Citing Obama administration talking points word for word on Wednesday’s Today, co-hosts Willie Geist and Savannah Guthrie grilled Republican Senator and presidential candidate Lindsey Graham on GOP opposition to the Iran nuclear deal. Geist, filling in for Matt Lauer, began: “Secretary Kerry...said yesterday opponents of this deal have proposed no viable alternative....What makes you think that a President Lindsey Graham would have any more luck than President Obama with Iran?”
Graham replied: “I would tell the Iranians, ‘You’re not going to get a penny as long as you are you’re the largest state sponsor of terrorism’....I would make sure that you would never leave inspections – take inspections away as long as they were the largest state sponsor of terrorism.”
Guthrie then used Kerry’s words to lecture Graham: “Secretary Kerry says that sounds good, that’s a good soundbite, but ultimately it's fantasy. You look at someone like Ronald Reagan, did a nuclear deal with the Soviets, didn't require them to renounce Communism.”
Graham hit back: “Oh, please....You know what’s a fantasy is to believe that the Ayatollah was building a power plant, not a bomb. A fantasy is to believe that this deal would not lead to a nuclear arms race in the Mideast. A fantasy is to believe that when they chant ‘Death to Israel’ they’re just kidding.”
When asked about getting enough Democratic support in Congress to block the deal, Graham observed:
I think there are a lot of Democrats who say they support Israel. This is your chance....I do believe that this is a destabilizing event in world history and the more you know about this deal – when the Arabs start building their own weapon, and they will. A lot of members of Congress will say, “I don't want my fingerprints on that.”
Wrapping up the July 15 exchange, Guthrie briefly turned to 2016 politics and teed up the South Carolina Senator to bash a fellow GOP contender: “I don't know if you read the polls, but Donald Trump is atop the polls these days, even beating Jeb Bush, the frontrunner in the most recent one. What does that say about your party?”
Graham responded:
I think he's riding a wave of just outlandish behavior. That some people in the Republican Party like hearing that all the illegal immigrants for the most part are rapists and drug dealers and some of them may be good. And I think the overwhelming majority of Republicans don't like that rhetoric. I think he's riding a wave....We live in the most complicated, dangerous times in the world and he's a wrecking ball when it comes to policy. And the way he's engaged the public is hurting the Republican Party at a time we have a chance to do better.
