Trump to be joined by Graham, McMaster for South Carolina event

Former President Trump will be joined by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) at a Saturday campaign event in Pickens, S.C.

The early primary state, which Trump carried in the primary and general elections in 2016 and 2020, will host the former president and a slate of speakers to celebrate Independence Day.

Graham’s appearance comes as the senator has offered tepid criticism of Trump amid criminal investigations into him and even praised the candidacy of Tim Scott, his fellow GOP senator from South Carolina. However, Graham has endorsed the former president’s White House bid and earlier this month said the federal indictment against Trump makes his candidacy stronger.

Graham briefly ran against Trump in the 2016 primary and once called him a “race-baiting, xenophobic religious bigot.” He announced he would vote for neither Trump nor Hillary Clinton in 2016, but he backed Trump in 2020.

After the 2016 election, Graham was one of Trump’s fiercest supporters in the Senate, turning against him only briefly after the Jan. 6 insurrection.

South Carolina is a critical state in the GOP primary because it is home to two presidential candidates, Scott and former governor and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.

Primary polling shows Trump with a large lead over the packed GOP field, with Haley and Scott each receiving on average less than 5 percent support.

Trump endorsed McMaster in his primary race in 2018, after he took over for Haley as governor when she entered Trump’s administration.