Former President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 28, 2021. (Joe Skipper/Reuters) Donald Trump
By Ivan Pentchoukov April 2, 2021 Updated: April 3, 2021 biggersmallerPrint
Former President Donald Trump on April 2 urged people to boycott Major League Baseball (MLB), Coca-Cola, Delta, and other corporations which are openly opposing election reforms enacted by Republicans in Georgia.
“Baseball is already losing tremendous numbers of fans, and now they leave Atlanta with their All-Star Game because they are afraid of the Radical Left Democrats who do not want voter I.D., which is desperately needed, to have anything to do with our elections,” Trump wrote in a statement released by his Save America political action committee. “Boycott baseball and all of the woke companies that are interfering with Free and Fair Elections. Are you listening Coke, Delta, and all!”
MLB on Friday announced that it will move its All-Star game from Atlanta in protest of the election reform package passed by the state’s Republicans last month. MLB Commissioner Robert D. Manfred Jr. announced the move in a news release saying that the decision was the best way to “demonstrate our values as a sport.”
MLB, Coca-Cola, and Delta did not respond to requests for comment.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, signed a package of election reforms into law last month which expanded voting hours and access to early voting. The new law also requires absentee voters to provide a copy of their ID alongside their ballot, something the state had already required for in-person voters.
Georgia was one of six states where Trump challenged the outcome of the 2020 election. That state ultimately certified President Joe Biden as the winner after several recounts. Trump claimed that the election in Georgia was tainted by fraud and was run by rules put in place through an unconstitutional process.
Minutes prior to the boycott message, the former president released a statement about election fraud.
“Why is it that every time the 2020 ELECTION FRAUD is discussed, the Fake News Media consistently states that such charges are baseless, unfounded, unwarranted, etc.? Sadly, there was massive fraud in the 2020 Presidential Election, and many very angry people understand that. With each passing day, and unfortunately for the Radical Left CRAZIES, more and more facts are coming out,” Trump said “Other than that, Happy Easter!”
Georgia’s election reforms have become the target of left-wing criticism, including false claims by Biden about the law requiring the polls to close by 5 p.m. The bill actually expanded the voting hours to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Corporations including Delta Airlines and Coca-Cola joined the chorus, issuing statements from top executives criticizing the bill.
Biden said on March 31 that he would support the MLB moving the All-star game from Atlanta in response to the election reform legislation.
“I think that today’s professional athletes are acting incredibly responsibly. I would strongly support them doing that,” Biden said. “People look to them, they’re leaders. Look at what’s happened with the NBA as well. Look at what’s happened across the board. The people who’ve been victimized the most are the people who are the leaders in these various sports and it’s just not right.”
Kemp said it was “obvious” that neither Biden nor his advisers familiarized themselves with the content of the bill.
“It is obvious that neither President Biden nor his handlers have actually read SB 202, which I signed into law yesterday,” Kemp told The Epoch Times via email on March 27 referring to the bill by its legislative ID number. “This bill expands voting access, streamlines vote-counting procedures, and ensures election integrity.”
Janita Kan, Mimi Nguyen Ly, and Samuel Allegri contributed to this report.
