“It's very easy to attack, but if you ask Lindsey, ask him how did going into the Middle East, how did that work out?" Trump said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham has become one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies since trashing his candidacy in 2016. But he’s sticking with his criticism of Trump’s approach on Iran.
“Sanctions so far haven’t worked and I doubt they ever will. So I think an appropriate military response is in order," Graham told a pair of reporters on Wednesday afternoon. The “measured response to the drone attack, I appreciated that, I was hoping that would give everybody a chance to reset. So clearly the Iranians have taken that to be a sign of weakness.”
Trump has shrugged off suggestions by Graham and Sen. Tom Cotton to strike Iran in retaliation for its incursions in the Middle East and even sacked his hawkish national security adviser, John Bolton. And the beef between Graham and Trump lingered into Wednesday afternoon, with Trump saying his reluctance to strike back after Iran allegedly bombed Saudi Arabia’s oil production facilities is a “great sign of strength.
The episode marks a rare schism between Graham, who famously did all he could to stop Trump’s rise during the 2016 primary and then shifted gears to become a golfing buddy and close adviser to the president. The two have worked closely over the past two years, though Graham has occasionally advocated a more muscular military approach than Trump is comfortable with.
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