Sen. Lindsey Graham made enemies with MAGA supporters this week, which he learned firsthand at Reagan Airport today.
Graham was in the airport near Washington D.C. when he had a run-in with a number of vocal Donald Trump supporters.
The Trump mob confronted Graham after he backed down from his pledge to contest the Electoral College certification on Wednesday under the debunked assertion that many thousands of votes were fraudulent.
After Wednesday’s violent scenes from the nation’s Capitol, Graham switched sides, voting to certify the election and saying he was done with Trump.
That has sparked rage among the president’s most ardent supporters, of which Graham was one for a time.
WATCH: Trump Supporters Scream At Graham
The airport mob comes as Washington-area airports this week beefed up security in the wake of the Capitol mobs, as Trump-supporting protesters were expected to return to their home cities.
American Airlines even stopped serving alcohol on its D.C. flights as the loyalists descended on – and then left – the capital city.
It’s not clear if the Trump loyalists who confronted the South Carolina senator at the airport were part of the riots that took place at the Capitol on Wednesday.
Regardless, Graham received a chilly reception from them, with Trump activist Mindy Robinson tweeting a video of their interaction at the airport.
‘Lindsey Graham just made the mistake walking by me and a mass of angry patriots at the airport in DC. All America wants is for you to AUDIT OUR VOTE and purge this election of this massive corruption…and you won’t do it. We’re not letting this ‘slide’ so expect more of this,’ Robinson wrote.
The video picks up with someone yelling ‘you traitor’ at Graham as he’s surrounded by police officers walking down a corridor of the airport.
‘Lindsey Graham, you are a traitor to the country,’ someone yells. ‘You know it was rigged, you know it was rigged!’
Graham seems to say something to the person yelling, but it’s inaudible.
‘You garbage human being,’ someone yells. ‘It’s gonna be like this forever wherever you go for the rest of your life.’
‘Audit the vote! Audit the vote! Audit the vote! Audit the vote! Piece of sh*t,’ someone says as Graham keeps walking with his mask hanging off his chin.
People start chanting ‘Audit the Vote’ and ‘Audit Our Vote’ before someone yells ‘you son of a bitch’ at Graham.
‘You better enjoy Gitmo,’ a protester yells, referencing the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. ‘Fucking asshole. Piece of shit.’
The video ends there.
Graham had called out Trump in a Fox News interview during presidential campaigning in February 2016.
‘I think he’s a kook. I think he’s crazy. I think he’s unfit for office,’ Graham said at the time. ‘I’m a Republican, and he’s not. He’s not a conservative Republican, he’s an opportunist. He’s not fit to be president of the United States.’
Once Trump was sworn into the Oval Office, however, Graham worked quickly to become a top ally of the president.
According to FiveThirtyEight, Graham has voted on legislation in line with Trump 87.4 percent of the time over the past four years and hasn’t directly opposed him since October 2019.
The two have even golfed together over the years, hitting the links together as recently as Christmas Day.
Graham also backed Trump’s claims about election fraud in the aftermath of the latter’s defeat to Joe Biden in November.
Graham flipped on Trump in the aftermath of Wednesday’s insurrection at the Capitol, however.
‘When it comes to accountability the president needs to understand that his actions were the problem not the solution,’ Graham said in a press conference on Thursday.
‘Trump and I, we’ve had a hell of a journey. I hate it to end this way. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are lawfully elected and will become the president and the vice president of the United States on January 20.’
‘It breaks my heart that my friend, a president of consequence, would allow yesterday to happen, and it will be a major part of his presidency,’ Graham continued. ‘It was a self-inflicted wound.’
Graham won reelection in South Carolina in November.
As he faced the mob at the DCA airport, the facility had been hardened with extra security.
A Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority spokesman said earlier this week that passengers could expect to see an increased law enforcement presence as they traveled through the area’s airports.
United and American also increased staffing at the area’s airports and earlier this week moved their crews away from downtown DC hotels.
Southwest Airlines said it was monitoring events and expected customers to adhere to applicable laws, federal air regulations and crew member instructions while traveling.