Skip to content
Home » We’ll Do It Live! w/ Sen. Lindsey Graham (Transcript)

We’ll Do It Live! w/ Sen. Lindsey Graham (Transcript)

Editor’s Notes: Bill O’Reilly hosts Senator Lindsey Graham for a deep dive into the “imminent” threat of a nuclear-armed Iran and the strategic necessity of military intervention to prevent regional escalation. Senator Graham explains how “defanging” the Iranian regime serves as a precursor to a historic peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel, which he argues would effectively end centuries of Arab-Israeli conflict. The interview also covers the broader geopolitical landscape, including critiques of the isolationist wing of the Republican Party and the long-term implications of the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Finally, the two discuss domestic issues such as the reform of Section 230 and the perceived deterioration of intellectual curiosity in modern American political discourse. (Mar 20, 2026) 

TRANSCRIPT:

Introduction

BILL O’REILLY: Bill O’Reilly here. Welcome to We’ll Do It Live. Of course we’re not doing it live, we’re taping it. But I say we’re doing it live because that is the name of the long form program that we’re giving you tonight. Okay. You can sue me. I know I lose. I would lose.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: I love this show already.

BILL O’REILLY: Unbelievable guest because of Iran. And that is Senator Lindsey Graham. He’s been in Congress on the Hill for more than 30 years. A lot of people don’t know this, but the Senator was JAG’d for the Air Force and he knows more about Iran than anyone. And I’m saying that as someone who knows a lot about it myself.

So this is not going to be a boring conversation between two pinheads. We’re going to learn something here. And it’s very important that the world know what’s really going on. So Senator, thanks for taking the time.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: Thanks a bunch. I hear you. I’m your first politician.

BILL O’REILLY: Yeah, we do back and forth with showbiz people and crash and burn.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: I’m sorry.

The Word “Imminent” and the Iran Threat

BILL O’REILLY: Yeah, but this is extremely important. So the word “imminent” is the problem here. 100% it’s the problem. Because Americans, they want to support anti-terror measures. I think most clear thinking people understand Iran is a terror nation. If it’s not around, it’s better for the world. I think they understand that. What they don’t understand is: did we have to do this now?

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: So there’s two things I’ve learned. I’m 70. Vietnam has cast a great shadow over American foreign policy for a long time. Nobody wants to get into a Vietnam. Iraq and Afghanistan have cast a long shadow over Mideast policy. And I can understand that. So everything we do, are we going down that road again?

BILL O’REILLY: Right.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: And the answer is no. But we’re not going to sit on the sidelines and watch Iran get a nuclear weapon.

“Imminent.” Let me tell you what the facts are and you tell me if it was imminent. So Jared Kushner and Witkoff are charged by the President to go to the Iranians and sit down and see if you can do a deal over their nuclear program. Now they’ve said for generations, “All we want is peaceful nuclear power. Countries enrich that have nuclear power. Why should we be different? Why should we be second class citizens? Why shouldn’t we be allowed to enrich like you do for peaceful nuclear power?”

Well, the argument I would give back is that for about 20 years you’ve been cheating. You have not tried to develop a peaceful nuclear power program. Your enrichment program is well beyond what you need for peaceful purposes.

Iran’s Enrichment Program: The Evidence

BILL O’REILLY: How do we know the preceding?

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: Because they said so. That comes in a minute. It’s been pretty clear — the IAEA, everybody has caught them having enrichment capability beyond what you need for commercial purposes. The most you need for commercial purposes is 20% uranium. There is no commercial need for 60%. What does it take to make a weapon? 90. So 20 is the outside of commercial. 60 is threshold weapons. 90 is weapons.

Now, the IAEA — not me — has accused them.

BILL O’REILLY: This is the UN.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: Yeah, the UN dudes. Not Lindsey Graham. Have found them cheating on three different occasions where they had secret enrichment facilities designed to go well beyond 20. So they’ve been called out three times.

And here’s the question. Do you believe that if they had a nuclear weapon, they would use it? What do you say?

BILL O’REILLY: They’d do it, but they’d hand it off to somebody.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: Okay. They would use it through a proxy.

BILL O’REILLY: Yep.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: Why?

BILL O’REILLY: Because they don’t want to be obliterated, I would say.

The Hitler Analogy

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: Do you believe Hitler wanted to kill all the Jews?

BILL O’REILLY: Yes.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: Well, most people didn’t until it was too late. So the first thing you’ve got to do in my business — who are you dealing with? I’m sitting across from you. I know what I’m dealing with. Do you believe the guy on the other side actually wants peaceful nuclear power, or does he actually want a bomb?

BILL O’REILLY: Well, I’m on record as saying the President did the right thing by launching this military action, and he did the right thing last June by taking out their big nuke facility. However, there is a legitimate debate going around, and you know it. Because of this guy who resigned.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: Yeah, Joe Kent. We’ll be glad about that.

BILL O’REILLY: Who said it’s not imminent.

Trump’s Offer to Iran and Their Response

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM: Well, let’s look at the facts. So let’s get back to where we were. Trump says, “Go talk to the Iranians,” and here’s what he offered them: “You can have a small enrichment program to save face.