President Donald Trump kisses U.S. Sen. Darline Graham on the cheek before she speaks during a campaign rally at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, Friday, Aug. 21, 2026, in Myrtle Beach.   Gavin McIntyre/Staff           COLUMBIA — President Donald Trump referred to Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Annie Andrews with an anti-transgender slur in an Oct. 5 social media post as national Republicans have begun to show visible anxiety about Republican Sen. Darline Graham's candidacy in ruby red South Carolina.Writing on his social media platform, Trump referred to Andrews as Annie “Trannie” Andrews in a late-stage reaffirmation of support for Graham, whom Trump reportedly recruited to run after the death of Graham’s brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, earlier this year.“Annie Trannie is not, in particular, as it pertains to representing the Values of the Great People of South Carolina,” Trump wrote of Andrews, whose platform has long included support for the LGBTQ community. 

Annie Andrews is the most radical Democrat South Carolina has ever seen. @DarlineGrahamSC will put South Carolina FIRST! https://t.co/GLdtHrdH5E
— Senate Republicans (@NRSC) October 5, 2026 He continued, “She is in favor of Transgender for Everyone, Open Borders, Defunding the Police, High Taxes, a Weak Military, and will absolutely fight to take your guns away — In other words, she is against our Great Second Amendment! Trannie is not for South Carolina, and South Carolina must show, in the upcoming Election, that it is not for her.” Andrews’ campaign met the post with a muted response, writing only, “if you care more about your bills than the politics in Washington, this campaign is for you.”But Trump was met with a Republican rebuke from former South Carolina governor David Beasley, who criticized Trump’s post as “abhorrent.”“Elections don’t have to be about cruelty and lies,” wrote Beasley, who accepted the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the World Food Program, which he previously led. “South Carolina deserves better. I urge voters to look at the merits of each candidate and cast their vote accordingly. We must reject politics based on division and hate.” 

This is abhorrent. Elections don’t have to be about cruelty and lies. South Carolina deserves better. I urge voters to look at the merits of each candidate and cast their vote accordingly. We must reject politics based on division and hate. While South Carolinians can strongly disagree with one another, we can do so civilly and with honest intentions for the betterment of our communities and well being of our families.
— David M. Beasley (@dbeasley1) October 6, 2026 A spokesperson for Graham did not address Post and Courier questions about the content of the post. But Trump’s remarks comes at a critical time for Graham, whose fundraising and support have faltered amid an increasingly bleak outlook for Republicans ahead of next month’s midterm elections.  After leading in the national generic ballot in the lead-up to Trump’s 2024 election, Republicans are currently suffering the worst recorded polling decline in recorded history, Michigan State University pollster Matt Grossman noted Oct. 6, with Republican incumbents now playing defense in traditionally uncompetitive states like Texas, Ohio and Kansas against upstart Democratic opponents. South Carolina has not been immune. Numerous public polls have found Andrews and Graham in a virtual tie less than one month out from the election, while several Republican pollsters told The Post and Courier in recent days that Republicans now lead Democrats by six points or less in a state Trump carried by nearly 18 points two years ago.The U.S. Senate race here has been of a personal nature for Trump, who traveled to South Carolina to shore up support for Graham in a brutal Senate runoff contest against U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman earlier this summer.Political observers credited a late-stage rally for Graham in Myrtle Beach to be the catalyst in her victory, while Graham has continued to lean on the Trump brand in her appearances across the state. Earlier this month, the New York Times reported Trump planned to make a return visit to South Carolina in support of Graham, joining top officials like current Senate Majority Leader John Thune. South Carolina is still a fundamentally conservative state. But Graham herself has struggled to build out her months-old campaign after her battle for the nomination left her with dwindling cash reserves. Entering the runoff with Norman, Graham had just around a quarter-million dollars in cash on hand, relying heavily on spending from outside groups and an associated political action committee to maintain a presence on television. The current state of Graham’s finances will not be public until the Oct. 15 Federal Elections Commission deadline. But indications show fundraising has been going poorly, with the campaign currently struggling to fund a robust political advertising campaign as an affiliated PAC, Security is Strength, continues to spend six figure sums on anti-Andrews attacks.   On Oct. 6, Washington, D.C., news outlet Axios reported the Thune-aligned Senate Leadership Fund intended to direct an additional $5 million into Graham’s campaign as an “insurance policy” — sparking speculation Graham’s campaign might be facing serious problems ahead of a scheduled Oct. 11 debate against Andrews on South Carolina public television.“After over a month of non-stop ads featuring Annie Andrews misleading voters, and funded by millions of out-of-state dollars, South Carolinians are now learning the truth,” said T.W. Arrighi, a Graham campaign spokesman, said of the race overall.A spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is led by South Carolina’s senior U.S. Sen. Tim Scott and previously coordinated $1.6 million in spending in support of Graham, has previously declined to comment on the spending, saying they don’t directly discuss funding decisions with candidates.   Contact Nick Reynolds at 803-919-0578. Follow him on X (formerly known as Twitter) @IAmNickReynolds.