South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham slammed the prominent progressive freshmen congresswomen for their political agenda and urged President Trump do the same.
Graham’s comments come a day after Trump advised those congresswomen — Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts — to “go back” to the countries they came from. Despite backlash, the president proceeded to follow those remarks up with similar ones multiple times on Twitter.
“We all know AOC and this crowd are a bunch of communists they hate Israel, they hate our own country. Calling guards along our border, Border Patrol agent concentration cam guards. They accuse people support Israel doing it for the Benjamins,” Graham stated during a Monday morning appearance on Fox & Friends. “They’re anti-Semitic. They’re anti-America. Don’t, aim higher. We don’t need to know anything about them personally. Talk about their policies.”
Last month, Ocasio-Cortez compared detention facilities housing migrants awaiting court dates to concentration camps. She did not specifically reference the Holocaust other than uttering the phrase “Never again,” which is associated with the Holocaust. The comments sparked some condemnation but she did not back down, and many of her allies supported the comparison.
Graham’s reference about “Benjamins” was a shot at Omar. She alleged that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee buys support for Israel from members of Congress, tweeting that “It’s all about the Benjamins baby,” back in February. She ended up issuing a statement and apologizing after facing widespread condemnation.
“I think they’re American citizens duly-elected running on an agenda that is disgusting, that the American people will reject,” he continued. “Their ideas they’re anti-Semitic. They talk about the Israeli state as if a bunch of thugs, not victims of the entire region. They wanted to impeach Trump on day one. They’re socialists. They’re anti-Semitic. They stand for all the things that most Americans disagree with. Make them the face of the future of the Democratic Party. You will destroy the Democratic Party.”
“Sounds like you’re saying the president went too far?” Steve Doocey asked.
Graham answered, “I don’t think — aim higher. They are American citizens. They won an election. Take on their policies. The bottom line here is this is a diverse country.”
The progressive congresswomen all responded defiantly toward Trump’s sentiment.
