Say, what?
Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) were supposedly having a serious discussion on Fox News Sunday about the $95 billion foreign aid package that passed yesterday in the House.
As AP reported, House Speaker Mike Johnson “relied on Democrats” to pass aid to Ukraine. If anything, Trump was a barrier: “Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has loomed large over the fight, weighing in from afar via social media statements and direct phone calls with lawmakers as he tilts the GOP to a more isolationist stance with his ‘America First’ brand of politics,” AP said.
But somehow Trump-lickspittle Graham gave his Dear Leader the lion’s share of credit. “This would not have passed without Donald Trump,” Graham said. He went on to thank Johnson and Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Then Graham said, “President Trump has created a loan component to this package that gives us leverage down the road.”
According to Newsweek, Trump recently advocated for a loan, instead of “just a gift” during a media event with Johnson at Mar-a-Lago. But it’s not clear whether this was Trump’s idea or even how strongly he endorsed it. He also reportedly said, “We keep handing out gifts of billions and billions of dollars [to Ukraine], and we'll take a look at it."
In any event, there’s no evidence Trump did anything to get the bill passed, other than to maybe not sabotage it, as he did with the recent border bill.
It's possible Graham said this to paint the aid as MAGA friendly and to stave off the brewing MAGA revolt in the House that threatens to oust Johnson from his speakership. Regardless, neither Blumenthal nor anchor Shannon Bream questioned a word of Graham’s over-the-top obsequiousness.
You can watch Graham’s sycophancy below, from the April 21, 2024 Fox News Sunday.