GOP Senate Contenders Praised Kemp’s “Reckless” Order Even as Trump “Strongly” Disagrees

Perdue, Loeffler, and Collins refused to listen to public health experts or stand up for local communities and instead backed Kemp’s “irresponsible” order that earned Trump’s strong disapproval

ATLANTA — Governor* Brian Kemp’s “reckless” and “irresponsible” order has earned criticism from public health experts who have called it “a very big risk” and now even from President Donald Trump who’s said he “strongly” disagrees with it. But Georgia’s Republican Senate contenders all recently stood behind Kemp’s disastrous plan even at the cost of Georgians’ well-being.

Even though Georgia lags behind other states in tests per capita and data shows “the number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Georgia and number of deaths…have been steadily increasing in the last month,” Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler have openly applauded Kemp’s “dangerous” actions over the past few days — along with Congressman Doug Collins who only criticized the order after Trump’s comments.

Here’s the most recent praise from each of them for this “irresponsible” plan:

Perdue: 

From Nexstar: “I applaud what the Governor is trying to do.”

From WABE: “We’ve got to begin to reopen businesses.”

From Fox News Radio: “I support the governor and what he’s trying to do.”

Loeffler: 

From Nexstar: “The Governor has been very thoughtful in undertaking this decision.”

From AJC: “There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”

From Chattanooga Times Free Press: “Loeffler said Kemp’s controversial plan to reopen the state is right on track.”

Collins: 

From Nexstar: “[Collins:] ‘People are not going to go if they don’t feel comfortable’…[Kellie Meyer:] Collins said he understands the Governor’s decision and says it is time to reopen the country safely.”

While health care experts warn “the state lacks the testing capacity needed to detect the true scope of the disease” and a model cited by the White House “predicts that dozens of people will die each day in the coming week,” Georgia’s GOP Senate candidates were clearly too busy trying to score political points to focus on Georgians’ health and safety.

“No matter what they try and say after the fact, the record is clear: Georgia’s Republican Senate contenders all backed this reckless order that put Georgians at risk for a political ploy,” said Alex Floyd, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Georgia. “Now that their plan is backfiring, Georgia Republicans must be held accountable for rushing to praise Kemp’s dangerous order.”

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