Is Mick Jagger trolling Donald Trump?
It seemed that way when the Rolling Stones front man strapped on an acoustic guitar during his Atlanta concert on Friday to introduce the “fan’s choice” song of the concert — and riff on Georgia politics.
“We wanted to play `Wild Horses,’” Jagger said. “All we needed was 11,000 more votes. There’s a more important vote coming up in November. Don’t forget to vote in that one.”
Jagger’s jab at the former president’s infamous January 2021 call, included in our AJC colleague Dan Klepal’s write-up of the concert, is only the latest in a series of Jagger swipes at the former president and other Republicans.
Huffington Post reported that Jagger used this line at a concert last month in New Jersey: “I was a bit worried about the weather tonight. I thought we were going to get a Stormy Daniels, but we’re all right.”
A few days ago, Jagger took at a shot at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ long-running culture wars feud with Disney at a concert in Orlando: “Ron DeSantis is up there in the suite. He’s having a date night with Mickey Mouse. I’m so glad they finally made up.”
And at a May concert in New Orleans, Jagger brought up Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry while touring the benefits of inclusion after singing the hit “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”
“We want to include him too,” Jagger said of Landry. “Even if he wants to take us back to the Stone Age.”
Landry later clapped back at the 80-year-old music legend on social media: “You can’t always get what you want. The only person who might remember the Stone Age is Mick Jagger. Love you buddy, you’re always welcome in Louisiana!”
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GEORGIA 2026. Gov. Brian Kemp isn’t surprised by polls that show former President Donald Trump, his one-time nemesis and now ally, with a lead over President Joe Biden in Georgia.
“The reason the polls are where they are is because this is going to be a pocketbook election,” he told Fox Business over the weekend.
Credit: John Spink/AJC
Credit: John Spink/AJC
“I think it’s a great opportunity for the Trump campaign and Republicans in general … to tell Americans and tell Georgians what we’re going to be for and how we’re going to reverse the trends of the Biden administration.”
The erstwhile rivals have forged an uneasy truce as they both aim to flip Georgia back in the GOP column after Biden’s upset victory four years ago.
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YOUR HIGHNESS. Georgia is playing host to royalty this week as the Netherlands’ King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima visit Atlanta and Savannah.
The Dutch royals have a crammed two-day schedule before heading to New York for another leg of their journey.
They plan to meet with Gov. Brian Kemp and local business leaders on Monday, swing by the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, tour the Beltline and get a taste of the hip-hop scene at Patchwerk Recording Studios.
They’ll also open an Atlanta outpost of the Dutch firm NewCold’s automated storage facility, swing by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and tour the High Museum of Art.
In Savannah on Tuesday, the itinerary includes a visit to the Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah State University and the Port of Savannah.
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SHORT DEBATE. The Atlanta Press Club hosted a pair of debates Sunday ahead of the June 18 U.S. House primary runoff elections. One lasted just minutes, as District 2 candidate Chuck Hand staged a pre-planned walkout over what he claimed were his opponent’s attempt to highlight criminal charges against him and his wife Mandy.
Hand faces Wayne Johnson in the showdown, with the winner advancing to face veteran lawmaker Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, in November.
Insider Greg Bluestein explains more in a debate recap published late Sunday. He also unpacks the 3rd District debate between Brian Jack, an aide to former President Donald Trump, and former state Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan.
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Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
FAIR FIGHT. The struggling political and advocacy organization that Stacey Abrams founded is getting a permanent leader after laying off staffers and narrowing its mission.
Fair Fight said Monday that Lauren Groh-Wargo, one of Abrams’ top allies, will be the organization’s chief executive. Since January, she’s served as Fair Fight’s interim leader.
The organization earlier this year announced it would slash its voting rights, media, fundraising and grassroots organizing efforts, along with paring back its use of outside consultants. Some 20 employees — or 75% of the staff — were cut.
Fair Fight is showing other signs of moving forward as well. It hired Max Flugrath, a veteran operative with a long history of working with Groh-Wargo, is the organization’s communications director.
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D-DAY JUMP. The eight U.S. House members who did a ceremonial parachute jump on the Normandy beaches on Friday all emerged unscathed, including U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Suwannee. McCormick — who was a helicopter pilot in the Navy — called it “an amazing experience and a humbling opportunity to remember the incredible sacrifice of our fathers and grandfathers.’
The jump didn’t go perfectly for McCormick, who lost his helmet — with a GoPro camera attached — on the way down.
“It was just a great time, with great people,” a smiling McCormick said soon after hitting the ground in France. Thursday marked the 80th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, a turning point in World War II for the Allied forces in the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany.
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TRUMP RALLY. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, spent the weekend in Las Vegas, warming up the crowd on Sunday for a rally in the desert heat held by former President Donald Trump. In those remarks, Greene compared Trump to Jesus.
“The Democrats and the fake news media want to constantly talk about, ‘Oh, President Trump is a convicted felon,’” Greene told the Trump rally. “Well, you want to know something? The man that I worship is also a convicted felon,” Greene said to cheers.
Over the weekend, Greene also joined Trump in calling for members of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol to be jailed — all part of GOP demands for retribution against Democrats for the 34 guilty verdicts against Trump in the New York hush money trial.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” the AJC’s Ernie Suggs discusses his recent interview with Morehouse College President David Thomas. Later, Emory University Professor Andra Gillespie explains Black voters’ top issues this election year, and the AJC’s Tamar Hallerman breaks down the latest Trump trial news.
Listen live at 10 a.m. on WABE 90.1 or follow “Politically Georgia” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
If you missed Friday’s episode, former state Sen. Jen Jordan joined the show to look at the importance of women’s rights this election year.
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Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden holds a Juneteenth celebration on the South Lawn of the White House.
- The House and Senate are in recess until Tuesday.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
HORSING OFF. Congrats to Dornoch, the surprise winner of the first Belmont Stakes at Saratoga Race Course over the weekend.
Dornoch is part of West Paces Racing LLC, a group founded by former Georgia political operative Keith Mason and Larry Connolly in 2019. The company name is a tribute to the iconic road in Buckhead where, among other landmarks, the Governor’s Mansion sits.
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AS ALWAYS, Politically Georgia readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.vanbrimmer@ajc.com.
