Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., faced an onslaught of jeers and boos from Trump supporters during a MAGA rally in his home state of South Carolina on Saturday night. The former president did little to defend the conservative lawmaker, aside from stating that Graham enlisted "liberal" support for Trump's re-election campaign. Trump also assured the crowd that he would get Graham "straight," seemingly referencing allegations that the South Carolina Republican is gay. MSNBC's "Morning Joe" panelists poked fun at the situation, stating that Graham had endured "ritualistic humiliation" at the hands of ardent Trumpers. "With friends like these, I mean, Lindsey Graham is someone who has, by many accounts, sullied his reputation over and over by his robust defense of Donald Trump," said Jonathan Lemire, who was subbing in as a host. "Yes, he broke with him occasionally on foreign policy issues. Yes, he briefly did the night of Jan. 6 before coming running back. He is still one of Trump's staunchest defenders, and, man, Donald Trump gave him little to no support or cover right there."
"Yeah, that was what we call ritualistic humiliation, I believe," said Politico's deputy managing editor, Sam Stein, who appeared as a panelist on the segment. "In his home state, it's brutal. To a degree, Graham invites this stuff. I was recalling how a couple weeks ago, Lindsey Graham had gone to some conventions, like, if you can't support a 14-week abortion ban federally, you don't deserve to be president. Trump has refused to support the ban, but Graham is supporting Trump for president. Lindsey invites this kind of stuff occasionally."
