Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, one of Donald Trump\u2019s favorite punching bags, hit back at the former president Saturday for what he sees as a misrepresentation of his record on Covid-19-related health policies.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact is former president Trump led the opposition to my decision to reopen Georgia \u2014 the first state in the country to do so,\u201d Kemp wrote in a post on X<\/a>, the platform formerly known as Twitter, where he responded to a video of Trump calling people \u201csick\u201d for being \u201cCovid tyrants\u201d that want to take away rights and freedoms.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile he listened to [Anthony] Fauci & parroted media talking points, I listened to hardworking Georgians. He may not remember, but I sure as hell do,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n At a rally in South Dakota on Friday night, Trump praised Gov. Kristi Noem, who was among a number of governors<\/a> who did not impose statewide stay-at-home orders during the pandemic. <\/p>\n \u201cUnlike other governors, she never locked down South Dakota,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThey all say, \u2018Oh, I kept it open, I kept it open.\u2019 They didn\u2019t keep it open.\u201d<\/p>\n After local, state and federal coronavirus measures began shutting down American public life in March 2020, Kemp moved to reopen some businesses and restaurants about a month later in April. Trump said he \u201cstrongly\u201d disagreed<\/a> with the governor\u2019s decision at the time. <\/p>\n Gov. Ron DeSantis, who conservatives often praise for his rejection of public health authorities’ guidance during the pandemic, moved to reopen Florida at the beginning of May<\/a>.<\/p>\n “@BrianKempGA<\/a> and @RonDeSantis<\/a> were right and Donald Trump was wrong,\u201d James Uthmeier, DeSantis\u2019 campaign manager, wrote on X<\/a> in response to the original video.<\/p>\n A current uptick of Covid-19 cases has led to a resurgence in pushback against potential further mask mandates, including a GOP-led effort<\/a> in the Senate to block federal mandates. Many Americans have moved on from previously widespread pandemic precautions, and even President Joe Biden has displayed resistance to masking<\/a> after the first lady recently tested positive. <\/p>\n