Trump Backs Key GOP Senator In His Re-Election Bid
President Donald J. Trump has once again weighed in with one of the most powerful endorsements in Republican politics, this time throwing his full support behind Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
On Friday, President Trump endorsed Graham in a Truth Social post, praising the senator for advancing the SAVE America Act and urging South Carolina Republicans to back him in the June 9 primary.
President Trump wrote:
I’d like to thank our GREAT Senator, Lindsey Graham, for putting up THE SAVE AMERICA ACT for a Vote today. It states that:
- ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW PHOTO I.D. (IDENTIFICATION!).
- ALL VOTERS MUST SHOW PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP.
- NO MAIL-IN BALLOTS (EXCEPT FOR ILLNESS, DISABILITY, MILITARY, OR TRAVEL!).
- NO MEN IN WOMEN’S SPORTS.
- NO TRANSGENDER MUTILIZATION SURGERY FOR OUR CHILDREN.
This Tuesday, June 9th, all Republicans in South Carolina should vote for Lindsey Graham — HE HAS MY COMPLETE AND TOTAL ENDORSEMENT, AND WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!
The endorsement is a major boost for Graham, who has become one of President Trump’s most dependable Senate allies on several key issues, including judicial nominations, border security, foreign policy, and election integrity.
Graham’s relationship with Trump has changed dramatically over the years. Once one of Trump’s sharpest Republican critics, Graham has since become one of the president’s most visible defenders in the Senate and a frequent advocate for the administration’s priorities.
In South Carolina, where Trump remains a dominant force among Republican voters, the endorsement is likely to carry enormous weight. For many GOP primary voters, President Trump’s backing serves as a clear signal about which candidate he believes will best support his America First agenda in Washington.
After receiving the endorsement, Graham thanked Trump in a post on X.
“Mr. President, I was honored to lead the charge to pass the SAVE America Act, one of the most consequential pieces of legislation you and your team have created,” he said.
“Again Mr. President, thank you for your support and endorsement of my reelection,” he added.
Still, Graham is facing criticism from some America First voices who argue that his foreign policy record remains out of step with the base.
Former Trump counterterrorism chief Joe Kent announced Friday that he was backing Graham’s Republican primary challenger, Mark Lynch. Kent sharply criticized Graham, calling him a “war hawk, neocon.”
South Carolinians who would like to “stop sending billions of dollars overseas” and “stop us from getting entangled in endless foreign wars in the Middle East,” have the opportunity “to do all of us a great service and vote to get Lindsey Graham out of office this Tuesday, June 9th,” Kent said in a video he posted on Thursday, per Fox News.
“Vote for Mark Lynch,” Kent urged, calling Lynch “the America First candidate” and asserting that Lynch “is the best postured right now to get the war hawk, neocon, Lindsey Graham out of office.”
Graham’s campaign fired back quickly.
Abby Zilch, Graham’s campaign press secretary, criticized Kent and sought to tie Lynch to figures who have clashed with Trump.
“Mark Lynch is touting an endorsement from a man that President Trump called a ‘SLEAZEBAG,’ ‘LEAKER,’ and a ‘LOSER,'” Zilch said.
“This is to be expected since Lynch wants ‘more Massies’ in Congress,” Zilch wrote.
Zilch also pointed to Graham’s broad coalition of conservative endorsements.
“Senator Graham is proud to have the complete and total endorsements of President Trump, Governor McMaster, Senator Tim Scott, Congressman Russell Fry, Congressman Joe Wilson, Congressman William Timmons, National Right to Life, SC Citizens for Life, Tea Party Express, and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America,” she said.
Lynch, however, defended Kent and welcomed his support.
“Joe Kent is an honorable man who has dedicated his life to serving this country. He also lost his wife, Shannon Kent, the mother of his two young children,” he said.
“She was a Senior Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy and was killed in Syria in a 2019 terrorist attack,” Lynch continued, via Fox.
“Joe Kent is a patriot, and I am honored to have his endorsement, along with the support of many great American patriots, including Gregory Bovino, [former] Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s El Centro Sector; Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn; the National Association for Gun Rights; Equal Protection South Carolina; Abby Johnson, former Planned Parenthood director and pro-life advocate; Republicans for National Renewal; South Carolina State Reps. Thomas Beach, Joe White, Jay Kilmartin, Mike Burns, & Ryan McCabe,” Lynch added.
The race now highlights a familiar debate inside the modern Republican Party: loyalty to President Trump’s endorsed candidates versus grassroots frustration over foreign policy, government spending, and the direction of Washington’s Republican establishment.
For Graham, President Trump’s endorsement may be the defining advantage. For Lynch and his supporters, the closing argument is that South Carolina voters should demand a more aggressive America First alternative.
But with Trump’s “complete and total endorsement” now on the table, Graham enters the final stretch with the most influential voice in Republican politics firmly behind him.