Even though Donald Trump is no longer president, GOP. Sen. Lindsey Graham continues to brown-nose him, telling Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday evening that the Republican Party belongs to Trump and that the former president has “allowed me to be in his world,” Newsweek [1] reports.
And, he told Hannity, he’d just gotten off the phone with Trump.
“I actually like President Trump, he’s been very nice to me, he’s allowed me to be in his world, he allows me to give my two cents worth on issues when he was president,” he said.
But that’s not all, according to Graham.
“This is his party. If you don’t get that, you missed a lot at [the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC)].”
Lindsey Graham: I actually like President Trump. He has been very nice to me. He’s allowed me to be in his world… pic.twitter.com/YOiDWJeBtz [2]
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 2, 2021 [3]
At the conference Sunday, Trump ripped President Joe Biden’s policies and said he intended to promote his Make America Great Again movement and hinted he may run for president again in 2024. Of course, he included a subtle gripe without actually directly mentioning the “stolen election” but hinting at it (ha-ha.)
“Actually you know they just lost the White House, I may even decide to beat them for a third time,” Trump told the audience.
Trump also said he plans to remain in the Republican Party and said that speculation about him starting another party was “fake news.”
During the interview, Graham said something that’s rather scary, and we hope wrong. As one of Trump’s closest political allies, the South Carolina senator said he believed “no one” would be able to take the Republican Party nomination away from him if he decides to run again.
“I think he’s got a damn good chance of being reelected again based on what the Democrats are doing to the country,” he told Hannity.
I have no idea what Graham thinks Democrats are “doing” to the country. Trump, however, declared during his speech that Biden’s first month in office has been “disastrous.”
He can say that all he wants, but Biden’s approval ratings suggest people don’t think his first month has been disastrous. As Newsweek [4] reports here, it’s been quite steady.
And now Graham is saying that Republicans had better gear up and send their best and brightest into the 2022 midterm elections, because, he added, these elections are the next biggest hurdle Trump will have to deal with.
“Let’s make sure we have our best candidates on the field, let’s don’t have primaries of people who’ve been good Republican conservatives, let’s unite,” he told Hannity. “That sets the stage for a 2024 comeback.”
This means Democrats had better pay attention. I thought it was a foregone conclusion that Hillary Clinton would win the 2016 election. Heck, a lot of us thought that, and look what happened. A Newsweek/Suffolk poll conducted last week shows 46 percent of Trump’s supporters said they would leave the Republican Party to join any new party Trump forms if he decides to do this. Sure, he says he’s not right now, but the future can be a nebulous prospect, especially when it comes to Trump.
All I’m saying is the Democrats will need to stay on their toes. And I still can’t help but wonder what the hell is wrong with Lindsey Graham.
Lindsey Graham: I actually like President Trump. He has been very nice to me. He’s allowed me to be in his world… pic.twitter.com/YOiDWJeBtz [2]
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 2, 2021 [3]