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.