COLUMBIA — President Donald Trump referred to Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Annie Andrews with an anti-transgender slur in an Oct. 5 social media post as national Republicans have begun to show visible anxiety about Republican Sen. Darline Graham’s candidacy in ruby red South Carolina.

Writing on his social media platform, Trump referred to Andrews as Annie “Trannie” Andrews in a late-stage reaffirmation of support for Graham, whom Trump reportedly recruited to run after the death of Graham’s brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, earlier this year.

“Annie Trannie is not, in particular, as it pertains to representing the Values of the Great People of South Carolina,” Trump wrote of Andrews, whose platform has long included support for the LGBTQ community.

Annie Andrews is the most radical Democrat South Carolina has ever seen. @DarlineGrahamSC will put South Carolina FIRST! https://t.co/GLdtHrdH5E

— Senate Republicans (@NRSC) October 5, 2026

He continued, “She is in favor of Transgender for Everyone, Open Borders, Defunding the Police, High Taxes, a Weak Military, and will absolutely fight to take your guns away — In other words, she is against our Great Second Amendment! Trannie is not for South Carolina, and South Carolina must show, in the upcoming Election, that it is not for her.”

Andrews’ campaign met the post with a muted response, writing only, “if you care more about your bills than the politics in Washington, this campaign is for you.”

But Trump was met with a Republican rebuke from former South Carolina governor David Beasley, who criticized Trump’s post as “abhorrent.”

“Elections don’t have to be about cruelty and lies,” wrote Beasley, who accepted the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the World Food Program, which he previously led. “South Carolina deserves better. I urge voters to look at the merits of each candidate and cast their vote accordingly. We must reject politics based on division and hate.”

This is abhorrent. Elections don’t have to be about cruelty and lies. South Carolina deserves better. I urge voters to look at the merits of each candidate and cast their vote accordingly. We must reject politics based on division and hate. While South Carolinians can strongly disagree with one another, we can do so civilly and with honest intentions for the betterment of our communities and well being of our families.

— David M. Beasley (@dbeasley1) October 6, 2026

A spokesperson for Graham did not address Post and Courier questions about the content of the post. But Trump’s remarks comes at a critical time for Graham, whose fundraising and support have faltered amid an increasingly bleak outlook for Republicans ahead of next month’s midterm elections.