Atlanta

President Biden ‘strongly supports’ moving MLB All-Star game out of Atlanta

By WSBTV.com News Staff
By WSBTV.com News Staff

ATLANTA — President Biden is speaking out on the controversial election bill signed into law by Gov. Kemp earlier this week.

In an interview with ESPN’s Sage Steele, Biden said he would “strongly support” moving the Major League Baseball All-Star game out of Atlanta because of the new law.

“I think today’s professional athletes are acting incredibly responsibly,” Biden said. “I would strongly support them doing that. People look to them. They’re leaders. Look at what’s happened with the NBA, as well.”

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The game is scheduled at Truist Park for July 13, 2021.

In the interview, Biden described the new law as “Jim Crow on steroids.”

“The very people who are victimized the most are the people who are leaders in these various sports,” Biden continued.

After Biden’s comments on the game, Cobb County Chairwoman Lisa Cupid released the following statement:

“While we are both frustrated by the recently-enacted elections legislation, the President’s remarks concerning moving Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game out of Cobb County sends an unfortunate message to those residents and businesses here who have supported him.  I would be open to a discussion with the President and others about alternative actions that would channel our frustration into an opportunity to use this event as a chance to openly discuss this legislation, voter participation, and inclusion and then find an applicable response.”

There have been other high-profile leaders who have come out against the law, which Kemp and other Republicans say actually expands the right to vote and protects ballots.

“I’ve always been passionate about making it easy to vote and hard to cheat,” Kemp said in an exclusive interview with Channel 2 Action News. “You know, the voters in Georgia are pretty smart and I trust them to take a hard look and figure out for themselves what is really in it and what’s not.”

Earlier this week, the chief executives of Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola have come out against the bill.

Delta Chief Executive Ed Bastian sent a memo to employees Wednesday.

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“The entire rationale for this bill was based on a lie: that there was widespread voter fraud in Georgia in the 2020 elections. This is simply not true,” Bastian wrote, alluding to former President Donald Trump’s false claims that he lost because of fraud. “Unfortunately, that excuse is being used in states across the nation that are attempting to pass similar legislation to restrict voting rights.”

Bastian said Delta “joined other major Atlanta corporations to work closely with elected officials from both parties, to try and remove some of the most egregious measures from the bill. We had some success in eliminating the most suppressive tactics that some had proposed.”

But, he said, “I need to make it crystal clear that the final bill is unacceptable and does not match Delta’s values.”

Kemp said the new law expands weekend early voting, makes ballot drop boxes an official part of Georgia election law and replaces signature match on absentee ballots with a voter ID.

[EXPLAINER: What does Georgia’s new GOP election law do?]

“I knew what was coming from the other side. I knew that they were going to try to do this boycott, cancel culture and everything else,” Kemp said. “And I wanted to get out in front of that and get the bill signed and let people know what was in it.”

Earlier this week, several groups filed a 92-page federal lawsuit, asking a federal court judge to overturn the law.

“We and others quickly marched into court because we cannot let it stand. There are upcoming elections. Voters need to prepare for them and so litigation was necessary now,” said Leah Aden with the NAACP.

EXCLUSIVE: Gov. Kemp defends signing voting law as opponents file federal lawsuit

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