Graham said GOP candidates running in states like Arizona and Georgia that could be key in Republican efforts to take back the Senate will be asked about McConnell’s speech. Likewise, he said incumbent candidates will be asked about whether they will support McConnell in the future.
McConnell said Saturday that Trump committed “a disgraceful dereliction of duty” by his actions prior to the deadly riot and was “practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day.”
Graham said that while Trump had pushed “narratives about the election that I think are not sound and not true,” he does not believe the former president’s words incited the riot.
Looking at the party as a whole, Graham said McConnell’s speech is an “outlier” when it comes to GOP feelings about Trump’s second impeachment.
Graham said he has spoken to Trump since the trial, and while the former president is upset with some members of his party, he is “excited about 2022” and looking to help rebuild the Republican Party in next year’s midterm elections.
