Breaking from President Donald Trump's suggestion he might "take" foreign assistance in the 2020 election, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called the comments a "mistake of law."
"I think it's a mistake [by Trump]," Sen. Graham said Thursday. "I think it's a mistake of law. I don't want to send a signal to encourage this."
Graham added if foreign governments offer you campaign assistance, "the right answer is no," not maybe as President Trump suggested in an ABC News interview.
"Giving you anything of value whether it be money or information on your opponent, the right answer is no," Graham said.
". . . Foreign influence in our elections is growing, not lessening, and we don't want to send a signal to encourage it."
Graham continued his remarks with a tweetstorm, echoing his comment to reporters and pointing back to Democratic opposition research paid for through the British intelligence of Christopher Steele, whose dossier shared unverified claims from Russian operatives.
"First, I believe that it should be practice for all public officials who are contacted by a foreign government with an offer of assistance to their campaign – either directly or indirectly – to inform the FBI and reject the offer," Graham began in a series of tweets.
President Trump also tweeted to respond to the outrage of his comments:
"I meet and talk to 'foreign governments' every day. I just met with the Queen of England (U.K.), the Prince of Wales, the P.M. of the United Kingdom, the P.M. of Ireland, the President of France and the President of Poland. We talked about 'Everything!' Should I immediately....
Continuing:
"....call the FBI about these calls and meetings? How ridiculous! I would never be trusted again. With that being said, my full answer is rarely played by the Fake News Media. They purposely leave out the part that matters."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.