White House press secretary Jen Psaki responded Friday to a statement made by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., that implied someone in Russia should assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“That is not the position of the United States government and certainly not a statement you’d hear come from the mouth of anybody working in this administration,” Psaki said during a press briefing.
When questioned again about Graham’s words, Psaki added, “No, we are not advocating for killing the leader of a foreign country or a regime change. That is not the policy of the United States.”
On Thursday, Sen. Lindsey Graham tweeted a call out for someone to “take this guy out”, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military? The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out,” the tweet read.
Graham proceeded to say, “You would be doing your country – and the world – a great service.”
Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military?
The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out.
You would be doing your country – and the world – a great service.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) March 4, 2022
The only people who can fix this are the Russian people.
Easy to say, hard to do.
Unless you want to live in darkness for the rest of your life, be isolated from the rest of the world in abject poverty, and live in darkness you need to step up to the plate.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) March 4, 2022
In reply to his original tweet, Graham says the only people who can fix the problem are the Russian people.
”Easy to say, hard to do. Unless you want to live in darkness for the rest of your life, be isolated from the rest of the world in abject poverty, and live in darkness you need to step up to the plate,” Graham tweeted.
Graham’s original tweet garnered more than 21,000 comments, 15,000 retweets and 16,000 likes by Friday morning.
Just days prior, Graham echoed other GOP lawmakers and called for sanctions targeting Russia’s oil and gas industry.
At an event on Monday, Graham says the one thing we haven’t done that would make the biggest difference is to sanction the oil and gas sector of the Russian economy.
Read More: Sen. Lindsey Graham calls for sanctions on Russia’s oil, gas industry over Ukraine invasion
USA TODAY contributed to this report.
Tamia Boyd is a Michigan native who covers breaking news in Greenville. Email her at tboyd@gannett.com, and follow her on Twitter @tamiamb.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: White House says Graham tweet to take out Putin not US policy
