Sen. Lindsey Graham: 'Everything that starts with 'Al' in the Middle East is bad news'

Sen. Lindsey Graham
(Image credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

At a dinner on Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) made quite an unfortunate gaffe when speaking about the Middle East.

"Al Qaeda, Al Nusra, Al Qaeda in the Arab Peninsula... Everything that starts with 'Al' in the Middle East is bad news," Graham apparently said at a dinner with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), according to investigative journalist Uri Blau.

What Sen. Graham may not have realized is that "Al" is the Arabic word for "the."

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Blau reports that Graham also hinted about a 2016 presidential run. Participants at the dinner told Blau that Graham said to them, "You will see me in New Hampshire."

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Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.