Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Tuesday that Donald Trump's indictment by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office will boost the former president's chances of winning South Carolina's presidential primary next year.
Speaking at a state Republican Party headquarters, Graham said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's decision to prosecute Trump is "legally unsound" and "politically motivated," predicting that it will "create a backlash in South Carolina."
"The laws of physics, I think, are that for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction," Graham said. "The reaction in South Carolina to what happened in New York is going to help President Trump in the primary."
Graham's comments on April 5 came one day after Trump pleaded not guilty in a New York City court after being charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.
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The charges, which are related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign, came out of Bragg's years-long investigation. He alleged that Trump "repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election."
In 2019, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.
Trump surrendered to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and was arraigned in court Tuesday afternoon after being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury last week.
Under New York state law, the charge of falsifying business records in the first degree alleges that the defendant committed the crime with the intent to defraud, which would be an intent to commit another crime.
Bragg's office has not revealed the underlying crime Trump is accused of attempting to conceal.
Graham, who is leading Trump's 2024 White House campaign in South Carolina, said the charges have strengthened Trump's support.
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"People in South Carolina, even those who don't like President Trump, see this as a politically-motivated prosecution," Graham said. "So, from a campaign point of view, the actions of the New York Manhattan district attorney have enormously helped President Trump in South Carolina. We see it in the polling and we see it in the giving."
Trump has raised more than $12 million since last Thursday, when he became the first current or former U.S. president to face criminal charges.
"The road to the White House runs through South Carolina," Graham said. "And the actions of the Manhattan DA make the road a lot wider for President Trump."
Fox News' Brooke Singman, Jake Gibson and Adam Sabes contributed to this report.
