Lindsey Graham says GOP can’t ‘move forward’ without Trump
The Republican Party cannot “move forward” without former President Donald Trump, Sen. Lindsey Graham is claiming in a new interview.
Speaking to Fox News’ “Hannity” Thursday evening, Graham (R-SC) made the comments amid internal squabbles over the 45th president’s role in the future of the GOP, coming to a head as Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) appears poised to oust Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) as House GOP Conference chair.
“I would just say to my Republican colleagues, can we move forward without President Trump? The answer is no,” Graham said before bringing up Cheney directly.
“I’ve always liked Liz Cheney, but she’s made a determination that the Republican Party can’t grow with President Trump,” he continued. “I’ve determined we can’t grow without him.”
“If you don’t get that, you’re making the biggest mistake in the history of the Republican Party.”
Cheney is in the fight of her political life as she navigates a flurry of primary challengers for her Wyoming seat over her vote to impeach Trump and her continued rhetoric on the matter.
The No. 3 House Republican survived an attempt to oust her from leadership in February over her impeachment vote.
Her standing with GOP colleagues has weakened since then, as members grew frustrated with her continued comments regarding the former president and the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Her split with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on the scope of a 9/11-style commission on the riot, as well as her revealing exclusively to The Post that she was mulling a 2024 White House bid, also drew the ire of leadership.
McCarthy was caught on a hot mic Tuesday afternoon stating, “I think she’s got real problems. I’ve had it with … I’ve had it with her. You know, I’ve lost confidence.”
While declining to make his support for Stefanik public, Punchbowl News reported Wednesday that the 36-year-old New York Republican was receiving McCarthy’s help behind closed doors.
Aside from McCarthy, Stefanik has the backing of House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Trump.
In a statement to The Post on Wednesday, Scalise spokeswoman Lauren Fine explained the decision as one about keeping Republicans’ priorities in check.
“House Republicans need to be solely focused on taking back the House in 2022 and fighting against Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi and President Biden’s radical socialist agenda, and Elise Stefanik is strongly committed to doing that, which is why Whip Scalise has pledged to support her for Conference Chair.”
Later Wednesday, Trump released a statement expressing his support for Stefanik in the No. 3 role, and also blasting Cheney.
“Liz Cheney is a warmongering fool who has no business in Republican Party Leadership. We want leaders who believe in the Make America Great Again movement, and prioritize the values of America First,” he said. “Elise Stefanik is a far superior choice, and she has my COMPLETE and TOTAL Endorsement for GOP Conference Chair. Elise is a tough and smart communicator!”
In addition to Cheney, Graham also directed his ire at corporate America, which he argued was being intimidated by Democrats “to abandon the Republican Party.”
“[T]he two Democrats in Georgia in the United States Senate are fully on board for the most radical agenda in the history of the country when it comes to tax spending and regulation,’ he told the network. “So [corporations are] intimidated.”
He went on to explain what the financial impact of that was on the Georgia GOP.
“Eighteen corporations who money gave money last year, decided not to give a dime this year,” he said. “Only one corporation in Georgia helped the Republican Party, Georgia Power. They lost $150,000 because corporations in Georgia have been intimidated by this idea of Jim Crow 2.0.”
Those comments were in reference to Major League Baseball’s decision to pull its All-Star Game from Georgia in protest of the state’s new voter law.
The legislation in question, signed by Gov. Brian Kemp late last month, overhauls election protocols in Georgia, placing new restrictions on voting by mail, requiring voter ID, and increasing legislative control over the voting process.
President Biden initially referred to the bill as “Jim Crow on steroids” the day after its signing, but went even further within days, saying he would “strongly support” moving the MLB’s mid-summer classic in protest.
But Biden was awarded “Four Pinocchios” by the Washington Post, which endorsed his candidacy, for spreading misinformation about the state law’s impact on voting hours.
The law does not alter Election Day hours but expands early voting by adding a second mandatory Saturday. It also affirms that counties have the option of opening two Sundays and allows counties to extend early voting hours beyond standard business hours.
Within two days of the corporate and Democratic pressure campaign endorsed by the president, the MLB said it was pulling its mid-summer classic out of Atlanta to protest the law.
That move sparked backlash, given that the league opted to move its game from a city with a large population of minorities who would benefit from the business. It moved it to Denver, Colo., with a significantly lower minority population and even tighter voting laws than Georgia’s.