SC Gov. McMaster says don’t let ‘one day’ overwhelm the good things Trump has done
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster defended President Donald Trump Friday, urging people not to let “one day” or one event overwhelm all the good things Trump did throughout his presidency despite criticism leveled by other Republicans after a mob stormed the Capitol on Wednesday.
The governor also side stepped saying explicitly Friday whether he would welcome Trump back to the Palmetto State to help with his 2022 gubernatorial run as some of Trump’s most loyal backers have soured on the president.
The governor told reporters he was “shocked and saddened and very much concerned” over the televised events Wednesday showing a mob of more than 1,000 rioters storming the Capitol, sending the building into lockdown as Congress was engaged in debate to certify electoral votes for President-elect Joe Biden.
“I don’t think he’s going to be doing any campaigning for a while. I think he’s going to take a much needed rest,” McMaster said with a grin when asked whether he would ask Trump to campaign for him, just as the president did before a 2018 runoff. “But, I will tell you, back in those days in 2018, around the country, I’ve never seen such excitement about a candidate.”
Since Wednesday, a handful of officials in the Trump administration, including his former acting chief of staff and Northern Ireland envoy Mick Mulvaney, resigned their posts. Other Republicans also have called for the party to move past Trump and said the Capitol riots will be a stain on the president’s legacy.
But McMaster defended Trump Friday, urging people not to reject Trump because of one event.
“I would urge people concerning President Trump, as well as others, to remember the ... important things they did,” McMaster said. “And don’t let one day, or week or event overwhelm the good things that were done by President Trump or other presidents that have gone before.”
By large measure, McMaster’s rise to the governor’s office can be credited back to Trump.
The Columbia Republican — who has been steeped in Republican politics for years — was the first statewide elected official to endorse Trump’s unorthodox presidential bid, nominating the president at the 2016 Republican National Committee. That alliance paid off when, in November 2016, Trump nominated former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to be his ambassador to the United Nations.
By January, the state’s former lieutenant governor was the new governor of the state of South Carolina.
Besides endorsing Trump’s policy positions, McMaster has leaned on Trump heavily, particularly in 2018 when he faced a competitive primary that forced a runoff with a challenger — conservative Greenville businessman John Warren — hitting him from the right.
Trump’s trip helped to maximize McMaster’s turnout days later when he won his runoff, eventually keeping the Governor’s Mansion.
As opposed to other governors, McMaster also has avoided getting on Trump’s bad side, oftentimes avoiding answering questions about the president’s rhetoric.
Friday, social media videos showed U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-Seneca, being screamed at and called a “traitor” at the airport after the South Carolina senator’s remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday, in which he said the Wednesday riots will be marked high on Trump’s record and acknowledged Biden’s electoral win.
“I don’t know whats happened to people, to have them express such vitriol or anger,” McMaster said Friday. “Every thought that crosses your mind does not need to be expressed.”
Trump has not faced a real challenge in South Carolina since he first won the state back in 2016 with nearly 55% of the vote.
In November, Trump won over more voters in the red state — nearly 230,000 more — easily edging out Biden.
But despite a rush by many to believe that Wednesday’s Capitol riots and Trump’s response spell the end for the former media mogul’s influence over the Republican Party, Scott Huffmon, a Winthrop University political scientist who directs the Winthrop Poll, said Trump will still be highly relevant in the state’s Republican politics.
“You’ve got to remember, most of the Republican districts are pretty gerrymandered, and so that means the primary is the main election,” Huffmon said. “The biggest challenge they face will be among the most hardcore elements of their own party in the primary, and to them, Trump and his message are still highly relevant. As long as primary voters respond to internal polling by saying they like Trump and they agree with Trump, then Trump is going to absolutely remain important to those politics.”
This story was originally published January 8, 2021 at 3:45 PM.
