Presidential contender Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) didn’t shy away on Sunday when asked about Caitlyn Jenner, the former Olympian who announced last week that she had transitioned to a woman.
CNN’s Dana Bash confronted Graham with the words of a local Iowa radio host, who said that Republicans need to stand up for the “basic principles of male and female.”
“If Caitlyn Jenner wants to be safe and have a prosperous economy, vote for me,” he said. “I’m into addition.”
“I haven’t walked in her shoes. I don’t have all the answers to the mysteries of life,” Graham added. “I can only imagine the torment that Bruce Jenner went through. I hope he’s — I hope she has found peace.”
Graham said that he is “a pro-life, traditional marriage kind of guy,” but suggested that he is running to be President of the whole country.
“If Caitlyn Jenner wants to be a Republican, she is welcome in my party,” Graham said.
Bash pushed forward and asked whether Republicans should reach out to transgender people.
“Here’s what I would say to the talk show host: In the eyes of radical Islam, they hate you as much as they hate Caitlyn Jenner,” he said. “We are all in this together.”
Watch the clip, courtesy of CNN:
