Elections

Graham Says Trump ‘Race-Baits’ Too Much For His Comfort

(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Alex Pfeiffer White House Correspondent
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In an interview Sunday, Sen. [crscore]Lindsey Graham[/crscore] said that Donald Trump has race-baited too much for his comfort and that he wants to see some combination of Sen. [crscore]Marco Rubio[/crscore] and Gov. John Kasich on the Republican ticket.

“You look in 2012, the post-mortem on the 2012 election, the Republican Party studied the results, and it was pretty clear that with the Hispanic community our position on immigration was pretty harsh — deport them all position,” Graham told WABC Radio’s Rita Cosby. “Donald Trump’s doubled down on not just on self-deportation, but now we are into forced deportation.”

Graham endorsed Jeb Bush after dropping out the 2016 race and now that Bush has dropped out he is supporting both Kasich and Rubio.

“I think a Kasich-Rubio ticket would be great,” he told Cosby. “John Kasich is a terrific governor from Ohio. Marco is very, very talented. Rubio-Kasich, Kasich-Rubio. I think those combinations, if they could consolidate and come together would be a very potent ticket in the fall.”

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“I didn’t make it, Jeb didn’t make it, so take what I saw with a grain of salt,” he said, continuing, “the only way we lose is to nominate somebody that just makes our problems worse with Hispanics and with young people, particularly women. And I think Trump would do that.”

“He’s played race-baiting and religious bigotry way too much for my comfort,” Graham said of Trump. “I just don’t like where he’s taking the party.”

Graham also isn’t necessarily averse to [crscore]Ted Cruz[/crscore], saying, “If Ted wants to change the party — that’s OK. Donald Trump I think is taking the party down a road that’s not change, it’s quite frankly obliteration.”

He did have some nice things to say about Trump, saying, “Donald Trump’s very successful. He’s done a lot of good things, his kids seem to be wonderful. But I just don’t like the way he’s campaigned. He’s appealed to the darker side of politics.”