Today, Lindsey Graham 2016 released the full speech Senator Graham delivered

today in Central, SC officially announcing his candidacy for President of the United
States of America.
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
June 1, 2015
Central, SC
Good morning. Thank you for coming.
Many of you have known me for a long time. Some of you have known me since my
family lived in the back of the bar in that building. But Im pretty sure no one here,
including me, ever expected to hear me say:
Im Lindsey Graham, and Im running for President of the United States of America.
Its because of you that I can make that statement.
Everything I am, and everything I will be, I owe to the kindness and generosity and
example of people in Central and Clemson and Seneca and Walhalla and other towns
and farms of upstate South Carolina. Thank you . . . for everything.
I want to be president to protect our nation that we all love so much from all threats
foreign and domestic.
So get ready. I know Im ready.
I want to be president to defeat the enemies trying to kill us, not just penalize them
or criticize them or contain them, but defeat them.
Ronald Reagans policy of peace through strength kept America safe during the
Cold War. But we will never enjoy peaceful co-existence with radical Islam because
its followers are committed to destroying us and our way of life. However, America
can have Security through Strength.

I want to be president to meet our problems head on. Honestly and realistically, for
the purpose of solving them, not hiding them or taking political advantage of them.
I want to be president to make government work for you, not the other way around.
I want to make government keep its promises to you, to support your dreams,
embrace your values, reflect your character.
I want to be president to help us build a future greater than our amazing past. And
Ill work with anyone to do it.
Weve made some dangerous mistakes in recent years. The Obama Administration,
and some of my colleagues in Congress, substituted wishful thinking for sound
national security strategy. Every day the headlines attest to the failures of the
Obama/Clinton policies.
Simply put, radical Islam is running wild.
They have more safe havens, more money, more weapons and more capability to
strike our homeland than anytime since 9/11.
They are large, rich and entrenched.
As president I will make them small, poor and on the run.
Im afraid some Americans have grown tired of fighting them. I have bad news to
share with you -- the radical Islamists are not tired of fighting you.
In partnership with others, we must take the fight to them, building lines of defenses
over there so they cant come here. Building up and supporting regional forces to go
after their safe havens that could be used to attack our homeland.
The world is exploding in terror and violence but the biggest threat of all is the
nuclear ambitions of the radical Islamists who control Iran.
If the United States isnt firm in our intention to deny them such weapons, Iran will
trigger a nuclear arms race in the least stable region on earth, and make it more

likely that people who aspire to genocide will have the most effective means to
commit it.
Our close ally, Israel, is at risk as a result of Obamas failed leadership. We share
values, we share democracy, and our friendship is unbreakable. To our friends in
Israel, I will never abandon you. I will always stand firm in supporting the one and
only Jewish state.
I too say - never again.
I am running for president because I have the experience, judgment and will to deny
the most radical regimes the most dangerous weapons.
But to defeat this enemy, it will require more than military might.
The most powerful weapon in our arsenal isnt a gun. Its an idea. The terrorists are
selling a glorious death. We must sell a hopeful life.
Ive learned from my travels that a small schoolhouse in a remote region educating a
young girl can do more damage to radical Islam than any weapon we possess.
Radical Islam is not the only threat we face, old adversaries are seizing new
opportunities to challenge our interests. Putin seized Ukrainian territory, and
threatens our NATO allies.
China is building literally building their own islands in resource rich waters
claimed by other nations and challenging free navigation of the seas.
Our allies feel the absence of Americas leadership. Our adversaries are taking
advantage. American weakness anywhere hurts us everywhere.
Our enemies are emboldened and our friends are going it alone. Both reactions are
detrimental to our interests.
The next President must be an informed and decisive Commander-in-Chief, ready
immediately to address these threats.

Weve learned over the past six years that speeches alone wont make us safer.
Superior power and resolve will.
Im running for President because I am ready to be Commander-in-Chief on day one.
Im ready on day one to defend our nation with sound strategy, a strong military,
stable alliances, and steady determination.
Ive been to the Middle East more times than I can count, both in my capacity as a
U.S. Senator and as a reserve officer in the United States Air Force.
I have more experience with our national security than any other candidate.
I know the players - our friends and our enemies alike. Most importantly, they know
me.
I have listened, learned and prepared myself for the job of Commander-in-Chief.
I served in the Air Force for thirty-three years. I spent much of my adult life as part
of a team committed to defending America.
Politicians focus on elections. The military focuses on the mission.
If given the privilege to serve as your President, Ill focus on the mission to defend
America, protect our way of life, and leave the next generation a stronger, safer,
better nation than we inherited.
That wont be easy. It never has been.
There are dangers that must be faced, and as usual, the best of us will have to face the
worst of them.
The best of us are the one-percent of Americans who are the men and women of the
United States Armed Forces.
I cannot promise as Commander-in-Chief that the dangers they confront, the risks
they run, the sacrifices they make will be fewer or easier.

But I can assure them they will have the leadership to defeat our enemies. I can
promise them their sacrifices wont be wasted. They wont fight with their hands tied
behind their backs.
We will end this conflict on our terms. We will win.
Those who believe we can disengage from the world at large and stay safe by leading
from behind, vote for someone else. Im not your man.
Those who believe the best way to defend ourselves is to lead the world, to make
history rather than be overwhelmed by it, I ask for your support.
Join me if you want to tackle problems at home that have been kicked down the road
because theyre too hard to fix and too easy to demagogue.
Washingtons failure to do the hard but right thing has put Social Security and
Medicare in serious jeopardy. As my generation retires both programs are on track
to go bust. Were living longer and fewer workers are supporting more retirees.
Thats unsustainable. Everybody knows it. Not everybody admits it.
We have to fix entitlement programs to make sure people who need the benefits the
most receive them. Thats going to require determined presidential leadership.
I know from personal experience how important those programs are to the lives of
millions of Americans. I lost my parents when I was a young man and my sister was
in middle school. We depended on Social Security benefits to survive.
Ive been fortunate. Ive done better than Ive ever dreamed. If I and others like me
have to take a little less and pay a little more to help those who need it the most, so
be it. And, younger workers might have to work a little longer.
As President, Ill gladly do what it takes to save a program that once helped my
family.
To those who yearn for a safe and healthy environment, I will join your cause. To
those who seek energy independence, I will be your champion.

Im tired of sending hundreds of billions of dollars to buy oil from people who hate
us. We must have energy independence. And in the process, I believe it is possible
to produce a safe, clean environment, and create new well-paying jobs for Americans
of all generations.
To my fellow Republicans, Ill be a champion for limited and effective government
and a strong national defense. Ill be a voice for social conservative values without
apology or animosity. I love my party. Im committed to see it prosper and grow.
To my friends in the other party, on the big things we share a common fate. Ill work
with you to strengthen the country we both love. Our differences are real, and well
debate them. But youre not my enemy. Youre my fellow countrymen.
My enemies are those who despise our shared values, the enemies of enlightenment,
the culture of death that seeks to destroy the dignity of life. Well fight them together
with our partners. And well win.
To Americans who trust neither party, I will seek the political common ground our
nation so desperately needs to find.
Thats what Ive done before. Dont take my word for it. Examine my record.
I intend to be president not of a single party, but of a nation. I want to do more than
make big government smaller. I want to help make a great nation greater.
Ive traveled the world, and had experiences and opportunities that I never dreamed
of. Ive been lucky so much of my life, but never luckier than in the people and place
I come from.
Those of you whove known me a long time know I had some ups and downs as a
young man. I lost my parents, and had to struggle financially and emotionally. I
would not have made it through those times without you, and without the example
my parents set for me.

There are a lot of so-called self-made people in this world. Im not one of them.
My family, friends, neighbors and my faith picked me up when I was down, believed
in me when I had doubts. You made me the man I am today.
Im a man with many debts to my family, to you, to South Carolina and to the
country. Im running for president to repay those debts, to fight as hard for you as
you fought for me. In the end, thats the only promise I can make and the only
pledge Ill sign, the only one that matters.
If you make me president, Ill fight each day harder than I fought the day before to
keep this country safe, prosperous and as good as the people who made it great. I
humbly ask for your support and your vote. I will work everyday to make you proud.
Thank you, and God bless.