BOTTOM OF THE CLASS

Republican Loser Humiliates Trump With Midterms Grading

The outgoing senator did not mince his words.

Darline Graham’s election campaign ended in spectacular failure, and a Republican who lost to Donald Trump’s handpicked candidate is making sure the president gets the blame.

Rep. Ralph Norman gave Trump an F for his involvement in South Carolina’s midterm Senate race, telling MeidasTouch’s Pablo Manríquez on Tuesday that the president had alienated voters by pushing Graham forward as the party’s candidate.

“In South Carolina, he gets an F, but overall for the country, he’s done well,” Norman said when asked to grade Trump’s midterm performance.

“He shouldn’t have endorsed and tried to force a candidate on South Carolina,” he added. “They don’t agree with that.”

The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.

Norman has a particular reason to resent Trump’s intervention. The congressman lost the Republican primary to Darline Graham after Trump threw his “complete and total endorsement” behind her.

Trump had appointed her to serve the remainder of her brother’s term, after longtime Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was one of Trump’s biggest allies in Congress, died in July at 71.

But Trump’s preferred candidate ultimately lost the general election to Democrat Annie Andrews, ending nearly three decades of Republican dominance in South Carolina Senate elections.

Trump had celebrated Norman’s primary defeat by attacking him on Truth Social, claiming Norman had “ruined his career” by backing Nikki Haley in her 2024 presidential bid.

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Norman, meanwhile, had repeatedly condemned Trump’s intervention, calling it “shocking.”

“It’s his right to do that, but as many places as we’re in trouble with liberals, he comes to South Carolina,” Norman said. “Ronald Reagan would not do that.”

Even Norman’s son, Warren Norman, threatened to vote Democrat rather than support Graham.

South Carolina is not the only place where Trump’s intervention in the race ended in disaster.

In Texas, the president helped clear the path for Ken Paxton to oust Sen. John Cornyn in the GOP primary, only for Paxton to lose to Democrat James Talarico, who flipped the seat in a state Trump carried by nearly 18 points in 2024.

Meanwhile, in North Carolina, Michael Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chairman Trump backed for Senate, lost to a Democrat.

The same fate befell Vivek Ramaswamy, Trump’s pick for Ohio governor. And in Michigan, Trump’s Senate choice, Mike Rogers, lost to Democrat Abdul El-Sayed.

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The defeats ultimately helped Democrats win control of Congress, dealing Trump a major setback in an election he had sought to make a test of his own political standing.

Trump had urged voters to treat the election as if he himself were on the ballot, arguing that Republicans needed to turn out to protect his agenda. But the strategy failed to generate the loyalty he had counted on.

Instead, voters angry over Trump’s handling of the war with Iran turned against Republicans. The conflict sent energy prices surging, driving up the cost of gasoline and adding to the financial pressures facing households already frustrated with the economy.

Michael Little, a 59-year-old businessman and three-time Trump voter, put it bluntly: “People are p---ed off at Trump. Trump has cost us,” he told Reuters.

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