Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of the Senate’s biggest Iran war hawks, is putting his full chest and his job behind the U.S.-Israeli war, saying the conflict is “worth losing my job” over.
“If I had to give up my job to make sure Iran would never have a nuclear weapon, I would do it,” Graham said on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday morning when asked if a non-nuclear Iran would be worth losing the midterm elections for.
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The world is watching closely this week as the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran passes five weeks and President Donald Trump returns from a state visit to China. Before taking off for Beijing last week, Trump told reporters that voters’ “financial situation” does not affect his negotiations to end the war.
“The only thing that matters when I’m talking about Iran: They can’t have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation. I don’t think about anybody,” Trump said.
Trump’s comments come as energy, gas, and fertilizer prices rise in the U.S. and globally because of the uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz in a midterm election year. When NBC’s Kristen Welker asked Graham if he agreed with the president’s take in this respect, Graham called it Trump’s “Churchill moment.”
“That’s his Churchill moment: When Churchill came into power, he promised blood, sweat, toil, heartache until we deal with the Nazis, who are an existential threat to the British way of life,” Graham said. “I believe Iran wants a nuclear weapon – they would use it – so does President Trump.”
“Do I worry about gas prices? Yes. But, President Trump’s right. The biggest threat to stability in the world is a nuclear-armed Iran, and whatever price we have to pay, we’ll pay,” Graham said.
Gas and oil prices have been rising but volatile since the conflict began. On Sunday, the national average price of gas for a regular tank stood at $4.51, down from $4.52 a week ago but up from $4.08 one month ago.
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Graham argued that the long-term benefit of a non-nuclear Iran is greater than the current cost.
“Gas prices will come down when you put Iran in a box. Saudi-Israel peace will become possible when you put Iran in a box. The upside of dealing with Iran is enormously good, but you got to deal with them,” Graham said.
