Senator Lindsay Graham struggled to justify Donald Trump’s outrageous behavior on Sunday, including the former president’s brutal dismissal of his longtime ally.
During an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, host Jake Tapper confronted Graham with Trump’s dismissive comments about him.
Last week, Graham had told Meet the Press that Trump “the provocateur, the showman, may not win this election.” Tapper told Graham that Trump had responded to his urging to focus on policy, and played a clip of the former president speaking about the South Carolina Republican.
“Look, I like Lindsey. I don’t care what he says, okay?” Trump said during a CBS exclusive interview. “Lindsey wouldn’t have been elected if I didn’t endorse him. So you know, South Carolina—Lindsey’s my friend—but if I didn’t endorse, he would’ve had no chance of getting elected.”
Graham chuckled awkwardly when faced with Trump’s harsh dismissal.
“Well, I talked to him a couple of days ago now, and all I can say is that President Trump, when he was president of our country, we had the most secure border in 40 years, gas was at $1.87, Russia wasn’t invading Ukraine, the Arabs were making peace with the Israelis. He’s got a lot to be proud of,” Graham replied, continuing to heap praise on the Republican nominee.
“Me and him are good,” Graham added, attempting to sidestep Trump’s derisive response. “We’re going to be together. I’m going to Georgia with him. We’re going to try to have a unity event in Georgia to bring this whole party together. I will be by his side in this election. I am proud of what he did as our president. I look forward to him coming back.”