Senator Lindsey Graham, a member of the Scottish Parliament, urged President Biden and Israel to take action against Iran after six more hostages were killed, and called Vice President Harris a “foreign policy subversive.”
Appearing on ABC's “This Week,” Graham was reacting to the news that the Israel Defense Forces had announced that Hamas had brutally killed six hostages they had been close to rescuing, including Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg Pollin.
“We are heartbroken. We are devastated and angry. John and Rachel did everything in their power to free their son after 11 months of captivity,” Graham said, referring to Goldberg-Polin's parents. “Our son was killed by Hamas, who don't care about the hostages or the Palestinian people, and if we want the hostages to come home, as we all want, we must increase Iran's burden.”
“Iran is the big devil here. Hamas is the inferior partner. They are the barbaric religious Nazis, Hamas,” Graham continued. “They don't care about the Palestinian people. We urge the Biden administration and Israel to hold Iran accountable for the fate of the hostages and to add Iranian oil refineries to the target list if the hostages are not released.”
The Israel Defense Forces said all six hostages were killed shortly before Israeli forces arrived.
In an attack on October 7, Hamas terrorists captured Goldberg Polin, 23, and four other hostages at a music festival in southern Israel. Polin, a native of Berkeley, California, lost part of his left arm to a grenade in the attack. A video released by Hamas in April showed Polin alive but missing his left hand, sparking new protests in Israel.
Gold Star families accuse Kamala Harris of 'games playing' over Trump's Arlington National Cemetery visit
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-N.Y.) has called Kamala Harris a “disruptor” of foreign policy. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
The Israeli military identified the other hostages who died as Ori Danino, 25, Eden Yerushalmi, 24, Almog Salsi, 27, and Alexander Lobanov, 33, who were also taken from the music festival. A sixth, Carmel Gat, 40, was abducted from the nearby farming village of Beeri. The IDF said his body was recovered from a tunnel in Rafah, about a half-mile from where another hostage, Kaid Farhan Al-Qadi, 52, was rescued alive last week.
Graham accused Harris of “sending a signal to terrorists in the Middle East” that the United States does not support Israel by boycotting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to a joint session of Congress.
“She's been a senator, she's been attorney general and now she's vice president. She's obviously talented. But what I'm trying to say is that when it comes to foreign policy, she's been destructive,” Graham said. “When it comes to Israel, she just sat there and listened to somebody say that the Israeli government and people are committing genocide, and she did nothing. She boycotted Bibi's speech to Congress, sending a signal to Hamas and Iran that America doesn't really support Israel. She cheered for withdrawal from Afghanistan. She brags that she was the last person in the room to say this, which is probably the stupidest decision by a US administration in modern history.”
“I was in Munich when she warned Russia not to invade Ukraine. Four days later, Russia invaded. She was in charge of border security,” he continued. “I don't know what the hell she was doing on the border, but we have more terrorists in our country than we've ever had in our history. And fentanyl addiction is the number one cause of death among young Americans.”
The Israeli military has confirmed the identities of the bodies of six hostages found in Gaza. (Fox News)
“She has wrecked foreign policy,” Graham said, “and has led the most incompetent administration I can remember on the things that matter to the American people: your safety and your prosperity.”
Harris slams Trump over Arlington National Cemetery altercation, infuriating JD Vance
Graham was asked about the altercation that reportedly took place at Arlington National Cemetery, where former President Trump had been invited to take part in a wreath-laying ceremony by the families of the 13 U.S. soldiers killed at Abbey Gate to mark the third anniversary of the Aug. 26, 2021, ISIS-K bombing that occurred during the Biden administration's withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Former President Donald Trump stands next to Misty Fuoco, sister of Staff Sergeant Nicole Gee, who died in the Abbey Gate bombing, during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on August 26, 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“I'm in favor of examining what happened. But what's really unfortunate is that these families had to go and see their loved ones who died at Arlington because of the incompetence of the Biden administration,” Graham told ABC. “You know, I've been trying to work with President Biden on reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Israel, I've supported many of their nominees. I've known President Biden for a long time, and Vice President Harris was bragging that she was the last person in the room to root for the withdrawal of all the troops that led to the deaths of these 13 people. You combine that with the rise in terrorism, the broken border, and we're on the brink of another 9/11. So what I take from this whole debate about Arlington is why they died, how they died, and the incompetence that led to their deaths for the American people.”
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“We have lost our deterrent. No one in the world fears Kamala Harris. In my opinion, she has become ineffective as a voice for America. So if you want to avoid more American deaths, vote for Trump,” he added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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