Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan urged his fellow Republicans to vote against the party’s presumptive presidential standard bearer Donald Trump and back President Biden instead.
Duncan, 49, who was in office during Trump’s 2020 election machinations in the Peach State, voiced his deep dismay at top Republicans coalescing around Trump, 77.
“This mentality is dead wrong,” he wrote in an op-ed for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Monday. “GOP will never rebuild until we move on from the Trump era, leaving conservative (but not angry) Republicans like me no choice but to pull the lever for Biden.”
Geoff Duncan ripped Republicans for uniting around Donald Trump despite their misgivings. AP
The former lieutenant governor stressed his desire to see the GOP lock down majorities in both chambers of Congress to scuttle Biden’s second-term agenda.
He then rattled through familiar grievances with Trump such as the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot, election denialism, as well as his “conduct and his character.”
“I get it. No one likes paying higher taxes, and these protests are unsettling,” Duncan wrote. “Trump has shown us who he is. We should believe him. To think he is going to change at the age of 77 is beyond improbable.”
Since his ascension to power in the Republican Party, Trump has managed to overpower scores of GOP critics and even win many of them over.
Donald Trump has been taken off the campaign trail to tend to his hush money trial in Manhattan. Steven Hirsch
Trump has taken shots at Duncan in the past and called him a “failed” lieutenant governor last year. In August of 2023, Trump suggested that Duncan shouldn’t testify before the Fulton County probe investigating the 2020 election.
The 45th president faces a now-10 count indictment out of Fulton County for alleged 2020 election tampering in Georgia. He has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.
Duncan appeared to flirt with No Labels, a group that explored the possibility of recruiting a candidate outside the duopoly to compete with the Republican and Democrat presidential nominees.
Ultimately, he declined an invitation to helm the party and No Labels has since announced it wouldn’t crown a standard bearer in the 2024 cycle.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has endorsed Donald Trump despite butting heads with him in the past. AP
Duncan also made waves in 2022 when he announced that he wouldn’t vote for either incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) or Republican former football star Herschel Walker in the midterm elections.
Despite his penchant for bucking convention, Duncan describes himself as a true Republican.
“Unlike Trump, I’ve belonged to the GOP my entire life. This November, I am voting for a decent person I disagree with on policy over a criminal defendant without a moral compass,” he added.
The Post contacted the Trump campaign for comment.
President Biden has described Donald Trump as a threat to democracy. REUTERS
The Biden-Harris campaign wasted little time promoting Duncan’s op-ed, lauding him, and emphasizing that the president is welcoming disgruntled Republicans to his camp.
“Our campaign welcomes and is actively reaching out to Americans like Geoff Duncan, who put their country and concern for protecting our democracy before blind loyalty to Donald Trump and his self-centered campaign of revenge and retribution,” campaign spokesperson James Singer said.
“Lt. Governor Duncan and those who share his values of preserving American democracy, standing up for the rule of law, treating each other with decency and dignity and respect, and working to find common ground have a place in President Biden’s vision for America.”
Source link: https://nypost.com/2024/05/06/us-news/former-georgia-lieutenant-gov-tells-fellow-republicans-to-back-biden-over-trump/