Donald Trump will attempt to boost the fortunes of his handpicked replacement for MAGA ally Lindsey Graham, after an embarrassing gaffe on the debate stage sparked a backlash over his endorsement.
The president will head to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina on Friday to campaign for Darline Graham, days before the late senator’s sister heads into a run-off election, hoping to replace her brother in the U.S. Senate full time.
Graham, who used to run South Carolina’s Commission for the Blind, was handpicked by Trump for the coveted seat after her brother died last month, despite being a political novice.
This prompted criticism from both Democrats and seasoned conservatives alike—including those backing her GOP primary opponent, longtime South Carolina Republican Ralph Norman.
But Graham’s lack of experience exploded to the fore during a debate on Tuesday night when she confessed her ignorance of national security, her brother’s signature issue.
The damning moment, which led to Graham being booed by the audience, came when co-moderator Greta Van Susteren asked whether Taiwan and the South China Sea were national security issues for the United States.
After initially asking Van Susteren to repeat the question, Graham admitted, “I’m just going to be honest here... I’m not that informed on national security.”
“I’m not a polished politician up here,” she added. “National security is not my thing, not my area of expertise, but I support the military.”
Critics immediately seized on Graham’s blunder and took aim at the president for his endorsement.
“This honestly should be disqualifying,” said former Obama adviser David Axelrod.
Former Republican turned MediaTouch editor Ron Filipkowski added: “Trump’s endorsement of obviously unqualified Darlene Graham for US Senate shows the contempt that he has for voters and people in SC, most of whom will continue to support him and maybe even vote for her. So perhaps his contempt for those particular voters is justified.”
And former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who is backing Norman, wrote on X: “Lindsey Graham was well informed on the United States’ national security. Darline Graham admits she’s not. This is not something you inherit. And it’s critical in the U.S. Senate.”
Trump is scheduled to hold a rally with Graham on Friday at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, hoping to boost her stock days before Tuesday’s run-off. The run-off is taking place after neither she nor Norman received enough votes to win the GOP primary outright earlier this month.
“I am beyond honored and excited to welcome President Trump to South Carolina. President Trump gave me his Complete and Total endorsement because he knows I will work hard every day on the issues South Carolinians care about most in the United States Senate,” she said in a statement.
The president endorsed Graham after the sudden death of his ally and golfing buddy, Lindsey Graham.
The 71-year-old senator had just returned from a trip to Ukraine when he was rushed to hospital last month, eventually dying of heart complications.
But Darline Graham’s latest awkward moment isn’t her first. Last month, she also faced scrutiny for making a political donation to a state senator who tanked a draconian abortion ban.
As revealed by the Daily Beast’s political newsletter The Swamp, Graham had given $100 to the campaign for then-State Senator Katrina Shealy, a move that sat at odds with MAGA world and her late brother’s staunch anti-abortion views.
Shealy was a disability rights advocate who went on to become known as one of the “Sister Senators,” three Republicans, a Democrat, and an independent, who blocked a total abortion ban in South Carolina in 2023.
It later turned out that after that blocking move, Graham gave Shealy another $100.
