Graham on Carson, Trump: ‘How am I losing to these people?’

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) expressed shock on Monday that he is trailing his fellow GOP presidential candidates Ben Carson and Donald Trump.

“On our side, you’ve got the No. 2 guy [who] tried to stab somebody at 14 and the No. 1 is high energy and crazy as hell,” Graham said, referencing first Carson and then Trump.

{mosads}“How am I losing to these people?” he asked on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”  “Just look at Donald Trump’s foreign policy — what is it?”

“What is his game plan to destroy ISIL?” Graham asked, using an alternate acronym for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). “Does anybody know? And he’s winning.”

Graham particularly took issue with Trump’s stance on Syria and Russia’s involvement in the ongoing civil war there.

“Barack Obama is not playing it well,” he said of the president’s handling of Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Syria.

“But to substitute Trump for Obama, what’s the difference?” Graham asked. “When it comes to Syria, what’s the difference between any of our own candidates and Barack Obama?”

“Dr. Carson is a fine man, but his foreign policy is hard for me to follow,” he added of the retired neurosurgeon.

Graham then compared Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) with Obama, saying each had a short Senate career before seeking the White House.

“[They are] young men in a hurry,” he quipped of the pair.

Graham then set his sights on the 2016 Democratic presidential field, arguing its candidates are no more electable than Carson or Trump.

“The No. 2 went to the Soviet Union on his honeymoon. I don’t think he ever came back,” he said of Sen. Bernier Sanders (I-Vt.)

“The leader felt that she was flat broke after her husband was president for eight years,” Graham added of Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton. “Maybe why they stole the china.”

The Republican establishment is struggling with a crop of presidential contenders who lack political experience but inspire fervor with voters.

Carson, Trump and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina have all eclipsed more traditional candidates in support across multiple national polls. Graham, in the meantime, is fourth from last in the RealClearPolitics average of national polls with less than 1 percent support.