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by MARK POWELL
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It’s the biggest plum a candidate can hope for: having the president of the United States stump for you on your home turf. And interim U.S. senator Darline Graham Nordone got it Friday evening in the Grand Strand.
With the twin trademarks of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” and exuberant chants of “USA! USA!” echoing off the walls, Trump strode to the podium shortly after 7:30 p.m. EDT. He proceeded to talk for the next hour and 19 minutes. But of all the topics he covered, the most interesting was the one he didn’t – specifically, the name he did not say.
The event followed the tried-and-true script of most of Trump’s signature rallies since 2022. A few words about the candidate he’s endorsed, a lengthy replaying of his greatest hits in office followed by an ominous verbal portrait of the nightmare to come should Democrats win; a few brief (always very brief) words from the endorsee and a few fellow Republican worthies, all capped off with a final plea to get out and vote.
And so it went Friday night.
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Trump has been in Nordone’s corner ever since the unexpected death of her brother, the late U.S. senator Lindsey Graham, on July 11, 2026. He posted on social media that she would seek the GOP nomination for a full six-year term shortly after governor Henry McMaster appointed her to serve the remaining five months of her brother’s term.
Trump’s endorsement has been Nordone’s key messaging point ever since. As a result, recent polling has shown that nearly the entire South Carolina Republican electorate (between 93% and 98% depending on the survey) knows that Nordone is Trump’s candidate. For the remaining handful of potential voters who didn’t know, he repeatedly drove home the point.
“I asked her to do this,” Trump said. “I said, ‘Darline, you gotta do it. Because everyone loves her, everyone respects her. I’ve known her through Lindsey. I think Lindsey respected Darlene more than any other person he knows, including me… We’re going to elect Sen. Darline Graham to fight, fight, fight for South Carolina, and to always put America first.”
“Henry appointed her because she was a perfect appointment to serve out the term,” Trump continued. “I said, ‘Henry, she should really run. She is fantastic. We all know it. And I said, Darline… I’d love to see you run beyond the five months that you’re serving. And you’ve already made an impact in the Senate. You know that? Everybody respects you. Everybody listens to her.”
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I was deeply honored when President Trump asked me to run for the United States Senate.
— Darline Graham (@DarlineGrahamSC) August 21, 2026
I’ll fight every day to deliver the America First agenda and put South Carolina families and values first. ?? pic.twitter.com/Nd9cw7Pno5
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In case anyone missed the point, Trump threw in for good measure that Nordone’s opponents were only fighting her “because they want me to lose.”
Congressman Russell Fry, who previously ran for this seat, and U.S. senator Tim Scott were also on hand to show their support for Nordone, along with McMaster, who formally endorsed her candidacy on Friday.
While Trump made his obligatory endorsement, the bulk of his remarks were directed at the upcoming midterm elections in November. Not surprisingly, he focused extensive energy addressing the ongoing affordability crisis.
“I got eggs down to lower than they were in my first term, and other things are coming down,” Trump said. “Beef is now coming down very rapidly. And as soon as we’re finished with the Islamic Republic of Iran, as soon as we’re finished, oil is gonna be down at lower than it was even just a little while ago.”
Trump also addressed the GOP hot button issue of men in women’s sports and transgender surgery for children.
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RELATED | AMERICA’S FISCAL IMPLOSION CONTINUES
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“Can you imagine twenty years ago that you’d have a president standing up saying, ‘we will not allow men to play in women’s sports?’” he said. “They’d say, ‘this guy’s crazy.’ And now it’s a battle. Can you believe it? Or that the transgender mutilation of your children would take place. Now, can you imagine saying that, like, twenty years ago, even 15 years ago?”
Trump also warned what to expect were Democrats to regain control of Congress
“They’re gonna impeach,” Trump said. “I’m gonna have to go through impeachment. These are lunatics. These are people that are vicious, violent. They’re weaponizing the justice system, the justice department, and they want to destroy our country. They want to see that our country fail.”
In fact, it was at that very moment when the only unscripted part of the evening occurred. One protester stood up and briefly interrupted the rally. News reports say hecklers chanted, “kill your local pedophile.” At least one person was escorted out of the building by authorities. Trump brushed aside the incident, saying,
“That’s all right,” he said. “That person’s going home to mom – going to get scolded, because mom is voting for us. Mom is on it.”
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Did not expect Trump to get heckled in South Carolina but here we are. pic.twitter.com/wTk5sJ0Ioz
— Acyn (@Acyn) August 21, 2026
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Arguably the most interesting thing about Friday evening’s rally is what Trump didn’t say. Famous for lambasting his political opponents in no uncertain terms, Trump has previously (and mostly privately) made clear he is no fan of congressman Ralph Norman – Nordone’s opponent in Tuesday’s runoff.
You wouldn’t have known that during his visit to the Grand Strand, though, as the president refused to criticize Norman – or even mention him by name.
The closest Trump came was saying, in passing, “if you put that other person in….”
At one point Trump did say, “So, Darline, I’ll say, I do not want Charlie to win.” Although it’s unclear if he meant Norman.
Still, the lack of a full-throated assault on Nordone’s opponent speaks volumes. Late polling shows an incredibly close race, with the lead seesawing between the two. Nordone’s staff may have worried that Trump’s torching of Norman – who has been under relentless attack for the past two weeks – might have backfired by rallying and motivating the opposition.
Or perhaps Trump – who famously hedged his bet during a recent runoff election in South Carolina – wanted to avoid alienating Norman in the event he prevails over his chose candidate?
Will Trump’s visit give Nordone the boost she needs to pull ahead of Norman in this extremely tight race? We’ll find out on Tuesday…
The winner of their head-to-head battle will face Democrat Annie Andrews, Libertarian Kasie Whitener, Constitution Party candidate Mark Hackett and several other independent candidates in the November 3, 2026 general election.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
J. Mark Powell is an award-winning former TV journalist, government communications veteran, and a political consultant. He is also an author and an avid Civil War enthusiast. Got a tip or a story idea for Mark? Email him at mark@fitsnews.com.
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