I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an embarrassingly blasé display as the one South Carolina Senator Darline Graham turned in on Monday night.
In my years observing American politics, I’ve had the displeasure of witnessing some genuinely mortifying debate performances.
I cringed along with the nation as Al Gore sidled up to within inches of George W. Bush in what only Naomi Wolf could have thought was a dazzling display of masculinity. I’ve seen Rick Perry agonize over the third federal agency he would eliminate (“oops”). I witnessed Chris Christie dismantle Marco Rubio on his fourth attempt to popularize the notion that Barack Obama knew “exactly what he was doing.” I’ve seen Gary Johnson ask, “What is ‘a leppo,’” Lincoln Chafee search in vain for a “block of granite,” and Joe Biden explain that America had finally “beat Medicare.” All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in the rain.
But I don’t think I’ve ever seen such an embarrassingly blasé display as the one South Carolina Senator Darline Graham turned in on Monday night:
Trump-endorsed Senator Darline Graham’s answer to whether Taiwan and the South China Sea are national security threats to the United States:
“I’m just going to be honest here. I’m … not that informed on national security, so — but I do support the military.
“I’m not a polished… pic.twitter.com/pv4wXZ00cy
— Christopher Hale (@ChristopherHale) August 19, 2026
It’s not as though this was a particularly hard question. A reasonably competent high school senior should be expected to explain with relative fluency why “Taiwan and the South China Sea represent national security issues for the United States.” You can take that one on from multiple directions — from international trade and maritime law to U.S. alliance structure on the Pacific Rim and America’s deployment posture in the Far East and the Western Pacific.
You don’t even have to be especially conversant on foreign policy or national security to mumble something articulate about the ongoing great power competition between America and the People’s Republic of China. But Graham just took a pass.
“I’m not that informed on national security” is not only a terrible answer, but it’s also one that’s almost hard to fathom. Did the senator’s late brother, Lindsey Graham, never bring the subject up around the table? When he wasn’t shepherding a nominee through the Judiciary Committee, foreign affairs were just about the only subject Graham discussed in public. Did his sister glean none of his expertise even through passive osmosis? Or did she just convince herself that she didn’t have to persuade South Carolina’s voters that she deserved a full term in the seat her brother left behind?
As CNN’s Aaron Blake observed, Trump has endorsed some stinker candidates this year. Republican primary voters have rejected ten of his picks — “one shy of matching his worst year, 2022.” On August 25, South Carolina Republicans may just make Darline Graham lucky number eleven.