After meeting with the president on Sunday Graham says he is on the same page as the president, The Hill reported.
“We talked about Syria and he told me some things I didn’t know that made me feel a lot better about where we’re headed in Syria,” Graham told reporters.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, who criticized President Trump's withdrawal of troops from the Middle East, says Trump today told him "some things I didn't know that make me feel a lot better about where we're headed in Syria" pic.twitter.com/HBbvzirDfO
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 30, 2018
“He promised to destroy ISIS. He’s going to keep that promise,” Graham continued. “We’re not there yet, but as I said today we’re inside the 10-yard line, and the president understands the need to finish the job.”
Graham, who has emerged as one of the president’s closest allies on Capitol Hill but criticized him on the decision to withdraw troops, said earlier in the day he hoped to use the lunch to urge Trump to reconsider his decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria.
He had previously spoken against the president’s decision to withdraw troops from Syria when he first announced it, The Hill reported.
“To those who say we have defeated ISIS in Syria, that is an inaccurate statement,” Graham said after Trump’s announcement Wednesday that he would be pulling troops out of the embattled nation. “They have been hurt, they have been degraded.”
“I give the president all the credit in the world for changing their policies regarding the fight against ISIS, but I will not buy into the narrative that they have been defeated,” Graham said, adding that he had just returned from visiting with troops in Afghanistan.
“To say they’re defeated is an overstatement and is fake news,” Graham added. “It is not true. They have been severely damaged, but they will come back unless we’re there to stop them.”
On Thursday, Graham took to Twitter to respond to a Trump tweet saying that “Russia, Iran, Syria & many others” are not happy about the U.S. leaving Syria
“It is not FAKE NEWS that Russia, Iran, and Assad are unhappy about our decision to withdraw from Syria,” Graham tweeted. “They are ECSTATIC!”
It is not FAKE NEWS that Russia, Iran, and Assad are unhappy about our decision to withdraw from Syria.
They are ECSTATIC! https://t.co/7cZgEDBbdT
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) December 20, 2018
Graham, a staunch Trump ally who sits on the Senate Armed Forces Committee, has been railing against the president’s decision to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria since Trump made the announcement, calling the move an “Obama-like mistake” earlier in the day.
Reports have indicated that Trump is planning to “immediately” remove 2,000 troops for northern Syria.
The president in a tweet said ISIS has been “defeated” in Syria.
“This is a stain on the honor of the United States,” Graham said. “I hope and pray the president will reconsider this. I know that every national security adviser understands that the time is not right to withdraw. If he does not decide to reconsider, then it will be incumbent upon the Congress to speak and hold him accountable.”
