Current Events > Trump administration asked Lindsey Graham to block Armenian Genocide resolution

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https://www.axios.com/white-house-lindsey-graham-armenian-genocide-b3886afb-c626-476b-8a44-6d7197acd963.html?

Many were perplexed and outraged when, right after clashing with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan in a heated Oval Office meeting on Nov. 13, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham hurried back to the Senate floor and did something that likely delighted Erdoan. Graham blocked a resolution that would have formally recognized Turkey's genocide of the Armenian people.

Behind the scenes: Graham had just scolded Erdoan over his invasion of Syria and attacks on the Kurds, according to sources in the room.
As we reported at the time, Erdogan pulled out his iPad and showed the Oval Office group a propaganda video depicting the leader of the primarily Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces as a terrorist.
The South Carolina Republican then chided him over the clip. "Well, do you want me to go get the Kurds to make one about what you've done?" he said.

What happened next, which has not been previously reported: As Graham was leaving the Oval Office, senior White House staff asked him to return to the Senate and block the Armenian genocide resolution a measure that would have infuriated Erdoan.
Graham confirmed this in a phone interview on Saturday.
"After the meeting, we kind of huddled up and talked about what happened," he said. A White House legislative affairs official told Graham that Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) was going to bring up his Armenian genocide resolution and asked if Graham could "please object."
"I said sure," Graham said. "The only reason I did it is because he [Erdoan] was still in town. ... That would've been poor timing. I'm trying to salvage the relationship if possible."
Asked whether he felt uncomfortable blocking the Armenian genocide resolution, Graham replied: "Yeah. Because I like Bob [Menendez]. He's been working on this for years, but I did think with the president of Turkey in town that was probably more than the market would bear."
"I'm not going to object next time," Graham added.
The "next time" happened last week. Menendez and his Republican Senate colleague Ted Cruz introduced the Armenian genocide resolution again. This time, the White House asked another Republican Senate ally, David Perdue, to block it.
"Senator Perdue objected due to concerns that passage of the resolution would jeopardize the sensitive negotiations going on in the region with Turkey and other allies," said a Perdue spokesperson.

The big picture: The Trump administration is pushing Turkey to give up its Russian-made S-400 air defense system. While they're negotiating, they're trying to block Congress from calling out Turkeys human rights atrocities.
Trump has also been reluctant to sign legislation which Congress passed with overwhelming bipartisan majorities to punish China for its repression of Hong Kong. Trump tells aides he wants to get a trade deal first.

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What a fucking worthless human being
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I cannot wait for the day I get to see Trump dragged out of the White House in handcuffs. Hopefully Graham will be getting dragged out of the Capitol Building too.

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implying our govt cares about genocides beyond how politically useful they are

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"We'll recognize a genocide after we're done befriending the country responsible for it and its leader who denies it"

Really strong principles you got there, boo boo

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neoliberalism lmao
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All pro-trump people in the world should be sent to prison because not one of them is not a criminal.
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I'd really love to hear what System would have to say about this if they were to drop another album
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It should be noted, that Graham has received donations from Turkish interests.
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