Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., took the gloves off Tuesday and boasted that he’d beat Donald Trump’s “brains out” in a fight over South Carolina voters.
“Come to South Carolina, and I’ll beat his brains out,” the senator said in a CNN interview. “I know my state. This is a silly season in politics.”
He continued, going hard after Trump with a litany of criticisms.
“He is shallow. He is ill prepared to be commander in chief,” Graham said. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about or how our laws work. He says the worst things possible about immigrants and women. And he’s a complete idiot when it comes to Mideast policy.”
Trump is far and away the GOP frontrunner, outpacing his closest Republican competitor, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, in the polls by double digits, according to RealClearPolitics.
Trump leads Graham in the polls by a massive 22 percent to 0.3 percent, according to the same polling data.
Trump is so sure of his lead, and he seems to be enjoying himself so much, that he has taken to trolling Graham for his poor showing in the polls.
“Congrats @LindseyGrahamSC. You just got 4 points in your home state of SC — far better than zero nationally,” he said Tuesday morning on Twitter. “You’re only 26 [points] behind me.”
Despite the disparity in polling numbers, Graham is confident that he can outperform Trump in the Palmetto State.
“I think over time, common sense will prevail,” Graham said on CNN. “[Trump’s] a showman. He’s really good at that.”
The senator was joined in his none-too-flattering remarks by fellow 2016 presidential candidate Jeb Bush.
“I’m not a talker. I’m a doer,” Bush told a crowd of supporters this week. “There are a lot of really good talkers running for president.”
“There’s one in particular that I’m thinking of,” he added to laughter and applause.
