President Trump on Thursday hammered Democrat Annie Andrews for her pro-transgender policies, saying she doesn’t represent the state’s values compared to her “apple pie” GOP rival Sen. Darline Graham.
Mr. Trump traveled to South Carolina, a historic GOP stronghold where the U.S. Senate race is now considered a toss-up in Tuesday’s election, with Ms. Andrews and Ms. Graham tied in the polls.
The unexpectedly competitive race is a shock in South Carolina, which Mr. Trump won by 18 percentage points in 2024. If Ms. Andrews wins, she will be the first Democrat to represent South Carolina in more than 20 years.
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Ms. Graham, a political novice, is the incumbent after being appointed to the seat to replace her brother, the late Lindsey Graham, who died in July.
During a rally in Rock Hill, South Carolina, Mr. Trump tore into Ms. Andrews, whom he nicknamed “Tranny Annie” for her pro-transgender policies.
“Tranny Annie is a rabid advocate for taxpayer-funded sexual mutilation,” Mr. Trump said. “Tranny Annie does not have the judgment to know that sex changes for children should not be allowed. She’s too crazy, too dangerous, and too radical to serve in the United States Senate and certainly not from this state.”
Mr. Trump said Ms. Andrews supports “puberty blockers for young children at will and other sick forms of medical malpractice.”
“She’s a radical left person running against a person that is apple pie,” he said. “And that’s what we want, apple pie.”
The transgender issue is a flashpoint in the South Carolina race. Ms. Andrews previously opposed a 2022 South Carolina bill that would have banned biological men from participating in women’s school sports. At the time, she called the legislation “shameful” and “actively harmful.”
However, as a Senate candidate, Ms. Andrews has distanced herself from the transgender policies she previously embraced. She told Fox News earlier this month that she opposed biological men playing women’s sports.
She also told the outlet that never supported transgender surgery for minors, insisting that she has consistently opposed such surgery for children because there is insufficient medical evidence to support them.
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