Lindsey Graham advises Donald Trump to stop campaigning on his 'personality'


Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is playing campaign adviser.
On Thursday, Graham offered President Trump a little advice for his 2020 re-election campaign, The Washington Post's Seung Min Kim reports.
"Just make it more about policy, and less about your personality," Graham said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Graham, who called then-candidate Trump "a race-baiting xenophobic bigot" who should "go to hell" back in 2015 before flipping to become one of his most outspoken backers in the Senate, has been known to occasionally criticize Trump's style and political strategies.
"Being kind of attached to this lawless crowd is going to be a problem eventually," said Graham, suggesting Trump find a way to focus his message on policy priorities and boost the economy as quickly as possible.
But Trump's personality has always been at the center of his political success. He reportedly loves rallies "as a chance to deliver his message unfiltered," aides told USA Today, meaning it's not likely he plans to tone down his strategy and pivot to a policy-driven campaign any time soon.
Even so, with Trump's numbers against his Democratic competitor, Joe Biden, sinking in poll after poll, he just might need to give Graham's advice a second look.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
-
‘It’s time for Congress to step up for us’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Poland downs Russian drones in NATO airspace
Speed Read Polish airspace was “violated by a huge number of Russian drones,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk said
-
Judge lets Cook stay at Fed while appealing ouster
Speed Read Trump had attempted to fire Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants