Below is a transcript of an interview with South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham that aired on Sunday, February 7, 2021 on “Face the Nation”.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We want to go now to Senator Lindsey Graham in Clemson, South Carolina. Good morning, senator.
SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM: Good morning. Thanks for having me.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Iran has threatened to expel UN inspectors in the next three weeks if sanctions are not lifted. You heard the president. Where do you think the tobacconist goes from here?
SEN. GRAHAM: Well, the Trump administration put Iran in a box. As a result, you have four or five Arab nations making peace agreements with Israel. I think Iran is weaker today than they have been since the regime began about 40 years ago. Therefore, if he were President Biden, he would maintain sanctions until Iran changes its behavior. I would not want to enter into an old agreement with Iran, as they have been useless for too long. So you will have three issues here: what to do with Iran differently than Trump, what to do with China other than Trump, and how to change Trump’s immigration policies without creating a race on the border. I would warn President Biden that because Trump did it doesn’t mean he’s wrong. So I would slow down if it were President Biden and re-evaluate some of these Trump policies and keep them in place if they make sense.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You’ve known the Biden family for years. Have you spoken to the president since taking office?
SEN. GRAHAM: No, I didn’t. Congratulations to him. He is the legitimate president. Two days ago I spoke with Secretary Blinken. I am very pleased with what the Biden administration is proposing for Afghanistan. We will keep the troops there with a conditions-based approach. The Afghan study group
MARGARET BRENNAN: Last May?
SEN. GRAHAM: Did I come out with a good answer?
MARGARET BRENNAN: Last May, what is when the Trump deal would call for conditional withdrawal?
SEN. GRAHAM: I think it is, I think so, I think we won’t leave in May. We will leave when the conditions are right. The Taliban have been deceiving. They have not been met. And so I like what Tony Blinken and the Biden administration do. They are reassessing our presence in Afghanistan to keep the footprint low, but not to leave and lose all the gains we have made. If we leave too soon without a conditions-based withdrawal, ISIS and al-Qaeda will roar again. Women will suffer a lot. So I am in a good place in Afghanistan. When it comes to Iran, he would warn the Biden administration to return to the Iranian deal. There is a proposal by me and Senator Menendez that Iranians can have all the nuclear power they want. They just can’t get rich. And I think the Arabs would sign for this agreement, which would be good business for the world.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we’ll be paying attention to what the policy is. I want to ask you about what’s going on here at home with the scheduled trial that is supposed to begin on Tuesday from former President Donald Trump. He voted against holding this trial, but said so the morning after the siege of the Capitol.
(START CLIP)
SEN. GRAHAM: As for accountability, the president must understand that his actions were the problem, not the solution, that yesterday’s rally was undue. It got out of hand. It breaks my heart that my friend, president of a consequence, let it pass yesterday. And it will be an important part of his presidency. It was a self-inflicted wound. I was going too far.
(FINAL CLIP)
MARGARET BRENNAN: What changed?
SEN. GRAHAM: Well, it’s not a crime. I mean the House accuses him under the theory that his speech created a riot. When we analyze the facts, many people had already planned to attack the Capitol before it ever spoke.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, the memorandum of the trial of …
SEN. GRAHAM: The president told the rally that I think it was …
MARGARET BRENNAN: The trial memorandum of the Chamber’s prosecution managers actually sets a pattern of behavior. They say it wasn’t just the speech. They say this was cultivated over time.
SEN. GRAHAM: Yeah, well, that’s what I would say, that if you think you’ve committed a crime, you can be prosecuted like any other citizen. Dismissal is a political process. We have never denounced a president once out of office. I think it’s a very bad idea. Forty-five more Republicans will vote soon because it is unconstitutional. It’s not about how the trial ends. It’s about when it’s over. Republicans will see this as an unconstitutional exercise. And the only question is: will they call witnesses? How long does the trial last? But the result is not in doubt. That’s not to say that what happened on January 6 was okay. It means that this removal, in the eyes of most Republicans, is an unconstitutional exercise.
MARGARET BRENNAN: That’s right.
SEN. GRAHAM: In my opinion, the behavior of the president is not a crime, but he can be charged with one if people believe he committed it because he is now a private citizen.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, some Republicans, your colleague, Pat Toomey, a Republican, thinks this is constitutional since the president was indicted while he was still in office. But, you know, people can look at this and say, look, when you can’t argue a case on its merits, discuss the process. And that’s what Republicans are doing right now. Because I want to ask you to clarify it. You said this on January 7th about Mike Pence.
(START CLIP)
SEN. GRAHAM: The things he was, he was asked to do in the name of loyalty, were excessive, unconstitutional, illegal and would have been wrong for the country.
(FINAL CLIP)
MARGARET BRENNAN: Unconstitutional and illegal sounds a lot like high crimes and misdemeanors.
SEN. GRAHAM: Yeah, well, he wasn’t accused of that. The bottom line is that I think the dismissal articles are unconstitutional because the president is in Florida. He is not in charge. The removal of a president requires the chief judge to preside over the trial. He is not on trial because President Trump is not the president. Therefore, this is not a process. I think the Constitution is being flagrantly violated because, when it comes to Trump, there seems to be no end to all of this. Therefore, the trial will result in an acquittal. Most Republicans, I don’t know what Senator Toomey will do, will consider this unconstitutional and the president’s behavior does not incite the law. And the longer it takes, the worse for the country, I think.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You said that if the president committed a crime, he should be charged. Do you think any of the president’s actions, the tweets calling for the rally, the pre-rally language, the lie to the public about the ability to overthrow the election, what he said he said about Mike Pence, does something about this? do they deserve a reprimand?
SEN. GRAHAM: Well, I mean, it will have a place in history for all of that, but the point is, we’re in Congress. We are not prosecutors. Dismissal never wants to be a prosecution.
MARGARET BRENNAN: That’s right, but you’re under the supervision of the Department of Justice.
SEN. GRAHAM: We don’t do bills.
MARGARET BRENNAN: What do you think?
SEN. GRAHAM: Yes, I think I am ready to move on. I am prepared to end the impeachment trial because I think it is blatantly unconstitutional. I am willing to keep trying to solve the nation’s problems. And as for Donald Trump, he is the most popular figure in the Republican party. He had a consistent presidency. January 6 was a very bad day for America and it will have its share of blame in history. But I think in 2022 the Republican Party will roar again because our friends from the Democratic Party, from the Democratic side, will change the immigration policy for caravan after caravan on our borders.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you still think he’s the leader of the Republican party?
SEN. GRAHAM: They will increase our taxes and weaken us generally. Excuse me again? Sorry.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you still think President Trump is the best face of the Republican party? Yes or no?
SEN. GRAHAM: I think it is, I think it is, yes, I think, yes. I think I think Donald Trump’s policies served the country. I think Donald Trump needs to be rehabilitated …
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
SEN. GRAHAM: Himself as a politician. But that’s what I think. I think–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Wait …
SEN. GRAHAM: – Most Americans will look at it–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator …
SEN. GRAHAM: –in the Biden Administration and–
MARGARET BRENNAN: I’m sorry, I’m sorry, we’re out of time.
SEN. GRAHAM: I’m sorry, go ahead.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I’m sorry here for …
SEN. GRAHAM: All right.
MARGARET BRENNAN: … cut, I have to take a business break. Thank you for your time this morning. Stay with us.