President Donald Trump has a solution for supporters who say GOP candidates only do great when he’s on the ballot — pretend he’s on it this November.
Trump told MAGA supporters at a rally Friday night to think beyond his endorsed candidates and imagine that he is listed as a candidate when they vote in this year’s midterm elections.
The pitch was made in South Carolina on Friday evening at a rally in support of Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC). She is running in a Republican runoff for a six-year term after filling the vacant seat of her brother Lindsey Graham (R-SC) who died suddenly July 11 of a heart condition.
“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,” Trump told the crowd.
He continued, “So what I really want you to do is pretend, please, that I’m on the ballot! Just come and vote. It’s so important.”
Trump suggested the MAGA faithful also take that approach everywhere, saying, “We have to get Darline and other people elected,” according to coverage of the event by NBC News and other outlets.
An hour later, the president punctuated the point again near the end of his remarks, telling voters to keep him in mind in the voting booth.
“I am on the ballot. We’re all on the ballot. Our country’s on the ballot,” Trump said.
NBC appeared to dismiss Trump’s influence in previous primaries, reporting:
That message to supporters comes as six of Trump’s endorsed candidates failed to earn the Republican nomination in their respective primaries for House or governor this month. Before August, only three Trump-backed candidates lost their bids in those contests this year.
The president’s endorsement of Graham for a full six-year term did not secure her a majority of the vote in the initial primary, and some of Trump’s supporters at Friday’s rally told NBC News they still had reservations about her following a poor debate performance on Tuesday.
Graham is running against Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) for the right to advance to the general election, which a Republican is expected to win following her brother’s 23 years holding that senate seat.
Questions about Graham’s performance revolved around her failure to answer a national security question about Taiwan and China, admitting that subject was not her strong point.
During his nearly 90 minutes onstage Friday, Trump never mentioned Norman, according to the NBC report.
Breitbart contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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