Trump Jnr releases ad saying his father’s legacy is on the line in Georgia run-off

The remarks appeared to be an admission that the Republican had lost to Joe Biden

Donald Trump Junior said his father’s legacy was on the line in Georgia’s Senate run-offs as Republicans launched attack adverts against the leading Democratic candidate in the race.

“The radical left wants to tear down everything we’ve accomplished — defunding the police, eliminating private health insurance and dismantling the Supreme Court,” Mr Trump claimed in a new TV advert.

Mr Trump cast the run-off, which will determine the balance of power in the US Senate, as a referendum on his father’s presidency, adding: “my father’s accomplishments are on your ballot. Don’t let them take Georgia.”

The remarks appeared to be an admission that the Republican had lost the presidential election to Joe Biden, the Democrat president-elect. Since the election, Mr Trump has repeatedly echoed his father’s claims of election fraud and demanded a manual recount of the results.

The 42-year-old has been heavily involved in campaigning for the Georgia Senate race, where Republicans are hoping to hold onto the state’s two seats and secure a 52-48 majority in the US Senate.

Stop the radical left.

Vote for @KLoeffler & @Perduesenate!!! #GASEN pic.twitter.com/L9Tak8JlQj

— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) December 8, 2020

In one race, Republican senator Kelly Loeffler faces Democrat Raphael Warnock, a pastor at the church where the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr preached. In the second race, Republican senator David Perdue faces Democrat Jon Ossoff, a 33-year-old media executive.

If Democrats took both of Georgia’s seats it would tie the Senate at 50-50. As vice president, Kamala Harris would cast the tie-breaker vote in the Senate, meaning that Democrats would control the chamber.

If Republicans win the seats, they will be able to block large parts of Mr Biden’s legislative agenda and appointees to his cabinet.

Republicans have focused their campaigning on Mr Warnock, painting the 51-year-old black pastor as a "radical liberal" in the hope of motivating white conservatives to turnout for the January 5 vote.

Both Democrats and Republicans believe Raphael Warnock is a determining factor in the race

Credit: Shutterstock 

The attacks on Mr Warnock have attempted to tie him to ideas like Marxism and defunding the police, which Mr Warnock does not support.

However, Democrats hope that Mr Warnock’s presence in the race will enthuse black voters in Georgia, who account for almost 30 per cent of voters in the Peach state and contributed to Mr Biden’s surprise win there in November.

Meanwhile, it emerged on Wednesday that Mr Trump’s Health Secretary, Alex Azar, had met with the Biden transition team and planned to be in touch with his successor in the post.

It suggests that while the US president continues to claim the presidential election results should be overturned, senior members of his cabinet are already preparing for the new government.

This week Mr Biden named Xavier Becerra, the California attorney general, as his choice to lead the Health and Human Services department

During an interview with CNN Mr Azar said he will “ensure a full, cooperative, professional transition”, adding: “I’ve already met with the Biden transition team. We want to make  sure they get everything that they need, and of course, I will be in touch with him [Becerra] as is appropriate.”