Trump Rallies for Darline Graham in Myrtle Beach Ahead of South Carolina Senate Runoff
President Trump held a campaign rally at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center on Friday, August 21, urging voters to support Republican Senate candidate Darline Graham ahead of a Tuesday runoff against Rep. Ralph Norman. Trump asked supporters to "pretend, please, that I'm on the ballot" as a way to drive turnout. A protester interrupted the rally at approximately 7:28 p.m. and was escorted out by police and convention center staff.
Trump traveled to Myrtle Beach for a campaign rally on behalf of Darline Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, who represented South Carolina in Congress for 31 years. Trump said he personally encouraged Darline Graham to run and pushed for her appointment to fill out the remainder of her brother's term. Graham joined Trump onstage, thanked him for his endorsement, and invoked his friendship with her late brother.
Trump pitched Graham to voters as an extension of his own agenda, touting her support for lower taxes, the Second Amendment, and the military. "With your support, Darline will defend common sense in our nation's capital," Trump said. He also warned that Democrats would investigate and impeach him if Republicans lost control of Congress in the midterms. Gov. Henry McMaster endorsed Graham ahead of the rally, according to Politico.
The rally came against a backdrop of scrutiny over Graham's qualifications. According to Politico, a debate exchange in which Graham said "national security is not my thing" drew criticism from Republicans inside and outside South Carolina, including former Gov. Nikki Haley, a Norman supporter, and former Gov. Mark Sanford, who endorsed Norman the same day as the rally. Speaking before Trump, Graham addressed the criticism by comparing herself to Trump before his 2016 run: "The critics say I shouldn't run for the senate. They say I'm not a politician. You know what I say? Guilty as charged."