Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Thursday explained an impromptu handshake with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), saying he thought the lead House manager was doing a “good job” of presenting the case against President Trump.
“He’s well spoken. Did a good job of creating a tapestry. Taking bits and pieces of evidence and emails and giving a rhetorical flourish. Making the email come alive. Sometimes effectively, sometimes a little over the top,” Graham told reporters.
The two men were spotted bumping into each other as they left the Capitol on Wednesday night, after Schiff spoke for roughly 2 1/2 hours during the first day of opening arguments from the House impeachment managers.
Graham added he thought the House team “did a good job” to take evidence and “creating a quilt out of it.”
“What I will tell my colleagues is the other side gets to talk, and see if they can pull a thread here, and pull a thread there and see if holds up,” he added.
Graham was a member of the House managers team during the 1999 Clinton impeachment trial. His praise for Schiff comes as he’s lambasted the House for voting to impeach the president.
Graham told reporters on Wednesday that he thought Democrats were trying to “destroy” Trump.
“When it comes to replacing [Trump] nine months plus from the election, you got an uphill battle with me because I really do believe that the best person — group of people to pick a president — are the voters, not a bunch of partisan politicians,” Graham said.