When a Georgia Republican Accused Donald Trump of Possessing the 'Moral Compass' of an 'Axe Murderer'

Editor's note: This article was originally published on August 30, 2023. It has since been updated.

Former Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan strongly criticized Donald Trump for his efforts to reverse the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, saying that the former president has the “moral compass” of an “axe murderer.” The Republican contender in Georgia commented on the former president's legal situation within the southern U.S. and beyond, as well as his ongoing influence in the presidential primary, as per The Guardian.

“As Republicans, that dashboard is going off with lights and bells and whistles, telling us all the warning things we need to know, Ninety-one indictments, fake Republican, a trillion dollars worth of debt [from his time in the White House], everything we need to see to not choose him as our nominee, including the fact that he’s got the moral compass of a … more like an axe murderer than a president. We need to do something right here, right now. This is either our pivot point or our last gasp as Republicans," Geoff Duncan told CNN on Monday.

In Duncan's home state of Georgia, Trump was indicted on August,13 for racketeering and various other charges. These charges accuse him of plotting to unlawfully reverse his defeat to U.S. President Joe Biden. Duncan characterized Trump's list of charges as his legal record, “a two-plus-year crime spree from coast to coast.” “I think it’s so interesting to continue to watch this play out like some sort of Ponzi scheme of lies that just kind of built. And if you look at their defenses at this point, it’s all technicalities,” he said.

According to the Times of Israel, the Georgia indictment outlines numerous actions by Trump and his supporters aimed at reversing his loss in the pivotal state. These actions include pressuring the Republican secretary of state to discover sufficient votes to maintain his presidency, bombarding officials with unfounded allegations of voter fraud, and trying to convince Georgia legislators to disregard the voters' choice and designate a new group of electoral college electors who would favor Trump.

Trump is also facing trials in New York, southern Florida, and Washington in other significant legal cases against him. This indictment comes just two weeks after the Justice Department's special counsel charged him with a wide-ranging conspiracy to overturn the election. It emphasizes how, following extensive investigations that followed the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, prosecutors are now, two and a half years later, taking steps to hold Trump accountable for an attack on the foundations of American democracy. These recent charges signal a remarkable situation where the 2024 presidential election could see as much litigation in the courtroom as at the ballot box.

“When you have four trials to have to compete with on a calendar, you’re not gonna be able to, you know, skip certain days because it’s your birthday, or skip certain days because you’ve got a nail appointment, right? “You’re gonna have to actually go face the music," Duncan told CNN.