Nikki Haley on how Trump's choice of Sen. Darline Graham weighs on the S.C. Senate race

Darlene Graham to set the table, of course, taking the place of her brother, the late Lindsey Graham, who passed away. The president shocking the political world when he asked her to run for that seat. She wasn't even sure at times. It sounded like she was ready for it, saying she didn't know about foreign policy. Tonight, we're lucky enough to have the former governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley, join us live here. Governor, I have to ask you first, when you heard that it was going to be Darlene Graham, that she was going to be the candidate, honestly, what was your first thought? I think everybody was shocked, including the governor. Because the governor put her in as a placeholder to try and stay out of the political fray, not knowing that she was actually going to be in the race. And, you know, there was a primary, it was a strong primary, but Trump put his hand on this. And, you know, I think you're looking at the numbers. I was looking at what's coming in on Darlington and Cherokee and Greenwood. And how the independent number is low and the Republican number is not high enough. And this is because in certain races, he chose the weaker candidate. When South Carolinians knew there was a stronger candidate, and I think what you're seeing is the response to that. You're the former governor. You know these counties. You know how to count heads in South Carolina. And there was a candidate in the primary, Ralph Norman, and we've talked so much this week about the Michigan situation where you've got a primary opponent who lost, who then came out and endorsed the Republican in the race. Similar vibes in South Carolina, where you've got this Ralph Norman who he didn't he didn't go and say he's going to vote for Annie Andrews, but his family did. Do you think that there is a chance of a spoiler that drives down Darlene Graham's vote and potentially elevates Annie Andrews, the Democrat? Ralph Norman, strong, conservative people, new and very experienced, actually. voted with Trump most of the time. So for him to pick Darlene Graham over Ralph Norman, I think it just upset a lot of South Carolinians. And so you have some who are not going to vote for Annie Andrews, but they just can't get themselves to vote for Darlene. And really, Really, that point of... In the debate where she said, I just don't know that much about foreign policy, people appreciated Lindsey Graham, but they want a senator that's ready. They want a senator that knows their issues. They want a senator that's experienced. And I think the fact that Trump tried to push Darlene Graham on the people of South Carolina, I think that they are pushing back, especially when her brother, his experience was in foreign policy. You think this was a case of the president thinking he was more popular than maybe he was in South Carolina or misjudging what... South Carolinians thought of the Grahams in general. I think it's both. I think he thought that his strength was there, and it is among Republicans. But I also think in a primary, he did this in the governor's race. And South Carolinians pushed back. He had endorsed Pamela Yvette and they pushed back not wanting her. This time he endorsed Darlene Graham. She went over the finish line for the primary, but people just weren't upset or were just upset by that. But Ambassador, let me just do the gut check question. I mean, are you genuinely concerned that tonight the Democrat could win in South Carolina, which would be, of course, an earthquake in South Carolina politics? I'm looking at these numbers and realizing that that is where it's leaning. And it's frustrating to me because Annie Andrews is not someone that represents South Carolina. She believes in, you know, surgeries for minors, gender surgeries for minors. She believes in boys and girls sports. She believes in a lot of things that South Carolinians don't believe in. And this is a sign not that they were for Annie Andrews, but that they were against. Having Darlene Graham pushed on them. So, Governor, Ambassador, every title you want. We're going to, we're going to, It's Nikki, those moments in time. Nikki, I want you to pretend that you're in the war room because Hallie Jackson actually has some voting data on exit polls. And, like, after Hallie goes, I want to hear how you interpret those numbers. Well, it exactly fits into this conversation, which is so striking here. You talked about that moment in the primary debate where she said national security is not my thing. And Tommy made that point about her brother, of course, Senator Lindsey Graham. Does Darlene Graham have the right experience to serve as... As a senator, six in ten South Carolinians say no. And if you go into the vote break here, which we can do now, the polls have closed, two-thirds of them are backing Annie Andrews here. So that is a sign that this experience factor is a question. You also talk about Annie Andrews. This was a culture war race. Remember how the GOP hammered Annie Andrews on the issue, for example, of transgender rights. Is Annie Andrews too extreme? It's about half and half, but even of the people who say that Annie Andrews is too extreme, about 8% of them are still voting. for her. So interesting signals here in South Carolina. Yeah, I mean, she did a direct-to-camera ad disputing that. I mean, that is an issue. Nikki Haley just mentioned it. Republicans have run. Tons of ads, as they did in 2024, to some success in Kamala Harris on this issue, which is a supermajority issue in the United States about transgender girls playing in girls sports. And so clearly that was an attack ad. But it sounds like with this exit poll, it may not have done the trick this time for Republicans. And she's on record having done that. She ran before in South Carolina's first congressional district and lost because of these issues. So to have her come back and run again when people. People knew where she was on the record and then say, we're going to do it anyway. I talked to a voter today and they said that they were voting for Annie and they were so uncomfortable doing that because they don't agree with her on anything. But it was to make a point that they were angry about what choice they were given. That says a lot. Nikki, we thank you for being here tonight.