Trump, Graham campaign on heels of Russian sanctions waiver

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Russian sanctions waiver looms over Trump-Graham rally:

Mic Smith, Associated Press

President Trump is slated to campaign alongside Sen. Darline Graham (R-S.C.) in South Carolina tonight — a meetup coming just days after he waived sanctions against Russia outlined in a legislative package named after her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

While some Republicans have slammed these waivers — which Trump introduced via executive order late Friday — as a slight on Lindsey Graham’s legacy, the late senator’s sister stopped short of criticizing the president for the move. Though Darline Graham conceded that “personally, I would choose to keep the pressure on Russia.”

“The president and I share the same goal, which is to end the war, get gas and diesel prices down,” she told The Associated Press on Saturday. “The sanctions bill is one of the tools he can use to do that. It’s up to him whether or not he chooses to use it.”

Now the pair are set to meet up in Clemson, S.C., at 7 p.m. EDT — the next stop in the president’s seven-day, seven-stop campaign blitz less than two weeks out from Election Day.

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Endorsement power: The president sang Graham’s praises this morning in a Truth Social post, writing, “Darline Graham is GREAT!”

Trump’s endorsement played a crucial role in securing a primary runoff victory for Graham despite scrutiny surrounding her qualifications for the role. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) appointed Graham, who had never held political office, to the Senate after her brother’s unexpected death in July.

Trump was quick to boost Graham after her appointment and maintained his support throughout the election cycle. The president last campaigned with the senator a week ahead of the state’s primary runoff and shortly after her dodgy performance during a debate, in which she flubbed a question on national security.

The Hill’s nonpartisan election forecasting partner, Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ), gives Graham a 70 percent chance of beating Democratic opponent Annie Andrews.

Meanwhile, in Moscow: Kremlin officials said Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to resume trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. after meeting with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff in St. Petersburg, the AP first reported this morning.

The meeting came a day after Witkoff met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has grown increasingly critical of Trump in the wake of the Russian sanctions waiver and Ukraine’s outage of Starshield, the........

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