2026-08-22T04:14:34.927Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/22/politics/donald-trump-darline-graham-south-carolina
南卡罗来纳州默特尔比奇——
“南卡罗来纳是格雷厄姆的地盘。”
默特尔比奇会议中心的标语牌上如此写道，周五，唐纳德·特朗普总统在此为已故好友、参议员林赛·格雷厄姆的妹妹达琳·格雷厄姆举行造势集会。
周二的共和党决选——在任命参议员达琳·格雷厄姆与众议员拉尔夫·诺曼之间展开——将考验特朗普背书的影响力。此前他支持的多位候选人在近期初选中铩羽而归，而即将到来的11月中期选举中，共和党正寄望于选民基本盘助力捍卫其国会多数席位。
选举 turnout 事关重大，特朗普深知自己的任务所在，他称赞格雷厄姆是“非常特别的人”，并邀请她参选其兄长的席位。
但他坦言，选民或许对中期选举提不起兴致，还鼓励他们干脆“假装”今年我也在参选名单上。
“我们面临的问题是，人们都说特朗普参选时表现绝佳。但当我不参选时，他的支持者就不会出来投票，也不会为参议员、众议员和其他共和党候选人投票，”总统说道。
“所以，我真正希望你们做的是，拜托了，假装我也在参选名单上，”他恳求道。
特朗普告诉在场民众，他此刻“心情极佳”，在演讲开场仅几分钟便祭出标志性的“拉扯话题”战术，大肆宣传一项几乎对南卡罗来纳州民众毫无益处的项目——他那座9万平方英尺的宴会厅，最高法院在周五早些时候的一项裁决中暂时允许他继续修建。
随后，特朗普重拾2016年竞选 trail 时的经典环节——朗读诗歌《蛇》，在他看来，这是一则关于非法移民的寓言。他似乎沉浸在这场红州竞选造势活动中。
“听着，现在是周五晚上。我们有的是时间，对吧？我还有什么事要做？回去再轰炸伊朗几下？”
他基本一笔带过美伊战争，将其描述为“一段小插曲”，同时将通货膨胀归咎于民主党，承诺汽油价格很快就会下跌，并声称自己的经济民调支持率“本该达到100%”（在最近的一项CNN民调中，65%的美国人表示他的政策加剧了经济困境）。
特朗普将矛头对准民主社会主义候选人，其中期选举信息愈发清晰。但他也抨击了老对手，如前总统乔·拜登和前国务卿希拉里·克林顿，以及该州前共和党州长妮基·黑利——他未点名，仅暗指其人。
但他始终围绕达琳·格雷厄姆展开，在80分钟的演讲中，她的名字被提及近50次。
尽管本周早些时候格雷厄姆在辩论中失言，称国家安全“不是我的专长”——这一幕甚至让部分支持者都感到尴尬——但特朗普仍全力支持她的参选。
“我看了那段发言。说实话，我觉得那是个非常诚实的回答，”特朗普在前往南卡罗来纳州的路上对记者表示。
而在数小时后的集会上，他通过对比格雷厄姆兄妹的长处为其辩护。
“她哥哥非常关注世界事务……他在这方面投入了大量精力。这没问题，挺好的。但她更关注民生负担能力。她关心我们拥有什么。一条面包要花多少钱，”特朗普说道，他还补充道，达琳·格雷厄姆也会将军事问题置于优先位置。
这场竞选在南卡罗来纳州共和党内部甚至特朗普的部分盟友中引发了分歧。幕后，特朗普团队清楚地意识到，此事干系重大，尤其是在他支持的部分候选人初选失利之后。
自8月11日初选排名第一以来，特朗普私下一直在为格雷厄姆打电话拉票，还至少致电两位对手，敦促他们背书格雷厄姆。在接到特朗普至少第二次电话后，众议员拉塞尔·弗莱表态支持格雷厄姆。前州长马克·桑福德周五宣布支持诺曼。
值得注意的是，特朗普周五并未点名或贬低诺曼，而是将这场竞选描述为在格雷厄姆与11月民主党获胜之间做出选择。
总统的背书已经打动了部分选民——或者至少让他们更仔细地审视了候选人。
“我原本不会投票给达琳，但后来我做了更多研究，在两位候选人中，我最支持她，”默特尔比奇的塔米·博廷告诉CNN。她补充道，特朗普的背书“促使我去深入了解，也让我认真考虑了她”。
居住在默特尔比奇地区、尚未做出决定的杰夫·罗斯认为，特朗普的背书“意义重大”。
“他支持的任何人似乎都进展顺利，”他说。
但罗斯的朋友伦纳德（仅愿意透露名字）则更为怀疑。“这里很多人都有独立思考能力，”他说，“他们会自己做决定。但我来这里是想听听她的主张。”
距离选举日仅两个多月，特朗普罕见地造访红州，他明确表示此行是出于私人情谊——既是为了已故好友，也是为了他自己。
“我这么做是为了纪念林赛。这就是我来这里的原因。我本不必在周五过来，我本不必来这里，”他说道，现场响起掌声。
而在政治资本押注其上的情况下，他最后再次呼吁自己的支持者群体到场投票。
“记住，人们又说了，特朗普能吸引大量选票，但如果他不在参选名单上，人们就不会那么积极投票。我现在在参选名单上。我们所有人都在参选名单上。”
CNN的帕特里克·斯维泰克和黛安·加拉赫为本报道贡献了内容。
With his political capital on the line, Trump rallies for Darline Graham in South Carolina
2026-08-22T04:14:34.927Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/22/politics/donald-trump-darline-graham-south-carolina
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina—
“South Carolina is Graham Country.”
So read the signs at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, where President Donald Trump rallied on Friday for the sister of his late friend, Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Tuesday’s Republican runoff — between appointed Sen. Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman — will test the power of Trump’s endorsement after several of his candidates have come up short in recent primaries and ahead of a November midterm election where the GOP is banking on the base to help defend its congressional majorities.
With turnout on the line, Trump understood his assignment, touting Graham as a “very special person” whom he asked to run for her brother’s seat.
But he conceded that voters may not be as enthused about a midterm election, encouraging them to just “pretend” he’s on the ballot this year.
“The problem that we have, is they say that Trump does great when he’s on the ballot. But when he’s not on the ballot, his people don’t come, and they don’t vote for senators, congressmen and other Republicans,” the president said.
“So, what I really want you to do is pretend, please, that I’m on the ballot,” he implored.
Trump told the crowd he was in a “very good mood,” employing his signature “weave” just minutes into his remarks to tout a project with little benefit to South Carolinians — his 90,000-square-foot ballroom, which the Supreme Court temporarily allowed him to continue building in an order earlier Friday.
Later, as Trump returned to a 2016 campaign trail classic — reading the poem “The Snake,” a parable, in his view, for illegal immigration — he seemed to be relishing the red-state campaign stop.
“Look, it’s a Friday night. We have plenty of time, right? What the hell do I have to do? Go back, bomb Iran a little bit more?”
He largely glossed over the US war with Iran, which he described as “a little detour,” as he blamed inflation on Democrats, promised gas prices will soon come down and claimed his economic poll numbers “should be at 100%” (in a recent CNN poll, 65% of Americans said his policies have worsened economic conditions).
Trump’s midterm message came into sharper relief as he took aim at democratic socialist candidates. But he also jabbed old rivals like former President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, along with the state’s former Republican Gov. Nikki Haley, whom he alluded to without her name.
But he kept coming back to Darline Graham, whom he named nearly 50 times over the 80-minute speech.
Despite a debate gaffe earlier this week in which Graham said national security is “not my thing” — a moment that’s caused even some of her supporters to cringe — Trump is all in on her candidacy.
“I watched that. I thought it was a very honest answer, actually,” he told reporters on his way to South Carolina.
And at the rally hours later, he defended her by painting a contrast between the Graham siblings’ strengths.
“Her brother was very much about the world. … He focused very much on that. That’s good. That’s fine. But she’s more about affordability. She’s about what we have. How much a loaf of bread is going to cost,” Trump said, adding that Darline Graham will also prioritize the military.
The race has driven divisions among South Carolina Republicans and even some of the president’s allies. And behind the scenes, Trump’s team is keenly aware that a lot is on the line, especially after some of his chosen candidates have failed to win their primaries.
Privately, Trump has worked the phones for Graham since her first-place finish in the August 11 primary, calling at least two of her opponents to push them to endorse her. After at least a second call from Trump, Rep. Russell Fry threw his support behind Graham. Former Gov. Mark Sanford announced Friday he’s supporting Norman.
Notably, Trump did not name or disparage Norman on Friday, instead casting the race as a choice between Graham and Democratic victory in November.
The president’s endorsement had already swayed some voters — or at least made them take a closer look.
“I wasn’t voting for Darline originally, but then I did a little more research, and between the two candidates, I like her the best,” Tammy Botting of Myrtle Beach told CNN. Trump’s endorsement, she added, “made me go and investigate and made me think about her.”
For Jeff Ross, who lives in the Myrtle Beach area and remains undecided, Trump’s endorsement makes a “big difference.”
“Anybody that he backs seems to do very well,” he said.
But Ross’ friend Leonard, who would only share his first name, was more skeptical. “A lot of people here are free thinkers,” he said, “and they’re going to make up their own minds. But I came here to hear what she had to say.”
Trump, making a rare red-state swing a little more than two months before Election Day, made clear this trip was personal — both for his late friend and himself.
“I’m doing this to honor Lindsey. That’s why I’m here. I don’t have to be here on a Friday. I don’t have to be here,” he said to applause.
And with his political capital on the line, he ended with another appeal to his coalition to show up.
“And remember, they say, again, that Trump gets a lot of votes, but if he’s not on the ballot, people don’t vote so much. I am on the ballot. We’re all on the ballot.”
CNN’s Patrick Svitek and Dianne Gallagher contributed to this report.