Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., tells Newsmax he favors continued support for Ukraine, saying it costs the U.S. little and has greatly weakened the Russian military.
And, he adds, it will stave off future aggressors, such as China.
Graham sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee which heard testimony Tuesday from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who warned the panel that separating Ukraine aid from aid to Israel will ensure Putin eventually wins his invasion of his sovereign neighbor.
Graham said Tuesday on "Eric Bolling The Balance" that he agrees, though he thinks the $106 billion package the Biden administration has requested for both Israel and Ukraine is too much.
Rather than humanitarian aid, "we just need to help people with the weapons to kill our common enemies," Graham said. "And our common enemies are Hamas and Russia."
But "pulling the plug on Ukraine means Putin keeps going, and we wind up with a war between NATO and Russia," Graham added. "China's watching, and they'll take Taiwan."
Not one American soldier has died in the effort to help Ukraine, the United States has spent the equivalent of only 5% of its total defense budget and Russia's military capability has been cut in half, the senior senator from the Palmetto state told Bolling.
"I understand about foreign entanglements," Graham said, but added, "If you told me in 1986, when I was in the Air Force, we could destroy half of the Russian army, not lose one soldier, and spend 5% of our military budget to do it, I wouldn't have believed you. — That's actually happened."
When Donald Trump was president "none of this happened," Graham said. "Everybody was afraid of him. Nobody's afraid of Biden. Bottom line is weakness breeds more aggression."
"I hope Trump wins. I hope this all ends quickly if he's president in 2025," Graham said, "but until then, we need to make sure the world doesn't come apart more than it is."
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Jack Gournell ✉
Jack Gournell, a Newsmax general assignment writer and editor, covering news, politics, media, and culture. He has over 35 years of experience in journalism.
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