Senator Brags About How He Manipulated Trump, 79, Into War [View all]

Source: Daily Beast

Updated Mar. 7 2026 11:46AM EST
Published Mar. 7 2026 11:17AM EST


Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is taking all the credit for pushing President Trump to launch his unauthorized war with Iran. Graham, who has long advocated for going to war with Iran, said he played a word-association game to get Trump, 79, on board with a full-scale war in the Middle East.

“I say Franklin Roosevelt, what do you say?” Graham told the Wall Street Journal, referencing Roosevelt’s famous “You have nothing to fear but fear itself” quote.

Graham noted that he worked for months to get Trump on board with the strikes. Graham first brought up Iran to the president over a round of golf, just after Trump won the 2024 presidential election. He reminded Trump that he had blown up the Obama-era Iranian nuclear deal, and argued that it was now Trump’s moment to shine.

After Trump struck Iran’s nuclear facilities in June, which he had claimed had left them “totally obliterated,” Graham argued to the president that Iran would just continue to build weapons.

Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/senator-lindsey-graham-brags-about-how-he-manipulated-trump-79-into-war-with-iran/