he should change his mind on you. But you guys agree on 90% of the things. You can put whatever personal differences aside.”
Kemp attended a fundraiser on Thursday benefiting the Trump-Vance ticket, which ABC News reported was “a signal of how Kemp is working to reelect Trump despite their public feud.”
The RealClearPolling aggregate of polls shows Trump with a narrow lead over Vice President Kamala Harris in the Peach State, with virtually all recent surveys showing a statistical tie.
Watch Vance’s full rally:
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Pennsylvania Daily Star and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Brian Kemp” by Brian Kemp.
