Lindsey Graham’s sister has been cornered on her embarrassing debate flop, where she spectacularly fumbled an easy question.
Darline Graham, 62, backed by President Donald Trump, was parachuted in to fill the void left by her late brother after he suddenly died in early July. On Tuesday, she left jaws on the floor as she debated with Rep. Ralph Norman, her opponent in the runoff election to permanently succeed her brother as senator for South Carolina.
Graham, who led the South Carolina Commission for the Blind, a state-level government agency, before filling in for her brother, admitted she was “not that informed on national security” when questioned about Taiwan and the South China Sea, earning groans from the crowd.
Now, she has been cornered on the humiliating gaffe. On Wednesday, she took questions from voters at a restaurant in Florence, South Carolina.
A young man asked about the flop. “Are there any concerns about credibility in the U.S. Senate for someone who does not have the experience for issues like geopolitics and stuff like that? There are votes that go toward declaring war. How can we trust, as constituents, that you will make the right decision if you are not informed on national security positions at this time?” he asked.
She leaned in on the “honesty” angle. “I answered it honestly. I’m not a national security expert. Lindsay was. He talked a lot about national security. He spent 33 years in the Air Force. He had a military background. That was his focus,” she explained.
She then tried to claim that no one really cares about Taiwan and the South China Sea. “As I walk around this room and I ask people if you are concerned about Taiwan, they said they are concerned about the price of groceries. The price of gas. Rising healthcare costs.”
After plugging kitchen table issues, she went back to the “honesty” gambit. “Is national security important? Absolutely. Can I learn? I’m smart. I will learn. I will become informed. Everybody has a first day on the job… I will always be honest.”
Earlier in the evening, she joked about the faux pas. “I got the Taiwan question wrong, we all know that,” she said.
It comes after Graham went on Fox News’ Hannity on Wednesday night to explain her lack of knowledge on the sensitive foreign policy issue. Stammering, she told host Sean Hannity: “I, I, I tripped up on one question last night, uh, regarding Taiwan. But, you know, I’ve said many times, I’m not a politician, certainly not a career politician. I don’t speak politician.
“You know, I was just honest, and I think that’s kind of a foreign concept, but I talked to several people today. I traveled around the state, and they said, ‘You know, we appreciated the fact that you were honest.’ And I did say several times that, you know, China is, uh, our, our enemy, our military and economic threat to the United States.”
She added: “Of course, Taiwan is our friend, but I think people in South Carolina are more worried about making ends meet. They’re concerned about boys and girls’ sports. One lady talked to me extensively about that today. Uh, they’re concerned about the Second Amendment. Um, they’re concerned about the Save America Act, uh, illegal, illegal immigration.
“So they’re concerned about a lot of other things other than Taiwan.”
