Vice President Mike Pence praised Georgia’s decision to quickly reopen businesses during the coronavirus outbreak during a visit to the state that included lunch with the governor at an Atlanta café that had resumed dine-in service. He said Friday that Georgia was “leading the way” in reopening and called Gov. Brian Kemp’s leadership “clear and courageous and principled.”
The words were a marked departure from the criticism Kemp faced from President Donald Trump after Kemp announced in April he planned to allow salons, restaurants, gyms and other businesses to reopen later that month. Georgia was one of the first states to allow businesses to start up again during the pandemic.