Brian Kemp Accuses Stacey Abrams, Joe Biden of Lying That Led to MLB All-Star Game Pullout

During a Saturday press conference at the Georgia State Capitol speaking on Major League Baseball's (MLB) decision to pull the All-Star Game out of Atlanta, Governor Brian Kemp accused President Joe Biden and politician and activist Stacey Abrams of lying about the Peach State's new voting law.

"The Election Integrity Act expands access to the polls and ensures the integrity of the ballot box. Then, why did MLB move the All-Star game yesterday? Because Joe Biden and Stacey Abrams have spent days lying to Georgians and the American people," he said.

Kemp accused the president of not reading the bill. He also attacked Abrams, saying she has been profiting off the uproar surrounding the legislation.

"The truth is that Joe Biden hasn't read the bill and Stacey Abrams is raising millions off the fake outrage that she has created. Even The Washington Post has given President Biden four Pinocchios for his false attacks on our new law."

Kemp defended Georgia's latest legislation, saying that it helps protect voter integrity and allows further access to the polls. The governor also spoke against Biden's home state of Delaware as well as New York, where MLB headquarters are located, for restrictive voting laws. Kemp said Delaware has "no early voting and requires an excuse to vote absentee."

Earlier in his remarks, Kemp said that "if they did [care about access to the ballot box], Major League Baseball would have announced that they were moving their headquarters from New York yesterday." He claimed that Georgia has 17 days for early voting versus New York's 10 days, and said that New York requires an excuse for absentee voting while Georgia does not.

"Is Stacey Abrams calling these states and their antiquated election laws Jim Crow 2.0?" Kemp said. "No, because for her and the partisan activists who support her, it's about raising money and obtaining more power. For them, it's not about the truth."

During his address, Kemp also criticized MLB for pulling out and not providing a reason as to why it disagreed with the law and lambasted "cancel culture." He said the move would hurt the economy for local residents and that Georgians were "counting on the All-Star game for a paycheck" — warning that it could mean further "cancellations" could lead to more issues.

"Cancel culture and partisan activists are coming for your business. They're coming for your game or event in your hometown, and they're coming to cancel everything from sports to how you make a living, and they will stop at nothing to silence all of us," he said.

Seth Bringman, a spokesperson for Abrams' Fair Fight Action, said that Kemp was aware of the economic risks in signing the bill and focused blame on him for the MLB pulling the game out.

"Brian Kemp knows he caused this mess and that the MLB pulled out because of his irresponsible actions. He prioritized taking away voting access for people of color over the economic well-being of all Georgians, and his dumbfounding attempts to deflect blame won't work. Stacey Abrams continues to encourage events, business, and people to stay in Georgia while Brian Kemp causes job-killing boycotts that his cronies are celebrating," he said in an emailed statement to Newsweek.

Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment.