'Something I never would've imagined': Trump sharing a stage with ex-enemy shocks reporter
By Travis Gettys,
7 hours ago
CNN
Donald Trump and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will appear together for the first time since 2020, much to the surprise of a political reporter who's been covering the former president for years.
The two men will be briefed on Hurricane Helene damage in Evans and deliver remarks to reporters, although the event isn't being billed as a campaign appearance, but CNN's Alayna Treene is astonished that they will appear together for the first time since Trump attempted to pressure Kemp to overturn his election loss in the state and has attacked him for refusing.
"I can't emphasize enough how remarkable it is that we're actually going to see these two men together," Treene said. "It's the first time that they'll have some sort of joint appearance since 2020, but I mean, I've covered Trump for a very long time. I was on the Hill during the House Jan. 6 committee hearings. To see Brian Kemp and Donald Trump together today in Georgia is pretty stunning. It's something I never would have imagined four years ago while covering all of this, but they're going to be in Georgia today together for a briefing on the ground about the state's hurricane recovery efforts. Now I am told by a source familiar with the planning that the two men were invited separately by officials on the ground in Columbia County, but, of course, they will be appearing together. There's expected to be some sort of press availability after this."
"Donald Trump has had very harsh words and criticism for Brian Kemp over the last four years, even as recently as August," Treene continued. "Donald Trump, during a rally in Atlanta, was criticizing Brian Kemp, calling him a 'bad guy,' claiming that he is not a true Republican, criticizing his wife. I mean, there's been a lot of love lost between these two men, however really Donald Trump has changed his tune in recent months as he realizes that, one, Brian Kemp is a very popular Republican governor in the state. A lot of voters in the state are fans of Brian Kemp and Georgia , of course, is a state that both Trump and the [Kamala] Harris campaigns see as crucial to finding victory and their path forward to 270 electoral votes in November. So Trump has sort of embraced Brian Kemp in recent months, we've seen Kemp doing some fundraising events for the Trump campaign."
"I will argue that over the last, you know, in the beginning in the primary, Brian Kemp did not come out and endorse Donald Trump early," she added, "but he had always said that he would support the Republican nominee, and so today you're going to see these two unlikely, I guess, allies now appearing for the first time again since 2020."
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