Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) called out President Donald Trump over a key endorsement in the midterm elections, which ended in disaster for Republicans.
“What grade would you give Trump on the midterms?” Pablo Manríquez of MeidasTouch asked Norman on Tuesday.
“In South Carolina, he gets an F,” Norman replied. “But overall, for the country, he’s done well.”
Norman ran against Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) in the primary for Senate and the runoff that followed. Trump endorsed Graham, who won the nomination ― then attacked Norman on social media.
“Ralph Norman had the look of a good Congressman (Not great, but good), but ruined his career when he endorsed Nikki Haley,” he wrote on Truth Social one day after the runoff.
Norman, apparently, is still stinging over the endorsement of Graham, who struggled in debates and on the campaign trail.
“He shouldn’t have endorsed and tried to force a candidate on South Carolina,” Norman said. “They don’t agree with that.”
Graham ― who was initially appointed to the seat after her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) died ― ultimately lost to Annie Andrews in a major upset given that the state hadn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate in nearly three decades.
Norman backed Graham in the race, but wasn’t especially thrilled about it.
“My family is not going to vote for Darline Graham,” he said in October, according to The Hill. “They’re just not.”