Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham was heckled by a crowd at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Friday after breaking with President Donald Trump following the riots at the U.S. Capitol building.
Videos show several people yelling at the South Carolina senator, calling him a “traitor.” One woman shouts, “You know it was rigged! It’s gonna be like this wherever you go for the rest of your life. Audit the vote!”
During Wednesday’s congressional vote to certify the results of the Electoral College, Graham, who had become a strong ally of Trump, pleaded with his colleagues to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
“All I can say is, count me out. Enough is enough.... It is over,” Graham said on the Senate floor. “I prayed Joe Biden would lose. He won. He’s the legitimate president of the United States. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are lawfully elected and will become the president and vice president of the United States on January 20th.”
“Trump, we’ve had a hell of a journey. I hate it to end this way. Oh my God, I hate it. From my point of view, he’s been a consequential president. But today... all I can say is, count me out. Enough is enough. I’ve tried to be helpful,” Graham continued.
Trump has made baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud and challenged the results of the election for months. He spoke at a rally of his supporters on the National Mall on Wednesday as Congress convened to certify the Electoral College vote. A mob of pro-Trump rioters then stormed Capitol building as Congress was in session, forcing evacuations.
Lawmakers from both parties blamed Trump’s rhetoric for the following riot at the Capitol that led to at least five deaths, including a U.S. Capitol Police officer and a woman who was shot and killed by police.
A group of Senate Republicans, including Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, objected to the Electoral College vote certification in multiple states and requested “an emergency 10-day audit of the election returns in the disputed states.” Vice President Mike Pence officially affirmed Biden’s win early Thursday following a vote in Congress.
Sen. Mitt Romney also was heckled at a Salt Lake City airport when he was traveling to Washington, D.C., for the vote, The New York Times reported.
In a video now removed from Twitter, someone filming approached Romney and asked why he hasn’t supported Trump.
“You were voted in as a conservative to represent the conservative constituents,” the person said.
Romney responded: “We have a Constitution, the constitutional process is clear and I’ll follow the Constitution. And I’ll explain all that when we meet in Congress this week.”
Romney joined a bipartisan group of senators affirming Biden’s victory in a statement.
“All challenges through recounts and appeals have been exhausted. At this point, further attempts to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the 2020 Presidential election are contrary to the clearly expressed will of the American people and only serve to undermine Americans’ confidence in the already determined election results,” the senators said.
