Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Wednesday defended himself amid controversy over his comment referring to ''the good old days of segregation,'' which he now says was made with ''deep sarcasm.''
During Wednesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, Graham questioned the judge and asked, ''You’re not aware of any effort to go back to the good old days of segregation by a legislative body, is that correct?''
The senator’s Democratic challenger, Jaime Harrison, quickly seized on the comment.
''Lindsey Graham just called segregation 'the good old days,''' he tweeted. ''The good old days for who, Senator? It’s 2020, not 1920. Act like it.''
Graham told reporters later that day, ''If anybody was listening to who I am and what I said, you know that it was with deep sarcasm that I suggested that some legislative body would want to yearn for the good old days of segregation.''
He added, ''The point that I’m trying to make, there is nobody in America in the legislative arena wanting to take us back to that dark period in American history. And for my opponent to suggest that says far more about him than me.''
Graham then said, ''In terms of that statement, it blows my mind that any rational person could believe that about me. This is not a game we’re playing here with the people of South Carolina.''
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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