Former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr said Friday he hopes former President Donald Trump will stay out of the 2022 governor's race in Georgia and instead focus his efforts on helping Republicans win back the House and Senate.
Barr said regaining control of Congress will give Republican much-needed momentum going into the 2024 presidential election.
"That is job Number 1 right now, not so much worrying about 2024, but focusing on 2022 because if we don't, as we should, take back the House and the Senate, then it's going to make our retaking the White House in 2024 extremely difficult, unfortunately," Barr said during an appearance Friday on WDUN's "Newsroom."
Barr, who back Gov. Brian Kemp for re-election, is concerned that GOP infighting over the 2020 presidential election in Georgia and elsewhere has the potential to hurt the party in 2022. Kemp, he said, has been on the right side of important issues like the coronavirus response and gun-rights issues. He urged the former president to stay out of the race.
"I'm a strong supporter of Gov. Kemp and I hope that we do everything we can to help Gov. Kemp. He's been on Second Amendment and the COVID issue very, very good," Barr said. "What I hope the president doesn't do is interject himself into our primary here in a way that harms the gubernatorial race."
Also in the interview, Barr blasted the Biden administration's handling of the immigration crisis on the southern border, and he said Vice President Kamala Harris' visit Friday to a detention facility outside of El Paso was meaningless.
"It means absolutely nothing of substance," Barr said. "All she's doing is going down there so she can check that box off and to tell the Republicans, 'See, I've gone to the border. Now shut up.'"
Barr said the Biden administration should work more closely with officials in states along the border because those officials are on the front lines and can offer real solutions.
