Trump will participate in a televised rally for Walker but will not be physically present.
Fox News Digital has confirmed with GOP sources that former President Donald Trump will not hold a rally in Georgia on December 6 ahead of the runoff election for the Senate seat being contested by Republican Herschel Walker and Democrat Brian Kemp. Trump will instead hold a televised rally with Walker.
Sources close to the Walker and Trump campaigns say they both recognize that having the former president make an appearance in Georgia before the runoff election against incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock would carry more political risks than rewards, despite Walker’s role as a critical Trump surrogate during the 2020 presidential campaign.
Before Walker won the Republican Senate primary in May, Trump hosted rallies in Georgia for him in September 2021 and March of this year, but he hasn’t returned to the Peach State to campaign in person since then.
This decision follows reports that Trump had dinner with a white supremacist just days earlier.
During the weekend, Trump had dinner at Mar-a-Lago with white supremacist Nick Fuentes, who has made antisemitic and racist statements, and famous artist Ye, formerly known as Kanye West.
The former president was swiftly criticized for hosting the contentious gathering. On NewsNation, former VP Mike Pence asked Trump to apologize, saying he should “denounce those folks and their ugly speech without reservation.”
In the Peach State Senate race, where Walker is trying to unseat Democrat Warnock, Trump will not make a personal presence, but he will be active by participating in a tele rally for Walker.
Georgia’s newly re-elected governor, Brian Kemp, Mike Huckabee, and Texas senator Ted Cruz, have all been on the campaign trail for Walker in the weeks leading up to the pivotal Senate battle.
The political action committee affiliated with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, also backs the political newbie.
After receiving months of prodding from Trump to run for the Senate, Walker first entered the GOP contest in the summer of 2021 to compete against Warnock.