After President Donald Trump lashed out against Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) Thursday for criticizing Trump’s remarks about the violence in Charlottesville, Graham shot back.
During a rocky press conference on Tuesday, Trump said “not all of these people were neo-Nazis, believe me.” He also said people on the “alt-right” and the “alt-left” were to blame for the violence, even though it was a self-proclaimed white supremacist who allegedly drove his car into a crowd of counter-protesters and killed a woman named Heather Heyer.
Graham responded by saying he and many others do not support the “moral equivalency” the President made between the “white supremacist neo-Nazis and KKK members who attended the Charlottesville rally and people like Ms. Heyer.”
The President then lashed out on Graham on Twitter Thursday morning, calling the senator’s comments a “disgusting lie” and suggesting the people of South Carolina would remember what he said when Graham runs for reelection in 2020.
Graham responded by asking Trump to move the party in the correct direction.
“Mr. President, like most I seek to move our nation, my state and our party forward — toward the light — not back to the darkness,” he said, adding Trump’s tweet honoring Heyer was “very nice and appropriate. Well done.”
“However, because of the manner in which you handled the Charlottesville tragedy you are now receiving praise from some of the most racist and hate-filled individuals and groups in our country. For the sake of our nation — as our President — please fix this,” he said.