Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., began Election Day by announcing his protest vote for Evan McMullin, an independent candidate for president, and ended it by pledging to help President-elect Trump to the extent that he can.
“Congratulations to President-elect Trump,” Graham, a onetime opponent of Trump’s in the GOP primary, said in a statement late Tuesday. “He defied the odds and overcame many obstacles to achieve a stunning victory.”
Graham also quickly extended a note of gratitude to all of his GOP colleagues, “particularly those in swing states” who ran what he called “incredible races,” which he argued “helped President-elect Trump achieve his victory” instead of the other way around – Trump’s unexpected coattails helping Republicans hold onto their seats.
“We now have a country to run,” he said. “President-elect Trump and the new Congress will face many challenges.”
“We have wars to win, threats to deal with, and a stagnant economy which must be revived,” he said. “To the extent that I can help President-elect Trump, I will do so.”
During the GOP primary, Trump tried to harass Graham for calling him a “jackass” by publicly giving out the South Carolina Republican’s cell phone number. Graham poked fun at the incident by making a YouTube video of him intentionally destroying his cell phone in several different ways, including throwing it off a building and shredding it in a blender.
But Tuesday night, after Trump’s stunning victory, Graham ticked off a list of policy areas in which he hopes to work with Trump, including on keeping “trade free but fairer, rebuilding our military, restoring our standing in the world, reforming our tax code, repealing and replacing Obamacare with an alternative that empowers patients while reining in costs and confirming conservative justices to the Supreme Court. ”
“It is now time for all Americans to come together and realize the challenges we face can only be overcome by working together,” he said. “The strength of our nation is in the goodness of people. As long as that is the case – and I believe that is the case – then America’s best days still lie ahead.”
