Lindsey Graham claims Trump is too incompetent to pull off a quid pro quo


Well, it wasn't the most flattering defense.
While Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) has said it's actually becoming easier to defend President Trump amid the congressional impeachment inquiry, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) had to dig deep to do so on Wednesday.
Graham seems fed up with the whole thing, saying on Wednesday that he won't read any of the newly released transcripts because the whole thing is "a bunch of B.S." Graham said one of the reasons he doesn't think President Trump deserves to be impeached is because there's little chance the Trump administration was savvy enough in the first place to come up with the idea of withholding military aid from Ukraine in exchange for Kyiv publicly announcing anti-corruption investigations.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Graham generally defends Trump, but he does tend to criticize his foreign policy, so this comment serves as a win-win for the senator. He was able to blast Democrats for continuing their impeachment quest, while also expressing some dissatisfaction with Trump, who probably won't be too happy to hear the backhanded defense.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
‘This isn’t just semantics’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
October 2 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Thursday's political cartoons include ICE on the prowl, Democratic Party leverage, and a difference between Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump.
-
Manchester synagogue attack: what do we know?
Today’s Big Question Two dead after car and stabbing attack on holiest day in Jewish year
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
US government shuts down amid health care standoff
Speed Read Democrats said they won’t vote for a deal that doesn’t renew Affordable Care Act health care subsidies
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot
-
Oregon sues to stop Trump military deployment
Speed Read The president wants to send the National Guard into Portland
-
Trump declares new tariffs on drugs, trucks, furniture
Speed Read He's putting tariffs of 25% on semi trucks, 30% on upholstered furniture, 50% on kitchen and bathroom cabinetry and 100% on certain drugs
-
Amazon reaches ‘historic’ $2.5B Prime settlement
speed read The company allegedly tricked customers into signing up for Prime membership that was then difficult to cancel
-
Trump DOJ indicts Comey, longtime Trump target
Speed Read The president is using the Justice Department to prosecute his political enemies