Lindsey Graham Floats Shooting Russian Planes After U.S. Drone Downed
“What would Ronald Reagan do right now,” the GOP senator said to Sean Hannity before claiming that President Biden’s foreign policy has the country headed toward “World War III.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) suggested Tuesday that the downing of an unmanned U.S. drone over the Black Sea earlier by two Russian Su-27 aircraft should result in the U.S. shooting down Russian planes if they “ever get near another U.S. asset flying in international waters.”
The U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) criticized the reckless actions of the Russian aircraft, which struck the drone’s propeller and caused it to crash.
“Several times before the collision, the Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner,” it said Tuesday. (Russia has denied doing so.)
Gen. James B. Hecker, the commander of U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa, added that “this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash.”
Graham, appearing on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show, was asked what an appropriate response would look like.
Sign Up for The Swamp Newsletter
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
“Well, we should hold them accountable and say that, ‘If you ever get near another U.S. asset flying in international waters, your airplane will be shot down,'” Graham said. “What would Ronald Reagan do right now? He would start shooting Russian planes down if they were threatening our assets.”
Graham then targeted President Biden, accusing his foreign policy of being “in free fall” and claiming that he isn’t respected by other world leaders. The administration’s handling of the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan and of the Chinese spy balloon earlier this year, for instance, Graham took issue with.
“If you don’t change your game and up your game,” Graham said later, addressing Biden personally, “we’re going to have World War III.”
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.