Senator Lindsey Graham on Monday announced that he is suspending his campaign for president. In a video posting, Graham thanked his supporters, saying “you have honored me with your support.”
The announcement comes as Graham was trailing in the polls in the packed GOP presidential field.
“I’m suspending my campaign, but never my commitment to achieving security through strength for the American people,” Graham said, touting his campaign’s focus on presenting ideas to lower the United States’ debt as well present changes to the immigration system.
Calling his run a “problem solvers campaign,” he said he is leaving the race confident that the remaining GOP contenders will “reject the Obama doctrine of leading from behind” on securing the homeland, which he called the “centerpiece” of his campaign.
“I got into this race to put forward a plan to win a war we cannot afford to lose and to turn back the tide of isolationism that was rising in our party. I believe we made enormous progress,” Graham said.
In an interview with CNN, Graham expressed his frustration with his campaign, saying “my biggest problem is a lot of people like what I say, but not a lot of people hear it,” adding “I don’t want to be the undercard voice. I cannot tell you how frustrating it has been to have spent all this time and effort preparing myself to be Commander-in-Chief and to be put at the ‘kiddie table’.”
Days before his announcement, Graham showed openness to supporting Hillary Clinton if she were to win the presidency. “If she’s willing to be more robust in terms of destroying ISIL, I’d give her political cover,” Graham said, adding “if she wanted to be more muscular in her foreign policy, I would try to help her.”