South Carolina's Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is supporting Ted Cruz for president, but appeared to be having fun with zinging numerous comedic barbs at him during an appearance on Comedy Central's Daily Show.
Host Trevor Noah asked Graham why he supports Cruz. Graham responded, "He's not Trump."
He said he supports Cruz, but personally is not his biggest fan. He called Cruz "my fifteenth choice."
Graham said, "I don't dislike Ted Cruz. Ted and I have a lot of differences." Then Graham laughed and said, "I'm getting better at this."
Graham said Cruz was "not completely crazy."
Graham's main target was Donald Trump. He said he believes a Trump win "taints conservatism for generations to come."
He asked Noah if he was a U.S. citizen or had a green card. Noah, who is South African, said no. Graham responded, "If Trump wins, your days are numbered."
Graham compared voting for Trump to voting for Cruz as being shot in the head versus being poisoned. "Donald is like being shot in the head. You might find an antidote to poisoning."
In one segment Graham played a game of pool with Noah, with the stipulation that when each person missed, they were forced to read a backhanded compliment about Trump. Graham read a card that said Trump "doesn't let logic or facts get in the way of perfectly bad policy proposals."
Graham took a few shots at himself, as well. About his run as a presidential candidate, he said, "Well, that didn't last very long." When he grew up, he said his family "owned a bar, a liquor store, and a pool room. This is why I would make a a great president."
Graham expressed his support for Cruz's Israel policies in a tweet.
Noah played a clip from a Washington Press Club speech in which Graham said, "If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, no one could convict you."
Cruz responded to Graham's comments with a good-natured joke during a speech reported in
USA Today.
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