By admin 
President Donald Trump has a long history of drawing massive crowds and making headlines at South Carolina rallies. Ahead of his latest visit, here’s a look back at memorable moments from past Trump events in the Palmetto State.
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Here are key takeaways:
- In January 2023, Trump rolled out his South Carolina leadership team at the State House, with Gov. Henry McMaster and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham among those joining the splashy rollout of his SC team in his first campaign trip after announcing his 2024 bid.
- Trump’s July 2023 rally in Pickens drew thousands to the Upstate town on Independence Day weekend. The crowd booed Graham when he took the stage ahead of Trump.
- During a September 2023 rally at Sportsman Boats in Summerville, Trump told the crowd that “they want to silence me, because they want to silence you,” briefly addressing the criminal charges he faced in Georgia, New York and federal court.
- At the Summerville event, Trump announced endorsements from S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson and Secretary of State Mark Hammond, and predicted he would win the First in the South primary “by a lot.”
- At the Pickens rally, Trump defended his handling of classified documents, telling the crowd he had “an absolute right to have them” before returning to familiar themes on border security, the 2020 election and President Joe Biden.
- At a February 2024 rally at Coastal Carolina University’s HTC Center in Conway, Trump spoke for nearly 2 1/2 hours to thousands and took shots at former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley ahead of the state’s GOP primary, according to coverage of the Conway event.
- The Conway rally drew such a large crowd that the 3,000-capacity HTC Center filled up and an estimated 2,000 additional supporters waited outside, where Trump greeted them before his speech, as reported from the CCU campus.
- At an August 2026 Myrtle Beach Convention Center rally, Trump campaigned for U.S. Sen. Darline Graham in her GOP runoff against U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, telling attendees, “I’m doing this to honor Lindsey,” referring to Graham’s late brother, per takeaways from the rally.
- Hundreds of supporters lined up for hours in a heat advisory before the Myrtle Beach rally, with at least five people needing medical assistance as officers brought wheelchairs, a stretcher and water to help attendees cool down, as attendees waited outside the convention center.
- At a March 2022 Florence rally, Trump exacted political revenge on U.S. Reps. Nancy Mace and Tom Rice, calling them “grandstanding losers” and urging voters to back primary challengers Katie Arrington and Russell Fry, during the coastal South Carolina event.
- Supporters at a June 2018 Columbia rally at Airport High School waited up to 11 hours in 94-degree heat to see Trump campaign for McMaster, with one attendee from North Carolina saying it was his 14th time seeing the president, as fans tailgated before the event.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.
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