Republicans Can Win 2022 by Following Trump’s Lead: Lindsey Graham

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) urged Republicans on Tuesday to unify and get behind former President Donald Trump in order to win both House and Senate majorities in 2022.

“If we could get behind President Trump and follow his lead, we will win in 2022. If we argue with ourselves, we’re going to lose. And there’s no reason to lose,” Graham told Fox’s “Hannity” on Tuesday.

The South Carolina Senator warned against the division in the Republican party that has become more obvious since the second Trump impeachment trial in February that saw Trump acquitted but where Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other top Republicans publicly came out against the former president.

During a Wednesday press conference, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wy.) contradicted each other about Trump’s role in the GOP. McCarthy said that Trump should play a role and Cheney said she is opposed to the former president playing a role in the party.

Meanwhile, Graham has been a supporter of the Trump Administration’s policies and on numerous occasions, said Trump has been one of the most “consequential” presidents in history. He also told “Hannity” that he had recently spent the weekend with the former president and feels positive about Trump’s role in the GOP and his policies, especially on immigration.

“I’ve never felt better about President Trump’s leading the party than I do right now,” Graham said.

“I predict that immigration will be a bigger issue than 2022 than it was in 2016,” he added. “What they’re (Democrats) doing at the border makes no sense. I’ve been involved in trying to fix immigration. They’re dismantling the Trump border plan that worked.”

Host Sean Hannity asked Graham what Trump would say in the speech he is scheduled to deliver on Sunday at this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Florida.

“Number one, he will position himself as the alternative to Joe Biden. I think (Trump) will make a speech that will unify Republicans on the policy. He has been working the phones, I was with him all weekend. He wants us to win in 2022,” Graham said.

Many people are wondering if Trump will run in 2024 but Trump himself said last week that it’s “too early to say” whether he will launch another bid for the presidency.

“But I see a lot of great polls out there, that’s for sure,” Trump told Newsmax, adding: “We have tremendous support. I won’t say yet but we have tremendous support and I’m looking at poll numbers that are through the roof. I’m the only guy who gets impeached and my numbers go up.”

Trump’s daughter-in-law and former senior adviser, Lara Trump, said over the weekend that the former president “has told us to stay tuned and that this is not over for him, and he has indicated that he probably would be interested in running again in 2024.”

Graham did not confirm if Trump would run in 2024 but did make the case for the former president leading the party to win back legislative power.

“Stay tuned. I think you’re going to see over the next couple of months Donald Trump lead the Republican Party on policy, and give us the energy we need to take back the House and the Senate. The Democrats are doing their part,” Graham reiterated.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report