Lindsey Graham: Trump Will Look ‘Weak’ If He Does Nothing on Khashoggi, ‘Clearly’ Saudis Don’t Respect Him

Senator Lindsey Graham got pretty fired up about Saudi Arabia after a CIA briefing today on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, and he had a message for President Donald Trump.

Graham has become more of an ally to the President in recent months, but he practically pleaded with Trump on Fox News tonight that he absolutely needs to act here.

After he went on a tear against Mohammed bin Salman and said he felt “played” by the crown prince, Martha MacCallum asked if he’s conveyed this message to the President.

Graham made a point of speaking directly to Trump, saying that after the pains he took to cultivate a special relationship, “this is the way you get repaid.”

“Clearly they don’t respect you. They don’t respect us. They feel like they can do anything and get away with it. Now is the time to come down hard. Now is the time to be the leader of the world,” Graham said. “and not accept this as just the way things are.”

He continued:

“This guy has basically disrespected us, you, and the nation, and all of our values. If you let him get away with this, Mr. President, then you’re sending a signal that you’re just about transactions, you’re not somebody special. And the President of the United States needs to be somebody special… I like the president. He’s done a great job with ISIS. He stood up to Iran. I like the fact that he opened the door to Saudi Arabia so we’d have a bulwark against Iran. But what I would caution the president is that Obama was weak in the eyes of our friends and our enemies. And in the Mideast, if you give this guy a pass after he disrespected you, you will look weak. And you don’t want to look weak. Right now you’ve got to be strong. Everybody is watching.”

Watch above, via Fox News.

[image via screengrab]