During a recent event, President Trump used a derogatory term directed at Annie Andrews, the Democratic candidate for the Senate in South Carolina, while encouraging voters in the state to support the Republican incumbent, Darline Graham Nordone, in the upcoming election.
In a post on Truth Social, he stated, “Annie ‘Trannie’ Andrews is running against our wonderful Darline Graham for the Senate in South Carolina.” This comes in the wake of Graham being appointed to fill the seat of her brother, the late Senator Lindsey Graham, who passed away in July.
Trump continued to use the slur, asserting: “Darline is a High Quality person, maybe the Highest, and Annie Trannie is not, particularly when it comes to representing the Values of the Great People of South Carolina — She supports Transgender rights for all, Open Borders, defunding the Police, imposing High Taxes, promoting a Weak Military, and she will definitely attempt to take your guns away — In other words, she is against our Great Second Amendment!”
He further emphasized that “Trannie is not for South Carolina, and South Carolina must show, in the upcoming Election, that it is not for her.”
Andrews, a pediatrician who is not transgender, is seen as an underdog in her campaign to be the first Democrat elected to the Senate from South Carolina since 1998. Interestingly, recent polling from RealClearPolitics shows Graham leading by a slim margin of just 2.4 percentage points in the sparsely polled race.
In response to Trump’s comments, Andrews took to X but did not address the insults directly. Instead, she shared her reasons for running, stating: “As a mom and a pediatrician, I’m in this race to fight for my patients, my three kids, and South Carolina. I’m going to work with anyone to put South Carolina first because lowering costs and improving life for families across our state requires all of us working together.”
Andrews added, “If you care more about your bills than the politics in Washington, this campaign is for you.”
Former South Carolina Governor David Beasley described Trump’s remarks as “abhorrent,” criticizing them for promoting a negative kind of politics. He stated, “Elections don’t have to be about cruelty and lies. South Carolina deserves better. I urge voters to evaluate candidates based on their merits and vote accordingly. We must reject a divisive and hateful approach to politics. While it’s natural for South Carolinians to have differing opinions, we can engage in civil discourse with the intention of improving our communities and the well-being of our families.”
