Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina spoke with The Atlantic editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, during The Atlantic Festival in Washington DC on Wednesday. Graham's remarks drew boos from the crowd and confusion from Goldberg.
At one point The Atlantic editor stated, "I don't even know what that means."
The topic of conversation? President Donald Trump's repeated public attacks against Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.
Dr. Ford testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding allegations of sexual assault by Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. Graham is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
In his defense of Trump, Graham repeatedly brought up Bill Clinton and events from 1998—without explanation—which confused the crowd. His first statement was to paraphrase a James Carville comment from 1998.
However, without any explanation, the crowd assumed he was speaking of Dr. Ford. Goldberg informed the crowd Graham had misquoted Carville. Graham continued to deflect to 1998 and Clinton, rather than address Trump in 2018.
Finally, Goldberg asked if he meant Trump could have said worse so people should be grateful. Forcing Graham to address the present, the Senator claimed he did not like the President's mocking of Ford, but then tried to excuse the behavior by stating the President acted out of frustration over the treatment of his SCOTUS nominee.
In addition to deflecting the conversation to events from 20 years ago and making excuses for Trump's behavior, Graham also drew boos when he stated everything the President said about Ford was factual.
Watch Graham's comments here.
Graham's behavior onstage earned him no fans, except maybe the one person he may have been playing to: President Trump. Throughout the confirmation process, people accused Graham of auditioning for the Attorney General position in the Trump administration.
Others took exception to Graham's remarks at The Atlantic Festival.
Other Republicans denounced Trump's attacks against Ford, while Graham couched his in references to Clinton and excuses for the President.
The date for the full Senate vote on Kavanaugh's confirmation to a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court has not yet been set.
