Graham: Obama is ‘not a traitor’

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) corrected a woman who called President Obama a “traitor” during an event on Friday.

“He’s a traitor,” the woman called out during Graham’s appearance at the Sunshine Summit in Orlando, accusing the president of betraying the U.S. with the Iran nuclear deal.

“No, ma’am, he’s not a traitor,” Graham responded. “He just doesn’t know what he’s doing.”

{mosads}Graham went on to criticize the president’s policies.

“The last thing you want to do is continue the foreign policy of Barack Obama,” the 2016 presidential candidate added.

“I don’t want a war with Iran. I just don’t ever want the most radical, religious, extremist nation in the region to acquire nuclear weapons and use them on Israel before coming after us.”

Graham said Obama’s landmark diplomatic accord with Iran would gravely endanger Americans.

“Some people say, ‘Let’s manage this deal with Iran’ — I say tear it up,” he said. “The only reason they haven’t done more damage to the world is because they just don’t have the capabilities yet.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I have never feared another 9/11 more than I have at this moment,” he continued. “The next president needs to know what they’re doing or we’re going to pay a heavy price.”

Graham had made foreign policy, in particular the threat to the U.S. from extremists abroad, a centerpiece of his campaign.

He also blasted Obama’s domestic agenda.

“President Obama has been a lousy president for people of color,” Graham said. “To those who say Republicans have to be socially liberal to win elections, you don’t know what you’re talking about.

“Who is the most pro-life demographic in all of America? It is the Hispanics,” Graham continued. “Which group in America believes in traditional marriage the most? It is the African-Americans.

“We have a good chance of winning this election because they screwed up,” he added of the Democrats. “But I don’t want to win an election because they screwed up. I want to win this election because we have something better to offer.”

Graham’s rebuke of the “traitor” charge comes as other Republican 2016 hopefuls have been criticized for remaining silent when supporters harshly criticize the president.

Former business CEO Carly Fiorina and real estate mogul Donald Trump both refrained from correcting audience members who suggested Obama is Muslim earlier this year.

Graham remains a long-shot bid for next year’s GOP presidential nomination. He typically registers below 1 percent in most national polls.