E-Paper
Who is Lindsey Graham, Trump aide who openly warned India of upcoming tariffs? 5 facts about the US senator
He said that these tariffs aim to punish China, India, and Brazil, which account for 80% of Russian oil purchases.
United States Senator Lindsey Graham issued a stern warning of levying heavy tariffs to India and other countries who continue to purchase oil from Russia.
“Trump is going to impose tariffs on people that buy Russian oil: China, India, and Brazil. Those three countries buy about 80 per cent of cheap Russian oil, and that's what keeps (Vladimir) Putin's war machine going. So, President Trump is going to put a 100 per cent tariff on all those countries, punishing them for helping Putin,” Graham told Fox News on Monday.
Who is Lindsey Graham? About the US Senator
Lindsey Graham is an American politician supporting the Republican, and an attorney who serves as the senior United States senator from South Carolina. Graham has retained the seat since 2003.
While India still awaits its tariff letters from the US, here are five facts about Lindsey Graham, who openly warned several countries of the upcoming letters from the White House:
- Graham graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1977, with a Bachelor in arts degree in psychology. He also holds a law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law with a Juris Doctor in 1981.
- Graham actively served in the United States Air Force as a member of the Judge Advocate General's Corps from 1982 to 1988. He worked as a defense attorney and chief prosecutor after which he was transferred to Rhein-Main Air Base in Frankfurt. Graham was also awarded with the prestigious Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service in 2014 and promoted to the rank of colonel.
- Graham served as a active reservist in Iraq in April 2007 and for the second time for two weeks in August. He also served during the August 2009 senate recess in Afghanistan.
- Graham was an overt critic of Trump's former candidacy and openly admitted that he not support Donald Trump. In May 2016 Graham had even tweeted(now X) saying, “If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed...and we will deserve it.” Tables turned in 2017, when after a meeting with the President, Graham became an irreplaceable ally of his and began issuing public statements in his defense.
- In Jan 2017, Graham condemned the then US President Barrack Obama for abstaining from an UN Security Council resolution, which condemned Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem as a violation of international law. Quite contradictorily, in Oct 2023, he tweeted(now X) saying that he “unapologetically stands with Israel” during the Gaza war and that Gaza should be “flattened”. He added that no amount of civilian casualties in Gaza would lead him to question Israel's goal of eradicating Hamas.
