Politics

Lindsey Graham: McConnell Speech ‘Put A Load On The Back Of Republicans’

Font Size:

Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham told “Fox News Sunday” that Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s Senate floor speech Saturday “put a load on the back of Republicans.”

The Senate on Saturday voted 57-43 on the impeachment charge against former President Donald Trump, well short of the 67 votes needed to convict. Though McConnell voted with the 42 other Republicans to acquit, he also delivered a scathing speech in which he accused the former president of using his voters as a “human shield” and being “still liable” for his actions in office.

“What did you think of McConnell’s speech?” asked Fox News anchor Chris Wallace.

WATCH:

“He got a load off a chest, obviously, but unfortunately he put a load on the back of Republicans,” Graham said after telling Wallace he was “surprised” by McConnell’s words. “That speech you will see in 2022 campaigns. I would imagine if you’re a Republican running in Arizona or Georgia or New Hampshire, where we have a chance to take back the Senate, they may be playing Senator McConnell’s speech and asking you about it as a candidate.”

“I like him … he worked well with President Trump,” he continued. “I think his speech is an outlier regarding how Republicans feel about all this.” (RELATED: ‘This Is Not Over’: Larry Hogan Predicts Criminal Charges For Trump)

The South Carolina senator went on to criticize the impeachment trial as “unconstitutional” and an “affront to rule of law.”