(NewsNation Now) — As many Republicans avoided talk of Donald Trump and the Capitol riot one year after it happened, Georgia’s lieutenant governor warned the party is still not telling the truth to its base.
On Thursday’s “On Balance with Leland Vittert,” Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) said former Sen. David Perdue, who’s mounting a primary challenge to Gov. Brian Kemp, is “solely focused on fanning the flames of fake news and carrying the water of Donald Trump.”
Duncan said the Republican Party should accept Donald Trump is in the rear view mirror, but many prominent members of the party disagree.
The night after rioters stormed the Capitol, Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) sounded ready to distance himself from the then-president, saying, “Trump and I, we’ve had a hell of a journey. I hate it to end this way. Count me out. Enough is enough.”
Later on, however, Graham seemed to have second thoughts, saying that the GOP “is the party of Donald Trump. If you think otherwise, you’re in for a rude awakening.”
Duncan said to him, hearing politicians change their tune in such a way is like nails on a chalkboard.
During the run-up to Jan. 6, Trump pushed Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to win the state.
“I think America is quickly moving in a direction of wanting to have adults in the room to make big decisions,” Duncan said of his party.
Still, many skirted the issue Thursday. The only Republican member of Congress to attend formal events in Washington, D.C., commemorating the day was Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).
Perdue attended the funeral of former Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson, who died Dec. 19, along with a contingent of Republican lawmakers led by Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. He did not make a public statement about the Capitol riot.
In recent days, Perdue has tweeted support for using an executive order to return students to classrooms during the COVID-19 surge and applauded Kemp for endorsing legislation that would allow Georgians to carry concealed weapons without a permit.
On Dec. 26, he Tweeted about Trump endorsing his candidacy.
“If [Perdue] wants to spend time with Donald Trump, he ought to go play golf with him at Mar-A-Lago,” Duncan said. “But don’t screw up my great state of Georgia like he’s trying to do.”
