The Graham Endorsement - an Explanation
Donald Trump’s endorsement of Lindsey Graham should be taken with a grain of salt.
Last year, I wrote an article entitled “Trump’s Bad Endorsements” (5/20/24), which can be viewed on Brooklyniteontheright.com. At the time, I was supporting a potential freedom caucus candidate in a state house race, in which the incumbent voted conservatively somewhere between 17% and 25% of the time. There were democrats with better ratings than her. But the reality was that she is a democrat. She worked for Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016, was a member of a democrat women’s group in Myrtle Beach, and voted that way many times before. When they created our new district at the time, she conveniently changed her affiliation to “republican,” wiped any online evidence of what she had been involved with in the past, and became the chamber’s rubber stamp. I was knocking on doors with her far more conservative primary opponent, knocking on doors with her, engaging constituents, and doing whatever else I could to help her. However, we were up against the machine. Our fake republican opponent received over $200,000 of corrupt money from the chamber and several PACs who had no interest in conservatives being elected. In the end, my candidate lost by a 2-to-1 margin. She ran a great campaign and had nothing to be ashamed of, but the bigger picture of the state of South Carolina is that this type of stuff happens across the state. We only turn out 40% conservative legislation in a state perceived by outsiders to be blazing red. The people are, but with most of the politicians, it is merely a façade, and their exposure is enough to get to the people to vote for the candidate they saw on a billboard, or the one who could afford to send 19 mailings over the course of two months. Too many people move down here and tune out. The “R” after someone’s name is enough for most people, but it should not be. Few of them actually do the research and see how these people vote. If they did, they’d realize these false “Rs” do not truly represent them or their interests.
During last year’s campaign, President Trump released an endorsement list for South Carolina’s state house and Senate, and most of the names on that list were the aforementioned fake republicans. He personally does not have time to vet all these people, so he lets the wrong people get in his ear. And recently, he’s done it again, this time on a much larger scale, by endorsing Lindsey Graham, a warmongering 30 year career politician, for U.S. Senate. Trump and Graham have had their spats over the years. Those are detailed in my last article supporting one of his primary opponents, Mark Lynch. One thing I failed to mention is that Graham tried to talk Trump out of selecting J.D. Vance as his running mate. It seems that every time his name makes headlines, he’s doing something to undermine Donald Trump, and yet, Trump still endorsed him.
While reflecting on why Trump made this bad endorsement, I thought back to one of the greatest movies of all time, the Godfather. In part 2, one of the most memorable lines was “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.” I think deep down, Trump knows Lindsey is not his friend. He is not loyal, and would snap like a twig given the slightest opposition. History has proven this. Another possible explanation I’ve heard is that the endorsement came because Graham currently holds office, and can whip up votes for Trump in the Senate, where the Republican Party has a small majority. Certainly would explain a few things.
In short, President Trump, as much as I support him and love the things his administration is doing, is certainly capable of making bad endorsements and has done so frequently. They must be taken with a grain of salt.