U.S. President Donald Trump urged South Carolina voters to “pretend” that he is on the ballot and support his candidate, Darline Graham, in the Republican Party primary. Bloomberg writes about this, reports UNN.
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Trump made the statement during a rally in Myrtle Beach on Friday. He explained that without his name on the ballot, some of his supporters might not turn out to vote for candidates for Congress.
They say Trump does extremely well when he is on the ballot, but when he is not on the ballot, his people do not come and vote for senators and congressmen. So I really want you to please pretend that I am on the ballot. Just come and vote
Graham is trying to stay in the race
Darline Graham, the sister of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, is running in the second round of the Republican primary against Congressman Ralph Norman. The winner will have a strong chance of defeating Democrat Annie Andrews in the general election.
The 62-year-old Graham has never previously held elected office. She was appointed to serve out the remainder of her brother’s term in the Senate, but was unable to win a special primary held in early August. Her position was further weakened by a poor debate performance, during which she said, among other things, that she was not sufficiently knowledgeable about national security issues.
After the debate, Trump publicly endorsed Graham and said that she was “very smart and honest.” According to him, the candidate supports the military and will work on issues important to his administration.
At the same time, Norman has one of the most conservative voting records in Congress. He previously supported Trump, but during the 2024 Republican presidential primary, he backed Nikki Haley. He later supported Trump again.
The U.S. midterm elections will take place in November. Republicans are trying to retain control of the House of Representatives and the Senate, while Trump will not appear on the ballots. At the same time, his approval ratings have declined amid voter dissatisfaction with economic policy and the war in Iran.
Trump's approval rating has fallen to the lowest level of his presidency18.08.26, 02:58