South Carolina Senate Candidate Graham Admits to Concerns Over Iran and Taiwan
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Graham made the candid admission just days before South Carolina’s GOP Senate runoff between her and Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., after a moderator asked whether Taiwan and the South China Sea are national security issues for the United States. She responded that national security is "not my thing" and "not my area of expertise."
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New York Times‘I’m Not That Informed on National Security,’ Graham Says in South Carolina Debate Senator Darline Graham made the remark in a debate against Representative Ralph Norman, her opponent in the runoff election to succeed her brother, Lindsey Graham. Here are five takeaways.
The Guardian USAsked whether Taiwan and the South China Sea threaten US national security, republican fill-in senator Darline Graham hesitated. “I’m just going to be honest here,” she told Tuesday night’s debate audience. “I’m – not that informed on national security, so – but I do support the military.”
Washington ExaminerGraham took the debate stage in Newberry, South Carolina, with her opponent, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), as the two go head-to-head in a closely watched Senate Republican runoff to replace the late Sen. Lindsey Graham. Trump has endorsed Graham in the race, while Norman has the backing of notable South Carolina current and former lawmakers, including former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
The HillDarline Graham pilloried for saying she’s ‘not that informed on national security’ Critics lambasted Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) on Tuesday for her response to a debate question about national security, which the senator said she was “not that informed on.” Debate moderator Greta Van Susteren asked Graham if Taiwan and the South China Sea are national security issues for the U.S. and why. “I’m just going to…
New York PostWASHINGTON — Sen. Darline Graham Nordone (R-SC) had two brutal stumbles Tuesday night during her primary runoff debate against Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) — admitting to being “not that informed” on vital national security issues and bungling South Carolina’s population.
HuffPostSen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.), sister of late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and President Donald Trump’s hand-picked choice for his seat, is facing heavy criticism after struggling with a key question during Tuesday night’s debate.
Associated PressWASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Darline Graham, who is competing in next week’s runoff election in South Carolina, stumbled over a question about foreign policy in a debate on Tuesday night.
NBC NewsSen. Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman traded criticism over experience, ambition, campaign finance and policy positions in a Senate primary debate Tuesday in South Carolina, one week before Republican primary voters choose a nominee to replace Graham’s brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, on the ballot this fall.
USA TodayThe Republican senator took over her brother Lindsey Graham's seat after he unexpectedly died July 11, made the comments during the South Carolina Republican Party debate.
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“I fully trust President Trump when it comes to the war in Iran,” Graham said, adding: “Iran is the weakest they have been in 47 years. The one thing that concerns me is we cannot let them get a nuclear weapon. So I trust President Trump and everything he’s doing. I think he’s got this, and I trust him on it.”
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Washington Examiner“I fully trust President Trump when it comes to the war in Iran,” Graham said. “47 years this has been going on. Iran is the weakest they have been in 47 years. The one thing that concerns me is we cannot let them get a nuclear weapon, so I trust President Trump and everything he’s doing. I think he’s got this, and I trust him on it.”
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Norman, who backed his state’s former governor Nikki Haley over Trump in 2024, used the debate to distance himself from the president over the war with Iran, saying Trump “is going to have to tell the American people what it’s going to take” if the strait of Hormuz remains under the control of a country the administration has claimed to have decimated.
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HuffPostAt one point, Norman, who incurred Trump’s wrath by endorsing former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley for president in 2024 rather than Trump, came close to criticizing the president by suggesting he needed to explain what was actually happening with his Iran war.
Washington ExaminerNorman, however, slightly checked the president on his Iran war approach and said Americans need to be better informed by Trump about what is going on in the Middle East.
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Norman spokesperson Brittany Yanick said in a statement to Fox News Digital, "Ralph Norman is a businessman and the only proven conservative in this race. He has received wide support from conservatives including Senators Rick Scott and Mike Lee in Washington, D.C. to leaders across South Carolina, such as [former] Senator Jim DeMint and Former State Rep. Adam Morgan, among many others."
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HuffPost“I’ve got a proven record, folks. You can look me up for eight years. I’ve been in Congress. I’m the most conservative member. You know how I’m going to vote. My resume is my record,” said Ralph Norman, a congressman from the more conservative northern part of the state, before getting to the heart of his case. “We have an unknown candidate who I am running against.”
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Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 New York Post Specifically, the act vows that the US will sell Taiwan weapons “to resist any resort to force or other forms of coercion that would jeopardize the security, or social or economic system, of the people of Taiwan.”
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02 Washington Examiner Norman, however, used the question to champion Trump’s policy of “peace through strength,” noting that Taiwan is an ally of the U.S. and collaborates in the chip manufacturing industry.
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03 The Guardian US Her opponent, the ultra-conservative representative Ralph Norman, who once advocated for martial law to keep Joe Biden from the presidency after his election win in 2020, needed no such disclaimer. He walked through Taiwan’s economic ties to the US and made the case that it was worth protecting from Chinese aggression.
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04 NBC News She followed her short answer by saying, “National security is not my thing.” Lindsey Graham was known as a staunch foreign policy hawk during his Senate tenure, marked by his support for Ukraine and Israel and his aggressive push to increase pressure on Iran. Graham had long advocated for military strikes against Iran and spoke in favor of the Iran war after it began this year.
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05 Fox News The political newcomer has the backing of President Donald Trump, who urged her to seek a full term and endorsed her candidacy after she was appointed to the Senate by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster.
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06 Associated Press Her answer was noteworthy because her late brother was known for his involvement in foreign policy, something that Graham mentioned in her answer.
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07 HuffPost Polished or not, a candidate for the U.S. Senate running in the middle of a war admitting that “national security is not my thing” left critics on social media stunned:
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