Sen. Lindsey Graham praised Donald Trump for ordering a missile strike on a Syrian airbase but condemned Bashar al-Assad’s continued use of that base, saying, “Here’s what I think Assad’s telling Trump by flying from this base: ‘F.U.’,” Graham said in an interview with Chuck Todd on Sunday’s “Meet the Press.”
“I think he’s making a serious mistake,” Graham continued, “because if you’re an adversary of the United States and you don’t worry about what Trump may do on any given day, then you’re crazy.”
Todd quipped that Graham’s use of “F.U.” may be “a first for ‘Meet The Press’” before asking Graham for his thoughts on Trump’s change of stance on using military force, noting National Review columnist Jonah Goldberg’s recent article arguing that Trump’s strike is proof that he “has no overriding commitment to any ideological position.”
Graham simply responded by, again, praising Trump for beginning the process to remove Assad from power, as opposed to Barack Obama, whom Graham said only called for Assad’s removal “in name only.”
In addition to calling on the Trump Administration to order U.S. troop deployments in response to Syrian forces’ continued use of the attacked base, Graham urged Trump to further sanction Russia, arguing he should do so “not only for interfering in our election, but for aiding and abetting the use of chemical weapons by a war criminal.”
“I’m glad Trump did this. He is no longer Obama in the eyes of our enemies but he needs to do more to close the deal. There’s a new sheriff in town,” Graham said.
Watch the full interview in the clip above.