President Donald Trump used an anti-trans slur to attack South Carolina’s Democratic Senate candidate Monday as he urged voters to support Republican Sen. Darline Graham.
In a Truth Social article, Trump called Democratic candidate Annie Andrews a “transsexual” three times. He said Andrews, who is not transgender, is “not for South Carolina.”
“And South Carolina needs to show in the next election that this is not for them,” Trump added.
Andrews responded by largely ignoring the insult, saying in a statement first shared with NBC News that she would “work with anyone to put South Carolina first.”
“As a mother and a pediatrician, I am in this race to fight for my patients, my three children and South Carolina,” Andrews said, adding that “reducing costs and improving the lives of families across our state is going to take all of us working together.”
“If you care more about your bills than politics in Washington, this campaign is for you,” she said.
Graham’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s post, which often uses insulting nicknames for politicians and public officials he doesn’t like.
Asked to explain why Trump used the slur, the White House referred NBC News to its social media post.
The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ rights organization, blasted Trump’s remarks, calling them “sad, disgusting and pathetic rants from a lame-duck president with record approvals.”
“So low, in fact, that he is having to campaign in deep red territory in a desperate attempt to consolidate support ahead of the midterm elections,” Ramiro Sarmiento, a spokesperson for the organization, said in a statement.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., condemned Trump’s comments Monday night, calling his attacks on Andrews “despicable.”
“Annie Andrews is a mom and pediatrician who has always put her community first – and she is exactly what South Carolina needs to represent it in the Senate,” Schumer said on X.
Andrews, a physician, has previously said she does not support gender-affirming surgery for minors or transgender athletes participating in women’s sports.
Former South Carolina Gov. David Beasley, a Republican, criticized the president for his attack on Andrews, asking voters to “reject policies based on division and hatred.”
“This is abhorrent. Elections don’t have to be about cruelty and lies. South Carolina deserves better,” Beasley wrote Monday night on X.
Graham is running to retain her seat after Gov. Henry McMaster appointed her to fill her late brother’s seat following the death of Lindsey Graham in July.
Graham won the Republican primary in a runoff against Rep. Ralph Norman by nearly 5 percentage points. She relied heavily on Trump’s support to make her case in South Carolina.
While South Carolina hasn’t elected a Democratic senator in nearly three decades, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report last month changed its rating of the race in favor of Democrats, from “Solid Republican” to “Likely Republican.”
Gn usa
