Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., suggested President Trump is wasting time with his lack of action against Russian President Vladimir Putin for interfering with U.S. elections.
Graham said in an interview with Fox News Thursday that a lack of consequences from the U.S. for Russian interference in the 2016 elections is encouraging them to look for more ways to meddle in the upcoming 2018 elections.
“If I were President Trump, I would call Putin up and say ‘This will stop. If you continue to interfere in our democratic process, we’re going to declare economic war on you, we’re going to grind you into the ground economically and the cost of doing business in America is going to go up,'” the senator said.
He warned: “If you don’t talk to Putin that way, you’re wasting your time.”
Graham went on to warn that Americans should be afraid of Russians changing voting totals which could make or break an election such as the 2016 election where Trump won the state of Florida by a few hundred votes.
“All I can say is when it comes to Russia, President Trump is not getting the results we want,” he stated.
“When it comes to North Korea, he’s been awesome. North Korea fears Trump,” he continued. “When it comes to Iran, he’s defined the Iranian deal as unacceptable and it is and I think the Iranians are afraid of trump. When it comes to Russia, what he’s doing is not working. And he needs to be as tough on Putin as he’s been on Kim Jong Un.”
The president was skewered earlier this week for offering Putin a congratulatory message during a phone call despite warnings from his national security advisers.
