The following is a transcript of an interview with Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina that aired Sunday February 7, 2021 on “Face the Nation.”
MARGARET BRENNAN: We now want to see Senator Lindsey Graham in Clemson, South Carolina. Good morning, Senator.
SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM: Good morning. Thanks for letting me be here.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Iran has threatened to expel UN inspectors within the next three weeks if sanctions are not lifted. You heard the president. Where do you think the stalemate goes from here?
SEN. GRAHAM: Well, the Trump administration has put Iran in a box. As a result, four or five Arab nations are making peace deals with Israel. I think Iran is weaker today than they have been since the regime was founded about 40 years ago. So if I were President Biden, I would hold the sanctions until Iran changed its behavior. I wouldn’t want to make an old deal with Iran because they haven’t done anything good for too long. So he’s going to have three problems here: what should he do with Iran other than Trump, what should he do with China other than Trump, and how to change Trump’s immigration policy without creating an attack on the border. I would warn President Biden because Trump did it doesn’t mean it’s wrong. So I would slow down if I were President Biden and re-evaluate some of these Trump policies and keep them in place if they make sense.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You have known the Biden family for years. Have you spoken to the president since the inauguration?
SEN. GRAHAM: No, I don’t. Congratulations to him. He is the legitimate president. I spoke with Minister Blinken two days ago. I am very happy with what the Biden Afghanistan government is proposing. We’re going to keep troops there based on conditions. The Afghan Study Group –
MARGARET BRENNAN: Last May?
SEN. GRAHAM: – came out with a good voice?
MARGARET BRENNAN: Last May, when was the Trump deal supposed to require a condition-based withdrawal?
SEN. GRAHAM: I think it … I think it was, yes, I think we won’t be leaving in May. We leave when the conditions are right. The Taliban cheated. They have not complied. And so I love what Tony Blinken and the Biden administration are doing. They are re-evaluating our presence in Afghanistan to keep the footprint low, but not to run away and lose all the achievements we have achieved. If we leave too early without a condition-based withdrawal, ISIS and Al-Qaeda will come back roaring. Women will suffer greatly. So they are in a good place, I think, in Afghanistan. When it comes to Iran, I would warn the Biden administration to go back to the Iranian deal. There is a proposal from myself and Senator Menendez that the Iranians can get all the nuclear energy they want. They simply cannot enrich. And I think Arabs would sign that deal, which would be a great deal for the world.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, we’ll keep up with what the policy is. I want to ask you what is happening here at home with the planned trial that would begin Tuesday against former President Donald Trump. You voted against holding that trial, but you said it the morning after the siege of the Capitol.
(BEGIN CLIP)
SEN. GRAHAM: When it comes to accountability, the president must understand that his actions were the problem, not the solution, that yesterday’s meeting was inappropriate. It got out of hand. It breaks my heart that my friend, a president of a consequence, would let happen yesterday. And it will be an important part of his presidency. It was a self-inflicted wound. It went too far.
(END CLIP)
MARGARET BRENNAN: What has changed?
SEN. GRAHAM: Well, it is not a crime. I mean, the House charges him under the theory that his speech caused a riot. If you look at the facts, a lot of people had plans to attack the Capitol before he ever spoke.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, the trial memorandum of the–
SEN. GRAHAM: The President said at the meeting that I think …
MARGARET BRENNAN: The lawsuit memorandum of the House impeachment managers actually outlines a pattern of behavior. They say it wasn’t just the speech. They say this has been cultivated over time.
SEN. GRAHAM: Yeah, well, here’s what I’d say if you believe you’ve committed a crime, he can be prosecuted like any other citizen. Impeachment is a political process. We have never deposed a president once they are absent. I think this is a really bad idea. Forty-five plus Republicans are going to vote early that it is unconstitutional. The question is not how the process ends. It’s a matter of when it ends. Republicans will view this as an unconstitutional exercise. And the only question is, will they call witnesses? How long is the trial period? But the result is really not in doubt. That doesn’t mean what happened on January 6 was okay. It means that this accusation is, in the eyes of most Republicans, an unconstitutional exercise.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Right.
SEN. GRAHAM: The president’s behavior is not a crime in my opinion, but he could be charged with one if people think he committed it because he is now a private person.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, some Republicans, your colleague Pat Toomey, a Republican, believe this is constitutional since the president was impeached while he was still in office. But, you know, people can look at this and say, look, if you can’t argue a case on its merits, argue about process. And that’s what the Republicans are doing now. Because I want to ask you to clarify this. You said this about Mike Pence on January 7th.
(BEGIN CLIP)
SEN. GRAHAM: The things asked in the name of loyalty were exaggerated, unconstitutional, illegal, and would have been wrong for the country.
(END CLIP)
MARGARET BRENNAN: Unconstitutional and illegal sounds a lot like serious crimes and crimes.
SEN. GRAHAM: Yeah, well, he wasn’t accused of that. The bottom line is that the impeachment articles are, I think, unconstitutional because the president is in Florida. He’s not in office. When a president is charged, the chief justice must chair the trial. He is not with the trial because President Trump is not the president. So this is not a process. I think the constitution is being blatantly violated because when it comes to Trump, this doesn’t seem to end. Thus, the trial will result in an acquittal. Most Republicans, I don’t know what Senator Toomey is going to do, will consider this unconstitutional and the president’s behavior is not a sedition under the law. And the longer it takes, the worse off for the country, I believe.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You said if the president committed a crime, he should be charged. Do you think any of the president’s actions, the tweets calling for the meeting, the language leading up to the meeting, lying to the public about the ability to reverse the election, what you described he said about Mike Pence, does all that deserve a rebuke?
SEN. GRAHAM: Well, I mean, he’s going to have a place in history for all of this, but the point is we’re in Congress. We are not prosecutors. Accusation is never intended to be prosecution.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Right, but you supervise the Ministry of Justice.
SEN. GRAHAM: We don’t do attacks.
MARGARET BRENNAN: What do you think?
SEN. GRAHAM: Yes, I think I’m ready to move on. I am ready to end the impeachment trial because I think it is downright unconstitutional. I am ready to continue solving the country’s problems. And as for Donald Trump, he is the most popular figure in the Republican Party. He had a consistent chairmanship. January 6 was a really bad day for America, and he will have his share of the blame in history. But I do believe the Republican Party will come back roaring in 2022 because our friends from the Democratic Party – on the Democratic side, will change immigration policy to allow caravan after caravan to reach our borders.
MARGARET BRENNAN: So you still believe he is the head of the Republican Party?
SEN. GRAHAM: They’re going to increase our taxes, and they’re going to weaken us across the board. Excuse me again? I apologize.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you still believe that President Trump is the best face for the Republican Party? Yes or no?
SEN. GRAHAM: I think he … I think he the- yes, I think, yes. I think … I think Donald Trump’s policies served the country well. I think Donald Trump needs to rehabilitate …
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.
SEN. GRAHAM: – himself as a politician. But here’s what I think. I think–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Wait …
SEN. GRAHAM: – most Americans go to watch–
MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator–
SEN. GRAHAM: – at the Biden administration and –
MARGARET BRENNAN: I’m sorry we are … we don’t have time anymore.
SEN. GRAHAM: Sorry, go ahead.
MARGARET BRENNAN: I’m sorry about this …
SEN. GRAHAM: Okay.
MARGARET BRENNAN: – Shut up, I have to take us to an advertising break. Thank you for your time this morning. Stay with us.