Senator Lindsey Graham, representing South Carolina in Washington, has cautioned former President Donald Trump against fixating on the 2020 election if he were to secure the Republican presidential nomination. Graham voiced concern that Trump’s continued emphasis on past events might pose a risk to his prospects in the upcoming 2024 race.
“I accept the election results of 2020. I’m worried about 2024,” Graham said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” “If President Trump puts the vision out, improving security and prosperity for Americans, he will win. If he looks back, I think he will lose.”
“So, at the end of the day, the n2020 election’s over for me. We need to secure the ballot in the 2024 cycle,” Graham added.
However, Graham argued that Trump’s position is not unprecedented among presidential candidates challenging election outcomes. He cited Hillary Clinton’s previous claims about her defeat to Trump in 2016, where she branded Trump as an “illegitimate president.”
“Hillary Clinton had the same view that she was cheated. He’s not the first politician to claim to have been denied a fair election,” Graham said.
Trump’s claims regarding the election’s fairness go beyond those made by Clinton or other recent nominees. For years, he has asserted, without evidence, widespread voter fraud that he alleges affected the outcome of the 2020 presidential race.
Furthermore, Graham expressed dissatisfaction with a recent ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court, barring Trump from appearing on the state’s 2024 GOP primary ballot. The court cited violations of the 14th Amendment and accusations of Trump’s involvement in the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, labeling it as an act of insurrection.
“It is a political decision. The hatred of Trump is so widespread,” Graham continued. “This Colorado Supreme Court made a political decision. In my view, there is no constitutional basis for the decision they rendered.”
The expected examination of the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling is on the verge of reaching the U.S. Supreme Court. Graham, a backer of Trump in the upcoming 2024 GOP primary, conveyed optimism that the case would be a straightforward victory, foreseeing a complete overturning of the decision.
“Donald Trump will eventually be on the ballot in Colorado. I think he will win the primary,” Graham added. “But this ruling in Colorado is chilling to me and it would set up a politicization of the presidential races. It would be bad for the country.”
