Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) doesn’t care what language former President Donald Trump uses to describe illegal migrants, so long as “we get it right” on the U.S. border.
During a “Meet the Press” interview on Sunday, host Kristen Welker practically pleaded with Graham to condemn remarks made in New Hampshire about “the need to keep immigrants out of this country.”
WATCH: Sen. @LindseyGrahamSC (R-S.C.) says he “could care less” what language Trump uses to describe migrants, as the Biden campaign accuses Trump of parroting Hitler.
“You’re talking about Donald Trump’s language as you … allow the country to be invaded” via the border. pic.twitter.com/gDntTv1SPi
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) December 17, 2023
“They’re poisoning the blood of this country,” Trump said of the swarms of migrants coming over President Biden’s open border. “That’s what they’ve done. … They’re coming into our country from Africa, from Asia, all over the world.”
“The Biden campaign has accused former President Trump of — quote — ‘parroting Adolph Hitler,'” Welker told Graham before asking for his reaction.
The senator, who has endorsed Trump, noted that “76 percent of the American people” believe “the border is broken.”
Welker was more concerned with “language.”
After being pressed to focus on the GOP frontrunner’s words, Graham tried again.
“I’m worried about an outcome,” he said. “[Trump] had the border secured.”
Addressing the Biden administration, Graham said, “You’re talking about language as you sit on the sidelines and allowed the country to be invaded; 172 people on the terrorist watchlist have come on your watch. Fentanyl is killing more Americans –”
“Senator,” Welker interrupted. “Just on the language. Just on the language, though.”
To Graham’s credit, he looked genuinely disgusted by Welker’s insistence on putting Trump’s speech above the substance of his message.
“You know, we’re talking about language?” he sneered. “I could care less what language people use as long as we get it right.”
“We have chaos and we need to create order,” he stated. “If you think you’re going to win the debate on illegal immigration by picking a line out of the Trump speech — Most Americans understand the game has to change, that we’re under threat, that we’re gonna get attacked, that our border’s completely been obliterated — so, if if you’re talking about the language Trump used rather than trying to fix it, that’s a losing strategy for the Biden administration.”
Welker refused to let it go.
Would Trump “appeal to more people” if he “chose different words,” she wondered.
Admitting that he “sometimes disagrees” with the way Trump talks, Graham stressed that the former president “actually delivered on the border.”
“People are looking for results,” he said. “If the only thing you want to talk about on immigration is the way Donald Trump talks, you’re missing a lot.”
The host tried a different, even more ridiculous angle.
“Is it the position of the Republican party that African and Asian immigrants are ‘poisoning the blood’ of the people in this country?” she asked.
“No,” Graham replied with a deadpan face, “it’s the position of the Republican party that we have lost control of the border, that terrorists are coming, that there’s never been a higher threat to the United States from a terrorist attack from a broken border.”
In another clip, Graham stated, “I’ve never been more worried about a 9/11 than I am right now.”
WATCH: “I’ve never been more worried about a 9/11 than I am right now,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) says.@LindseyGrahamSC: “Our border has been obliterated and we’re not going to give in on some Band-Aid fix.” pic.twitter.com/NxgOfif8H3
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) December 17, 2023
He does not believe a deal on the border will not be reached until after the new year.
“We feel like we’re being jammed,” Graham said. “We’re not anywhere close to a deal.”
“Our border has been obliterated,” he said, “and we’re not going to give in on some Band-Aid fix.”
As one user on X put it, “Every now and then Lindsey Graham states the obvious and makes a good argument.”
Every now and then Lindsey Graham states the obvious and makes a good argument.
— PattiO (@soylentbeige) December 17, 2023
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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