Sen. Lindsey Graham spoke with Donald Trump following his acquittal in the Senate impeachment trial and said the former president is “excited” for 2022.
The South Carolina Republican told Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday that the former president was grateful to his lawyers but “ready to move on and rebuild the Republican Party.”
“He’s excited about 2022, and I’m going to go down to talk with him next week, play a little golf in Florida,” Graham said, adding that he told Trump, “this MAGA movement needs to continue.”
When asked if he felt Trump bore any responsibility for the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, Graham said, “No, in terms of the law, no. He bears responsibility [for] pushing narratives about the election that I think are not sound and not true, but this was politically protected speech. The speech on January the sixth was not an incitement to violence. Every politician has used the word fight, fight hard, so I don’t think that he caused the riot.”
“Could the president have done more? Yes,” Graham added. “Did he incite this riot by his speech? Absolutely not.”
During a speech to the Senate floor, hours after the riot took place, Graham signaled his frustration with the president.
“Trump and I, we’ve had a hell of a journey,” he said. “I hate it to end this way. Oh my God, I hate it. From my point of view, he’s been a consequential president. But today, first thing you’ll see. All I can say is, count me out, enough is enough.”
But on Sunday, Graham struck a different tone.
“We need Trump plus and at the end of the day,” he said. “I’ve been involved in politics for over 25 years, the president is a handful, and what happened on Jan. 6 was terrible for the country, but he’s not singularly to blame.”
Graham went further, questioning whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was aware there was a threat to the Capitol before the riot took place.
“There was a preplanned element to this attack, Mr. Wallace, that we need to look at,” he said. “Did Nancy Pelosi know on January the fifth that there was a threat to the Capitol? What did President Trump do after the attack? We need a 9/11 commission to find out what happened and make sure it never happens again, and I want to make sure that the Capitol footprint can be better defended next time.”
On Saturday, the Senate voted to acquit Trump with 57-43 vote in favor of conviction, however, the Senate lacked the two-thirds majority required. It was the former president’s second acquittal, coming about a year after he was acquitted on two impeachment articles charging him with corruption and obstruction of Congress.
