Lindsey Graham to Donald Trump: ‘Stop Being a Jackass’
Republican senator and presidential candidate Lindsey Graham had a strong message for party rival Donald Trump during an appearance on CBS This Morning Tuesday: “Stop being a jackass.”
Graham said he was offended on behalf of his friend Sen. John McCain, who Trump recently said should not be considered an American hero since he was captured during the Vietnam War. Despite that remark, and one calling Mexican immigrants rapists, Trump has been leading the polls in recent weeks.
“I hope there’s not much of a market for slandering POWs in my party,” Sen. Graham said. “I don’t need a poll to tell Donald Trump it’s not good to say John McCain’s a loser because he was captured at a time of war. It’s not good to say that 11 million illegal immigrants are rapists and drug dealers when they’re not. All I can say is this is turning into a circus.”
Graham went on to say he doesn’t care if Trump stops campaigning. “Stay in the race….You don’t have to run for president and be the world’s biggest jackass.” He said he expects Trump to be a “responsible member of the 16-person primary.”
Graham has now called Trump a “jackass” more than once. When CBS This Morning‘s Gayle King asked Graham, “What’s the reaction you’re getting to calling him ‘jackass’ now repeatedly?” Graham answered, “A lot of people are offended. The jackasses are offended. All I can say is that I’ve had it.”
In the wake of Graham’s CBS interview, Trump fired back at the senator during a speech in Graham’s home state of South Carolina, calling him a “lightweight” and an “idiot.” He also gave out what Politico reports to be Graham’s private phone number.