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Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Monday pushed back on President Trump's tweet suggesting NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace should apologize after the FBI determined last month that he was not a target of a hate crime when a noose was found in his garage stall before a race.
What he's saying: "You saw the best in NASCAR. When there was a chance that it was a threat against Bubba Wallace, [the drivers] all rallied to Bubba's side," Graham said on Fox News host Brian Kilmeade's radio show, per Mediaite.
- "I would be looking to celebrate that kind of attitude more than being worried about it being a hoax. ... I don’t think Bubba Wallace has anything to apologize for,” Graham added.
Reality check: Wallace's initial claim was not a "HOAX," as the president described in his tweet.
- Wallace was not the one who found the noose in the garage and did not report it, per an AL.com timeline of events.
- While the FBI determined that the noose had been in place as a pull rope in a Talladega garage since October 2019 and thus was not intended for Wallace, NASCAR's president confirmed that it "was real" and that it moved quickly to launch an investigation in order to "protect" its driver.