Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) apologized on Monday after swearing on live TV while talking about former President Donald Trump‘s handling of the southern border during his administration.
Graham said the former president “scared the s*** out of Mexico” during his presidency when he threatened to put tariffs on the Mexican government if it did not help curb illegal immigration, Graham told Fox News host Jesse Watters.
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“Trump didn’t have a magic wand. He scared the s*** out of Mexico,” Graham said. “He told the Mexican government that ‘if you don’t help me, I’m going to put tariffs on every product coming across the border.’ Guess what? The Mexican government, all of a sudden, said, ‘Hey, I’d like to help.’ Under Trump, you couldn’t apply for asylum in the United States. You had to remain in Mexico.”
Lindsey Graham says Trump scared the shit out of Mexico pic.twitter.com/1Xn4wEtPO6
— Acyn (@Acyn) January 10, 2023
Watters jokingly responded that he would need to send the South Carolina senator a “bar of soap” for dropping the curse word, to which Graham laughed and apologized.
Graham also bashed the current administration, claiming President Joe Biden has been “derelict” in his duties to protect the southern border.
“I’ve been saying that on your show and other places for about a year now that what would fix this problem is pretty simple,” Graham said. “You cannot apply for asylum in the United States. You have to apply in your home country or some country, safe country, other than the United States.”
The interview comes after Biden made his first presidential trip to the U.S.-Mexico border and as the U.S. faces unprecedented immigration. Since taking office, approximately 5 million immigrants have been encountered attempting to enter the U.S. illegally. The president has since pledged to send more federal resources to the border.
Republicans have blasted the visit as being “too late” and claimed that if the president was serious about the border, he would have spent more time with border security officers.
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“Instead of seeing tent camps or learning about security breaches, President Biden briefly saw a manicured version of our border crisis,” Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) said in a statement to the Washington Examiner Sunday afternoon. “If he truly wanted an accurate picture, he would have met with law enforcement on the frontlines or constituents who deal with the fallout of illegal immigration on a daily basis.”
Biden will be meeting with Canadian and Mexican leaders later Tuesday for a summit in Mexico City. The summit will include discussions on trade, immigration, and climate change.
