Graham Tells Trump to ‘Go to Hell’
By Katie Nicora 12/8/2015
Sen. Lindsey Graham lashed out against fellow GOP candidate Donald Trump and his proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S. In an interview with CNN Tuesday, Graham played off the frontrunner’s famous slogan by saying, “You know how to make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell.”
Trump on Monday called for a “total and complete shutdown” of U.S. borders to all Muslims. Hours later, at a rally honoring the 74th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, the real estate giant admitted his plan is “probably not politically correct, but I don’t care.”
Graham said such inflammatory rhetoric works in favor of ISIS’ interests more than America’s. The South Carolina senator cited his 33 years in the Air Force and his 36 visits to the Middle East when discussing the interests of U.S. troops and diplomats overseas. “They were concerned about this rhetoric because the enemy will use it against us,” he said, referencing his visit to Iraq last week with Sen. John McCain.
Graham also drew a direct correlation between Trump’s proposal and ISIS’ recruiting. “He is helping the enemy of this nation. He is empowering radical Islam.” There’s widespread worry that imposing such a ban would further alienate the Muslim community within the Western world. And, it could potentially prompt Muslims who wouldn’t ordinarily do so to join the extremist group. Graham said that if the GOP frontrunner knew anything, he’d know that “99% of Muslims reject this ideology.”
Trump defended himself by stating the ban would be temporary and not apply to American Muslims living abroad. He said, “Until we are able to determine and understand this problem and the dangerous threat it poses, our country cannot be the victims of horrendous attacks by people that believe only in Jihad, and have no sense of reason or respect for human life.”
Like many other Republicans, Graham distanced himself from Trump. “He’s a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot,” he said. “He doesn’t represent my party.” Fellow GOP candidates Jeb Bush and Chris Christie called Trump’s proposal “unhinged” and “ridiculous”, respectively.
White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest denounced the GOP frontrunner Tuesday evening. He said Trump’s plan is “entirely inconsistent with the values enshrined in our Constitution” and that “any Republican who’s too fearful of the Republican base to admit it has no business serving as president either.”