Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was shredded on social media Tuesday — the same day he voted against a Ukrainian aid package — after video surfaced of insults he levied against the Biden administration over the lack of help sent to the war-torn nation.
Graham faced harsh rebuke from critics who noted Graham went to Kyiv in 2023 and told President Volodymyr Zelenskyy he would stand with Ukraine until Russia’s invasion had ended.
In the video shared Tuesday afternoon by Wall Street Journal foreign correspondent Yaroslav Trofimov, Graham stands in front of a tank in Kyiv, says he is convinced there is bipartisan support for sending military aid to Ukraine, and tells President Biden, “You need to do more.”
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But on Tuesday, Graham said he could not support a military aid to Ukraine bill that didn’t do more to address the southern border.
"I have been saying for months that helping Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan are extremely important national security imperatives for the United States,” Graham acknowledged in a statement. "However, as I have been consistently saying, we must deal with our border first.”
This justification did not sit well with Twitter.
“Guess he, uh, lied?” wrote Mother Jones D.C. bureau chief David Corn.
“I wouldn't be showing my face around Ukraine anytime soon if I was him,” wrote Corey.
“How disgusting,” replied Peter Hagedoorn, “to promise weapons to Ukraine while being there and to vote against weapons in practice. Totally unreliable.”
X user Lee Millard raised the theory that Graham had succumbed to pressure from former President Donald Trump and the nationalism his far right base frequently preaches.
“Don’t blame Biden,” replied Millard. “Blame Trump, Mike Johnson, and the MAGA GOP Congress.”
