Graham: Donald Trump ‘Wrecking Ball for the Republican Party’

RUSH TRANSCRIPT:

SCARBOROUGH: "With us now, Republican candidate, presidential candidate Lindsey Graham. All right Lindsey thank you for taking the challenge. We appreciate you call in and are you heartened by the fact that a lot of Republicans spoke out as aggressively as you finally yesterday after --"

GRAHAM: "Absolutely. A party chairman in South Carolina, New Hampshire and Iowa. All the candidates except Ted Cruz. Hey Ted, this is not the policy debate. Nobody, I mean, nobody believes this works, Ted. The bottom line is you need stand up for a party and for a country. And if you want to make America great again reject this without any doubt or hesitation. And he puts our troops at risk overseas. They were worried about his statements and behavior even before this."

SCARBOROUGH: "You know, Lindsey, you saw the crowd last night in your home state. Massive crowds. They love him. And there's no other presidential candidate on the campaign trail that can draw that type of audience. What does that say about where the Republican Party is right now?"

GRAHAM: "Well, when you look at American history, there is always been a [indecipherable] for this. The bottom line is the people who support Trump, believe they're supporting a strong man who is going to fix all of our problems and can make America great again. What you're actually supporting is a wrecking ball for the Republican Party, race baiting, religious bigot. And I think that's who you're supporting. Time will tell how long this goes."

BRZEZINSKI: "What worries you most about the comments he made over the past 24 hours and the proposal?"

GRAHAM: "He's putting people at risk. Remember when the guy was threatening to burn the Koran? The enemy takes statements like this and use it against us. It just helps the enemies and puts our soldiers and diplomats at risk and it's ruining the Republican Party. But the good news is, Joe, that most people in responsible positions are pushing back and that is goodness."

SCARBOROUGH: "All right, Senator Lindsey Graham, we greatly appreciate you calling. Hope you call up tomorrow and we'll talk some more about it."