Lindsey Graham has ‘never felt better’ about Trump leading GOP into future elections

Sen. Lindsey Graham says he’s “never felt better” about former President Donald Trump leading the GOP.

Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Monday that he believes Trump will “lead the Republican party on policy” over the next few months and unify and energize the party to win control of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives in 2022.

“I’ve never felt better about president Trump’s leading the party than I do right now,” Graham said.

Trump is set to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday — marking his first major address and public appearance since leaving office in January.

Graham told Fox News the speech will be “policy-centric” and help the party gain support from independent voters.

“Number one, he will position himself as the alternative to (President) Joe Biden. He, I think, will make a speech that will unify Republicans on policy,” Graham said. “He’s been working the phones. I was with him all weekend. He wants us to win in 2022.”

Graham, who visited Trump in Florida over the weekend to discuss the future of the Republican party, told reporters when he returned that the two “just talked about the 2022 cycle,” The Hill reports.

On Friday, Graham told reporters he wants the GOP to “come together as much as possible.”

“The worst possible outcome for the Republican Party is to continue to argue amongst itself,” he said, according to The Hill.

The senator, a long-time ally of the former president, made similar comments Monday on Fox News.

“If we could get behind President Trump and follow his lead, we will win in 2022,” he said. “If we argue with ourselves, we’re going to lose, and there’s no reason to lose.”

Graham’s comments come as conservative lawmakers have been divided on Trump’s future role in the Republican party following his impeachment and subsequent acquittal in the wake of the Jan. 6 mob attack on the U.S. Capitol.

At a rally prior to the attack, Trump told his supporters to march on Capitol Hill and touted false claims that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent and stolen from him. Rioters then stormed the building as Congress was certifying then President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the Electoral College.

Lawmakers from both parties, at least in part, pinned the attack on Trump’s rhetoric surrounding the election.

Hours after the attack, Graham said on the Senate floor that Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris had been “lawfully” elected and said it was time to end challenges to the outcome. He also said he was disappointed his “journey” with Trump had ended the way it did.

The House later impeached Trump on a charge that he incited an insurrection, making him the only U.S. president to be impeached more than once. Earlier this month, the U.S. Senate voted to acquit Trump of that charge with Graham, along with all but seven Republicans, voting not to convict him.

In a Politico/Morning Consult poll taken shortly after Trump’s acquittal, 59% of Republicans said they want to see Trump play a big role in the party, up 18 percentage points from a Jan. 7 poll.

A Gallup poll conducted Jan. 21-Feb. 2 found 60% of Republicans wanted Trump to be the leader of the GOP, while 38% wanted the party to “have a new leader.”

Trump has reportedly floated running for president again in 2024 and starting his own third political party.

When asked what Trump’s plans are for 2024, Graham told Fox News, “Stay tuned.”