| | | | Here's why Lindsey Graham plays so nice with Trump |  | | No one has been a bigger convert on President Donald Trump than Lindsey Graham.
Way back in 2015, when the South Carolina senator was challenging the billionaire businessman for the Republican presidential nomination, Graham said this of Trump: "You know how you make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell." And, oh yeah, Graham also called Trump a "race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot."
Fast-forward to the here and now. "To every Republican, if you don't stand behind this President, we're not going to stand behind you," Graham said in South Carolina recently. "This is the defining moment of his presidency. It's not just about a wall. It's about him being treated different than any other president." (In 2017, Graham said he was "the happiest dude in America right now," adding: "We have got a President and a national security team that I've been dreaming of for eight years.")
Graham's 180-degree turn on Trump has been particularly pronounced of late, as he has carefully calibrated his responses to the President's attacks on the late John McCain -- Graham's best friend in the Senate. After taking heat for his lackluster original response to Trump's attacks, Graham was more full-throated in his response on Wednesday; "When it comes to criticizing Sen. McCain and his service, I think that's a huge mistake," Graham said of Trump.
On Thursday morning, we got hard evidence that proves a) why Graham is playing so nice with Trump and b) that it's working. A new Winthrop Poll shows that almost three in four Republicans and Republican leaners (74%) approve of the job that Graham is doing in the state. That's similar to Trump's 82% job approval rating among South Carolina Republicans in that same poll.
"Graham's approval has benefited from his defense of, and alignment with, President Trump," Winthrop Poll director Dr. Scott Huffmon said. "While Graham's numbers used to lag those of other Republicans among GOP identifiers, since he has taken up the President's banner on most every issue, his approval among Republicans in South Carolina has steadily risen."
Graham admitted that his embrace of Trump is politically motivated in an interview with The New York Times' Mark Leibovich. "If you don't want to get re-elected, you're in the wrong business," he said.
Graham is, undoubtedly, focused on his political future. He's up for re-election in 2020 and, unlike in his past fights for a new term, there don't appear to be significant conservative forces amassing to challenge him in next year's GOP primary.
The Point: You can dislike -- or even hate -- Graham's cozying up to Trump. But what you can't debate is this: It's working.
-- Chris | | "I love loans. I love other people's money."
-- President Donald Trump, making a joke during a White House event where he signed an executive order promoting free speech on college campuses. | | |  | Can we actually abolish the Electoral College? | | Elizabeth Warren isn't the first politician in recent years to call for an end to the Electoral College. But is it even possible?
One thing that is possible: Subscribing to The Point on YouTube. | | The 2020 Democratic field is about to get even bigger (and, no, this is not about Joe Biden)
AOC, Time cover girl
This is an amazing Roseanne Barr profile by Geoff Edgers
Bill Murray, basketball dad
"Riverdale" did a musical episode LOADED with Easter eggs
We could all use a "magic fridge"...
... and a scooter ride to nowhere in particular. | | | PSYCHED for the new The Head and the Heart record -- out May 17. Here's a taste; this song is called "Missed Connection." | | Former President Jimmy Carter is one day away from being the oldest living former president in American history.
At 94 years and 172 days old, Carter will pass the previous record held by the late President George H.W. Bush tomorrow.
Carter's life is already long and storied. He was the first president to be born in a hospital -- and has won the Nobel Peace Prize and three Grammys.
| | Michael Bennett: Is nearing a presidential announcement, sources close to the Colorado senator tell The Denver Post.
Amy Klobuchar: Declined to pursue charges against police involved in fatal encounters with black men as a Minnesota prosecutor, The Washington Post reports.
Joe Biden: Some of Biden's advisers are considering making Georgia's Stacey Abrams his out-of-the-gate VP pick, if he announces a presidential bid. The two met for lunch last week, though a shared ticket wasn't discussed.
John Hickenlooper: Wants to know why women aren't asked about bringing on male running mates -- an apparent joke that fell flat during his CNN town hall last night.
Seth Moulton: Is inching toward a presidential run -- and backing wholesale electoral reform.
John Delaney: Thinks a Republican like Larry Hogan or John Kasich should primary Donald Trump.
Cory Booker: Should marry his girlfriend Rosario Dawson at the White House, talk show Ellen DeGeneres said. | | Larry Hogan may run for president in 2020 -- and that might explain why the Maryland governor predicted the No. 10-seeded University of Iowa Hawkeyes advancing all the way to the final NCAA game in his March Madness bracket.
"Never say never," the Republican governor quipped on Twitter, along with a handwritten bracket. Hogan did, however, predict that his own University of Maryland's Terrapins would prevail as the ultimate victor over Iowa. | | | | | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment