Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., demanded to know Sunday whether Senate Democrats would support use of military force against North Korea if the summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un, the rogue nation’s leader, fails to broker a denuclearization agreement for the Korean peninsula.
“I appreciate you telling the president what a good deal would look like, but the country needs you to back the president up to get a deal,” Graham said during an interview on ABC’s “This Week” in reference to a letter Senate Democrats sent Trump on Monday that listed their demands for the historic meeting.
“If diplomacy fails, will you support my efforts to authorize use of military force as a last resort to convince North Korea and China things are going to be different this time?” Graham continued.
After a group of Senate Dems made demands for a potential deal with North Korea, @LindseyGrahamSC says “I embrace this letter… here’s the question for my Democratic colleagues: If diplomacy fails, will you support my efforts to authorize use of military force as a last resort?” pic.twitter.com/Z0HohkSuVs
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) June 10, 2018
When asked what would prompt him to push for military action against North Korea, Graham said “we’ll know diplomatic failure when we see it.” Graham conceded he did not expect a deal to be signed on Tuesday when the two leaders are expected to meet.
“I wish they had sent such a letter to President Obama regarding the Iranian nuclear efforts, but I embrace this letter,” he quipped.
Senate Democrats told Trump on Monday they would not accept an arrangement to lift sanctions on the hermit kingdom unless the country completely and permanently eliminated its nuclear and missile testing program.
“Any deal that explicitly or implicitly gives North Korea sanctions relief for anything other than the verifiable performance of its obligations to dismantle its nuclear and missile arsenal is a bad deal,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., wrote in the letter.
But Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told ABC on Sunday he would not give his consent for military force “until I understand that the path for peace is not obtainable.”
.@SenatorMenendez says he seeks a “real agreement” for denuclearization of the Korean peninsula before military options: “I’m not ready to give an Authorization for the Use of Military Force to this president… until I understand that the path for peace is not obtainable.” pic.twitter.com/UB21m0x5jI
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) June 10, 2018
Trump arrived in Singapore on Sunday to prepare for the first time he and Kim will meet on Tuesday morning.
