Sen Lindsey Graham to Trump Critics on North Korea: We Have Two Options – Peace Agreement or War

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) joined Brian Kilmeade this morning on The Brian Kilmeade Show to discuss his support for how President Trump has been handling North Korea and how the left hoping the President fails to make a deal with Kim Jong-un. They also discussed how pulling out of the Iran deal is a signal to North Korea the President means what he says. Graham stated, “If China and North Korea miscalculate …and they continue to go back to the status quo we’re going to have a war.” Plus, Senator Graham discussed moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and the latest on the Mueller probe.

(Media Montage slamming President Trump over North Korea) If you look at history you would be a little more what’s the word careful about being braggadocios. I mean this Donald Trump has an aversion almost he’s allergic he’s allergic to to complexity and allergic to history. North Korea can consent that desperation on Trump’s part. And now they’re kind of rattling his cage to see how desperate he’s going to be for this agreement. I think there was a tendency especially from the president to be sort of doing an end zone dance in anticipation of having scored something but frankly he’s doing an end zone dance on his own 20 yard line.

(Brian Kilmeade) He’s not doing an end zone dance. And in fact I’ve pointed out and he keeps saying maybe we’ll meet maybe we don’t. We’ll see. But people look at the fact that the North Korean summit had some blowback of the last three days almost as a victory for their hate Trump campaign. Somebody is not shy when he disagrees with the President and when he agrees with the president but speaking out in South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and he joins us now live. Senator we want to give you an example of how 80 to 90 percent of the media are covering some of the complaints from North Korea.

(Lindsey Graham) Well you know you talk about a football game. All I can say to people you just listened to have no clue as to what to do about North Korea. They’re the ones who’ve been embracing the policies of the past. Every administration Jimmy Carter included has failed to deal with North Korea in an effective way until Donald Trump. No one has gone this far. I don’t know HIAS gone and talked to the president last night. I think keeping the door open wanting to meet with North Korea is a wonderful thing. Nobody wants a war. It would be terrible. But Donald Trump unlike past presidents has made it clear that he’s not going to let North Korea threaten the homeland with a nuclear tipped ICBM. Hope we can reach an agreement that is beneficial to North Korea and the world. The president is playing this just perfectly. We’ll see what happens and to all the people who are terrified of Trump being successful, you need to realize one or two things are going to happen. We’re going to get a peace agreement that ends the nuclear threat from North Korea beneficial to North Korea and the world at large or we are going to go to war. Now those your two options President Trump has made a clear choice that he’s not going to allow America to be threatened by North Korea missile technology with a nuclear weapon on top, he’ll use military force if he has to. The only reason we’re talking about a summit is because North Korea and China see something different and Trump. I hope and pray it works out. But let’s put it this way the status quo is no longer on the table. That’s the one thing off the table.

(Brian Kilmeade) Here is what the president said yesterday. Tell me if this is an end zone dance cut 29.

(Audio of President Trump) We haven’t seen anything we haven’t heard anything. We will see what happens. We’ll see what happens. Time will tell.

(Brian Kilmeade) Is that an end zone dance?

(Lindsey Graham) The President has done this I think in a perfect manner. He’s opened the door to summit. He’s welcoming meeting the North Korean leader talking about ending the threat on terms for North Korea gets when the world gets a win. No it’s not an end dance. The people of Trump have been wrong about North Korea. I don’t know if they could tolerate a world where Donald Trump got the Nobel Peace Prize. The oddest thing to me is that the animosity toward this President is created almost a level of insanity that I have not seen before. We should be celebrating that we have a possibility the mere possibility of ending North Korea’s nuclear program to a peaceful resolution should be something we all hope and pray for.

(Brian Kilmeade) So let’s drill down on their complaints. All of a sudden they have a problem with the military exercises. They did not have a problem prior and they knew these were taking place had law in the books in fact I heard we held back on the B1 bombers that we were going to use. So that is just a symbol of a toned down They also went after John Bolton specifically. Here’s what he told me yesterday. Cut 31.

(Clip of Brian Kilmeade interviewing John Bolton on 5-16-18)
(Brian Kilmeade) What’s your reaction? I’m calling you out by name?
(John Bolton) Well you know it’s nothing new from my perspective. Back in 2003 when we were going through the six party talks in the Bush administration the North Koreans objected to my characterization of Kim Jong Il Kim Jong un’s father as a dictator and other things they called me human scum. They called me a bloodsucker. They said I was a very ugly fellow. So I kind of get used to it. It’s what the North Koreans do and it’s the question is whether this really is a sign that they’re not taking our objective of denuclearization seriously.

(Brian Kilmeade) So what do you think I mean besides just saying they always do this center you got insight and you have experience so what do you think.

(Lindsey Graham) Well my best guess is there’s some panic around Kim Jong un. There are some people who are attached to the old way of doing business probably military types who are afraid that we may actually get a deal where they give up their nuclear weapons. As to North Korea’s surviving if you did a peace treaty with North Korea South Korea China and the United States that would end the Korean War with a recognized North Korea. If they in a verifiable way gave up their nuclear program the sanctions would be relieved if the people of North Korea turn on their dictator. That’s his problem not ours. The bottom line here is the worst mistake North Korea can make right is to actually sit down with Donald Trump play the game of talking and go back to the old way of doing business, say one thing at the table do another thing not really give up your nukes, play Donald Trump. That leads to a military confrontation which North Korea will lose. So if I were Kim Jong Il. I would say that this is your best chance right to reestablish your country’s economy to have a prosperous future to get recognition from the international community in a way that your regime will not be threatened, that you should take and if you play Trump, that is the end of you.

(Brian Kilmeade) I have a theory. Something happened at that summit a couple of weeks ago where China brought Kim Jong un to the beach which I’ve never even thought about. Even Dennis Rodman and brought him to the beach and they have this get together at which time he comes back a few days later with a different attitude. So China might have felt left out or they might be concerned that the East West Germany thing could be happening here. You give people a little bit of freedom and they take down a wall and change a peninsula. So what do you think about the fact that China might not be happy with the way this is going?

(Lindsey Graham) If China’s double dealing there will be the biggest loser culture there’s a war between North Korea and the United States over their nuclear program, it’s going to be in China’s backyard not America’s backyard. If China miscalculate Trump and North Korea miscalculate Trump they’ll pay a heavy price. This is not Obama. In case the Chinese are listening to your show. We don’t want a war with North Korea. It would be devastating to the peninsula. It would be devastating South Korea. North Korea will lose. It’s not a good thing for you. Nobody wants a war. But Donald Trump has said enough is enough when it comes to North Korea and technology being developed to hit the homeland here in America with a nuclear tipped missile. The worry is that they build something they will sell it to somebody who will use it. So to China, it is off the table the status quo to our liberal friends. It’s ok if Donald Trump can pull this off. You will live through the idea that Donald Trump was successful. You’ll look back on this and say you know what I’m really glad that Donald Trump ended the North Korean threat to the American homeland and ended the nuclear threat coming out of North Korea. I panicked but I was wrong to panic. There are people who really are pulling for him to fail because they hate him so much. Everybody in the world should be pulling for President Trump to do well, to end this threat because the threat from North Korea is just not to America to the world.

(Brian Kilmeade) Two other things I want to discuss. Number one you’re over at the changing of the embassy location from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and you also know that there was violence not surprisingly at the Gaza border. I am also struck by the same people who are giggling that the North Koreans summits in trouble are also looking saying how could you possibly be celebrating in Jerusalem when people lost their lives in Gaza. What’s your reaction?

(Lindsey Graham) Well number one the protest that occurred in Gaza were organized by Hamas who’s a terrorist organization. Israel pulled out of Gaza years ago and the hope was to turn over Gaza to the Palestinians. Not one Israeli soldier left behind. Over 10,000 rockets have come from Gaza toward Israel. Hamas wants to drive Israel into the sea. In 1995 the Congress voted I think 98 to 1. I think something like that to establish Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Israel has designated Jerusalem its capital where the Knesset meets the Supreme Court meets as the president of Israel lives. We recognize other people’s right to declare their own capital 3000 years of history is on Israel’s side. So Trump did something other people talked about. I hope North Korea watching when Donald Trump said he would move the embassy unlike every other president he actually did it. When Donald Trump said he was going to get out of the Iran deal because it was bad he did it when Donald Trump said he was going to rebuild the military he did it when he said he’s going to take the gloves off to fight ISIL. He did it. As to North Korea if he has to use military force to stop your nuclear weapons program. He will. You’ve got a chance here to enter into an agreement with the United States and others that will secure your future and make the world a better place. As to moving the embassy everybody is for it until we actually did it. Not one Democrat came to this ceremony. I was disappointed but almost all of them voted to move it to Jerusalem. As to the violence. I am sorry. Israel has a right to defend itself. Hamas is a terrorist organization. But if you’re never if you’re going to be threatened by violence when it comes to public policy in the Mideast you will never do anything because there’s always a threat associated with change.

(Brian Kilmeade) I heard Egypt cracked down and stoped the violence yesterday and today. They blamed Hamas for it. And I believe 50 the deaths were Hamas fighters. And also they’re the ones bringing the children to a firefight. So I’m wondering what they’re thinking. There’s some responsibility there. Next Donald Tusk who is the president of the Council the European Union tweeted this out looking at the latest decision by Donald Trump someone could even think with friends like this who needs enemies. But frankly the EU should be grateful. Thanks to get rid of all the illusions. We realize that if you need a helping hand you will find it at the end of your arm. Essentially they say America is not going to protect them anymore and they look to China some trade agreements. What’s your reaction?

(Lindsey Graham) Number one our European allies are very much appreciate. There’s a reason that Britain left the EU. I think that guy’s quote probably explains it better than anything I could do. As to the Iran nuclear agreement a bipartisan majority in the House and the Senate rejected it. We needed 60 votes to stop it but we got north at 50 so the agreement was not binding on Trump when it was entered into, It was rejected by a majority of the Congress. It never was a good agreement. The Europeans. If you’re counting on world peace the Europeans collectively have not been a reliable partner. The Iran deal allows Iran to enrich and reprocess without limitation in a mere decade from now. So it was a fatally flawed deal. The 150 billion dollars was supposed to change Iran. It did. It made them more powerful so to everybody who negotiated this deal. Everything you thought would happen none of it has. Iran’s got worse not better.At what point in time will our European partners realize that Iran is not a reliable partner. They took the money to build up their military. They’re just blaming the Mideast. So Donald Trump is doing the responsible thing. And it is funny, the closer you get to Iran the more people agree with Trump the Arabs and Israelis are with us the Europeans are the outlier here.

(Brian Kilmeade) Lastly I want to tap into your legal background Rudy Giuliani said this that the Muller team has told him about the chances of the president being indicted cut 1.

(Audio of Rudy Giuliani) I asked him specifically if they realized or acknowledge they didn’t have the power to indict and under the Constitution. And he said well he wouldn’t answer. And then the next day and the day after they clarified it for Jay Sekulow who is with me in the meeting that they didn’t have the power to indict them what they would eventually do is write a memorandum and give it to the Deputy Attorney General.

(Brian Kilmeade) So do you believe that? Mueller does not have them problem the power to indict a president?

(Linsey Graham) You know I don’t know the answer to that question. Legally it’s always been the tradition that a sitting president has never been indicted for a crime. There’s a separation of powers issue here. It doesn’t mean you can’t be held accountable under the law, impeachment is a tool. But actual criminal indictment we’ve never had a sitting president. And here’s what I would say. I don’t know what Muller’s found. I don’t know what he’s doing. I know that DOJ and the FBI really did not take the Clinton email investigation seriously. They had a thumb on the scale I know the dossier is a bunch of garbage that was used to get a FISA warrant. And I’m looking into that but I don’t mean to get in the way of this Stormy Daniels story by talking about North Korea. I know that is so important. But if you don’t mind I’ll just focus on Iran and North Korea and Mideast and let everybody else on cable TV talk about Stormy Daniels and Muller. All I can say is that Donald Trump has got North Korea’s attention unlike any other president. If China and North Korea miscalculate and they continue to go back to the status quo we’re going to have a war. They’re going to lose it. I hope we don’t. Thank you Mr. President for taking the office in a different direction. Rebuilding the military putting our enemies on notice and being a more reliable friend. I know people hate Trump so much that they want him to fail in North Korea. That’s literally is insane. We should all want a good outcome in North Korea because a war with North Korea would be a disaster. But the choices left to President Trump after 20 years of mismanagement is to stop their program through peace or war, I hope it’s through peace.

(Brian Kilmeade) I’m just glad that you are in the President talking because you have a lot of experience and I think you are really helping the country by talking to them regular basis.

(Lindsey Graham) He is a good man and I hope he can get it done

(Brian Kilmeade) I think he realizes that too. I think he realizes that too even when you disagree I think you guys still like each other.

(Lindsey Graham) Oh yeah. I want him to be successful we should all want him to be successful.

(Brian Kilmeade) Senator Lindsey Graham thanks so much.