Graham on missing debate: ‘It sucks’

Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), a long-shot Republican presidential candidate, voiced frustration Thursday with debate criteria that threatens to keep him off the stage in two weeks.

“It sucks,” Graham said while laughing during an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

{mosads}Graham suggested that the Republican National Committee was not doing all it could to expand the debates, which are limited to the top 10 in an average of the five most recent national polls. 

Graham is currently not among the top 10 GOP candidates in the Real Clear Politics polling average. 

“I think, well, the RNC, they’re not helpless here. I mean, it is our party,” Graham said. “CNN and Fox have come up with a criteria to get into the debate that I think is silly.”

Graham suggested the debates were being chosen by those candidates with big name ID, such as businessman Donald Trump, and said he worried about the nominee selection.

“Let’s listen to people who have got a wide breadth of experience, including Donald Trump, and make an informed decision,” Graham said. “To the RNC, you’re not bound by this. You’re not helpless in this endeavor. You can say no if you like.”

The RNC announced nine sanctioned primary debates, the first hosted by Fox News on Aug. 6 in Ohio. The network has said it will hold a nationally televised forum earlier that day for those who don’t qualify. CNN has announced similar plans, holding a de facto second-tier debate the same night of its Sept. 16 debate.

Graham suggested that his poll numbers could bounce following a high-profile feud with Trump that culminated in the celebrity real estate mogul divulging Graham’s personal phone number during a televised speech. Graham shrugged off the incident by filming various methods to destroy a cellphone.

“If my numbers go up, it’s because I call Donald Trump a jackass. That’s not why I want a rise in polls,” Graham said on MSNBC. “The bottom line is, I think the criteria in July of 2015 makes no sense.”