Clyburn says Graham’s claims of voter fraud in Georgia show he’s ‘lost grip on reality’
House Majority Whip James Clyburn lambasted Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham on Tuesday over his repeated efforts to undermine the election results in Georgia, saying his fellow South Carolinian has “lost grip on reality.”
Graham, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, argued Monday on Fox News that Georgia needs to conduct an audit of the ballot signatures in the presidential race there, saying a “civil war is brewing in Georgia” over the fact that the state was won by President-elect Joe Biden. President Donald Trump and other Republicans have falsely claimed Biden’s victory was the result of widespread voter fraud.
“Get a grip. Get a grip. I think he’s lost grip on reality. Yes, there’s a civil war brewing, and it’s just as idiosyncratic as the civil war we had before. And it just so happens to be brewing in the same part of the country that it broke out before. The result would be the same,” Clyburn, the highest-ranking African American in the House, told CNN’s John Berman on “New Day” when asked about Graham’s remarks.
“This country is not going to allow this kind of activity to take place. I think that there are cooler heads (that) are prevailing,” he added. “I thought I knew Lindsey Graham, but I must have been mistaken.”
When asked about Clyburn’s comments and what Graham meant when he referred to a civil war, Kevin Bishop, a spokesman for the senator, said he was talking about a “GOP civil war,” but otherwise did not respond to the congressman.
On Monday, Georgia recertified its presidential election results, again finding Biden as the winner following three counts of ballots, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, said.
Georgia officials, including Raffensperger, have disputed claims of widespread voter fraud made by Trump and other Republicans, and on Monday, the secretary of state again said misinformation being spread about the state’s election is hurting the state.
Graham inserted himself into one of Georgia’s recount processes last month, according to Raffensperger, who said the senator had hinted that he should try to discard some ballots in the state if there were signature errors with them. Graham later denied Raffensperger’s claim that he made the suggestion.
Clyburn, who serves as a co-chair of Biden’s inaugural committee, also sharply criticized Trump for his efforts to overturn or undermine the election results in Georgia and other key states, telling Berman that the President’s actions are akin to “an attempted coup.”
“You may not call it a coup, but this is an attempted coup. Now some people are saying he is trying to steal the election. He’s not trying to steal the election. That denotes some kind of unknown activity, when you’re stealing,” he said. “No. That’s not what he’s doing. He is in your face trying to overthrow the will of the people.”
CNN reported Monday that Trump spoke on multiple occasions over the past week with the speaker of the House in Pennsylvania about the Keystone State’s election results, inquiring about their electoral process, according to a spokesman for the lawmaker.
The President has made similar inquiries with Republican officials in Michigan and Georgia as he has sought to overturn his election loss, though GOP officials have repeatedly rebuffed him.
This story has been updated with additional comments and reaction.
