Republican ex-candidate Graham endorses Jeb Bush

Lindsey Graham, who dropped out of the Republican presidential race in late December, announced Friday that he is throwing his support behind former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s White House bid. But the Though Graham has often stridently hawkish views on national security and foreign policy, he’s also broken with conservatives on issues like immigration reform and climate change, angering right-wing constituents.

“Lindsey Graham is probably the most knowledgeable person on the Hill as it relates to national security, military affairs, foreign policy, and his endorsement is very meaningful”, Bush said on Fox News. Bush’s campaign in SC has said at least 20 former high-profile Graham supporters have jumped to Bush’s camp since Graham left the race. After all, we will be told, the Palmetto State has always been the “firewall” for Republican Establishment candidates who got into trouble in Iowa or New Hampshire.

At a news conference in South Carolina Friday, Graham said he liked what he heard from Bush at the debate Thursday night.

Bush needs a top finish in the New Hampshire primary on February 9 to revive his stalled campaign.

“I wasn’t ready to be president at 44”, he said of Rubio’s youth, but predicted he would be president one day.

FAILING, disappointed, humiliated by six months of well-aimed taunts from Donald Trump, Jeb Bush has had a terrible six months. “Senator Graham certainly fit those criteria, and they’re moving to Governor Bush for those same reasons”. At the last debate in which Graham participated, he famously praised another Bush.

“Don’t run for president if you are going to double-down on insane”, he said. “He will be the president that can reset the world, bring us together and solve hard problems”, Graham said.

But it’s unclear how exactly the endorsement will play out in SC in terms of votes or enthusiasm.

The rivalry between the Republican Party’s two leading candidates for president intensified in Thursday’s debate, which featured the most rollicking action to date.

“It’s not enough to criticize Obama”, Graham said, according to The Greenville News.