Sen. Chuck Schumer's comments calling for a new election Thursday morning were "earth-shatteringly bad" and "hurtful," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said later in the day.
"The majority leader of the United States Senate is calling on the people of Israel to overthrow their government. Whether you like Bibi or not, it's not the question. The question is, is it appropriate for anybody in this body to tell another country to take their government down?" Graham said on the Senate floor.
This is a departure about how the US interacts with its allies and it's done enormous damage to delicate negotiations, Graham said.
The US should remain Israel's ally
America should be helping Israel without qualification, according to Graham. The best way to find an end to Gazan's suffering will be to destroy Hamas, he said.
Graham likened pulling support for Israel's fight against Hamas to "stepping the foot off the gas" when it came to fighting the Nazis and Japanese in WWII.
"We're having prominent Democratic members, people I respect, calling on the Israeli people to take down their government. I can't believe it. I thought it was a joke. I thought somebody was pranking me this morning," Graham said.
Graham said he's still hoping for a way for relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalize, and part of that deal would be a better life for Palestinians. This will not happen if Hamas is not destroyed, according to Graham.
Graham challenged Schumer's claim that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a hindrance to achieving peace, saying the problem is "radical Islam wanting to kill every Jew they can find."
"Senator Schumer, I'm disappointed. You've done a lot of damage, my friend, and you need to fix this," Graham said.