Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp Brian KempGeorgia GOP Senate candidates cite abortion in pushing Ginsburg replacement The politically neglected minority: Asian Americans and COVID-19 Trump administration moves to exempt teachers from quarantine requirements MORE (R) insisted Monday that he and President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE share a "common goal" for the reopening of nonessential businesses in the state days after Trump publicly criticized him over the issue.

At a news conference, Kemp said that he "appreciate[d] the president's leadership" on the coronavirus outbreak and characterized Trump's criticism of him as "insight and advice" on the subject, according to local news affiliate Fox 5.

"Over the last several days, many have written about Georgia’s plan to slowly reopen the businesses shuttered by our state’s shelter in place order, and many more have written about the President’s insight and advice on our game plan," Kemp said.

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"Rest assured, the president and I share a common goal and that’s to protect both the lives and livelihoods of Georgians and the American people," he added.

Kemp went on to proclaim that a Monday call between Trump and a number of state governors went well, and urged Georgians who opposed his view of when the state should reopen businesses to unite behind his administration.

"There are differing opinions on how best to tackle COVID-19; how and when we reopen parts of the economy; the path forward to ensure a safer, stronger, and more prosperous future for our state. But I can promise you this: there is more that unites us than divides us. We all want to protect our families and our neighbors. We all want to emerge from this pandemic safe and victorious," he said.

Kemp's remarks come after Trump knocked the Republican governor in comments to reporters last Thursday, saying at the time that he "wasn’t happy with Brian Kemp" following his announcement that businesses would begin reopening on Friday.

“I said, ‘You make your own decision,’ I told him that,” Trump said of a call last week with Kemp. “I said, 'You’re not on the guidelines, but I’m letting you make your own decision, but I want people to be safe and I want the people in Georgia to be safe, and I don’t want this thing to flare up because you’re deciding to do something that is not in the guidelines.'”

Trump appeared to back away from his hesitance towards the reopening on public spaces on Monday, however, reportedly telling governors on the conference call to consider reopening schools as well.

"Some of you might start thinking about school openings. Because a lot of people are wanting to have the school openings. It's not a big subject, young children have done very well in this disaster that we’ve all gone through," he said Monday.