Graham talks tough on Twitter after North Korea tests hydrogen bomb

Donald Trump isn’t the only politician using Twitter to share his thoughts about North Korea after the nation claimed it successfully tested a hydrogen bomb.

South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham sent out a series of tweets Sunday night about North Korea. Graham was critical of North Korea and its leader Kim Jong Un.

At noon Sunday in Pyongyang, North Korea executed its sixth nuclear weapon test – its first since Trump’s inauguration, and its most powerful to date. The device had an estimated explosive yield of 120 kilotons, making it eight times more powerful than the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima, according to NORSAR, a Norwegian earthquake monitoring agency.

North Korean state media claimed that it was a hydrogen bomb and could be attached to a missile capable of reaching the mainland U.S. It called the test a “perfect success.”

Graham has built a reputation championing national security and appeared to be concerned about North Korea’s recent actions and threats. Graham tweeted 10 times on the issue Sunday.

He opened by questioning the affect of diplomatic pressure, specifically from China, who many regard as North Korea’s chief ally and primary protector.

“It’s clear to me the sanctions on North Korea are not working.....and what influence China has is not being successfully used.”

Graham proceeded to declare his support for President Trump, and his denouncement of North Korea. Trump said the latest incident as “very hostile and dangerous to the United States.”

Graham has often been an adversary of Trump’s. From the Republican primaries, when both sought to be the GOP nominee for the 2016 presidential election, to the first six month’s of Trump’s presidency, when Graham has been critical of Trump’s affinity for Russia and its leadership in addition to the president’s response to the protests in Charlottesville and his delayed denouncement of white supremacists, neo-Nazis and members of the Ku Klux Klan.

There was no doubt about Graham’s opinion on the president’s response.

“I support President @realDonaldTrump statements he will not allow North Korea to develop a missile which can hit the American homeland. President @realDonaldTrump has rightfully rejected the policy of containment,” Graham tweeted.

That’s when Graham delved deeper into the issue. He chose to take on Kim, head on.

“Many analysts speculate as to whether Kim Jong Un would use nuclear weapons against the United States. I choose to focus on what Kim Jong Un CAN DO.......not what he may or may not do. Kim Jong Un is a dangerous, ruthless man, who has the blood of thousands on his hands,” Graham posted on Twitter.

“It is NOT in our national security interests to allow Kim Jong Un to continue developing missiles and more powerful nuclear weapons. With each passing day Kim Jong Un gets closer to having the capacity to hit the US with an ICBM and a nuclear weapon.”

At times, Graham has been criticized for being a War hawk. He did nothing to diminish that reputation, showing a willingness to address the issue through combat.

“I hope diplomacy can solve the North Korean problem....but right now it’s failing miserably. President @realdonaldTrump is right to keep all options – including the military option – on the table to deal with this serious threat.”

In July, North Korea tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles that U.S. experts said were capable for the first time of reaching the U.S. mainland. After threatening to fire midrange missiles toward Guam, it instead lobbed one over Japan, sparking alarms there. The nuclear test, its seventh, is its most powerful so far.

Graham wasn’t the lone politician with South Carolina connections to address the issue. Former S.C. governor Nikki Haley has dealt with the issue since she left the S.C. State House to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Haley also took to Twitter to discuss the issue.

“We along w/Japan, France, the UK and S.Korea have called for an emergency Security Council meeting on N.Korea in the open tomorrow at 10am,” Haley tweeted.

Haley has been one of the Trump administration’s most vocal members, taking a tough line on Russia and Syria and telling North Korea not to give the U.S. “a reason” to fight.

Haley, a Republican from Lexington, served as South Carolina’s governor for six years before resigning to join the Trump Administration.

This story was originally published September 3, 2017 at 10:05 PM with the headline "Graham talks tough on Twitter after North Korea tests hydrogen bomb."