Senator Lindsey Graham, RS.C., called President-elect Joe Biden “legally elected” and asked his Senate colleagues to “do enough” in relation to allegations of electoral fraud.
Graham was at times a critic of President Trump, but he was often a close ally during his presidency.
The senator’s comments came as the Senate voted to certify the votes of the Electoral College hours after a group of Trump supporters violated the Capitol, forcing an evacuation.
He said that while he supported his colleagues’ right to object to the election results, he would not support it and considered it an “exceptionally bad idea to delay this election.”
Trump was a “consistent” president, Graham said he believes, “but today … tell me out. Enough.”
“When it’s over, it’s over. It’s over,” he added emphatically.
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He said that even if he did not agree, he would accept the judges’ decisions in the contested battlefield states and suggested that the allegations of election fraud were overstated.
“They say that 66,000 people in Georgia under the age of 18 voted. How many people believe that? I asked ‘Give me 10’. I hadn’t, “he said in one example.
In this image from the video, Senator Lindsey Graham, RS.C., speaks as the Senate meets to debate the objection to confirm the Arizona Electoral College vote after protesters invaded the US Capitol on Wednesday, 6 January 2021. (Senate Television via AP)
He added that Vice President Mike Pence would do the “constitutional thing” despite Trump and some supporters saying he has the power to overturn the election.
“As a conservative, this is the most offensive concept in the world, that one person could deprive 155 million people,” he said. “For conservatives who believe in the constitution, now is your chance to get up and be counted.”
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He said while waiting for Biden to lose the election, “he won. He is the legitimate president [elect] from United States.”
He added that he felt it was especially important for him to say, “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were legally elected and will become President and Vice President of the United States on January 20.”
While some noted his surprise at Graham’s separation from the president during the election, some conservatives noted that he was not always in step with Trump.
“On no planet and in no universe has Lindsey Graham ever been Trump’s ‘greatest ally’ in Congress or anywhere else,” tweeted Sean Davis, co-founder of The Federalist, while criticizing another tweet from an ABC reporter.
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In 2015, Graham, who had been an opponent of Trump in the Republican primaries, tweeted “If we nominate Trump, we will be destroyed … and we will deserve it.” Graham also worked with Biden in the Senate and considers him a friend.