South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham called Donald Trump a "jackass" Monday night on CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront," and Trump quickly retaliated at a campaign stop in Graham's state on Tuesday, issuing a slew of insults and topping it off by publicly releasing Graham's cellphone number.
"What he said about John [McCain], I think, was offensive. He's becoming a jackass at a time when we need to have a serious debate about the future of the party and the country," Graham said, referring to Trump's previous comments that McCain is not a war hero."
"This is a line he's crossed, and this is the beginning of the end of Donald Trump ... I am really pissed," he added.
Perhaps Graham, a 2016 Republican presidential contender, should have waited to insult The Donald, as the billionaire real estate mogul had a kickoff event for his South Carolina presidential campaign scheduled for Tuesday in Sun City.
"I watch this idiot Lindsey Graham on television today, and he calls me a jackass," Trump told the South Carolina crowd, according to NBC News. "I see your senator, what a stiff. What a stiff: Lindsey Graham.:
"Lindsey Graham ... [is] a total lightweight," Trump continued. "Here's a guy - in the private sector he couldn't get a job. Believe me. Couldn't get a job. He couldn't do what you people did. You're retired as hell and rich. He wouldn't be rich; he'd be poor."
Trump continued: "I said to myself, you know, it's amazing. [Graham] doesn't seem like a very bright guy. He actually probably seems to me not as bright, honestly, as [former Texas Gov.] Rick Perry. I think Rick Perry honestly is smarter than Lindsey Graham, but what do I know?"
At one point, Trump mentioned how a few years ago, Graham supposedly called him "begging" for Trump to give him a good reference with Fox News' "Fox & Friends," reports Politico. Trump told the crowd he promised Graham he would put in a good word.
And here comes the kicker.
Trump then brandished a piece of paper with a telephone number, and said, "So he gave me his number, and I found the card! I wrote the number down!"
"Let's give it a try," he suggested as he proceeded to read the number out loud, twice. "I don't know [if it still works], give it a shot."
Graham soon tweeted in tongue-in-cheek fashion, "Probably getting a new phone. iPhone or Android?"
Probably getting a new phone. iPhone or Android?
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) July 21, 2015
