Israel-backing Lindsey Graham launches 2016 presidential bid
Republican senator vows to pummel radical Islam, ‘never abandon’ Israel, as he begins run for the White House
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South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham kicked off his presidential campaign on Monday and quickly put Israel at the forefront of his electioneering with a string of messages on his Twitter account declaring his support for the Jewish state.
“To our friends in Israel, I will never abandon you. I will always stand firm in supporting the one and only Jewish state,” Graham tweeted, only minutes after officially launching his candidacy.
“Our ally Israel is at risk as a result of Obama’s failed leadership. We share values, we share democracy, & our friendship is unbreakable,” read the following tweet.
He also emphasized US foreign policy and made clear his position on the possibility of a nuclear armed Iran, saying that “the biggest threat of all is the nuclear ambitions of radical Islamists who control Iran.”
Our ally Israel is at risk as a result of Obama’s failed leadership. We share values, we share democracy, & our friendship is unbreakable.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) June 1, 2015
Graham has in the past voiced strong support for Israel and has declared the steps he would take to defend the Jewish state on the world stage and in the United Nations.
To our friends in Israel, I will never abandon you. I will always stand firm in supporting the one and only Jewish state.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) June 1, 2015
He launched his bid for the Republican presidential nomination in the small South Carolina town called Central, where he grew up.
“I’m ready,” he told supporters. “I want to be president to defeat the enemies that are trying to kill us.”
The world is exploding in terror & violence, but the biggest threat of all is the nuclear ambitions of radical Islamists who control Iran.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) June 1, 2015
During a visit to Israel last week, Graham threatened a “violent pushback” against any country that would support a United Nations Security Council resolution setting a deadline for Palestinian statehood. He also warned that a possible UN report likening alleged crimes against children by Israel to the Boko Haram terror group was an “outrage that would not go unanswered.”
Speaking in Jerusalem, Graham also said he would work to suspend US funding to the UN in retaliation for such a resolution, and vowed there would be bipartisan opposition in Congress against UN action of this kind.
“If there’s an effort by any nation to have the Security Council define the terms of the peace process, there will be a violent backlash from the United States Congress in a bipartisan fashion,” Graham told reporters at a press conference.
Graham, who has been to Israel dozens of times, said he principally supports a two-state solution, as long as Israel’s survival was guaranteed.
The presidential hopeful is a prominent Senate voice in seeking a more muscular foreign policy. He wants 10,000 more US troops in Iraq to stabilize a world that he’s characterized as “falling apart.”
“I’ve got one simple message,” he told supporters in the small town where he grew up Monday. “I have more experience with our national security than any other candidate in this race. That includes you, Hillary.”
In that fashion, he took on Democratic candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton — the former secretary of state — as well as non-interventionists in his own party and rivals with little to no foreign policy experience.
Graham, 59, becomes the first candidate in either party to hail from one of the first four states that cast presidential primary ballots. Iowa and New Hampshire lead the process, followed by South Carolina and Nevada.
He cast the threats facing the United States in particularly dark terms. “Simply put, radical Islam is running wild,” he said. “They have more safe havens, more money, more weapons and more capability to strike our homeland than any time since 9/11. They are large, they are rich, and they’re entrenched.”
He said as president, he’d “make them small, poor and on the run.”
“I’m afraid some Americans have grown tired of fighting them,” he said. “I have bad news to share with you — the radical Islamists are not tired of fighting you.”
The Times of Israel Community.