Lindsey Graham on Confederate flag: "I think it's a debate that needs to happen"

Lindsey Graham told Fusion after an emotional vigil on Friday that South Carolina may reconsider taking down the Confederate flag hanging above the capital building in Columbia.

“We’ll see what they want to do,” Graham told Fusion. “We’ll take it up in January. I think it’s a debate that needs to happen.”

Graham’s comments after the vigil seemingly stand in contrast to his comments from earlier this morning, when he told CNN “the flag is part of who we are.”

The vigil was in response to the killing of nine people at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church on Wednesday evening. Dylann Storm Roof, 21, was arrested Thursday morning in connection with the killings.

Fusion reached out to the Graham campaign for comment but received no response as of the time of publication.

Collier Meyerson is a reporter at Fusion with a focus on race and politics. She lives in Brooklyn.