Top Trump ally Lindsey Graham scolds Trump for petty attacks on DeSantis, cites Reagan: 'Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican'

AP Photo/Alex Brandon

On Tuesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) expressed his dislike for former President Donald Trump's attacks on Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, ahead of a potential 2024 election face-off.

Despite endorsing Trump's third campaign for the White House, Graham, a close Trump ally and personal supporter, acknowledged during an appearance on Fox News that Trump is "not into 'thou shalt nots.'"

Referring to President Ronald Reagan's so-called eleventh commandment, "Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican," Graham highlighted the importance of unity among party members.

Trump and DeSantis, who often tops 2024 polls alongside Trump, have recently engaged in a war of words, but Graham sees potential for a more constructive approach.

Following his bid for presidency, Trump has ratcheted up his criticism and attacks of DeSantis, referring to him as “Ron DeSanctimonious,” and promoting baseless claims by Democrat groups accusing DeSantis of being a groomer.

Pretty sure Trump just admitted he’ll be feeding fake stories about DeSantis to the corporate media… pic.twitter.com/lc1gnRgRz0

— Dave Rubin (@RubinReport) March 20, 2023

DeSantis appeared to take a jab at the former president during his remarks on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into alleged hush money payments to pornstar Stormy Daniels, which is expected to lead to an indictment.

“I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a pornstar to secure silence over some type of alleged affair, I can’t speak to that,” DeSantis said, adding that Bragg was “ignoring” crimes in his jurisdiction.

During his appearance on "Fox & Friends," Graham suggested that Trump should be able to take jabs given his own efforts to diminish DeSantis’ performance as a governor. The former president was roasted on Twitter after claiming that former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist did a “good job” in a dig at DeSantis.

President Trump: "For those of you that didn't notice, Florida was doing great long before Ron DeSanctus got there!" pic.twitter.com/ugpmOVq8f5

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) March 13, 2023

Speaking to Fox, Graham said he believes “if you start this thing, you’d better be willing to take it.”

He also recommended that, if he were Trump, he would acknowledge DeSantis's accomplishments and focus on more positive messaging, saying, "'DeSantis, I picked him out of a crowd. I knew he was talented early on. I'm the guy that saw the talent. He's been a great governor, but I'm better able to be president.'"

Though Graham conceded that such a conciliatory approach might not happen, given Trump’s nature. “That ain’t gonna happen,” he said.