Jesse Waters reminded Sen. Graham that he co-sponsored the bill he claimed to not support

Doug P. | 1:09 PM on March 30, 2023

This week Republican Sen. Rand Paul blocked an attempt to fast-track the “Resist Act” that would ban TikTok in the U.S. Critics, including Sen. Paul, say it goes way too far:

U.S. Republican Senator Rand Paul on Wednesday blocked a bid to fast-track a ban of popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTok, which more than 150 million Americans use, citing concerns about free speech and uneven treatment of social media companies.

“I think we should beware of those who use fear to coax Americans to relinquish our liberties,” Paul said on the Senate floor. “Every accusation of data gathering that has been attributed to TikTok could also be attributed to domestic big tech companies.”

Republican Senator Josh Hawley had sought unanimous consent for a TikTok ban bill. “It protects the American people and it sends a message to Communist China that you cannot buy us,” Hawley said, adding the app is spying on Americans.

Another Republican who thinks the bill goes too far is apparently Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was on Fox News with Jesse Waters who broke some news to him. The clip begins with Sen. Graham saying “I don’t think I support the Restrict Act” and then gets deeply awkward from there. Watch:

I break the news to Lindsey Graham that he co-sponsored a bill he doesn’t support pic.twitter.com/zGze0NreCD

— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) March 29, 2023

Yikes.

This is absolutely insane. A U.S. senator should not be learning about their own co-sponsorship of a bill for the first time on Fox News. Let alone a bill that basically gives the government massive, sweeping new powers to surveil and restrict the internet. https://t.co/LFAnyN5hhf

— Matthew Chapman (@fawfulfan) March 30, 2023