UPDATE: 2:15 p.m. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is expected to host a fundraiser for Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Monday, CNN reported Thursday.
CNN reported that a draft of the invitation stated that the meet-and greet-event would be held at the AIPAC conference in Washington to “honor and support a great friend of Israel and the Jewish people.”
“I think he’s the best alternative to Donald Trump. He’s certainly not my preference, Senator Cruz is not, but he’s a reliable Republican conservative of which I’ve had many differences with,” Graham said. “I doubt Donald Trump’s conservatism and I think he would be a disaster for the party and so I’m trying to help raise money for Senator Cruz and the Cruz committee.”
Graham’s recent change of heart is a far cry from what he’s said previously about Cruz, although Graham conceded earlier this month that he might have to rally behind Cruz in order to take down Donald Trump as the GOP nominee.
Graham once said that a either Cruz or Trump nomination would mean “death” in the general election. He called out Cruz for refusing to condemn Trump’s proposed ban on Muslims entering the United States. Graham even joked about his unpopular colleague being murdered on the Senate floor.
Graham initially supported former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R), who ended his bid for the presidency in February after a disappointing showing in South Carolina. Graham ended his own bid in December after he said he “hit a wall.”
