Trump Calls Sen. Lindsey Graham A ‘RINO’ After Failing To Back Him On Jan. 6 Pardons

Former President Donald Trump called Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) a “RINO,” short for Republican in name only, and said that he was “wrong” for saying that pardoning those who took part in the January 6 insurrection would be “inappropriate.”

In an interview with Newsmax, Trump responded to the comments made by Graham on Face The Nation. Graham was showed a clip of Trump promising that if he won the election he would “treat those people from January 6 fairly” and give out pardons.

When Graham was asked if he agreed with Trump’s statement he said, “No, I don’t want to send any signal that it was ok to defile the Capitol. I think it’s inappropriate… I don’t want to do anything that would make this more likely in the future.”

When Trump was asked in an interview about Graham’s comments, he said, “Well, Lindsey Graham’s wrong. I mean Lindsey’s a nice guy, but he’s a RINO. Lindsey’s wrong.”

In a statement made Wednesday, Graham defended his position on giving January 6 defendants pardons. “As a conservative, I firmly believe in law and order and support the police,” he said.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell  (R-Kentucky) agreed with Graham. “I would not be in favor of shortening any sentences for any of the people who pleaded guilty to crimes,” he said on Tuesday.

Article by Ian Darville