South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was criticized for declaring that President Joe Biden and not former President Donald Trump—who was recently convicted on 34 felony charges—is the real "felon in this election."
Last month, Trump became the first former president to be convicted of felony crimes. A New York jury last month found him guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments to Stormy Daniels to illegally influence the 2016 election. His sentencing is set for July 11.
Trump is also the subject of three other criminal cases encompassing both federal and state charges related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, his actions before and during the January 6 insurrection, and his theft of classified records upon leaving the White House.
But Graham ignored these facts during an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters, issuing the following remarks:
"The next time we hear the word 'felon' in this election, I think the felon in this election is Joe Biden. What he's doing to the country is criminal."
You can hear what Graham said in the video below.
Graham's objectively false hot take was related to his claims about Biden's management of the southern border. But Biden isn't the one who was just convicted of felony crimes or who has previously been found civilly liable for sexual assault. Nor does Biden run the Trump Organization, which last year a judge found repeatedly committed fraud as part of a tax-avoidance scheme.
People were quick to correct Graham and call out his lie.
Graham recently came under fire for a groveling birthday message he wrote to Trump, who turned 78 last week.
He oddly praised Trump's "golf game" for being "stronger" and declared Trump's "best present will come in November when the American people elect you as our next President and Commander in Chief."
Later, the account @patriottakes—which regularly calls out far-right extremism—noted that Graham had edited his original post to add the word "President," perhaps in an attempt to appease the notoriously thin-skinned Trump.
Graham has continued defending Trump despite declaring in 2016 that if Republicans "nominate Trump, we will get destroyed.......and we will deserve it." He previously referred to Trump's hush money indictment as "legal voodoo" and "political persecution," claiming Democrats are "trying to destroy Donald Trump because they fear him at the ballot box."
@cynthiaerivo/Instagram
