Washington DC - Longtime MAGA ally and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham recently criticized President Donald Trump's decision to pardon nearly all the January 6 Capitol rioters, including those that assaulted police officers.

On Sunday, Graham sat down for an interview with the NBC News show Meet the Press, during which he was asked if he believed Trump was wrong to pardon over 1,500 rioters, many of which were accused of inciting violence and injuring officers.

Graham began by loosely defending Trump, suggesting the president has the "legal authority" to do what he did, but admitted, "I fear he will get more violence."

"Pardoning the people that went into the Capitol and beat up a police officer violently, I think, was a mistake because it seems to suggest that's an ok thing to do," Graham argued.

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Despite the criticism, Graham went on to argue "there has never been a better supporter of law enforcement" than Trump.

That same day, he also did an interview on the CNN show State of the Union, and when asked for his thoughts on the pardons, he said, "I don't like this," but insisted that he is "all in" for Trump anyway.

While Graham has been a longtime defender of Trump's, he has also at times been critical of the controversial president, causing a rift in their relationship as Trump does not like criticism of any kind – even when it is constructive.

The MAGA base by extension has regularly questioned his allegiance to their agenda, and Trump has mocked Graham and played into the fact that MAGA does not accept him. Back in July 2023, Graham joined Trump on stage at a rally in his home state of South Carolina, where the crowd relentlessly booed him, keeping him from delivering his speech.

Graham has remained steadfast in his support for Trump, but has always been outspoken about his opposition to those insisting that the rioters were peaceful patriots.

During an interview with Fox News back in 2021, Graham boldly stated, "I don't care if you went there to spread flowers on the floor – you breached the Capitol... you should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and to seek a pardon of these people would be wrong."