Sen. Graham skips Cleveland, stumps for Toomey in Pittsburgh
Asked why he skipped the Republican convention to stump in Pittsburgh for U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a onetime GOP presidential hopeful, said Tuesday, “There's no use going to the convention if you can't support the nominee.”
Republicans in Cleveland formally nominated businessman Donald Trump as their candidate for president to face Democrat Hillary Clinton.
“People don't trust her for a variety of reasons,” he said. “So she's got her challenges. Our nominee has his challenges.” But unless members of the Senate and House do a better job of working together, “I don't think it really matters” who the next president is, he said.
Graham was in town with South Carolina's junior U.S. Sen. Tim Scott to campaign for Toomey, a Lehigh Valley Republican who is vying for his second term. The three spoke to more than 50 members of the Allegheny County Young Republicans at Roland's Seafood Grill in the Strip District.
Graham praised Toomey's ability to “reach across the aisle and do big things.”
Polls show Toomey holds a slight lead over Democratic challenger Katie McGinty.
“The linchpin to holding the Senate is Pat Toomey,” Scott told the audience. “Y'all — Southern for you all — will decide the fate of the Senate.”
Graham was one of 17 Republicans who sought the nomination, but he dropped out Dec. 21, one of the early casualties of Trump's astounding campaign.
Trump is regarded by some voters as being harsh and divisive.
However the deadly attacks in Benghazi, Libya, could be Hillary Clinton's Achilles heel, Graham told the Tribune-Review.
“Benghazi is a story of being asleep at the switch,” Graham said. “It's the closest she's been to being commander in chief. It became a death trap on her watch.”
In its 800-page report, the House Benghazi committee pointed specifically to Clinton's actions before, during or after the Sept. 11, 2012, attacks on the U.S. diplomatic outpost and CIA annex in the eastern Libyan city.
“During their hour of greatest need, nobody came to their aid. And after the attack, I think she and others misled the public. I don't think that goes down well with the American people,” Graham said.
Graham said the FBI's recently closed investigation into Clinton's use of a private server was “damning.”
Toomey told the audience that the country needs to take a harder stance on fighting terrorism.
“When you catch the bad guy, you put them someplace safe and secure and away from here like Guantanamo Bay,” Toomey said. “My only criticism of Guantanamo Bay is there's too many empty beds.”
Graham and Scott will spend the week campaigning for candidates in critical Senate races.
The Associated Press contributed. Tony Raap is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-320-7827 or traap@tribweb.com.