WASHINGTON — Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham forcefully disagreed with former President Donald Trump for saying he might pardon people convicted in the U.S. Capitol riot if reelected, saying they should be jailed “and get the book thrown at them.”
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu joined their GOP colleague from South Carolina in rejecting Trump’s suggestion in interviews on U.S. news shows Sunday.
“Of course not, oh, my goodness, no,” Sununu said on CNN’s “State of the Union” when asked whether Jan. 6 rioters should be pardoned.
“I do not think that President Trump should have made that pledge to do pardons,” Collins said on ABC’s “This Week.” She said “it’s very unlikely” that she would support Trump for president in 2024 given the “many other” qualified Republicans.
Graham two weeks ago called Trump the “captain of the team” for Republicans, while saying he doesn’t always agree with him.
On Sunday, he said, “No, I don’t want to send any signal that it was OK to defile the Capitol.”
“I want to deter people,” he said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “And those who did it, I hope they go to jail and get the book thrown at them because they deserve it.”
Trump raised the pardons at a rally in Texas on Saturday.
“If I run, and if I win, we will treat those people from Jan. 6 fairly,” he said. “And if it requires pardons, we will give them pardons, because they are being treated so unfairly.”
