U.S. President Donald Trump in East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S. on July 19, 2026. REUTERS/Lee Smith
President Donald Trump likes to pick winners, not losers. And when he picks a ‘loser’ in a primary or general election he tends to get irritated. And nobody wants to be Trump’s advisor when he’s irritated, said Intelligencer political columnist Ed Kilgore.
That’s why advisors may be getting anxious about Trump’s endorsement in South Carolina’s Republican primary.
“One of the crosses Donald Trump has had to bear recently is a less-than-perfect record in endorsing Republican primary candidates,” said Kilgore on Tuesday. “His choices in high-profile gubernatorial nominating contests in Iowa and Georgia both lost to rivals who claimed to adore the 47th president despite their manifest willingness to rebel against his wishes. Trump’s fury at his advisers for steering him wrong peaked in South Carolina, where his gubernatorial endorsee, Pamela Evette, was struggling in a GOP runoff against yet another more-MAGA-than-thou rival, Alan Wilson, leading Trump in a panic to endorse Wilson as well, guaranteeing Evette’s demise.”
Now Trump is having fresh endorsement-obedience problems in the Palmetto State,” said Kilgore, where “absolutely every Republican pledges allegiance to him incessantly.”
When Lindsey Graham died without warning on July 11, the president and ally Gov. Henry McMaster quickly agreed to appoint Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to the seat for the remainder of the late senator’s current term. At first, no one expected her to run for the coveted full term, but when Trump endorsed her for the GOP nomination in the special primary, she announced she was in the race for real.
“But it turned out her Trump-blessed march to nearly seven years in the U.S. Senate (pretty good for someone who had never run for office) wasn’t a cakewalk after all,” said Kilgore.
Lame duck lame-duck S.C. congressman Ralph Norman hopped into the race before Trump’s endorsement — but he didn’t jump out after Trump’s endorsement. And then Norman’s colleague Russell Fry announced his own run.
Fry is no lame duck, and he may be endangering a potentially tiny 2017 GOP House majority because he would have to resign his House seat in January to assume the Senate spot if he wins.
“But more to the point, Fry is disrespecting President Trump right now,” said Kilgore. “His more-MAGA-than-the-official-MAGA-candidate posture isn’t unprecedented; it’s exactly what Iowa gubernatorial nominee Zach Lahn and Georgia gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson have claimed. But neither of those worthies was challenging a Trump endorsement so soon after it was issued.”
Worse, other Republicans are also defying Trump and already in the race including far-right candidate Mark Lynch. Now that Norman and Fry have broken the seal, Kilgore said other GOP contenders might jump in as well.
“Polls will soon start popping up, and you have to wonder if Trump will again hedge his Palmetto State bets, particularly if his old buddy Fry is doing well against his new favorite, Darline Graham,” said Kilgore. “The contest could easily extend to an August 25 runoff if nobody wins a majority on August 11.”
“The days and weeks ahead may be painful for White House political advisers, whose lives could take a turn for the worse if Trump flubs another endorsement and looks like a loser,” Kilgore added.