Donald Trump is making another last-minute intervention for embattled Senate candidate Darline Graham as the president scrambles to save face over yet another rocky endorsement.
Trump will hold a tele-rally for Graham on Monday night—hours before voters head to the polls for Tuesday’s runoff election in South Carolina—in his latest bid to boost her campaign after a disastrous week of stumbles.
The move comes merely three days after Trump traveled to Myrtle Beach to campaign in person for the political novice, whom he endorsed for the coveted Senate seat following the unexpected death of her brother, MAGA Senator Lindsey Graham.
Darline Graham’s lack of experience exploded to the fore during a debate last Tuesday night when she confessed her ignorance of national security, her brother’s signature issue.
The former disability services executive also incorrectly said South Carolina had 50 million residents; the actual population is roughly 5.5 million.
The blunder, which led to boos from the audience, prompted an immediate backlash, including from some in MAGA ranks.
“I’m sorry,” said podcaster Megyn Kelly. “I know she’s just pinch-hitting, but that’s disqualifying, is it not?”
Graham is vying to fill the South Carolina Senate seat for the next six years over her more experienced GOP rival, Rep. Ralph Norman.
But the race is also politically dicey for Trump, given his rising losing streak of endorsements.
Ten GOP candidates backed by the president have now lost their primary race ahead of November’s midterms. Among them was Trump conspiracy theorist and MyPillow founder Mike Lindell, who came up well short in his bid for governor in Minnesota, while in Florida incumbent Rep. Cory Mills lost by double digits to former news anchor Ryan Elijah.
And Graham herself did not have enough votes to avoid Tuesday’s run-off against Norman, despite Trump’s early support.
While the president’s endorsements don’t appear to have as much firepower as they once did, he was nonetheless keen to talk up his gains in a self-soothing Truth Social post on Sunday night.
“My Endorsements are getting stronger than ever,” he claimed on Sunday evening. “Not to mention the fact that good people are getting elected that never had the chance.”
The president endorsed Graham days after her brother died of heart complications, shortly after returning from his 10th trip to Ukraine, a country he long supported in its fight against Russia.
But her latest awkward moment isn’t the first. Last month, the Daily Beast revealed she also faced scrutiny for making a political donation to a state senator who tanked a draconian abortion ban.
And last week, she sought to salvage her debate disaster in a soft-ball interview on Fox News, telling host Sean Hannity, an old friend of Lindsey Graham: “Of course Taiwan is our friend, but I think people in South Carolina are more worried about making ends meet; they’re concerned about boys in girls’ sports.”
However, this also raised eyebrows in South Carolina, as the state already resolved this issue in 2022, when it barred trans students from playing on sports teams that don’t align with their gender assigned at birth.
Dr. Annie Andrews, the South Carolina Democratic Senate nominee, told the Daily Beast after Graham’s debate performance last week that she was “clearly not ready to serve as a U.S. senator.”
“She’s just really representing sort of the worst possible type of politician, which is one that the voters don’t know where she stands,” said Andrews.
But supporters such as South Carolina Senator Tim Scott disagree.
“Darline Graham is the real deal,” Scott told NBC News’ Meet the Press, adding that she is “highly qualified, incredibly competent, ready for primetime.”
