As the results of the Republican primary in South Carolina came in, everyone on Team Trump appeared to be having fun, sharing laughs, and reveling in defeating Nikki Haley in her home state.
Everyone except Lindsey Graham, who received a surprising reaction from the crowd when he took the mic to praise Trump.
The senator, a staunch supporter of Trump for many years, faced a contentious reception when Trump invited him on stage following his decisive win over opponent Nikki Haley in the GOP presidential primary.
Trump, in introducing the senator, said he calls Graham when he’s in “trouble on the left.”
“He doesn’t do too much television,” Trump joked. “He happens to be a little bit further left than some of the people on this stage. But I always say when I’m in trouble on the left, I call up Lindsey Graham, and he straightens it out.”
Graham then took to the mic, at which point he was booed loudly during his brief remarks.
“This is the most qualified man to be president [of the] United States,” Graham said. “And let it be said that South Carolina created the biggest political comeback in American history.”
In 2016, Graham ran against Trump for president, but after dropping out he became a vocal defender of the former president during his administration. He played a key role in the appointment of three conservative justices to the Supreme Court.
Axios noted that “after the Jan. 6 insurrection, Graham said from the Senate floor that he and Trump had ‘a hell of a journey,’ adding, ‘Count me out. Enough is enough.”
During the mobbing of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, Graham allegedly called for using the 25th Amendment against Trump. The amendment enables the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to submit a written declaration to the Senate and Congress, asserting the president’s incapacity to fulfill their duties. This action grants the vice president the authority to temporarily assume the role of acting president.
He later voted to acquit Trump during his second impeachment trial and has since publicly aligned himself with the former president.
Graham easily defeated the current national chairman of the Democratic Party in his re-election race in 2020.
