The Government of Georgia, Brian Kemp, said on Saturday that the decision to withdraw the Major League Baseball All-Star Game over objections to changes in state laws was a ‘political play’.
On Fox & Friends Weekend, Kemp said it was “unfortunate” that the league wanted to “cancel culture” and accused President Biden, Georgian activist Stacey Abrams and “many other people” of lying about the bill he voted for. . recently signed into law.
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“This is a really sad day for Major League Baseball,” the Republican governor said. “As someone who grew up playing baseball and high school as a kid and a fan, you know, big Braves fan – I mean, it’s awful for the organization. It’s awful for the fans. It’s awful for the “small business owners. owners in the metro community of Atlanta, and our state who were looking forward to hosting this game and putting a lot of resources into it. All because of a big lie.”
Kemp signed the bill on March 25. The legislation places new restrictions on voting by mail, adds the required voter ID and restricts the ballot papers. It also obliges two Saturdays to vote early before the general election, an increase of just one, and leaves two Sundays as optional.
FILE – On March 25, 2021, the file photo leaves Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, second from right, the Georgia State Capitol Building after signing a comprehensive overhaul of state elections by the Republican, which includes new restrictions on voting by mail and greater legislative control over how elections are conducted in Atlanta. (Alyssa Pointer / Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, File)
Finally, it prohibits outside groups from handing out food or water to those standing in line to vote.
Critics argue the Republican-sponsored legislation is an attempt to suppress democratic voices. Biden exploded the law, calling it “contemptible” and “un-American” in his first press conference last month.
“This is Jim Crow in the 21st century. It must end,” he said in a March 23 statement.
Abrams wrote in her own statement Friday that Republican lawmakers defended the bill “which knows the economic risks” and “made it a priority to make people of color more difficult to vote on the economic well-being of all Georgians.”
“I am disappointed that the MLB is resettling the All-Star game. However, I commend the players, owners and league commissioners that they have spoken out. I urge others in leadership positions to do the same,” she said. “Like I said, I respect boycotts, although I do not want to see Georgia families injured by lost events and jobs. Georgians targeted by voter oppression will be hurt as opportunities go to other states. We must not be the victims. of GOP do not give up. malice and lies – we must stand together. “
Abrams calls on Republicans of Georgia to ‘give up the terrible damage they have done [Georgia’s] voting system “and” the damage they have done to our economy. ”
Increasing pressure, the statements of Biden and the support of activists such as Abrams, led to Robert Manfred, commissioner of the MLB, announcing the move.
“Major League Baseball fundamentally supports suffrage for all Americans and is against restrictions on the ballot box,” he said.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian also called the law ‘unacceptable’, and Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey said the legislation was a ‘step backwards’.
However, Kemp argued – in line with his Friday interview on ‘Tucker Carlson Tonight’ – that the bill “does not suppress anything” and argued that the new law could compare favorably with New York.
“We have 17 days of early voting. New York has 10. This bill gives people the opportunity to vote on two optional Sundays, which could give some counties 19 days,” he told Fox and Friends. gashere.
“Are we boycotting them because they’re in New York? No. It’s just the culture being canceled, and I’ll tell you, the people at home should be scared, because their ball game is next, their business will be next, their way of life will be next. ‘
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Kemp said Biden is not true and that ‘oppression’ is merely a buzzword used to ‘hit’ CEOs and corporate boardrooms.
“None of them mention the details in the bill. If you notice, they just say, ‘You know,’ This is a step backwards. ‘ Or, you know, ‘This is wrong.’ Or whatever, ‘he added. “Like none of them point to the details in the bill, because they know full well that their people in the Capitol worked with us. They knew what was in it and now their position has changed. “
Kemp said he agreed with former President Donald Trump, who said in a Friday statement that MLB’s leadership was “afraid of the Radical Left Democrats.”
“Boycott baseball and all the vigilant companies that interfere with free and fair elections. Listen to Coke, Delta and all!” he said.
‘Well, I think the [former] president – like me – is very frustrated with this canceled culture, “Kemp remarked, noting that the Atlanta Braves organization did not support MLB’s decision and that “even Democrats come forward and say how wrong it is to move the game.”
He said he would be ‘happy’ to hold talks with MLB on the issue – a sentiment reflected by Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, but he noted that he believes the ‘ playbook for this’ was written more than a month ago. “because Democrats like Biden and Abrams thought it was going to be” bad. ”
“But, you know, the end result was not because it went through the process. We worked with the House and the Senate with reasonable people, got things there to provide even more access, but also to make sure that it “In Georgia it’s easy to vote and hard to cheat. And I don’t think they agree with that,” he said.
Kemp pointed out that the bill had been in the works for more than four or five months and that “none of these people” had said anything.
“The issues they said something about, you know, at the end of the day, did not end up in the bill. That’s how the process is supposed to work,” Kemp said. “It’s just so sad for baseball fans that the league has now made baseball so political in the United States.”
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The governor believes that the liberal pressure to pass HR1, also known as the “For the People Act”, is to blame. The legislation requires all states to provide, among other things, ballot papers and automatic registration of voters.
“This is a political play by the president and Stacey Abrams and many other people who want HR1 to succeed,” Kemp added.
Foxina’s Paulina Dedaj and The Associated Press contributed to this report.