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Donald Trump unveiled a video announcement yesterday morning on his newest position on abortion policy, and if the former president’s goal was to make everyone “happy,” he failed spectacularly. Critics on the left, for example, noted all of the questions the Republican left unresolved, the absurd lies Trump included in the clip, and the degree to which he celebrated his role in rolling back reproductive rights in the United States.
But the presumptive GOP nominee’s statement received some pushback from the right, too. NBC News noted one prominent Trump ally on Capitol Hill who was willing to express disagreement with the former president.
Sen. Lindsey Graham sparred with Donald Trump on Monday after the former president attacked Graham, R-S.C., for pushing his bill to outlaw abortion across the U.S. after 15 weeks of pregnancy. While Trump said the issue [would] be left to states, Graham vowed to keep pressing for federal limits.
The South Carolina senator used social media to say he “respectfully” disagreed with Trump and intended to keep pursuing a national abortion ban at the federal level — a ban, it’s worth noting, that Trump did not say he’d reject if it were passed by a Republican-led Congress.
Graham soon after made related comments to reporters. “I think we should draw a line,” the senator said. Referring to the Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, he added, “We know that the Dobbs decision did not say that there’s no federal role. There are three laws on the books at the federal level. So the idea that Dobbs prevents the federal government from acting, I think, is an error.”
This did not escape the former president’s attention.
Within hours of Graham’s mild pushback, Trump used his own platform to effectively call Graham a warmonger who should focus his attention elsewhere. A minute later, the former president published another item, insisting that the senator was “doing a great disservice to the Republican Party” by focusing attention on an issue that’s caused “many Good Republicans” to lose.” A minute after that, Trump slammed Graham once more.
A few hours later, the former president decided to keep going, publishing an item characterizing Graham as unreasonable, another item suggesting the senator doesn’t understand the 10th Amendment, and another item that concluded, “I blame myself for Lindsey Graham, because the only reason he won in the Great State of South Carolina is because I Endorsed him!”
To be sure, in recent years, Graham has repeatedly found himself in Trump’s doghouse, only to eventually work his way out through sycophantic groveling. It stands to reason that he’ll eventually do so again.
But this latest volley nevertheless stood out for a couple of reasons.
The first is that Graham is receiving a timely reminder that carrying Trump’s water — at times in humiliating fashion — buys him nothing at Mar-a-Lago.
In 2019, for example, the GOP senator expressed disagreement with the then-president about U.S. policy in Syria. If Graham thought his displays of servility would shield him against a backlash, he was quickly reminded otherwise. “I am the boss,” Trump reminded Graham at the time.
It was a notice to Republicans everywhere that Trump effectively sees them as employees, who are expected to follow their superior’s lead. As we’ve discussed, he sees loyalty as a one-way street: It’s something Trump expects to receive, not bestow.
But just as important is the nature of the former president’s defense of his latest approach to abortion policy. “Be smart, Republicans, don’t be distracted, we’ve had a Great Victory, and now we’re going to have the Greatest Victory of all, the Presidential Election of 2024!” Trump wrote during one of his online tantrums yesterday.
The messaging is hardly subtle: Trump doesn’t disagree with Graham about reproductive rights; Trump disagreed with Graham about the senator’s interest in principles.
For all intents and purposes, the former president is telling his Senate ally to simply shut up and play the election-season game. “I’m doing this as part of a crass political scheme,” Trump is effectively arguing. “Don’t screw it up by prioritizing unpopular goals you believe in.”
Looking ahead, the presumptive GOP nominee apparently hoped he could take the entire debate off the table with his announcement. It’s probably occurred to him by now that he hasn’t.