Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) slammed Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) for dodging a question related to the six Israeli hostages found dead over the last week, arguing he emboldened terrorist groups across the world.
A viral video online showed Walz visiting the Minnesota State Fair, during which he evaded a reporter who asked him about the hostages. Graham argued Walz’s response to the question was “one of the most despicable things I’ve ever seen” in his political career and said Vice President Kamala Harris showed similar disregard to Israel when she did not attend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress earlier this year.
“These people are naive and dangerous,” Graham said on Fox News’s Hannity. “When he refused to answer that question, that’s a signal to all the terrorist groups and the ayatollah they really don’t give a damn about our friends in Israel. They have slow-walked weapons, they have basically sit silent while people accuse Israel of being engaging in genocide, and what Walz did is throwing gasoline on a fire.”
Graham added that the captivity crisis in Israel will end when former President Donald Trump becomes president again, arguing President Joe Biden has prolonged the hostage situation. He argued the former president put “maximum economic pressure” on Iran to protect the United States but that Biden is instead charging Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar “with crimes in an American court.”
“We’re not fighting a crime here — we’re fighting a war,” Graham said. “Sinwar could care less about being indicted by garlic. Sinwar, your days are numbered, pal. We’re not going to indict you. We’re going to kill you.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Over the weekend, Graham claimed the only way to secure the safe release of the remaining hostages by Hamas is to target Iran. He referred to Iran as “the great Satan” and the Hamas terrorist group as “the junior partner.”
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Trump’s 2024 running mate, has similarly criticized Walz for dodging the press question related to the Hamas hostages, arguing the Minnesota governor should have at least offered his condolences to the families of the hostages. He also argued that Trump’s leadership in his first term had peace around the world and that this is one of the biggest selling points of his 2024 campaign.