Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (CNN) — “South Carolina is Graham Country.”
So read the signs at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, where President Donald Trump rallied on Friday for the sister of his late friend, Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Tuesday’s Republican runoff — between appointed Sen. Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman — will test the power of Trump’s endorsement after several of his candidates have come up short in recent primaries and ahead of a November midterm election where the GOP is banking on the base to help defend its congressional majorities.
With turnout on the line, Trump understood his assignment, touting Graham as a “very special person” whom he asked to run for her brother’s seat.
But he conceded that voters may not be as enthused about a midterm election, encouraging them to just “pretend” he’s on the ballot this year.
“The problem that we have, is they say that Trump does great when he’s on the ballot. But when he’s not on the ballot, his people don’t come, and they don’t vote for senators, congressmen and other Republicans,” the president said.
“So, what I really want you to do is pretend, please, that I’m on the ballot,” he implored.
Trump told the crowd he was in a “very good mood,” employing his signature “weave” just minutes into his remarks to tout a project with little benefit to South Carolinians — his 90,000-square-foot ballroom, which the Supreme Court temporarily allowed him to continue building in an order earlier Friday.
Later, as Trump returned to a 2016 campaign trail classic — reading the poem “The Snake,” a parable, in his view, for illegal immigration — he seemed to be relishing the red-state campaign stop.
“Look, it’s a Friday night. We have plenty of time, right? What the hell do I have to do? Go back, bomb Iran a little bit more?”
He largely glossed over the US war with Iran, which he described as “a little detour,” as he blamed inflation on Democrats, promised gas prices will soon come down and claimed his economic poll numbers “should be at 100%” (in a recent CNN poll, 65% of Americans said his policies have worsened economic conditions).
Trump’s midterm message came into sharper relief as he took aim at democratic socialist candidates. But he also jabbed old rivals like former President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, along with the state’s former Republican Gov. Nikki Haley, whom he alluded to without her name.
But he kept coming back to Darline Graham, whom he named nearly 50 times over the 80-minute speech.
Despite a debate gaffe earlier this week in which Graham said national security is “not my thing” — a moment that’s caused even some of her supporters to cringe — Trump is all in on her candidacy.
“I watched that. I thought it was a very honest answer, actually,” he told reporters on his way to South Carolina.
And at the rally hours later, he defended her by painting a contrast between the Graham siblings’ strengths.
“Her brother was very much about the world. … He focused very much on that. That’s good. That’s fine. But she’s more about affordability. She’s about what we have. How much a loaf of bread is going to cost,” Trump said, adding that Darline Graham will also prioritize the military.
The race has driven divisions among South Carolina Republicans and even some of the president’s allies. And behind the scenes, Trump’s team is keenly aware that a lot is on the line, especially after some of his chosen candidates have failed to win their primaries.
Privately, Trump has worked the phones for Graham since her first-place finish in the August 11 primary, calling at least two of her opponents to push them to endorse her. After at least a second call from Trump, Rep. Russell Fry threw his support behind Graham. Former Gov. Mark Sanford announced Friday he’s supporting Norman.
Notably, Trump did not name or disparage Norman on Friday, instead casting the race as a choice between Graham and Democratic victory in November.
The president’s endorsement had already swayed some voters — or at least made them take a closer look.
“I wasn’t voting for Darline originally, but then I did a little more research, and between the two candidates, I like her the best,” Tammy Botting of Myrtle Beach told CNN. Trump’s endorsement, she added, “made me go and investigate and made me think about her.”
For Jeff Ross, who lives in the Myrtle Beach area and remains undecided, Trump’s endorsement makes a “big difference.”
“Anybody that he backs seems to do very well,” he said.
But Ross’ friend Leonard, who would only share his first name, was more skeptical. “A lot of people here are free thinkers,” he said, “and they’re going to make up their own minds. But I came here to hear what she had to say.”
Trump, making a rare red-state swing a little more than two months before Election Day, made clear this trip was personal — both for his late friend and himself.
“I’m doing this to honor Lindsey. That’s why I’m here. I don’t have to be here on a Friday. I don’t have to be here,” he said to applause.
And with his political capital on the line, he ended with another appeal to his coalition to show up.
“And remember, they say, again, that Trump gets a lot of votes, but if he’s not on the ballot, people don’t vote so much. I am on the ballot. We’re all on the ballot.”
The-CNN-Wire
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