WASHINGTON — Sen. Darline Graham insisted that voters aren’t fazed by her stumble over a debate question about Taiwan and are more focused on affordability, which is her priority.
Graham (R-SC) claimed that voters are sticking by her since admitting on a debate stage that she didn’t know why Taiwan or the South China Sea are national security priorities for the US.
“I talked to a lot of people, and they said, ‘You know what? I’m proud of you,’” the Graham scion told “Fox & Friends” in an interview that aired Monday. “They said, ‘Because you are honest.’ They said, ‘We don’t get that in a lot of politicians.
“You’re honest, and they’re like, ‘We’re worried about the price of groceries, not Taiwan.’”
She underscored how during her infamous debate with Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), whom she is facing in South Carolina’s Senate GOP primary runoff on Tuesday, she stressed how China is an “enemy” of America.
But on the debate stage, Graham was asked whether she considers “Taiwan and the South China Sea national security issues for the United States” and “if so, why.”
“I’m just gonna be honest here,” Graham replied. “I’m not that informed on national security. But I do support the military.”
Taiwan is usually considered important to America’s national security interests because it mass-produces the most advanced semiconductor chips in the world and is seen as a check on China due to its strategic location in the so-called first island chain of US allies.
China has long claimed sovereignty over the self-governing island, which has its own military and currency, and has kept open the possibility of reclaiming it by military force.
As for the South China Sea, trillions of dollars worth of goods flow through there every year.
Ironically, Graham’s late brother, Lindsey, was one of the most prominent Republican voices on foreign policy.
In contrast to her late brother, whom she has been appointed as a successor on an interim basis, Graham has placed far more emphasis on domestic issues rather than foreign policy.
Critics have argued that her debate faux pas illustrated her lack of qualifications and that she’s made it to the runoff because of her last name as well as sympathy over the death of her late brother.
Democratic South Carolina Senate nominee Annie Andrews, for example, chided at an event Monday that at least two of her children “know where Taiwan is on a map.”
“I’m not a politician,” she said when asked about those criticisms. “But I’m experienced. I’ve led a state agency before. I’ve had a career in workforce development for years, so I bring a lot to the table.”
“Who else wasn’t a politician when they started the job? Our president. Right. President Trump?”
