Ex-GOP presidential candidate Lindsey Graham Thursday declared front-runner Donald Trump is “a con man,” not a conservative, and he’s chosen to back Ted Cruz instead because he thinks Trump will “destroy the Republican Party.”

“We’re already split,” the South Carolina Republican told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program. “Here is my concern, we can lose in 2016 and we probably will. Trump gets wiped out, [but] Ted makes it competitive, I don’t know if he can beat her or not, but at least we have a fighting chance.”

If Trump is named the standard-bearer for the party, Graham said, the matter is no longer about winning or losing the 2016 election, but then becomes “about losing the heart and soul of the conservative movement.”

But even though Graham has vowed to back Cruz as a way to defeat Trump, he does think Ohio Gov. John Kasich is more qualified for the presidency, but he’s not the outsider voters are seeking.

“I’m not going to stand behind a guy that gets [former KKK Grand Wizard] David Duke’s support,” said Graham. “What is it about Trump’s campaign that David Duke likes? I don’t think he is a reliable conservative Republican.

“So it’s no longer about winning the election for me, it’s trying to salvage a party that I love and conservatism as I know it.”

Graham admitted his differences with Cruz are well known, but “we share the same political DNA and he’s a reliable Republican conservative and Mr. Trump is not. I think John Kasich would be the best nominee but he doesn’t have a chance.”

Graham said that he also is concerned that there are voters who will pick Clinton because Trump’s policies scare them.

“I’m worried that they’ll look at Mr. Trump as somebody who will deport their entire family,” said Graham. “I’m worried the young women of the Republican Party voting for someone who believes that Megyn Kelly is a bimbo.

… But that doesn’t mean he’d vote for Clinton, either, telling the show’s panel to “ask me after the convention” who his pick would be.

http://www.newsmax.com/Headline/lindsey-graham-trump-not-conservative/2016/03/24/id/720664/