Posted on 08/19/2026 6:09:41 AM PDT by Miami Rebel
Senator Darline Graham’s (R-SC) shocking debate fail has gone viral — with observers on both sides roasting the senator’s stunning lack of command on key issues.
The defining moment in Graham’s debate with Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) came when co-moderator Greta Van Susteren asked: “Are Taiwan and the South China Sea national security issues for the United States? And if so, why or how?”
“I’m just gonna be honest here,” Graham replied. “I’m not, on national security- I’m not that informed on national security, so- but I do support the military. My brother was in the Air Force for 33 years, so I will do everything I can to support the military. My dad was in the Army. I’m not a polished politician up here. National security is not my thing, not my area of expertise, but I support the military.”
Graham — the sister of the late Lindsey Graham, who was appointed to finish his term by President Donald Trump — made other gaffes during the evening. She estimated the population of South Carolina to be “50 million” — miles off the actual total of roughly 5.5 million.
But her non-answer on Taiwan dominated the talk after the debate.
“Lindsey Graham was well informed on the United States’ national security,” said former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who is supporting Norman. “Darline Graham admits she’s not. This is not something you inherit. And it’s critical in the U.S. Senate.”
“I’m sorry, but respectfully, even accounting for her being new to the job, this is embarrassing and inexcusable,” added Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation. “China’s threat toward Taiwan is a bit of a big deal, especially — it would seem — for a member of the U.S. Senate.”
And other conservatives slammed Graham as well:
Ken Cuccinelli II @KenCuccinelli
She has no record. She has worked hard to hide any firm positions, and here she is at least being honest.
But let's be honest too - this answer would apply to a lot of areas of responsibility that @RalphNorman is frankly well prepared to address and to do so conservatively.
Adam Morgan @RepAdamMorgan
🚨Stunning debate flop from Darline Graham!
“I’m just gonna be honest—I’m not that informed on national security.”
The main criticism is that she’s not qualified for this 6-year position.
Now she reveals she can’t answer basic national security questions!
toddstarnes @toddstarnes
"National security is not my thing." - Darline Graham at tonight's #SCDebate Yikes!
Jenna Ellis 🐊 @realJennaEllis
O M G
Steve Cortes @CortesSteve
Darline Graham:
“I’m just gonna be honest—I’m not that informed on national security.”
Can we just stop this ridiculous experiment in nepotism now???
Rod Dreher @roddreher 11h
This is outrageous. She's a US Senator! She should not have been appointed to fill out her late brother's term.
Chad Caton🎙🇺🇸 @ImFiredUp2
Holy Sh t 🤦🏼♂️
This is completely unbelievable she said this.
She wants to be a U.S. Senator and she is clueless on Geopolitical issues and safety of our country.
This by it self should end her candidacy.
Dan Bostic @danbostic
This is nauseating.
This is the person they say I owe my vote to as a conservative.
This is the person they say I have to vote for to prove my loyalty to the administration.
This is the person they say I must vote for to “pay tribute”.
South Carolina we deserve someone who represents us.
Darline Graham is not one of us and doesn’t care enough to have an opinion.
Joey Mannarino NewsForce @JoeyMannarino
Darline Graham literally couldn’t answer a basic question about the South China Sea and wants to be a US Senator.
And she even admitted it.
This is just weird and ridiculous.
And as you might expect, left-leaning observers were eager to join the pile-on:
Paul Rieckhoff🇺🇸🇺🇦 @PaulRieckhoff
Here’s the best example I’ve ever seen of why nepotism shouldn’t have any place in politics. Especially in a time of war.
Calling Stephen Colbert.
There’s still a lane for you in South Carolina.
More and more by the day.
The Tennessee Holler @TheTNHoller
“Are Taiwan and the South China Sea U.S. national security issues?”
Sen. Darline Graham — Lindsey’s Sister — running for U.S. Senate: “National security’s not my thing.” 🤷🏼♀️ 😬
(She’s running to replace Lindsey, who never met a war he didn’t love)
Aaron Rupar on X: "Darlene Graham just bumbled through one of the worst responses to a question during a political debate you'll ever see"
Jon Cooper 🇺🇸 @joncoopertweets
Oh, good Lord. Darlene Graham, Trump’s pick to fill her brother Lindsey’s seat in the U.S. Senate, is NOT the brightest crayon in the box.
This is painful to watch.
Grant Stern @grantstern
Remember that SNL skit with Chevy Chase satirizing Gerald Ford by saying, "It was my understanding that there would be no math."?
Well, Darline Graham just did it in the South Carolina Republican Senate debate.
In real life.
Rather than waiting (or rather, hoping) for the second iteration of Miss Graham to "come to speed", wouldn't it have been preferable to back another candidate who actually is up to speed?
Since when is shilling for Amnesty Pathways for Illegals a “strong conservative”? Did you even listen to the squish?
Spoiler alert:
Nobody (or at least only negligible number of people) has ever done that.
So, let’s assume my brother was a gifted brain surgeon. And let’s assume he died. And, further let’s assume Im a pretty good CPA.
I think you can guess where I’m going here.
This is where that old adage about just randomly picking people out of the phone book runs into the rocks.
I suppose that opinion rests upon the assumption that being a decent person (most are), honesty, and common sense are more important than political experience and knowledge, or being, as Bill Clinton was, a (domestic) policy wonk. (He was way beyond his capabilities when it came to foreign policy.)
Realistically though, if one wants to run on the right and win in a competitive district or state, you need to have SOME command of the issues, because basically by definition, you’ll never be able to promise as many bennies as a lib.
Ms. Graham has as much right as anyone else to seek the seat, seek Trump’s approval, etc. The debates are intended to weed out poor candidates, and it worked. Maybe the GOP should give Greta a job of co-moderating every debate possible.
I do have to ask, though: Who the heck vetted Ms. Graham? And, maybe even more telling, didn’t she have a debate prep team?
.......Graham — the sister of the late Lindsey Graham, who was appointed to finish his term by President Donald Trump......
Probably not qualified!
No "he mis-spoke"?
No spin misinterpretation?
I’m not crazy about her, but I don’t think her non-answer to that question will do her much harm, honestly. Regular folks don’t care as much about foreign affairs as neo-cons do. I’d wager the number of neo-con voters in SC is vanishingly small.
This is not something you inherit.
I see plenty of people who try to inherit credibility on Social Media.
My dad was in WWII, and I think...
My daughter is in the Navy, and I think...
The've never served a day, but wil gldly argue with actaul active duty and verteran service members.
You have way more faith in our betters/oligarchs in Congress than I do.
For example, I’d like to see officials who are shocked and find it unacceptable that there is no budget, but a skyrocketing, unsustainable deficit. Only super intelligent DC denizens can see how this is going to succeed.
YES! What YOU wrote!!!
“Many who debate well won their seats in congress and still got us 40 trillion in debt.”
Fair point.
Maybe if they thought it was 400 billion trillion they might actually do something about it.
Lol.
Thanks for understanding the point. It’s amazing how many people appear to be satisfied with the status quo that got us 40 trillion in debt. As a country we should be brutal with cutting spending, zero our all foreign aid, until our debt is paid off. We peon taxpayers have to manage our debt and spending, why not hold our government to the same standard?
This is the sort of stuff, just like GA governor handing a senate seat to one of his big donors wives, that just reeks of the swamp nonsense.
If Nordone can display such shocking ignorance about basic foreign policy, what would make you think that she has the intellectual capacity to negotiate fiscal and monetary affairs?
All I’m saying is that at this point in the existence of the USA is pretty lame to attack an senate appointee about their lack of knowledge about Taiwan. It shows zero strategic evaluation capability. If you triage America’s problems Taiwan isn’t even on the list, not is any other country in the world. Congress created our killer debt problem all by themselves, we the people elected them. We the people have got to learn do better than attack a politician on the basis of their foreign relations capability.
If you think that China isn’t an adversary, then I suppose that Taiwan is not a concern.
If we were electing quality congress people who treat taxpayer money as if they were fiduciaries your argument would have merit.
You are completely missing the point. If we spend ourselves into oblivion China and Taiwan won’t matter at all. At this point our own congress and the people who elect them are our worst adversaries.
Look at the Muslims who get elected, what they are doing in America is more effective than war.
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