Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is the most recent Republican lawmaker to fall victim to his own past comments.
In audio obtained by Latest York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns that aired on CNN Tuesday night, Graham might be heard offering his perspective on the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021:
Graham: “We’ll actually come out of this thing stronger. Moments like this reset. It’ll take some time. People will calm down. People will [say]: ‘Don’t need to be related to that.’ It is a group inside a gaggle. What this does, it’ll be a rallying effect for some time, where the country says, ‘We’re higher than this.’”
Martin: “And Biden might be higher, right?”
Graham: “Yeah, totally, he’ll be perhaps one of the best person to have, right? I mean, how mad are you able to get at Joe Biden?”
After the attack, Graham publicly condemned Trump for inciting the violence, telling fellow lawmakers from the Senate floor: “All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough.”
Burns and Martin released the audio to advertise their recent book, This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future.
Last month, the authors released tapes of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) privately telling Republican leadership that he would call Trump and urge him to step down after Jan. 6.
“I’ve had it with this guy,” McCarthy said of Trump.
Weeks later, he visited Trump at his Florida resort and posed for a photograph.
