Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) raised concerns on Sunday about the potential consequences of halting U.S. military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine as the country continues to fight against Russian aggression.
Speaking on Fox News Channel’s “Fox News Sunday,” Graham highlighted his concerns about abandoning Ukraine, warning that the consequences could be even more disastrous than the Biden administration’s botched Afghanistan withdrawal.
“Yeah, I am worried about cutting off intelligence and weapons to Ukraine as long as the fighting is going on,” Graham told host Maria Bartiromo.
“If we pull the plug on Ukraine, it’d be worse than Afghanistan. I don’t think President Trump has any desire to do that,” he continued.
“But until we have a ceasefire, I would give Ukraine what they need in terms of intelligence and weapons to themselves.”
Graham has been vocal in his criticisms of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s approach to diplomacy, particularly in how he handled a now-infamous Oval Office meeting with President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance.
At the White House, Zelensky aggressively went after U.S. leadership about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s history of violating ceasefire agreements.
Trump and Vance, in response, pushed back against Zelensky’s demands, noting the Ukrainian leader’s perceived lack of gratitude for the billions in U.S. assistance already provided.
The tense exchange, broadcast live, left negotiations in limbo over a potential deal that would grant the U.S. access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals in exchange for security assurances.
Following the meeting, Trump decided to put a pause on military and intelligence aid to Ukraine—an action that has sparked debate within the Republican Party.
Graham, however, signaled that he is ready to take an aggressive stance against Russia should it refuse to come to the negotiating table.
“In terms of Russia, I will be introducing sanctions on their banking sector and on their energy sector next week, urging them to get to the table if they don’t engage in ceasefire and peace talks with the administration. We should sanction the hell out of them. And I’ll have legislation to do that next week,” Graham declared.
Meanwhile, Bartiromo challenged President Trump on whether he was “comfortable” with the possibility that Ukraine “may not survive” the ongoing war against Russia.
During an interview on “Sunday Morning Futures,” Trump was asked about the state of the conflict and Poland’s concerns over Ukraine’s survival.
“Are you comfortable with that? The fact that you walked away, and Ukraine may not survive?” Bartiromo questioned.
“Well, it may not survive anyway,” her responded bluntly. “But, you know, we have some weaknesses with Russia. It takes two. Look, it was not going to happen, that war, and it happened. So, now we’re stuck with this mess.”
Bartiromo also asked whether Trump’s administration was treating Russia and Ukraine equally or favoring one side over the other.
“They’re very different places, OK? Very, very different,” Trump responded. “You’re talking about different levels of power. You’re talking about different parts of the world.”
Trump further criticized Zelensky, accusing him of exploiting American generosity during the Biden administration.
“Well, you know, he was able to, it was like taking candy from a baby, what he did,” Trump said. “He’s a smart guy, and he’s a tough guy. And he took money out of this country under Biden, like it was so easy with that same attitude. I just don’t think he’s grateful.”
“We gave him, in my opinion, $350 billion. Europe is in for $100 billion. We gave him $350 billion, and he’s talking about the fact that they have fought, and they have this bravery because somebody has to use the weapons,” he added. “But without those weapons, don’t forget, I was the one that gave him the javelins that was able to knock down all the tights.”
“Obama gave nothing. Look, if I were president, that would have never happened. You wouldn’t have had Russia going into Ukraine,” he concluded.
Lindsay is a fool. The difference is what is there we will lose? DAH! The man is of the age of the warmongers like Biden and McConnell. It is so obvious it is time to set term limits. These old men have been in congress just far too long.
I will always remember Lindsay as the pal of John McCain. McCain was bad for AZ, bad for the nation and just plain nasty when he was dying. He had a chance to go out peacefully and help the nation, but instead he helped the dimwit nitwits like the traitor he had been his whole life.
Had it not been for his granddad and father who were military heavy weights he would have been kicked out of the military just because of his poor, poor performances repeatedly. Going into politics was his only option but we all know that is a lucrative spicket!
So AZ got a winner we all thought but had the truth been known we would have fired him like we tried when he was running for his last term. The dimwit cheating machine saved him and he paid the nation back as a traitor for the dimwits.
GREAT COMMENTS!! Lindsay tries to play both sides of the isle. Doesn’t work for me.