Lindsey Graham finally answers why he hasn't deleted Trump-bashing tweet from 2016
Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican, finally answered a burning question for many who follow United States politics.
Graham ferociously criticized Donald Trump when the now-former president first entered the political scene, but Graham was one of Trump's top defenders once he was elected as president, and has continued to be a staunch ally ever since. But his well-publicized political switch-up also means Graham has been haunted by his Trump-bashing past.
One of the most concrete examples of Graham's prior distain for Trump is a tweet from March 2016.
ALSO READ: Rep. Byron Donalds, his gigantic Jim Crow myth and a forgotten fact about Black voters
"If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed.......and we will deserve it," Graham tweeted at the time.
Since the time the tweet was first sent, a lot of things have changed, including Graham's loyalty to Trump, the ownership of the social media platform now called X, and the comments section. The comments on Graham's post are overtaken by Trump critics who insist Graham knew something that others did not.
In 2018, @Mikel_Jollett added, "This has aged like fine wine."
Actor Mark Ruffalo said in 2020, "The action on this tweet has eclipsed all your others. Bravo!"
Political commentator Brian Tyler Cohen wrote in 2021, "You called it."
Law Professor Jen Taub recently decided to ask Graham what many have been wondering: given Graham's change of heart on Trump, why hasn't he simply deleted the post?
Taub posted a video of the interaction on social media with the caption, "Yes, I asked him."
"Senator Graham, can I ask you a question?" Taub can be heard saying behind the camera while speaking with the senator on-set of CNN's presidential debate featuring Trump and Joe Biden. "I've always wondered why you've kept... my name is Jennifer... why you kept a tweet up on Twitter that you said years ago that if we nominate Donald Trump, then we will be destroyed as a party. Why did you not take the tweet down?"
"I don't know," Graham replies. "I didn't know I didn't take it down."
Taub then says, "Now you know!"