--- 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: August 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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Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. 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. ## 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.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7012081/republican-senator-lindsey-graham-donald-trump-may-not-win-election/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7012081/republican-senator-lindsey-graham-donald-trump-may-not-win-election/"},"headline":"Republican Senator Warns Trump: 'The Provocateur, Showman, May Not Win This Election'","datePublished":"2024-08-18T19:04:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:50:19.168Z","description":"South Carolina Sen. 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