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Trump uses anti-trans slur against Democratic Senate candidate in South Carolina

Annie Andrews is a physician running against Sen. Darline Graham.

Pete Buttigieg, South Carolina Democrats Attend Spratt Issues Conference

Democratic Senate candidate Annie Andrews speaks at the Spratt Issues Conference in Florence, S.C., on Aug. 22.Sean Rayford / Getty

Oct. 5, 2026, 9:07 PM EDT / Updated Oct. 5, 2026, 9:47 PM EDT

President Donald Trump used an anti-trans slur Monday to attack the Democratic nominee for the Senate in South Carolina as he urged voters to back Republican Sen. Darline Graham.

In a Truth Social post, Trump referred to Democratic candidate Annie Andrews three times as “trannie.” He said Andrews, who is not transgender, is “not for South Carolina.”

“And South Carolina must show, in the upcoming Election, that it is not for her,” Trump added.

Andrews responded by largely ignoring the insult, saying in a statement first shared with NBC News that she will “work with anyone to put South Carolina first.”

“As a mom and a pediatrician, I’m in this race to fight for my patients, my three kids, and South Carolina,” Andrews said, adding that “lowering costs and making life better for families across our state is going to take all of us working together.”

“If you care more about your bills than the politics in Washington, this campaign is for you,” she said.

Graham’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the post by Trump, who often uses insulting nicknames for politicians and officials he dislikes.

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Reached for comment on why Trump used the slur, the White House referred NBC News to his social media post.

The Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy organization, blasted Trump’s remarks, calling them “the sad, disgusting, pathetic diatribes of a lame duck president with record-low approvals.”

“So low, in fact, he’s having to campaign in deep red territory in a desperate attempt to shore up support ahead of the midterms,” Ramiro Sarmiento, a spokesperson for the organization, said in a statement.

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., condemned Trump’s words Monday night, calling his attacks on Andrews “despicable.”

“Annie Andrews is a mom and pediatrician who’s always put her community first — and she’s exactly who South Carolina needs representing them in the Senate,” Schumer said on X.

Andrews, a physician, has previously said she does not support gender-affirming surgery for minors or transgender athletes’ participating in women’s sports.

Former South Carolina Gov. David Beasley, a Republican, criticized the president for his attack on Andrews, asking voters to “reject politics based on division and hate.”

“This is abhorrent. Elections don’t have to be about cruelty and lies. South Carolina deserves better,” Beasley wrote Monday night on X.

Graham is running to keep her seat after Gov. Henry McMaster appointed her to fill her late brother’s seat after Lindsey Graham died in July.

Graham won the Republican primary in a runoff against Rep. Ralph Norman by nearly 5 percentage points. She has leaned heavily on Trump’s endorsement to make her case to South Carolina.

While South Carolina has not elected a Democratic senator in nearly three decades, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report shifted its rating of the race toward Democrats last month, moving it from “Solid Republican” to “Likely Republican.”

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