In late July, US President Donald Trump lionised Republican Senator Lindsey Graham's life in a touching eulogy at the National Cathedral in Washington DC, describing him as a "fixture of American politics" and a "force to be reckoned with".
asserted
Trump → lionise → politics
"He was a man who gave America the full measure of his good and mighty heart, until that heart itself just gave out," the president said.
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president → give → heart
His death was sudden, unexpected, and created a problem for Republicans.
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death → create → Republicans
President Trump made a captain's call: he wanted Darline Graham, Lindsey's younger sister, to not only temporarily fill her brother's seat in South Carolina but run for election in November's midterms.
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Graham → make → midterms
"I asked Darline, for the Good of our Nation, to run for the US Senate," the president wrote on Truth Social.
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president → ask → Social
"I hope Darline does this, in that there would be nobody better to honour the legacy of her beloved brother, Lindsey.
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Darline → hope → brother
"RUN, DARLINE, RUN!"
With the backing of the president, and her brother's legacy, she seemed a frontrunner to win.
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she → run → president
But, like so many Republicans discovered on Tuesday, support from the president did not provide the same boost as it once did.
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it → discover → boost
Ms Graham lost, with a state Mr Trump won by double digits just two years ago turning blue for the first time in decades.
asserted
Trump → lose → decades
"As you all know this has been a very difficult few months, I lost my dear brother Lindsey and one of South Carolina's greatest leaders in July," a tired and dejected Ms Graham told supporters on Tuesday night.
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Graham → know → night
"I would trade this all a thousand times over to have my brother back but God had a different plan."
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God → trade → plan
Ms Graham's defeat revealed a problem across the board in this week's midterms.
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defeat → reveal → midterms
Analysts have identified Mr Trump's insistence on choosing unqualified candidates, including a grieving sister, who had never run for public office, as being among the reasons the Republicans got thumped.
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Republicans → identify → reasons
In Texas, Mr Trump endorsed scandal-prone state attorney-general Ken Paxton over veteran senator John Cornyn.
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Trump → endorse → Cornyn
Mr Paxton lost badly, and for the first time in almost four decades the state sent a Democratic Senator to Washington DC.
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state → lose → DC
In Iowa and North Carolina, Republican senators who stood up to Mr Trump were threatened by the president's allies.
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who → stand → allies
Both men decided to retire.
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men → decide → ?
The vacancies they left were vulnerabilities, and the Democrats flipped both states.
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Democrats → leave → states
Lindsey Graham initially opposed Mr Trump and was one of the president's most vocal critics during the GOP primaries in 2016.
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Graham → oppose → 2016
Less than a year later, however, the late senator got on board with the MAGA movement and became a vocal defender of the president's agenda.
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senator → get → agenda
These days, it is clear the brand is badly damaged.
Is this the beginning of the end for Trump's MAGA movement?
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this → damage → movement
Texas Young Republican Ben Williams hopes so.
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Williams → hop → ?
"I think we should leave Trump far, far behind," the 26-year-old policy analyst for the Austin Young Republicans told the ABC.
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analyst → think → ABC
We need people who are much less divisive."
As the party engages in soul-searching and finger-pointing over its drubbing by the Democrats, Mr Williams said it should reflect not just on its poor candidate selection, but on its failure to listen to young conservatives' concerns.
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it → need → concerns
In the lead-up to the elections, pollsters warned the Republican Party's support among young men was cratering, in large part due to the Iran war and rising costs.
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support → warn → war
But Mr Williams said their voices had been ignored and their complaints had been ridiculed by Mr Trump and other party leaders.
"
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complaints → say → Trump
They screwed over the Republican base, they screwed over young men, young people in general, and this is what happens when they do that."
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they → screw → that
A stand-out moment in the blame game came when Vice-President JD Vance used X to say the Iran war was responsible for Republicans' poor fortunes.
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war → stand → fortunes
His lengthy post has been fuelling talk about how hard Mr Vance will now try to distance himself from Mr Trump ahead of a possible run for president in 2028.
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Vance → fuel → 2028
"This long post was kind of throwing Donald Trump under the bus," North Carolina State University (NC State) political scientist Steven Greene said.
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Greene → throw → bus
Mr Williams described Mr Vance's post, which also named inflation and Israel as factors, as "excellent".
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which → describe → factors
But he had more praise for outgoing Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who used a press conference to flay Republicans' midterms strategy for focusing on poor priorities, such as transgenderism, and ignoring the concerns motivating voters.
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who → have → voters
"I think he's probably going to run for president," Mr Williams said of Mr DeSantis, "and I'm certainly going to back him."
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I → think → him
Mr DeSantis ran against Mr Trump for the nomination in 2024, but dropped out after the Iowa caucuses, when it was clear his chances of winning were extremely low.
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chances → run → caucuses
Mr Vance is widely seen as the favoured 2028 nominee, though Mr Trump said "maybe he won't run" when asked about the likelihood on Wednesday.
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he → see → Wednesday
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also considered a contender.
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Rubio → consider → State
But some analysts say the election result shows the Trump brand is so damaged that members of the current administration like Mr Vance and Mr Rubio would be risky choices.
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members → say → Vance
For that reason, Mr DeSantis could be the party's smartest option, Professor Greene said.
uncertain
Greene → say → reason
(At his press conference, Mr DeSantis said he would "cross that bridge when we come to it" when asked if he was considering a 2028 run.)
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he → say → run
"From my perspective, if the Republicans have any sense, they will nominate a governor," Professor Greene said, adding that Utah's moderate Republican Governor Spencer Cox could also be a viable alternative.
uncertain
Cox → have → governor
…and 11 more, not listed.
The Aporia
