South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who recently endorsed Jeb Bush, claims the two Republicans currently leading the GOP presidential field are also the two most unelectable candidates the GOP could put forward in a general election.
“Donald Trump is the most unelectable Republican I’ve seen in my lifetime,” Graham, who exited the GOP horserace in late December, said Monday on MSNBC. “Every problem we had in 2012, he’s made worse.”
Graham, who dropped out of the race in December after failing to catch fire with Republican voters, was then asked, “Would [Texas Sen.] Ted Cruz be a better nominee than Donald Trump?”
“No,” he responded swiftly. “I don’t think Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are ready on day one to be commander-in-chief. They can’t bring this country together.”
The hawkish, Establishment-friendly senator also said Trump’s message is “not a good message for [Republicans].”
“If you really want to make [Democratic front-runner] Hillary Clinton president of the U.S., vote for Donald Trump,” he said, adding that “dishonest beats crazy.”
Together, Trump and Cruz currently draw more than 53 percent support among Republican voters, according to the latest RealClearPoltiics polling average. In third place nationally, behind the two anti-establishment candidates, is Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at 11.8 percent.
