As he stumped for former President Donald Trump at a rally in his home state of South Carolina Saturday, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham faced an onslaught of boos, with supporters giving him a thumbs down as he left the stage. Graham has faced criticism from Trump supporters for his position on a number of issues.
Reportedly, Graham spoke for about five minutes at the rally, and was booed when he first took the stage. Graham paused once at the podium, because the booing was drowning out what he had to say. Trying to break up the moment, he said-
"Welcome to Pickens. … Thanks a bunch,"…"Well, you wanna find something in common?" [Graham continued] "Calm down for just a second. I think you'll like this. Pickens County has more Medal of Honor winners per capita than any place in the nation. I was born in this county. I live 15 miles down the road."…"This is a place where people pay the taxes, fight the wars and tell you what they believe," [then asking over the booing] "How many of you believe that Donald Trump was a great president?"… "Without Donald Trump, there are no Donald Trump policies," adding "He did something nobody else could do."
-Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham
To soft booing from the crowd, Graham told the crowd of Trump supporters in Pickens, South Carolina-
"Let me tell you how you win an election, folks,"…”You get people together that don't agree all of the time to agree on the most important things."… "My hope is we can bring this party together 'cause he's gonna be our nominee," and…"He will be the nominee of the Republican Party, and let me tell you what's at stake.
If they win in 2024, they're gonna pack the Supreme Court. So we need to get off our butts and make sure Donald Trump wins. If they win in 2024… Puerto Rico and D.C. will be states. Four Democrats for the rest of our lifetime. They'll abolish the electoral college, they will turn this nation upside down."
And he added…"There's one person running for president as a Republican that has the ability to change this country. It is Donald J. Trump. He did it once, he can do it again,". "I'm gonna help him all over this country, and folks, I am from South Carolina. He is gonna win South Carolina. This is the pathway to the presidency. God bless you all. God bless President Trump. God bless America."
-Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham
The crowd cheered at Graham's remarks about Trump, but resumed shouting down the senator and his remarks. When he had finished speaking, Graham paced to the left of the stage and exited among a roaring crowd of upset Trump supporters, who continued to boo the senator, giving him a thumbs down.
Trump attempted to rally support for the senator, when he took the stage, a short time after Graham's comments….He told his supporters,
"We're gonna love him." [Trump said] "I know, it's half-and-half. But when I need some of those liberal votes, he's always there to help me get 'em, okay?" …"We got some pretty liberal people, but he's good," [Trump added] "We know the good ones. We know the bad ones, too."
-Former President Donald Trump
Some of the discontent has been related to the fact that Graham is a part of the Republican “old-guard”, and comments he made following the outcome of the 2020 election. Additionally, his position on the Russia-Ukraine war, which has been ongoing for well over a year, has also not been popular among hardcore conservatives and Trump supporters. Trump will likely have to reassure his supporters that he’s willing to work with those he doesn’t exactly align with to put America first.
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