--- title: Republican Senator Warns Trump: 'The Showman May Not Win' description: South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham shared advice for former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. canonical: https://time.com/7012081/republican-senator-lindsey-graham-donald-trump-may-not-win-election/ author: Rebecca Schneid article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-08-18T19:04:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:50:19.168Z article:section: Politics og:title: Republican Senator Warns Trump: 'Showman May Not Win This' og:description: South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham shared advice for former President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. og:url: https://time.com/7012081/republican-senator-lindsey-graham-donald-trump-may-not-win-election/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d57606376224612/698a5a05b21a9c5bb450a5d6/GettyImages-2166236357.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2026 og:image:height: 1140 og:image:alt: GettyImages--2166236357 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Republican Senator Warns Trump: 'Showman May Not Win This' twitter:description: South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham shared advice for former President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7d57606376224612/698a5a05b21a9c5bb450a5d6/GettyImages-2166236357.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Republican Senator Warns Trump: 'The Provocateur, Showman, May Not Win This Election' > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=a1898cfd-9d52-4a55-bee4-d7fd7c250662&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Trump Falsely Claims Harris Hasn’t Always Identified as Black [Watch (HLS stream): Trump Falsely Claims Harris Hasn’t Always Identified as Black](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/bpbGfOMi.m3u8) (3:27)  _Published 2024-07-31. Former President Donald Trump used his turn before the nation’s largest professional association of Black journalists to question the racial identity of his rival for the White House this fall, telling a shocked National Association of Black Journalists conference in Chicago that Vice President Kamala Harris “happened to turn Black and now she wants to be known as Black.”_  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Aug 18, 2024 7:04 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds a news conference outside the Trump National Golf Club on Aug. 15, 2024, in Bedminster, New Jersey. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds a news conference outside the Trump National Golf Club on Aug. 15, 2024, in Bedminster, New Jersey. Adam Gray—Getty Images  by [Rebecca Schneid](https://time.com/author/rebecca-schneid/)  ## Rebecca Schneid Reporter Aug 18, 2024 7:04 PM UTC South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham shared advice for former President and Republican presidential candidate [Donald Trump](https://time.com/6972021/donald-trump-2024-election-interview/) on NBC’s _Meet the Press_ Sunday morning. He surmised that Trump should focus on policy rather than personal attacks on opponent Vice President Kamala Harris. “Policy is the key to the White House,” he told moderator Kristen Welker. Welker initially showed Graham a clip of former South Carolina Gov. [Nikki Haley](https://time.com/6552240/nikki-haley-trump-iowa-republican-debate/)—a one-time opponent to Trump in the Republican primary—who provided her stance [on Fox News on Tuesday.](https://www.foxnews.com/video/6360381919112) “The campaign is not going to win \[by\] talking about crowd sizes. It's not going to win talking about what race Kamala Harris is. It's not going to win talking about whether she's dumb. You can't win on those things,” the former U.N. ambassador said. “I think the campaign needs to focus, that's the main thing. This is a winnable election, but you need to focus.” **Read More**: [_Trump Falsely Claims Harris Hasn’t Always Identified as Black_](https://time.com/7006139/donald-trump-kamala-harris-black-indian/) Graham said that Haley and other Republican politicians should join him and campaign for Trump, rather than just giving advice, but ultimately echoed Haley’s remarks. “Yeah. I don’t think—I don’t look at Vice President Kamala Harris as a lunatic,” Graham said “I look at her as the most liberal person to be nominated for President in the history of the United States.” > [](https://twitter.com/MeetThePress/status/1825166124960395506) After a quick squabble about Harris’ position on fracking, Welker asked Graham point blank: “Do you think former President Trump should stop talking about Vice President Harris’ race and intelligence?” Highlighting that his response came under an advisory capacity, Graham said: “President Trump can win this election. His policies are good for America and if you have a policy debate for President, he wins. Donald Trump the provocateur, the showman, may not win this election.” Graham went on to add that he believes the way Trump will win is by spending the 80 days until the election focusing on his policies—to define how he will “fix broken borders” and “lower inflation.” Graham and Trump have had a varied relationship over the years. Graham was a [major critic of Trump during his ascendancy](https://time.com/4321926/lindsey-graham-donald-trump-interview-comments-transcript/) to President in 2016\. However, Graham later [became an ally of Trump.](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/oct/05/lindsey-graham-donald-trump-administration-us-senate) The two continue to have disagreements, though, including earlier this year when Graham [“respectfully” disagreed with Trump](https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/04/08/congress/graham-breaks-with-trump-on-abortion-00151056) about abortion being a “states’ rights issue.” ## Transcript Mr. President, we so appreciate you giving us an hour of your time. I want to start by addressing the elephant in the room, sir. A lot of people did not think it was appropriate for you to be here today. You have pushed false claims about some of your rivals from Nikki Haley to former President Barack Obama, saying that they were not born in the United States, which is not true. You have told four Congresswoman McCullar, who were American citizens to go back to where they came from. You have used words like animal and rabbit to describe Black district attorneys. You've attacked Black journalists calling them a loser, saying the questions that they ask are stupid and racist. You've had dinner with a White supremacist at your Mara Lago Resort. So my question, sir, now that you are asking Black supporters to vote for you, why should Black voters trust you after you have used language like that? Well, first of all, I don't think I've ever been asked the question, so in such a horrible manner, a first question. You don't even say, Hello. How are you? Are you with ABC, because I think they're a fake news network, a terrible network. And I think it's disgraceful that I came here in good spirit. I love the Black population of this country. I've done so much for the Black population of this country. I think it's very. I have answered the questions with another. I have been the best president for the Black population since Abraham Lincoln. That than my answer. Better than President Johnson, who signed the Voting Rights Act. You to start off a question and answer period, especially when you're 35 minutes late because you couldn't get your equipment to In such a hostile manner? I think it's a disgrace. Let me. Let me just ask a follow up, sir, and then we'll move on to other questions here. Some of your own supporters, including Republicans on Capitol Hill, have labeled Vice President Kamala Harris, who is the first Black and Asian American woman to serve as vice president and be on a major party ticket as a DEI hire. Is that acceptable language to you? And will you tell those Republicans and those supporters to stop it? How do you define DEI? Go ahead. How do you define diversity equity inclusion? Okay. Yeah. Go ahead. Is that what your definition is that is Give me a definition. Sir, then. Would you give me a definition. Give me a definition. Sir, I'm asking you a question. Direct define define it for me if you. I just defined it, sir. Do you believe that Vice President Kamala Harris is only on the ticket because she is a Black woman? Well, I can say no, I think it's maybe a little bit different. So I've known her a long time indirectly, not directly very much. And she was always of Indian heritage, and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn't know she was Black. Until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So I don't know. Is she Indian or is she Black? She is always It as a Black. I respect Black college. I respect either one, but she obviously doesn't because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden, she made a turn and she she became a Black Just to be clear, sir, do. Somebody should look into that, too, when you ask a continue in a very hostile, nasty tone. It's a direct question, sir. Do you believe that Vice President Kamala Harris is a DEI hier ab really don't know. I mean, I really don't know. Could be. 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