Was he out of line this time?
Following Senator Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) insinuation that Russian President Vladimir Putin should be assassinated, lawmakers, among them Republicans, criticized Graham’s statement with Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX.) calling it “an exceptionally bad idea.”
On Thursday night, Graham issued a tweet, stating, “Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military? The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out. You would be doing your country 一 and the world a great service.”
In another tweet, the South Carolina Republican stated, The only people who can fix this are the Russian people. Easy to say, hard to do. Unless you want to live in darkness for the rest of your life, be isolated from the rest of the world in abject poverty, and live in darkness you need to step up to the plate.”
Almost immediately, Graham’s comments were shut down by Republicans.
Among the first was Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX.), who tweeted in response, “This is an exceptionally bad idea. Use massive economic sanctions; BOYCOTT Russian oil & gas; and provide military aid so the Ukrainians can defend themselves. ut we should not be calling for the assassination of heads of state.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA.) echoed Cruz’s statements, tweeting, “While we are all praying for peace & for the people of Ukraine, this is irresponsible, dangerous, and unhinged.”
She continued, adding, “We need leaders with calm minds & steady wisdom. Not blood thirsty warmongering politicians trying to tweet tough by demanding assassinations.” She concluded her tweet by stating, “Americans don’t want war.”
Republican state Representative Anthony Sabini of Florida said Graham’s tweets represented “Biden-level stupidity and recklessness.”
Anatoly Ivanovich, the Russian Ambassador to the U.S., also shared his disapproval of the tweets, stating in response, “I find the statement of American politics unacceptable and outrageous. The degree of Russophobia and hatred in the USA towards Russia is off the charts. It’s unbelievable that a country’s senator preaching his moral values as a ‘guiding star’ to all mankind could afford a call on terrorism as a way to achieve Washington’s goals on the international arena.”
Graham later clarified his statements, responding that “The Russian people are not our enemy. I’m convinced it’s a one-man problem surrounded by a few people,” to a question that asked him to expand on his previous tweets.
However, he also said in the tweet that he believed “the best way for this to end is having Eliot Ness or Wyatt Earp in Russia 一 the ‘Russian Spring’ so to speak 一 where people rise up and take him down because if he continues to be their leader, he’s going to make you complicit with war crimes.
He also responded to Ivanovich, saying, “Mr. Ambassador you’re supporting a war criminal in Putin. Your country’s engaged in war crimes in front of the entire world. You’re bombing innocent civilians using banned munitions.”
