One day after Elon Musk called for Germans to “move beyond” guilt for the actions of the Nazis — the day before the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on Sunday that he wants “every German child, every American child, to know what happened [during the Holocaust] and that it’s true, not a lie and we never do it again.” 

“His [Musk’s] comments did bother me,” Graham told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union.” Musk made the statement during a video appearance at a campaign event Saturday for the Alternative for Germany party, where he reiterated his support for the far-right party ahead of next month’s elections.

“Holocaust deniers are full of crap. I’m worried that we’re losing 80 years on that, that we’re rewriting history here,” the senator continued. “There are 15 million Jews on the planet because every generation seems to want to go after the Jewish people so they can’t grow and survive. So the last thing I want facing the [anniversary] is to be equivocal.” 

"There are 15 million Jews on the planet because every generation seems to want to go after the Jewish people so they can’t grow and survive. So, the last thing I want facing the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz Liberation is to be equivocal. I want every German child and every… pic.twitter.com/uSphiyz0YB

— Jewish Insider (@J_Insider) January 26, 2025

Musk, who is an advisor to President Donald Trump, came under fire last week after he made a gesture at the presidential inauguration that some argued was a Nazi salute. Several Jewish leaders declined to criticize the billionaire, calling the gesture unintentional. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Musk was being “falsely smeared” and called him a “great friend of Israel.” 

Making light of the criticism he was facing, Musk made a series of Nazi puns on X that drew additional condemnation.

“Is Elon Musk a Nazi? I don’t think so,” Graham said. “Bibi came to his aid.” 

The CNN interview also came after four female Israeli hostages kidnapped on Oct. 7 were released by Hamas on Saturday, in exchange for Israel releasing 200 Palestinian terrorists.   

Bash pointed to Trump’s statement Saturday night that he wants to “clean that whole thing out,” an apparent reference to moving Palestinian refugees living in Gaza to Egypt and Jordan.

Asked what that means, Graham said, “You know, I really don’t know. I do know this, that Hamas needs to go.”

“All these guys with masks on and guns, they’re scum and I hope they’re dead men walking. What they did to those four young ladies, parade them in front of the Palestinian community and put them on the world stage was disgusting,” Graham said. 

“My heart breaks for what they’ve gone through. So the idea [that] Hamas survives is a nonstarter for me. But the idea that all the Palestinians are going to leave and go somewhere else, I don’t see that to be overly practical.”