Graham Calls on ‘Somebody in Russia’ to Assassinate Putin
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said the only way Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ends is if “somebody in Russia” assassinates Russian President Vladimir Putin . Graham tweeted, “Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more…
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said the only way Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ends is if “somebody in Russia” assassinates Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Graham tweeted, “Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military? The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out. You would be doing your country – and the world – a great service.”
He added, “The only people who can fix this are the Russian people. Easy to say, hard to do. Unless you want to live in darkness for the rest of your life, be isolated from the rest of the world in abject poverty, and live in darkness you need to step up to the plate.”
Graham’s tweet came after an interview with Fox News.
Graham noted “four percent of our oil supply comes from Russia. We can easily make that up. So what we haven’t done yet is go after oil and gas sector in Russia.”
He continued, “That’s the Achilles heel to Putin’s war machine… I think we can crush the Ruble. I think we can start putting his military commanders under indictment for war crimes. And this is our chance to take this guy out but taking him out will come from the Russian people.”
On Friday, Graham defended his remarks during an appearance on “Fox and Friends.”
The senator explained he hopes Russians will understand that Putin is “destroying Russia and you need to take this guy out by any means possible.”
Watch his comments below:
Fox News’s Laura Ingraham blasted Graham for his comments. During an interview with Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Ingraham played a clip of former CIA director John Brennan’s comments on MSNBC.
“I do believe that Putin’s days are numbered,” Brennan said.
Ingraham weighed in, saying, “Senator, is there any intel that you know that Putin’s days are numbered? I know Lindsey Graham earlier tonight tweeted that basically someone needs to quote, ‘take him out,’ or maybe I’m paraphrasing.”
She added, “But he’s basically saying someone should assassinate Putin. I don’t know why a sitting U.S. Senator would be tweeting that out. It seems dangerous and stupid to say that. And we like Lindsey Graham, but that’s just a stupid comment. But Brennan says his days are numbered.”
When asked if Graham should be tweeting out that message, Cotton said getting Russian soldiers out of Ukraine should be the priority.
He also received backlash from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
Rep. Majorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) tweeted, “While we are all praying for peace and for the people of Ukraine, this is irresponsible, dangerous and unhinged. We need leaders with calm minds and steady wisdom.”
She added, “Not blood thirsty warmongering politicians trying to tweet tough by demanding assassinations. Americans don’t want war.”