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Graham stops short of saying he would not support Trump as GOP nominee
WMUR ^ | Dec 10, 2015 | John DiStaso

Posted on 12/11/2015 12:50:19 PM PST by Maceman

MANCHESTER, N.H.-- Lindsey Graham on Thursday stopped just short of becoming the first Republican presidential candidate to say he will not support Donald Trump if the New York businessman becomes the presidential nominee of his party.

But the South Carolina senator came close.

"I'd rather lose without him than try to win with him, if he keeps doing what he's doing," Graham said, using an important caveat in his remark, at a midday stop in Greenland. Trump was to meet with members of the New England Police Benevolent Association in Portsmouth on Thursday night.

Graham also applied to Trump comments made earlier this week by former U.S. Senate Majority leader and 1996 GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole, who said he "might oversleep" on Election Day if U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas becomes the nominee.

But in a one-on-one interview later Thursday in Manchester with WMUR.com, Graham would not say unequivocally that he will not support Trump.

"I’m trying my best to be a good Republican," Graham said. "The one thing I don’t want to do is put the party in a bad spot because we got a guy like Donald Trump, who is dividing us."

"I signed a pledge," Graham said, referring to a pledge to back the eventual GOP nominee that all the candidates, including Trump, signed during the summer.

"And it means something to me," Graham said. "It doesn’t mean anything to Donald Trump, and I don’t want to be like him."

"At the end of the day I believe that the party is going to pick somebody who is a Republican and can bring us together," Graham said.

Paraphrasing Dole's comments about Cruz, Graham applied it to Trump.

"If Donald Trump is the nominee, I'm liable to oversleep that day," he said. "That goes for me, too."

Graham also said that Trump "is not a Republican, he's a fraud."

Earlier, in Greenland, Graham continued his criticism of Trump. And, questioned by an attendee at a Portsmouth Rotary Club meeting, he came close to saying he will not back Trump, but did not cross the line.

"I’ve called him every name I know to call him," Graham said, "from race baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot. I'm running out of adjectives.

"Do I want to buy a ticket on the Titanic? No. Do I believe that Donald Trump will get his clock cleaned by Hillary Clinton? Yes.

"Do I believe that Hispanics are mad at Donald Trump? Without any doubt."

"Do I believe he represents the worst in America and not the best? Yes."

"I'm trying to be a good Republican and even a better American," Graham said, insisting that Trump will not be the nominee. "He's not a Republican."

“Here's what Bob Dole said, 'If he wins I’m likely to oversleep.'"

Graham will continue his latest campaign visit on Friday with a town hall meeting at Concord High School and a meeting with the Concord Chamber of Commerce.


TOPICS: News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: New York; US: South Carolina; US: Texas
KEYWORDS: 2016election; election2016; lindseygraham; newyork; southcarolina; tedcruz; texas; trump
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1 posted on 12/11/2015 12:50:19 PM PST by Maceman
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To: Maceman

Lindsay is mentally ill.


2 posted on 12/11/2015 12:51:41 PM PST by miss marmelstein (Richard the Third: I like to destroy the Turks (Moslims))
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To: Maceman

LOL — I suspect that Trump would do very well WITHOUT Gramnesty’s “support”.

Go back to your DC bathhouse towel-boy job, Linda.


3 posted on 12/11/2015 12:53:39 PM PST by House Atreides (Cruz or lose! Do TG & Boogieman have to be asses every day?)
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To: Maceman
And they wonder why Trump threatens to run as an independent.

Graham is a worthless publicity whore. People in poll after poll reject him.

4 posted on 12/11/2015 12:53:46 PM PST by pfflier
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To: Maceman

No one should be called a “Presidential Candidate” if their poll numbers are equal to mine.


5 posted on 12/11/2015 12:54:22 PM PST by Personal Responsibility (Trump/Cruz 2016)
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To: Maceman

6 posted on 12/11/2015 12:55:05 PM PST by LostInBayport (When there are more people riding in the cart than there are pulling it, the cart stops moving...)
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To: LostInBayport

He’s going to come out soon and remove all doubt.


7 posted on 12/11/2015 12:56:52 PM PST by RinaseaofDs
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To: Maceman

How could Linda consider voting for someone he once told to ‘go to hell’?

Sound like he needs help.


8 posted on 12/11/2015 12:57:29 PM PST by skeeter
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To: Maceman

Going against Trump may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, and finally gets Graham primaried.


9 posted on 12/11/2015 12:58:14 PM PST by Zhang Fei (Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always.)
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To: Maceman

Of course Medved has Graham on to start his show today.

No mention of Graham’s slam on 40% of the GOP as ignant racists.

Medved keeping a tight rein on Linseed.


10 posted on 12/11/2015 12:58:23 PM PST by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: Maceman

You’ve already “LOST”. bigmouth, so do us all a favor and shut up.


11 posted on 12/11/2015 12:59:43 PM PST by Mollypitcher1 (I have not yet begun to fight....John Paul Jones)
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To: LostInBayport

LOLOLOL

12 posted on 12/11/2015 1:00:18 PM PST by onyx
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To: House Atreides

I wonder if “Goober Graham” signed the same pledge that Trump signed ?

The one that said Trump would support the Republican nominee ???


13 posted on 12/11/2015 1:00:36 PM PST by RightWingNut
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To: Maceman

“I’d rather lose without him than try to win with him”= I’ll vote for Hillary.


14 posted on 12/11/2015 1:04:05 PM PST by philetus (Keep doing what you always do and you'll eventually get what you deserve)
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To: Maceman

I think any Republican candidate would do better in the general election if Lindsey Graham endorsed Hillary.


15 posted on 12/11/2015 1:04:54 PM PST by detective
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To: Maceman
"I'd rather lose without him than try to win with him"

Can someone please explain to me what this statement means?

16 posted on 12/11/2015 1:07:31 PM PST by Cowboy Bob (With Trump & Cruz, America can't lose!)
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To: Maceman; miss marmelstein; upchuck

Mrs. McCain has shown herself to not only be a bitter, whiner, but also a mean and nasty liar.

In fact, on occasion, he's attempted to practice psychiatry without a medical license, given some of his statements about Mr. Trump's 'lack of mental fitness' to serve as CIC.

As a lawyer, Linda should exercise extra caution when speaking about Mr. Trump. Political speech is protected, but Linda comes very close to crossing the line with his psychiatric evaluations.

BTW, news to Linda Graham:
TRUMP'S LEAD IN SOUTH CAROLINA IS SO MASSIVE, GO AHEAD AND STAY HOME ON ELECTION DAY!

TRUMP WON'T NEED YOUR VOTE, BUT GF HILLARY MIGHT!




17 posted on 12/11/2015 1:11:14 PM PST by onyx
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To: Maceman

Graham is a total phuckwit, everyone knows he doesn’t have a Chinaman’s chance in Hell of being the nominee, let alone even winning his own home state.

The best thing that pansy can do is to just come out of the closet, and cross the aisle into the eager arms of the ‘RAT/LGBT ‘community’.


18 posted on 12/11/2015 1:15:47 PM PST by mkjessup (This is OUR freakin' Country!! Close the borders to ALL Muslims!! Trump is RIGHT !!!!)
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To: Maceman

I don’t think The Donald needs your support Lindseed. Get lost.


19 posted on 12/11/2015 1:20:14 PM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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To: Cowboy Bob
My only guess is that he means he would rather see the Republican party use dirty underhanded tactics to prevent him from being the nominee EVEN IF that would mean Trump would go third party and assure a Democrat victory.I'd rather lose without him....

To Graham it would be better to lose than to spend an entire election season with Trump as the representative of the Republican party saying the things he has been saying. ...than to try to win with him

20 posted on 12/11/2015 1:26:09 PM PST by nitzy (I don't vote for Republican'ts)
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