Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C) on Sunday denies that systemic racism exists in the country, claiming that America is not a racist a country.
Asked by Fox News’ Chris Wallace whether systemic racism exists across American institutions, Graham said no, and pointed to the election of President Barack Obama and Vice-President Kamala Harris as evidence that America is not racist.
“Not in my opinion. We just elected a two-term African-American president,” he said.
“The vice president is of African American-Indian descent. So our systems are not racist. America’s not a racist country,” he said, adding: “Within every society you have bad actors.”
Graham’s comments come days after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty for the killing of George Floyd last year. Many politicians, including President Biden, applauded the conviction, and saw it as a step toward combating racial bias in policing.
“The Chauvin trial was a just result,” Graham said. “What’s happening in Ohio, where the police officer had to use deadly force to prevent a young girl from being stabbed to death, is a different situation in my view. So this attack on police and policing — reform the police, yes, call them all racist, no.”
