Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Thursday morning argued that President Donald Trump’s recent attacks on congressional leaders aren’t “unhinged” rantings but a political strategy, even if that strategy isn’t necessarily a smart one.
“The Congress is very unpopular, particularly with the Republican base, so there’s nothing unhinged about it. It’s a political strategy that I’m not so sure is smart, but it’s a very thought-out strategy. There’s nothing crazy about it. It’s a political strategy,” Graham told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.
“The media has gone absolutely insane over his insanity,” the senator added later. “The President can be very disciplined. His Afghan speech was excellent in terms of substance and tone. He listened to the generals, unlike President Obama who ignored sound military advice. President Trump’s going to take it. He goes to Phoenix and kind of goes nuts on stage, but that’s Donald Trump.”
Trump on Thursday morning published several tweets attacking Republican leaders in Congress and pressuring them on upcoming legislation. He criticized both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) for their approach to raising the debt ceiling and bashed McConnell for failing to pass Obamacare repeal in the Senate.
These tweets escalated Trump’s feud with Congress, and McConnell in particular, following Trump’s Tuesday night threat to shut down the government over funding for the border wall and reports that he’s in a standoff with the Senate leader.
Graham said that Trump pushing to tie an unrelated measure to the debt ceiling bill in order to win Democratic support and pressure Congress wasn’t particularly unusual.
“He’s not the first president to use the bully pulpit to try to push the country in a particular direction or to keep his base on board,” the senator told Hugh Hewitt.
He went on to argue that Trump’s right that it’s time for Republicans to put Democrats in a tough spot.
“The President is not crazy to attack the Congress. He’s not crazy to think of ways to put Democrats in a bad spot regarding the debt ceiling. They do this all the time to us,” he said.
But pressed on whether the level at which Trump is warring with Congress is typical, Graham admitted that this President has an unusual approach.
“There’s nothing ordinary about Donald Trump, okay? And so the first thing you’ve got to realize is this is not an ordinary guy. These are not ordinary times. So Mitch is trying to navigate a 52 seat majority and get big things done with no Democratic support. It’s tough,” he said, adding that Trump still has the right to be frustrated that Congress has not yet repealed Obamacare.
