Lindsey Graham says Trump can make GOP stronger or ‘destroy it’

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• In an Axios interview on Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham said that former President Donald Trump could make the Republican Party bigger and stronger, or he could destroy it. 
• Graham believes that the former president has both a “dark side” and “some magic.”
• Though the senator condemned the former president for his role in the Capitol riot, he remained one of Trump’s staunchest supporters,

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said in an Axios interview on Sunday that he thinks former President Donald Trump can make the GOP “bigger” and “stronger,” or he “could destroy it.”

Graham, who remained a Trump defender, told “Axios on HBO” that the former president has a “bigger-than-life deal.” The senator described Trump as “sort of a cross between Jesse Helms, Ronald Reagan and P.T. Barnum.”

“He could make the Republican Party something that nobody else I know could make it,” Graham added. “He could make it bigger. He could make it stronger. He could make it more diverse. And he also could destroy it.”

Before the 2016 election, Graham had publicly questioned Trump’s mental fitness to handle the presidency. But when Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, Graham cheered on the former president.

The senator stood by Trump throughout most of his four-year term. Graham condemned Trump for his role in the Capitol riot in January. In a floor speech after the Capitol was breached, Graham vowed that “enough is enough.” 

Now, the GOP is weighing how much of a role Trump will play in the Republican Party after his one-term presidency. 

Last week, Trump spoke to supporters at the Conservative Political Action Conference’. His first major address after losing the election. He also made a hint of a potential 2024 presidential run. 

Source: The Hill