Lindsey Graham Tells Reporters In Cairo: Don’t Let Trump Scare You

FILE -- In this Jan. 21, 2016 file photo, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a former Republican presidential candidate, answers questions about his opinions on the presidential candidates, during a news conference on Capi... FILE -- In this Jan. 21, 2016 file photo, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a former Republican presidential candidate, answers questions about his opinions on the presidential candidates, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. On Sunday, April 3, 2016, Graham told reporters in Cairo, Egypt, that Republican candidate Donald Trump’s campaign does not mean that the U.S. has “fundamentally changed in terms of the way we view the world,” and even if he wins, the congress will be around doing its job. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) MORE LESS
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CAIRO (AP) — Residents of the Middle East should not be too alarmed at the prospect of Donald Trump becoming president, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham told reporters in Cairo on Sunday.

“The Congress is going to be around no matter who is the president,” Graham, who is leading a Republican congressional delegation touring the Middle East, told reporters after meeting Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. Graham said he and el-Sissi discussed Trump, among other issues.

“All of us, regardless of what Mr. Trump says or does, we are going to keep being who we are, so don’t let the political scenes at home get you too upset. That’s what I told the president,” said Graham.

Republican presidential front-runner Trump has stirred controversy both at home and in the Middle East by suggesting a blanket ban on Muslim immigration to the U.S.

“Don’t let the politics of the moment make you believe that America has fundamentally changed in terms of the way we view the world; it hasn’t,” said Graham

Graham also said he wants the U.S. to increase its military aid to el-Sissi’s government, which is battling a long-term insurgency by militants allied with the Islamic State group.

With $1.3 billion annually, Egypt is the second-largest recipient of U.S. military aid after Israel.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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