Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said Thursday that “if we have to, we’ll go to war” with North Korea, adding he supports President Trump’s fiery rhetoric against the country.
“If we have to, we’ll go to war. I don’t want to, but if we have to, we’ll go to war. And I’ll tell you who’ll win that war: We will,” Graham said in an interview with a South Carolina CBS affiliate.
“I think he’s trying to put China and North Korea on notice that the game has changed,” Graham said of Trump’s vow to unleash “fire and fury” should North Korea threaten the U.S.
“President Trump is rejecting the doctrine of strategic patience, which has failed for 25 years. He’s told me, and I think he’s gonna tell China and North Korea, that he’s not going to allow North Korea to develop a missile with a nuclear weapon on top that can hit America, that if he had to use military force to stop that from happening, he would.”
{mosads}”I think that’s the right call, because we can’t live as a nation under the threat of nuclear attack from a crazy man in North Korea,” Graham added.
Trump has engaged in a war of words with North Korea’s leader this week amid heightened tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missiles programs.
Trump ramped up his rhetoric against North Korea on Thursday, saying his warning of “fire and fury” against the nation “may not be tough enough.”
Graham emphasized that China could put an end to the current situation by using its considerable influence over the North Korean country.
The GOP senator said he is “convinced that Donald Trump would use military force to protect the homeland” against a nuclear weapon from the country, adding that every previous president has “failed miserably” in dealing with the issue.