‘Absolutely Pathetic’: New York Times Columnist Rakes Lindsey Graham Over the Coals for ‘Illogical’ And ‘Sad’ Deference to Trump
07 October 2018
New York Times columnist Frank Bruni on Saturday published a scathing op-ed about Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), calling him the “saddest story in Washington” for his blind deference to Donald Trump.
Graham, Bruni charged, is “head of the pack” among the characters in Trump’s inner circle—and he’s winning the race to the bottom.
Insisting Graham rushes to television cameras “the way a toddler chases soap bubbles,” Burn wrote, “his words are whichever ones guarantee a major role and a powerful patron, which means that these days he sounds like a more articulate echo of his golfing buddy: Donald Trump.”
Bruni called Graham’s “journey from anti-Trump outrage to pro-Trump obsequiousness” illogical and sad, arguing the senator’s melt down over Brett Kavanaugh’s sexual assault hearing “completed” that journey.
With his hysterical reaction to the hearing, Bruni said, Graham “distilled our rotten politics — its transactional nature, its tribal fury, its hysterical pitch — as neatly as anybody in the current Congress does.”
Referencing the late Sen. John McCain, one of Graham’s best friends, Bruni went on:
That’s the sad part I mentioned. And this is the absolutely pathetic twist: McCain, battling brain cancer, stopped spending much time in Washington, and as his health deteriorated, Graham’s ardor and cheerleading for Trump intensified. McCain, you see, wasn’t just Graham’s friend. He was his road to greater relevance. And Trump presented a veritable expressway. So Graham switched vehicles and directions, and pressed the pedal to the metal.