Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham thinks President Barack Obama was surprised by the backlash against the White House deal to free Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl for five Guantanamo Bay prisoners.
During an appearance on Fox News’ "On the Record" Tuesday, Graham, accused Obama of bypassing the intelligence community and the Department of Defense in making the swap. He also said the president expected to be congratulated for the deal.
"What [Obama] decided to do was ignore a process that’s been in place to keep us all safe ... He thought everybody would be cheering," said Graham.
The White House and Democratic leaders have repeatedly defended the Bergdahl deal amid mounting criticism from Republicans that detainees traded for Bergdahl could pose a danger to America and that Obama may have broken the law by not notifying Congress ahead of the swap. Graham echoed these arguments in his Fox News appearance where he described the deal as "probably unlawful" and said Obama is "disconnected from the fact that radical Islam is a threat to [the American] way of life."
"He’s let our enemy out; they’re gonna come back killing Americans just as sure as we’re talking about this tonight," predicted Graham.
Watch Graham's full interview here.