Graham compares Trump’s Iran remarks to Reagan’s ‘tear down this wall’ address

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said President Trump’s speech on Iran will be a highlight of his presidency, comparing it to former President Reagan’s 1987 speech in Berlin urging Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall.”

The Wednesday night remarks on Fox News by Graham, who frequently offers public praise of Trump, were ridiculed as hyperbolic by critics.

“This speech will be talked about long after his second term,” Graham said. “This is on par with Reagan’s ‘tear down this wall’ speech.” 

Lindsey Graham says Trump’s speech from this morning will be remembered long after his second term. He also says it’s as good as Reagan’s Tear Down This Wall speech pic.twitter.com/62sqN76cV0

— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) January 9, 2020

Michael Steele, the former Republican National Committee chairman, said Graham is “smoking stuff none of us should get our hands on because it clearly does some stuff to the brain.”

“This speech will not be remembered much beyond this weekend, let alone beyond a second term,” Steele said. “This speech was stilted, it was not, in my estimation, delivered with the kind of conviction that’s backed up by a plan.”

Trump addressed the nation Wednesday morning on Iran following missile attacks on two Iraqi military bases that were housing U.S. troops. The attacks did not cause any casualties and were interpreted by many as an effort for Iran to save face but not escalate a confrontation with the United States following the death of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed last week in a U.S. airstrike.

Trump said Iran appeared to be standing down and that the U.S. did not want war; the president also announced new sanctions. 

Steele said the speech was “words on paper” and did little but put a “halo” over Trump’s head. 

“Lindsey, what is the president’s plan here?” he said. “Because that speech didn’t tell us anything.”

Graham hailed Trumps speech, saying the president asserted that he will “no longer tolerate” the “evil in power in Iran that’s bent on destroying the world, killing the people in Israel and coming after us.”