Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said Sunday he agrees with former 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley that former President Trump should focus more on policy, but he has encouraged her to accompany him on campaign tours rather than advising him on national television.
Speaking on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Graham said he agreed with former Governor Haley, who said in a recent Fox News interview that the Trump campaign “cannot win” by talking about “what race Kamala Harris is” or “whether she’s stupid,” adding, “This is a winnable election, but we need to be focused.”
“Well, I don’t think Vice President Harris is crazy. I think she’s the most liberal person ever nominated for president in the history of the United States. She’s trying to emulate the Soviet Union,” Graham said when asked if he agreed with Haley’s recent assessment.
“So I make it a policy issue. Harris’ nightmare is having to defend her policy choices,” Graham said. “Every day that we’re not talking about her policy choices as vice president or what she would do if she were president is a good day for her and a bad day for us.”
When pressed specifically about that point in the interview, Graham said he agreed with Haley that Trump should stop talking about Harris’ race and intelligence, but then shifted the conversation to inviting Haley to tag along on campaign trips.
“Well, my view is that Nikki and I need to go to Georgia. We’re on TV advising President Trump. He has a lot of critics. He has a lot of advisers, but Nikki Haley and [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis and [Virginia Gov. Glenn] “Mr Youngkin and our fine colleagues, let’s not just give advice, let’s get together and actually campaign for him,” Graham said.
“But as a word of advice, I would say,” Graham continued, “Donald Trump, President Trump, can win this election. His policies are good for America. If you have a policy debate on the presidential election, he will win. Donald Trump, the provocateur, the showman, may not win this election.”
Graham said he wants Trump to “emerge in the final 80 days” and outline a plan to address issues such as inflation, the southern border and high prices.
“My focus is policy. Policy is key to the White House,” Graham said.
