US Senator Lindsey Graham is facing bipartisan backlash after publicly calling for Russian President Vladimir Putin's assassination.
"Is there a Brutus in Russia? Is there a more successful Colonel Stauffenberg in the Russian military?" Graham asked in a Twitter post on Thursday, referring to one of Roman ruler Julius Caesar's assassins and the German officer who tried to kill Adolf Hitler.
"The only way this ends is for somebody in Russia to take this guy out. You would be doing your country - and the world - a great service," Graham said.
The comments were met with swift rebukes from Democrats and Republicans alike, including progressive Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who called for US lawmakers to "cool it and regulate their remarks as the administration works to avoid WWlll."
"As the world pays attention to how the US and its leaders are responding, Lindsey's remarks and remarks made by some House members aren't helpful," she wrote on Twitter.
Graham's fellow Republicans also questioned the wisdom of his appeal.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz called it an "exceptionally bad idea," underscoring that US lawmakers "should not be calling for the assassination of heads of state."
Republican firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene termed Graham's comments "irresponsible, dangerous & unhinged."
"We need leaders with calm minds & steady wisdom. Not bloodthirsty warmongering politicians trying to tweet tough by demanding assassinations. Americans don't want war," she said on Twitter.
Conservative Fox News host Laura Ingraham, a television personality usually friendly toward Graham, said during a live broadcast that the senator's comments were "really dangerous and stupid."
Norm Eisen, former President Barack Obama's envoy to the Czech Republic, said Graham's remarks play into Putin's hands as the Russian president's war "is causing some who know better to lose their minds."
Amid the sweeping blowback, Graham's spokesman attempted to walk back the comments, saying the senator "also expressed he was okay with a coup to remove Putin as well."
"Basic point, Putin has to go. He also noted it will be - has to be - the Russian people who do it. They control the 'off ramp' to this ordeal," said Kevin Bishop.
