Graham slammed for touting 'straight NRA propaganda,' 'survivalist' AR-15 fantasy in interview

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday dismissed Democrats' chances of passing legislation that would ban assault weapons in the United States, telling Fox News' Chris Wallace "it won't get 50 votes, much less 60."

He then told Wallace he owns an AR-15, explaining that if a natural disaster occurred in South Carolina and the police couldn't protect his neighborhood, his house would be "the last one the gang will come to" because he could defend himself with the weapon.

That prompted some quick online criticism. Talking Points Memo's Josh Marshall called Graham's comments "survivalist [fan fiction]" that "tells you a lot [about] the trouble this country is in." Rolling Stone's Tim Dickinson said the remarks were "straight NRA propaganda," while Bloomberg's Francis Wilkinson blasted Graham for imagining going into survival mode during a disaster rather than providing his constituents with "leadership, guidance, or assistance." Tim O'Donnell

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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.