Graham told Biden attacks on Hunter barely appeased Trump supporters: report

Sen. Lindsey GrahamLindsey Olin GrahamTom Cotton calls on Biden to ‘destroy every Taliban fighter’ near Kabul A tale of two chambers: Trump’s power holds in House, wanes in Senate Graham says his COVID-19 recovery would’ve been ‘a lot worse’ without vaccine MORE (R-S.C.) reportedly called President BidenJoe BidenTom Cotton calls on Biden to ‘destroy every Taliban fighter’ near Kabul Trump slams Biden for not ‘following the plan’ he left on Afghanistan Pelosi ‘deeply concerned’ for women amid Taliban gains in Afghanistan MORE after the 2020 election and said he had attacked the president’s son Hunter Biden only to satisfy Trump supporters in an attempt to revive their long-standing friendship.

The New York Times reported that Graham reached out to President Biden in mid-November, while he was also publicly supporting former President TrumpDonald TrumpTom Cotton calls on Biden to ‘destroy every Taliban fighter’ near Kabul Trump slams Biden for not ‘following the plan’ he left on Afghanistan The Memo: Fall in white population could add fuel to nativist fire MORE‘s attacks on the results of the election.

Last year, Graham called for a special counsel to be named to investigate Hunter Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine and China, calling it a “good idea” to look into whether “any crimes were committed.”

Though he was willing to work with any Republicans, sources close to the president told the Times that he saw attacks on his family as being unforgivable.

President Biden was dismissive of what he saw as Graham’s attempts to have it both ways, sources told the Times.

When reached for comment by The Hill, a representative from Graham’s office said they disputed the Times’s reporting. His office stated that it was the president who had called Graham.

“Lindsey’s been a personal disappointment because I was a personal friend of his,” President Biden later said in a December interview. Despite being on different sides of the aisle, the two men had long shared a friendship as Senate colleagues, with each expressing admiration for the other.

In an interview, Graham once described the president “as good a man as God ever created.”

However, after President Biden’s remarks of disappointment, Graham shot back, saying, “It’s not personal and it breaks my heart that this happened, but I’m hell-bent on making sure we live in a country where everybody gets looked at when there’s a reason.”

Updated at 2:50 p.m. to reflect Graham’s office saying it was Biden who called him.