Lindsey Graham defends predicting "riots in the streets" over Trump
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Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Saturday doubled down on his suggestion from last week that there would be “riots in the streets” if former President Trump were prosecuted for mishandling classified information.
What he's saying: “Here’s what I said, the raid on [former] President Trump’s home, the likely nominee for 2024, better bear some fruit here,” Graham told CNBC's Steve Sedgwick during an interview. “If it’s just about mishandling classified information, we’ve had a standard set when it came to Hillary Clinton.”
- “What I tried to do was state the obvious,” Graham said.
“Our country, the people on our side, believe that when it comes to the justice system, there are no rules regarding Trump, [it’s a case of] ‘get him, it doesn’t matter how you get him,’ so I said that if it’s similar to what happened to Clinton and he gets prosecuted, it’ll be one of the most disruptive events in America."— Lindsey Graham to CNBC's Steve Sedgwick
Catch up quick: Graham made the "riots in the street" comment during a Fox News appearance last Sunday as he claimed the justice system has a "double standard when it comes to Trump.”
- “I’ll say this, if there’s a prosecution of Donald Trump for mishandling classified information, after the Clinton debacle … there’ll be riots in the streets,” Graham said last week.
Graham faced backlash from Democrats and others after making the comment, including Biden who condemned "the idea you turn on a television and see senior senators and congressmen saying if such and such happens, there'll be blood in the street. Where the hell are we?"
- "There is no excuse for this irresponsible rhetoric, which not only invites violence but also defies democratic norms," The Washington Post wrote in an editorial last Monday.
Go deeper: What we know — and don't know — about Trump and the FBI
