Sen. Lindsey Graham on Sunday implored former President Donald Trump to stick to policies, not pretensions, in order to win this election.
Sen. Graham (R-SC) echoed comments made by former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley last week, urging Trump to focus on serious policy discussions instead of personally attacking his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
“President Trump can win this election. His policies are good for America, and if there’s a presidential policy debate, he’ll win it,” Graham said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Donald Trump, the provocateur and the showman, may not win this election.”
“I expect President Trump to emerge in his final 80 days and make it clear what he’s going to do for our country to fix our broken border and get inflation under control,” Graham continued.
The senators stressed that forcing Harris to defend her record as vice president would put Democrats in a tough position.
“Harris’ nightmare will be having to defend her policy choices,” Graham surmised. “Any day that we’re not talking about her policy choices as vice president or what she would do as president is a good day for her and a bad day for us.”
“Policy is the key to the White House.”
Last week, Haley, Trump’s final rival in the 2024 Republican primary, publicly warned that the 45th president, who has attacked Harris’ racial identity and appearance, needed to “seriously change course” and “focus” more on issues closer to home.
The Palmetto State senator stressed that Republican leaders, even those who criticize Trump’s heavy-handed tactics and freewheeling style of politics, “should actually be campaigning for him, not just advising him.”
“Me and Nikki have to go to Georgia. We’re on TV advising President Trump,” he said on “Meet the Press,” referring to other candidates including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R). “Let’s get together and actually campaign for this guy.”
Other Trump allies, including former White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, have also urged the president that the secret to winning is “fewer insults, more insight and more policy contrasts.”
Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance took particular notice of Haley’s criticism.
“I think Ambassador Haley is right that we have to appeal to a broader range of voters, and I think that’s exactly what we’re doing,” Vance told “Fox News Sunday.”
“We have made a very simple argument that when Kamala Harris became president or vice president, she implemented policies that led to skyrocketing inflation and increased unrest around the world,” he added.
Trump Also shown He said he would be “happy” to have Haley campaign for him.
