COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — More than three decades after he first arrived in Washington, Lindsey Graham had everything he wanted. The senator listened to President Donald Trump, learned about the war with Iran and offered a well-funded path to re-election in his home state of South Carolina.
The question now is what these things will cost Republicans and the rest of America’s parties in an election year when control of Congress hangs in the balance. As oil prices rise and fighting spreads across the Middle East, the conflict has become deeply unpopular and has no clear end.
But Graham, who filed to run for a fifth term on Monday, revealed no concerns while speaking to supporters at his campaign office. Graham said he spoke with Trump on Sunday night and Monday morning, and Trump defended his role in pushing the country toward war.
“We are not underestimating Iran at all,” he said. “We’re crushing them.”
Graham has advocated direct confrontation between Washington and Tehran for more than a decade. He rejected the Iran nuclear deal negotiated by President Barack Obama, cheered Trump’s decision to strike nuclear facilities last year and dismissed bipartisan criticism of his bellicose rhetoric.
“If the radical cleric in Iran had a nuclear weapon, he would certainly use it the same way Hitler used nuclear weapons. He would kill all the Jews and we would be next,” Graham said Monday. “I will work ahead of anyone in the United States Senate to ensure the military has what it needs to win the war.”
Graham rarely faces serious challenges when running for re-election, and this year will be no different. What happens in the war, however, could reshape the midterm elections and Graham’s legacy as one of Washington’s most outspoken hawks.
“What you see on Christmas morning is basically a kid who has gotten everything he ever dreamed of,” said Jon Hoffman, a defense and foreign policy fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian-leaning think tank. “Obviously, it’s not what’s best for the country, but it’s what’s best for Lindsey Graham’s ideology.”
Graham is a leading hawk on Iran
Iran has long been in Graham’s crosshairs. As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1990s, he supported policies aimed at isolating the country and limiting its missile and nuclear programs.
Elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002 as the war in Iraq loomed, Graham frequently warned that Iran was exploiting the conflict to expand its regional influence.
Speaking to the Council on Foreign Relations in 2015, Graham said he hoped the U.S. military would “stop them and make them pay so they never want to do it again.”
“Let’s make sure their Air Force, Navy and Army are never what they used to be,” Graham said. “When they attack us, let’s be ready to respond.”
Graham’s aggressive foreign policy initially seemed like an unlikely fit for Trump, whose “America First” agenda has been skeptical of overseas conflicts, and relations between the two countries have been volatile over the years. However, they have become golfing buddies and share a passion for daring military operations.
That stance has frustrated some Republicans.
Asked whether Graham would be interested in expanding the bombing campaign into Lebanon, Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett complained: “Lindsey has never seen a fight that he didn’t want to turn into a bombing raid.”
When Graham appeared on nearly every cable news show in February to promote the war, some conservative critics called him callous and worried about his influence on Trump.
“When will Lindsey Graham become our president?” former Fox News host Megyn Kelly posted on social media.
She called Graham a “killer” who “Trump loves and is listening to, and Trump’s favorite channel” — referring to Fox News — “shows him around like a Hefner bunny in stockings on every show.”
White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said Trump “has been listening to lawmakers on many issues” and that he has a “very good and candid” rapport with Graham.
“Republicans support President Trump’s bold decision to launch combat operations and end the threat posed by the terrorist regime in Iran,” Levitt said in a statement.
Graham boosts conservatives’ credibility during election season
For years, Graham has challenged and easily defeated primary challengers from the right who believed he was not conservative enough in South Carolina, and critics who argued that Graham was too conciliatory and too eager to strike deals with Democrats on issues such as immigration with his longtime ally and friend, the late Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
During his reelection campaign, Graham tended to emphasize his conservatism. In 2020, while running against Democrat Jamie Harrison, Graham often reminded voters that he passionately defended Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh during his Senate confirmation hearings.
On Monday, amid cheers from supporters, Graham doubled down on his support for Trump’s decision to strike Iran, saying he felt “morale is high” among the U.S. armed forces and that sending him back to Washington would help “give them what they need to win a war they can’t afford to lose.”
“I’m running for Senate to build a military and use it wisely. I’m running for Senate to help President Trump, not hinder him,” Graham said. “Do you think the Democratic nominee will help Trump do what he needs to do?”
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Amiri reported from New York.
