US presidential candidate Donald
Trump has given out the mobile
phone number of Senator Lindsey
Graham - one of his Republican
rivals for the White House.
At a campaign rally, he called the South
Carolina senator an "idiot" and then told
the crowd to try the number.
A Politico reporter called the number on
Tuesday, and Mr Graham answered.
Mr Graham recently called Mr Trump "a
jackass" and condemned the real estate
mogul's comments about Senator John
McCain.
Mr Trump has come under increasing
criticism from fellow Republicans and
veterans groups after he appeared to
disparage Mr McCain's war record.
"He's a war hero because he was captured.
I like people who weren't captured," he
said, referring to Mr McCain's time as a
prisoner of war in Vietnam.
Recent national polls show Mr Trump
with a double-digit lead over his closest
Republican rival.
However the polling was mostly
conducted before the controversial
comments about Mr McCain.
His rivals are becoming increasingly
frustrated as Mr Trump continues to
dominate the media coverage of the
crowded Republican race.
Mr Trump has drawn headlines since he
called undocumented Mexican immigrants
"rapists" and "criminals" when he
launched his campaign in June.
"The world is literally falling apart… and
all we're talking about is Donald Trump,"
Mr Graham told CNN on Monday.
Analysis - Nick Bryant, BBC News, New
York
To question the military record of Senator
John McCain, a former prisoner of war
tortured so brutally that he is unable still
to raise his arms above his shoulders,
would ordinarily have been suicidal.
But Trump is operating under rules of his
own making that are perfectly suited to
the voracious metabolism of the modern
media, and the hyperventilated style of
modern campaigning.
The more outrageous his remarks, the
more coverage and social media comment
he generates. And the more coverage he
receives, the better his polling numbers
seemingly become.
Increasingly, notoriety equals popularity
amongst a large cohort of Republican
voters.
Trump has given out the mobile
phone number of Senator Lindsey
Graham - one of his Republican
rivals for the White House.
At a campaign rally, he called the South
Carolina senator an "idiot" and then told
the crowd to try the number.
A Politico reporter called the number on
Tuesday, and Mr Graham answered.
Mr Graham recently called Mr Trump "a
jackass" and condemned the real estate
mogul's comments about Senator John
McCain.
Mr Trump has come under increasing
criticism from fellow Republicans and
veterans groups after he appeared to
disparage Mr McCain's war record.
"He's a war hero because he was captured.
I like people who weren't captured," he
said, referring to Mr McCain's time as a
prisoner of war in Vietnam.
Recent national polls show Mr Trump
with a double-digit lead over his closest
Republican rival.
However the polling was mostly
conducted before the controversial
comments about Mr McCain.
His rivals are becoming increasingly
frustrated as Mr Trump continues to
dominate the media coverage of the
crowded Republican race.
Mr Trump has drawn headlines since he
called undocumented Mexican immigrants
"rapists" and "criminals" when he
launched his campaign in June.
"The world is literally falling apart… and
all we're talking about is Donald Trump,"
Mr Graham told CNN on Monday.
Analysis - Nick Bryant, BBC News, New
York
To question the military record of Senator
John McCain, a former prisoner of war
tortured so brutally that he is unable still
to raise his arms above his shoulders,
would ordinarily have been suicidal.
But Trump is operating under rules of his
own making that are perfectly suited to
the voracious metabolism of the modern
media, and the hyperventilated style of
modern campaigning.
The more outrageous his remarks, the
more coverage and social media comment
he generates. And the more coverage he
receives, the better his polling numbers
seemingly become.
Increasingly, notoriety equals popularity
amongst a large cohort of Republican
voters.
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