Saying the Quiet Part Aloud: Lindsey Graham Admits Senate GOP Worked with Biden to Hijack Trump’s Abraham Accords
Lindsey Graham appeared on CBS’ Face the Nation on Sunday morning, June 21, 2026, as JD Vance was on his way to Switzerland to meet with Iran, Qatar & Pakistan and revealed lots of information about Iran, Israel and FISA that I didn’t know FOR SURE before - which clearly spells out how the GOP Senate is working AGAINST the Trump administration. Lindsey is trying to run interference for both sides but he just revealed the game in this interview.
Nobody is paying attention to this interview and they should. Now I know why. Here it is word for word and then after I’ll explain the context and meaning from my perspective:
The following is the transcript of the interview with Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on June 21, 2026.
MARGARET BRENNAN: South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham. Good morning to you, Senator.
SENATOR LINDSEY GRAHAM: Good morning. Good morning.
BRENNAN: There’s a lot that still hasn’t been figured out here in this deal, but you wrote nine days ago the idea of a US plan with partners to create a fund of at least $300 billion - this is point six in the memorandum - is “tone deaf” and it’s “akin to a Marshall Plan for Germany with the Nazis still in charge.” Why did you change your position - and now you support it?
GRAHAM: Because before, I thought the money was coming from the West. [I was wrong.] If the West funds Iran, I think that would be a Marshall Plan with a Nazi still in charge for Germany. If the plan envisions the Sunni Arabs funding Iran - yeah, if the Sunni Arabs do it. Can you imagine if Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates invest $300 billion in Iran? That would tell me that Iran has changed. To all the experts out there, do you think Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates are going to invest in Iran, with a theocracy bent on destroying Sunni Islam? So, think- think it through. If the money comes from the Sunni Arab world, I hope it happens. It would mean that the Sunni Arabs believe that Iran has changed to the point they want to be a business partner. I pray that happens. I doubt if it will.
BRENNAN: You doubt if it will. Well, I want to ask you about some of the criticism of the agreement from your fellow Republican colleagues. Take a listen.
SENATOR TED CRUZ: If we give billions of dollars to Iran, that money will be used to murder Americans, and so I don’t believe we should do that.
SENATOR JOHN CORNYN: They’ll use the money that is being released to rebuild their- their ballistic missile arsenal and begin to enrich again, and that’s going to be a continuing danger.
SENATOR TOM COTTON: That money is not going to go to build new hospitals or daycares, it’s going to go to replenish their drone stockpiles, their missiles to support terrorists like Hezbollah and Hamas.
SENATOR BILL CASSIDY: We have 13 Americans dead. We spent anywhere from $25 to $100 billion in munitions and it turns out we’ve lost the credible threat of attacking them again. So, there’s a lot of stuff in there that’s bad.
BRENNAN: All of those Republicans are seriously doubting the president here, Senator Graham. Do you agree with their concerns?
GRAHAM: No, I don’t. We’re not giving any money to Iran that can change the course of history to try diplomacy. Is the MOU problematic? Yeah. I’d rather try diplomacy than take it off the table. The money Iran gets is not going to change the future of Iran. It’s not enough to reconstruct the country.
If you don’t have a diplomatic path through the MOU, then you have to go to war or some other form of coercion. Let’s try this. Let’s try a diplomatic solution. I think it’s going to fail. What happens next?
I spent four-and-a-half hours with President Trump Friday. Here’s what I think will happen next. If this deal fails, President Trump is going to take the Strait of Hormuz over by force. The United States will control the Strait of Hormuz. We’ll charge a fee for all those who go through to pay for the operation, and we’re going to expand the Abraham Accords in calendar year 2026.
We’re going to get Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords — which is the biggest change in 5,000 years in the Mideast. And if Iran contests control of the Strait of Hormuz by the United States, we will obliterate them.
So, to all the people listening, if this diplomatic effort fails, President Trump is going to take the Strait of Hormuz. We’re going to run it.
We’re going to try to get Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords to end the Arab-Israeli conflict in 2026, and if Iran continues to attack Israel and Lebanon, the new policy will be, we’ll hit Iran. So, to the Iranians, if you’re listening, when you use Hezbollah to attack Israel, I think the new policy will be, we will attack Iran.
BRENNAN: You have just laid out how you could turn what you think is a flawed document into an opportunity, but you’re also suggesting there that you can get Benjamin Netanyahu, or whoever is the next Prime Minister of Israel, to recognize the Palestinian state, which is the price of normalization with Saudi Arabia. How could you do that on the brink of an election?
GRAHAM: Well, for about two years, Margaret, in case you missed this, I went to Saudi Arabia and Israel, working on normalization with President Biden. We were going to announce a framework to have Saudi join the Abraham Accords at the end of October in 2023. Iran attacked on October 7. That created a real problem.
The Arab world is very upset about Gaza, and everybody in Israel is very upset about October 7, but we’re going to pick up where we left off. And Donald Trump is going to empower me and others to jump-start an effort to get Saudi to join Israel. There will be accommodations made by Saudi and Israel. To Saudi and Israel, you have no better friend than Donald Trump.
To Bibi, Donald Trump stood by you when other people wouldn’t. I’m not asking you to do anything to jeopardize the future of Israel’s security, but I am asking you to be open to expanding the Abraham Accords and finding a solution to Palestinians that are good for Israel, and quite frankly, good for the world.
To Saudi Arabia, now is the time to open negotiations yet again for you to expand the Abraham Accords, for you to join. I think this is going to happen in 2026 — and it can’t happen until Iran’s in a box. If we get a deal, Iran will be in a box. If we don’t get a deal — Iran will be in a box.
To Lebanon, to the people in Lebanon, help is on the way. Hezbollah has been terrorizing your country for a long time. That’s about to end.
BRENNAN: Senator, I have other questions I need to get to based on your responsibilities in the Judiciary Committee. President Trump appeared to sabotage his own nominee, Jay Clayton, who was going to be the nominee with a confirmation hearing last week to run the Director of National Intelligence. He told him not to show up at his hearing, so that left Bill Pulte, this controversial head of the Federal Housing Agency, who has no prior intelligence background or security clearance, in charge. Are you comfortable with giving Pulte the keys to the 18 agencies?
GRAHAM: I think what we had in place should happen. I think Clayton should be the new DNI. President Trump was told that Democrats were not going to support FISA reauthorization, and he got mad and pulled out of the agreement. They will. Mark Warner (Democrat) told me that there are enough votes to get FISA reauthorized, and I would urge President Trump to let Clayton testify. And if we nominate Clayton and get him affirmed as the new DNI, we don’t want FISA to go dark. There’s too many threats to our country for 702 to go down. Anybody who owns the shutting down of 702 under FISA will own a future attack against the United States. We’re playing with fire here.
BRENNAN: Did you — you said you spent time with President Trump this past week? Did he say to you that he will do what you just laid out?
GRAHAM: I’ll let him speak for himself. But I told him that any Democrat that shuts down FISA at a time of great peril for the United States is making a huge mistake. The same would be true of the Trump administration. We need FISA up and running. So, here’s what I hope will happen: that Clayton will appear before the committee, we’ll get him confirmed, and we’ll get FISA reauthorized, as the original plan was. I think the Democratic votes are there. We’re playing with fire here, no matter what side does it. America needs FISA up and running.
BRENNAN: Well, this — you’re talking about the surveillance tool that allows for foreigners of concern abroad to be monitored there.
GRAHAM: Yeah. Yes.BRENNAN: Bill Pulte went after the president’s perceived political enemies and is accused of using private mortgage data and weaponizing it. Mark Warner told us on this program last week, because he’s so ignorant, he could do damage. He’s on the job right now. Is he a risk?
GRAHAM: I’m fine right now, but I won’t be fine much longer if we don’t get FISA up and running, and I think Clayton’s the perfect pick. Clayton has got the confidence of both sides. Let’s get him in a job that really matters. And I thought it was an outstanding choice by President Trump and let’s get this back on track.
We gotta realize that their people want to blow us all up and kill us and they’re coming if we don’t stop them. And if we don’t get Iran in a box, we’re in trouble. So, let’s do it. Let’s stop talking and get it done.
BRENNAN: Senator Graham, thank you very much. Got to go to a break. We’ll be right back.
Now let’s look at which Israeli leaders were in office during Trump’s terms in office:
United States President
Donald Trump (right-wing conservative): January 2017-January 2021
Joe Biden (left-wing liberal): January 2021-January 2025
Donald Trump (right-wing conservative): January 2025 - present
Israel Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu (right-wing orthodox conservative): Continuous from May 2009 – June 2021
Naftali Bennett (new-right orthodox conservative): June 2021 - July 2022
Yair Lapid (left-wing secular liberal): July 2022 - December 2022
Benjamin Netanyahu (right-wing orthodox conservative): December 2022 - present
Israeli President
Reuven Rivlin (right-wing secular): July 2014 - July 2021
Isaac Herzog (left-wing non-orthodox): July 2021 to present
Donald Trump announced his 2024 presidential campaign on November 15, 2022 - when Yair Lapid was Prime Minister of Israel and Isaac Herzog was the President - both left-wing secular leaders.
Lindsey Graham just admitted on national television that throughout 2022 and 2023, he actively worked with the Biden administration, traveling to Israel and Saudi Arabia to try and hijack the Abraham Accords for the US Senate.
But there was a massive catch. The GOP Senate AND Lindsey’s goal was to ensure a Palestinian state was recognized as part of the deal. That was never Trump’s policy.
Do you see the difference? The Senate GOP establishment was actively conspiring with left-wing leaders in Israel and the Biden State Department to take credit for Trump’s historic Abraham Accords, only to twist them into forcing a Palestinian state.
Then, Iran and Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, completely destroying that deep-state plan. Who had the most to gain by attacking Israel at that exact moment? The facts paint a clear picture.
Hamas (and by extension Iran) had the clearest motive to launch the October 7, 2023 attack at that specific moment.
Factual timeline and context
Abraham Accords origins: Trump’s 2020 deals normalized Israel-UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan ties without requiring Palestinian statehood concessions. This was a major Trump/MAGA foreign policy win that bypassed the old “land for peace” formula.
2022-2023 efforts: After Trump’s 2022 campaign announcement (under Lapid’s brief premiership), the Biden administration pursued Saudi-Israel normalization. Lindsey Graham publicly confirmed he traveled to Riyadh and Jerusalem working with Biden officials on this. Reports indicate the deal was advancing and nearing a framework announcement by late 2023. Saudi demands reportedly included U.S. security guarantees, civilian nuclear help, and Israeli steps on the Palestinian issue (e.g., progress toward a state or significant concessions)—elements not central to the original Trump Accords.
October 7 timing: Talks were reportedly very close (some accounts say a framework was imminent). The Hamas-led massacre (killing ~1,200, mostly civilians, with hostages) and Israel’s response immediately halted momentum. Public Arab outrage over Gaza made normalization politically toxic for Saudi leaders in the short term.
Seized Hamas documents and reporting confirm that disrupting Israel-Saudi normalization was an explicit goal of the attack. Hamas viewed the normalization as an existential threat that would isolate Gaza and strengthen Israel. Meanwhile, Iran benefited by keeping Arab nations fractured. Iran (Hamas’s key backer) benefits from keeping Arab states divided and focused on Israel rather than countering Tehran.
“Who had the most to gain?”
Hamas/Iran axis: Direct strategic win. It sabotaged a deal that would have normalized Israel with the most important remaining Arab heavyweight, potentially expanding the Accords further and weakening the “Axis of Resistance.” The war shifted regional focus, boosted Hamas’s profile in parts of the Arab/Muslim world, and delayed isolation.
Opponents of pure normalization (without heavy Palestinian concessions): The attack killed the near-term deal. Graham and Biden-era efforts linked expansion to Palestinian progress, differing from Trump’s original approach. Whether this was “stealing credit” or pragmatic bipartisanship is interpretive—Graham has long supported both strong Israel ties and some Palestinian framework.
The difference between the Trump version of the Abraham Accords and the Senate version is real:
Trump’s original Abraham Accords = normalization without Palestinian statehood as a prerequisite.
Later talks under Biden/Graham incorporated more of the traditional framework that the US has been pushing for years - that Hamas and Iran reject. The attack succeeded in its immediate tactical goal of derailing a final deal and left it up to Bibi and Trump to try to fix. The October 7 attack succeeded in derailing the establishment’s fake peace deal, leaving a catastrophic mess that only Trump and Netanyahu are now equipped to fix.
Long-term, it was a HUGE mistake by Hamas that led to massive costs for Gaza and Hamas but ultimately worked out because Trump & Bibi came back into office and fixed the mess after the Israeli war on Gaza.
Why wouldn’t Hamas want Palestine recognized as a state? What are the more “traditional framework” issues that Hamas & Iran reject?
Hamas does not want a Palestinian state that requires recognizing Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. Their ultimate goal remains the full “liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea” (i.e., all territory including present-day Israel), replaced by an Islamic state. The Hamas 1988 Charter explicitly calls for the destruction of Israel through jihad. It frames the land as an Islamic Waqf (endowment) that cannot be ceded to non-Muslims. It includes religious calls for fighting/killing Jews.
A limited Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza (1967 lines) is at best a temporary tactical step for them, not an end goal. Hamas leaders like Khaled Mashal and Yahya Sinwar (pre-2024) have repeatedly stated that any limited state is a stepping stone, not peace. Hamas prioritizes “resistance” and views permanent coexistence with Israel as ideological betrayal. Hamas’s power (meaning Iran’s) derives from perpetual conflict and rejectionism. A normalized two-state deal (with security guarantees for Israel) would sideline them in favor of more pragmatic Palestinian leadership.
Remember, there were only 6–7 GOP Senators who kept their promises and voted NOT to certify the fraudulent election on J6: Ted Cruz (TX), Josh Hawley (MO), Cindy Hyde-Smith (MS), John Kennedy (LA), Roger Marshall (KS), Tommy Tuberville (AL), Cynthia Lummis (WY); Rick Scott (FL).
All the remaining GOP Senators voted AGAINST Trump.
The vast majority GOP Senators voted to certify the fraud and that included McConnell, Thune, Collins, Murkowski, Romney, Rubio and Graham.
Can they change? Yes, but their actions speak louder than words.
Vance was not a Senator in 2020 but he later said: “I would have asked the states to submit alternative slates of electors and let the country have the debate about what actually matters and what kind of an election that we had.” Whether he would have had the courage to do that remains to be seen, but his statement is the correct approach.
You can read all the corporate media “interpretations” you want of what is going on in Israel and Iran, but the raw actions of the Uniparty and Deep State tell the real story. Behind closed doors, the Senate GOP doesn’t just pass rules to enrich themselves—they actively conspire with the left to sabotage Donald Trump and weaken America’s position on the global stage. The reality is simple: the establishment Senate GOP is a nest of vipers. Lindsey Graham’s interview exposed the rot.
They will happily partner with left-wing Communists and foreign entities if it means undermining the America First agenda. Lindsey Graham tried to play both sides on national television, but he ended up revealing exactly how the Uniparty operates. They create the chaos, and Trump and Netanyahu are left to clean up the wreckage.
Trump’s Abraham Accords proved that strength and clear-eyed realism can bring peace to the Middle East. The Senate establishment snakes couldn’t stand a MAGA win, so they tried to hijack it, modify it with Biden, and hand leverage back to terror states. October 7 shattered their scheme.
Equally telling is the Senate’s frantic resistance to President Trump’s appointment of Bill Pulte as acting Director of National Intelligence. Pulte’s installation as a Trump loyalist triggered immediate panic on both sides of the aisle.
Democrats and establishment Republicans alike suddenly balked at reauthorizing FISA Section 702 — the warrantless surveillance tool long abused against conservatives and Trump allies.
They blocked extensions, dragged their feet on Jay Clayton’s confirmation, and fought tooth and nail against tying any deal to the SAVE America Act.
The SAVE AMERICA ACT, a common-sense election integrity measure requiring proof of citizenship and voter ID to stop non-citizen voting — is exactly what the Uniparty doesn’t want. Why? Frankly, because they all cheat or benefit from those who do.
They fear real oversight from Pulte (follow the money) exposing past FISA abuses while Trump uses the leverage to force secure elections. The same snakes who lecture us about “national security” and “democracy” recoil at basic protections that would safeguard American votes.
Now, despite the best efforts of all MAGA enemies, Trump is back at the helm to try to clean up the catastrophic mess the RINOs and Democrats have spent years creating. The adults are back in the room. All the rest is just noise. It’s time to let Trump fix it.
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Lindsay Graham is a snake and has always been a snake.