Graham calls out opponents for refusing to fire workers behind racist content

COLUMBIA — U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham again called on two of his GOP challengers to fire campaign workers over social media posts, saying their “vile antisemitic” positions don’t belong in the Republican Party.

Tuesday’s news conference marked the second time in two weeks that the Republican senator drew attention to the past posts and two of his GOP opponents: Mark Lynch, an Upstate furniture seller, and Paul Dans, a Charleston attorney.

Both candidates, who launched their bids to unseat Graham last year and are the best funded among his six primary opponents, have dismissed the criticism while declining to address the specific posts or antisemitism generally.

The campaign workers singled out by Graham — a contracted consultant for Dans and a researcher for Lynch — have not been let go.

Graham’s criticism of Dans’ campaign worker involves an animated video posted last November that likens Jews to cockroaches. The post by Lynch’s staffer last summer shows someone stepping on the Talmud, an ancient and sacred collection of Jewish laws and customs.

“If you believe this is a pathway forward to victory in the Republican Party, I want to make sure that you’re proven wrong,” Graham said during Tuesday’s virtual news conference, when he made comments similar to what he told reporters Thursday in Greenville.

On Tuesday, he was joined by leaders of local and national Jewish organizations.

If not denounced, antisemitism will “destroy the fabric of a country,” said Rabbi Yossi Refson of the Chabad of Charleston, a Jewish community center.

“History has shown again and again that a country that tolerates Jew hatred will not remain a country of freedom for long,” he added.

The video shared by Dans’ consultant, Vish Burra, reportedly got him fired from the One America News network as a producer for “The Matt Gaetz Show,” a political talk show hosted by the former Florida congressman.

In it, a cartoon version of Burra enters what’s labeled as a “scheming room” with Stars of David and cockroaches, which he appears to incinerate. It was deleted hours later.

“I call this out because I think it’s a vile antisemitic action that has no place in politics or, quite frankly, decent society, and he hasn’t been fired,” Graham said Tuesday.

In Greenville last week, Graham showed screenshots from the video. Burra responded on X that Graham “has to be obsessed” with him. He later updated his banner photo on X to seemingly mock the criticism. It’s a screenshot of Graham’s news conference, with an image edited over it that shows Burra grinning in his controversial video.

Last week, Dans posted on X that he would not fire Burra: “Israel picks Lindsey Graham’s staff, but they do not pick mine,” he wrote.

On Tuesday, Dans told the SC Daily Gazette that Graham’s accusations were a deflection from South Carolina’s real issues.

He said Burra didn’t actually make the video he shared. Asked who did make it, Dans said, “I don’t know and I don’t care.” He called the video “meme culture” and satire.

“I believe in Jesus Christ and redemption,” Dans said. “Graham is slandering him, and I believe Graham will be sued” by Burra, he added.

Burra could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

As for Lynch’s campaign, the post Graham highlighted by researcher Evan Mulch shows a shoe on the Talmud, a collection of writings central to Judaism. Mulch declined to respond to the SC Daily Gazette’s requests for comment.

“When you step on the Talmud with a boot, I don’t think that’s American; I don’t think it’s Christian,” Graham said. “I don’t think there’s any place in running for higher office for people who engage in that behavior.”

Asked for comment, Lynch called Graham “an existential threat to both the nation of Israel and the United States.”

He accused Graham of sending “10s of millions of dollars” to terrorist groups threatening Israel. His basis for that was Graham’s past support of the now-dismantled U.S. Agency for International Development, and investigations into some of USAID’s funding getting diverted to terrorist groups.

Graham’s praise of USAID in a 2021 video wishing the organization a happy 60th anniversary resurfaced last year as he shifted his stance and backed Trump’s dismantling of the agency.

Lynch also wrote that Graham “has actively aided the Islamic invasion of America, causing a grave national security threat for every American and every South Carolinian.” By that, he was referring to Graham’s support for a program that previously gave visas to Afghan and Iraqi nationals who directly helped the U.S. government in its war effort in their countries.

On Tuesday, Graham also criticized Lynch’s repeated calls to “ban Islam.”

“Those kind of statements are just, quite frankly, un-American,” Graham said. “Everybody in the Islamic Muslim faith is not all the same.”

Graham is set to face six Republican challengers in the June 9 GOP primary. The other four candidates have entered the race within the last two months.

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