Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., feels that he and the U.S. have been “played” and “used” by Saudi Arabia and its Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
“I introduced MBS six months ago in town as being the hope of the Mideast — boy was I wrong,” Graham told Fox News Tuesday evening, referring to the crown prince by his monogram. “So here’s the way I feel about it: I was played, I was used.”
Graham said that he supported President Trump in his efforts to maintain the relationship with Saudi Arabia, but that he feels now the president must be strong in his reaction to the CIA’s conclusion that the crown prince was involved in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident, columnist for the Washington Post, and green-card-holding Virginia resident, was murdered after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October. The journalist had a scheduled appointment to obtain the paperwork to marry his Turkish fiancee, and he was never seen again.
“When you get in America’s orbit, and when you want to associate yourself with America in a direct way, we can’t ignore this, because other people will see this as a green light to do this.” said Graham. “And if you’re an ally of the United States and we let someone get chopped up at a consulate, then we are abandoning our values.”
The senator also said that he has relayed his feelings they had been played by Saudi Arabia to the president and gave Trump advice on how to respond.
“Now is the time to come down hard,” Graham said he told Trump. “Now is the time to be the leader of the world, and not accept this as just the way things are. I’m going to cut them off. I have gone from being this guy’s biggest champion to his biggest nightmare … If you let him get away with this, Mr. President, then you are sending a signal you are about transactions. Not somebody special. The president needs to be somebody special.”
Graham said he told Trump that he can’t give the crown prince a “pass after he disrespected you, you will look weak … you’ve got to be strong. Everybody is watching.”
