Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said President Donald Trump would set the conditions regarding Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to “take him down.”
Tensions with Venezuela have reached new heights over the past several weeks, with the United States conducting lethal strikes on boats the U.S. says were trafficking drugs from Venezuela in the Carribbean and rhetoric denouncing Maduro reaching a fever pitch. In a Monday appearance on Fox News’s Hannity, one of the most outspoken hawks in Congress hinted at possible regime change.
Graham began by questioning the legitimacy of the Maduro government.
“Venezuela is a narcoterrorism state run by Maduro, who’s had associations with Iran. He steals from his own people. It is a staging area to bring drugs into this country,” Graham said, praising Trump’s unilateral decision to target drug trafficking boats.
“We’re going to the next step. We’re just not going to blow up the boat. We’re going after the people who load the boat and the country that provides safe haven to their narcoterrorists who run the drug cartels,” he added.
“Donald Trump is going to take Maduro down. And everybody’s talked about how bad Maduro is. He’s going down. He’s a narcoterrorist, drug dealer, illegitimate president, and Trump is going to set the conditions that take him down,” Graham said.
The South Carolina Republican has long called for the overthrow of Maduro, but his rhetoric on Monday appeared to be speaking for Trump. Host Sean Hannity explained that the senator had previously brought up the possibility of installing Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado as president, something he raised with Trump.
TRUMP SAYS MADURO ‘DOESN’T WANT TO F*** AROUND WITH THE US’ AND IS ‘OFFERING EVERYTHING’
Trump has begun publicly taunting Maduro, last week coroborating reports that Maduro had approached the U.S. with several offers to lessen tensions.
“He has offered everything. He’s offered everything, you’re right. You know why? Because he doesn’t want to f*** around with the United States,” the president said live on television.