South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham says Donald Trump’s recent comments are a sort of blessing in disguise for Republicans. Graham says GOPers are now off the hook if they don’t back Trump. Because Trump no longer represents the party, despite his delegate count, Graham believes. After a year of saying things that called into question his judgment and the quality of his character, Trump finally went overboard with his statements about federal judge Gonzalo Curiel, in Graham’s opinion. (Trump has said that Curiel can’t adjudicate without bias because of his Mexican heritage.)
“If anybody was looking for an off-ramp, this is probably it,” Graham told the New York Times. It’s a swift about-face for Graham (R-SC), who weeks ago suggested Republicans should start getting behind the party line and backing Trump, despite his controversial stances. Trump’s comments about Curiel and his professed idea that a Muslim judge would also be too biased to rule make Graham say: “This is the most un-American thing from a politician since Joe McCarthy.”
