In an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham claimed that China had to face grave sanctions for being the “largest state sponsor of pandemics.”

In his statement, Graham claimed that all evidence points out to the communist country ordering a lockdown, not as a means to protect its own people but as a deliberate move to hide the massive extent of the coronavirus pandemic. He said that while Iran holds the title for the “largest state sponsor of terrorism,” China, on the other hand, carries the “largest state sponsor of pandemics.”

Graham believed that despite suffering from previous viral outbreaks such as SARS, it seemed that China refuses to learn its lesson. “This is the third or fourth pandemic that came out of China,” the senator said. He added that regardless of whether the virus came from in Wuhan labs, or from wet markets, the most important thing is that the US must impose heavy sanctions.

He explained that “What did we do to Iran, who’s a bad actor? We sanctioned Iran.” He added that the same treatment should be made for the state sponsor of pandemics. Graham added that the sanctions should serve as a disciplinary action and to force the country to change its behaviors.

Other Republicans such as Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Sen. Martha McSally also joined in to ensure that China is held accountable for its failure to mitigate and contain the spread of COVID-19.

Increasing concerns about China’s coronavirus response came after US officials believed that the virus might have escaped from a Wuhan lab, and spread throughout the rest of the population. The report notes that the lab research was not meant to serve as a bioweapon but as an effort to show the country’s greater capabilities to combat the virus.

The outspoken senator had also defended President Donald Trump’s coronavirus response in an episode of “The View.” During his media appearance, the show’s co-host, Joy Behar, challenged Graham to name three “right” things that Trump did during the health crisis.

Without hesitation, the senator listed that the first “right” thing the president did was to issue a travel ban on January 31. “The Chinese are the bad guy here if you’re looking for a bad guy,” the Republican added.

He explained that Trump’s tough decision was able to save the country from a lot of “heartache.” He also believed that the country’s travel ban on Europe, as well as issuing an immediate state of “national emergency” had helped to minimize the number of infections and to finally flatten the curve.

The senator admitted that although the country had issues with coronavirus testing, Trump was not to blame.

Behar then asked Graham about the president’s decision to defund the “China-centered” World Health Organization (WHO). He responded that he wanted to see a “change in leadership” due to issues regarding the health organization’s credibility and transparency. He also believed that the WHO had “conspired” with communists to deny the crucial information that the virus can spread through human-to-human transmission.

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