Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., pushed back on criticism raised against him by colleague Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who accused him of trying to “declare a war” in the middle of discussions between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
On Sunday, just ahead of Trump’s meeting Tuesday with Kim, Graham urged that military force be used against North Korea if Trump could not reach an agreement with Kim about denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula through diplomacy. The call for an Authorization for the Use of Military Force, or AUMF, against North Korea prompted Paul to claim Graham was a “danger to the country” on Monday.
[Also read: Lindsey Graham: ‘Violently disagree’ with pulling US troops from South Korea]
But Graham said that he was not looking to initiate a war with North Korea, and instead, was trying to prevent one.
“Contrary to what Sen. Paul says, the only way you’re going to get North Korea to give up their nuclear weapons program is for them to believe they are better off without it than with it, and that comes down to Trump convincing them that they can no longer go on the path they are going without a fight,” Graham told Fox News’ Martha McCallum on Tuesday evening.
Graham also said that North Korea wouldn’t be engaging in discussion with the Trump administration unless it was concerned about the U.S. engaging with military force, and he praised Trump for his recent efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
“They wouldn’t be talking to Trump unless they believed he was serious about using military force,” he said. “President Trump has done more in 500 days to deal with North Korea than every president in the last 30 years.”
The comments come after Trump and Kim’s Tuesday meetings in Singapore, where the two heads of state signed a joint statement agreeing to pursue a “stable peace” on the peninsula.
At a press conference after Kim had left Singapore, Trump said North Korea agreed to give up its nuclear arms.
“We’re prepared to start a new history, and we’re ready to write a new chapter between our nations,” Trump said during a press conference after the summit. “There is no limit to what North Korea can achieve when it gives up its nuclear weapons and embraces commerce — an engagement with the rest of the world.”
Trump also claimed he was confident that the rogue regime would pursue complete denuclearization and that the process would be underway in the near future.
“It will happen. People thought this could never take place. It is now taking place. It is a very great day,” Trump said. “We signed a very, very comprehensive document, and I believe he will live up to that document. In fact, when he lands, which is shortly, I think he will start that process right away.”
