Graham urges Biden, Israel to take on Iran after hostages killed, calls Harris foreign policy ‘wrecking ball’
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. urged President Biden and Israel to take action against Iran after six more hostages were killed, calling Vice President Harris a “wrecking ball on foreign policy.”
Appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” Graham reacted to the news that Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin was among the six hostages whom the Israel Defense Forces reported finding brutally murdered by Hamas as Israeli forces were close to rescuing them.
“Heartbroken. Yeah. Devastated. Mad. John and Rachel have done everything in their power to help their son be released from captivity after 11 months of captivity,” Graham said, referencing Goldberg-Polin’s parents. “He was murdered by Hamas. Hamas [couldn’t] care less about the hostages or the Palestinians. And if you want the hostages home, which we all do, you have to increase the cost to Iran.”
“Iran is the Great Satan here. Hamas is the junior partner. They’re barbaric, religious Nazis, Hamas,” Graham continued. “They [couldn’t] care less about the Palestinian people. I would urge the Biden administration and Israel to hold Iran accountable for the fate of remaining hostages, and put on the target list oil refineries in Iran if the hostages are not released.”
The IDF said all six hostages had been killed shortly before the arrival of Israeli forces.
Hamas terrorists seized Goldberg-Polin, 23, and four of the other hostages at a music festival in southern Israel during the Oct. 7 attack. The native of Berkeley, California, lost part of his left arm to a grenade in the attack. In April, a Hamas-issued video showed him alive but with his left hand missing, sparking new protests in Israel.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., calls Kamala Harris a foreign policy “wrecking ball.” (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
The Israeli army identified the other dead hostages as Ori Danino, 25; Eden Yerushalmi, 24; Almog Sarusi, 27; and Alexander Lobanov, 33; who were also taken from the music festival. The sixth, Carmel Gat, 40, was abducted from the nearby farming community of Be’eri. The IDF said the bodies were recovered from a tunnel in Rafah, around a half a mile from where another hostage, Qaid Farhan Alkadi, 52, was rescued alive last week.
Graham accused Harris of “sending a signal” to terrorists in the Middle East that the United States doesn’t have Israel’s back when she boycotted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address before a joint session of Congress.
“She’s been a senator. She’s attorney general. She’s now vice president. Obviously, she has some talent. But here’s what I would say. On foreign policy, she’s been a wrecking ball,” Graham said. “On Israel, she sat there and listened to somebody call the Israeli government and people engaging in genocide and did nothing about it. She boycotted Bibi’s speech to the Congress, sending a signal to Hamas and Iran that America really doesn’t have Israel’s back. She was cheerleading the withdrawal from Afghanistan. She’s bragged about being the last person in the room, the dumbest decision maybe in modern history by American administration.”
“I was in Munich when she warned the Russians not to invade Ukraine. Four days later, they did. She’s been in charge of the border,” he continued. “I don’t know what the hell she’s been doing on the border, but we’ve got more terrorists in our country than any time in history. And fentanyl poisoning is the leading cause of death among young people in America.”
The Israeli army identified the bodies of six hostages found in Gaza. (Fox News)
“She’s been a wrecking ball on foreign policy,” Graham stated. “It’s been the most incompetent administration I can remember on things that matter to the American people, your safety and your prosperity.”
Graham was asked about a reported altercation at Arlington National Cemetery, where former President Trump was invited by the families of the 13 U.S. service members killed at Abbey Gate to participate in a wreath-laying ceremony on the three-year anniversary of the Aug. 26, 2021, ISIS-K bombing that happened during the Biden administration’s Afghanistan withdrawal.
Former President Donald Trump stands alongside Misty Fuoco, whose sister Sgt. Nicole Gee died in the Abbey Gate Bombing, at a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Aug. 26, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“I’m all for looking at what happened. But you know what really is unfortunate? That these families had to go visit their fallen loved ones at Arlington due to incompetence by the Biden administration,” Graham told ABC. “You know, I’ve tried to work with President Biden to get Saudi Arabia and Israel to reconcile. I’ve supported a lot of their … nominees. I’ve known President Biden for a long time, but Vice President Harris bragged about being the last person in the room, cheerleading the withdrawal of all forces that led to the death of these13. Rising terrorism, combine that with a broken border – another 9/11 coming our way. So what I take away from this whole debate about Arlington is why they died, how they died, and the incompetency that led to their death to the American people.”
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“We’ve lost deterrence. Nobody in the world is afraid of Kamala Harris. She has become, in my view, ineffective, in terms of a voice for America. So if you want to avoid more dead Americans, vote for Trump,” he added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
