Senator Graham jokes that a DNA test on him would reveal 'Iranian' heritage which would be 'like, terrible'

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has joked about the results of a DNA test shared by Elizabeth Warren, and has suggested that if he had his own the results would probably determine that he was 'Iranian' which would be 'terrible'.

Graham was appearing on Fox and Friends when he made the remark while commenting on the results of a DNA test released publicly by Senator Elizabeth Warren on Monday, to prove her prior claims of Native American heritage.

On Monday 15 October, she posted on Twitter:

In response to Graham's remark, Fox host Steve Doocy suggested that the South Carolina Republican return to the show later with his own genetic analysis.

Fox's Brian Kilmeade then commented:

We'll find out who you really are.

To which Graham responded:

I'll probably be Iranian. That'd be, like, terrible.

Then, in an apparent move to attempt to clarify Graham's comments, Kilmeade said:

They have great people, just bad leaders.

Graham then repeated his comments:

Yeah, bad leaders. I’m not in the ayatollah branch.

The Republican senator's comments quickly garnered an outraged response on social media, with many Iranians saying they're 'pleased' he's not of their heritage.

Jamal Abdi, president of the National Iranian American Council, issued a statement regards the comments to The Hill:

It is absolutely disgusting for Senator Graham to state on Fox and Friends that it would be ‘terrible’ to discover that he had Iranian ancestry from a DNA test.

This is not the first time that Graham has made bigoted remarks about Iranians.

In 2015, he said ‘I know Iranians are liars’ based on his experience in his dad’s pool hall.

He continued:

Graham must apologise for his remarks in 2015 and recant his atrocious attempt at a joke on Fox and Friends this morning.

In response to Abdi's comments, Kevin Bishop, a spokesman for Graham, told The Hill:

This isn’t the first time this group has sought to mislead people about Senator Graham’s words and meaning when it comes to Iran.

It’s pretty clear to anyone who follows this issue that Senator Graham has great respect for the Iranian people. It’s why he has called for the overthrow of the tyrannical Iranian regime in an effort to ‘Make Iran Great Again'.

Senator Graham loathes the murderous Iranian regime which continues to suppress and intimidate the Iranian people.

The sooner the Iranian regime is consigned to the ash heap of history, the better. 

HT USA Today

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