Trump is ignoring desperate Lindsey Graham and letting him 'twist in the wind': columnist

With his own re-election prospects in doubt, Donald Trump is spending no time on the campaign trail helping out Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) who could be facing a stunning loss in conservative South Carolina.

Writing for the Week under a headline that reads, "Lindsey Graham, you're on your own," columnist Joel Mathis let Graham -- one of Trump's most ardent defenders -- know that he is only an afterthought in the president's self-centered world.

Pointing out that Graham is slavishly devoted to President Trump to the point where he has been called the president's "lapdog", Mathis said a recent attack on Graham from Fox Business host Lou Dobbs drew no notice from the president which means Graham's election problems are not even on the president's radar.

"Graham has never been particularly popular among hardcore conservatives, but it is still shocking to see them turn on a fellow Republican candidate in a close general election race. For right-wing activists, the senator's problem is that he is only about 97 percent steadfast in serving Trump's wishes, instead of a full 100 percent," Mathis explained before adding, "If even a small portion of South Carolina conservatives decide to withhold their support, he could lose his seat. Trump could possibly discourage the attacks on Graham if he wanted to, but so far, he hasn't. One has to wonder if the president had Graham in mind last week when he told GOP donors there were some Republican senators he just couldn't support for re-election."

The columnist went on to note that either Trump doesn't care about Graham or he is oblivious to the fact that he would need the South Carolina Republican to remain in office should the president pull out a victory.

"Republicans in the Senate have already saved Trump from conviction on impeachment charges; the president presumably liked having that security blanket. If Trump should win re-election and Democrats take the Senate, though, he will probably face more investigations and scrutiny of both his personal affairs and his operation of government. His biggest achievement, stacking the judiciary with conservative judges, would probably come to a halt," the columnist suggested. "But Trump has shown little regard for the legislative branch of government, and there isn't evidence he cares about much beyond his own ego and well-being."

With that in mind, the columnist wrote that Trump's silence about Graham -- who is being badly outspent by his Democratic opponent Jamie Harrison -- is a sign he is letting him "twist in the wind."

"It's hard to feel sorry for Graham. Any reasonable observer has seen that for Trump, loyalty is a one-way street. Yet Graham gave it, and demanded it of others" Mathis wrote before quoting Graham once saying, "To every Republican, if you don't stand behind this president, we're not going to stand behind you," before adding his own: "Which raises the question: Who is standing behind Lindsey Graham now?"

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