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COLUMBIA An angry tweeter directed his ire at U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan this week.

After President Donald Trump's insistence there were "very fine people" protesting at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., and that "both sides" were at fault for violence that broke out, the man wrote that Duncan had "lost whatever credibility he has left by his defense of Trump."

Duncan, a Laurens Republican, had chosen not to single out white supremacists for particular condemnation but spoke out generally against "violence" and added, "I agree with the President when he says that we are all Americans first."

"Who does he represent?" the tweeter demanded to know.

Duncan responded simply: "The people of South Carolina."

Major Palmetto State Republicans offered a divergent array of responses,from direct opposition to ambiguous agreement, regarding Trump's controversial decisionto blame "both sides" for the violence in Charlottesville.

South Carolina's U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott offered the most forceful condemnations, both taking the president to task for suggesting a "moral equivalency" between white nationalists and the counter-protesters who opposed them.

But most GOP U.S. House members and gubernatorial candidates from South Carolina took a more cautious stance, condemning "evil" and "violence" while declining to specify white supremacists or directly address the president's characterization.

"The evil that was displayed in #Charlottesville cannot be tolerated or condoned by the American people and has no place in our great country," tweeted U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-Rock Hill.

Graham, who days earlier had served as one of the most vocal surrogates for Trump's aggressive approach towards North Korea, landed in the president's crosshairs on Twitter due to his criticism of the Charlottesville response.

"The people of South Carolina will remember!" Trump warned.

But the people of South Carolina won't have a chance to weigh in on Graham's electoral future until 2020, when the senator who cruised to re-election in 2014 is next on the ballot.

House Republicans on the other hand, all of whom will have to convince primary voters to renominate them within a matter of months next June, tend to be a closer barometer of their constituents real-time mood. And they have been far more circumspect about the president.

"Political courage is often measured by the distance to your next election," said Dave Wilson, a South Carolina GOP strategist. "The closer you are to facing the voters again is often the best indicator as to whether you are willing to take certain risks."

Rep. Tom Rice, R-Myrtle Beach, was the only S.C. Republican in Congress to specifically cite "white supremacists" as the group to blame for Charlottesville.

"Call them what they are," Rice wrote on Facebook. "I also call them cowards."

The five other House Republicans in the state's delegation offered less forceful responses to the president's message. Not one was willing to rebuke their party's standard bearer by name.

A majority of Americans 52 percent felt the presidents response to Charlottesville was not strong enough, according to a poll conducted by NPR, Marist and PBS Newshour. But that same poll found that 59 percent of Republicans thought Trumps response was just fine.

In a state where most Republican officeholders face a more serious threat in June's GOP primary than November's general election, they are more likely to pay attention to the latter number.

Former U.S. Rep. Bob Inglis, from the Upstate, has repeatedly admonished his fellow Republicans for not standing up to Trump. After the latest episode, Inglis declared that Republicans are "in an abusive relationship" with the president.

"There's only one way to solve an abusive relationship, and that is leave," Inglis told The Post and Courier.

Inglis pointed to a proverb he often heard from former Democratic Sen. Fritz Hollings of Charleston: "No education in the second kick of a mule."

"How many more kicks do Republicans have to take to the gut before they realize that this old mule is really difficult to deal with?" Inglis asked.

But it is precisely Inglis' fate crushed in a GOP primary by now-Rep. Trey Gowdy as part of the tea party wave of 2010 that Republican politicians are desperate to avoid. Still, the ex-congressman implores his former colleagues to abandon fear of losing.

"You're worthless to the process if you're not willing to lead and risk your seat, so you may as well go home," Inglis said.

State Sen. Tom Davis agrees. The Beaufort Republican is likely running for governor next year but he insists he won't let political calculations stop him from speaking his mind.

"Let me be clear," Davis toldThe Post and Courier: "I think President Trump was wrong to suggest a moral equivalency between the white supremacist neo-Nazis and KKK members who attended the Charlottesville rally and the counter-protesters. He did say, I guess to his credit, that it wasn't his intent. But it's very difficult to unring a bell."

The three other major gubernatorial candidates Gov. Henry McMaster, Lt. Gov. Kevin Bryant and former Department of Health and Environmental Control Director Catherine Templeton all steered clear from opining on the president's stance.

McMaster offered prayers for Virginia and pointed to the "heart" South Carolina demonstrated after a racially charged shooting at a Charleston church in 2015. Bryant said the problem on display in Charlottesville was people taking their "beliefs to a level of violence." Templeton warned against letting "thedark voices at the extremes take over."

Davis assures Republicans he is "rooting for the president to be successful, as any American should."

"But on the other hand, it's also the responsibility of public officials, if he says or does something that you disagree with, to say so," Davis said.

With unified Republican control in Washington, upsetting voters is not the only reason to avoid crossing the president. Party leaders still see an opportunity to enact historic reforms on taxes, health care, infrastructure and other issues and they won't be able to do it without Trump's blessing.

By the end of the week, with the embers of Trump's fiery attack on Graham still simmering, Graham was back to singing the president's praises, commending him for elevating U.S. cyber command. The Seneca Republican is still banking on the president's imprimatur to build momentum for his health care proposal, one of the only remaining ideas for repealing and replacing Obamacare.

These Republican officeholders who criticize Trump one day and applaud him the next day, theyre all trying to find some political sweet spot for their own survival, said Barry Wynn, a former chairman of the S.C. Republican Party. "But thats going to be hard to do because it requires some level of predictability. And this president doesnt give them much of that.

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South Carolina Republicans grapple with Trump's turbulent response to Charlottesville - Charleston Post Courier