Tag: war mongers

‘Lindsey Liked War’: Trump Laughs Off Graham’s Giddiness Over Iran Onslaught

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday recalled Lindsey Graham’s warmongering ways ahead of the late Republican senator’s funeral, while once again threatening to commit more atrocities in Iran if an agreement to stop the war he and Israel started there is not reached soon.

Trump phoned in to Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” morning show to laud his “great friendship” with the senator from South Carolina, who died on July 11 at the age of 71. Previously unreleased video published over the weekend shows Graham jubilant over Trump’s decision to attack Iran in February and saying the president “loves blowing stuff up.”

The president told “Fox and Friends” hosts: “He was very much a hawk, as you would say, on Iran. Lindsey liked war, to be honest with you.”

“I said, you’re a nice guy, how can you like war so much?” the president added. “He was a guy that liked war. I jokingly say – and there’s nothing funny about it – but he’s never seen a war that he didn’t like.”

Graham had pushed for attacking Iran since at least 2010, both for strategic and financial reasons; in March, he boasted that the United States was “gonna make a ton of money” from the war.

While Graham isn’t the only Republican in Congress to make inflammatory comments about Iran – just over the weekend, Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana opined that “sometimes you have to kill a few chickens to scare the monkeys” – he was the most consistent cheerleader for continuing attacks on the Mideast nation.

Trump also discussed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Washington, DC to attend Graham’s funeral and make the case for continued war on Iran. Netanyahu is Trump’s partner in the illegal war of choice, and is additionally wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Graham was accused of incitement to genocide for advocating the total destruction of Gaza.

Moving on during Tuesday’s interview, Trump said that if the Iranian government does not agree to a deal to end the 150-day war, “then I go back and I finish the job.”

Trump and Netanyahu have both been accused of sabotaging negotiations with Iran when agreements seemed nearly at hand.

The president again said he would destroy Iranian bridges and power plants if a deal is not reached soon, his latest in a string of war crime threats that has included an earlier genocidal vow to wipe out the “whole civilization” of Iran.

“I could take out most of their bridges in less than an hour,” Trump claimed on Tuesday. “I could knock out the power plants within one day.”

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‘I Almost Cried’: Unreleased Documentary Footage Shows Lindsey Graham Celebrating Start of Iran War

Footage from an unreleased documentary about the late Lindsey Graham shows the notoriously hawkish senator celebrating the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran just days after the bombing campaign started.

“Look what we’ve done here. I almost cried. How long have we been pushing this?” a laughing Graham is heard saying in the footage, released by Alex Holder, a filmmaker granted extensive access to the South Carolina senator in the years leading up to his death.

Graham goes on to say that he spoke with President Trump, who he said was also very happy about the war. “I talked to Trump this morning, he’s jacked, he said, ‘best thing I have ever done.’ He loves blowing stuff up,” he said.

Graham then appeared to take credit for helping convince Trump to launch the war. “There are a lot of people inside who didn’t want to do it, so I had my challenges,” he said, adding that Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were like “Roosevelt and Churchill.”

Holder also released footage of a phone call between Graham and Netanyahu from early March, during which Graham said he was going to travel to Florida to meet with President Trump to convince him to join Israel’s bombing campaign in Lebanon, but Netanyahu talked him out of it.

“We’re concentrating right now on Iran,” Netanyahu told Graham. “If we tell Hezbollah that we’re going all the way, we threaten them, but if we actually do it, then they have no reason not to go all the way against us. And right now that’s not our interest.”

Graham had a close relationship with Netanyahu and spoke with him frequently and visited Israel often. Holder told The Wall Street Journal that he joined Graham in a trip to Israel and likened his treatment there to how a prime minister or a king would be treated.

Graham was also known as someone who could work with Democrats, and Holder released a call between him and Jake Sullivan, who served as President Biden’s national security advisor.

According to the Journal, Sullivan asked Graham how long the war would last. “In three to four weeks, we’re going to have them in a spot where they start losing control of some cities,” Graham replied. “Get the Arabs more openly involved tomorrow, and then have almost irreversible momentum.”

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Remembering Lindsey Graham Not for the Evil He Did But for the Fun He Had Doing It

When Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham died suddenly on Saturday night, July 11, corporate media’s elegiac coverage didn’t just whitewash his record—it illustrated the affinity and symbiosis between the press corps and the politician they were meant to hold to account.

Like corporate journalists, Graham played a key role in cheerleading imperial wars and promoting domestic inequality. And Graham and the media both prioritized the appearance of bipartisanship while normalizing Trump and his politics.

As most of the tributes pointed out, Graham was a “steadfast” hawk (Washington Post, 7/12/26). Like his good friends in the Senate, John McCain and Joe Lieberman, Graham believed in projecting US power militarily across the globe, no matter the human toll, and fiercely backed the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Many outlets credited him as the key player in overpowering the isolationist faction of the GOP—and Trump’s own vacillations—in launching the current Iran War and continuing US support for Ukraine. And Graham was a key Israel supporter, with far-right Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remembering him as “one of Israel’s greatest friends.” Virtually none in corporate media offered criticism of any of this—unsurprising, given their own cheerleading for these wars.

Graham was a key figure in the political transformation of the Supreme Court, first in helping Senate leader Mitch McConnell block Barack Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to fill Antonin Scalia’s seat, then two years later in providing critical support to bolster Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination, faltering after credible accusations of sexual assault from Christine Blasey Ford.

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RINO Ted Cruz Pushes for Prolonged War, Attacks Trump for Seeking Peace Deal

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) lashed out at Trump on Saturday as a deal with Iran was being negotiated, suggesting without any knowledge that Trump was caving to Iran. 

Early reports on the deal with Iran suggest that an agreement is near and that Iran is poised to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and abandon its nuclear enrichment program.

Cruz, a potential 2028 presidential contender and longtime cheerleader of the war in Iran, applauded Trump for starting the war but attempted to undermine the efforts to end the war.

Describing himself as “deeply concerned,” Cruz said Trump was making a “disastrous mistake” with a deal that would result in Iran “receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz.”

Trump, he said, “should continue to hold the line, defend America & enforce the red lines he has repeatedly drawn.”

Likewise, RINO warmonger Lindsey Graham, the world’s biggest proponent of war with Iran, also attacked the notion of making a deal to end the war on Saturday, describing the outcome as “a nightmare for Israel.”

“It makes one wonder why the war started to begin with if these perceptions are accurate,” he ironically said after years of pushing for war.

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Warmonger Lindsey Graham Attacks Trump as He Seeks to End War in Iran

RINO warmonger Lindsey Graham took a swipe at Trump on Saturday as he attempts to reach a deal to end the war in Iran.

Graham attacked any potential deal, suggesting it would be a surrender that concedes dominance to Iran. “If a deal is struck to end the Iranian conflict because it is believed that the Strait of Hormuz cannot be protected from Iranian terrorism and Iran still possesses the capability to destroy major Gulf oil infrastructure, then Iran will be perceived as being a dominate force requiring a diplomatic solution,” he said, describing the outcome as “a nightmare for Israel.”

“It makes one wonder why the war started to begin with if these perceptions are accurate,” he said. “I personally am a skeptic of the idea that Iran cannot be denied the ability to terrorize the Strait and the region cannot protect itself against Iranian military capability.”

It should be recalled that Graham has been the biggest cheerleader for this war, constantly demanding that Trump escalate offensive operations, expand the scope of the war to include Lebanon, and encouraging South Carolinians to “send their sons and daughters over to the Mideast” to die for his war.

It can be recalled that Graham called for the US to ”go all-in to help Israel finish the job” last year after Israel started the “12-Day War” with Iran. Approximately two weeks later, Trump ordered the Operation Midnight Hammer strikes to take out Iran’s nuclear sites.

Now, Lindsey finally has his war with Iran after Trump launched Operation Epic Fury, killing the Ayatollah in February, and he’s not happy that it’s potentially on the cusp of ending.

President Trump had a conference call scheduled with Gulf leaders on Saturday after saying the US and Iran are “getting a lot closer” to a peace agreement.

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Graham on Iran: I Want to “Hurt Them More” by Wrecking Oil Industry

Israel-First GOP Senator Lindsey Graham wants President Trump to order more bombing of Iran’s civilian infrastructure and to “hurt them more,” and apparently doesn’t care that Republicans might well lose the midterms because of Trump’s growing unpopularity, largely because of the war in Iran.

As well, Graham told Meet the Press hostess Kristin Welker that Trump is comparable to Winston Churchill because of the president’s telling a reporter he doesn’t much care about Americans’ financial woes, and instead only cares about Israel and Iran’s supposedly obtaining a nuclear device.

Graham said he’d happily “give up” both houses of Congress to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

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Sen. Graham Urges Trump to Renew US Strikes on Iran

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Sunday called on President Donald Trump to renew U.S. military strikes on Iran, arguing that a stalled ceasefire and a closed Strait of Hormuz are strengthening Tehran while inflicting economic pain at home.

“I think the status quo is hurting us all,” Graham told NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” framing continued military pressure, not negotiation, as the faster route to ending the war.

Graham’s appeal landed at a stalemate.

U.S.-Iran talks, mediated by Pakistan, have been suspended since both sides rejected each other’s latest proposals, and no permanent peace deal has been reached since the two countries announced a ceasefire last month.

Graham said the impasse only benefits Tehran.

“The longer the [Strait of Hormuz] is closed, the more we try to pursue a deal that never happens, the stronger Iran gets,” he said.

The senator, a leading proponent of Trump’s military campaign, urged the president to “weaken them further.”

He credited the administration’s strikes as “amazing, militarily.” But, he said, “there’s more targets to be had.”

Graham added that nothing in the conflict so far suggests Iran’s leadership has abandoned what he called the regime’s goal “to terrorize the world, destroy Israel, come after us.”

The closed strait, which before the war carried more than a fifth of the world’s energy supply, has driven oil prices rising higher since the conflict began on Feb. 28.

As of Friday, the average U.S. price of unleaded gas was above $4.50 a gallon, up 51% since the war started.

Graham argued that pressure would ease with force, telling moderator Kristen Welker, “Gas prices will come down when you put Iran in a box.”

Tehran has signaled little appetite for compromise.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday that Iran has “no trust” in the U.S. and would negotiate only if Washington is serious, citing “contradictory messages” from American officials.

The diplomatic freeze coincided with Trump’s return from a multiday summit in China, where he met President Xi Jinping.

Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier he had not asked Beijing for help on Iran. “If he wants to help, that’s great, but we don’t need help,” Trump said, adding that accepting help invites obligations in return.

The dispute carries domestic political stakes.

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Lindsey Graham on Iran’s Kharg Island: ‘We Did Iwo Jima. We Can Do This.’

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Sunday called for the US to capture Iran’s Kharg Island, where most of the country’s oil exports pass, comparing the potential operation to the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II.

“Here’s what I’d tell President Trump: Keep it up for a few more weeks, take Kharg Island … control that island. Let this regime die on the vine,” Graham said in an appearance on Fox News.

When pressed on the fact that US troops involved in the operation would face significant missile and drone attacks, Graham said, “I’m sort of tired of all this armchair quarterbacking. This has been an amazing military operation — God bless the fallen.”

The South Carolina senator said that he “trusted the Marines” and noted that two Marine Expeditionary Units are heading to the region. “We did Iwo Jima. We can do this,” Graham said. “My money is always on the Marines. I don’t know if you take the island or you blockade the island, but I know this: the day we control that island, this regime, this terrorist regime, will die on the vine.”

The Battle of Iwo Jima is known as one of the most brutal battles in World War II, involving US troops, and resulted in about 26,000 US casualties, including more than 6,000 deaths. On the Japanese side, more than 18,000 defenders of the island were killed.

Graham’s comments come after NBC News reported that President Trump is considering whether to send thousands of troops into Iran for potential operations aimed at opening up the Strait of Hormuz. The report said ground operations could involve attempts to seize control of Iranian ports, small islands, or oil infrastructure.

Another option being considered is launching a raid to capture Iran’s stockpile of uranium that’s enriched at the 60% level, though it’s believed to be buried under rubble following the June 2025 US airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

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Sen. John Kennedy: Trump Had “No Choice” But to Strike Iran

Senator John Kennedy is pushing back against growing criticism from Democrats over President Donald Trump’s recent military strikes against Iran.

During a new interview on Newsmax, Kennedy made the case that Trump’s actions were not the beginning of another endless Middle East conflict—but rather an effort to prevent a far larger and more dangerous war from erupting.

“President Trump did not start a war by entering Iran,” Kennedy said during the interview. “He is trying to stop a war.”

The Louisiana senator explained that intelligence briefings and basic strategic realities point to the same conclusion: Iran’s leadership had no intention of abandoning its nuclear ambitions.

According to Kennedy, Iran’s ruling regime—which he described as religious zealots—was actively rebuilding its military capabilities after previous strikes earlier this year.

“They were not going to ever stop trying to develop a nuclear warhead,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy noted that after the United States bombed Iranian targets in June, the regime quickly began rebuilding its missile arsenal and expanding weapons production.

“They were manufacturing hundreds of missiles a month,” he explained.

Even more concerning, Kennedy said, was Iran’s growing cooperation with global adversaries.

The regime’s strategy, according to the senator, involved working with China and Russia to produce such a massive stockpile of missiles that any attempt to strike Iran would risk triggering a regional catastrophe.

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Hegseth Brags of Mass Killings

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Wednesday boasted of the “death and destruction” the U.S. military can rain down on Iran, as reports say that U.S. and Israeli airstrikes have killed over 1,000 Iranian civilians in just four days.

Hegseth said at a press briefing that the U.S. and Israel should soon have “complete control of Iranian skies” and that it would mean “Iranian leaders looking up and seeing only U.S. and Israeli airpower.”

“Every minute of every day until we decide it’s over, and Iran will be able to do nothing about it. B-2s, B-52s, B1s, Predator drones, fighters controlling the skies, picking targets, death and destruction from the sky all day long,” he added.

[As the Pentagon is reportedly seeking an additional $50 billion to wage its unauthorized war on Iran] Hegseth said the war wasn’t meant to be a “fair fight” and mentioned that the administration has loosened the rules of engagement for the military.

“Our war fighters have maximum authorities granted personally by the president and yours truly. Our rules of engagement are bold, precise, and designed to unleash American power, not shackle it. This was never meant to be a fair fight. And it is not a fair fight. We are punching them while they’re down, which is exactly how it should be,” he said.

Hegseth said that in the attack on Iran, which he has dubbed “Operation Epic Fury,” the U.S. military has “delivered twice the air power of ‘Shock and Awe’ in 2003,” referring to the massive bombing campaign that opened the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said at the conference that the U.S. had hit over 2,000 targets inside Iran so far.

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