Former President Donald Trump has picked up three endorsements from Georgia officials in recent days, including Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins and U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde.
The endorsements all came after Trump was indicted on 37 counts, all of which are felonies and 31 of which are related to violations of the Espionage Act for “willful retention” of classified records.
Alex Bruesewitz, a Trump-aligned GOP consultant, tweeted news of the endorsements Saturday, calling Trump’s legal troubles “the latest frivolous indictment” and saying that “Republicans are rallying behind Trump as he’s being politically persecuted.”
Jones, elected to Lt. Governor in November with Trump’s backing, was one of the “fake electors” in Georgia prepared to cast alternative votes for Trump in the 2020 presidential election, despite President Joe Biden winning the Peach State. Jones hasn’t faced charges for his role after Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled in Jones’ favor last year that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis could not question or bring charges against Jones due to a conflict of interest arising from her participation in a fundraiser for Jones’ then Democratic opponent.
Clyde, one of the most conservative members of Congress, announced his endorsement at the Georgia GOP convention over the weekend.
“I cannot think of a better time than today, in front of 3,000 Republican activists from across the state, to officially announce that President Trump has my full and complete endorsement,” he said, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Clyde, a gun store owner serving his second term, added that Trump “will help save this nation from the radical left-wing wackos, from the socialists and the corrupt bureaucrats who want to eliminate our country.”
Collins’ endorsement is perhaps the most interesting. Collins won his seat in Congress last year after winning a Primary against a candidate Trump hand-picked for the race, Vernon Jones. But it seems there’s not bad blood over Trump’s previous snub, as Collins also endorsed the former President over the weekend, re-tweeting a post from the Trump campaign announcing the endorsement.
Trump spoke at the Georgia GOP convention over the weekend, as well as one in North Carolina, marking his first public appearances since the charges were unsealed last week. As he has done since news of the indictment broke, Trump cast the charges as baseless, calling them part of a “witch hunt.
While numerous people, including Trump’s former Attorney General Bill Barr, have emphasized the seriousness of charges against the former President, Trump still remains the top-endorsed GOP presidential contender in Georgia. While he’s received several endorsements from the state’s congressional delegation, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, consistently polling in the No. 2 spot behind Trump, has received just one. No other candidates in the field have landed endorsements from members of the delegation.
