Graham responds to Pelosi's pivot on China with Taiwan trip: 'I was hard on China before it was cool'

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Lindsey Graham: I was 'hard on China before it was cool'

Sen. Lindsey Graham analyzes Pelosi's Taiwan visit on 'Jesse Watters Primetime' from the scope of Asia-American relations.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan angered the Chinese Communist Party, but being critical of Beijing is "fashionable" these days, Senate Judiciary Committee member Lindsey Graham told Fox News on Tuesday.

Graham, R-S.C., quipped that he was "hard on China before it was cool" after host Jesse Watters analyzed what he viewed as Pelosi's history of being soft on China — whether it be condemning Americans who called coronavirus the Chinavirus, or being politically deferential to Chinese-linked businesses in Silicon Valley.

Graham underlined that Pelosi had every right as the second-ranking successor to the president and top legislative official to conduct foreign trips when she chooses.

"I'm glad she went. We can't let China tell us where to go and what to do, so the idea of her going to visit Taiwan is a good thing, in my view, because the Chinese Communist Party is no friend of freedom of democracy," he said, adding the 1970s era One China policy, essentially recognizing Taiwan as a ward of China, has not changed.

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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks during a news conference. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

However, Graham keyed into Pelosi's wealthy-businessman husband Paul Sr.'s recent stock trades involving semiconductor companies and the like. Taiwan is becoming a top chip producer, Watters noted.

"The point you make about members of Congress and their families trading stocks, you're dead right," Graham said.

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Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen delivers a speech. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

"So I'm working with Elizabeth Warren, of all people, to ban stock trades by members of Congress and their spouses so we don't have these kind of discussions."

As to whether it is popular to be against China now, Graham said that since the dawn of COVID-19, "every American just about hates China's guts."

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"They've had three pandemics come out of China. They ruined our life for a couple of years. COVID's just disrupted American life big-time. I think it either came out of a lab or the wet markets near Wuhan — when China says otherwise, they're lying about it," he added.

"So it's very fashionable right now to be hard on China. I can say this: I was hard on China before it was cool."