Joe Biden Calls Ex-Friend Sen. Lindsey Graham a ‘Personal Disappointment’ For Failing to Acknowledge His Election Win

President-elect Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden joined Stephen Colbert on the Late Show for their first joint interview since the election on Thursday night, during which Biden revealed his disappointment in Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) for refusing to accept Biden’s election victory.

“Lindsey’s been a personal disappointment because I was a personal friend of his,” Biden told Colbert on Thursday night after the host asked if he could “patch up” his relationship with the senator.

It’s hard to remember a time when Graham was critical of President Donald Trump, as he has refused to acknowledge Biden as the winner of the 2020 election, has peddled baseless voter fraud claims, and even allegedly tried to find ways to throw out mail-in ballots. 

But before the Trump presidency, Biden and Graham were quite close, often complimenting each other’s character and work ethic.

Biden once claimed Graham had the “best instincts in the Senate,” inviting him to travel to Afghanistan with him in 2009 to help discuss the war.

Republican Voters Against Trump even launched an ad this summer reminding American’s of Graham’s past beliefs on Trump and on the President-elect.

The spot showed Graham labeling Biden“as good a man as God ever created” — while calling the president a “xenophobic, race-baiting, religious bigot.”

“If you can’t admire Joe Biden as a person,” Graham said. “It’s probably — you got a problem — you need to do some self-evaluation.”

Although the president-elect refused to say whether or not his relationship with Graham is salvageable, Biden noted he remains hopeful that he can work with the Republican party once Trump’s presidency ends.

“Once this president is no longer in office, I think you’re going to see his impact on the body politic fade, and a lot of these Republicans are going to feel they have much more room to run and cooperate,” Biden said to Colbert.

Watch above, via YouTube.