Lindsey Graham Urges Dems And Repubs To Step Up And Hold China Accountable For Handling Of Coronavirus

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Apr 28, 2020

Sen. Lindsey Graham recently made an appearance on Fox News where he made a call for a bipartisan response on China for their mishandling of the coronavirus crisis which has ravaged economies and left thousands upon thousands of people dead in its wake.

During his interview, Graham was asked about the official death count China reported and how much different it was from what we’re seeing from our major hotspots here in the United States. For example, Wuhan has a population of 11 million people, but only reported 3,869 deaths. New York City, however, has a population of 8.4 million and has recorded 17,500 deaths.

Here’s what Graham had to say via The Washington Examiner:

“That is Chinese Communist Party B.S.,” Graham said in response to the figures. “Here’s what we do know: 26 million Americans are out of work because of this virus. Almost 56,000 Americans are dead because of this virus. It came from China — I’m not saying they intentionally did this, a combination of gross negligence plus willful deception by the Chinese government led to this.”

“Here’s my plea to my Democratic colleagues: Please don’t give China a pass for this pandemic. Work with me to compel China to do three things that need to be done,” he continued.

Graham outlined three goals he wants to see from such an effort, which includes China closing down all wet markets, cooperating with investigations into the origin of the virus, and freeing Hong Kong protesters jailed for advocating for democracy.

“We’re going to put sanctions on China until they do those three things,” Graham said. “And I need Democrats. Democrats have been very solid when it comes to China. Please do not give China a pass.”

The South Carolina senator was then asked what would happen if China refused to meet these goals.

“We’re going to put sanctions on China until they do those three things,” he said. “And I need Democrats. Democrats have been very solid when it comes to China. Please do not give China a pass.”

“We’re going to cut China off from U.S. financial institutions. We’re going to shut down visa travel into the United States for Chinese students,” the senator said. “We’re going to make it hard for them to do business in the United States until they fully cooperate, close the wet markets, and release the Hong Kong democracy advocates.”

“So, to the Democratic Party, join me and President Trump and all Republicans to send a signal to China: Business as usual is over until you change your behavior,” Graham finished.