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Meeting with a pair of reporters around the time of Donald Trump's first impeachment trial, South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham reportedly described his political ally and friend as a "lying mother******" as the president sought to defend himself against charges of extorting the Ukrainian government for information potentially damaging to his political rivals ahead of the 2020 election.
As he sought to publicly defend Trump, Graham—according to a newly released excerpt from the upcoming book The Divider: Trump in the White House 2017-2021 first reported by The Independent—reportedly told authors Peter Baker and Susan Glasser that he was cognizant of what the former president had done on the call but described impeaching him over it an "insane" idea before noting the president's grip on the party.
"He could kill fifty people on our side and it wouldn't matter," Graham allegedly told the authors, after noting during the conversation that Trump was a "fun guy" to hang out with.
The scene is likely unsurprising to anyone who has followed the personal and pragmatic relationship between the two men. After appearing to renounce his political relationship with Trump from the floor of the Senate on January 6, 2021, Graham has remained not only a steadfast supporter of the man's policies, but of the man himself.
Graham has so far refused to testify about his communications with Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger's office about the Trump campaign's attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election there.
And despite his personal anger over the events of January 6, and his opposition to the prospect of Trump potentially pardoning rioters involved in storming the Capitol, Graham has remained open to the prospect of Trump mounting another run for president, and after the FBI's Mar-a-Lago raid warned of the potential for "riots in the streets" if Trump is prosecuted for allegedly illegally removing classified documents from the White House from his time as president.
What's likely more noteworthy about the quote, however, is the prominent role Graham took as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee during the initial impeachment proceedings against Trump—his efforts to make the trial against him die as "quickly" as possible.
"I am trying to give a pretty clear signal I have made up my mind," Graham said prior to the House's impeachment vote. "I'm not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here."
Trump was later acquitted by the Senate.
Newsweek reached out to Graham's staff for comment.
About the writer
Nick Reynolds is a senior politics reporter at Newsweek. A native of Central New York, he previously worked as a ... Read more