Trump Defends Lindsey Graham Amid Crowd Boos

Former President Donald Trump defended Lindsey Graham after a mention of the senator drew boos from a crowd at a campaign stop in his home state of South Carolina.

Trump made an appearance in the Palmetto State on Monday as he continues his campaign for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. According to most polls, Trump is the overwhelming favorite to clinch it, frequently drawing around 50 percent support from likely Republican voters.

During a speech on Monday in Summerville, Trump took a moment to offer praise for the help he has received in the past from Graham, who has represented South Carolina in the U.S. Senate since 2003. As soon as Trump actually mentioned Graham by name, he was met with a hail of boos, prompting him to come to the senator's defense.

"Another man who's always there, I tell you what, when I need help on the left, he's great," Trump said. "And he's my friend, too, Lindsey Graham. Wherever you are, Lindsey, thank you."

After being cut off by boos, Trump countered: "Oh, no, no, he helps me on the left. We need help sometimes."

Newsweek reached out to Graham's office via email on Monday for comment.

The reason Graham may have elicited boos from his home state crowd is unclear but approval ratings might shed some light. According to a 2022 survey conducted in South Carolina by Winthrop University, 58 percent of the general public approved of Graham's performance, with the number being 65 percent among Republicans. While not particularly low, his number among GOP voters was notably lower than South Carolina's other senator, Republican Tim Scott, who received an 89 percent approval rating among Republicans.

In 2020, Graham defeated Democrat Jamie Harrison by 10 points to secure reelection, a solid performance after a strong campaign by Harrison had many keeping a close eye on the race. He will next seek reelection, potentially, in 2026, and already faces a potential primary challenge from Representative Ralph Norman, a prominent member of the further-right House Freedom Caucus who denounced Graham as "basically a liberal."

While he has frequently been a vocal defender of Trump, Graham has also on occasion been a strong critic. In the run-up to the 2016 election, he ripped Trump as xenophobic and famously warned that if the GOP nominated Trump for president, "we will get destroyed ... and we will deserve it." Graham also spoke out against Trump's pledge to pardon Capitol riot participants, to which Trump responded by calling the senator a "Republican in name only (RINO)."