Sen. Lindsey Graham said Friday he hopes President-elect Donald Trump uses his inaugural address to acknowledge he’s the president not just of his fans, but also his critics.
“Well number one, make a speech that acknowledges that he’s the president of all of us and those who are out there protesting, he’s their president, too,” Mr. Graham, South Carolina Republican, said on “CBS This Morning.”
“If I were President Trump, I’d put some points up on the board,” Mr. Graham also said, indicating an infrastructure package could be an area of common ground with Democrats.
“Keep your campaign promises, but try to bring us together pretty early on,” he said.
Mr. Graham, a former 2016 GOP presidential candidate, was one of the leading Republican critics of Mr. Trump during the campaign.
“I lost, he won,” Mr. Graham said. “Wasn’t a very good critic.”
“I don’t know if I’m on the kill list or not — that’d be good to know,” he joked. “No, I’m very optimistic.”
Mr. Graham said the “engaging” and “charming” Mr. Trump should bring people down to the White House to try to develop relationships with members of Congress.
He also said the worst thing Mr. Trump could do is “forgive and forget about Russia’s interference in our election.”
“That screams weakness,” he said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.