Lindsey Graham Says Donald Trump’s Buffalo Protester Tweet Is An Unhelpful ‘Unfounded Accusation’
Sen. Lindsey Graham addressed President Donald Trump’s tweet about 75-year-old Buffalo protester Martin Gugino, who remains hospitalized after police pushed him during protests over George Floyd’s death in the custody of now-former Minneapolis police officers. Manu Raju, CNN’s senior congressional correspondent, tweeted about Graham’s response to questions about the president’s tweet that suggested the elderly man might be an “ANTIFA provocateur” earlier this week.
“Graham on Trump’s Buffalo tweet: ‘I don’t know how that advances any cause. It’s an unfounded accusation. I don’t think it’s helpful.'” the reporter tweeted.
“Buffalo protester shoved by Police could be an ANTIFA provocateur. 75 year old Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipment. One America News Network, I watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up?” read Trump’s original tweet.
Thank you, South Carolina! On to November… pic.twitter.com/GHpRZ1F7Uz
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) June 10, 2020
CNN reported that several other Republican members of Congress attempted to dodge questions about the post in which Trump relayed what many people believed to be a conspiracy theory about Gugino. Overall, it appears as if the GOP Senators would like to see a change in the message out of the White House with a focus on unity for the country, which is something they believe Trump has not done at this point. As for Graham, he would like to hear less from the president overall.
“I think maybe instead of speaking, he should do some listening,” He said.
The senator noted that because he is the incumbent presidential candidate in the November election, Trump will receive the blame for everything that has gone wrong, and that will go wrong by then. However, he believes that if the president helps drive a strong or robust economic recovery, then things will go well for him, as well as other Republican candidates who are up for reelection this year.
Other senators like John Cornyn of Texas felt that Trump’s tweets could be problematic, but he noted that nobody would be able to change the president’s Twitter habits. Roger Wicker, who is a Republican senator from Mississippi, said many of the president’s supporters from the Magnolia State wished that he would spend less time on Twitter and stop sharing so many controversial things. Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson also said that he’d like to see Trump be less controversial on the popular social media site, but admitted that his tweets could sometimes be effective.
