Lindsey Graham: Trump may destroy Republican party but he has a ‘magic’Senator Lindsey Graham has defended his refusal to abandon Donald Trump in the aftermath of the deadly attack on the Capitol, saying that though the former president has “a dark side … what I’m trying to do is just harness the magicâ€.
He also said Trump’s continued grip on the Republican party could make it “bigger, he can make it stronger, he can make it more diverse. And he also could destroy it.â€
The South Carolina Republican initially said the US could “count [him] out†from backing Trump after the riot but he quickly dropped any show of independence.
On Sunday he was speaking to Axios on HBO at the end of a weekend in which Trump was reported to have told the Republican party to stop fundraising off his name and was also reported to be preparing to leave Florida for the first time since leaving office, to visit New York, his home city.
Trump retains a firm grip on his party, topping polls of prospective nominees for president in 2024. He is eligible to run for office again because he was acquitted at his second impeachment trial, on a charge of inciting the Capitol riot.
Five people including a police officer died as a direct result of the storming of Congress by a crowd Trump had told to “fight like hell†in support of his attempt to overturn election defeat by Joe Biden.
Graham was one of 43 Republicans who voted to acquit.
“Donald Trump was my friend before the riot,†he said, of a man who attacked him viciously in the 2016 Republican primary and who he famously said would destroy the party if he became its nominee. The senator pivoted once Trump took power, to become one of his closest and most eager allies.
“I’m trying to keep a relationship with him after the riot,†he said. “I still consider him a friend. What happened was a dark day in American history. And we’re going to move forward.â€.............
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/08/lindsey-graham-donald-trump-republican-party-interview
