Donald Trump used an offensive transgender slur as a bizarre nickname for South Carolina physician Annie Andrews, who is challenging Lindsey Graham’s sister for a Senate seat.
Democratic nominee Annie Andrews is running against Darline Graham for the seat Darline was appointed to after the death of her brother, Lindsey, in July.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump attacked Andrews, a former physician, by calling her “Annie ‘Trannie’ Andrews”—using a slur directed at transgender people. Andrews is not transgender.
Trump praised Graham as a “High Quality person, maybe the Highest,” while claiming that “Annie Trannie” did not represent “the Values of the Great People of South Carolina.”
He also accused Andrews of supporting what he described as unpopular policies, including “Transgender for Everyone, Open Borders, Defunding the Police, High Taxes, a Weak Military,” and efforts to take away Americans’ guns.
“Trannie is not for South Carolina, and South Carolina must show, in the upcoming Election, that it is not for her. VOTE FOR DARLINE GRAHAM,” Trump wrote.
Andrews responded by emphasizing her record as a parent and pediatrician rather than directly engaging with Trump’s attack.
“As a mom and a pediatrician, I’m in this race to fight for my patients, my three kids, and South Carolina,” she told Our News Outlet.
“And I’m going to work with anyone to put South Carolina first, because lowering costs and making life better for families across our state is going to take all of us working together. If you care more about your bills than the politics in Washington, this campaign is for you.”
Donald Trump gave a bizarre new nickname to South Carolina physician Annie Andrews, who is challenging Lindsey Graham’s sister for a Senate seat
Senate nominee Annie Andrews, pictured, is running against Darline Graham for the seat she was appointed to after her brother’s death
Andrews, a physician from Charleston, secured her party’s nomination outright in the June primary.
She had initially built her campaign around opposing Lindsey Graham, but was forced to broaden her criticism of the Republican candidates after Darline Graham advanced from the runoff.
Graham defeated Congressman Ralph Norman in an August special Republican primary runoff. The two had emerged as the leading candidates from a ten-way primary two weeks earlier.
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Although she was largely unknown in political circles, Graham defeated several of South Carolina’s prominent political figures in the special election triggered by Lindsey Graham’s sudden death in July.
Governor Henry McMaster appointed her to serve the remaining months of her late brother’s current term. She quickly received Trump’s endorsement, and he urged her to seek a full term before campaigning for her in the state last week.
South Carolina has not elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1956, while Lindsey Graham never won an election by fewer than 10 points.
The race nevertheless attracted attention last week after Andrews was identified as one of several Democratic candidates polling competitively in states considered firmly Republican.
Republican insiders reportedly fear that rising energy costs linked to the president’s war could threaten the party’s majorities in the House and Senate during the midterm elections.
Darline Graham, pictured, defeated Congressman Ralph Norman in an August special Republican primary runoff after the pair finished first and second in a ten-candidate primary
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In an interview with TIME magazine, Trump waved off his sagging approval ratings as ‘fake,’ insisting he would beat anyone running today by 20 points and branding pollsters ‘almost as corrupt as the writers.’
Asked in the Oval Office on Wednesday whether the red-state swing spelled trouble, he dodged the question, bragged about the economy and blamed the party’s woes on bad public relations.
Election experts have noted that presidents typically don’t spend precious campaign days in states that are considered safe for their party.
Some Republicans are already inching away from the White House, with Mississippi Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith and Nebraska Senator Pete Ricketts both conceding that soaring fuel costs are squeezing families back home.
Money remains the GOP’s firewall, with Republicans outspending Democrats by millions.
In some races the GOP leads by tens of millions, including on future ad reservations in Ohio, Texas, Iowa, Alaska and Kansas, according to ad-tracking firm AdImpact.
