Failed GOP presidential candidate Sen Lindsey Graham calls Republican front runner Donald Trump a 'nutjob' and jokes about killing (Sen) Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate
Senator Lindsey Graham held nothing back when talking about his former opponents in the Republican race for the White House, concluding that his party 'has gone bats**t crazy.'
The
outspoken lawmaker from South Carolina delivered his scathing remarks
Thursday at the 72nd annual Washington Press Club Foundation dinner,
which coincided with the tenth Republican presidential debate in Texas.
Graham
had some harsh words for each of the five remaining presidential
hopefuls, but Senator Ted Cruz, of Texas, arguably bore the brunt of his
withering sarcasm.
‘A
good Republican would defend Ted Cruz after tonight. That ain't
happening,’ Graham said with a smile,’ drawing laughter from a crowd
consisting of 750 members of Congress, journalists and congressional
aides. ‘If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial
was in the Senate, nobody could convict you.’
Graham,
67, was referencing Cruz's reputation as a deeply unpopular figure on
Capitol Hill who does not get along with his colleagues.
Later
in his no-holds-barred roast, Graham again turned him attention to
Cruz, joking that the Texas senator will drop out of the race during
Canadian week at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, when expats from the
north enjoy 10 per cent discounts in town.
GOP front-runner Donald Trump has contended that Cruz was ineligible to run for president because he was born in Canada.
'But
I will say our Canadian is better than your [Democrats'] Kenyan,'
Graham added, drawing jeers from the crowd with his 'birther' dig at
President Barack Obama.
The
South Carolina Republican did not miss an opportunity to skewer Hillary
Clinton, who could be facing a federal indictment for using a private
email server to send sensitive, government-related material.
'The
most dishonest person in America is a woman who is about to be
president,' Graham told the audience after making a joke about how far
women have come in this country. 'How could that be? My party has gone
bats**t crazy.'
Graham also did not mince words when speaking of Florida Senator Marco Rubio, whom he mocked as the 'boy wonder,' reported NBC News.
Skewered: Graham joked that 'If you
killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the
Senate, nobody could convict you'
Thirsty: Bringing to mind a moment
from 2013 when Senator Marco Rubio became an object of mockery after
reaching for a bottle of water during a televised speech, Graham quipped
that the 'Secret Service's main job when he's president is to keep him
hydrated'
Credibility problem: Graham blasted Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton as 'the most dishonest person in America'
'I'm
not saying he would change his position -- but he changes his
position,' Graham said. 'The Secret Service's main job when he's
president is to keep him hydrated.'
Rubio
became an object of widespread ridicule in 2013 when he awkwardly
reached for a bottle of water while delivering the GOP response to
President Obama’s State of the Union address.
The
sharp-tongued keynote speaker also took a couple of swipes at Dr Ben
Carson and John Kasich, who have been consistently lagging in the polls.
‘'To
the women who left the kitchen tonight to come, thank you all very
much. John Kasich needs your help. He’s the moderate with the good
heart,' Graham quipped, calling to mind a comment that the Ohio governor
made during a stomp speech earlier this week, telling a crowd in
Virginia that women 'left their kitchens’ to support him when he was
running for a state office in 1978.
Kasich later had to apologize for the gaffe after being accused of sexism.
Speaking
of Carson, Graham told the audience: 'the nice guy is Ben Carson; he
tried to kill his cousin... he's the one we all like. How did I lose to
these guys?'
Turning
to the front-runner of the GOP race, real estate billionaire Donald
Trump, Graham turned serious sayings: 'The Donald. I am, literally,
running out of adjectives.
‘I know I'm supposed to be funny, but I'm not really happy about where the country is right now.
'I
could make a million Donald Trump jokes, and I have, but our party and
our country is going to have to up its game - you're going to have to
ask him hard questions, and I don't mean to turn a funny thing into a
serious thing -- but anytime Mitt Romney thinks you should turn over
your taxes, we've probably given him [Trump] a pass.’
No laughing matter: Turning serious, Graham said the GOP has been giving front-runner Donald Trump a pass
Kicking them while they're down: Graham also took swipes at Ohio Governor John Kasich (left), whom he mocked for his recent 'women in the kitchen' comment, and Dr Ben Carson, whom the South Carolina senator called a 'nice guy' who tried to kill his cousin
During
Thursday’s night contentious GOP debate on CNN, Trump repeatedly said
he was waiting for the IRS to complete its audit of his finances before
releasing his tax returns.
Graham,
who dropped out of the race for the White House in December and later
backed Jeb Bush's candidacy, only to see the former Florida governor
suspend his campaign after failing to gain traction with primary voters,
concluded his speech on a self-deprecating note.
‘I
ran for president, and I had to get out,’ Graham said. ‘I endorsed Jeb
Bush, and he had to get out. I am the Dr. Kevorkian of the Republican
primary.’
He
then put on a baseball cap emblazoned with Donald Trump’s campaign
slogan, 'Make American Great Again,' and jokingly endorsed the bombastic
billionaire, whom he dubbed a 'nutjob' and a 'loser' when addressing
reporters earlier that day.
‘I endorse Donald Trump and hope the Graham magic still exists!’
No comments:
Post a Comment