All of Lindsey Graham’s Flagrantly Self-Serving Flip-Flops on Trump: A 5-Act Play

Graham hated Trump. Then loved him. Then spread his lies. Then abandoned him. Then got screamed at.

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham used to be dismissive of Donald Trump—like other Republicans who thought Candidate Trump was a flash in the pan, an aberration to be laughed off or ridiculed. In 2015, Graham appeared on the channel he’s called “fake news,” CNN. “There’s only one way to make America great again,” he said. “Tell Donald Trump to go to hell.”

As Trump’s violent mob descended onto the Capitol on January 6, many of his chief enablers have tried to gaslight their way into back into America’s good graces—including Graham. After Biden’s convincing win in November 2020, Graham was a strident supporter of Trump’s big lie that there was widespread fraud, and became an outspoken attack dog for the president on cable television. “President Trump should not concede,” Graham said in November, before deploying full-blown “push back” and “fight” rhetoric leading up to the insurrection.

But after the violent siege last week, Graham apparently saw the light: “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are lawfully elected,” he stated on the Senate floor, mere hours after the attack. Just days before, the senator was campaigning in Georgia and encouraging supporters to “send a signal the squad can understand.”

It’s an impressive amount of flagrant, self-serving flip-flopping. And perhaps President Obama said it best in his memoir, released at the end of last year: “Lindsey’s the guy who double-crosses everyone to save his own skin.”

We collected all the receipts. Watch this 5-act play above.

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“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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