Conservative commentator and podcast host Megyn Kelly sharply criticized Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Tuesday, accusing the longtime senator of speaking as if he were the president of the United States while issuing warnings and threats toward several foreign nations in recent days.
Kelly’s remarks came after Graham made a series of statements on cable news that targeted multiple countries, including Spain, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, and others, drawing attention across social media and within conservative circles.
During an appearance Monday on Fox News’s Hannity, Graham directed unusually blunt criticism at Spain.
“To our friends in Spain, man, you have lost your way,” Graham said. “I don’t want to do business with you anymore. I want our airbases out of Spain.”
The comments were part of a wider string of statements from the senator that raised eyebrows among observers who questioned why Graham appeared to be issuing foreign policy ultimatums despite not holding executive authority.
Kelly was among the most outspoken critics.
“When did Lindsey Graham become our president?” she wrote on social media. “In the past 24 hours he’s threatened Lebanon, Cuba, the Saudis, the wider Arab region and now — checks notes — Spain.”
Kelly later intensified her criticism in another post, arguing that Graham’s influence inside Republican politics is a larger concern.
“Let’s get real. The problem with Lindsey Graham isn’t (just) that he’s a homicidal maniac, it’s that Trump likes and is listening to him, and Trump’s favorite channel is parading him around like a Hefner bunny in stockings on every show,” she wrote.
The criticism continued during an episode of The Megyn Kelly Show, where the former Fox News anchor urged President Donald Trump to distance himself from Graham.
“This guy is a homicidal maniac with a bloodlust that is insatiable,” Kelly said.
Kelly argued that Graham had played a role in pushing the United States toward the current war with Iran and warned that the senator now appears to be advocating for additional conflicts.
“He got us into the Iranian war, Lindsey Graham,” she said. “Now he wants us to get involved in a Lebanese war, which Israel is already starting or involved in, and he wants us to go into Cuba from the sound of it, possibly.”
Kelly questioned what such proposals might ultimately mean for American troops.
“Is that a boots on the ground situation? I don’t know,” she said. “But this guy should be nowhere near President Trump.”
She urged the president to limit Graham’s influence.
“He should not be allowed within 20 feet of the president’s orbit,” Kelly said, adding that Trump should at least ensure Graham’s advice does not shape policy decisions.
“This is not a force for good in the United States of America,” she concluded.
Graham’s comments about other countries have also drawn attention in recent days.
On Monday, the senator warned Saudi Arabia that there could be “consequences” if the kingdom chooses not to join the United States and Israel in the war against Iran.
During another television appearance, Graham spoke directly to Saudi leaders and offered what sounded like a sweeping defense agreement.
“Here is what I wanna say to Saudi Arabia tonight: I am willing to make a mutual defense agreement with your country to give you protection in perpetuity,” he said.
Graham added that under the arrangement he has been advocating, the United States would go to war if Iran attacked Saudi Arabia.
“Under the agreement I have been pushing — and I hope we can continue to talk about — if you are attacked by Iran, we would go to war for you,” he said.
The senator also voiced strong support for Israel, declaring on Fox News, “I will be with Israel until our dying day.”
A day earlier, Graham had warned that Cuba could be “next.”
Those remarks triggered criticism from other conservatives as well.
Daily Wire host Matt Walsh reacted to Graham’s statement about Israel by writing, “This is an insane thing for a United States senator to say. Totally indefensible.”
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) also pushed back, warning against calls for broader military involvement overseas.
“There are some in the Senate that advocate for war everywhere. Lindsey Graham is one of them,” Luna wrote.
She emphasized that Graham does not control U.S. policy.
“He does NOT tell the President what to do, nor does he control Congress,” she said.
Luna also said she has spoken with the administration and other lawmakers recently and insisted that no plans have changed regarding deploying American troops.
“NO BOOTS on the ground,” she wrote.
She concluded with a pointed challenge for the senator.
“If Senator Graham wants to go fight in a foreign conflict, let him be the first to volunteer.”
