Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in a Thursday tweet that any Republican president or nominee eventually “will be accused of being a racist” as President Trump faces ongoing criticism for telling four lawmakers who are women of color to “go back” to where they came from. 

“If you are a Republican nominee for President – or President – you will be accused of being a racist,” Graham wrote. “John Lewis compared John McCain’s campaign to being like that of George Wallace. It comes with the territory unfortunately.”

Something I have learned:

If you are a Republican nominee for President – or President – you will be accused of being a racist.

John Lewis compared John McCain’s campaign to being like that of George Wallace.

It comes with the territory unfortunately.

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) July 18, 2019

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), one of the lawmakers Trump tweeted about, responded to Graham’s tweet by quoting Graham calling Trump a “race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot” during the 2016 campaign. 

“Donald Trump is a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot.”

~ Sen. Lindsey Graham https://t.co/IqQaIbynHs https://t.co/z4aFtJRxdj

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) July 18, 2019

{mosads}Asked for comment about his tweets, Graham’s office referred The Hill to subsequent posts by Graham.

In those tweets, Graham wrote that Trump took issue with Omar because, he said, she “belittles” the country and  advocates boycotting Israel. Graham also claimed that the congresswoman “shows sympathy for those who tried to join ISIS.”

Like me, President @realDonaldTrump’s problem with Congresswoman @ilhanMN Omar isn’t where she’s from but the way she:

▶️ Belittles our country,
▶️ Shows sympathy for those who tried to join ISIS to kill Americans, and…

— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) July 18, 2019

He wrote that President Trump’s problem with the congresswoman “isn’t where she’s from” but rather that she “belittles our country,” “shows ” and “advocates boycotting our close ally, Israel.”

The House this week voted to condemn a series of Sunday tweets from the president as racist after he wrote that Omar and others should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.”

Omar is the only lawmaker in the group, which also included Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who was born outside of the U.S.

A handful of Republicans voted with the Democrats to condemn the tweet. Graham’s fellow South Carolina senator, Tim Scott (R), the only African American Republican in the Senate, said that the president used “racially offensive language.” 

Updated 6:50 p.m.