Sen. Lindsey Graham toned down his call for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be assassinated, and now wants him jailed for war crimes.
The latest comments by the South Carolina Republican came during a Friday interview on TV’s "Fox & Friends."
Responding to a statement from Russia’s ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, who called Graham’s assassination comments "unacceptable and outrageous," the senator said: "Mr. Ambassador, you’re supporting a war criminal in Putin. Your country is engaged in war crimes in front of the entire world. You’re bombing innocent civilians.
"You, my friend, is the one who needs to apologize. When it comes to Putin, he needs to go to jail."
Graham’s comments are in contrast to remarks he made Thursday in a televised interview and in a tweet.
"Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military?" he tweeted.
The Washington Post noted that Graham's comments were in reference to the Roman politician who participated in the murder of Julius Caesar and the German military officer who tried to kill Adolf Hitler.
Graham added in his tweet: "The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out. You would be doing your country — and the world — a great service."
His comments were nearly identical to those he made Thursday during an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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