'Arranged marriage': GOP fears 'fragile' Trump truce with Georgia governor is teetering

Former President Donald Trump has managed to smooth over his feud with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp — but some Republicans are concerned it may not last for long.

The pair have reached a detente after weeks of tension in which Trump openly attacked the conservative Republican for his unapologetic defense of the integrity of Georgia's election results in 2020, which Trump has long disputed and tried to force the secretary of state to overturn, a matter which is the subject of criminal cases against him.

According to The New York Times, "Weeks after the former president ripped into Mr. Kemp at an Atlanta rally last month — accusing him of wanting Mr. Trump 'to lose' and of leading a state that had 'gone to hell' before insulting his wife — he gratefully accepted the governor’s endorsement ...

"Their arranged political marriage is born of necessity for the former president: The governor was re-elected by more than seven percentage points in 2022, and he enjoys notably high approval ratings despite Georgia’s polarized political environment, remaining popular among both right-wing and moderate Republicans."

And yet, Republicans on the ground appear jittery at the prospect of this alliance falling apart again. “It’s in President Trump’s best interest to have Governor Kemp on his team and his organization mobilized,” said former GOP strategist Eric Tanenblatt, who backed former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the primary against Trump.

He added, “I think we’re there now, but it’s sort of fragile at the moment.”

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One possible cause of the truce ending, the report said, could be the ongoing controversy over Trump-supported appointees to the Georgia Election Board, who have issued guidance allowing county-level election administrators to block certification of results at their own discretion, an idea that potentially violates the law and could throw the results into chaos if the election is close.

While Trump celebrated the appointments and their decisions, Kemp and other GOP state officials have condemned their actions, and Kemp is reportedly looking into whether he has the power to dismiss the members from the board.

All of this comes as both parties try to mobilize voter operations in Georgia, which could be critical to deciding the election. Kemp has deployed a $2 million state leadership committee to knock doors, while Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign "has built a significant turnout operation in Georgia, with 26 offices and 200 staff members" and is deploying to the state for multiple rallies.