Sen. Darline Graham, South Carolina Republican, is working to move past a rocky debate performance in which she admitted she isn’t well-versed on national security, telling Fox News’ Sean Hannity this week that she was simply being candid with voters.
“I don’t speak politician. I was just honest,” Ms. Graham told Mr. Hannity in a Wednesday appearance on “Hannity,” a night after facing criticism for her response to a question about Taiwan and the South China Sea.
The senator, who was appointed to fill the seat of her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, ran into trouble during Tuesday’s Senate primary runoff debate against Rep. Ralph Norman, South Carolina Republican, when Newsmax moderator Greta Van Susteren asked the candidates whether Taiwan and the South China Sea posed national security concerns for the U.S. Ms. Graham responded that “national security is not my thing, not my area of expertise,” though she added that she supports the military.
The answer drew swift pushback from Republicans, including former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who is backing Mr. Norman in the race. Ms. Haley wrote on X that foreign policy know-how “is not something you inherit,” pointedly contrasting Ms. Graham with her brother, a longtime foreign policy hawk.
On Mr. Hannity’s program, the host suggested most Americans likely couldn’t locate Taiwan on a map either, telling Ms. Graham he doubted many people nationwide could pick it out if handed one. Ms. Graham agreed and pivoted to what she described as more pressing concerns for South Carolinians, saying voters she spoke with after the debate were focused on the economy, the Second Amendment, illegal immigration and the SAVE America Act — plus, she said, transgender athletes in girls’ sports, an issue she said one voter raised with her at length.
Asked earlier in the week whether her admitted gap in national security knowledge undercut her credibility, Ms. Graham Nordone told reporters, “I’m smart. Yes, I’ll learn. I’ll become informed.”
Despite the backlash, Ms. Graham still has considerable establishment support heading into Tuesday’s runoff. Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, Wyoming Republican, campaigned for her in South Carolina on Thursday, and President Trump — who has endorsed her — is scheduled to headline a Myrtle Beach rally on her behalf Friday.
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