Calling his remarks "a poor attempt at humor," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) apologized Tuesday for his comments on the physical appearance of House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.
Bloomberg's Josh Rogin reported yesterday that following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's congressional address on the Iranian nuclear negotiations, Graham said at a private fundraiser, “Did you see Nancy Pelosi on the floor? Complete disgust. If you can get through all the surgeries, there’s disgust.”
Pelosi was visibly upset throughout Netanyahu's address, in which he inveighed against what he asserted was shaping up to be a "bad deal" between Iran and the multilateral coalition leading the nuclear negotiations. The former House speaker later issued a statement in which she said the speech left her "near tears," charging that Netanyahu's claims constituted an "insult to the intelligence of the United States."
Speaking with NBC News later Tuesday, Graham said he was sorry for his jab at Pelosi, but maintained that her support for the nuclear negotiations was wrongheaded.
"I made a poor attempt at humor to talk about her reaction and for that I apologize," he said, adding, "[Netanyahu] is not the problem in the mid-east, it's the Iranians, and anyone who wants to focus on the Prime Minister of Israel I think has got their priorities wrong."
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