New audio reveals Lindsey Graham praising Biden, condemning Trump during Jan. 6 insurrection

Yahoo Entertainment
9

On Anderson Cooper 360 Tuesday, New York Times writers Alex Burns and Jonathan Martin, authors of This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America, revealed previously unreleased audio of Senator Lindsey Graham. As the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol was still going on, Martin interviewed Graham after they’d been moved to a safe area. Graham’s views on the events of that day and President Biden have greatly changed since then, at least publicly.

“We’ll actually come out of this thing stronger. Moments like this reset. People will calm down. People will say, ‘I don’t want to be associated with that.’ This is a group within a group,” Graham said. “What this does, there will be a rallying effect for a while, the country says ‘we’re better than this.’” “Biden will help that, right?” Martin asked. “Totally, he’ll be maybe the best person to have, right?” Graham replied. “I mean, how mad can you get at Joe Biden?”

That night on the Senate floor, Graham excoriated former President Trump for inciting the attempted overthrow of the government, and said he was done with him. Earlier, speaking to Martin, Graham condemned Trump for the speech he’d given earlier that day.

“He’s misjudged the passion, he plays the TV game and he went too far,” Graham said. “That rally didn’t help, talking about primarying Liz (Cheney). He created a sense of revenge.”

Video Transcript

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: We'll actually come out of this thing stronger. Moments like this reset. Take awhile. People will calm down. People were, I don't want to be associated with that. This is a group within a group.

KYLIE MAR: "New York Times" writers Alex Burns and Jonathan Martin appeared on Anderson Cooper 360 Tuesday, where they revealed new audio of Republican Senator Lindsey Graham recorded as the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol was still going on. In the audio recorded by Martin, Graham praised then President-elect Joe Biden.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: What this does, there will be a rallying effect for a while. The country says we're better than this.

JONATHAN MARTIN: And Biden will help that, right?

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: Yeah, totally. He'll be maybe the best person to have, right? I mean, how bad can you get at Joe Biden?

KYLIE MAR: Burns and Martin, writers of the new book "This Will Not Pass," had previously released audio of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy who, like Graham, excoriated former President Trump the night following the riots. In the new audio, Graham condemned Trump for his speech earlier that morning.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: He's misjudge the passion and he plays the TV game and he went too far here. That rally didn't help, talking about primarying Liz. And he created a sense of revenge.