President Trump urged South Carolina Republicans Friday to “pretend” he’s on the ballot in the state’s high-stakes Senate race, in an effort to harness his support among the MAGA faithful and propel Sen. Darline Graham to victory.
Speaking at a Myrtle Beach rally for Graham (R-SC), who is competing in next week’s GOP primary runoff election, Trump noted a “problem” she and other Republicans running in the midterms may face is that he’s not a candidate, which may discourage some his supporters from heading to the polls.
The president’s solution?
“What I really want you to do is pretend, please, that I’m on the ballot,” Trump urged voters. “Just come and vote. It’s so important.”
“So just say that I’m on the ballot, one more time, you got to say it, and you got to come out and vote.”
The president made the case that the South Carolina Senate race is indeed about him and his agenda, warning that South Carolina voters stand to “lose everything” if Graham isn’t elected to the Senate for a full term.
“You got to come out and vote,” Trump said, “because if we lose, you’re going to lose your border, you’re going to lose your tax cuts, you’re going to lose everything that we’ve done.”
“Think about no tax on tips, no tax on social security for our seniors, no tax on overtime – all of that’s going to be gone,” the president warned.
On top of that, Trump asserted that Democrats will move to impeach him if the party takes control of the House and Senate after the midterm elections.
“I’m going to be impeached. They’re going to impeach me. They have no idea why,” the president fumed
“You’re gonna lose all of your tax breaks. You’re gonna lose everything. So you have to get out of vote,” he added.
Trump spoke for more than an hour at the packed Myrtle Beach Convention Center, where video boards alternated between, “South Carolina is Trump Country” and “South Carolina is Graham Country.”
In keeping with old Trump campaign rally tradition, the president recited “The Snake,” a poem he uses as a parable to argue against illegal immigration.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who is stepping down from her role at the end of the month, Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Tim Scott (R-SC), Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC) and Graham were among the special guests the president brought up on stage during his speech.
In her remarks, Graham thanked the president for “the beautiful eulogy you gave at Lindsey’s service.”
“That meant the world to me,” she said. It was beautiful.”
“You were one of his closest friends. I hope you know that, and you will forever be part of the Graham family,” the senator added.
Graham was appointed to her late brother’s Senate seat — at Trump’s urging — on July 14 by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and is seeking a full six-year term.
She received 32.7% of the vote in the initial primary round of voting on Aug. 11, with Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) taking 24.6% and Fry coming in third with 19.7%.
Graham will take on Norman in the Palmetto State’s Aug. 25 Senate primary runoff election.
Trump had one more incentive to get voters out to the polls for the incumbent.
After noting that Myrtle Beach is “the home of 90 great golf courses,” he pledged to tee off with the top golfer in the city if Darline comes out on top in the election.
“I’ll make you a deal that if Darline wins, I’ll come down and play the best golfer in Myrtle Beach in a match. We’ll see who wins,” he said.
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