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Trump-Graham relationship tested by week of public sparring | TheHill

posted onOctober 21, 2019
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Article snippet: Sen. MORE is headed after a series of heated exchanges this past week broke a cardinal rule in Washington: stay loyal to your political allies.  Graham, who has been one of Trump’s strongest supporters on Capitol Hill, held nothing back in repeatedly scorching the president’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from northern Syria, essentially green-lighting a Turkish attack on U.S.-allied Kurds in the region. Now, he’s not sure whether that public criticism will have a lasting effect on his status as one of Trump’s confidantes.  “Time will tell about that,” Graham said when asked if the relationship would be hurt by the sparring over Trump’s Syria actions. Graham’s back and forth with Trump confused some of his Senate GOP colleagues, who very rarely go toe-to-toe with the president. “It doesn’t seem to be a very effective way to communicate his desires to the president,” said a Republican senator who requested anonymity to comment on the spat. “It’s a complex relationship,” the senator quipped. Graham, who is known for promoting a muscular approach to foreign policy, appeared rankled that one of Trump’s other Senate confidantes, Sen. MORE (R-Ky.), seems to be having more influence on Trump. On Thursday, Graham urged Trump several times to ignore Paul, who has applauded the president’s decisions to begin demobilizing U.S. troops from hot spots in the Middle East and Central Asia. “Just listen to the commanders. Don’t listen to Rand Paul,” Graham said at a press conf... Link to the full article to read more

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