Hillary Clinton would beat Donald Trump “in a landslide” in a general election matchup, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham says.
Graham, the South Carolina senator who, like Trump, is seeking the GOP presidential nomination, hit Trump over his harsh words on women and undocumented immigrants in an interview with CNN’s Brianna Keilar on Monday.
“Hillary Clinton would beat him like a drum,” Graham said.
He said Republicans should stop “tip-toeing around” Trump and address his harsh rhetoric, especially when it comes to immigrants and women. Trump sparked a controversy during his campaign announcement speech by branding Mexican immigrants “rapists” and “killers.” More recently, he said Fox News host Megyn Kelly had “blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever” during last week’s GOP presidential debate.
“If I was a young woman or a Hispanic watching this debate, I think I’d have been pretty turned off by Mr. Trump. And the question is, does it bleed over to all of us?” Graham said.
He even proposed a way for the Republican National Committee to impose rules that would lock the real estate mogul out of upcoming debates.
“It’s up to the party to decide how to deal with this,” he said. “I really think that to be in the next debate, you ought to commit that you’re not going to run as an independent.”