Graham enters 2016 White House race to ‘defeat the enemies trying to kill us’

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) launched his bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Monday, vowing to defend the nation through a muscular foreign policy.

“I want to be president to defeat the enemies trying to kill us, not just penalize them or criticize them or contain them, but defeat them,” Graham said from his hometown of Central, S.C.

Graham is one of the foremost national security hawks in the GOP and is running almost exclusively on his foreign policy bona fides. 

{mosads}He cited his experience in the Senate on the Armed Services Committee, as a reserve officer in the U.S. Air Force, and countless trips to the Middle East as evidence he’s the strongest candidate on foreign policy.

“I’m running for president because I am ready to be commander-in-chief on day one,” he said. “I’m ready on day one to defend our nation with sound strategy, a strong military, stable alliances, and steady determination.”

“I have one simple message,” he continued. “I have more experience with our national security than any other candidate.

“That includes you, Hillary,” he added, taking a jab at former Secretary of State Clinton, the likely Democratic nominee.

Last week, Graham visited Israel, where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and announced that he will retire from the Air Force Reserve after more than 30 years in the military. His allies have launched a super-PAC called Security Is Strength to boost his bid.

“I know the players, I know our friends and our enemies alike,” Graham said. “But most importantly, they know me. I have listened, learned and prepared myself for the job of commander-in-chief.”

Graham faces a steep climb to the nomination. He is the fourth Republican senator to enter the already crowded GOP field, joining Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.). 

Rubio has similarly made a hawkish national security platform his calling card, and rocketed near the top of the GOP field since launching his presidential campaign in mid-April.

Graham’s first priority will be to qualify for the GOP debates. Fox News and CNN are capping the number of candidates for their first debates at 10, based on national polling numbers.

Graham is currently on the outside looking in, barely registering in most national polls.

Graham is tied for 12th in the latest Quinnipiac University national survey released last week, taking only 1 percent support. He’s outside of the top 14 in the RealClearPolitics average of polls, trailing GOP long shots like Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and businesswoman Carly Fiorina.

But Graham believes he’s well-positioned to gain traction in the field through his foreign-policy experience.

National security has been at the forefront in the early stages of the Republican presidential campaign, as lawmakers debate President Obama’s nuclear talks with Iran, the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and the NSA’s surveillance programs.

In his speech, Graham warned that “radical Islam is running wild,” and argued that the “we must take the fight to them,” before terrorists launch another attack on the U.S.

“They have more safe havens, more money, more weapons and more capability to strike our homeland than anytime since 9/11,” Graham said. “They are large, rich and entrenched. As president, I will make them small, poor and on the run.”

He blasted the Obama administration for negotiating with Iran over its nuclear program, saying the president has put at risk the security of Israel, a key U.S. ally.

“If the United States isn’t firm in our intention to deny them such weapons, Iran will trigger a nuclear arms race in the least stable region on earth, and make it more likely that people who aspire to genocide will have the most effective means to commit it,” Graham said. “I am running for president because I have the experience, judgment and will to deny the most radical regimes the most dangerous weapons.”

Graham’s presidential announcement also comes against the backdrop of a bitter, high-stakes battle in the Senate over reforming the National Security Agency (NSA).

Lawmakers returned to Washington on Sunday in a last-ditch effort to prevent parts of the Patriot Act from expiring, but opposition from Sen. Rand Paul, another Republican presidential hopeful, forced key measures to lapse.

Graham and other hawks are furious with the Kentucky Republican, arguing that the spying programs Paul is seeking to rein in are critical tools for preventing terrorist attacks.

Graham will serve as a foil in the Republican presidential field to Paul, whose non-interventionist views are viewed by many in the party as a threat to national security. 

He didn’t mention Paul by name in his speech, but criticized the Obama administration, and “some of my colleagues in Congress,” who he said “have substituted wishful thinking for sound national security strategy.”

“Those who believe we can disengage from the world at large and stay safe by leading from behind, vote for someone else. I’m not your man,” Graham said. “Those who believe the best way to defend ourselves is to lead the world, to make history rather than be overwhelmed by it, I ask for your support.”

Graham will follow his announcement with a trip to New Hampshire, where he has four events planned on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then Iowa, where he has four stops booked for Thursday and Friday.

Republican strategists say he could impact the race by playing either spoiler or kingmaker in his home state of South Carolina, an early voting state with a heavy military presence that is expected to winnow the field of contenders. 

This story was updated at 12:39 p.m.