A.M. ATL: Who’s calling?

Morning, y’all! You did it! You made it to another Friday. Time to get some rest before you deal with the next two weeks of Atlanta Holiday Traffic. Yes, it deserves to be capitalized. About 3 million people will hit the roads for holiday jaunts through the new year, and Monday and Tuesday will be the busiest days.

Let’s get to it.

2020 PHONE CALL BETWEEN TRUMP AND GA SPEAKER REVEALS UNKNOWN PRESSURES

Credit: AJC

Credit: AJC

The AJC has obtained a recording of a December 2020 phone call between President Donald Trump and then-House Speaker David Ralston. The conversation reveals new details on how the president pressured Georgia lawmakers to help overturn the 2020 election.

You can listen to the audio and read more context here. The basics:

Trump urged Ralston to convene a special legislative session “to uncover fraud,” even though Gov. Brian Kemp and other GA leaders had already decided not to.
He also laid into Kemp, underscoring a political rift that has since mended but still left scars. “He’s like a knucklehead, David. He’s like a stonehead,” Trump said. “I can’t believe I endorsed him.”
For Ralston, however, Trump had kinder words. “I will not forget it, and you’ll be more popular,” Trump told Ralston of his plan. “You’re popular now, but you’ll be more popular.”

The call was among the evidence gathered by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for the case against Trump and his allies for conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

I was as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs wondering what would happen.

- Spiro Amburn, top aide to David Ralston at the time, recalling the 2020 phone call.

Ralston passed away in 2022. Ralston’s top aide at the time, lobbyist Spiro Amburn, gave the AJC more context about the call. He said Ralston “did his job.”

“(He) wasn’t going to go beyond his constitutional duties as the leader of the chamber or do anything that violated the Georgia Constitution.”

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WEEKEND PLANS

Credit: Courtesy of MurphyMade/Evan Zimmerman

Aside from shopping, wrapping, planning, attending get-togethers, hosting get-togethers, managing children on school break, preparing for in-laws and trying not to catch a cold, here are some fun things to do this weekend:

🍬 “Elf: The Musical”: If you want to mix up your annual holiday movie viewing, try the stage version at the Fox Theatre.

🕎 Alpharetta Menorah lighting: As if a giant menorah wasn’t enough, there will be latkes and donuts and music. Did I mention latkes? (Also, what is this emoji? Petition for a better menorah emoji, c’mon.)

🧘🏽‍♀️ Winter Solstice Yoga in the Park: Make the most of some rare “you” time with a refreshing session at Dunwoody Nature Center.

❄️ MORE FUN THINGS TO DO: Grinch in the Park and an enchanted nature trail

MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS

💬 The Georgia politics world is still digesting Fani Willis’ intense state Senate testimony this week. Here are five takeaways.

🫏 Former Republican Geoff Duncan isn’t just set on winning Georgia’s governorship as a Democrat. He says he’ll make the state’s political scene better in the process, too.

🩺 Georgia’s ACA health insurance enrollment declined by 190,000 policyholders during the first step of 2026 enrollment. We don’t know final numbers yet, but expiring ACA subsidies have sent prices sky-high.

NEW DEKALB DOG DIGS

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

It’s not a forever home, but it’s the very next best thing. DeKalb County’s chronically overcrowded animal shelter unveiled a brand-new expansion that can hold up to 120 dogs in 10 climate-controlled kennel buildings, each with indoor and outdoor access.

As wonderful as the new addition is, Sonali Saindane, chair of the county’s animal services advisory board, says there’s more work to be done to keep shelter populations under control. She named a few important goals:

“access to low- and no-cost spay and neuter services and veterinary care”
“reducing the number of animals held through the court system by pursuing legal remedies”
“addressing unlicensed and irresponsible breeding.”

NEWS BITES

Former Atlanta News First broadcaster Savannah Louie wins “Survivor”

That’s our girl!

What if the Falcons had let Kirk Cousins compete for QB job?

As the elders say, “If ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ were candy and nuts, we’d all have a merry Christmas.” (It’s me, I am the elders.)

An uninhabited Scottish isle holds the golden granite used in Olympic curling stones

We’re one wizard away from an excellent fantasy book.

Little UGA fan hilariously refuses to sing “Rocky Top” at school concert

This is really cute. He has his Georgia fan credentials for LIFE now.

ON THIS DATE

Dec. 19, 1902

Credit: AJC

Shoppers to be protected by police. Red riot will not mar Christmas Eve in Atlanta this year, and the scenes of disorder and revelry which were enacted on Whitehall street last year will not be duplicated. … Shoppers and sight seers last Christmas Eve were victims of numberless practical jokes: firecrackers were burst in the street; confetti and little rubber balls were flying as thick as hail and the merchants suffered much from the disorder.

Acting foolish around the holidays: a timeless tradition.

ONE MORE THING

I know the Trump call story is a serious issue, but “I was nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs” is an all-time Southern saying.

Have a wonderful and warm weekend! Even if you don’t celebrate anything specific this time of year, you can still celebrate the joy of life itself. Plus, sparkly decorations!

Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact us at AMATL@ajc.com.

Until next time.

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