Trump seeks to bolster Graham Senate bid with South Carolina rally

U.S. President Donald Trump campaigned on Friday for political novice Darline Graham in the race for her late brother's Senate seat, a contest that could test the White House's political clout before November's midterm elections.

Trump spoke at a South Carolina rally for Graham as she sought to recover from fumbling a basic foreign policy question in a debate against U.S. Representative Ralph Norman, her opponent in Tuesday's primary runoff election. The winner will be heavily favored in November in the Republican-leaning state.

Lindsey Graham was a foreign policy leader in the Republican Party, which made Darline Graham's stumble in response to a debate question on Tuesday about the U.S. alliance with Taiwan all the more striking.

"I'm just going to be honest here. I'm not that informed on national security," Graham replied to the astonishment of the debate audience.

"National security is not my thing," said Graham, whose career focused on services for the disabled.

Trump on Friday shrugged off her debate response, calling it a "very honest answer" before boarding Air Force One for the trip to Myrtle Beach, where hundreds of supporters filled a convention center arena.

"She's into the price of groceries, the price of food, the price of beef. It hasn't been her thing, but she's surrounded by very good people," Trump said at Joint Base Andrews. "She's going to do what the military wants, and, really, what the president wants."

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor who ran against Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has endorsed Norman and attacked Graham over the exchange.

"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," Haley wrote on X.

"I don't speak politician. I was just honest. And I think that's kind of a foreign concept," Graham told Fox News in a later interview.

Graham bested Norman 32.8% to 24.6% in this month's first round of voting, with U.S. Representative Russell Fry finishing third, and the runoff campaign has revolved around which candidate hews closest to Trump's agenda.

Trump, who carried South Carolina by 18 percentage points in 2024, has appeared at relatively few rallies this cycle, making Friday's event a notable investment of his political capital.

Her brother died suddenly in July from a heart issue, forcing a snap election to fill the seat.

Norman, a five-term congressman, mounted an unsuccessful bid for governor, finishing third in the June primary.

At the rally, Senator Tim Scott offered a full-throated case for Graham's candidacy.

"Darline Graham supports President Donald J. Trump every day on every major issue," Scott told the crowd.