South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham — stuck at the bottom of the GOP presidential candidate field, garnering no support in the
latest five national polls — declared Tuesday's he's not a quitter, and has no plans to drop out of the race.
In an appearance on ABC's female-centric "The View" Tuesday, regular panelist Whoopi Goldberg bluntly asked, "What’s keeping you in?" The veteran lawmaker quickly replied, "I think I would be a commander in chief worthy of the sacrifice of the 1percent who are taking care of all of us. … I think I would be a commander in chief that would keep us safe."
But pressed on whether it might be less harmful to the Republican Party if some candidates just drop out of the crowded field, Graham dug in.
"I have been in the military most of my life," he said. "You don't drop out. You don't get a pass."
Wisconsin Gov.
Scott Walker and former Texas Gov.
Rick Perry both ended their campaigns in September, reducing the GOP field to 15 candidates.
"No, hell no, I'm not gonna drop out," he added.
A major theme of Graham's campaign has been the nation's pressing need to battle terrorism — and to deploy more troops to the Middle East to get the job done.
"If I get to be commander in chief, we're gonna go over and kill as many of these bastards as we can before they come here," he vowed, adding the anti-establishment mood that has led to the surging GOP candidacies of Donald Trump, Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina is understandable — but wrong when it comes to foreign policy.
"When it comes to defending our country, experience is a good thing, and I've got plenty of it," he said.
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