The Iran situation is “the defining moment” of U.S. President Donald Trump’s presidency, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said on Sunday.
“Ronald Reagan went to the Berlin Wall, and he said, ‘Tear down this wall.’ He didn’t say, ‘Could you make it lower?’ When asked about what the protesters should do, President Trump said, ‘Keep protesting, help is on the way,’” the lawmaker explained in an interview with Fox News, referring to the ongoing protests in Iran.
WATCH: @LindseyGrahamSC says you cant "talk like Reagan, and act like Obama" tells President Trump do what you said you were going to do. pic.twitter.com/QzWbMQ2XjL
— Fox News Sunday (@FoxNewsSunday) February 1, 2026
Graham predicted “a hundred years of chaos” if the Iranian regime is still standing “the day after, if we pull the plug,” adding that he has “every confidence” that the president will fulfill his promise to the Iranian people.
“If this regime falls, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis—they all go. It’d be the biggest change since the fall of the Berlin Wall,” the senator said, calling Trump “Ronald Reagan plus” while warning that “the one thing you can’t do as president [is] talk like Reagan and act like Obama,” referring to former U.S. president Barack Obama.
“There’s no deal to be done here. These people are not trustworthy. The protesters in the street are not protesting for a better nuclear deal; they’re protesting for a better life, and if they win the day, we have a chance to have friends with the people of Iran. The ayatollah will never be our friend; he’s a religious Nazi,” said Graham.
The senior Republican then spoke directly to Trump via the camera: “You said help is on the way. That has to be real. It has to be real soon. Mr. President, the people of Iran are begging you to be on their side. You have done it so good. You are Reagan plus. This is the defining moment in your presidency. Stand by the people. The ayatollah falls. The region changes. Bigger than the fall of the Berlin Wall. No more international terrorists. ... Bring this regime down, because the people want it down.
“You don’t have to invade the country, but ‘help on the way’ means military strikes against the infrastructure that is killing the Iranian people. Go after the ones who are killing the people. Put this regime on notice: we’re never going to let up. Strangle their economy. It will fall, the people will take over and over time we will have a friend in Iran, not an enemy.”
