Donald Trump is pretty sure that attacks against him by Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) backfired on the two candidates, pushing them out of the running for the first Republican presidential debate.
During an interview with Breitbart on Tuesday, Trump reveled in the fact that neither Perry nor Graham made the cut for Fox News’ Thursday night debate, but he did.
“And I find that really interesting, and I find it a great honor that that would happen, because in all fairness Lindsey Graham and Perry were really hitting me hard, and they went down in the polls. I am greatly honored by that,” Trump told Breitbart News.
After Trump’s recent inflammatory comments about Mexican immigrants and his remark about Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), Graham called the real estate mogul a “jackass” and Perry called him a “cancer.” The comments scored the two candidates headlines, but according to Trump, it lost them the debate.
“Isn’t it an amazing phenomenon? You know what I said today? Lindsey Graham was at 3 and nobody went after me harder than Perry and Lindsey Graham. Perry was at 4 or 5, and he dropped down to 2 and Lindsey Graham dropped down to 0. I said that is the greatest honor. They attack me and they go down,” he said. “I was surprised, to be honest with you.”
