• Gov. Kemp on Thursday chided former President Trump over his refusal to sign a GOP loyalty pledge.
  • By signing the pledge, a candidate commits to backing the eventual Republican presidential nominee.
  • During a Newsmax interview earlier this week, Trump scoffed at the GOP debate requirement.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has a stern but simple message for former President Donald Trump: Sign the Republican presidential loyalty pledge.

After Trump said on Newsmax on Wednesday that he wouldn't sign a pledge backing the eventual Republican presidential nominee should he come up short in the nomination process, the Georgia Republican on Thursday reiterated the importance of next year's presidential election and stressed the need for GOP unity.

"Every Republican running for President would be better than Joe Biden," Kemp tweeted. "Any candidate who does not commit to supporting the eventual nominee is putting themselves ahead of the future of our country. 2024 is too important for political games."

Kemp, who rejected Trump's push to overturn President Joe Biden's 2020 victory in Georgia, was not the former president's first choice when the governor sought reelection last year, as the ex-commander-in-chief backed ex-Sen. David Perdue in the GOP gubernatorial primary.

But Kemp won the primary in a landslide and handily won reelection last year, making him one of the most important GOP surrogates headed into 2024 as Georgia will once again be one of the most heavily contested states in the entire country.

Trump faces a potential indictment by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis connected to possible election interference in the 2020 election. So the former president remains in a precarious political situation in the presidential swing state ahead of 2024.

A GOP candidate signing the loyalty pledge is one of the conditions of participating in the August 23 Republican presidential debate; Trump was already set to announce next week whether he would join the other candidates on the stage.