Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Thursday recanted praise he gave President Joe Biden after the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Audio of Sen. Graham speaking that day with The New York Times reporter Jonathan Martin was broadcast during “Jesse Waters Primetime.”
“We’ll actually come out of this thing stronger,” the 66-year-old senator said. “It’ll take a while but people will calm down.” The senator painted the storming of Congress as the acts of a group within a group, adding it will serve as a rallying cry for the country as people say we’re better than this.
The Times reporter asked Graham if he thought Biden would help with that. “Totally,” responded the South Carolina Republican, adding, “he’ll be maybe the best person to have, right?”
“I mean, how mad can you get at Joe Biden?”
Scrutiny of last year’s conversation comes after the May 3 release of “This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future,” a book co-authored by Martin and Alexander Burns. Both Martin and Burns are political correspondents for The New York Times and political analysts for CNN, and both previously worked for Politico.
Fox host Jesse Waters asked Graham if he still thought Biden was really the best person to have as president. “I was wrong,” the senator chuckled. “I’ve known Joe for 30 years. He’s a nice guy, but he’s been a disaster as president.”
He told Waters he had hoped his longtime senate colleague would be a uniting presence who would bring the country closer to the center. Graham said he wanted the new president to be successful but became disappointed.
“Not only has he failed to bring us together,” Graham declared, “he has made us less safe. He’s ruined our economy. All the bad guys are moving around the world.”
“They didn’t do this on Trump’s watch because they were afraid of him,” he concluded. “Nobody fears Joe Biden abroad, and at home his policies are failing.”
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