- President-elect Joe Biden told Stephen Colbert that he is disappointed that GOP Senator Lindsey Graham has not recognized him as the winner of the 2020 election.
- “Lindsey has been a personal disappointment for being a personal friend of his,” Biden said.
- Graham, once a harsh critic of President Donald Trump, has backed the president’s lengthy legal efforts to reverse the election results.
- The South Carolina Republican used to be a good friend of Biden. In 2015, Graham said that Biden is “as good a man as God ever created.”
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President-elect Joe Biden was asked by Stephen Colbert on Thursday if he could save his relationship with GOP Senator Lindsey Graham, who is on the long list of Congressional Republicans who still refuse to acknowledge the results of the election.
“Lindsey was a personal disappointment because I was a personal friend of his,” Biden told Colbert.
“But look, I think I can work with Republican leadership in the House and Senate,” Biden continued. “I think we can get things done. And I think once this president is out of office, I think you’ll see his impact on body politics fade, and a lot of these Republicans will feel like she got much more room to run and collaborate. “
Graham is one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies in Congress. While the South Carolina Republican has a long history with Biden and they were once considered close friends, he has not joined his GOP peers to recognize the former vice president as the winner of the 2020 election.
On Monday, Graham expressed support for Trump’s legal efforts to reverse the election results. “Let’s see where the remaining legal challenges are heading. But it’s a very narrow path,” Graham told Politico.
Trump and his GOP allies have won zero from dozens of lawsuits aimed at destroying the election results. The president has unfounded allegations that Biden won due to massive voter fraud.
—Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) December 18, 2020
The Electoral College declared Biden’s victory on Monday, and GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell then congratulated him.
In a phone call that leaked Tuesday, McConnell pleaded with his Senate colleagues to reject attempts to prevent Congress from formally recognizing Biden’s victory. Congress will hold a joint session on Jan. 6 to track electoral votes and confirm Biden as the winner of the election.
Although Graham has close ties with Trump today, he sang a different tune during the 2016 campaign cycle. In a 2015 interview with CNN, Graham called Trump a “racist, xenophobic, religious fanatic.”
‘Do you know how to make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell, ”Graham said at the time.
In a separate interview with HuffPost in 2015, Graham showered Biden with praise.
If you can’t admire Joe Biden as a person, you have a problem. You have to do some self-evaluation because what’s not to like? ‘ Graham said. He said that Biden was “as good a man as God ever created.”
“He’s said some of the most incredibly sincere things anyone could ever say to me. He’s the nicest person I think I’ve ever met in politics,” Graham added.
During that interview, Graham became emotional when he talked about Biden, who has experienced great personal tragedies, and said that people shouldn’t take relationships for granted.