Lindsey Graham is running for president because he believes there is a “market” for what he has to offer.
During a recent interview with NBC News anchor Chuck Todd that oddly took place in a car, Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) explained his motivation for launching a bid for the White House in 2016.
“At the end of the day, I think there’s a market for what I have to offer: Somebody who knows the world for what it is and is willing to work with the other party,” Graham said, spotlighting his more liberal stances on issues like immigration and climate change that have the potential to hurt him in the Republican primary.
Graham labeled himself an “unorthodox” conservative, lamenting the fact that the country today — and Washington in particular — is so polarized. He blamed such partisan divide on the 24-hour news cycle.
“Just think how hard it is in today’s 24/7 news cycle … There is a group telling you to say ‘no’ about everything,” said Graham.
Yet, the South Carolina senator still holds hope that he could capture the GOP nomination.
“I’m making a bet that you can talk about problem solving in a Republican primary and still get the nomination,” affirmed Graham. “I’m making a bet that you can openly embrace working with Democrats and still get the nomination.”
“To a young person in politics: Listen to what I’m doing here and see if it makes sense to you,” he continued. “There is a growing desire by the public at large to stop the B.S. I feel it, I sense it and I’m running on the idea that if you elect me, I’ll do whatever is necessary to defend the nation. I’m running not as a candidate for a single party but for a great nation.”
That doesn’t mean, however, that Graham ever considered running as a third party candidate.
“At the end of the day, you’re not going to get big things done with moderates,” the senator said. “There’s not a hall of fame for moderates.”
Graham also touched on pal Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) loss of the presidential race in 2008, blaming it on Americans being “Bushed” out and insisting that “nobody could have won” over Barack Obama.
He suggested that Hillary Clinton currently faces the same seemingly insurmountable challenge than McCain did eight years ago.
“At the end of the day, are people ‘Obama-ed’ out? Is Hillary the John McCain? Is she running into the headwinds of an unpopular president? Is she trying to seek another term of a presidency that people are trying to move on from?” Graham wondered, leaning toward the affirmative. “That’s why I think we have a good chance.”
