Graham: 'Ridiculous' That Trump Cited Cost As Rationale For Ending War Games
By Nicole Lafond | June 13, 2018 8:16 am
As President Donald Trump doubles down on how expensive it is for the U.S. military to train with the South Korean military, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (SC), who regularly spends downtime golfing with the President, called Trumps rationale for halting the practice ridiculous.
The money we spend on training with our allies is money well spent, he told CNN Tuesday. Its not a burden onto the American taxpayer to have a forward deployed force in South Korea. It brings stability. Its a warning to China that you cant just take over the whole region. So I reject that analysis that it costs too much, but I do accept the proposition, lets stand down and see if we can find a better way here.
Trump announced on Tuesday that he had agreed to halt war games the joint military practice between the U.S. and South Korea on the Korean peninsula, an exercise thats widely regarded as an effort, in part, to saber-rattle North Korea. During a press conference following his denuclearization meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Trump cited the expense of the practice as rationale for agreeing to stop doing it. He doubled down on that defense in a tweet on Wednesday morning, claiming the U.S. saves a fortune by not participating.
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https://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/graham-ridiculous-trump-cited-cost-rationale-for-ending-war-games