Sen. Lindsey Graham predicted Saturday that a Trump indictment would give the ex-president a political boost 'The prosecutor in New York has done more to help Donald Trump get elected president than any single person in America,' Graham said But Graham told DailyMail.com at a South Carolina presidential forum that he didn't think Trump's calls for 'PROTEST' were the 'right approach'
Sen. Lindsey Graham predicted Saturday that if former President Donald Trump gets indicted next week by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg it will only help the ex-president’s 2024 campaign.
‘The prosecutor in New York has done more to help Donald Trump get elected president than any single person in America,’ Graham said at Saturday’s Palmetto Family Council Vision ’24 presidential forum.
Earlier Saturday, Trump took to Truth Social and said he expected to be arrested on Tuesday – with the charges related to hush-money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
Trump then called for ‘PROTEST, PROTEST, PROTEST!!!” echoing calls he made after falsely telling his supporters that the 2020 election was stolen from him, which resulted in the Capitol attack on January 6.
‘I don’t think that’s the right approach,’ Graham told DailyMail.com after his appearance in North Charleston. ‘I think what he should do is fight this in the court of law. He’s going to win. This is an overreach by the Manhattan prosecutor.’
Sen. Lindsey Graham predicted Saturday that if former President Donald Trump gets indicted next week by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg it will only help his presidential campaign
‘The prosecutor in New York has done more to help Donald Trump get elected president than any single person in America,’ Graham (right) said at Saturday’s Palmetto Family Council Vision ’24 presidential forum
‘I think it’s going to help him politically,’ the South Carolina Republican reiterated.
When asked if Trump’s calls for demonstrations could lead to political violence akin to January 6, Graham brought up the Black Lives Matter protests that followed the death of George Floyd in May 2020.
‘People protest after George Floyd, when they think there’s a wrong, OK, you know? People take to the streets when they think they’ve been wronged,’ Graham said. ‘What I would suggest the president do is focus on his legal situation, fight back in the court of law, and let everybody in America know that they’re doing this because they’re afraid of him politically.’
While Graham ran against Trump for the GOP nomination in 2016, he was acting as an unofficial surrogate for the ex-president on Saturday at the Palmetto Family Council Vision ’24 event.
Graham is one of five Senate Republicans to have already endorsed Trump’s 2024 presidential bid.
The forum, held at the Charleston Area Convention Center in North Charleston, attracted presidential hopefuls Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy, and several others who are flirting with a bid, including South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
Organizers said both Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis were invited to attend, but skipped.
South Carolina holds the first presidential primary in the south.
Graham was asked about Trump’s looming indictment as soon as he got onstage Saturday afternoon and for his views on how the ex-president would react.
‘Oh I think he’ll be very quiet,’ Graham said to laughs.
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